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Tuesday, October 4, 2016
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Suicide prevention awareness Students gather to give messages of hope on the Diag
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CAMPUS LIFE
Schlissel: ‘U’ response to fliers aims to be proactive KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
Dr. Amir Ganjavie talks about censorship and portrayal of sexuality in Iranian filmography in a lecture on campus Monday.
Lecture explores censorship and portrayl of women in Iranian film
Female cinematic roles have shifted as government regimes altered over time TYLER COADY
Daily Staff Reporter
The portrayal of women in Iranian cinema is limited, Amir Ganjavie, a communication and culture Ph.D. student at York University in Toronto, said at a talk Monday night on love,
intimacy and eroticism in the genre. At its first lecture series of the semester, the Department of Near Eastern Studies hosted Ganjavie, a cultural critic and Iranian film connoisseur who has written for publications such as BBC Persian and Senses of Cinema and Cameron
GOVERNMENT
Higher ed a focus at ‘U’ before VP debate Kaine, Pence both tout policy on topic during campaign CALEB CHADWELL Daily Staff Reporter
Ahead of Tuesday’s vice presidential debate between Sen. Tim Kaine (D–Va.) and Gov. Mike Pence (R–Ind.), education stands out in the records of both running mates and could draw student interest in the event. In a Michigan Daily poll of University of Michigan students, higher education reform was recognized as an important issue for voters, with 26 percent of respondents citing higher education reform as being “extremely important” to them and 35.1 percent responding it is “very important.” 59.7 percent of respondents also said they prefer a “debt-free” college reform plan and another 18.8 percent said they prefer a “tuition-free” plan. On the campaign trail, Pence has cited his yearly budget investments in education as the largest ever in his home state of Indiana, while Kaine has highlighted his continued work in the Senate to secure $9.5 million in education funding in his home state of Virginia, as well as his wife Anne Holton’s work in See DEBATE, Page 3
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Cross, Iranian Studies Prof. at the University of Michigan to discuss Ganjavie’s work on the utopic visions of national cinema and how intimacy is portrayed in Iranian films. Ganjavie began his lecture with a brief history of how women came to be depicted in Iranian films noting this the
Pahlavi Dynasty, which ruled Iran until 1979, encouraged filmmakers to make women objects of affection. However, after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, a whole new range of restrictions were levied on the Iranian film industry by the government, with women See FILM, Page 3
Amid discovery of new alt right posters, president meets with student leaders ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
After meeting with a group of student government leaders at the Cube Monday, University of Michigan president Mark Schlissel discussed his administration’s response to anti-Black, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ posters discovered over the past week. Last Monday, anti-Black and anti-women posters were found in University buildings. Today, more offensive posters were found posted around campus from the white-supremacist group alt-right. Speaking specifically to the meeting that was occurring,
Schlissel told The Michigan Daily he wanted to bring together student leaders in an effort to continue the actions the University is taking in response to last week’s incidents. “We were struck by another round of these terrible, racist, hateful posters, and I’m trying to look for proactive things that we can do together as a community to speak out against hate,” Schlissel said. “It’s really important to me that the student body as a whole pays attention to this and appreciates what’s going on and steps up to support students that feel like their place here is being attacked.” Over the past week, students have initiated a series of protests See SCHLISSEL, Page 3
Bill Clinton emphasizes economic Faculty policy points in Flint campaign stop discusses ACADEMICS
Speech highlights need for college affordability LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
Former President Bill Clinton visited Flint Monday afternoon to campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, highlighting her policy proposals on the economy and college affordability. Approximately 500 people filled the University of MichiganFlint’s Northbank Center to hear Clinton speak. Michigan has received a fair amount of attention from both campaigns this election with recent visits from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Chelsea Clinton, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine and Anne Holton, former Virginia secretary of education and wife of Kaine. In his remarks, Bill Clinton said the most significant item to emerge from the Democratic National Convention this year were updates to Hillary Clinton’s higher education reform plan, the New College Compact, influenced by her primary opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I–Vt.). “You’ve got to make college affordable,” he said. “The most important thing that happened at the Democratic Convention was the new plan that was agreed upon by Senator Sanders and Hillary Clinton.” The new plan incorporates aspects of Sanders’ higher
education plan by making public universities tuition-free for students from families who make less than $125,000 per year. He also dedicated much of his speech to outlining the various aspects of Hillary Clinton’s economic plan, including her focus on small businesses and manufacturing. He charged that Trump’s plan would serve to only benefit the rich.
“Her opponent wants to go back to trickle-down economics on steroids,” he said. “It’s the same old story with tax cuts for billionaires.” For many attendees, the fact that Clinton had visited the city was the most important aspect of his speech. On the Republican side, some attention has also been paid to Flint. Trump visited the city in September; however, he encountered a
colder reception. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette also spoke at the Republican National Convention in July where he stated his goal of obtaining justice for Flint. The Flint water crisis has been an issue that Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said to be of high importance to her. She first highlighted the issue during a Democratic debate in See FLINT, Page 3
EMILIE FARRUGIA /Daily
President Bill Clinton speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Stronger Together Rally in Flint Monday.
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Vol. CXXVI, No. 3 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
tri-campus resolution Committee also talks ways to address controversies online MATT HARMON Daily Staff Reporter
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs met Monday evening to discuss how the committee responded to campus controversies, as well as review edits made by the University of Michigan’s Dearborn and Flint representatives to a resolution from a previous SACUA meeting on a tri-campus governance investigation requested by UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint. In response to the recent postings of racially charged f lyers around campus, SACUA members said they saw the speed of other student organizations and University representatives’ reactions to the event as a sign that they should examine the efficacy of their own statements and social media strategies. William Schultz, chair of both SACUA and Senate Assembly, said their recent social media efforts, including a tweet that went out addressing the f lyers, were See SACUA, Page 3
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Students discover new set of alt right posters on campus Monday afternoon
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Flyers express anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ, anti-women sentiments KEVIN BIGLIN
Daily Staff Reporter
A new set of alt right posters were found Monday morning on a University of Michigan cylinder posting area on the corner of South State Street and North University, citing websites that argue race determines intelligence and anti-Muslim sentiments. One of the posters featured the Pepe the Frog meme, a newfound symbol associated with the alt right movement. Several others portrayed an Islam man killing a white woman or characterizing the LGBTQ community as a target
of violence by members of the Muslim community. Rackham student Austin McCoy, a humanities postdoctoral fellow at the University who found several of the posters on campus, said he thought the posters gave quiet sympathizers a reason to continue to harass minority groups. “I think at least when it comes to these flyers and these messages, they’re not just beyond hurtful, they’re violent,” McCoy said. “Or they insinuate other groups, such as LGBTQ folks or women, are naive. If these ideas continue to enter into the mainstream, eventually, someone else who
sympathizes with these ideas might act on them.” These posters follow a week of protest and discussion at the University in response to three types of anti-Black posters found hung up in Mason and Haven Hall last week. One of the posters included an explanation of “race differences in intelligence” and “reasons why women shouldn’t date Black men”. In a statement from the University last week, administrators condemned the fliers, saying that kind of speech was not consistent with campus values. As of Monday afternoon, the University had not released a statement on the new fliers.
I feel bad for the people who pay $60k a year for umich and still have to use the 1 ply toilet paper
University spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald did not immediately reply to a request for comment Monday afternoon. In remarks to the Senate Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Affairs last week, University Provost Martha Pollack noted that while the University condemned the speech, they were unable to remove fliers posted in posting kiosks, such as the Mason Hall posting wall. Over the past week, both students and administrators have organized multiple campus events in response to the fliers and a previously planned debate over the merits of the Black See POSTERS, Page 3
Dr. Mark Schlissel @DrMarkSchlissel
No one should feel unsafe in our @umich community. Help me Spread Ideas, Not Hate. #UmichAllies
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Ready, Set, Intern
The Ballroom Thieves
WHAT: Learn more about internship opportunities at a workshop geared toward freshmen. WHO: Comprehensive Studies Program WHEN: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall, room 1139
WHAT: The group will perform its latest album, in which the trio creates ways to make its sound and spirit, infused with folk music, rock attitude and the soul of blues, grow. WHO: Michigan Union Ticket Office WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark
What if Transit Works?
Job Interview Contest
WHAT: Catherine Ross, an expert on transportation policy, will present a case for regional transit in Detroit, with a panel discussion after. WHO: College of Architecture and Urban Planning WHEN: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Amphitheatre
WHAT: The Ultimate Job Interview Contest and the ChooseATL Team will film interview entries of students for a chance to win $10,000. WHO: Career Center WHEN: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Student Activities Building
Kerrytown Open Mic Night
Safe Medication Disposal WHAT: The College of Pharmacy will collect any unused and expired medications to dispose of safely. WHO: College of Pharmacy WHEN: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Ingalls Mall and the North Campus Research Complex
WHAT: All singers, poets, and performers are welcome with free entry and music starting at 8 p.m. WHO: MUSIC Matters WHEN: 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Kerrytown Concert House
Follow @michigandaily
Austin McCoy @AustinMcCoy3
Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party
The Alt-right folks went and messed around with the wrong campus (@Umich), wrong group of activists.
WHAT: Join students at a non-partisan debate and results watching party for the vice presidential debate. WHO: Center for Campus Involement WHEN: 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pendleton Room
“Idiocracy” with Cast and Crew Q&A
Michigan Football
WHAT: Q&A with Director Mike Judge, and cast, including Maya Rudolph, to discuss whether “Idiocracy” was actually a documentary about election. WHO: Arthouse Convergence WHEN: 9:45 p.m. WHERE: The Michigan Theater
@UMichFootball
“We know it’s going to be a very hostile environment.” -@ CoachJim4UM on Saturday’s game at Rutgers. #GoBlue
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Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks speaks at a live recorded show in the Rogel Ballroom of the Michigan Union Monday. The Young Turks is a left-wing political commentary network with a show airing on Fusion for the 2016 election cycle.
Students, campus put messages of hope on tiles for suicide awareness
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University of Michigan students and the campus community wrote messages of hope on wooden tiles for an installation aiming to shed light on suicide and mental health issues on the Diag Monday morning.
EASE AND THANK YOU.
