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A SNAPSHOT OF CAMPUS CLIMATE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN OCTOBER 30, 2013 Theta Xi plans to hold racialized party draw ire NOVEMBER 19, 2013 Being Black at UM movement on social media launches NOVEMBER 21, 2013 Regents and faculty vow to take action in response to #BBUM movement
JANUARY 20, 2014 Students protest, make seven demands for change JULY 14, 2014 Kedra Ishop hired to lead University enrollment management SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 Schlissel becomes president, vows to prioritize diversity
AUGUST 29, 2015 High Achieving Involved Leader scholarship announced PAUL AHNN/Daily
SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION PLAN ANNOUNCED
Motivational speaker Steve Robbins speaks at the unveiling of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan as the keynote speaker at the Power Center Thursday.
DECEMBER 17, 2015 Regents approve new multicultural center
DEI keynote speaker invites activists on stage after protest
JANUARY 9, 2016 Schlissel announces town hall diversity forums
Steve Robbins talks importance of open-mindedness and student engagement
OCTOBER 12, 2015 University enrolls most diverse freshman class since 2005
NOVEMBER 19, 2015 Week-long diversity summit
FEBRUARY 1, 2016 Colleges begin months-long plan brainstorming, such as LSA plan-a-thon SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 Racially charged posters found on campus, mor e than 200 protest in the Fishbowl
SEPTEMBER 27, 2016 More than 400 protest debate on merits of Black Lives Matter
OCTOBER 2, 2016 Community gathering to discuss racial issues on campus
OCTOBER 6, 2016
LAUNCH OF UNIVERSITY-WIDE PLAN
$40 MILLION Amount of money currently dedicated to DEI plans per year.
$85 MILLION Additional funds allocated for DEI plans over the next 5 years
Design: Anjali Alangaden
KATHERINE CURRAN & RIYAH BASHA Daily Staff Reporters
Thursday’s rollout of the University of Michigan’s new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan finished with a keynote speech delivered by Steve Robbins at the Power Center, highlighting the experience of being an outsider. Robbins, an immigrant from Vietnam, is a motivational speaker with a degree in Communication Science from Michigan State University. The event was disrupted early on by students affiliated with the activist group Students4Justice, who attended the event in silent protest of a perceived lack of student input into the DEI planning process. About
20 students walked in at the beginning of the lecture with tape over their mouths and passed out handouts with the hashtag #schlisselwya, a campaign that aims to ask University President Mark Schlissel “Schlissel, where you at?” The group created the campaign in response to Schlissel’s absence at protests over the discovery of racially charged flyers targeting Black, Muslim and LGBTQ populations on campus in the last two weeks. According to a now-deleted Facebook event, the group had originally planned to actively disrupt the events earlier on, but found the student session held before the keynote in the afternoon to be too productive to leave early. The students also stood and turned their backs to Robbins halfway through the lecture,
which prompted him to invite them to stand on stage with him. “I want to hear your voice,” Robbins said, as students took the stage. “I think it is important that the people here hear your voice.” Though other DEI-related events were at full capacity attendance earlier in the day, only about 120 attendees in the halffull auditorium participated in Robbins’ interactive presentation. The demonstrators left the auditorium after standing on stage for close to half an hour. LSA junior Lakyrra Magee, an organizer with Students4Justice, voiced her frustration with the DEI events being scheduled at times inconvenient for students. “The reason we are protesting this particular event is because ... student voices weren’t as inputted as they should have been,” Magee See KEYNOTE, Page 3
Senator Bernie Sanders campaigns for ‘U’ officials Ceremony introduce Hillary Clinton in visit to University marks IM
ADMINISTRATION
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strategic plan goals
Former presidential candidate supports Democratic nominee, progressive agenda
Vice provost promotes ongoing student and faculty engagement
Hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and Ann Arbor community members congregated at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Thursday to hear U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. During his speech, Sanders emphasized the need to make college tuition-free and to lower the unemployment rate, as well as the importance of an economy that works for the middle class. “Our job is to create an economy that works for the middle class and not just for Donald Trump and his billionaire friends,” he said. “To make that happen, we need millions of Americans to stand together and fight back around a progressive agenda.” Speaking to the economy as a whole, he noted it has improved since Obama took office, but there are still millions of people who are unemployed or underemployed. “Hillary has a very specific plan to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure,” he said. “And create millions of decent paying jobs.” Sanders also addressed issues around climate change, pointing to tweets and statements made by Republican nominee Donald Trump that
ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
Multiple University administrators gave a talk Thursday afternoon to an audience of about 200 students, faculty and staff as part of a series of events held for the official launch of University President Mark Schlissel’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan. Rob Sellers, the University of Michigan’s vice provost for equity, inclusion and academic affairs, later accompanied by Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones, discussed the main goals of the five-year plan, which is intended to increase diversity on campus and provide a welcoming environment for all demographics. Schlissel and University Provost Martha Pollack were also present. The DEI plan, initiated a year ago and launched Thursday morning, will allocate $85 million in resources to implement a series of specialized strategies throughout all 19 University colleges and other units across campus. The diversity plan will include campus climate-related See SELLERS, Page 3
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CAITLIN REEDY Daily Staff Reporter
state it isn’t happening. Clinton, he said, respects scientific arguments and will work to use this information to improve environmental efficiency. This is Sanders’ second time on campus — in March, while campaigning to be the Democratic nominee, he spoke at the Crisler Center on issues including the wage gap, high incarceration rates, and his views on college tuition.
Engineering junior Ron Keenan said Thursday he was excited to get the opportunity to hear from Sanders because he voted for him in the primary but is planning to vote for Clinton in the election, so he’s interested in how their ideas compare. “I’m also just really excited to listen to him, here what he has to say, hear how he compares his views to Hillary’s,” Keenan said.
LSA senior Miranda Henry said she came to the speech because she is inspired by Sanders’ views. “I felt really inspired by him as a candidate, and what he stood for, and the way he spoke,” she said. “It’s also exciting to see him here on the campaign to support Hillary too.” She also said she appreciated that he is still advocating his See SANDERS, Page 2
CAROLYN GEARIG/Daily
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sander (I-VT) speaks to audience members while campaigning for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Thursday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVI, No. 7 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
Building reopening
Renovated facility aims to further goals of inclusivity on campus LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
The Intramural Sports Building held its official ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon, with remarks from E. Royster Harper, the University of Michigan’s vice president for student life; Mike Widen, director of recreational sports; LSA senior Anna Wibbelman, president of Building a Better Michigan; and University Regent Michael Behm. The IM Building first opened to students on Sept. 28, two months later than the original estimated date. In total, the renovations were projected to cost the University $21.4 million, which exceeded the original budget of $18.7 million. The changes largely focused on facility enhancements, maintaining much of the original architecture from when the building was constructed in 1928. Widen said it was important throughout the renovation process to preserve the original character of the facility while making necessary See INTRAMURAL, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................6 CLASSIFIEDS..............7
SUDOKU.....................2 ARTS....................7 SPORTS....................9
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Former President Bill Clinton speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Stronger Together Rally in Flint Monday.
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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, MI, on September 30, 2016.
tyler :) @tylerbaemon ME AND JENNA ARE IN ANN ARBOR AND THIS OLD MAN WALKS TOWARDS US AND SHE GOES “is that bernie sanders” MY HEART DROPPED I COULDNT IMMMM
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George Shirley, a School of Music, Theatre & Dance professor, leads faculty and staff in a moment of silence on the Diag Tuesday.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Mendenhall Symposium
WHAT: Prof. Gottfried Hagan, chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies, will headline a panel that will talk about law, society and religion in the ancient world. WHO: Department of Near Eastern Studies WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Henderson Room
Nationalism, Revolution and Genocide
WHAT: Prof. Ronald Grigor Suny of the Department of History will lead a conference about the effects of nationalism in the former Soviet Union and the tragedies of genocide. WHO: Department of History WHEN: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Tisch Hall, room 1014
Symphony Band Chamber Winds
WHAT: Andrea Brown and John Pasquale will be guest conducting a performance that will include the music of Mozart, Tony Bennett and more. WHO: School of Music, Theatre and Dance WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: Walgreen Drama Center, Stamps Auditorium
Live Broadcast with Bankole Thompson
Little Sarah
WHAT: Journalist Bankhole Thompson will host a live broadcast of his radio program at the Ford School. Rev. Jesse Jackson will be a featured guest alongside Prof. Susan M. Collins. WHO: Ford School of Public Policy WHEN: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. WHERE: Weill Hall, Great Hall, First Floor
Hillary Clinton to visit Detroit before voter registration deadline Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will campaign Monday in Detroit — one day before Michigan’s voter registration deadline — in her first visit to the state since Aug. 11. The Clinton campaign announced the event Thursday morning and said in a press release that more details on the location and time would be announced later. Clinton is expected to emphasize the importance of registering to vote as well as discuss her economic vision for the United States and its impact on Michigan, according to the release. The campaign stop will
come one day after the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis. Clinton’s surrogates have had a heavy presence in the state and at the University of Michigan over the past few weeks. Former primary challenger U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) visited campus Thursday to campaign on Clinton’s behalf, and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine also made a campaign stop at the University on Sept. 13. As well, former President Bill Clinton campaigned Monday in Flint, following Chelsea Clinton’s visits to Flint on
Sept. 23 and Michigan State University on Sept. 22. Clinton’s opponent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has also had a substantial presence in the state in an attempt to turn it Republican for the first time since the 1988 presidential election. Trump has visited the state five times since the Republican convention, most recently in Novi earlier this week. Clinton currently leads Trump by a margin of 6.8 percent in Michigan, according to a polling average by RealClearPolitics. — Caleb Chadwell
views even though he is not the nominee.
STRUGGLE BUS.
“He still wants to make a change, it’s not about becoming president. It’s about transforming the politics and the way our national runs,” she said.
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
LSA junior Emily Kaufman, who voted for Sanders in the primary, said she agrees with Sanders on most issues and also likes that he is now supporting Clinton as the nominee. “I really stand with 99 percent of his policies,” she said. “Seeing him here to support Hillary, just the unity with the Democratic party, is something that I really support.” Kaufman said she was always planning to vote for the Democratic candidate in the general election, but is especially satisfied that Clinton is incorporating some of Sanders’s policies. “I did have some reservations about Hillary, but seeing that she’s willing to take on some of Bernie’s policies and ideas really shows me that she’s a transformative candidate and that she can evolve,” she said. “As a transgender person, knowing that she’s very supportive of trans rights, having people in my life that know her and have met her really has pushed me toward voting for her.” Daily Staff Reporter Caitlin Reedy contributed reporting.
@elatlboy Ahhh! I miss the Ann Arbor/Metro Detroit area in fall!
