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Friday, April 7, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Presidents event covers civic duty of University Joined by four former U-M presidents, Schlissel talks current political climate ALEXA ST. JOHN
Managing News Editor
Covering issues such as higher education and influencing change through academia, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel highlighted on Thursday what he considers the importance of being a research institution socially, economically and internationally. However, Schlissel veered from the central topic of the colloquium — a President’s Bicentennial Colloquium event held at the Rackham Graduate School featuring four former University presidents, including Harold T. Shapiro, James J. Duderstadt, Lee C. Bollinger and Mary Sue Coleman — to speak about issues he found more significant: immigration and a university’s responsibility to speak out within the current political climate. “The challenge we’re going to confront in this very political era is: How do we walk that line
Massive Online Open Courses prove beneficial outside the classroom
Students, faculty members also face challenges, see room for improvement with the portal MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter
School of Information Prof. Charles Severance has been interested in Massive Open Online Courses since the moment he was first introduced to them. “When MOOCs came along in 2011 or 2012, I was like, ‘this is going to be the biggest use of the internet for teaching that the world’s ever seen, and I got to be part of it,’ ” Severance said. “So
I sort of shoved my way in and got to be part of the first round of courses that the University of Michigan published on Coursera (a host website for MOOCs), which were really the first real MOOCs.” Just as Severance expected, MOOCs have exploded in the past five years, and both he and the University have been on the cutting edge of MOOCs production ever since. James DeVaney, the associate vice provost for academic innovation for the University,
ANN ARBOR
Day-long festivities celebrate U-M’s 200th Series of talks from faculty around Ann Arbor aim to advocate academic success ANDREW HIYAMA Dail Staff Reporter
Making a pun on the culinary arts, the University of Michigan Bicentennial Office held a Feast of Ideas on Thursday night, providing an “intellectual sampler” of short talks representing some of the University’s academic offerings. More than a dozen University staff and professors went to local businesses around Ann Arbor as part of one of the University’s bicentennial celebrations intended to highlight the University’s impact and contributions to the community-at-large. The multi-part event featured a diverse lineup of professors, providing expertise in all areas of the University. In a University press release, Michelle French, associate director of the Bicentennial Office, said the event was intended to strengthen the ties between the Ann Arbor community and the University it houses. See BICENTENNIAL, Page 3
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told the Daily in an email interview the University was one of the first four schools to partner with Coursera in 2012. Since then, the school has produced over 100 MOOCs and forged strong partnerships with both Coursera and edX, another host website for MOOCs. Currently, the University’s MOOCs alone have reached over 5.6 million people from around the world, according to DeVaney, and the University shows no signs of slowing production any time soon.
“It’s really pretty when it’s done, but it takes a lot longer than it used to.” The first major MOOC — an introduction to artificial intelligence — was launched by Stanford University in 2011, and out of this experiment came MOOC provider websites. In most cases, these providers act as intermediaries between universities and “learners,” which is the MOOC-jargon term for a student. The University of Michigan See MOOCS, Page 3
between picking on issues that we can contribute to that make our mission stronger, make our University stronger and more valuable to society without being categorized or dismissed as inappropriately acting in the political space?” Schlissel asked. Beforehand, Gary Krenz, director of bicentennial planning, wrote in an email interview the event’s significance was twofold. “First, to be able to have a group of people together who, all told, can reflect on such a large portion of the University’s history is very exciting,” Krenz wrote. “It allows us to compare similarities and differences across time. Second, these presidents collectively represent an amazing amount of experience in higher ed leadership, so having them together to discuss challenges will be very enlightening.” Susan Alcock, special council for institutional outreach and engagement, was joined by See SCHLISSEL, Page 3
Around 100 march in annual Take Back Residence the Night event against sexual assault Hall Assoc. CAMPUS LIFE
Series of performances preceded the march, discussed curbing sexual violence KAELA THEUT
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite frigid temperatures, about 100 students and community members marched through the streets of Ann Arbor on Thursday night to “take back the night” and raise awareness for sexual assault on college campuses. Though Take Back the Night is believed to have originated in 19th-century London when women marched for safer streets, it has since evolved into an international movement of over 1,000 annual marches and rallies. These events, such as the one in Ann Arbor, work to provide a safe place for survivors of sexual assault to come together and share their stories. Take Back the Night and University of Michigan Students Against Rape organized the Ann Arbor march and rally, and allowed organizations with similar goals such as SafeHouse, Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center and Planned Parenthood to table inside the Michigan Union, where the rally was held. Ann Arbor residents Tom and Pam Swider kicked off the rally, themed “The Power of Words,” noting it was their ninth year of organizing the event and the 39th annual
rally in Ann Arbor. Pam Swider emphasized the importance of the rally as a way to create an accessible space for victims of assault to reach out to others, as well as to overcome the feeling of shame that sometimes follows an assault.
“Shame is such a powerful and harsh aspect of sexual violence,” she said. “But the more we talk about it, the easier it is for someone who has been assaulted to reach out to others for support and help.” State Sen. Rebekah Warren
(D–Ann Arbor) gave the opening address, during which she emphasized the power of events like Take Back the Night to incite dialogue surrounding sexual assault. She presented the statistic that only 20 percent See NIGHT, Page 2
negotiates room costs
Committee negotiates the changes with the Division of Student Life Thursday CALEB CHADWELL Daily Staff Reporter
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Students start the Take Back the Night march in front of the Union on Thursday night.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 62 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
The Residence Halls Association presented and passed its official decision to endorse a 3-percent increase for room and board rates for the 2018-2019 academic year at Couzens Residence Hall on Thursday evening. The RHA recommendations, authored by LSA sophomore Sujay Shetty, president of the RHA, and RHA representatives Rabi Osagie and Dylan Rushton, Engineering freshmen, include a 1-percent increase for operational purposes and a 2-percent increase for Residential Life Initiatives — a program dedicated to improving the residential living experience at the University of Michigan. Shetty said in a press release the resolution will be presented to the Board of Regents, who will ultimately make a final decision on room and board rates. Currently, the average cost of a single room is $12,974, See RHA, Page 3
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7
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2 — Friday, April 7, 2017
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ON THE DAILY: STORM MAY CAUSE FLOODING IN HURON RIVER
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Amid heavy rain and wind on released around 8:30 p.m. Thursday evening. The statement also warns decreased visibility due to snow. Thursday, the National Weather night indicates light snowfall across of slippery conditions on roadways, A wind advisory was in effect Service warned of possible Huron the region for the remainder of the wind gusts up to 45 mph and until 6:00 a.m. Friday morning. River flooding in Ann Arbor, according to MLive. Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service issued a hydrologic outlook report, noting potential flooding in the area, including Swartz Creek in Flint and the Huron River. As of Thursday afternoon, the river reached 14.9 feet. At 15 feet, it could flood Riverside Park, Island Park and the Fuller Recreation Area — frequented city destinations. At 16 feet, the dirt parking lot of Riverside could face flooding and nearby city drains could face backups. The river’s “action stage,” which requires the National Weather Service or a partner to mitigate effects, occurs at 13.5 feet. Its “flood stage” occurs at 16 feet, according to JEREMY MITNICK/Daily the National Weather Service. Students eat lunch with University alum Dr. Allison Davis, cultural property analyst in the Cultural Heritage Center of the U.S. A special weather statement Department of State, to discuss her career in Latin America on Thursday.