Christine Asidao, associate director of community engagement and outreach for Counseling and Psychological Services said the two-hour event, titled Hope on the Diag, aimed to humanize the issue of suicide instead of talking about it through statistics. “(CAPS) has always done suicide prevention work, but a
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few years ago a few of us had individual stories where someone we knew had died of suicide,” Asidao said. “We really talked about the importance of more ‘heart’ messages as opposed to just the data that’s shared about suicide.” Asidao said the event has been a regular feature of CAPS for the past few years. LSA sophomore Mayur Bandekar, who said he lost an acquaintance to suicide before the school year began, was at a loss of words as he faced the wooden tiles, but still wanted to send a positive message to those who suffer from depression. “I don’t know what to say, dude,” Bandekar said. “But you should always remember that everything’s gonna be OK no matter how bad it is right now, no matter how dark your place is right now, everything will always be OK. You just gotta always push through.” Hope on the Diag also featured a booth run by the Silence Shoot, a Lansing-based project that supports victims of bullying and depression through photography. Matthew Bryan Pruitt, founder and photographer at the Silence Shoot, started the project five years ago as a way to bring a sense of unity to his younger brother and sister, who were bullied to the point of contemplating suicide. See SILENCE, Page 3
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SCHLISSEL From Page 1 and social media campaigns following the discovery of the original posters last week, with many calling for more action from Schlissel and noting his absence at some of the events. According to University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald, Schlissel was out of town last Monday. The protests and incidents came a week before the launch of the University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan, a year-long initiative launched by Schlissel last September, which was also a target of criticism during protests. On Monday evening, chalkings on the Diag criticizing Schlissel for his response to protests and student outcry appeared, including “Schlissel don’t care about Black Students unless They Are Athletes,” “We just getting started Mark” and “#Schlisselwya,” which referenced a hashtag started earlier in the week. The University has held several events in response to the fliers this past week, including a LSA-sponsored event Wednesday and a campus-wide conversation
SACUA From Page 1 adequate but not fast-paced enough for the student body. “It would be nice at times if we could speak more quickly,” Schultz said. “We’ve already done a little bit of that through our Twitter account, which did get a fair number of hits. Maybe if we did more, we’d get more hits.” Prof. Silke-Maria Weineck, LSA representative on the committee, praised Central Student Government’s response to the f lyers and set its public statement response times as a goal for SACUA to strive for. “I brought up the rapid response question (on the agenda),” Weineck said. “What concerned me was that when the story broke in The Washington Post, they mentioned that Central Student Government had issued a statement condemning the posters and f lyers. … It took until Friday for our email message to arrive.” Many members of the committee, noted they were not very f luent with social media lexicon or the scope of Twitter, though they also expressed a desire to learn if it would help decrease the committee’s response time. Prof. Stefan Szymanski, committee member from the
about race hosted by Schlissel on Sunday. Both events discussed the importance of continuing conversations surrounding these issues, aiming to foster student discussion and input. In his conversation with the Daily Monday, Schlissel stressed the need for proactive efforts to tackle the incidents. He said he thinks the launch of the DEI plan, along with faculty members encouraging open dialogue in the classroom setting, will help establish campus-wide solidarity and communication. “The comments I plan to make (upon launching the DEI plan) will be modified based on the challenging things that have been going on on campus the last 10 days,” Schlissel said. “One of our hopes is that faculty members take advantage or try to come up with something positive out of this difficult circumstance and are talking to their students and asking how they feel about things and providing support for them. I know that the faculty are thinking of ways to step forward as a group as well.” Schlissel also noted that the University is not alone in these incidents, as there have been others on campuses both statewide and nationwide. On
Sept. 20, EMU found that racially charged slurs were graffitied on several academic and student housing buildings, leading to a call for response from university officials. “We all face the same challenges, we all face the same limitations as to response and I think we’re all looking for ways to show solidarity with our students and to fight hate speech with more speech,” Schlissel said. CSG President David Schafer, an LSA senior, was present at the meeting and said it was a significant way to move forward from the incidents. Schafer also said he thought while social media campaigns are a strong start to responding to these events, much like Schlissel, he wants to see tangible action in engaging with a variety of student groups to ensure the safety and welfare of all students. “It’s more than students just posting or tweeting on Facebook or over social media, I think it’s being an ally through their actions, as we mentioned in our statement a couple of Fridays ago,” Schafer said. “Now we need to match words with actions.” LSA senior Julia Gips, president of LSA Student
School of Kinesiology, stressed the importance of an effective and consistent plan for social media and suggested that the item be addressed in future meetings of SACUA and the Senate Assembly. Senate Assembly the overall faculty body that meets once a month. After discussing rapid response, SACUA also talked about a Tri-Campus Governance Resolution written by Prof Lehman, committee member for LSA. Schultz noted that UM-Flint History Prof. John Ellis and Robert Fraser, former SACUA board member and current associate director for graduate programs at UM-Dearborn, came to the SACUA board last week asking for support in developing the “relationship of the faculty as a whole and the regional campuses’ central governments.” Wright said he saw the resolution as an effort to get the University to strengthen its relationship with UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn, instead of primarily addressing the concerns they originally came to SACUA with about their own campuses. At a previous SACUA meeting, faculty from the Flint campus expressed concerns with the lack of transparancy the administration has with the faculty. “The two issues are ‘Are their internal faculty
governing systems working or dysfunctional?’, then the other issue is the relationship with us, with the Senate Assembly on campus,” Wright said. “If I go back about three different times in their revision, they inserted that second issue to study the relationship with us.” Lehman said what he heard at the meeting with the petitioners was not all that was ref lected in their edits to his resolution. “When I listened to the guys at Flint around the table, they’re basically saying, ‘We’d like to have some type of an outside look at what’s happening here with fresh pairs of eyes to help us calibrate ourselves, quite frankly, as to whether or not we really are being abused to the degree we think we’re being abused and whether or not the administration is really running counter to the rules,’ ” Lehman said. “That’s what I took out of what they were saying.” Syzmanski, regardless of how it came to be in the resolution, said he saw the relationship between the three campuses as something worth addressing. “I don’t think we should preempt the discussion by saying, ‘Well we’re not going to even include this in the resolution,’ ” Syzmanski said. “It should be somewhere in the commission.”
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 — 3
Government, said she does not think many students have engaged fully with the incidents over the past few weeks, but that the efforts the administration is taking so far — especially those on social media — have been effective. “I think, as student leaders, we hope to get other students involved in the conversation and not just walk past these posters and feel appalled, but do something about it, say something and stand up for our fellow classmates,” Gips said. The chalkings were found the same day anti-Muslim and sexist posters were found on campus, believed to be from a white supremacist alt-right group. These controversies have been occurring on campus just days before the launch of Schlissel’s campus-wide Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan Oct. 6. At the time of the chalkings, Schlissel was meeting with about about six students involved in student government efforts on campus at the Cube. CSG and Schlissel were taking photos for a social media post and statement to be released Monday night, stating their goals of showing solidarity for students affected by the postings.
DEBATE From Page 1 reducing the cost of education as secretary of education in Virginia. During Kaine’s September campaign stop at the University, debt-free college was also a central theme of his speech. He also emphasized the contrast between Hillary Clinton’s education plan and a lack of a specific platform from Donald Trump on higher education. Pence has yet to tout a college plan, and the Trump campaign has not released specific policy on it. Howeer, he has placed a particular focus on education in Indiana, encouraging students to enroll in technical schools, expanding school of choice and opposing federally mandated Common Core education standards. Kaine, in contrast, supported Virginia’s participation in following Common Core standards in 2009 when he was governor. Among students, though, interest in higher education policy was high. The influence the candidates’ records are expected to have on their votes varied. LSA junior James Margard said the choice of vice presidential candidate has a minor influence on the way he will vote in November. However, he said he is not planning on watching
FILM From Page 1
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily
Accounting Prof. Dave Wright at the Senate Advisory Committee meeting Monday.
POSTERS From Page 2 Lives Matter movement. On Monday and Tuesday, large student protests drew over 600, with many calling for the University to take more immediate action to resolve climate issues and criticizing the University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. The initiative, a year-long effort
to create a strategic plan for diversity on campus, is slated to launch on Thursday. Both the College of LSA and University President Mark Schlissel also hosted events in response to the posters during the week, which drew close to three hundred students total. During the forum he hosted Sunday, Schlissel told students he thinks the success of his presidency depends on his DEI plan and improving the racial
climate on campus. McCoy said for him, responding to the newest fliers means supporting the other minority groups being targeted. “Whoever has been posting these fliers, they’ve said something to us and many different groups of people,” he said. “So I think at this point, it’s supporting everyone who’s affected and everyone who’s offended in whatever way I can.”
reduced to more inferior roles and limited in the interactions they could have with men on screen. “The new authorities showed hostility to women’s participation in cinema, which is seen in the guidelines that they wrote codifying the representation of women in the films,” Ganjavie said. The post-1979 Iranian film industry also adjusted to the guidelines by changing how intimacy and a woman’s role in society were — in a way that was often discreet and based upon traditional Iranian culture. “Poetry is used to depict eroticism and there are many similar approaches used by Iranian directors,” Ganjavie said. “Iranian cinema is very indebted to and was shaped by poetry.” To illustrate his point, Ganjavie showed a clip from the 1999 film “The Wind Will Carry Us” in which a man uses poetry to show his affection for a woman. Given the restrictions on physical contact, symbolism has become a central part of how Iranian cinema in general conveys moments of intimacy, according to Ganjavie. For Art & Design alum Parisa Ghaderi, an Ann Arbor resident, the lecture provided
FLINT From Page 1 January, followed by visits from her, her daughter and President Barack Obama. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver also received a speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention in July. UM-Flint freshman Abbey Johnson said she believes Bill Clinton’s visit is significant because it demonstrates that the Clintons care about issues facing everyday Americans. “I think it’s really important that he came here,” she said. “With the Flint water crisis, it shows not only the Democrats but everyone that he really cares and that Hillary cares what is happening all over the country, especially in Flint.” U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Flint) said Hillary Clinton helped Flint gain the national attention it needed to help resolve the crisis. “During the middle of the New Hampshire primary, Hillary Clinton left New Hampshire, put politics aside and came to the aid of the people of Flint,” he said. “She elevated this case, our story, to the national prominence that it deserved.” Kildee also pointed to the
Tuesday’s debate because a debate because he is focusing on the presidential candidates. “I am not planning on watching the vice presidential debate because I already know who I’m voting for,” Margard said. “I’m voting for the president rather than the vice president.” Margard added that while he thought higher education reform was important, he thinks there are bigger issues facing the country in this election. Aaron Kall, the University’s director of debate, said the moderator may agree with Margard’s sentiments. He said he isn’t sure whether education will be a topic at the debate, given all of the other controversies surrounding both campaigns and the autonomy of debate moderator Elaine Quijano in formulating the debate questions. “Nobody really knows; the moderator has autonomy over all the questions,” Kall said. “It’s really anybody’s guess as to what is of her (Quijano’s) major concern.” Kall also noted vice presidential debates usually have smaller viewership in comparison to presidential debates, and typically have a small amount of influence on people’s choice of candidate. “It’s one debate that provides a good news cycle, but historically hasn’t had an overall major impact on the race,” Kall said. “There have been some very highly rated debates with a lot
insight into how symbols can be a powerful tool in describing love between two people. “I think it was interesting for me to kind of decode the imagery he was talking about,” Ghaderi said. “I remember I was thinking about these concepts before, but he helped decode all of this imagery and now I will try to see what the approach is of a director is to show love scenes.” Ganjavie said understanding how Iranian cinema tackles issues of intimacy can provide a lens to better understand how notions of love are perpetrated in American and European films. Hollywood, he said, has an outsized ability to craft the ways in which people interpret these acts of intimacy taking place. “Contrary to the common belief that kissing is a universal desire, a majority of cultures do not accept it as a common way of expressing emotion,” Ganjavie said. Cross said he found this point, and Ganjavie’s lecture as a whole, to be a useful thesis on how cinema is a powerful tool beyond being a medium of entertainment. “Cinema is a very useful way to talk about culture and art and thoughts in general, regardless of whether it is Iranian culture or another area of the world,” he said.