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Council passes new ordinance restricting where cars can idle Policy will bar commercial and private motor vehicles stopping while on in designated “no-idle zones” BRIAN KUANG
Daily Staff Reporter
A law restricting idling vehicles was passed by the Ann Arbor City Council at its Thursday night meeting with only one dissenting vote, in a bid to improve local air quality. However, councilmembers said critical aspects of the ordinance — specifically, the exact geographic extent of the restriction and the means of enforcement — are yet to be fleshed out. The ordinance will bar commercial and private motor vehicles in specifically designated “no-idle zones” from keeping their engines on when unoccupied, or running for more than 10 minutes while stationary. However, the law makes allowances for poweressential vehicle functions, such as air conditioning, heating, defrosting or 10 other exceptions for an idle vehicle within city limits. Furthermore, the ordinance will ban the use of any stationary internal combustion engine — like power generators — unless they are actively in use for their primary purpose. The law is slated to go into effect in July 2017, and noncompliance will be punishable as a civil infraction with a minimum fine of $100. However, a memo from city staff suggested that few law enforcement resources will be needed to enforce the ban on idling, as increased awareness
KEYNOTE From Page 1 said. Robbins, who has advised a number of Fortune 500 companies, such as PepsiCo and Kraft Foods, on a variety of diversity issues, told the audience he would change the direction of his speech as a result of protest, and recount his personal experience with discrimination earlier than planned. He shared his experiences of being an outsider in California, and losing both his sisters to sexual violence and his mother to suicide. His understanding of the pain outsiders feel is why he brought the students on stage, he told the crowd. “We were not treated very well when we entered the United States,” Robbins said. “We were outsiders. I know what it’s like to be an outsider, and that’s why I want these people up here with me. There’s pain involved.” During his speech, Robbins invited the audience to shout words describing how they’ve felt in situations where they have experienced being an outsider. Words people shouted out included “self-conscious,” “shame,” “frustration,” “hopelessness” and “loneliness.” Robbins warned the audience
SELLERS From Page 1 training, the creation of the new Trotter Multicultural Center and new recruitment strategies. The plan also outines strategies to provide more financial support to departments that conduct research on diversity, equity and inclusion-related issues and the expansion of the Inclusive Teaching Professional Development programs. Major reports will be released after years three and five, and the University will administer a campus climate survey. In introductory remarks to the event, Schlissel expressed his excitement for the plan’s implementation. He also addressed a common criticism levied by student protesters after several racially charged incidents on campus earlier this week — that the plan is too forward-
would likely accomplish the desired effect. “It is anticipated that this ordinance and the associated outreach, signage, and media coverage will serve to raise awareness of unnecessary idling, and will result in behavior change with little enforcement necessary,” the memo read. The memo further noted that other communities across the country and in Michigan — namely Detroit, Mount Clemens, Novi, Saugatuck and Sylvan Lake — have implemented similar measures to protect air quality. Councilmember Jane Lumm (I–Ward 2), the sole dissenting vote against the resolution, raised concerns that the law would either end up diverting valuable police resources or not be enforced at all. “I certainly support the intent of this ordinance: reducing unnecessary vehicle emissions and their adverse effects,” Lumm said. “I just don’t think that adopting an ordinance with citations and fines requiring the use of scarce police resources to enforce it is the best way to address the issue.” Lumm further argued the law is too vague because it gives City Administrator Howard Lazarus full authority in determining what areas would be designated as “no-idle zones”, and noted that the law has not received input from Ann Arbor Public Schools
despite the large number of idling vehicles during student drop-off and pick-up. Councilmember Jack Eaton (D–Ward 4) echoed Lumm’s concerns about police resources, arguing that future ordinances should take into account expected impact on staff allocation, but said he was confident this specific law would not put an adverse strain on law enforcement. “I really question whether we can continue to pass forward ordinances that require us to dispatch police every time there’s a complaint of a violation without actually determining how much staff time this will take and without addressing the amount of staff we should have to do that sort of thing,” Eaton said. Councilmember Chip Smith (D–Ward 5) was more critical of Lumm’s concerns, arguing the ban on idling was never meant to be enforcementintensive. Rather, he said it is a measure to reduce idling through awareness and peer pressure. “This is very similar to an ordinance like our prohibition on smoking in parks, as far as enforcement,” Smith said. “It is not something I believe that generates a lot of calls to the police to resolve these situations; more it is a peer pressure issue. Once people know to not do it they talk to people themselves. I’m not at all concerned about the impact on staff time.”
the academic excellence of the University is contingent upon the University’s ability to create an inclusive environment, and drew on his education in neuroscience to highlight studies showing people function better in diverse and inclusive environments. “If all of you are not doing your part of creating an environment in which people feel welcome in, do not expect the University of Michigan to be a top-ranked University again,” Robbins said. “We all have a role in creating an environment in helping others perform optimally.” Robbins also told the crowd the University is trying to fix the campus climate and encouraged students to support such efforts. “I hope the students understand the University is trying to do its best under the conditions in which the University operates,” he said. LSA sophomore Demery Gijsbers, who attended the event, welcomed the inclusion of students in the conversation concerning campus climate at events like this one and a speakout last Sunday. “I feel like the University did not address problems last year — there was no dialogue allowed,” Gijsbers said. “Now this year we are finally able to speak out. We are all interacting about it and that’s really important.” LSA freshman Dani Sanchez
looking and doesn’t address current issues — saying that some strategies would be put into effect immediately. “We want to tap into the diversity of our community in all its different forms to learn how to make every individual in this campus feel equally welcome, equally included, equally valued, and we want to make our campus look more like the broader society we’re serving,” Schlissel said. In his remarks, Sellers discussed a number of the plan’s individual strategies, including climate-enhancing initiates, actively recruiting a more diverse student body through outreach programs and supportive, innovative and inclusive scholarship and teaching. If the Board of Regents approves it, Sellers is slated to become the University’s firstever chief diversity officer, which Schlissel announced Wednesday morning. As a new executive
Friday, October 7, 2016 — 3
INTRAMURAL From Page 1 improvements. “We wanted to upgrade this building and make this building new, but at the same time (preserve) the history and the iconic-ness of this great assembly,” he said. “And that was hard to do.” Facility renovations feature new cardio and strength equipment, rooms for group or personal training, new lighting and a central air conditioning system. Along with those enhancements, Widen said the project aimed to maximize natural light and promoting sustainability through features like motion detecting lights. Wibbelman also emphasized the importance of fostering inclusivity in the new building, noting that the facility features gender-inclusive bathrooms and locker rooms, and is accessible for students with disabilities
consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. “We’ve tried to make it as inclusive as possible so that everyone feels welcome here,” she said. “So that everyone feels like it’s their place to come and their place to be, and we hope that everyone realizes that as they come in.” Harper said the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, the Collegiate Recovery Program and Recreational Sports will also all host trauma classes within the building for students who need support, which aim to assist students after experiencing a traumatic event. “They are designed to help students who have experienced trauma regain confidence and rediscover themselves,” she said. LSA senior David Schafer, Central Student Government president, said in an interview that the opening of the IM Building is a significant step for the University. “It’s very moving to me because I’ve been here for a
long time, and I remember the old building,” he said. “It’s just amazing to see everything come full circle. … It’s such a good day for the University.” During the event, several of the speakers also highlighted planned renovations for the other two recreational buildings on campus. In March 2015, the University’s Board of Regents approved renovations to the North Campus Recreational Building as part of a $13 million package approved in March 2015. The Central Campus Recreation Building is slated to be renovated between the years 2020 and 2021. Behm said the Board of Regents benefited from student input on the project and hopes to work more with students in the future. “We appreciated hearing from students and learning from students about what needed to be done,” he said. “We look forward to listening in the future and making these changes when needed.”
PAUL AHNN/Daily
University officials and student representatives cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony for the Intramural Sports Building Thursday.
ELIZABETH XIONG/Daily
Rob Sellers, vice provost of equity and inclusion, speaks at the introduction event for the University’s Diversity, Equality & Inclusion at the Power Center Thursday.
said she came with a group of friends because they all think it is important to learn about these issues and support the University’s efforts to recognize them. “The topics that were touched on today are really important to me as a person who is part of those marginalized groups,” she said. Erik Wesley, director of the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, echoed the need for
engagement. “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are an incredibly important aspect in this time and space right now at the University,” Wesley said. “It’s core to our mission and what we do, so it’s important for us to show up and be a part of the solution.” During his remarks, Robbins also explained that marginalized groups experience a mental trauma
that is akin to physical pain on campus, which hinders their ability to focus on other tasks. To actively demonstrate how multitasking is impossible for humans, he had the audience try to make circles with their right hand and squares with their left hand in the air. Robbins’ key takeaway was that social pain prevents individuals’ high-level performance, ultimately stunting the success of the entire
University. At the end of the night, he challenged the audience, saying diversity is not the problem. Rather, he said, society hasn’t been addressing the full issue for the past 40 years. “Diversity is not our problem,” Robbins said. “Our real problem is close-mindedness. I believe we have been addressing the wrong issue.”
officer, he would be tasked in part with carrying out the plan. Sellers, who accepted the position early Thursday morning, outlined what the role would look like at the talk and also highlighted that the plan was intended to serve as “living documents” — ones that can be altered and modified as necessary throughout the next few years of implementation. “My office will also be in charge of overseeing the implementation of the plans,” Sellers said. Among climate-enhancing initiatives, Sellers highlighted a plan to create comprehensive resources for students experiencing hostile campus climate, something of particular relevance in recent weeks. “We are working on a set of initiatives that first and foremost make our existing bias-response efforts more visible and more accessible, and we’re also working to make them even more effective
and to build up those strengths,” Sellers said. Jones, who spoke briefly, echoed Sellers’ sentiments and said she encouraged active student involvement, particularly with regard to new student advisory boards currently in the works on this issue. “We’re going to innovate,” Jones said. “We’re finalizing this fast because we need to get this work going.” Overall, students who attended the event said they had a positive reaction to the plan, though many of those interviewed expressed a desire for more details. LSA junior Ryan Dingle said she attended because, as an residential advisor, she often hears concerns about a communication gap between administration and students. She stressed the importance of the DEI plan in helping to improve those relations. “One thing that we talked
about at our table was the visuals, and as a student, hearing that (the University is) going to do something but not actually seeing the change,” Dingle said. Dingle said, overall, she is confident in the plans the University has laid out, but said she still wanted to see tangible progress. “I’m excited to see their (benchmarks) of how far they’ve gone, but my one big thing is I want them to focus on telling the students what they’re doing and how they’re doing it,” Dingle said. Engineering sophomore Adam Racette also said he felt the University was genuine in its intentions for diversity, though he noted he was not sure if these strategies are long-term solutions and would have liked to see more details about potential student advisory boards and faculty and staff training sessions. LSA sophomore Ayah Issa, diversity and inclusion chair for
Central Student Government, said she came to the event to improve diversity among her own organization. “To actually be bringing in students and having them speak in more than just an audience way and having us in tables to communicate with each other is alone in itself a step forward in engaging students,” Issa said. “A lot of what’s mentioned is stuff I see happening. There’s a lot that you can doubt, but I haven’t felt that way.” Echoing the sentiments of other students, though, she said she did have a few concerns about how the University was going to decide which student organizations and identities they would reach out to, and how they would ensure the plans would happen now rather than later. “I need to see it happen, because action always speaks louder than words,” Issa said.