C O N V E R S AT I O N A L I S T
.@DrSanjayGupta earned a U-M BS in 1990, MD in ‘93, then became a neurosurgeon and @CNN chief medical correspondent. #UMich200 Michigan Students @UMichStudents Favorite part of Spring: No one has any idea what to wear. Shorts? Parka? One of those hats with an umbrella? #seenoncampus #truestory
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Annual UM-Pakistan Conference
Bicentennial Tree Planting
WHAT: Artists, activists and academics will participate in a conference on the roles of gender and sexuality in Pakistan’s past and present. WHO: Center for South Asian Studies WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work, Room 1636
WHAT: The Bicentennial Office will hold a ceremony to plant an elm sapling on the northwest corner of the Diag, continuing the legacy of planting on the Diag from the 1850s. WHO: Bicentennial Office WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to Noon WHERE: Central Campus Diag
Community of Cultures Festival
Africa-China Conference
WHAT: The Bicentennial Office has put together a combination of performances and food samplings to celebrate UM’s diversity. WHO: Bicentennial Office WHEN: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Pierpont Commons and the Duderstadt Center
NIGHT From Page 1 of assaults are reported, and Take Back the Night raises awareness for such a relevant issue. “For one night every year, the rally provides an exceptional opportunity to raise awareness for this issue that is so critical, and unfortunately for many of us, too close to home,” Warren said. “So we march tonight, we rally today in solidarity, with countless survivors.” In lieu of a keynote speaker, event organizers chose to have Public Health student Traci Ayub and LSA sophomore Vivian Trutzl recite personal poems regarding their experiences with sexual violence. “It was from a rape poem that I discovered I was a survivor too,” Trutzl said. “Keep writing rape poems, keep getting pissed.” Throughout the event, volunteer psychological counselors, identifiable
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WHAT: Multi-disciplinary scholars will explore the environmental, social and economic relationships between China and Africa. WHO: Department for Afroamerican and African Studies WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Henderson Room
by white arm bands, were available for those who needed to discuss the heavy subject matter. Furthermore, those who chose to identify as survivors wore teal armbands.
Adults and organizations can say all they want, but making the issue more student driven is important
March participant Kimmy Thompson, a student at Concordia University, said she believes getting students to participate in sexual assault awareness is more impactful than using adults and other organizations. “Get students involved,
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Decolonizing Diversity
200 Years and the Law
WHAT: Anneeth Kaur Hundle, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of California-Merced, will lead a discussion on critical feminist ethnographies of diversity work. WHO: The College of LSA WHEN: 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. WHERE: West Hall, Room 411
WHAT: For the bicentennial, Student Legal Services will display a comprehensive history of laws affecting the student experience, focusing on Title IX. WHO: Student Legal Services WHEN: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Duderstadt Center, Room 1019
Tech Talk: Spotting Fake News
Out of the Ordinary
WHAT: ITS will give a presentation about how to identify fake news and find trsutworthy news sources. WHO: Information and Technology Services WHEN: 11 a.m. to Noon WHERE: Michigan Union, Room G312
make it heard through the students,” she said. “Adults and organizations can say all they want, but making the issue more student driven is important.” Following the completion of the speeches, march participants picked up colorful signs and blue balloons, signifying those killed in acts of sexual violence, and began reciting the organization’s list of demands. These demands ranged from “no means no” to ending sexual violence and other forms of oppression. Once outside, the group released the balloons into the air as a symbol of hope for survivors, before commencing the march and chanting to end sexual assault. LSA junior Kelly Guerin, student leader of Michigan Takes Back the Night, said she first became involved with the organization after taking a self-defense class in high school and realizing she wanted to get involved with sexual assault prevention on campus. “I’m a junior now, but when I was a senior in high school, they made all the girls take a self-defense course, and half the self-defense course was about awareness about rape and sexual assault and how to prevent it on college campuses, and the second half was self-defense,” she said. “I did karate so I knew all about the self-defense part of it, but I really wanted to get more involved with the activism side of it, because I was never really exposed to that in high school.” She explained how the organization aided her in deciding to become a lawyer, as well as largely impacted her life in general. “I feel like it’s really impacted my life because I want to be a lawyer, I want to advocate for people who are victims of rape and sexual assault, so this organization has definitely had a huge impact on my life,” she said.
Connor Borrego @BorregoSauced why can’t @CoachJim4UM just give our commencement speech? #freethekhakis
Land of 10 Michigan @Landof10MICH
WHAT: The Clements Library is displaying some of the most extraordinary objects in its collection, which it has been building since 1923. WHO: William L. Clements Library WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: William Clements Library, Avenir Foundation Room
Ken Griffey Jr. says he would have played at Michigan had he chosen football #GoBlue
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MOOCS From Page 1 was one of the first four universities to partner with MOOC provider Coursera, launching its first course through the platform in 2012. In fall 2015, the University also aligned with edX. With over 100 courses currently running or in production, the school is now well on its way to accomplishing its goal of transforming over 200 courses into full-fledged MOOCs by the end of 2017, according to DeVaney. In the early days of University MOOCs, professors were mostly self-motivated, creating entire courses by themselves in their spare time. Severance said his first MOOC, a course about the history of the internet, which he describes as a way to turn history buffs into technology nerds, arose out of pretty rudimentary materials. “In 2012, we just found a way,” Severance said. “In the early days, I just bought a camera and stuck it on my computer and started talking … you used to be able to get these things done in a weekend!” Two years later, in 2014, as MOOC production started to pick up, the University started looking for a way to incorporate them into the greater University experience. This spurred the creation of the Digital Education & Innovation Lab, now housed within the Office of Academic Innovation. Today, MOOCs are collaborative projects between the instructors of the courses and the DEIL, which is home to studios where instructors can film their classes. In Severance’s opinion, this change is positive, but he noted it also comes with its own difficulties. MOOCs now require a major time commitment from instructors — gone are the days when an entire course could be completed in a weekend. “Now, it’s very organized and there are professional studios and professional camera people with professional lights, professional microphones, professional everything,” Severance said. “It’s really pretty when they’re done, but it takes a lot longer than it used to.” Currently, MOOCs generally take about three to six months to complete, and the process involves many more people than it did five years ago. DeVaney said MOOCs are now much more collaboratively created. “Faculty submit a proposal first to their college or school and then to a University-level faculty committee for feedback and approval,” DeVaney said. “Once approved, the faculty
SCHLISSEL From Page 1 Interim Provost Paul Courant, who was a moderator of the event and introduced the overarching topic to be addressed. “The bargain between the research university and society is under much greater stress than we imagined it could or would be,” Courant said before introducing Shapiro. Shapiro, who was president of the University from 1980 to 1987, agreed with Courant’s initial sentiments. “It is critical to acknowledge as a nation we currently face an environment characterized by such a high level of cultural, social, economic and political anxiety,” Shapiro said. “Michigan’s commitments to its teaching and research programs rest on a foundational commitment that facts do matter and that centuries of scholarship have created a legacy that continues to contribute to the ongoing vitality of our society.” Duderstadt, who held the position from 1988 to 1996, followed Shapiro’s thoughts on the role of scholarship in a modern liberal state by adopting a phrase that considers the University a “privately supported but publicly committed institution.” Duderstadt acknowledged contemporary challenges the University may face. “More specifically, our challenges have been first, to develop a financial paradigm that