Water Resources Development Act passed in the House last Wednesday, which is an amendment providing $170 million in federal funding for Flint. During Weaver’s introduction of Bill Clinton, she said Flint is privileged to have remained in the purview of a former president. “How excited can Flint be to have never, ever been forgotten by this two-term elected Democratic president,” she said. Though Michigan has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, both parties have expressed the importance of the Michigan as a battleground state in this election. The most recent RealClearPolitics polling average has Clinton 5.3 points ahead of Trump in the state, one of her lower polling numbers in Michigan since March. In acknowledgement of that, Bill Clinton closed with a request for the audience to register voters and encourage people to vote for Hillary Clinton as the Oct. 11 voter registration deadline approaches. “You’ve got a week and a day to register new voters,” he said. “You’ve got to go and talk to your friends and neighbors.”
of viewer interest, but none that had a real major impact on the outcome of the race.” LSA sophomore Sunji Nam also said she the effect the debate would have on her vote. She noted that though she self-finances part of her own education, she disagrees with the concept of tuition-free college and doesn’t think higher education reform is the most important issue in this presidential election. However, she added that she believes tonight’s debate has the power to influence voters. “Normally I don’t think the vice presidential debate is important, but it could be this year given Trump’s unpopularity,” Nam said. Kall echoed these sentiments, saying that if Pence is polished and puts on a good showing, it could allow Trump to bounce back from a negative debate and news week in which his unreleased tax returns have dominated headlines. “It’s a good opportunity for the Trump campaign to kind of stop the bleeding,” Kall said. “If Pence can have a positive performance, then that could consume the news cycle in the run-up to the next debate on Sunday as opposed to all the negative attention that is currently on Trump.” The debate will air at 9 p.m. tonight on major cable news networks as well as C-SPAN, and will be 90 minutes long with no commercial breaks.
SILENCE From Page 2 “I feel like if someone is being bullied, or anything really, and they feel lonely, that is the quickest way that they would commit suicide,” Pruitt said. “So my hopes in the photos is that it creates a sense of unity with people that have thought of suicide or have been bullied and so that people that think they are alone … their feelings go away.” Silence Shoot’s photographs are each in black and white, except for a piece of red tape that covers the subject’s mouth. Pruitt said the tape represents the forced silence of victims of bullying, but also represents survivors and allies that stand together against bullying. Silence Shoot, which tours around college campuses in Michigan to spread awareness, will post the photos on their website and Facebook page. A Nursing freshman who requested to go by only her first name, Kat, said she wrote “You’re Loved” on the wooden tile to share with others the feeling that got her through her own depression. “We always all have the thought that ‘If I die, will people remember me? Could I just disappear and nobody would notice?’ ” Kat said. “What people don’t realize is that they are loved, and there’s so many people there for them. And if they just let somebody know that they’re having a bad day, someone will always be there to help you. And that’s what friends and family are for.”
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Tuesday, October 4, 2016
ROLAND DAVIDSON | COLUMN
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MICHAEL MORDARSKI | COLUMN
S
Is Pence the new Cheney?
ept. 11, 2001: Vice the time of the administration’s President Dick Cheney departure, he carried a 13 percent is gripping a phone close approval rating. to his ear as he sits within the And this is the vice crowded bunker beneath the East presidency Gov. Mike Pence Wing of the White House. Two has decided to model his future planes have hit the after. “I frankly World Trade Center hold Dick Cheney in — and a third just really high regard struck the Pentagon. in his role as vice On the other end of president and as an the line, Secretary American,” Pence of Defense Donald told ABC News. But Rumsfeld informs the unlike Cheney, who vice president he has angled his position scrambled fighter jets to better suit his above Washington power, Pence may to intercept other MICHAEL simply be handed planes still in the air. MORDARSKI authority over the A military aid turns country. The New to Cheney and asks whether York Times revealed Trump’s the planes should be shot down. plans on taking a chairman-ofAccording to Scooter Libby, chief the-board approach toward the of staff to the vice president, presidency, calling for his vice “Cheney paused for ‘about the president to be in charge of time it takes a batter to swing,’ … “domestic and foreign policy,” then he answered: Yes.” while Trump focuses on After the chaos of that day, “making America great again” both Bush and Cheney attempted — whatever that means. to “correct” the record, stating Throughout the entirety of his the president communicated the campaign, Trump has displayed order to engage civilian aircraft a lack of knowledge and care above the skies in Washington. toward even the simplest of Yet many within the bunker of issues. He has demonstrated no the East Wing disavow such understanding of the nuclear claims, and Cheney did in fact triad, the function of NATO or make that call. This distinction actual economic and tax policy. is important because it marked This may all be because he has a dynamic between Bush and no desire to learn or understand. Cheney that lasted the entirety He is simply a celebrity riding on of their administration. This waves of outrage that guarantee dynamic was dangerous, and it constant media attention. can potentially occur again. His campaign is made up of The Cheney vice presidency controversial interviews and is often regarded as the most hosting rallies full of thousands of powerful and influential in U.S. supporters screaming his name. history. His role resembled that But actually running the country of a co-president who operated would be far different from the outside the national spotlight. He rallies he hosts and celebrity had virtually unlimited access status he receives. It would be to the Oval Office, where he reasonable to imagine Pence persuaded Bush to allow him to actively running the country handle the more nuanced issues as vice president while Trump of the presidency. Bush didn’t vacations down in Mar-a-Lago. like such intricate and political This would put Pence in a details — often wanting only to position of great power and understand the “big picture.” influence operating outside what Cheney’s neoconservative voters truly envisioned. Pence influence shaped post-9/11 doesn’t differ on issues with his America. He enacted the running mate — he simply has controversial tax cuts, the the focus and drive to enact his enhanced interrogation own policy. And what exactly program in Guantanamo Bay are the beliefs of Pence, and and the constitutionally illegal how have these beliefs impacted surveillance program with his management of the state of the NSA. He was also a main Indiana? He believes climate proponent of the invasion of change is a myth, doesn’t believe Iraq in 2003. His vice presidency in evolution, voted against raising was shrouded in scandal and, by the minimum wage, has opposed
funding to combat AIDS saying the money could be better spent trying to “cure” homosexuality, enacted a law that outright banned abortion and waged a career-long war against Planned Parenthood that included slashing their funding and demonizing their organization. One can imagine a Pence vice presidency enacting the same radically conservative policies of Indiana on a national scale. A Pence vice presidency would deny the existence of global warming and increase the severity of climate change. The administration would stand steadfast in opposition to raising the minimum wage, which would bring a disgusting level of income inequality in the United States. Pence could push to fill the current vacant seat and future open seats of the Supreme Court with justices in staunch opposition to the liberal progress our country has made over the last 50 years. America could witness restrictions on a woman’s access to contraceptives and abortions, reversals on rights ensuring gay marriage and further inequality for transgender people. The country could witness the conservative reduction in the size of the government until it was just small enough to fit in the bedroom of every American. Americans didn’t know of Cheney’s intentions, nor did they anticipate his ability to influence national policies. He was granted carte blanche on matters of national security, and enacted some of the most controversial and damaging policies during his tenure. And this occurred under the watch of Bush, who didn’t intently desire for Cheney to have such power, but allowed for him to angle his way into greater positions of power. Yet this time, the United States is presented with an ignorant candidate whose campaign has planned on a vice president being in charge of “domestic and foreign policy.” If our country learned anything from the failures of the CheneyBush dynamic, we would see the present situation is far worse and should be prevented at all costs.