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ASHLEY ZHANG | COLUMN
The power of anonymous confessions
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Excluded from conversation GABRIELLE ROTH
T
his Tuesday was the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The holiday focuses around self-reflection, prayer and hope for the year to come. As I sat in services Tuesday morning, I was surprised to hear, between prayers, whispering from my peers: “There’s an anti-Israel wall in the middle of the Diag.” The wall falsely depicted Israel as an apartheid state, and the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces as vicious murderers. To have an anti-Israel display on a day when Israel’s advocates can’t adequately respond is conniving and corrosive to the dialogue many students who are passionate about the conflict have worked so hard to establish. It feels that Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, the organization who put on the demonstration, has tactically chosen to demonize Israel when its Jewish supporters were unable to participate in the conversation. Even more, many students were forced to choose between observing their Jewish religion and standing up for their Jewish homeland, which for many, like me, are incredibly intertwined and complex. Many Jewish students were not on campus on Tuesday, as they
were attending Rosh Hashanah services in synagogues across the country. Those students’ voices were silenced by SAFE, because they couldn’t present an alternative narrative to what was so insensitively constructed on campus this week. On Tuesday I felt as I have felt many times over the past year: excluded from the larger narrative on this campus because of my Jewish identity. We are told we don’t know how it feels to be ostracized and oppressed, and thus can’t participate in conversations revolving around diversity and inclusion. A lack of identical shared experiences shouldn’t constitute an inability to participate in the conversation, or an inability to support others who are suffering. One group’s pain and oppression shouldn’t be measured against another group’s pain and oppression — this is useless and hurtful. All minorities on this campus — whether pertaining to religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and so on — face their challenges and feel excluded in different, yet often intersecting ways. Had SAFE not explicitly chosen to host this event on Rosh Hashanah, when they knew they would face little opposition on campus, I might have learned something about Israel’s complexities and my fellow students’ connection to the land. Yet, because I was observing the Jewish holiday,
I was intentionally excluded from this conversation. This week, SAFE hurt me, but it wasn’t because they put up an anti-Israel wall on the Diag. Though I disagree with their message, I support their right to express it. Rather, I am hurt that they excluded me from the conversation. Just like SAFE, the Jewish members of the Michigan community are a vital part of the dialogue. If SAFE intended to promote constructive conversation and education, I don’t see how that would have been possible on this day when many of those with differing opinions were not passing through the Diag because they were attending religious services. Coming off of the Jewish New Year, my head is filled with the ideas of starting new, reflecting upon my actions and looking ahead toward hopeful change for the coming year. Bearing our different backgrounds, pains, struggles and triumphs, we each have a distinct and valuable voice that deserves to be heard on this campus, not one more or less than another. I hope this year brings more support for one another, constructive dialogue and the will to sit down together and include all of those voices in the conversation.
W
Ashley Zhang can be reached at ashleyzh@umich.edu
A new kind of racial silence
Gabrielle Roth is an Orgnizarional Studies junior.
Statement from SAFE intentionally planned this event on Rosh Hashanah to target Jewish students. This is false. We distinguish between Judaism, a religious and ethnic identity, and Zionism, a political ideology in support of a state. Criticizing a state’s policies and its institutions is never off limits and stating that criticism of oppressive state policies is an attack on an identity is misguided. In addition to it being Rosh Hashanah, it was also the Muslim New Year, the day after the comemmoration of the Virgin Mary, and four days prior to the celebration of St. Thomas. Four holy days sacred to three different religions in which all of these identities are represented in our membership. Furthermore, the Diag was booked three weeks in advance and a date would not be available again until mid-November. Therefore, it is painful to see that we are being accused of anti-Semitism and astonishing that a petition has been circulated to condemn us as hateful. Stating that we singled out Jewish students in the midst of three other religious holidays is unfair. It seeks to undermine the work we have done and wishes to utilize the climate of attacks on Black communities and people of color on our campus and twist it to shut down criticism of systematic state violence that oppresses Palestinian students. Additionally, it falls under the much larger wave of speech
Just as large parties are oddly intimate, public confessionals are oddly private.
As I reached for a piece of chalk, my gaze fell upon the truths of others. “Before I die I want to be my true self.” “I want to be a man.” “I want to tell my brother I’m sorry.” The raw honesty and vulnerability behind these responses encouraged me to bring chalk to the board and confess not one, not two, but three matters of the heart. Number 1: “Before I die, I want to save a life.” That’s for the future physician in me. Number 2: “Before I die, I want to write a book.” That’s for the budding writer in me. And, Number 3: “Before I die, I want to learn to love myself.” That’s for all of me, encapsulated in the skin of insecurities I wear. Stepping back from the blackboard walls, I let out a sigh of relief as my confessions melted into anonymity, joining the truths of so many others. Despite the anonymity, they were there and they were mine, at least for the night. That night, those were the things I wanted most before I died. And perhaps I won’t fulfill some — hell, perhaps I won’t fulfill any at all — but at that moment, I allowed all the background noise to fade into oblivion until only the stark truth was left. For Dr. Kurze and Rev. Smith, that effect would be considered a success. In an interview with the Daily, Dr. Kurze stated, “I’d like to think that the ‘Before I die...’ wall prompts people to dream dreams, to imagine what’s possible, to play and have fun on the way to whatever comes next.” The responses on the board surely reflect that, even inspiring some people to change the hopeful “I want” to the determined “I will.” “I will finish med school.” “I will change the world.” The blackboard walls outside the First Congregational Church may be long gone, but their impact and inspiration doesn’t have to be. So, next time all the minor worries of life begin to pile up, think: Before you die, what do you want to do?
ALLISON LANG | OP-ED
STUDENTS ALLIED FOR FREEDOM AND EQUALITY | MICHIGAN IN COLOR
e, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, held a demonstration on Tuesday, Oct. 5, in which we put up two mock walls in the Diag to represent the Apartheid Wall that cuts through the West Bank. We reenacted scenes of Palestinians crossing through checkpoints because we wanted to use that day as an opportunity to highlight what daily life is like for Palestinians living under occupation. It was a day on which Palestinians centered their voices in the discussion of their own oppression. In addition, our members walked around asking if they could answer questions and inform passersby of what we were doing. We had an information table with pamphlets and facts about checkpoints, occupation and the illegality of the Apartheid Wall as stated by the International Court of Justice. All of this was done to start the conversation about the oppression of Palestinians under occupation on our own terms. As Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, we stand against all forms of racism, including antiSemitism and Islamophobia, as well as homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, xenophobia, colorism, etc. We stand in solidarity with all marginalized people and oppose all systems and forms of oppression. Accusations have been made that we
I
’d never quite understood an anonymous forum, the back Jordan Baker’s love of of a bathroom door or a tall large parties and their blackboard for all to see. It’s a supposed intimacy in “The shout into the proverbial void, a Great Gatsby” until one night, bottled message thrown to the as I rushed down State Street, sea. With just enough anonymity, heart pounding, blood pumping, the words left behind for curious late for something or other, I eyes carry sweet relief as we paused at the sight bare our souls to of a new addition the world. Even this to the landscape. column — which is Tall blackboard undeniably public — is walls stood at the a home for my private corner of State and thoughts, because William, and the typing them isn’t big, bold letters nearly as intimidating scrawled across as voicing them. the top — “Before I “In all the to-dos die, I want to …” — that crowd our AHSLEY beckoned to me. lists, what is most ZHANG “Before I die, I important to do want to …” It was a big question before we die?” Darcy Crainto pose in public, and perhaps it Polly, associate minister for the was the gravity of it that made First Congregational Church me stop, quieting my worries of Ann Arbor, which housed even in my frantic state. What the “Before I die …” boards, did I want to accomplish before asks. The boards, which are the my time came? I’d never really brainchild of retired palliative given much thought to anything beyond the immediate future — what was for dinner tonight, my orgo exam next week, Thanksgiving next month — but when confronted with the reality of mortality, it seemed silly to worry about such trivial matters. At death’s door, I won’t be thinking of missed meetings or chemistry grades. In the big scheme of things, the matters that seem wildly important today are mere trivialities. For a few weeks, these physician Dr. Sheryl Kurze and blackboard walls forced passing Arbor Hospice Chaplain Diane pedestrians to consider what Smith, have made a positive really matters when all the effect in the community that’s banalities and fluff are pulled made its year-long conception away, resulting in a myriad of well worth it. answers in different colors and Inspired by Candy Chang, the handwritings. While responses New Orleans artist who created varied from the humorous “I the “Before I die...” wall concept, want to steal all the fries in the Dr. Kurze and Rev. Smith began world” and “learn to spel” to working on a wall for Ann Arbor, the meta “fill up an ‘I want to’ to give everyone an opportunity board,” the majority of answers to “gain clarity about how they were stunningly honest and want to spend their lives.” Dr. deeply personal. “I want to Kurze and Rev. Smith work regain optimism.” “I want to be closely with individuals nearing the reason someone lives.” “I the ends of their lives, and are want to love my body.” “continually reminded that life Just as large parties are oddly is precarious.” In their work, intimate, public confessionals they often encourage people are oddly private. and patients to “spend the time We all secretly yearn for our they have left living as fully as stories to be heard, but fear of possible for as long as possible.” judgment and gossip hold us On the dark street corner back from sharing them with milling with pedestrians, facing friends and family, leaving us this board that demanded my to seek alternative platforms: deepest desires, clarity struck.