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team will work with the Office of Academic Innovation to design and develop the new MOOC.” Always on the forefront of MOOC production, the University has several bigger projects in the works that are among the first of their kind. Last month, the Office of Academic Innovation announced at its Innovation Forum the University would begin a TeachOut Series to inform the public on a large scale about current issues. Dean of Libraries James Hilton, who is also the vice provost for academic innovation, said the courses would help inform citizens about relevant current events topics on a large scale. “The University of Michigan Teach-Out Series can be a model for a new era of engagement between institutions of higher education and the global communities they serve,” Hilton said at the forum. “Part of our public mission is to create opportunities for citizens to be informed, because the more informed people are, the more informed debate can be.” Additionally, students in a School of Natural Resources and Environment seminar are creating the first-ever studentled MOOC, which will be released in early May. “They’re only going to help us.” Though the University is a big proponent of MOOCs, there are some aspects of the process that seem daunting to potential instructors. As mentioned above, the time commitment can be nerve-wracking for some. Rachel Niemer, the director of the University’s Gameful Learning Lab, recently made a MOOC about gameful learning pedagogy with Barry Fishman, a professor from the Information School and the School of Education. She said Fishman came to the project with concerns about how much time the project would take up. “In the beginning, Barry … was nervous about how much time it was going to take,” she said. “In the end, he ended up being a much bigger fan of the process than he expected to be. Most people find that it’s challenging to figure out how to fit it all together, but I think faculty are pretty used to situations where they had to (do that).” DeVaney echoed Niemer’s sentiments, saying most faculty find the MOOC creation process to be rewarding and informative. “The most common feedback from faculty is that the effort required to create a MOOC was more than they expected, (but) that the experience was transformative, that they’ll
never teach on campus the same way, and that they want to create another,” DeVaney said. This idea of changing campus climate is one that comes up frequently in talks about MOOCs, and people are generally undecided about whether this change will be for better or for worse. Here at the University, though, most people think the rise of MOOCs will only improve the college experience. Severance thinks there’s no possibility of harm from MOOCs — only improvement. “They’re only going to help us,” he said. “There might be others that are harmed by this, but not us. I think ultimately what is going to happen is we are going to find ways to smooth everybody’s transition into higher education and have people arrive on campus better prepared to make the most of their time on campus with us. We will teach less remedial stuff and more fun stuff.” “We’re going to continue to break this mold of what a MOOC is.” Of course, MOOCs are not perfect, and the University constantly working to improve them. One area Niemer is trying to change is the relatively rigid pedagogical structure of MOOCs. Her course, which was released last month on edX, is about gameful learning, and it was important to Niemer that the class use the method she was trying to teach. This proved to be difficult. “MOOC platforms tend to assume one kind of delivery, and they’re really designed with an implicit pedagogy,” she said. “And even though MOOCs themselves are really innovative, I see that as a space for further innovation. Over the next few years, we’re going to continue to break this mold of what a MOOC is and really bring new and exciting … learning experiences.” Natural Resources and Environment student Dahlia Rockowitz is currently enrolled in the MOOC creation seminar and has had the unique ability to experience MOOCs as both a learner and a creator. She and her classmates in the seminar are creating a course, tentatively titled ActOn Climate, which aims to introduce learners to climate action by presenting different ways people experience the environment. Though Rockowitz enjoys the creation process and finds it to be a great experience, she said being both a full-time student and an instructor has some challenges, especially within the MOOC format. “We’re trying to do something brand new, in that
could address the disappearance of state support and second, to sustain our fundamental mission,” Duderstadt said. Bollinger, president of the University from 1996 to 2001, considered the University’s responsibility to be engaged in the current political sphere, which Schlissel echoed in his comments later. Bollinger recognized the ability of the University to bring the next generation into an intellectual life, and the important role of universities to establish an understanding of issues of social importance. “You can’t have a love of humankind unless you start with a deep sense of love and affection for the people immediately around you,” Bollinger said. “We have to be in alignment more or less with human needs and issues and I’ve come to believe that we are not in proper alignment today.” Coleman, who was the University’s first female president and served from 2002 to 2014, focused her individual speech on the efforts she took to digitize the University’s books. “By digitizing today’s books through our own efforts and partnerships with others, we are protecting the written word for all time,” Coleman said. “By making them available online, we would expose them to the possibility of commercial success.” Schlissel though quickly pivoted the conversation to a conflicting set of political issues. “In the public space, our
political leaders are talking about clamping down on immigration as a mechanism to make our nation safer, and it’s certainly a legitimate worry of the government to make the United States as safe as possible for its citizens,” Schlissel said. “Many people are concerned in this era of economic insecurity that immigrants may somehow make it harder for them to get a job.” Yet Schlissel referred to the presence of students who benefit from the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program in the University community and those affected by President Donald Trump’s recent ban on immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. “Here’s the challenge for us: Not only are we a nation of immigrants, we are a university of immigrants,” Schlissel said. “The folks that come here to do research are actually contributing to the innovation pipeline that comes out of our great University … The students that we educate here that go back to their own country, they take a little bit of America with them. They demystify our country.” Schlissel finalized his remarks by noting his necessity as a University leader to speak out ethically and morally. Krenz, a professor for the bicentennial course Philosophy 162, The University of Michigan: A Moral Institution, had a number of students present at the event, including Engineering senior Jesse Newton.
we’re designing a brand-new course and it’s people most of whom don’t have a background in online education,” she said. “Everyone’s really committed to making sure the MOOC is really interesting and engaging and motivating, but also recognizing that we have other obligations of students and the timeline of the world doesn’t always match up with the timeline of the University of Michigan.” Rockowitz sees some room for improvement from the learner’s side of MOOCs, too. She thinks more engagement and communication between students is necessary for future MOOCs. “I remember thinking it was really cool to be sitting in my living room and watching a lecture,” Rockowitz said. “I remember it being hard to wrap my head around that there were so many other people like me around the world taking the course … I also remember wanting to dedicate more time to (a) course than I actually could. There are quizzes and assignments and stuff, but not that same accountability … also, I’m a people person, and it would’ve been nice to interact with others.” On the other hand, LSA freshman Boyang Yu felt the fluidity and independence of the MOOCs he’s taken were major assets to the courses. While he has not taken any MOOCs since coming to the University, he completed two in high school and greatly enjoyed them. “I’m not one of those people who needs to study in groups and I really like the freedom a MOOC has of starting whenever you want and repeating whatever you want,” Yu said. “In certain ways, it works better than physical classes.” MOOCs are a new concept, and they will undoubtedly grow and change. The focus going forward, though, will likely be on what the learners want — whether it’s more structure, like Rockowitz prefers, or less, as Yu would like. Regardless of what changes will be made, the most important thing, as Severance said, will be improving access to a University of Michigan education to anyone around the globe. “(The learners are) the reason I got into it,” Severance said. “I got into it to impact lots of lives in a positive way. I love programming and I love technology and I think everyone should love it, but I can’t get to meet everyone. With the MOOC, I can affect all these people’s lives in a positive way, and there are tons and tons of stories about people who take one class and it changes their life … that is so gratifying … I’m the luckiest person in the world!”