Michael Mordarski can be reached at mmordars@umich.edu
FRANCES MILLER | CONTACT FRANCES AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU
“Fall Weather”
L
A different politician
ast Monday, I had the audiences had different ideas of pleasure of watching what constitutes a good debate what may very well performance depending on if be the fall of Western liberal they listened to or watched it. democracy. No, not the This parable aptly describes newest episode of how difficult it was “Keeping Up with to assess Trump’s the Kardashians,” debate performance, rather, the especially to an presidential debate. undecided voter. This I went into the goes beyond mere debate with a deep partisan differences. fear Donald Trump Of course there are could rehabilitate going to be adherents his image among the who will crown their American public. party’s candidate the ROLAND Hillary Clinton’s winner no matter what. seven-point lead DAVIDSON As an aside, I found over the summer it interesting that had evaporated to the margin of what were once big applause error. If Trump had acted like a lines for Bernie Sanders about functioning adult for the entire the failings of NAFTA were debate he could have captured points of heckling for Trump. the vote of the undecided voters, I think this speaks to Trump’s swinging the race. sheer unpopularity with college Fortunately, that’s not what students. I don’t know what happened. Trump was Trump a man dying sounds like but and had a YUGE* breakdown social death probably sounds after 15 minutes. Afterward, I something like, “You know, I was discussing the rout with really think Trump has a point a number of my friends, and there.” someone claimed it was the most Trump is so hard to assess devastating debate since the as a debater because of the Nixon-Kennedy debate in 1960. singular nature of his politics. As the apocryphon goes, John I find his comments about F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon’s Mexicans to be deplorable and debate hinged on makeup. The they should have disqualified debate was the first one to ever him from the presidency from be televised and Kennedy was day one. However, many of prepared. He wore makeup to his supporters find these maintain his legendary good comments refreshing; they looks under the debate set’s believe Trump is speaking the harsh lighting. Nixon, on the unvarnished truth. Indeed, other hand, had decided that one of the most common getting dolled up for the debate compliments given to Trump was too feminine a proposition is that he speaks his mind. In for him. essence, he’s flipped the idea of The results? Nixon melted what constitutes negative news Wicked-Witch-of-the-West coverage on its head. I recall style and viewers gravitated reading an interview with toward Kennedy, who kept a Trump supporter several both physical and mental months ago. When the subject composure against the then- was pressed on Trump’s vice president. The final twist racism, he claimed that he was that people who listened to wasn’t bothered by it and the debate on the radio thought that those comments weren’t that Nixon’s ideas were better made for people like the and were more likely to support reporter anyway. “People like him. It wasn’t that Nixon the reporter” being collegedid poorly, per se, but rather educated liberals, e.g., me. In
essence, this is what makes it tough to parse out what is divisive news coverage and what is categorically negative. Not all of Trump’s comments bring universal praise among his supporters. Over the summer, his attacks on the Khans, two parents who lost their Medal of Honor son in Iraq, caused him to lose a lot of support. But I wouldn’t have considered the opposite effect occurring to be outside the realm of possibility. His style of debating is similarly mystifying. The way he interrupted Clinton was interpreted by many liberal commentators to be a plainfaced display of Trump’s misogyny. Yet his supporters find his bluster and desire to not play by the rules invigorating. Similarly, his use of personal attacks on Clinton when asked about policy issues are hard to read. Maybe the undecided voter found his responses to those questions more compelling than a substantive policy description would be. Political pundits have constantly misread Trump’s ascent, claiming it would be derailed every step of the way. I think part of the reason why is they have grown accustomed to a certain type of candidate who fits their mold of an effective debater. I don’t see the Trump phenomenon going away. The fissures that Trump has reopened won’t go away in four short years. I’m sure that there will be another Trump in 2020. This leaves us with the question of what to do. We can’t answer that question yet, but I do believe the only way we can understand the next Trump’s rise is if we break out of our analytic mold of what constitutes a good politician. *I sincerely apologize for doing this. These jokes aren’t funny anymore.
Roland Davidson can be reached at mhenryda@umich.edu
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. MELISSA STRAUSS | COLUMN
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Meaningless rhetoric
ith more than 84 in Tulsa sit atop a growing million people tuned list of fatal police shootings of in across the country unarmed Black men. And while (shattering a record set in 1980), there are those who argue, Monday night’s first presidential correctly, that more white men debate was already are killed by police posed to be historic. each year overall, these Yet, while I sat in people fail to adjust my living room, for population size actively hoping — 62 percent of our for a substantial country is white, while two-sided policy 13 percent is Black. debate, I found As The Washington myself growing Post found in its increasingly recent study, “Black frustrated by my MELISSA Americans are 2.5 naïveté. Instead times as likely as white STRAUSS Americans to be shot of taking the opportunity to discuss real, and killed by police officers.” viable plans, Donald Trump Clearly, there is something gave all 84 million of us more wrong here. meaningless rhetoric. Clinton isn’t without her I endured Trump’s continuous flaws, but at least she gave us interruptions of “wrong!” when real plans to combat racial Hillary Clinton said just about injustice in our nation Monday anything, rolled my eyes at his night. She discussed criminal comment of “that makes me justice reform, gun control and smart” when confronted with community-police relationships his neglect to pay federal income — all important stepping stones taxes and grew a little red in in helping to heal the divide. the face when he discussed the Taking a look at her website, “small loan” of about $1 million Clinton has entire pages of plans he received from his father to to reform the criminal justice start his business. But nothing system, including committing infuriated me more than the two $1 billion in her first budget words Mr. Trump used when to police training to challenge Lester Holt asked the candidates implicit bias, bettering the on Monday how they would heal enforcement of the Voting Rights the growing racial divide in Act and contining a push for gun our country: law and order. His violence prevention — including solution to the systemic racism, eliminating the “Charleston police shootings, discrimination Loophole” — to name but a few. and general intolerance in our I scoured Trump’s website and country is law and order — found not a single policy position words, not plans. on race relations. The closest I Holt is absolutely correct: came to something resembling Race relations in our country are a race-related position was a worsening by the day. The recent section promising to “get gang killings of Keith Lamont Scott in members and drug dealers off the Charlotte and Terence Crutcher street” in his section regarding
the Second Amendment. During the debate Trump went on to advocate for stop-and-frisk measures, which were indeed declared unconstitutional in New York. (To be sure, stop and frisk is a legal — albeit problematic — police tactic, but its application was declared unconstitutional in New York because it was used to disproportionately affect minority groups.) This is no plan to help heal the racial divide. This is a plan to widen it. To make matters worse, when discussing the recent shooting and protests in Charlotte, he called it, “a city I love, a city where I have investments.” His interest in Charlotte lies within his wallet, not in helping the people who are hurt, discouraged and angry by their current situation. You may ask how I, a white woman, have any right to discuss this topic. And you’re right. I most likely will never lose a brother, a cousin or a father at the hands of police. I don’t know what it’s like to experience systemic racism on a daily basis. But I am a human who is sickened by the gross abuse and mistreatment of other humans. And nothing will change if we cannot have an open and honest discussion about it. “Law” and “order” are two absolutely meaningless words used to stir a reaction. We need a president who doesn’t just talk. We need a president who acts. Get out and vote on Nov. 8. It’s important.
Melissa Strauss can be reached at melstrau@umich.edu
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
ALBUM REVIEW
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 — 5
ALBUM REVIEW
FREE NATION
“Pull my finger.”
Mick Jenkins stumbles on ‘Healing Component’ Chicago MC’s debut album is ambitious but falls short of greatness MATT GALLATIN
the party has finally died down and everyone wants to be “real.” What is “love?” What forms Jenkins has no issue pointing can it take? How do you know that candor at big names in the when you feel it? These kinds of industry, too. He questions Kanye, romance-based, interpolating a open-ended quesline from Yeezus tions are at the — “When the real center of up-andhold you down, you coming Chicago supposed to drown” The Healing rapper Mick — but turning it Component Jenkins’s debut around: “Wait, wait, Mick Jenkins album, The Healthat don’t sound ing Component, in right.” And he takes Free Nation / which he channels shots at Drake for Cinematic Music gospel rap, recordnot giving credit to Group ed dialogue and those who helped pensive produchim, asking “If tion in his search Drake ain’t holdfor answers. ing down Quentin Miller why the It can go unsaid that love is a fuck would I ever give any credit tired topic in music. It drives the to you?” There are a number of ballads and the radio tracks and genuine critiques on this album, every third song on every album. bemoaning the lack of substance But as artists do, Jenkins tries to in rap today and begging to bring put a new spin on an old concept the culture back to something in this album. meaningful. In some ways he’s successful. But it’s that self-righteousness There’s a remarkable sense of can- that can get Jenkins into trouble dor here, particularly on the spo- musically. He has big ideas, and ken word interludes. The album there’s an admirable ambition opens on one such interlude, as here, but there are times when Jenkins and a female friend go that ambition stretches itself thin back and forth over whether she on The Healing Component, like a truly understands “The Healing miles-long pool sinking only a few Component,” the album’s name- inches deep. sake. The laughs and pauses feel Take the album’s title: “The genuine — far less staged than Healing Component.” It’s clearly a the lion’s share of similar album stab at a “concept album” (whatevantics. Most intriguing of these er that means anymore), but that dialogues is “This Type Love?” huge, overarching thesis meant to in which Jenkins and presumably drive the album seems more like the same woman discuss whether a truism than anything else. “The you feel love differently from rela- Healing Component is love,” Jentionship to relationship. Jenkins is kins says (it’s also quite obviously uncomfortable making a conclu- acronymic for THC, the main sive decision, even as the woman active drug in marijuana). pushes him to give an answer. While that’s all nice and tidy, These are the kinds of talks for the Jenkins’s “Healing Component” quietest hours of the night, after never dives deeper than that, and Daily Arts Writer
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no further explanation is attempted. This kind of cliché preaching found throughout his lyricism can be frustrating at first, but becomes nearly galling when Jenkins sets himself up as a better-than-you figure in a number of the dialogues — “Like she’ll be tryna like ... level the playing field all the time. I’m just like yo, reality is like, you not as stressed as me, you don’t have as much shit going on as me …” Thus, listening to the album front to back can be both tiring and unfulfilling — a product of occasional redundancy. Still, a number of tracks find their footing to walk the line between ambition and groundedness. “As Seen in Bethsaida” is an immediate standout, with Themind’s vocal hooks balancing out Jenkins biting verses. The track name is a reference to Jesus, but the actual lyrics are far more universal, not based in a single religion but on the wide-reaching struggle of Black Americans, and people in general. “Strange Love,” which takes shots at Tyler Perry (among others) for making the lives of Black Americans a minstrel movie, digs deeper than the majority of the album can manage. And “Daniels Bloom” is a brooding, dark track which remains potent listen after listen. Missing, though, are the clearheaded, uncluttered efforts like “Jazz” from The Water[s], or the immediately arresting tracks of Wave[s], like the standout “Alchemy.” The result is that The Healing Component loses its memorability in Jenkins’ discography, a worrying effect for a debut. Nonetheless, Jenkins shows enough promise to remain relevant in 2016. His sophomore effort, though, should hit a bit harder.
FILM REVIEW
HARVEST RECORDS
Always important to stretch before exorcising.