suppression that seeks to derail any valid criticism of Israeli state policy of oppression against Palestinians as a false claim of anti-Semitism. As Palestine Legal has noted, this policy has been heavily utilized by pro-Israel advocates to delegitimize Palestinian activists in recent years. It serves as a method to silence Palestinians for speaking against their oppression. Palestinian students on this campus should not have to pick and choose when to speak of their oppression for fear of being discounted as hateful and bigoted. Finally, to suggest that SAFE, a pro-Palestinian advocacy organization, harbors such hatred of Jews as to intentionally host a demonstration on a Jewish holiday to attack Jewish identity is to reaffirm the racist stereotype that proPalestinian student activists are inherently anti-Semitic due to some irrational hatred of the Jews as a people. As the “Leaders and Best,” this type of implicit prejudice should not be tolerated at the University of Michigan. No student group or students in general should be faced with these kinds of accusations while organizing against their own oppression. Students Allied for Freedom and Equality #SilencingApartheid #SilencingSAFE
ALLISON LANG
A
s much as we like to pretend racism has disappeared with a few stirs of the U.S. melting pot, discrimination keeps bubbling back to the surface. In the last week alone, race became a contentious issue in the first presidential debate and on campus with the discovery of white supremacist flyers in a University of Michigan building. In this context, UM alum Dr. Natalia Molina’s lecture on racial scripts provided a clear and much-needed message: Racism is embedded in our institutions and must be addressed through comprehensive reform. In honor of LatinX Heritage month, Dr. Molina traveled from University of California, San Diego, to present her new book, “How Race is Made in America,” this past Friday. Her presentation demonstrated how society racializes groups, establishing assumptions that stay connected to groups throughout history. These assumptions are what Dr. Molina calls “racial scripts.” To illustrate her point, Dr. Molina showed us two photographs. We compared an early 20th century photograph of Chinese immigrants being subjected to special physical examinations at Angel Island and a contemporary photograph of Mexican immigrants being fumigated at the border. The racial script from this common treatment across time is the belief that certain immigrant groups are dirty or diseased. This rhetoric appeared in the presidential campaign when Donald Trump claimed
Mexican immigrants are rapists and murderers who bring their diseases across the border. While the first two claims have been largely reported on and problematized, even Democrats haven’t publicly addressed his claim that Mexicans are diseased. This fits the trend identified by Damien Arthur and Joshua Wood in their study of the impact of context on presidential immigration rhetoric. The researchers found that more than 50 percent of immigration speeches given by presidents from 1993 to 2008 were framed in terms of illegality, criminality, terrorism and economic threats. Dr. Molina further explained that racial scripts are built into our institutions and cultural representations. I was appalled by last week’s presidential debate in which both candidates only brought up race in terms of illegal immigration, terrorism and violence. Even Hillary Clinton only talked about police reform, while institutional racism in the education system remained off the table. We must make our government and presidential candidates aware that we are not OK with framing race as a threat to society. We must also remember that when the Declaration of Independence proclaimed in 1776 that all men are created equal, it exclusively referred to white, propertyholding men. This country was founded on the paradox of exclusionary human rights. Our founding fathers didn’t need to state, “not including non-whites, slaves, women and immigrants,” because it was assumed. Today, we also want to leave race off the table because we are now supposedly a “color-blind”
society. However, this silence on race is just as damaging as it was in the past, because it continues to leave institutional racism unaddressed. Beyond the national stage, this past week we confronted racism on campus. Susan Svrluga of The Washington Post reported that flyers with messages of white supremacy were found in a University building, adding to a string of racist incidents occurring on campuses throughout the country in the last month. The story was accompanied by a tweet from a University student calling attention to the irony that these flyers would appear in a school that prides itself on being progressive and diverse. While the incident has recently called attention to race issues, historically the University has had and continues to have low enrollment of minority students. According to the University of Michigan’s Office of the Registrar, in the fall 2015 semester, 56.2 percent of the student body was white, while only 4.1 percent was Black. I can personally say I have taken a few classes where more than three-quarters of the students have been white. The recent racist acts, along with Dr. Molina’s call for us to reexamine our institutions and our attitudes, set the scene for University President Mark Schlissel to announce his strategic plan for diversity, equity and inclusion this month. While this may be a step in the right direction, we, as students and faculty members, must do more to expose racist scripts that we encounter in our everyday lives. Allison Lang is an LSA junior.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, October 7, 2016 — 7
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
ALBUM REVIEW
The virtues of musical nostalgia A melancholy reflection on changing seasons and past autumns SEAN LANG
being. It is melancholic, but in a rosy, comforting way. It almost seems wrong to connect this feeling to music, associating such an abstract concept with concrete artists, albums and songs. But I would be peddling flat-out falsehood if I told you that artists like Pedro The Lion, San Fermin, Daughter, Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes — among countless others — weren’t crucial contributors to this pure, unashamed nostalgia. In fact, as I sit and write this piece, mournfully observing the dreary weather — forecasted to continue through tomorrow’s football game — a copy of Bon Iver’s new (and, I’ll add, excellent) 22, A Million spins on my record player. When I turn it up and close my eyes, remembering, imagining, reliving the countless late-night, angst-ridden walks soundtracked by For Emma, Forever Ago is effortless. In an endeavor to kickstart the creative process (by throwing myself at the feet of nostalgia), I even bought half a dozen cinnamon sugar cake donuts. Now, only one remains, and an already half-empty gallon of apple cider sits in my fridge. In the fall of my sophomore year of high school, my then-youth group leader played the song “Diamond Ring” by Pedro the Lion for all of us young’uns at our annual kick-off. The message was clunky, and the lesson didn’t flow well, but the music stuck. It stuck then and it sticks now. Earlier this week I bought a ticket to see David Bazan — Pedro the Lion’s frontman — on his living room tour show in Ann Arbor. It’s a funny thing; four years have passed and I’m not sure anymore whether Pedro the Lion’s music is even good. That’s not to say I have any doubt that it is, but that I have too much personal history with it to even try to step back and assess it from an “objective” standpoint. His distinctly agnostic, borderline rock permeates every recent memory I have of this beautiful, sorrowful season. His rich, contoured voice induces the kind of sadness in me that, in direct opposition to intuition, makes me feel good about life in its
Daily Arts Writer
COLUMBIA RECORDS
Oooohhh gurl, you lean on that wall.
Solange rises to royalty on ‘A Seat at the Table’ Fourth studio album of R&B icon tackles culturally significant issues through her account of the Black female experience CHRISTIAN KENNEDY
album’s pace is assisted by a diverse number of spoken interludes and masterfully selected and executed Solange’s fourth studio album, features. The most on-the-nose A Seat at the Table, is a soft- and memorable of the interludes, sounding record about hard spoken by Solange’s mother, realities that seamlessly blends delivers the album’s underlying R&B, soul, funk and hip hop. knowledge: “There’s such beauty Over the album’s in Black people.” 21 tracks (eight of But as her which are spoken mother articulates, interludes), oppression comes A Seat at the Table Solange and Co. with the beauty of craft a poignant being Black. Solange Solange portrait of carries this beauty Columbia Records Blackness in the and oppression 21st century, a throughout the so-called “postrecord, leading to racial” existence its most beautiful in which unarmed Black men are and dynamic moments. “Cranes killed by police regularly. in the Sky” ’s unwavering Opening track “Rise,” inspired instrumentation mimics the by police killings and subsequent constant pain Solange tries to protests in Ferguson and avoid as her voice shifts between Baltimore, repeats the chorus delicate and powerful. “Mad” three times: “Fall in your ways, speaks directly to the label of being so you can crumble / Fall in your an angry Black woman; Solange ways, so you can sleep at night / floats, “Why you always gotta be, Fall in your ways, so you can wake why you always gotta be so mad? up and rise,” before switching to / I got a lot to be mad about” over “Walk in your ways, so you won’t funky bass, and Lil Wayne delivers crumble / Walk in your ways, so some of his best work this decade. you can sleep at night / Walk in “Don’t Touch My Hair” sees your ways, so you will wake up Solange likening her hair to her and rise” on the final recitation. pride, her soul and her crown, but It tonally establishes the theme she finally settles on “this hair is of the album as being true to my shit.” The message may be for one’s identity in moments of ease those who “don’t understand what and adversity. The track’s slow it means to (her),” but the track is a pace and instrumental emphasis bold celebration of natural hair as on understated bass lines and a deeply integrated part of Black piano leave the heaviest lifting womanhood (not to mention, the to Solange’s vocals, which are unforgettable Sampha-assisted delivered smoothly. chorus). There’s not a bad track on A The album’s centerpiece, Seat at the Table. Hell, there isn’t “F.U.B.U.” (stands for “For Us By even an OK track — they’re all Us,” a reference to a ’90s clothing genuinely good, most great. The which gained prominence), is Daily Music Editor
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defiant (“This shit is for us”), unapologetic (“I hope my son will bang this song so loud / That he almost makes his walls fall down / Cause his momma wants to make him proud / Oh, to be us”) and above all realistic: “Don’t feel bad if you can’t sing along / Just be glad you got the whole wide world.” Tackling cultural appropriation and being Black in predominantly white spaces, “F.U.B.U.” doesn’t attempt to distract from the ugliness of that reality. Instead, it lays it bare, allowing Solange’s voice and narrative to stand as the song’s backbone. Following “F.U.B.U.” A Seat at the Table is decidedly more upbeat, mixing techno and pop elements into the production. The tempo picks up on “Borderline (An Ode to Self Care),” but is most memorable on “Junie” thanks to the album’s most outright production, boasting an infectious piano section and Andre 3000’s bubbling “Jump On It” chorus. Danceable sound aside, the track nonetheless lays on some heavy knowledge, articulating cultural appropriation through a fresh lens: “You want to be the teacher / Don’t want to go to school / Don’t want to do the dishes / Just want to eat the food.” A Seat at the Table articulately brings together the greater public discussion of racial politics and the individualistic experience of being a Black woman with nuance and narrative by way of an incredible album. In closing, with a glorious horn backing, Master P states, “Now, we come here as slaves, but we going out as royalty, and able to show that we are truly the chosen ones.”