Friday, April 7, 2017 — 3
RHA From Page 1 a double is $10,872 per occupant and a triple is $9,612, dependent on size and whether the rooms include private bathrooms. The average costs for next year are expected to increase to $13,363 for a single, $11,198 for a double and $9,900 for a triple. The cost hike is necessary to maintaining a high standard of living in the residence halls, with the 3-percent increase identical to the rate increases in the past two years, according to Shetty. “The rate increase ref lects the increasing cost of operations and improvements to the residence halls,” Shetty said. Rushton said the RHA’s goal is to maintain a high standard of living and food quality for residents while keeping costs under control as much as possible. “Ultimately, we want things to be affordable,” Rushton said. “If students are to come to this university they need to be able to pay for it — and not just through receiving aid.” While the rate of inf lation in the United States has been 2.2 percent, Rushton said this 3-percent increase in funding is expected and will likely remain at a similar level in the future.
BICENTENNIAL From Page 1 “We want to provide a sampling of what our students experience every day in the classroom,” she said. “We’re pleased to work with local merchants to connect the campus with the community.” Barry Fishman, a professor in the Schools of Information and Education, gave one such talk — “School is a Game … But is it a GOOD game?” –– at 826michigan, a writing workshop that provides free tutoring for K-12 students in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit. In his talk, Fishman criticized the way the K-12 system is designed, saying it discourages risk-taking and intellectual creativity. Asking the audience what they most wanted out of education or their children’s education, many audience
“It is a continual effort; it’s not something where we say ‘well now we never need to improve again,’ ” Rushton said. “We don’t see a foreseeable drop in the future because we always need to be improving.” While the RHA committee approved of the 1-percent operations increase, they conditionally endorsed the 2-percent RLI increase if, in the long term, an alternative source of funding can be found. “A one percent increase to room and board rates for operational purposes is modest,” the committee’s recommendations stated. “The Committee approves the two percent rates increase for RLI this coming year, although expects a new financing solution to be fully f ledged to the satisfaction of the residential student body.” The passed resolution also states the RHA believes the burden of the RLI costs should not continue to fall on University residents, and there should be an alteration in the future. “RHA believes that the current system of annual 2% increases in Room and Board Rates for the Residence Life Initiative (RLI) is not sustainable long term, and that the burden of RLI improvements should not continue to fall upon the residents of the university,” the passed resolution states.
members agreed that student engagement and investment in the learning process were most important. “Where high school used to be preparation for college, it is now preparation for your college application,” Fishman said. “The fear is that if I make one mistake, I won’t be able to apply to the college I want.” Suggesting education should be designed like a game, Fishman stated any successful video game also provides a good learning environment. “A really good game gets you involved to the level where you feel like you’re a partner with the character, or you are the character,” he said. “I would argue that’s actually the ultimate aim of literature, or science or anything. When students are in science class, you want them to be thinking like a scientist, and that’s a very important challenge.”
KEVIN ZHENG/Daily University President Mark Schlissel discusses the “Evolving Bargain between Research Universities and Society” at the President’s Bicentennial Colloquium in Rackham on Thursday.
“(The class focuses on) mostly just the role of the University and how they play in society and different ethical problems that the University can run into,” Newton said. “We went over in class before we came to this Shapiro’s role in making us a more exclusive university, Duderstadt’s role in focusing on engineering and that science (and) Coleman’s role in development of the North Campus Research Center.” English Ph.D. candidate Elizabeth Harlow had posed a question to the panel of how a university president can be effective in exercising power in the political realm, especially in response to Bollinger’s discussion of the evolution of a global communication system. Later, Harlow said she believed the
presidents were appropriate in their responses. “I thought that the conversation about academic freedom and the existential threat of the political climate to what a university is was really fascinating,” Harlow said. “I’m a member of the graduate class that’s been convened around the question of the bargain between the University and society and it’s something that we’ve been struggling with all term and it was really interesting to think about how the University can and needs to negotiate the political.” Robin Washington, ’84 alum and member of the President’s Advisory Council, said she wished more current students had attended the event. “It’s phenomenal to bring
together all the ex-presidents and get their perspectives,” Washington said. “It’s clear to see their passion for the school, but also their acute awareness of the importance of the University as well as the culture and tradition, which I think they all have great respect for.” Washington noted Schlissel’s ability to navigate significant issues in a local and national context. “It’s rare to get that type of continuity and just to hear the likeness of thought, the complementary, but also the variation in their viewpoints of what matters,” Washington said. “I love (Schlissel’s) courage and his awareness to talk about critical but politically sensitive issues.”
Opinion
4 — Friday, April 7, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SARAH LEESON | COLUMN
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LAUREN SCHANDEVEL | COLUMN
O
Making do in the D
n Saturday, I participated only four, digging and chatting in Detroit Partnership’s excitedly alongside us. annual Detroit I was bursting at the seams Partnership Day for the with questions, second year in a row. but Andrew was This time, thankfully, preoccupied with there was no selfmaking maple syrup congratulatory rhetoric over the fire, so I or encouragement waited until his to “fix Detroit.” We wife emerged from were there to learn the house to begin about the community, my inquiry. do what we could in With a cautious the few hours we had eye on her LAUREN and leave with the daughters, his wife SCHANDEVEL told me she had understanding that we hadn’t even made a dent lived in Brightmoor in the process. Residents thanked her whole life and that the us, but no one praised us for being area had actually improved decent, as they had in years past. significantly in recent years, Because of this, I was afforded the contrary to what people clarity to connect with residents of believe about it. Because city the city, and in doing so, I realized services are scarce, residents the extent of their resilience in the of the neighborhood have face of extreme adversity. been developing innovative My group was sent to Brightmoor, a four-square-mile residential district on the city’s northwest side, characterized by abandoned homes, mounds of garbage and a savannah’s worth of overgrown grass. It’s an area so presumably rough that people who attempt to be clever and edgy have nicknamed it “Blightmoor.” A little online digging revealed it was once a stable community for working-class families to purchase affordable housing, but it took a hit after population decline alternatives. For example, and institutional racism worked instead of waiting hours for their ways through Detroit like police to arrive to the scene of tornadoes. Now it’s a ghost town, a a crime, they created a texting reminder of the city’s devastating system that sends a crime alert decline. At least, that’s what the to neighbors, who can organize dominant narrative dictates — but and chase away the perpetrator. it’s far from the truth. One of the biggest problems, Our first stop in Brightmoor she explained, was people was a park with wooden commuting from the suburbs benches wrapped around a to dump trash into empty lots large tree in an amphitheater- around the neighborhood, type fashion. A neighborhood rather than paying to have it organizer spoke to us about the dumped in a landfill. She told me residents’ accomplishments: her husband had chased these They built a greenhouse, they invaders out of the neighborhood grow their own food, they run on numerous occasions and their own leadership academy even took their information for the neighborhood’s ambitious to the police, but nothing had children. Following her speech, come of it. The city is slow to we broke off into our groups and demolish abandoned properties, received our assignments. too, and residents often have to My group was paired with a personally board up the houses, guy around his mid-30s named which seem to inevitably catch Andrew, who pulled the 10 or so fire and burn down. of us to his house in a makeshift Despite the local government’s flatbed trailer. When we arrived, complete disregard for the he explained our tasks (turn over area, she spoke highly of the dirt in the gardens, remove the neighborhood’s sense of the tree stump near the beehive, solidarity and strength. She etc.) and distributed some tools. described the various gardens Soon, we were joined by his three and farms — honey, vegetables children, the eldest of whom was and even something called a
Detroit doesn’t need University of Michigan students to save it; it’s saving itself.