Banks exorcises the ghosts of her past relationships on ‘The Altar’ The R&B singer is filled with post-breakup anger on new release power in every well crafted note. Banks is holding nothing back, and this dedication continues The Altar, R&B artist Banks’s throughout the rest of the album. newest release, is the very Like a phoenix rising from the embodiment of post-breakup ashes of its demise, Banks seems anger, vindictive to take strength stormy skies and from her own past the entire month undoing to produce of October. This songs as impacting album is basically as “Gemini Feed.” The Altar Lady Macbeth in Since her debut Banks music form, and its album, Goddess, collection of omiBanks’s voice has Harvest Records nously magical, truly developed deeply powerful and matured; and altogether all-encompassing on The Altar, she explores her songs are haunting in their raw boundaries to their fullest potenhonesty. tial while still managing to never In The Altar, Banks is pos- lose sight of her central identity. sessed by the ghost of failed rela- The immensity of dark, formidationships past, and it comes out in ble songs that had only been hintthe form of sensuous vocals and ed at in Goddess is fully explored constantly stimulating, heavy in The Altar. Through pulling beats. It’s the kind of album you from discreet R&B rhythms and want to perform a séance to, adding unexpected alternative and, more importantly, it’s the twists, Banks has pushed her kind of album that really show- vocals to new heights while still cases Banks’s growth as an artist. managing to hold onto the same Through The Altar, she immerses ominously erotic ambiance that the world in bleak shades of grey she established with iconic favorand gives whoever is listening ites such as “Waiting Game” and a glimpse into the chaos of her “Begging For Thread.” own emotions. Beautiful in its On The Altar, songs like “Fuck humanity, The Altar is alive with With Myself” and “Poltergeist” the bittersweet aftertaste of past hold their main attraction in their memories. background music. Constantly The Altar’s incantation com- shifting electronic rhythms and mences with “Gemini Feed.” stimulating, disjointed beats are Wonderfully complex, with perfectly balanced, with Banks’s the contrast between vulner- crooning hovering over the entire able vocals dripping in saccha- song like a transparent sheet. rine regret and a dense, steady “Trainwreck” is very similar; it background beat adding interest is not afraid to be dramatic, to be in their dissimilarity, “Gemini intense, to push the confines. The Feed” is Banks showing the lis- song’s fast-paced, very streamteners that while she has been of-consciousness lyrics perfectly wounded, she is not meek. This match the swirling vortex of song (and consequently this anger and passion that this song entire album) projects iron will- inspires. SHIMA SADAGHIYANI Daily Arts Writer
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However, The Altar does not solely consist of spite-fueled, chaotic power anthems. It has moments of deep vulnerability that Banks does not shy away from through muted instrumentals and quiet melodies. For example, in the song “Lovesick,” Banks unashamedly chants “please call me your baby, baby, baby / look how long that you have kept me waiting” over an unobtrusive, decidedly simple tune. The songs “Mother Earth” and “To The Hilt” are especially noteworthy in their use of quiet instruments in place of Banks’s usual brazen, alt-pop beats. “Mother Earth” speaks of painful yearning over simple guitar strums while “To The Hilt” features Banks’s lovely voice flowing solo over muted piano chords. These two songs allow the album to take a break, take a breath and gently reflect; they not only present Banks’s impressive range but also help balance out the album as a whole, making it a more cohesive piece when looked at from start to finish. Overall, The Altar is well connected, with songs that differ enough to be interesting, but still mesh well together to make the album a collective work of art when listened to from beginning to end. To put things simply, this album is commanding. Banks takes control of every one of her songs and dictates every note, every lyric and every beat with purpose and intention. As the season begins to change, The Altar is not only a perfect soundtrack to rainy evenings and hideously grinning jack-o’lanterns, but it is also a reminder that there is always grace in vulnerability.
Despite an A-List cast, ‘The Hollars’ FILM REVIEW fails to balance comedy and drama In ‘The JT LeRoy Story,’ an author self-examines her public persona SYDNEY COHEN
Anna Kendrick (“The Last Five Years”), Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and RichThe media industry has always ard Jenkins (“Jack Reacher”) — all struggled with the “nobody seasoned actors who have made knows” dilemma — the uncertain- incredible movies and TV shows. ty of the success of Even singer/songa media product writer/American despite whether icon Josh Groban it utilizes known slides his way “The Hollars” talent and formats onscreen. The that have been sucfilm’s snappy folk Sony Pictures cessful in the past. playlist and simple With regards to cinematography Michigan Theater film, John Krasinwork to create a ski’s (“The Office”) charming homedirectorial effort “The Hollars” town aesthetic. It should have been falls perfectly into this trap as a easy to produce a simple but entermovie with all the right ingredi- taining family comedic drama, ents that form a bland and tasteless something simple but somewhat stew overall. enjoyable. Also starring Krasinski — Instead, “The Hollars” is indisAmerican’s button-nose, white putably painful. It tries so hard bread dreamboat — “The Hol- to be a quirky, feel-good comedy lars” features a family that comes that it ends up forced and stiff. The together to provide support for actors don’t play off each other Sally Hollar (Margo Martindale, well at all; Krasinski fails to deliver “August: Osage County”), the his iconic boyish charm, and he matriarch, who is suffering from a has absolutely zero chemistry softball-sized brain tumor. During with Kendrick, who does her best their few days together, each mem- to smooth over his flat jokes. The ber of the family confronts their entire family ensemble is unconown issues and somehow rectifies vincing. The film centers around them by the end of the hour-and- their rocky family dynamics, but a-half film. it is hard to understand where the On the surface, this film seems root of their drama is as the film to have potential. It contains all provides no context. Their forced the formulaic components of a fun, animosity and angst is matched by feel-good movie. Its main attrac- dialogue with a tone reminiscent tor is its star-studded cast, which of the awkward small chat one includes Krasinski, Martindale, makes with the parents of their Daily Arts Writer
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roommates that they really don’t like. The final resolution of the family issues seems forced as well, with no basis in anything genuine. The movie is filled with uncomfortable and confusing moments. John’s (Krasinski) ex-girlfriend (Mary-Elizabeth Winstead, “10 Cloverfield Lane”), also the wife of Jason (Day), aggressively kisses him in her home, and it’s never brought up again. Further, John and Rebecca (Kendrick) get engaged and deal with planning his mother’s funeral, then Rebecca immediately goes into labor at the actual funeral. Perhaps most disturbing is Martindale’s traumatic screams as she begs not to be taken into surgery, which transitions sharply to a family serenade of “Closer to Fine” by The Indigo Girls. Overall there’s a huge pacing issue, as the film is slow until the very end, when too much happens too quickly. The consequence of this is a lessening of the actual gravity of the high and low points, with everything seeming insincere. The film’s problem is that it tries to inject humor into tragedy in clever and quirky ways. In actuality, the movie is too lighthearted in its actual serious moments. Overall, it has a jarring effect that leaves the viewer unsatisfied and annoyed. The entire film is a relentless question of “is this touching, or dumb?” — overwhelmingly, the answer is the latter.
first thirty minutes of the film. It seems like it wants to be about why JT was created, but doesn’t comThe myth of JT LeRoy, the liter- mit to answering that question ary avatar of writer Laura Albert, thoroughly. What “Author” does is alive and well in Jeff Feuerzeig’s become is a platform for Albert to (“The Devil and defend and perpetDaniel Johnston”) uate the myth of JT, documentary and for her to prove “Author: The JT his reality, howLeRoy Story.” ever metaphorical it “Author: The JT JT was inimight be. LeRoy Story” tially a persona The central Amazon Studios created by Albert narrative of the during phone conformation and evoMichigan Theater versations with crilution of JT is intersis hotlines. Under spersed with home the recommendamovie footage tion of her therapist, she started from Albert’s childhood, and in to write and publish stories under voiceover she chronicles struggles the name “Terminator,” before with abuse, bullying and low selfauthoring two novels and a short esteem. The information hidden story collection under the name here is the key to understanding JT LeRoy. The books were instant the “why” that is neglected in the hits in grungy artist communities, rest of the film. But it’s too little and JT quickly became a literary and it comes too late. “It” boy. The biggest problem with Albert kept up the act by “Author” is that it doesn’t know employing her sister-in-law Savan- where to spend its time. Too much nah Knoop to play JT. Savannah time is spent following JT through made public appearances, did repetitive red carpet events and book signings and mingled with celebrity phone calls, and most of the artistic elite wearing an awful the talking head time is taken up blonde wig and dark sunglasses. by Albert defending the creation Albert was Speedie, JT’s British and reality of JT. The secondary friend and confidant. characters who were sucked into “Author” isn’t about unmasking Albert and JT’s orbit aren’t given JT. The mask comes off within the space to tell their stories, stories MADELEINE GAUDIN Daily Arts Writer
C+
which — at least in the case of Savannah — have the potential to elevate the film above other documentary work on the same subject. “Author” might be worth watching only for the bizarre recordings of celebrity phone conversations. The standout is a conversation between JT and Courtney Love, in which Love pauses the conversation to do a line of cocaine and the subtitles read “snorting sounds.” The dream of the ’90s is alive! The most surprising — and potentially the most interesting — aspect of the film is how Albert and her entourage were able to fool so many people for so long. Their accents are absurd and Savannah’s costume looks just what it is — the wig is obvious and the over-sized sunglasses are laughable. So many people believed something that, at least in retrospect, seems so obviously fake. Maybe that says something about the willful ignorance of the masses or the narcissism of celebrity. The informative content of “Author” is fascinating for anyone who hasn’t heard the story before, but the emotional content falls flat. “Author” suffers from a weird sort of heartlessness, in which emotionally potent content is presented in a way that warrants little to no emotional reaction from its audience.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, October 4, 2016
LITERATURE COLUMN
Let’s kill the author once again
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
Does New Criticism have a place on the modern bookshelf?
M
y Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism gets a lot of attention, much more than any of my other accessories. If you’re looking for people to gasp and ask what you’re doing with such an obnoxiously large book, I would recREBECCA ommend it. LERNER As usual, the five-pound anthology garnered the friendly concern of the person I was talking to — in this case, one of my English professors. I mentioned that in my literary theory class, we were starting with New Criticism. I rolled my eyes and he responded with an audible groan at the Formalist movement that dominated 20th-century analysis. New Criticism is unpopular. It’s not as French as deconstruction, not as relevant as gender and queer theory and nowhere near as sexy as Marxism. One of its key components, close reading, can be an arduous and overused pedagogical tool. Because the things that we have learned from it are so easy to take for granted, we often discount it. But as I delve further into a world in which the insanity of the outside bleeds into the text, I can understand a case for a text as a self-contained object. Could the scientific nature of New Criticism have a place in today’s literary world? Quite possibly. The trials of our current age hold concrete parallels to those of the era of New Criticism. The movement arose as a dismissal of a superficial version of romanticism and subjectivism. In “The Intentional Fallacy” and “The Affective Fallacy,” William K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley argue that both the author and
the readers should be excluded from the scene. They operate on the premise that the creator is not in their right mind — that they are fundamentally unreliable because writing is akin to a sort of possession. The theorists assert that the author’s “intention” should not be considered and as readers, we shouldn’t conflate our emotional responses with the meaning of the text. I love a good authorial interview, where they reveal some hidden meaning in a book and entirely enlighten the experience of reading. But a biography can weigh down a text with the pressure of expectations. When I extensively read Emily Dickinson this summer, I could vividly picture her — I’d been to her house in Amherst and listened to a tour describing her life. I had stood in the room where she died, secretly touched the chairs in her brother’s house next door. So now it feels annoyingly hard to read a Dickinson poem and not see the homoerotic undertones, not pretentiously nod and say, “Clearly, this is about her secret longing for her mean-but-hot sister-inlaw, Susan.”