Its arrival has been made known by way of an invasion of temporary storefronts, the grossly premature selling of seasonal decorations and, most importantly, the sudden ubiquity of pumpkin-spice products. The weather seems to have officially turned. Fall — or, for the more sophisticated among us, autumn — is upon us. Though there is a sense of newness to the season, with students returning to college or going for the first time, fall is primarily a time of intense nostalgia, of loss and — at its core — of death. The collective excitement of welcome weeks across the nation has been all but suffocated by the looming presence of midterms, and many new students — even those who have found stable communities at university — are starting to realize that the transition to college doesn’t maintain the glamour that characterizes the first three or four days. Even now, in my second year, I find myself longing for — craving, even — the days in high school when my childhood friends and I would drive over to Robinette’s, the locally famous cider mill, and take home a dozen cinnamon sugar donuts to devour before debate team practice or the football game. It was easier to think in more immediate terms then, with no worries about meeting major requirements or landing that internship. Especially with schoolwork constantly stealing away any and all free time, finding that same mental space that was so common in high school — those two hours of relaxation void of responsibility — can be a challenge. Now, let me be honest for a second: my goal in writing this article is one that I believe to be hopelessly abstract. I have no idea whether I am capable of accurately conveying what I want to convey. What I do know is that there is a burning, ambiguous feeling of nostalgia which, in intervals, consumes my entire
Classifieds
entirety. As the pressure of midterms increases, Bazan’s deeply personal, yet readily relatable narratives remind me that, even if I were to fail — today, tomorrow, in school, in life — there would still be such divine, absolute beauty in the world that my failure couldn’t possibly matter, even if the beauty I envision is specific to my experience alone. For your sake, I hope that you have an equivalent. It doesn’t need to be Bon Iver or Pedro the Lion or even music at all. Maybe rereading your favorite book is what catapults you back to simpler times, or maybe it’s a certain food; I really don’t care. The only thing that matters to me — in the context of this article, anyway — is that you find whatever it is that gives you this feeling and that you embrace the hell out of it. It may initially be deeply unsettling; this feeling is one that requires us to confront our most emotionally vulnerable selves. By acknowledging and engaging with it, we are forced to ask ourselves certain questions. Why do we long for the past? Why are the emotions of yesterday so completely inaccessible today? Was I happier then than I am now? It’s often difficult to say. Nostalgia paints our memories in richer hues — more satisfying and more alluring tones — than the actuality of the memory, but its intent is pure. When I get into that mood, that funk of wishing that I could go back in time and space, one of two things can happen. I can spend the rest of my week lost in my head, burying myself deeper and deeper in the folds of If You Leave, by Daughter, or Bon Iver by Bon Iver. Alternatively, I can relish the melancholy and strive to create the sort of moments that will fill my mind during these same nostalgic days years from now. Making that choice is easier said than done, and there are times when slipping into the former state can be absolutely cathartic, but the message is ultimately simple and cliche: carve a pumpkin or two, drink some cider, go for a walk in the arboretum and live a life you can look forward to remembering.
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RELEASE DATE– Friday, October 7, 2016
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
HELP WANTED
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
THE VAULT | ‘SIXTEEN CANDLES’ (1984), UNIVERSAL STUDIOS VANESSA WONG Daily Arts Writer
Oh, John Hughes, how you’ve mastered the art of teen angst. Over the years, we’ve grown to love the ingredients mixed into his trademark high school rom-coms: a student body population strictly divided into exclusive cliques (verifying that yes, high school does in fact suck), annoying family members (so we have reason to wage war against the home front) and unlikely romances that rise above class lines (because what’s more teenage than rebelling against the very fabric of society?). It’s chicken soup for the weird kid’s soul — what more could you want? … Actually, quite a bit. Rewatching “Sixteen Candles” made me realize just how worrisome its portrayals of Asian characters and sexual consent are. With “Sixteen Candles” recently added to Netflix and screening at the Michigan Theater Oct. 14, fans of the movie should watch it through a modern lens. In his recent Emmys acceptance speech, “Master of None” co-creator Alan Yang said, “There are 17 million Asian Americans in this country, and there are 17 million Italian Americans. They have ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Goodfellas,’ ‘The Sopranos’ … we got Long Duk Dong. We have a long way to go.” The Long Duk Dong he is referring to is the foreign exchange student who visits Sam’s family in “Sixteen
Candles,” a character who quickly devolves into a parody of how Westerners view Asian males. A gong chimes every time Dong’s name is mentioned, and even his name itself is clearly structured for mockery. His own language is used against him to degrade his masculinity. He’s animalistic and sexually wayward, confirmed by his kinky sexcapades with Marlene. Dong isn’t just the archetypical Weird Character who bears the brunt of every joke. All his oddities are sourced specifically from his race, so it is Asian-ness alone that becomes the joke. It’s the ’80s. What do you expect? Later, Jake Ryan and nerdy Ted form an unlikely bond, and it’s nerdy, inexperienced Ted who gives the popular jock advice about how to win Sam’s heart. Jake says he’d rather be with Sam, saying of his current girlfriend, “She’s so drunk, I could probably violate her in ten different ways.” Ted seems surprised. “Why don’t you?” he asks. It’s more than a throwaway line. Jake takes Ted under his wing, suggesting that since he’s going after the girl Ted wanted, Ted can “have” his girlfriend. The boys proceed to spend almost four whole minutes of screen time planning, explaining and executing the girlfriend switcheroo, during which the girl’s head lolls around unconscious and she clearly cannot tell the
difference between the two boys. Later, Ted takes photos of him with his arm around her in the car to brag to his friends — concrete proof needed because he knows there’s no chance of recreating this coupling once the girl is sober. Later, she wakes up drowsily, and when asked if she enjoyed it, she says, “You know what? I think I did.” She clearly did not remember what happened, but the unrealistic line written for her forces retroactive consent. Of course, this ties the date rape sequence into a neat little bow and apparently makes it all okay. It’s the ’80s. What do you expect? If “Sixteen Candles” came out now, its plot points would suffer the wrath of social media frenzy. It’s true: it was the ’80s. A different cultural era, with different cultural standards for what is OK and what isn’t. But as modern-day viewers, we can’t write off problematic portrayals as artifacts of the past, because they contributed to the thought patterns of today. We should exercise our lens as modern viewers and acknowledge that these issues are present and have detrimental effects. That doesn’t necessarily mean boycotting “Sixteen Candles.” After all, there’s a lot in it to love. But it does mean we should view it with a critical eye. Maybe, despite racist and sexist character portrayals, John Hughes still is a legend. Maybe he isn’t. That’s for each of us to decide.
ACROSS 1 City NE of Odessa 8 American Pharoah accoutrement 14 Like many lots 15 Like bad butter 16 Item on a certain thief’s rap sheet? 18 Party planner’s compilation 19 Big Island entertainment 20 Tour stop 22 Put down 23 Sequential exercise 26 Name on the 1983 album “More Music for Films” 27 Long-distance calling org.? 29 Linguistic ending 30 Graceful wader 32 Dinner for a lottery winner? 36 “C U When U Get There” rapper 38 Cans on a Lowe’s shelf 39 Mural of a wild canine? 41 Flew like a birdie 42 Minn. neighbor 43 Zachary Taylor, e.g. 47 Affected denial 48 Held up 51 With 48-Down, judging with others 52 Sign of spring 53 Prominent feature of “Twilight” films? 54 Query in Matthew 56 Last of a $140 stack? 60 Follows 61 “The Little Prince” author SaintExupéry 62 Like hunks 63 Ached (for)
3 Call it off 4 Pullover beneficiaries 5 Bookkeeper’s concerns: Abbr. 6 Gp. with many arms 7 Strauss’ “__ Rosenkavalier” 8 Slow down 9 Hurries 10 Tattoo parlor supplies 11 Roman 601 12 Not hurry home from 13 Avant-garde quality 17 Aromatic cocktail 21 Düsseldorf deity 24 Director DeMille 25 “I’ll kneel down / And ___ thee forgiveness”: King Lear 28 “Kidding” 30 Former attorney general Holder 31 Moody Blues hit with an exclamation point in its title
DOWN 1 Economical bikes 2 Not a good way By Jeffrey Wechsler to be caught
33 “When I was __ ... ”: “H.M.S. Pinafore” lyric 34 Starts the day 35 Sample 36 Whoops it up 37 West 39 Hinge holder 40 Like stormy seas 44 Sauce served with mu shu pork 45 Chant 46 Profited
48 See 51-Across 49 Not at all calm 50 Judge’s decrees 53 It might be resolved through mediation 55 Candy bar with a Nordic name 57 Sch. near the Appomattox River 58 Noisy bird 59 Chemical suffix
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Rule of thirds doing magic on this pic.
A conversation with drag comedian Bianca Del Rio The Season 6 winner of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ on her ‘Satan’ tour often compared to another comKATHLEEN DAVIS edy queen – the late Joan Rivers. Managing Arts Editor Both are masters of the insult comedy routine, and both RivFemale impersonation is an art ers and Del Rio have been vocal form that has existed at least as about their distaste for political far back as Shakespeare, though correctness. A meeting between drag has never the two was docureached the mented in an episode Bianca Del Rio same levels of Rivers’s YouTube of historical series, “In Bed With Wednesday, Oct. 12 attention as the Joan,” shortly before Royal Oak Music Bard. Modern her death in 2014. society, with “She really embodTheatre its rigid gender ied drag comedy withDoors open at roles and inherout the drag,” Del Rio 7 p.m. ent need to catsaid. “She was the first egorize, has, comedian to do every until recently, possible thing you viewed drag as contrary to main- could do, and her work ethic was stream entertainment, remain- absolutely amazing, up until the ing in an LGBTQ niche. However, end.” even the most casual consumer of Having seen several episodes pop culture should recognize a of the series, it’s clear that the few icons in the art that stick out comedic chemistry between the in the American cerebrum – par- two is genuine. Del Rio said she ticularly RuPaul Charles, Lady and Rivers were only supposed to Bunny and Divine. If you haven’t film for about 20 minutes – howalready, you better add comedian ever, the pair spent almost an Bianca Del Rio to that list. hour, in her words, “laughing and The drag persona of New York- talking shit.” based costume designer Roy “I remember my 9-year-old Haylock, Del Rio is the season 6 little gay heart breaking when winner of cultural phenomenon she cackled at something I said, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” winning I couldn’t believe it was happennot only a $100,000 cash prize, ing,” Del Rio said. “I’m supposed but a newfound fame and legions to say winning ‘Drag Race’ was of passionate fans. Del Rio serves the best thing to ever happen to up insult comedy with her brand me, but meeting Joan is a very of self-described “clown real- close second.” ness,” and is probably known Del Rio’s stop in Royal Oak best outside the drag community coincides with the recent release for the “not today, Satan” sound of “Hurricane Bianca,” a film bite that went viral after her sea- long in the making starring son aired. Del Rio, Rachel Dratch (“SatHaylock is now traveling the urday Night Live”), Alan Cumcountry as Bianca Del Rio, stop- ming (“The Good Wife”) and a ping by the Royal Oak Music conglomeration of queens from Theatre on Oct. 12 on the aptly “Drag Race” fame. The comedy named “Not Today, Satan” tour. focuses on Richard Martinez Del Rio’s comedy is razor sharp (Haylock), a high school chemand feeds significantly on audi- istry teacher in a small Texas ence interaction, and it’s hard not town, who is unceremoniously to laugh at even the darkest jabs. fired after he is outed as gay. In At 41, Del Rio is a seasoned comic a “Mrs. Doubtfire”-meets-“Lady who knows her biggest strength Vengeance” situation, Martinez lies in the balance between the comes back unrecognizable in clowny nature of her drag look full drag as Bianca Del Rio to take and the insults that leave her the same position, and wreak mouth. havoc on those who wronged her. “More people should wear Underlying the camp of the a costume and release some of film is a much darker truth – in their craziness, too. It’s no dif- this day and age, it is still legal in ferent than Comic-Con, or San- 29 states, including Michigan, to ta-Con,” Del Rio said in a phone be fired for being gay. Michigan interview with The Michigan is slowly working in the direcDaily. “You work 9-5 in a cubicle, tion of equality, with active camgo out and have some fun.” paigns to amend existing work Del Rio’s style of humor is discrimination laws to include
sexual orientation. Del Rio hopes to use comedy as a mediator to bring more attention to the problem, one that affects millions of people living in the United States today. “One of the reasons I was drawn to the project is that it wasn’t done in a preachy, documentary kind of way, but it also isn’t completely campy,” Del Rio said. “There’s some charm to it, and there’s some heart to it.” As drag gains popularity in more mainstream circles some queens have spoken out about the negative effects of the interest by non-LGBT people in the art. This was brought to the attention of many in a 2015 Slate article by Miz Cracker, another New York-based drag queen. In the piece, she laments the recent influx of straight women in gay clubs, historically a haven for the LGBT community. Miz Cracker has a problem mostly with bachelorette parties, as her personal experiences with them have been marred by rudeness and feelings of entitlement from the women. Del Rio, on the other hand, encourages people of all sexual orientations to come to her show. “There are no rules to anything. Sometimes 16 women walk into a [gay] bar and receive some side-eyes, but let me tell you, 16 gay men are no better,” Del Rio said. “I think it’s great, but I think in particular with my sense of humor, they need to be aware that if you have feelings, leave them at the door [laughs]. That doesn’t mean I’m just attacking straight girls, I’m attacking everyone.” According to Del Rio, about 60 percent of her tour audience is straight women, likely because that demographic’s viewership of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has grown immensely over the years. The show has gained fans of cultish proportions with every season, and is now in its 10th incarnation with no signs of stopping. Though Del Rio has benefited from the “Drag Race” empire, she has also proven herself as a multitalented seasoned comic, actor and educator on social justice, all with a little bit of a bite. “Just know if you’re coming to my show, don’t wear your heart on your sleeve,” Del Rio said. “Because you’ll leave with no heart and no sleeve.”