“pizza farm,” which grows tomatoes for an annual pizza picnic — and gushed about the park down the road, which had new equipment, winding trails and nearby Little Free Libraries. Though she said she worried about the local elementary school closing because of population decline, she seemed confident in the abilities of both the charter schools and the resident-run educational programs to pick up the slack. At the end of the day, my group waved goodbye to the family, boarded the bus and headed back to Ann Arbor in the detached manner that spontaneous community service dictates. But something must have stuck, because I haven’t stopped thinking about the neighborhood since. How can a community so egregiously neglected by the people designated to serve it manage to essentially govern itself? What will happen to Brightmoor in the next five years? Ten? I didn’t tell this story to push the age-old “bootstraps” narrative that everyone can be successful if they just work hard enough. No one deserves the kind of gross callousness and disregard for human life that permits heaps of trash to be dumped on their property, near their homes, around the areas where their children play. No one should have to wait hours for police to respond to their requests for help. No one should have to grow their own food out of necessity, because they cannot afford or access a marketplace. No, my mixture of astonishment and anger comes from watching people serve themselves when they can no longer rely on others to serve them. Detroit may be bouncing back, but it’s not because of gentrification in Midtown or expensive downtown and riverfront developments — it’s because its residents are sick and tired of being treated like shit by their own government, and they’re doing something about it. When all is said and done, Detroit doesn’t need University of Michigan students to save it; it’s saving itself from the inside.
Lauren Schandevel can be reached at schandla@umich.edu.
MICHELLE SHENG | CONTACT MICHELLE AT SHENGMI@UMICH.EDU
A lesson from eavesdropping
U
niversities are, by sort since they probably receive definition, places of tons of that sort of thing. learning and growth. The person’s companion (out And while I’d say a loud) and I (silently) vast majority of my were in complete learning happens in agreement: Showing the classroom and gratitude is rarely a through my personal waste or unwanted, engagement with and that host family class material, there would probably are still some things be thrilled to hear school can’t teach you. something kind and I lean on some unprovoked from that SARAH outside sources individual. Plus, the LEESON for personal person would benefit betterment, such as in return from having online tutorials, interpersonal conveyed the thanks. relationships and séances with According to a TED Talk by spirits. And for everything else, David Steindl-Rast, “It is not there’s MasterCard. happiness that makes us grateful. Just kidding, I actually rely It’s gratefulness that makes us on eavesdropping. happy.” It may seem like happy I honestly don’t intend to people have the most to be eavesdrop; sometimes I’ll even grateful for and the people being actively avoid it with earbuds thanked would benefit most from and a 20-foot-wide personal demonstrations of gratitude, bubble. However, Americans but the ones doing the thanking are notoriously noisy people, may actually emotionally benefit and my first-floor apartment more than anyone. gets a lot of foot traffic outside, Research on gratitude so sometimes I’m made privy to also demonstrates that, for pieces of knowledge I’m perhaps emotionally mature people, not meant to be in on. showing thankfulness is not only From these accidental connected to greater happiness eavesdropping sessions, I’ve but also increased optimism, learned about gossip and healthier social relationships parties on campus, found out it’s and better physical health than extremely common for people those who are less forthcoming to sing while walking alone with their thanks. and heard bits of discussion on In my opinion, being topics ranging from grades to cognizant of the ones who relationships to why the phrase helped you get to where you are “tight budget” doesn’t sound can be an exercise in humility as quite right. well as in gratitude. While U.S. Occasionally, though, the culture often puts emphasis on things I inadvertently snoop individuals in driving their own on can be extremely thought- fate — pulling yourself up by provoking. Recently, I overheard your bootstraps and all that — someone worry aloud that it’s important to recognize that sending a thank-you note to their everything you’ve built has been former host family would be an made possible by the people who annoyance or a burden of some have supported you in the past.
So, knowing the wonderful benefits of showing gratitude, and knowing that I would be neither successful nor graduating without some of the wonderful people in my life, I would like to do a quick bout of thank-you’s before the proverbial award ceremony music comes to play me out. I have to thank my parents for financing me, feeding me, driving me to school when I missed the bus and a small handful of other things. I appreciate it. I’d like to thank my lovely professors for not only putting together amazing lesson plans and teaching me so much, but also for their noble but ineffective efforts to get me to speak in class. Sorry about that. To my wonderful friends: I have nothing snarky to say here, I just really appreciate that you put up with my nonsense. I have to thank anyone who read these articles and allowed me to give them secondhand embarrassment as I shared details of my life they probably didn’t want to know. Remember when I told everyone that I accidentally slept on some chocolate and it melted in my hair and I went to class like that anyway? Good times. Thanks for putting up with being forced to read that with your own two eyes. I also have to thank the editors at the Daily for parsing through and publishing my improperly edited, regurgitated words. And, perhaps most importantly, thank you to the people who (incidentally) allow me to eavesdrop and inhabit their world, even for just a moment; I’ve absorbed more of your secrets and wisdom than you’ll ever know. Sarah Leeson can be reached at sleeson@umich.edu.
ENVIRODEMS | OP-ED
March’s egregious environmental policy
P
resident Donald Trump’s second month in environmental policy has continued down a dangerous path. Policies that prioritized clean energy, environmental health and sustainable business practices during former President Barack Obama’s administration are being dismantled step by step. On March 24, Trump announced the granting of a permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama had stopped this construction in 2015, acknowledging the pipeline would carry crude oil from tar sands, which requires a particularly energy-intensive process to extract and ultimately contributes to climate change. A 2015 study conducted by the Department of Energy found this extraction process emits 18 percent more greenhouse gases than traditional U.S. crude oil when processed into gasoline. Additionally, the Trump administration’s promise of the pipeline’s job creation is deceptive. After the pipeline was projected to be completed in 2019, it was calculated that only 35 permanent employees and 15 temporary contractors will be needed to operate the pipeline. The disturbing neglect of scientific facts regarding climate change is predicted to continue as Trump has noted the pipeline will be “the first of many infrastructure projects” he plans to approve in an effort to create more jobs. The construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline is also now well underway. Though a federal judge denied a motion brought by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, who sought to prevent the flow of oil through DAPL, the $3.8 billion project has continued to face significant opposition. Chase Iron Eyes, the lead counsel of the Lakota People’s Law Project, acknowledged the motion, saying that “once again, the federal government and the Army are treating the original inhabitants of this land as though we are less than human, as though our lives and lands are something to be ignored and discarded in the never-ending quest for profit.” While March 22 brought the annual celebration of World Water Day, there have already been numerous dramatic changes in water policy during the second month of the Trump administration. Trump has been planning a