There’s a beautiful argument in New Criticism against gut reactions. But when I read Louise Gluck for the first time this summer, it was completely different. At the New England Literature Program, without the ability to stalk her online or learn about her life, I could fully immerse myself. I dove into lines like “We have come too far together toward the end now/to fear the
Classifieds
end. These nights, I am no longer even certain I know what the end means. And you, who’ve been with a man— /after the first cries /doesn’t joy, like fear, make no sound?” Without worrying about Gluck herself and who she was talking to or thinking about, I could actually appreciate the melody and meaning of her words. There’s a beautiful argument in New Criticism against gut reactions to a piece of work. Emotionality seems to dominate the English class discussions of today. The words “I think” and “I just feel like” are more prevalent than references to the actual text. I’m not prepared to say that the feelings that a piece evokes aren’t important, but I disagree with the valuation of a reaction over analysis. If anyone is looking for bold statements, I am prepared to say people who overuse the word “interesting” in analytical classes should be expelled with only a copy of the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism to remind them of their time here. In “The Death of the Author,” Barthes states that writing becomes a neutral space where the subject slips away, meaning that no “person” is saying this. But to give a text an author is to impose a limit on it. There’s so much pressure to “have a voice,” to be “authentic” in your writing. New Critics felt that authors could have different voices over different texts, meaning that the volatility of the self could be reflected in an author’s work. In some ways, the author is created by the text instead of the other way around. An author is not consistent across texts and should not be expected to be. If we give it a chance, a text can speak for itself without any author pushing their own neuroses between the lines. Lerner is secretly longing for her mean-but-hot sister-in-law. If this is you, email rebler@umich.edu.
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RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Home for Pogo 6 Affirmative answer 9 Silences, as a TV 14 Artist’s prop 15 Pie __ mode 16 Wagnerian work 17 “Farewell, chérie” 18 CBS forensic drama 19 Antianxiety drug 20 “Bro, I thought you were gonna help” 23 Many a GI 24 Jerry Garcia’s band, familiarly 28 Socializing with the queen, maybe 31 Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er __” 32 Bullets and such 33 Lots and lots 35 Accessories for the highchair set 36 Decide in advance 37 Gonzalez boy in 2000 headlines 39 Look at lasciviously 40 Hourly charge 41 “I expected as much” 43 “... __ saw Elba” 44 Owns 45 More like a button? 46 Is really boiling 48 Reggae kin 49 Follow the ethical path 55 Set to simmer, as a burner 58 Spanish eye 59 Sag 60 Southern inflection 61 Looking sickly 62 Novelist Zola 63 Suddenly occurs to, with “on” 64 Computer program suffix 65 Went out with
DOWN 1 Close securely 2 Stroll in the shallows 3 “Yeah, sure!” 4 Track event 5 Made fluffy, as pillows 6 Millionaire’s boat 7 “Frozen” princess 8 Minnesota college named for Norway’s patron 9 Spunk 10 Moving around 11 Morning break hour 12 Historical period 13 Classic doo-wop horn 21 Slip past 22 Phone button letters next to a 4 25 Political fugitive 26 One strolling 27 Medicine measures 28 Harshly bright 29 Perfectly 30 “You’re talking too loud” 31 Puts the worm on
33 __-ski 34 Sewing machine inventor 38 Shaving mishaps 42 Covered, as in a man-to-man defense 44 Axe 47 Coyote cries 48 Rosetta __ 50 “Stronger than dirt!” cleanser
51 “Joy of Cooking” writer Rombauer 52 __ alone: have no help 53 Putting target 54 Adorned with Angel Soft, say 55 Like every other number 56 Food service trade org. 57 Attorney’s field
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“Give me the ‘Alleged Pedophile’ cut.”
‘Crisis in Six Scenes’ proves that Woody Allen’s schtick is getting old New Amazon series would have been a lot wittier in the ’70s stroked protagonists that could have been witty in the ’70s, but Daily Arts Writer is simply an annoying kvetcher now. It’s no surprise that Allen Love him or hate him, Woody hasn’t performed that well on Allen has always had a sharp, the acting side, as the last critiobservational eye on the human cally acclaimed piece he starred condition. His in was his 1996 classic works musical comedy like “Annie “Everyone Says I Hall” and “ManLove You.” Luckily, hattan” demhe gets help from “Crisis in Six onstrated his his talented co-star Scenes” cynical yet allurElaine May (“Small ing worldview, Time Crooks”), Series Premiere and it was furwho delivers a (first 3 episodes ther ingrained standout perforwatched) through his mance as his loving Amazon Video hallmark feamarriage therapist tures — neurotic wife Kay. All Episodes characters, bitThe elderly, midAvailable to Stream ing dialogue dle-class couple and thoughtshares a comfortprovoking rumiable living space nations on existentialism and during the socially turbulent era love. But since the early 2000s, of the 1960s, but suddenly gets Allen’s filmography has fluc- an unexpected visit from peacetuated from compelling (“Blue loving, leftist fugitive Lennie Jasmine,” “Match Point” and Dale (Miley Cyrus, “Hannah “Midnight in Paris”) to mid- Montana”). Hijinks ensue, and dling (“Irrational Man,” “Magic by hijinks, I mean lots and lots in the Moonlight” and “To of senseless rambling from SidRome with Love”). ney about how his life has been Despite the 80-year-old turned upside down because of writer-director’s tireless work Lennie’s presence. ethic, his recent offerings suggest his stories are getting tired and formulaic, which is particularly evident in Allen’s newest light comedy, “Crisis in Six Scenes.” The fact that Allen regretted making a television show in the first place says a lot about how poorly “Crisis in Six Scenes” is executed. Some witty lines and warm visuals notwithstanding, “Crisis in Six Scenes” is a familiar, dull and slow-paced affair in In a sense, the plot has potenAllen’s late-period canon. What tial to work as a microcosm could have easily been a stage reflecting the various societal play or a decent full-length film crises and political polarizais instead a show comprised of tion of the 1960s and today, but six uninspired episodes filled it lacks the tenacity and depth with excessive, dialogue-heavy to explore such topics. Lennie’s sequences, lackluster camera- abrupt arrival sparks a chain of work and grating performances. events and discussions about Once again playing his trifec- FBI surveillance, consumerta role as writer, director and ism and the moral decay of the lead actor, Allen plays anxious Vietnam War with Sidney and novelist Sidney J. Munsinger, among Kay’s all-white female another one of his broadly book club. However, the results SAM ROSENBERG
C-
“Crisis in Six Scenes” is a creative failure on all fronts.
are somehow less than stimulating. The conversations between these characters may seem somewhat intriguing on paper, but seeing them play out is exhausting and dull to watch. Cyrus is an especially bad choice to play Lennie, delivering each line with a stilted, awkward cadence. Her acting was never really a highlight in the first place, and her performance comes off as sitcom-y, reminiscent of her Disney Channel days. The other cast members do their best with what they’re given, but it’s easy to tell that they’re also struggling under the weight of Allen’s script. “Orange is the New Black” ’s John Magaro certainly brings the energy as Alan Brockman, the conservative-turned-woke son of Sidney’s family friend, but his exaggerated recitation of almost every one of his lines is cringe-worthy to watch. Stand-up comedian Bobby Slayton plays Sidney’s frustrated acquaintance, Mel, using the best of his brash, intense comedic style to fuel a meandering sequence between him and Sidney in episode three. One of the only significantly witty scenes involves Lewis Black (“Inside Out”) and Becky Ann Baker (“Girls”), playing two of Kay’s patients who literally hate everything about one another, but share a distaste for guacamole. “Crisis in Six Scenes” could have served as Allen’s calling card from film to television, but the series is a creative failure on all fronts. The long-held sexual abuse allegations against Allen, as well as his questionable marriage to his ex-stepdaughter, don’t make watching his material any easier, either. There’s definitely some charm and wit left in Allen, but considering how the man has become hitor-miss in the past few years, his days of being one of the most acclaimed, notable directors of Hollywood seem to be winding down.