FILM NOTEBOOK
The pitfalls of aggregate film ratings How sites like Rotten Tomatoes fail even the best movies WILL STEWART Daily Arts Writer
If I hear one more person say, “That restaurant looks pretty good, but it only has a 3.6 on Yelp,” I am going to lose my mind. This is hypocritical, though, considering I’ve been guilty of such thinking. Daily decisions that were once spontaneous are now dictated by ambiguous rating scales from Metacritic, Yelp, Google Reviews and Rotten Tomatoes. We allow these ratings to dictate what is worthy or
unworthy of our valuable time and money, disregarding our own instincts or desires. Even worse, they dictate our opinions before even having an individual experience. Opinions about movies are the most malleable, and Rotten Tomatoes has advantageously tapped into this market. Can we still enjoy movies considered meager by the likes of this aggregate? Film criticism has existed for a century before Rotten Tomatoes was even designed, but this website has changed the way we view it. Rotten Tomatoes conveniently
compiles all popular critics’ ratings and converts them into a percentage, or approval rating. If a “certified” critic gives a movie any rating above 6.0, it is considered “fresh.” Conversely, a rating below 6.0 results in a “rotten” label. Because the rating system is binary, it does not always accurately represent how acclaimed a movie is. Every existing critic could rate a movie a 6.2 and it would have a 100% approval rating. Somehow, Rotten Tomatoes also converts letter ratings (A through F) into this fresh/rotten binary, only complicating things further.
WARP RECORDS
Edgy boy!
Danny Brown stays crazy but gets smarter on ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ Rap’s dark horse is stronger than ever on newest LP, repping Detroit and the Black experience at every turn MATT GALLATIN
seen as the first in a trilogy for Brown) he spits “And it’s the downward spiral, got “Asylums with doors open me suicidal.” It’s dark, but wide / Where people had paid delivered in an almost cheerful to see inside….” yawp as he bounces to lines The opening lines to like “Surpassing all my idols.” Joy Division’s “Atrocity On Atrocity Exhibition, now five Exhibition” (the inspiration for years separated, Brown starts this album of the where he left same name) elicit a off, referencing sinister freak show, that first foray, touching on the titling the Atrocity Exhibition idea that audiences opening track feed on pain and “Downward Danny Brown suffering. It’s a Spiral.” But this Warp Records fitting introduction time there’s to Danny Brown, a desperation a Detroit rapper even more who has become present than a kind of dark horse in the before as he cries, “I gotta figure rap industry, describing it out.” That desperation seeps scenes of poverty-stricken into the production as well: a neighborhoods as a walking distorted guitar nearly screams nightmare, rife with escapist on this track, and comes back drug use and Wonderbread most prominently again on bought with food stamps. the arresting introduction to He’s keenly aware of how “Today,” sounding like the his struggle — and the struggle entrance music to a decrypt of Black Americans more haunted house. broadly — has become a kind If you thought that that of lurid fascination for the inner desperation would largely white audiences of rap. translate to some sappy slow The title is also particularly songs about love, you haven’t fitting for Brown himself, a yet been acclimated to Danny man often noted for his quirks: Brown. Atrocity Exhibition gap toothed, high-pitched, includes some of the hardest crazed hair and a penchant for tracks Brown has released, extraordinary drug use. perhaps ever. Take highlight But to define Brown by those “Pneumonia,” an angry, surface-level issues would abrasive track which slams be to dismiss his far more on its drums while Brown interesting quirks, namely the alternates between dead-eyed huge breadth of interests and delivery and front-of-theinspirations which he brings battlefield yells. The tongue-into his projects. If you have cheek verses of XXX are gone ever heard a Danny Brown here — this is straightforward song before, the notion that the intensity. Larry David sitcom “Curb Your The transitions here are Enthusiasm” was on his TV deceptively smooth. It doesn’t while writing it is wonderfully immediately seem jarring to perplexing. Such eclectic taste move from such a war cry to helps explain the depth of his the joyful “Dance in the Water” lyricism. Brown can juggle on account of the baseline between talk of heavy drug similarity in production. use, intensely graphic sex and But this anthemic track classic rock often within a about enjoying life without single track, even a single bar. consequences is a 180-degree On his fourth album, Brown turn from where “Pneumonia” doesn’t stray too far from those left off; in classic Danny Brown topics he’s so synonymous style, it just fits. It might be an with, but there is a clear sense artificially reached moment of progression in his attitude. of exuberance, like a quick On the opener of his daunting hit of cocaine, but it’s there album XXX (which can be nonetheless.
The most anticipated moment of this album comes earlier, though: “Really Doe.” Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul and Danny Brown all line up for the hype, and deliver accordingly. Not since A$AP Rocky’s “1Train” have such a quantity of quality talent come together on a single track so effectively. This one is less menacing than that one, but hits hard. Brown’s bars here are some of the strongest and most consistent on the album, as are the slew of guests. These are men at the top of their game and keenly aware of it. In many ways this album easily fits within the scope of the two prior: XXX and Old. The style and content is consistent with what came before, though packaged differently. XXX was Brown’s true break into the rap scene, and solidified his style of witty punchlines and a refreshing vulgarity, both of which remain steady on Atrocity Exhibition. Old was far more ambitious in scope, stretching two “sides” like a vinyl record and experimenting with both new age production and classic EDM-inspired beats. This album feels slightly more coherent than both of its predecessors, at least in its ability to be consumed. It’s four tracks shorter than the first two albums, each of which clocked in at 19 tracks. And it doesn’t terrorize the listener in quite the same way. In no way, though, does that take merit away from Atrocity Exhibition. Brown stays true to himself as always, irreverently so. The lead single “When It Rain,” is a brief showcase of just that. The unorthodox, bouncy production — which notably omits drums and synths for much of the track — drives Brown’s intense delivery, whose words paint a desolate picture amidst the background of a happy, upbeat party. That dichotomy is quintessential Brown, and nobody else in the game executes it quite as he does.
Type in any movie on Google. The first thing that will catch your attention is the Rotten Tomatoes rating, even for movies released before the database existed. Before the viewer watches a movie, they’re haunted by the approval rating. Every laugh is followed by the guilt of knowing the movie only has a 42 percent approval rating. Gone are the days of knowing nothing about how critically acclaimed a movie is before watching it, and it is now almost impossible not to form a biased opinion about one. Today, we must preface our opinions with statements like “I know this movie is bad, but…” which I find completely outlandish. We’ve let ourselves be dictated by a Comcast-owned algorithmic computation that decides our opinions and
topics or experiment with cinematic elements often have lower ratings than their more accessible counterparts (not that “The Big Lebowski” is the most experimental movie out there). You can’t always equate a high Rotten Tomatoes score with great cultural significance. Rotten Tomatoes is undeniably a fine resource for abbreviating the time spent sorting through various critics’ opinions; however, it is not a substitute for having your own opinion. You may find that a movie deemed “rotten” is indeed putrid. Or, you could find a movie deemed “fresh” to be just as rotten. In either case, form a unique opinion and don’t let anything change it, because our opinions are an integral part of what makes us human.
Daily Arts Writer
A-
deprives individuality and personal voice. Besides, what is bad, or in this case “rotten,” is entirely subjective. Each viewing experience will be different for everyone, and each viewer will naturally hold unique opinions. The Rotten Tomatoes score is not a summation of everyone’s experience. Personally, I occasionally have better experiences with movies deemed rotten than fresh. Some movies considered modern classics do not have stellar Rotten Tomatoes ratings, like “The Big Lebowski,” which only stands at 80 percent. As a diehard Lebowski fan, this hurts me. Based on the popularity and respect held for this movies today, one would expect it to hold a rating in the upper 90s. But, movies that tackle controversial
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, October 7, 2016 — 9
‘M’ braces for first road game MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
When a team starts its season in as dominant a fashion as the Michigan football team did this year, the checklists start Michigan coming out. Have they at Rutgers beaten a Power Matchup: Five team? A Michigan 5-0; conference Rutgers 2-3 foe? A ranked When: opponent? Saturday Saturday, 7 P.M. after checking Where: High each of those Point Solutions three boxes in Stadium the last three TV/Radio: weeks, the ESPN2 fourth-ranked Wolverines are moving on to item No. 4: Can they keep it up on the road? In their way will be Rutgers, a name that may not inspire significant fear in fans, but one Michigan will have to take seriously. In 2014, the first time Michigan ever visited Piscataway, the Scarlet Knights upset the Wolverines and their fans stormed the field. That year, it was just one more loss in a season that featured many. This year, Michigan can’t afford to slip. After beating then-No. 8 Wisconsin, 14-7, last week, the Wolverines are firmly in the picture for the College Football Playoff. Many steep tests remain, including road games at Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State, but to reach those games with its chances intact, Michigan will first have to prove it can win away from Michigan Stadium. “It’s always fun to go into somebody’s house, and right there you’re kind of backed up against the wall, you’ve got a lot of adversity because you’re going against their home crowd,” said senior tight end Jake Butt. “They’re hyped up, (a lot of) energy, but nothing’s better than
silencing 50, 60, 70 thousand people, hearing that stadium quiet after you know you’re making big plays or you have the opportunity to win a game like that.” And with how prolific the Wolverines’ offense has been to start the year, they may not have to wait long for that silence. Even after being held to two touchdowns last week, Michigan is ranked No. 10 in the nation in scoring offense (44.4 points per game), going up against a Rutgers team ranked No. 97 in scoring defense (32.4 points). That means redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight will have an opportunity to correct what some saw as questionable throws last week against Badgers. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh defended Speight’s decisionmaking after the game, but Speight did throw his second interception. Rutgers’ rush defense is among the nation’s worst, which means it could be a big day for senior running back De’Veon Smith and the rest of Michigan’s four-man stable of backs. But while touchdowns may be the more common means of scoring, all eyes will be on the Wolverines’ kickers. Fifth-year senior Kenny Allen and sophomore Ryan Tice combined to miss three field goals against Wisconsin, prompting Harbaugh to open a kicking competition in practice this week. With highly touted freshman Quinn Nordin back in the mix, any of the three could realistically emerge to kick Michigan’s field goals. “There’s been competition there,” Harbaugh said Thursday on WXYT Radio, according to the Detroit Free Press. “We haven’t made
FOOTBALL
Behind Enemy Lines with coach Chris Ash JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Quarterback Wilton Speight makes his first road start Saturday at Rutgers.