97 percent cut to the EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, which has been central to over 3,000 projects tackling issues like wetland restoration, algae blooms in western Lake Erie, invasive Asian carp in the lakes and improving shoreline habitats. This initiative has spent over $2.2 billion since 2010 on improving and restoring the Great Lakes. The proposed budget includes a 30 percent cut to EPA funding for state-level enforcement of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and other federal environmental laws. John Stine, a commissioner for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, says cuts to programs like the Great Lakes restoration project “would drive up the costs of water treatment, which in turn will be passed on to consumers.” U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D–Mich.) highlighted the flaw in Trump’s attempt to save money and generate jobs, explaining that the Great Lakes sustain 1.5 million jobs in the boating, fishing and tourism industries, bringing in billions of dollars each year. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Mich.), who represents Ann Arbor, added “(the Great Lakes) are vital for clean drinking water, jobs and our economy. This shortsighted attempt to zero out funding for the GLRI is unacceptable.” Also of importance to Michigan residents, on March 17, three years after Flint River water started flowing into the city and beginning the water crisis, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded $100 million to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in a package signed off on by Obama in 2016. The funds will go toward making critical changes to Flint’s crumbling water infrastructure, specifically to contribute to the city’s goal of replacing 6,000 pipes by the end of 2017. Though this funding is a critical first step in Flint’s recovery process, it fails to provide an immediate solution to residents who do not have access to safe drinking water. While Flint has benefited, the general pattern of budget cuts has extended beyond the EPA, as Trump announced his plan to cut 18.3 percent of the National Institutes of Health budget, accounting for a nearly $5.8 billion reduction. This cut is premised on reducing administrative costs. However, over 80 percent of the NIH’s current budget goes toward
funding biomedical research projects, training programs and science centers. In 2016 alone, the NIH was able to award 832 research project grants. Additionally, the NIH partnered with the EPA to create five new research centers focused on improving health in communities that face health disparities brought about by pollution and other environmental factors. Funding to the NIH will be critical to continuing this groundbreaking research and supporting scientific advancement. Trump’s attempts to create jobs by undermining environmental regulations continued as he signed the “Energy Independence Executive Order” on March 28. The order launched a review of Obama’s Clean Power Plan, a policy proposed by the EPA in 2014 that puts a cap on the number of greenhouse gases that can be emitted from power plants. This executive order is predicted to have significant adverse effects on both the environment and the economy. A 2006 study by Nicholas Brown, the former chief economist at the World Bank, detailed that human-caused climate change could result in the “equivalent to losing at least 5 percent of global GDP each year, now and forever.” Moreover, deregulating our existing climate policies will compromise our position and credibility as a global leader in climate change issues. After another tumultuous month, funding for vital environmental protection programs and agencies has been threatened and cut, while plans for projects that threaten long-term environmental health are underway. In light of these changes, in a meeting with the University’s chapter of College Democrats, state Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D–Mich.) and former state Rep. Jeff Irwin highlighted that it will be essential to actively remain in contact with our local elected officials and educate ourselves about these environmental issues. This community-level involvement will be critical in the months ahead as we continue the fight to protect our planet and our quality of life.
EnviroDems is the environmental justice committee in College Democrats at the University of Michigan.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
TV REVIEW
Friday, April 7, 2017 — 5
FOOD COLUMN
The quick and dirty guide to a family (friend) dinner
HBO
‘Vice’ explores amateurism correspondent Gianna Toboni ANAY KATYAL intimately and comprehensively Managing Arts Editor explores in recent episode, “The End of Amateurism.” When the NCAA was Talking both to a variety of established over a century former athletes who have been ago, its central mandate was calling for institutional justice, to ensure to the sanctity of and current collegiate athletic “amateurism” in the realm of directors (many of whom are college sports. The attitude vehemently in support of the remains stubbornly unchanged status quo), Toboni constructs today. While the a laudable and general philosophy steady-handed “VICE” of what upholds look at a subject Episode 6 the NCAA’s of debate that is existence is (more often than HBO relatively laudable not) painted as Fridays at 7:30 p.m. — on paper, nonbeing far simpler professionals than reality. being treated as Titled “The professionals likely dampens End of Amateurism,” the the integrity of student athletics, episode openly notes that the sure — the general bone to pick end isn’t particularly nigh. regarding the organization’s Rather, a lot of the episode’s operations lies in the fact that focus lies on the fight to bring the social and cultural fabric of upon that end — the rhetoric, American sports has changed its pitfalls and the struggle’s dramatically in the century main protagonists — largely since the NCAA came to being. former athletes who have been College sports used to be an wronged and forgotten by the intramural outlet for American system that promised them collegiate students looking to a share of their own spoils. spend their free time somewhat The episode also comes at a productively. Recruitment pointedly opportune time, with wasn’t exactly a reality. March Madness having just Professional athletes made a concluded and the NFL Draft pittance, oftentimes playing just on our horizons — sports for teams started by factory are fresh on the mind of the workers that could barely stay American psyche, so it’s only afloat in the long-term. But the fair for “Vice” and HBO to reality now? The NCAA rakes in strike when most effective. absurd amounts of money, with While many of the viewers its most recent broadcast deal this episode may have appealed with CBS Sports and Turner to probably have a fair handle Broadcasting being penned at a on the fundamentals of the valuation of $10.8 billion. Is this amateurism debate, rarely are the same world of amateurism audiences afforded as intimate that the NCAA sought to of a look into the issue as regulate in 1906? It’s a point of “Vice” provides here. One of contention for many, but none the most sobering moments of more so than the athletes, both the episode comes on the heels former and current, that enable of Toboni following former the NCAA to sign such deals. Auburn running back Peyton College sports has Barber alongside his draft day transformed into a money- travails. Projected to be a sixthmaking body that allows round pick in the draft, viewers university football coaches watch as Barber agonizingly to be the highest-paid state waits until the draft concludes, employees, while the athletes with no team having called his under their tutelage aren’t name. Barber left Auburn as a even allowed to see a dime. It’s sophomore due to the possible a bizarre reality that “Vice” financial incentives he could
offer his family — a common gamble by many college athletes who see it as the only bonafide route toward a better life for themselves and their kin. But as said, such a move is still a gamble, and, as seen through the eyes of Barber, a rather sad one at that. “No one ever considered he wouldn’t
College sports has transformed into a money-making body that allows university football coaches to be the highest-paid state employees
get drafted,” remarks Toboni. That much is clear to Barber and his immediate family. Earlier on, Barber notes that he probably wouldn’t have left Auburn so early had he seen some form of compensation as a student athlete. Now he is in a situation far more tenuous that he could’ve expected — and he hopes that doesn’t remain a reality for athletes that come after him. For a topic touted so often in the public sphere, “Vice” and its sobering, constructive take on the issue seems to be a rare example of what public discourse regarding the amateurism debate should look like. Student athletes have a tenuous journey ahead of them, that much we know. Never letting the spotlight waver on their issues will do them more good than venerating their athletic successes. “Vice” ensures we don’t forget that.