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
T E A M
S T A T S MICH 44.4 23.0 209.8 4.9 16 234.2 63.9% 7.4 10 2 74.4 444.0 47.2 62.5% 4.0 15.5 21.5 43.4 4-9 4/1 43.8 33:05
Points/Game First Downs/Game Rush Yards/Game Yards/Rush Rushing TDs Passing Yards/Game Completion % Yards/Pass Passing TDs Interceptions Offensive Plays/Game Total Offense 3rd-down Conversions 4th-down Conversions Sacks/Game Kick return average Punt return average Punting average Field Goals-Attempts Fumbles/Lost Penalty Yards/Game Time of Poss
OPP 12.4 13.2 112.2 3.3 2 135.4 46.6% 5.2 5 6 60.6 247.6 15.4 41.7% 1.8 19.9 13.0 37.4 2-5 8/3 45.0 26:55
I N D I V I D U A L S PASSING Player Speight O’Korn Morris TOTALS
Cmp Att Yds TD 92 146 1094 10 5 8 32 0 4 4 45 0 101 158 1171 10
INT 2 0 0 2
Att Yds 56 325 37 247 41 198 22 145 7 56 7 44 2 24 11 19 2 17 2 16 2 11 3 7 1 2 1 1 1 -1 3 -4 1 -11 15 -47 214 1049
RUSHING Player Smith, D. Evans Isaac Higdon McDoom Chesson Peppers Hill Davis Morris Crawford O’Korn Hirsch Beneducci Hewlett TEAM Allen Speight TOTALS
Avg 5.8 6.7 4.8 6.6 8.0 6.3 12.0 1.7 8.5 8.0 5.5 2.3 2.0 1.0 -1.0 -1.3 -11.0 -3.1 4.9
Lg 42 43 25 40 19 17 17 4 10 14 11 3 2 1 0 0 0 9 43
TD 2 3 2 3 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 16
No. 23 22 13 6 6 5 4 9 1 1 3 1 1 1 2 2 1 101
Yds Avg 335 14.6 265 12.0 197 15.2 114 19.0 47 7.8 33 6.6 28 7.0 25 2.8 22 22.0 21 21.0 20 6.7 18 18.0 15 15.0 12 12.0 10 5.0 6 3.0 3 3.0 1171 11.6
Lg 46 25 35 54 15 15 14 9 22 21 8 18 15 12 5 4 3 54
TD 5 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 10
No. 12 1 0 13
Yds Avg. Long 246 20.5 54 27 27.0 0 6 -6 279 21.5 54
RECEIVING Player Darboh Butt Chesson Perry Hill Poggi Evans Smith Ways Isaac McDoom Crawford Hirsch Jocz McKeon Bunting Asiasi TOTALS
Tuesday, October 4, 2016— 7
Speight continues to grow, evaluate his options Harbaugh says quarterback’s decision-making abilities are ‘beyond his years,’ ‘a real positive’ JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
There are some risks that Wilton Speight needs to avoid. Others, the redshirt sophomore quarterback explains, aren’t really risks at all. The Michigan football team’s first-year starter has thrown 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season, with one of the picks coming in a crucial game against then-No. 8 Wisconsin on Saturday. Speight’s mistake came on the Wolverines’ first series of the third quarter, when he threw into coverage for an interception that the Badgers’ Derrick Tindal returned 46 yards into Michigan territory. That’s the kind of gamble Speight has to resist. “If I had just changed the channel, I would have seen an open receiver to his left,” he said Monday. “But when there’s a guy here, and a guy there, and a guy behind (senior tight end Jake Butt), that’s the fine line I need to walk.” But in the fourth quarter, Speight lined up in a similar formation, with fifth-year senior wide receivers Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson split to either side, Butt on the line of scrimmage and redshirt junior Ty Isaac the lone setback. Speight faked the handoff to Isaac and again looked over the middle for his first option, Butt, who was swarmed by linebackers and safeties. That time, Speight shifted his eyes to the left to find Darboh in oneon-one coverage with Tindal on the outside. Many consider the deep pass to be a risky play, but in cases like that, Speight doesn’t.
He dropped back and lofted a perfect throw where only Darboh could get it — a longer attempt, but a far safer one nonetheless. “When there’s a one-on-one deep shot, I’ve got two of the best receivers in the country, so that’s not really a fine line,” Speight said. “That’s give them a chance, give them the best ball I can and they’ll make me look good.” Speight said he’s getting better at walking that line between taking shots and giving his team a chance to achieve the best outcome on every play. A completion downfield is the ideal option. If it’s an incomplete pass, that’s OK, too. But Speight knows he has to avoid turnovers like the one Saturday. To do so, he has been good at scanning the field to search for the receiver in the best position. He had success Saturday by shifting from Butt to Darboh, and the week before against Penn State, he threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Devin Asiasi on a play designed for Chesson. “You rarely have plays throughout the game that always go to your first read, your main read,” Speight said. “You gotta just have it be second nature. You say, ‘OK, he’s not there, now where do my eyes go? Now where do my eyes go?’ Coach (Jim) Harbaugh always says you gotta change the channel as fast as possible, and if you don’t see your main read open, you’ve got to find number two, three and sometimes four.” Harbaugh is pleased with that tendency, complimenting Speight’s decision-making even on a day when the quarterback
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight threw a 46-yard touchdown pass Saturday to beat Wisconsin, 14-7.
threw his second interception. “It’s beyond his years,” Harbaugh said Monday. “It’s been a real positive. Talked about it the other day, his decision making and going through the film. He’s making good decisions — the right decisions.” Speight also sees points for improvement from Saturday’s game, ones that may not be apparent on first glance. He ended up with only one interception but nearly threw more, once throwing into coverage when he could have thrown shorter to an open receiver. And even if there is no check-down, if the running
back is engaged in blocking, Speight always has the option of throwing the ball away. “There’s one I just chucked deep as basically an incomplete,” Speight said. “I saw Darboh was double-covered, Jake was covered like a glove, but I didn’t have any check-downs. So there’s no point in running around and possibly taking a sack when I can just airmail it and just move onto the next play.” All of those in-play decisions have come easier to Speight as he has worked more with Harbaugh, passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch and their offense, and perhaps that’s
part of the reason Michigan’s passing game is further along statistically than it was a year ago. Much of that improvement has come from developing the relationship between Speight and his coaches. On Sunday mornings, Speight comes into the team’s facility to look at the tape and the notes Fisch left him from the night before. By Monday, he’s already focused on the next game, which comes against Rutgers this week. After that one, he’ll once again look at the throws he made to the right receiver, and the ones he didn’t, and he’ll start the process over again.
PUNT RETURNS Player Peppers Jocz Perry TOTALS
TD 1 0 1 2
Dominant D-Line proves self against Badgers KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
INTERCEPTION RETURNS Player Stribling Hill, D. McCray Lewis TOTALS
No. 3 1 1 1 6
Yds Avg. Long 60 20.0 51 27 27.0 27 22 22.0 22 0 0.0 0 109 18.2 51
TD 1 1 0 0 2
Yds 9 9
Avg. Long 9.0 9 9.0 9
TD 0 0
Yds 95 28 21 6 5 155
Avg. Long 31.7 55 14.0 15 10.5 18 6.0 6 2.5 5 15.5 55
TD 0 0 0 0 0 0
FUMBLE RETURNS Player Hill, L. TOTALS
No. 1 1
KICKOFF RETURNS Player Peppers Henderson Lewis Hudson Hill, K. TOTALS
No. 3 2 2 1 2 10
KICKOFFS Player Allen Foug TOTALS
No. 32 7 39
Yds 2066 403 2469
Avg. 64.6 57.6 63.3
TB 19 2 21
No. 18 18
Yds 782 782
Avg. 43.4 43.4
Lg 56 56
PUNTING Player Allen TOTALS FIELD GOALS Player Allen Tice
FG Pct. 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Lg 4-8 50.0% 0-0 1-1 3-5 0-2 0-0 39 0-1 0.0% 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0
LEADING TACKLERS Player Gedeon Peppers Thomas McCray Winovich Gary Glasgow, R. Godin Wormley Hill Hurst Stribling Clark Kinnel Charlton Watson Lewis Bush Glasgow, J. Hudson TOTALS
Solo Ast Tot 13 31 44 24 11 35 18 11 29 13 15 28 4 15 19 6 11 17 2 15 17 8 8 16 7 9 16 8 7 15 6 8 14 4 6 10 6 4 10 5 3 8 1 6 7 4 3 7 6 6 2 3 5 3 1 4 2 2 4 154 182 336
TFL 6.0 9.5 4.5 4.0 4.5 1.5 1.5 4.5 2.0 4.0 0.5 2.5 1.0 47
SK PBU 2.0 1 2.5 1 2.5 4 2.0 1.0 1.0 1 1.0 4.0 1 2.0 5 3 2.0 2 20 19
2016 SCHEDULE
Saturday, the Michigan football team’s defensive line could tell that Wisconsin’s quarterback Alex Hornibrook was struggling after getting hit a few times. The redshirt freshman was suffering from a case of “happy feet.” “Oh yeah, we actually talked about that on the field,” fifthyear senior defensive tackle Matt Godin said Monday. “We were like, ‘Oh, he’s starting to flinch a little bit.’ Obviously with (defensive coordinator Don) Brown and all the blitzes we throw at them and all of the great pass rushers we have on the edge, especially with (defensive ends Chris Wormley and Taco Charlton). But yeah, we could definitely feel that he was starting to get happy feet.” So far this season, the Wolverines’ defense has tallied 20 sacks, two of them coming Saturday in a 14-7 victory over the eighth-ranked Badgers. Hornibrook also completed just nine of 25 passes while the sacks dropped his rushing total to negative-16 yards. The Wolverines also held Wisconsin to just eight first downs and 71 net yards rushing. It’s hard to attribute this type of domination to anything other than a stout defensive line. Now, after playing most of the first month without Charlton and defensive tackle Bryan Mone, an already successful unit will get even better as the pair is able to contribute more and more. “(The defensive line) has been outstanding,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. “It’s been a stalwart part of our football team since I’ve been here and before that as well. If a guy goes in and comes back into
9/3
9/10
9/17
9/24
HAWAII (2-3)
UCF (3-2)
COLORADO (4-1)
PENN ST. (3-2)
the lineup — I’m thinking of Mo Hurst, Chris Wormley, Ryan Glasgow, Taco Charlton — right down the list, they play extremely well. One guy’s out and another steps up; it’s impressive. I think (defensive line coach) Greg Mattison does an incredible job. Credit to the youngsters, the players themselves, for their effort and their talent.” When the offense starts to struggle, as it did on Saturday, it’s essential to look to the defense to make plays, and so far, it hasn’t cracked. The Wolverines rank fifth nationally
in tackles for loss and fourth nationally in sacks (first in the Big Ten in both). Because of this, Michigan has been able to hold each of its first two conference opponents to fewer than 200 yards. Despite going up against a powerful Wisconsin offensive line that boasted some big players, the Wolverines were still able to stay composed. “Yeah, there were some big boys up front,” said senior defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow Saturday. “I think they were
“There’s a lot of leaders on this defense.”
averaging like 6-foot-6, 320 or 315 (pounds). We’re not quite as big up front, but it all comes down to technique and effort on the D-line, and I think we played hard, I think we played fast, and I think we played with great technique. All that credit goes to Coach Mattison. “When I looked to my left and look to my right, I’d see guys who’re in the program four or five years and who really wanted this game up front, so we accepted the challenge and I think we did a good job.” Mone rejoined the defensive line over the weekend, and though he only played a few snaps, his presence was felt. Monday, Godin spoke of the energy Mone brings to the unit.
Though Mone is just a redshirt sophomore and sat out all last season due to a broken ankle, he’s a well-respected member of the defensive line. “There’s a lot of leaders on this defense and a lot of playmakers,” Glasgow said. “I think that’s the biggest thing they bring. Taco is an elite pass rusher. Bryan’s one of the strongest kids I’ve ever seen play a double team, do anything on the football field.” Now that the Wolverines have the option of rotating players in and out of the line with no more injury troubles to fear, they will be better prepared for their first road game of the season. “We have everyone back now, healthy and ready to go, so it’s great,” Godin said.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Fifth-year senior Matt Godin (99) has 1.5 tackles for loss this season as part of a Michigan defense that is tied for the fourth most nationally with 46.