a determination (on) who’s going to kick in the game. That competition will rage on. We’re just looking for somebody to put their iron jock on and kick the ball through the uprights.” Outside of special teams, the other position under the microscope will be left tackle. With sophomore Grant Newsome out for the season with a knee injury, the Wolverines could look to any number of options to protect Speight’s blind side. Redshirt sophomore Juwann BushellBeatty took over for Newsome in that game, but Harbaugh also posited that junior Mason Cole — who has been the Wolverines’
“Nothing’s better than silencing 50, 60, 70 thousand people.”
starter at center this season but started at left tackle last year — could slide out to his old position, or fifth-year senior left guard Ben Braden could move outside. Whoever it is will be tasked with keeping Speight on his feet one week after he was sacked four times, the most of the season so far. The Scarlet Knights average 2.2 sacks per game, so while their rush defense leaves something to be desired, they have shown some ability to rush the quarterback. Harbaugh said he would treat the game like a championship game, and while Rutgers’ 2-3 record doesn’t lend much credence to that sentiment, Michigan certainly can’t contend for a title without beating Rutgers. Saturday’s game may not be circled on fans’ calendars, but it keeps the Wolverines moving down their checklist.
When former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash accepted the head coaching job at Rutgers last December, he knew he wasn’t stepping into the prettiest situation. Though the Scarlet Knights have been a member of the Big Ten for just two years, they have suffered through multiple scandals surrounding coaches, players and athletic department officials alike. With so much drama behind the scenes, it’s not hard to believe there hasn’t been much success on the field either. Last season, Rutgers finished 4-8 (1-7 in the Big Ten) and lost to Michigan by 33. Any kind of turnaround won’t be quick. Under Ash, the Scarlet Knights have started 2-3, with their most recent showing being a 58-0 shellacking at the hands of No. 2 Ohio State. Still, Ash hopes he is starting to plant the seeds for a brighter future in the Big Ten. The Daily sat down with Ash at Big Ten Media Days in July to talk rebuilding and Big Ten football. Question: What were the challenges of building a new culture given the things that happened last year at Rutgers? Chris Ash: I’ll be honest with you. I’ve been asked that before, about looking back — I haven’t looked back much. I’m aware of what happened in the past, but what happened in the past doesn’t determine our future. We came in with a plan — we met with every player, we told them what that plan was, we told them what we needed to see out of them. It hasn’t necessarily been smooth the whole time. I told them in December, in the first team meeting, that this room would not be the same when we kicked off for our first game against Washington. And it’s not — we have lost some players, for
various reasons, but we changed that room also, through our culture and our environment that we’ve created. (We’re) really excited about it. It’s just constant communication with them. It’s rewarding and recognizing the individuals in the program that demonstrate what you want your culture to be, and that process never stops. It’s ongoing, all the time. Our whole staff has to be bought into that and believe in it and constantly be trying to reinforce that message. The Michigan Daily: You mentioned earlier that when you took the job, it was important to you to make sure that Rutgers was committed to being a part of the Big Ten. Other than just winning, how do you define being a true member of the conference? CA: Well, at the end of the day, you have to win, and that’s truly what everybody’s measured on. But for us, it’s about how do we win, and how we win, we’re gonna do it a certain way. We know that we have to win, and we have to do that to become relevant and be considered rivals of other teams in this league. TMD: But is there a sort of brand in the Big Ten that’s different from any other conference you could play in? CA: You know, a lot of people say that. I’m one of those coaches that have coached in the SEC and in the Big Ten and in the Big 12 — I’ve coached in all three leagues. The Big Ten and the SEC are probably a little bit different than the Big 12. The Big 12, it is a true spread, probably a pass-first type of league. In the SEC and in the Big Ten, this is a line of scrimmage league, where we’ve got great offensive linemen and great defensive linemen, and the game has to be played up front. And that’s what the Big Ten has been known for, and that’s probably not gonna change.
Breakdown: Michigan a heavy favorite at Rutgers KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
For the first time this season, the No. 4 Michigan football team will hit the road. Though this week’s game at Rutgers (0-2 Big Ten, 2-3 overall) isn’t nearly as challenging on paper as the Wolverines’ most recent matchup against then-No. 8 Wisconsin, Michigan will finally find itself in an unfriendly environment. Rutgers kept it close in a 14-7 loss to Iowa two weeks ago but was steamrolled at Ohio State last week, 58-0. Michigan hasn’t looked past Rutgers as a true opponent, and when redshirt sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight was asked if the perceived rivalry was comical, he responded that it wasn’t funny at all. The Daily breaks down the Wolverines’ first road game of the season: Michigan rush offense Rutgers rush defense
vs.
Michigan’s running backs rushed for 11 first downs against Wisconsin and accounted for one of its two touchdowns. The Wolverines average 210 rushing yards per game under the leadership of senior running back De’Veon Smith, who has 325 yards through five games. Freshman Chris Evans and redshirt junior Ty Isaac have also made an impact on the running game, accounting for three and two touchdowns, respectively. After Central Florida stacked the box against Michigan’s running backs, fans were worried about rushing ability, but since then, the Wolverines have proved they have what it takes to carry the team if the passing game fails. Smith has outmuscled plenty of tackles, and will likely do the same against the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers has allowed even more yards on the ground than through the air this season. On average, the Scarlet Knights
allow 227 rushing yards per game, and that doesn’t bode well for their matchup with the Wolverines. Michigan should be able to run through Rutgers over and over on Saturday. It could be a long day for the Scarlet Knights if they don’t find a way to stop Smith, Isaac and Evans. Edge: Michigan Michigan pass offense Rutgers pass defense
vs.
Just five games in, Speight has already thrown for over 1,000 yards and is completing 63 percent of his passes. Against Wisconsin, he made some risky throws but proved not to crumble under pressure when he hit fifth-year senior wide receiver Amara Darboh for a 46-yard game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Michigan fans shouldn’t be concerned with the ball in Speight’s hands, but his targets should instill even more confidence. Darboh, fifthyear senior Jehu Chesson and senior tight end Jake Butt have combined for 797 receiving yards this season, and all three are capable of making those types of game-winning plays. Speight has said many times that all he has to do is get the ball near them — even in pressure situations — and he trusts they’ll get the job done. Rutgers struggled to stop Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, allowing him to go 21-for-29 for 238 yards. The Scarlet Knights have allowed 982 yards through the air this season, and that certainly doesn’t help in their matchup with three of the best receiving targets in the Big Ten. Michigan has the edge in the passing game, and by halftime, it will likely be up big. After the break, the Wolverines will probably play it safe and stick to the ground game for the rest of the night. Edge: Michigan
Rutgers rush offense Michigan rush defense
vs.
Neither side of Rutgers’ offense is very good, but the Wolverines will see more of a threat from its run game. Running back Robert Martin leads the group with 398 yards and one touchdown that came on an 80-yard run. Wide receiver Janarion Grant leads the group with three rushing touchdowns, but his season ended when he was injured against Iowa. Running back Justin Goodwin will be the next biggest threat, averaging 4.5 yards per run. Fortunately for Michigan, its run defense has looked better and better each game. Under leadership from fifthyear senior defensive end and co-captain Chris Wormley, the line held Wisconsin to just eight first downs and 71 net yards rushing Saturday. The group has already tallied 20 sacks this season, and with the recent returns of senior defensive end Taco Charlton and defensive tackle Bryan Mone from injury, the line will only continue to get better. The defensive line is equipped to handle some of the best running games in the country, and it won’t have a problem in Piscataway. Edge: Michigan Rutgers pass offense Michigan pass defense
vs.
It’s difficult to imagine Rutgers having any success through the air with Michigan’s talented duo of senior cornerbacks Jourdan Lewis and Channing Stribling. Combined, the two have six interceptions and seven pass breakups. The Wolverines have allowed just 677 passing yards this season, good for ninth in the nation. The Scarlet Knights have struggled mightily in the passing game, grading out at 117th in the country in passing yards on a 47.4 percent completion
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Freshman defensive end Rashan Gary, a New Jersey native, will make his first trip back to his home state this weekend.
rate. Rutgers quarterback Chris Laviano went 3-for-12 for 33 yards at Ohio State, and backup quarterback Tylin Oden didn’t do any better, completing none of his four attempted passes. Wide receiver Jawuan Harris was the only Rutgers player to have any success in Columbus, catching three passes for 33 yards. With Stribling and Lewis keeping things locked down for Michigan, the Scarlet Knights should probably be conservative in their passing attempts. Edge: Michigan Special teams This category would have easily fallen in Michigan’s favor two weeks ago, but after fifth-year senior Kenny Allen missed two field goals from inside 44 yards and sophomore kicker Ryan Tice missed another one from 40 yards out against Wisconsin, Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh reopened the kicking competition this week. It’s possible that highlytouted kicking recruit Quinn Nordin will make his first-ever appearance for the Wolverines against the Scarlet Knights, and if so, Allen may be out of his starting job. Michigan has still had success blocking both punts and kicks this season, though, blocking three and altering even more. The Wolverines’ ability to get in the way, even on extra point attempts, gives them the edge. To make matters worse, leading punt returner Grant won’t be available to challenge the Wolverines, but the alwaysthreatening Jabrill Peppers will still be returning punts for Michigan.
attempted to start a rivalry with Michigan when Harbaugh started recruiting heavily in New Jersey. The state became fed up that the Wolverines are taking away its top talent, including freshman defensive end Rashan Gary, the No. 1 high school recruit in the nation. To rub more salt in the wound, Peppers also hails from the state. Saturday will be a homecoming of sorts for the nine New Jersey natives on Michigan’s roster — one of whom is likely starting left tackle Juwann BushellBeatty. They’re collecting their teammates’ tickets for their family and friends (Gary says he has about 30), and it’s likely that the Wolverines will have a large Michigan contingent at High Point Solutions Stadium on Saturday.