When you live with 13 people, it gets a little hard to coordinate family-style dinners. You may have stopped reading after “13 people.” Trust me, I understand. But it somehow works — and so can making a family style dinner big enough to feed the Von Trapp family on a budget. Gathering with others for a meal is a deeply rooted tradition in our society and within my own experiences at school. For many reasons, which vary from table to table and group to group, a family-style dinner is one of the beloved and pure customs that bind us together. Ever heard of blue zones? Those are the few and ostensibly thriving locations in the world whose populations live to the age of 150, because they eat almost all of their meals together (don’t fact check that). As graduation quickly and menacingly approaches (if you haven’t guessed from the tone of that statement, I’m nervous about it, but so is everyone, right?), the pressure is on to make the most of the time spent with friends, who will soon be fragmented by the reality of adult life (read: jobs, for many). With time, and likely discretionary income, running out, how does one take full advantage of this short period? My answer to this inquiry, as with most things, is food of course. Though making a reservation for a large party at a great restaurant on a bustling Friday night can be enjoyable, it’s not as memorable as spending some extra quality time with friends cooking a meal together. And though that seems daunting (again, refer back to my current living
Gathering with others for a meal is a deeply rooted tradition in our society and within my own experiences at school
situation), it can actually be a lot easier and cheaper than you may think. Behold: the meal guide of all
meal guides. Below, I’ve listed a few easy recipes inspired by a spur-of-the-moment family dinner I made with a few friends and some of my own hybrid recipes. So, if you’re either intrigued because you’d (A) rather be reading this than thinking about how another school year has raced by and graduation is imminent, or (B) you’re genuinely interested in this proposed guide to uniting with friends around a meal, then read on. First, the pizza: This one’s a no-brainer. Pizza is easy to make (if you buy the dough, but don’t tell anyone you bought it) and feeds a large group. Depending on the number of people partaking, two balls of dough should suffice for about 10 — and you
SHIR AVINADAV can buy them at Trader Joe’s for under two dollars. Full disclosure, this is maybe less of a recipe and more of a suggestion. Once you roll out the dough on a floured surface and transfer it to a greased (and I mean greased) parchment paper lined baking sheet, it’s basically a free-for-all. While a simple marinara sauce (oil, garlic, and canned tomato sauce brought to a simmer) or the jarred variety can be used for a traditional pie, I’ve found that plenty of olive oil or a thin layer of heavy cream provide a good base for cheese and veggies. For the cheese, I like to use a mozzarella (fresh or shredded will work) and parmesan blend. After spreading a thin layer of sauce over your rolled out dough, sprinkle generously with cheese and top with your preferred variety of ingredients (I would suggest mushrooms, bacon and spinach). Herbs — a hearty blend of oregano, fresh or dried basil, red chili flakes and salt and pepper — will elevate the pizza to restaurant-level. Pizza is typically a crowd pleaser and, unless you find yourself arguing with your friends over what toppings to use, they’re pretty fun to make. The dough package should contain baking instructions — otherwise, bake at 10-15 minutes (until the crust
is slightly brown and the cheese is bubbling and golden on top) at about 500º. Next, is the Sage and Brown Butter Pasta: (Recipe adapted from The New York Times) Pasta and butter are as cheap as cheap gets. They also happen to be delicious when combined using the following method. Before starting that tasty pizza, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook a package (or two) of your desired noodles (I prefer rigatoni) just until almost al dente (not cooked all the way, so the pasta is still firm). While the pasta is boiling and the pizza is baking, begin to brown that butter. Throw in the sage and cook until the sage has shrunk and the butter is a deep golden brown. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water to add to the sauce. Add the pasta to the butter and sage, increasing the heat to medium before adding the pasta water and stirring to combine. Add parmesan, salt and pepper, and that’s it! For a dairy-free version (we all have those friends), olive oil can be substituted. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add minced garlic and sage and the cooked pasta. Top with a squeeze of lemon and the parmesan. Now, on to my favorite part — the garlic bread: By now you may be thinking that this dinner is pretty carbheavy, and you’re not wrong. Bread, and other flour-based products are incredibly cheap and easy to prepare in large quantities for a big group of people. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The preparation is simple. Heat butter and olive oil in the microwave until the butter has melted. Stir in about 1-1½ tablespoons of minced garlic (depending on the size of your loaf ), salt and pepper, oregano and dried or fresh chopped parsley. Slice a baguette in half, spread the mixture over evenly and top with parmesan cheese. Bring the oven temperature down to 400º and bake until the cheese is bubbling and the edges of the bread turn golden brown (about 10 minutes). And to break up the copious varieties of carbs in this meal, here’s a simple salad: In a bowl, massage (yeah, I said massage) a large container of pre-washed baby kale with olive oil and lemon juice. Let rest for a few minutes before adding salt, pepper and parmesan cheese, tossing to combine.
FILM REVIEW
‘The Last Word’ could be charming, settles for less JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer
“The Last Word” is written in such a way that’s it is almost certain first-time screenwriter Stuart Ross Fink knew a version of Shirley MacLaine’s (“Bernie”) Harriet Lauler in real life. Only that would explain his script’s blind lionization of a deeply flawed character and implicit accusations that anyone who sides against her “just doesn’t get it.” In his haste to paint a picture of this seemingly perfect woman, he forgot to make good on a premise with some charm and instead focused his energy on characters that never once rise above boring and drama that somehow continuously outdoes its own one-notedness. Its talented performers are completely stranded in some of the most predictable, trite baloney to hit the silver screen this year. The story involves Harriet
Lauler, an elderly woman who Lauler is portrayed as an overly wants a say in how her obituary controlling force of nature who is written and hires the local obit makes life miserable for everyone writer (Amanda Seyfried, “Pan”) around her. You would think that to ensure a suitable job is done this character arc writes itself. before her death. There’s some You would be wrong. Instead, promise to this story, particularly Fink decides that it isn’t Lauler in its originality and potential for that is the problem; it’s everyone dark comedy, and else. She’s only initially it appears controlling “The Last Word” it will make good because she’s on that promise. perfect and Ann Arbor 20 + An early montage knows better IMAX, Goodrich of people, including than everyone Quality 16 a spiteful priest, else how they Bleecker Street saying nothing but should live their negative things lives. Everyone about Lauler is who complains? genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, They just don’t understand that and MacLaine play Lauler with she’s “trying to help them reach the wit and nuance her character their full potential.” She’s like the needs. end-all-be-all, the perfect human MacLaine is hands-down the specimen, a god with a drinking best part of the movie, but she problem. can only hold a script like this And none of this makes for good afloat by will alone for so long, drama. When the main character especially when her character of a film is so overwhelmingly is the flick’s biggest problem. flawless and only nominally
BLEECKER STREET
human, it becomes impossible to relate to anything that’s going on. The brunt of the burden falls on the supporting cast, which crumbles as well. Seyfried co-headlines as the obituary writer Lauler hires, and the actress quickly finds herself in a role that forces her to be completely passive, lest she accidentally share or even – Heaven forbid – steal Lauler’s spotlight. She is relegated to be yet another one of the older woman’s pet projects and friend, despite an entirely one-sided dynamic.
AnnJewel Lee Dixon, in her onscreen debut, rounds out the main trio in a role that forces her to take on a bevy of problematic stereotypes. With that in mind, the weakness of the resulting performance is more forgivable. If Lucille Bluth from “Arrested Development” was given a feature film and the writers didn’t just ignore that she’s a fundamentally domineering, narcissistic alcoholic of a character but actively glorified those qualities while stripping her of most of the
wit that made her funny, it would look something like “The Last Word.” No drama can arise from such monotonous characters, yet the audience is continually asked to root for them even when anyone who has seen any movie in the last hundred years can guess exactly where this one is going from the first ten minutes. Without anything to relate to, “The Last Word” may not be a bad movie, but it is a dreadfully boring one that lacks the humanity for which it strives.