10/1
10/8
WISCONSIN (4-1) at RUTGERS (2-3)
W, 63-3 (1-0) W, 51-14 (2-0) W, 45-28 (3-0) W, 49-10 (4-0) W, 14-7 (5-0)
7 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.
10/22 ILLINOIS (1-3) 3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
10/29
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at MICH. ST. (2-2) MARYLAND (4-0) East Lansing, Mich.
Michigan Stadium
11/12
11/19
11/26
at IOWA (3-2)
INDIANA (3-1)
at OHIO ST. (4-0)
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
Michigan Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
Sports
8 — Tuesday, October 4, 2016
‘M’ needs Kile more than ever
W
hen Alex Kile came to Michigan, he wasn’t expected to be a leader.
He entered his freshman MIKE year side by PERSAK side with JT Compher and On Ice Hockey Tyler Motte, two forwards who donned ‘C’ and ‘A’ patches on their jerseys in their tenures and now find themselves in NHL training camps. His sophomore year, all of the buzz surrounded Dylan Larkin, a player who is now an All-Star forward for the Detroit Red Wings. And as a junior, his fellow recruiting class members — Compher and Motte — were joined by Kyle Connor to form the most lethal offensive line in the country. Connor won the Big Ten Player of the Year award, and, you guessed it, has now moved on to the NHL. After Sunday’s exhibition win against Windsor, the Wolverines announced that they will be without even more talent from last season. Sophomore forward Cooper Marody, the team’s second leading returning scorer, has been deemed ineligible for the first semester of the season. But Kile remains. And on a team that is laden with freshmen and questions of where production will come from, he has been thrust into the spotlight — named co-captain along with senior defenseman Nolan De Jong. Now is his time to take center stage. Kile has taken on the role with grace. The senior is clearly aware that he is being watched more closely now — and not just by outsiders waiting to see what the Wolverines can do this year, but also by his own teammates. “The biggest thing for me is just leading by example on the ice and off the ice,” Kile said last Thursday. “I feel like these guys all look up to me, and they look up to all of the seniors. So you just have to bring it every single day — work hard in the weight
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Donlon brings intensity on ‘D’ KEVIN SANTO
Daily Sports Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Alex Kile will be relied upon to carry Michigan’s scoring load early this season.
room and work hard on the ice.” And it’s not as if the senior isn’t physically equipped to take over his heightened role. Last season was the best of Kile’s career at Michigan. He appeared in 38 games for the Wolverines and notched 34 points in total, good enough for fifth-best on the team. But Kile certainly has a different cast around him now. The senior is flanked on the first line by freshmen Will Lockwood and Jake Slaker, a line that head coach Red Berenson knows is vital to the success of the team. “I think it’s really important who he plays with because he has to be a factor in this year’s team — a big factor.” Berenson said after the team’s exhibition win against Windsor Sunday. “And we thought the best fit right now was for him to play with these two freshmen: Slaker and Lockwood. They’re coming in with a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence, and they seem to have fit with Alex Kile.” Even if Lockwood and Slaker
are able to surpass expectations and make strong contributions, they will surely need some time to adjust to the speed of college hockey. And Kile will be expected to aid in their transition and anchor the first line while the freshmen get comfortable. The line had a fairly good debut against the Lancers. Though they weren’t involved in either of the team’s goals, Kile, Lockwood and Slaker combined for 12 of Michigan’s 36 shots on goal. But that performance won’t be enough to quell the concerns of where the Wolverines will replace last season’s production. For without former classmates Compher and Motte, without former leading scorers Larkin and Connor, and now without Marody, Alex Kile is the face of the program. And if he is unable to fill those shoes, the Wolverines will be once again searching for somebody else to produce — something the team likely can’t afford to do.
Meet Billy Donlon, Michigan’s new defensive coordinator. And before you start to fret, don’t worry, Don Brown still has his job. Instead, Donlon is one of the latest additions to John Beilein’s staff — filling the void left by LaVall Jordan and Bacari Alexander’s departure last April. Donlon comes to the Michigan carrying ample coaching experience, most recently as the head coach at Wright State. At the Wolverines’ team media day Monday, Beilein put trust in that experience, explaining that his new assistant will essentially be taking the reigns on the defensive end of the floor. “I’m giving him a lot of responsibility for the defense,” Beilein said. “He’s got my eye and the detail we do in offense, I think he’s got a similar eye for defense. … I’ve tried to really sit back. When (you allow teams to) score 47 percent like we did last year, we had to have a different mindset in practice and our players needed to have a different mindset.” Donlon’s path to Michigan started long before April, and perhaps long before he considered the possibility. In fact, it started 20 years ago as a point guard at North CarolinaWilmington, where he competed “mostly unsuccessfully” against Richmond when Beilein was a coach there. Beilein recalled how difficult it was to score against the Seahawks, and his respect for Donlon’s coaching ability stemmed from the way Donlon was coached himself. They stayed in touch ever since UNCWilmington faced the Spiders in the 1998 Colonial Athletic Conference Tournament championship game. Fast-forward to last March, and Donlon had been fired by Wright State despite leading
his team to the Horizon League championship game for the third time in four years. And then he got a phone call from Beilein. There weren’t any job opportunities at Crisler Center yet. Beilein called as a friend, but when Jordan and Alexander accepted coaching offers at Milwaukee and Detroit, respectively, the stars aligned. “To be honest with you, it just shows you the kind of person Coach (Beilein) is because I didn’t play for Coach,” Donlon said. “At that time he didn’t have any openings yet. …I called him when an opening happened and we just started talking. “All those phone conversations from there were very little about the job. His passion for the game is off the charts. You can be on the phone with him for a great amount of time just talking basketball. That’s really what we did.” Now coaching alongside the man he played against, Donlon’s respect for Beilein is evident. He was quick to say being the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator is an overstatement — and that Beilein is still calling the shots for this team, which he undoubtedly is. But Donlon’s comments may have had a bit too much humility. Beilein estimated that Wright State was ranked around 100th nationally in transition defense, while Michigan was roughly 100 spots lower. And last season, Donlon’s Raiders were ranked 37th nationally in team defense, allowing 65.8 points per game. The Wolverines didn’t crack the top 50 in the same category. Without a doubt, there is a discrepancy in the level of competition between the two programs. It didn’t help that the Wolverines were without one of their best perimeter defenders in Caris LeVert, either. But that doesn’t mean Donlon’s approach can’t be effective in Ann Arbor. While the Wolverines won’t
be going through a complete overhaul, Donlon’s experience running the “pack line” variation of the man-to-man scheme at Wright State will certainly add a new wrinkle to Beilein’s defensive playbook. “We’re a gap team, and the gap really is very similar to the pack line,” Donlon said. “The pack line is a little lower. In the gap, you’re a little closer, in terms of you’re up the line a little bit more. So you’re one step off the line of the ball and your man versus maybe two steps in the pack line. “…The great thing about both of those, you can easily go from the gap to the pack line and then back because they’re so similar. ” The emphasis is on more than just defensive sets, though. Beilein hopes he and Donlon can find a middle ground when it comes to fouling on defense. Last season, Michigan averaged 15.6 fouls while Wright State averaged 22.1. It’s not every day you hear a coach say he wants to foul more, but for a team that has been occasionally dubbed as soft, a touch of physicality in the right situations could go a long way. If the coaching duo can strike that balance, the Wolverines could change that reputation, and quickly. Though Donlon has been tasked with recalibrating Michigan’s defense, he will also serve as a coach for the Wolverine backcourt. With senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. leading the charge, freshman Xavier Simpson and junior Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, he certainly has plenty of ammunition to work with. But more than anything, Donlon is caught in a game of catch up, trying to bring the Wolverines’ defense up to par with its perennially potent offense. It’s no easy task. But if someone is going to achieve it, it seems the guy who shut down John Beilein’s team in 1998 is the man for the job.
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Michigan assistant coach Billy Donlon will be tasked with revitalizing the Michigan basketball team’s defense.
New season beckons for ‘M’ MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
Back in March, the Michigan men’s basketball team’s season ended with a crushing loss in the first round of the NCAA NOTEBOOK Tournament. Seven months after that 70-63 loss to Notre Dame, things are drastically different around the program. Gone from the team is Caris LeVert (who ended up with the Brooklyn Nets after being taken 20th overall in the NBA Draft), a trio of then-sophomores in Aubrey Dawkins, Ricky Doyle and Kam Chatman (all of whom transferred to other schools), and Spike Albrecht, who left the program to join Big Ten rival Purdue for his final year of NCAA eligibility. Also gone are assistant coaches Bacari Alexander and LaVall Jordan. In their places are Billy Donlon, a former head coach at Wright State, and Saddi Washington, a former associate head coach at Oakland. But Michigan coach John Beilein has stayed put, and he’s ready to lead the Wolverines
in their quest to return to the NCAA Tournament. COMPETITION DOWN LOW: Going into the new season, one of the biggest questions is who will play down low for Michigan. While freshman center Jon Teske and freshman forward Austin Davis could eventually get minutes down low, the competition for the starting spot at the ‘5’ will be between senior forward Mark Donnal and sophomore forward Moritz Wagner. While the duo combined for just over 10 points per game last season, they will be relied on heavily to contribute on both ends of the court. Additionally, sophomore forward D.J. Wilson and redshirt junior guard Duncan Robinson will duke it out for the starting role at the ‘4.’ And while one player will pull ahead and take the starting slot, there is no question that the depth behind them will be experienced — something that cannot be said at guard, where freshmen Ibi Watson and Xavier Simpson will be relied on. “We have experienced depth
with the bigger guys,” Beilein said. “That’s really good to have veteran depth, guys who have played for a year, at least.” LEADERSHIP SHIFT: Four years ago, senior guards Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin came to Michigan as heralded recruits. Both played instantly and made a sizable impact even as freshmen. Now, in their last season at the University, their role has changed quite a bit. Irvin and Walton have taken a larger leadership role, not only as players who lead by example, but also in their vocal presence in the locker room. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. “Ever since this summer, I’ve seen tremendous growth in (Zak and Derrick) in being able to lead and speak and push and encourage with the younger guys,” Beilein said. Added Robinson: “They both kinda realize that it’s their last year here. There’s more of a sense of urgency, and they understand that we have the capabilities to accomplish a lot of great things. As seniors, they’re trying to put us in the best position to make it happen.”