Edge: Michigan Edge: Michigan Intangibles This offseason, Rutgers fans
Prediction: Rutgers 6
Michigan
48,
Sports
10 — Friday, October 7, 2016
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Michigan’s perfect Big Ten start comes to end SYED FAHD AHSAN Daily Sports Writer
Ten minutes into the game, the scoreboard read 2-0 between first-place Michigan (5-1-0 Big Ten, 9-2-1 MICHIGAN 0 ILLINOIS 3 overall) and lastplace Illinois (1-4-1, 4-9-1). But it was the Fighting Illini who were up. What was meant to be a straightforward game turned into something much different, as the Wolverines fell 3-0 and left Champaign shell-shocked. It was the first time this season Michigan had conceded first, been down by more than one goal and failed to score one of its own. The loss also ended the Wolverines’ seven-game win streak and blemished what had been a perfect conference record. “The key for us is our defense,” said Michigan coach Greg Ryan. “We play well when we defend well, and today we just didn’t do that.” From the first whistle, Illinois pressed Michigan high up the field, and the Wolverines looked sluggish, falling well behind the pace of the game. Five minutes into the game, the Fighting Illini had something to show for their early dominance, as midfielder Reagan Robinshaw found herself with space on the edge of the box and floated the ball just under the crossbar. Michigan barely had time to respond. Less than five minutes later, Illinois forward Kara Marbury headed the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Jackson to double the Fighting Illini’s lead. “Credit to Illinois,” Ryan said. “They rushed to get forward and made some really
great chances early on, and they outplayed us.” The rest of the half didn’t go much better for the Wolverines, who were unable to hold on to the ball and string passes together. Illinois had run them ragged. Michigan came out in the second half looking like a changed team, holding Illinois to only one shot. But the damage had already been done. Already up by three goals, Illinois sat back to avoid conceding and looked to hit the Wolverines on the counterattack. Michigan finished the game with 15 shots, and despite threatening in the second half, it was a night where the ball just didn’t want to go in. The best chances fell to senior defender Melissa Kreutz, who had two shots cleared off the line by the Fighting Illini defense when it looked as though their keeper had been beaten. “Illinois’ keeper had a great game,” Ryan said. “She made some great saves, and when a keeper and defense are having a game like that, it’s impossible to score.” Perhaps nothing summed up the Wolverines’ night better than Illinois’ third goal. Five minutes before halftime, Michigan freshman defender Jada Dayne unintentionally cleared a Fighting Illini long ball back toward her goal. Illinois midfielder Katie Murray latched onto the loose ball behind the Wolverine back line and, one-on-one with the keeper, calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net. “It was just a bad game,” Ryan said. “We’re still top (of the Big Ten), so we have to move forward and prepare for Northwestern now.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
What to Watch For: ‘M’ vs. Rutgers JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
In the past two games, against Penn State and Wisconsin, the Michigan football team has allowed 209 total passing yards. The last time the Wolverines played at Rutgers, they gave up 404. In that meeting on Oct. 4, 2014, the Scarlet Knights knocked off a reeling Michigan team, dropped the Wolverines to 2-4 and rushed the field in a night game at High Point Solutions Stadium. Another outcome like that is highly improbable when Michigan visits Piscataway this time. The Wolverines are 5-0 and ranked fourth in the country. The Scarlet Knights are 2-3 and coming off a 58-0 loss to Ohio State. Here’s what to watch for in the teams’ third-ever meeting: 1. Who protects Wilton Speight? One question Michigan has is at left tackle, where starter Grant Newsome suffered a seasonending knee injury last week against Wisconsin. Redshirt sophomore Juwann BushellBeatty replaced him Saturday and is the leading candidate to start this week, but he has not played significant minutes in a Michigan uniform. The other options are junior center Mason Cole and fifth-year senior left guard Ben Braden, but both of them would also require inexperienced replacements at their current positions. Cole is an intriguing option, having started every game in 2014 and 2015 at left tackle, but the next man up at center would be redshirt sophomore Patrick Kugler, who has scarcely played in his career so far. Rutgers has 11 sacks this season, four by defensive lineman Julian Pinnix-Odrick. The Wolverines gave up four
last week against Wisconsin, so they’ll need to shore up their issues to keep Speight protected in the pocket. 2. Does Kenny Allen have an answer? Does Ryan Tice? Allen has been uncharacteristically shaky in the past three weeks, converting one of three field-goal attempts against Colorado on Sept. 17 and then going 0-for-2 against Wisconsin on Saturday. Coach Jim Harbaugh benched him after his last miss and replaced him with Ryan Tice, who missed a 40-yarder. True freshman Quinn Nordin is also back from an injury, according to a radio interview from Harbaugh on Thursday morning. Harbaugh declared an open kicking competition this week, and he has not spoken with media since that competition began. Allen’s track record — he was 18-for-22 last season — would imply that he could regain his consistency, but whoever it is, Michigan needs an answer. 3. How often does Michigan get in the backfield? Of all of the mismatches between these two teams, the Wolverines’ defensive front against Rutgers’ offensive line may be the biggest, as it is with most of Michigan’s opponents. The Wolverines sack their opponents an average of four times per game, and the Scarlet Knights just gave up four sacks against Ohio State. The strength of Michigan’s pass rush is its depth — the 20 sacks have come from different players, and seven players have at least two apiece. Two of those, tackle Maurice Hurst and end Chase Winovich, aren’t even starters. Anyone could break out this week, from the defensive line or the linebackers, on one of
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Kenny Allen is again fighting for his job as the field goal kicker on Saturday.
coordinator Don Brown’s blitzes. Rutgers is battle-tested — in their season opener, the Scarlet Knights played Washington, one of the three teams in the country with more sacks per game than Michigan. And the Scarlet Knights have started the same offensive line in all five games this season, so perhaps the continuity has helped. But those five have to be ready for the pass rush. 4. Who are the first players off the bench? There’s always the chance that Michigan comes out flat in its first road trip of the season after five straight home games. And there’s always the chance Rutgers is more fired up, playing a home night game. But if Saturday is anything like Ohio State’s 58-0 drubbing of the Scarlet Knights
last week, the Wolverines will have another chance to give their backups some action. Two big names to watch for are freshman cornerbacks David Long and Lavert Hill. They’re both young but talented, and they moved up a spot on the depth chart when fifthyear senior Jeremy Clark tore his ACL against Penn State. Redshirt sophomore Brandon Watson steps in at nickelback, but cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich said Wednesday he would like to get Long and Hill some reps this week so that they’re prepared. Saturday would also be a good time for Michigan to establish another threat at wide receiver. Sophomore Grant Perry has been capable as a third option, but most of the targets have gone to fifth-year seniors Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson.
Wolverines host Union in season opener Eleven freshmen to make debuts this weekend at Yost Ice Arena vs. Dutchmen LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Writer
Last time the No. 11 Michigan hockey team faced Union, it was 30 seconds away from losing. But after a last-ditch shot by senior forward Justin Selman tied up the Union at game 5-5, both Michigan teams left the Matchup: ice battered Union 0-0; and without a Michigan 0-0 clear winner. When: Friday The 7:30 P.M., Wolverines Saturday 5 P.M. will return to the ice against Where: Yost Ice Arena the Dutchmen this weekend, TV/Radio: and they will MGoBlueTV showcase a lineup that holds 11 freshmen — more than a third of their team. Despite its young core,
Michigan blanked Windsor, 2-0, this past Sunday in an exhibition, showcasing a rustybut-solid performance. The matchup was an opportunity for the team to see where it stands before the season opener against Union. “Personally, I liked how my defense looked in front of me,” said senior goaltender Zach Nagelvoort. “I think we communicated really well. That was something we worked a lot on last year, and so far this year — like puck touches between me and them, and getting behind the net and stopping it, and making sure they’re picking it up at the right spot and I’m putting it in the right spot. “I thought we did a really good job of that on Sunday. Obviously it wasn’t the best game we’ve ever played in our entire lives, right? I think it gave us some targets to work towards with this coming Friday.” The game served as a debut for multiple freshmen, including forward Nick Pastujov — who scored the first goal of the game after just two minutes and 16 seconds — and forward Will Lockwood, who tallied the third most shots in the game with five, behind only junior forward Tony Calderone and Windsor’s Dylan Demmone. Though the Wolverines performed well in Sunday’s exhibition, a different level of play will be expected this weekend. The Dutchmen have 21 returning players from last season, including senior forward Mike Vecchione, who leads the nation in career points with 113. Michigan will be combatting a team with a lot of seniority, but not without some experience of its own. Nagelvoort started the exhibition Sunday as goalie and racked up time between the pipes last year before Steve Racine claimed the starting job. First-line forward Alex Kile and defenseman Nolan De Jong, both seniors, are also likely to be key leaders for the Wolverines
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior goaltender Zach Nagelvoort should start in Michigan’s opener Friday.
as team captains. The second line features juniors Dexter Dancs and Tony Calderone in addition to sophomore Brendan Warren, all of whom were present for the last encounter with Union. While this weekend provides an opportunity for the Wolverines to condition their freshmen and start their season off on the right foot, it also holds importance for a reason bigger than hockey. Former Wolverine hockey player Scott Matzka (1996-2000), who was diagnosed with ALS two years ago, will be dropping the puck for Saturday’s ALS Awareness game. “Everyone around the country has had ALS ice bucket challenges, we’ve all been through that, but it hits closer to home when you know someone who’s been affected,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson.
“This is our second player since I have been here that’s been affected by it, and their families, friends, teammates and classmates. “It’s amazing how the Michigan hockey family has come together when they found out about this. I remember the 1964 national championship team was here two weeks ago and they had their reunion, and they were talking about this player, Scott Matzka, and one of the players goes, ‘Well, we don’t really know him,’ and the other player said, ‘It doesn’t matter, he’s a Michigan hockey player, he’s a part of our family.’ That’s the way that everybody looks at it.” That family now has 11 new members. Friday, they’ll officially join the rest of the group on the ice for the first time.