Arts
6 — Friday, April 7, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
‘Poets at Michigan’: A reflective look at MI poets a professor at the University, hosting many readings and Daily Arts Writer engaging with Ann Arbor residents through his work. Poetry has played an integral Archival research, edited role in literature and the arts letters and other information for generations. From epic on Frost will be presented. This poetry to contemporary poetry, panel also includes the History it has simultaneously reflected of Poetry at Michigan and the and created culture. Hopwood Awards, which are At the University itself, poets contests and prizes granted have had a farto students for reaching influence, their writing, impacting established in “Poets at students, 1931. Michigan, Then faculty and the The next and Now” community. panel is titled To showcase “The Middle Michigan Union these poets and Years,” covering April 7th 10 A.M. to their works, the Robert Hayden, Department of Theodore 4 P.M. English Language Roethke, Donald Free and Literature Hall, Jane will present the Kenyon and symposium “Poets more. Similar to at Michigan, Then and Now.” the first panel, it will present This symposium is a part a mix of research and work by of the University of Michigan the poets. Bicentennial celebration, a The final panel, titled “The celebration that also includes Art Continues: Contemporary events like Stumbling Blocks, Michigan Poets,” will mostly themed classes, Spring Festival include readings performed by and more. The event is comprised current faculty or graduated of three panels that are split up MFA students. Through this based on the time period. structure of the symposium, “It’s going to cover the each panel will highlight the range of poets at Michigan,” changes in poetry through said Cody Walker, professor the years, showcasing the of English and director of the development of this art form Creative Writing minor. “We through time at Michigan. are looking at poets who taught Keith Taylor, undergraduate here or were students here — creative writing coordinator, sometimes both — and we begin professor of English Laurence with Robert Frost.” Goldstein, alum Paul Diamond The morning panel will and Walker are the creators cover Robert Frost, the of the event. Goldstein came Hopwood Awards and the up with the idea behind the History of Poetry at Michigan. celebration, and Walker Frost played an active role as became involved because he NITYA GUPTA
NETFLIX
‘Discovery’ looks at death brain sees during the brief minute of death, and allow Daily Arts Writer those curious to see what, really, is in the afterlife. A budding romance between Will Released on Netflix, and Isla (Rooney Mara, “The romantic science fiction film Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”), “The Discovery” reveals a girl he met on the island, leads scientific proof of life after to Will questioning how their death. But the real discovery relationship fits against the is yet to come. When mass backdrop of life, death and the suicide phenomena erupts to discovery. “get there,” the “The meaning of death Discovery” “The Discovery” evolves. “The raises Discovery” eagerly interesting Netflix trips over itself to questions about Streaming on preach on how. bioethics and Netflix In his only metaphysics, public interview, but the film Dr. Harbor (Robert Redford, exists purely as a means “All The President’s Men”), to that end, prioritizing the neurologist who made the philosophical musing over breakthrough, is asked whether character development. While he feels responsible for the it successfully mobilizes thousands of suicides:“No” His serious thought in an accessible face remains stoic. way, it does so through “That’s it?” monologues about the meaning “That’s it.” of life artificially inserted into That’s not it. The interview dialogue. Within minutes of results in an on-air suicide Will and Isla’s first meeting, the by a crew member, and Dr. pair is already opining about Harbor retreats into sudden the afterlife. With inherently and mysterious seclusion. unnatural-sounding lines, Two years later, his son, Will their delivery comes across (Jason Segel, “How I Met as stiff, dissolving thematic Your Mother), visits him in a development into tedium. Even repurposed mansion on an off- as their romance progresses, peak tourist island. Devotees in they are defined more by their prison jumpsuits meditate in its circumstances than by who dreary halls, and in operating they are. rooms under passcode security, The plot twist at the end they die and shock themselves sheds some clarity on why back to life to “reset the brain.” that is, but isn’t remarkable To Will’s dismay, his father enough to overcome the lack of unveils a new device that he characterization throughout. claims will record what the Most times, the script seems VANESSA WONG
exceedingly pleased with its own intelligence, and tries its hardest to create opportunities to hear itself spoken aloud. Still, the actors do their best to personalize their lines. One of the few realisticsounding discussions is when a supporting actor (Riley Keough, “American Honey”) talks about how it may be easier to justify murder. She sounds irritated, mentions the comment off-hand in between slips of another conversation — the idea of death has been normalized. Also, the tightly stylized creative elements help add dynamism. The cool-toned color palette moodily matches its subject matter, setting up gorgeous contrasts between dreary shadows and glowing light. The cinematography, adds a humanizing dimension, taking special care to highlight movement through the screen in way the script fails to do. The mansion’s design, which nixes glossy futurism typical in science fiction in favor of clunky, homegrown machinery, feels believable and unique. With a talented cast and crew, “The Discovery” had potential to be more compelling than it was. But instead of setting its philosophical dilemma as a foundation to build upon, the film did the opposite, creating an elaborate plot just to prop up one lucky writer’s conjectures. It feels hollow, and the audience never gets the chance to connect with its characters.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
RELEASE DATE– Friday, April 7, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
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Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Chanel product 6 Father of Hector 11 Interruption 14 Give the green light 15 “The Flintstones” co-creator 16 Martial arts accessory 17 Young Pharaoh’s mischievous playmate? 20 It’s on display while boasting 21 Eccentric 22 Stephen Colbert forte 23 Papuan food staple 24 Solar prod. 25 Overly sweet fruit? 31 Features of a Los Angeles aerial view 32 Charged thing 33 Chekov colleague 34 Line on a globe 35 Apt cry in reaction to four puzzle answers? 37 One in a cage 38 Carson predecessor 40 “Norma __” 41 Salad garnish brand 43 Useless metallurgical product? 47 Coll. employee 48 Motivate 49 Helped create, in a way 51 Hold for another time 53 “Law & Order: SVU” rank 56 Small shellfish of high quality? 59 Succor 60 Parking garage component 61 Keats’ Muse 62 Montpelier-toProvidence dir. 63 Ski resort near Montpelier 64 In la-la land
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DOWN 1 Opposite of starve 2 Obstruct 3 Saint Erasmus of Formia, familiarly By Jeffrey Wechsler
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Jukebox the Ghost to bring their passion to the Pig
playing in basements and frat houses and somehow now we Daily Arts Writer are still a band. The world is a mysterious place.” Easy on the eyes and “We’ve always been willing outrageously passionate, to do anything to get our Jukebox the Ghost has been music heard or jump on an riding their dream for quite the opportunity,” wrote Ben hot minute, managing to inject Thornewill, the vocalist and the same dynamism into their pianist for indie-pop band performances now as they did Jukebox the 10 years ago. Ghost, in an email “It’s all about Jukebox the Ghost interview. the audience for Embodying me — playing for The Blind Pig the trio’s fervent new people gives April 14th @ 9:00 restlessness, an energy and Jukebox the Ghost life to the songs,” P.M. never cease to Thornewill $16 chase possibilities. wrote about They’ve been their concerts. 18+ hopping from “Hollywood gig to gig for the is one of my past 10 years, absolute constantly working to sharpen, favorites (to perform live) — develop and spread their sound. Jesse comes out from behind “We played on the David the drum set and for a moment Letterman show some years embodies a classic crooner.” ago now – but we got the call The trio screams vitality, to be on the show at 10 p.m. constantly touring because they the night before. I was living love it and they’re ridiculously in Philly and the other guys good at it. They’re like your were in NY — but the van was older brothers, best friends and in NY and the instruments in the nonchalant dudes who jam Philly. Tommy and Jesse drove across the street — unabashedly down, we loaded the van, drove fun, yet the kind of cool you through the night to get back always hoped to be. They’re so to NYC, slept for two hours eager to continue exploring the and then rushed to the studio,” world of music that you can’t Thornewill wrote, summing up help but groove through it with their attitude as a band. them. With nowhere to go and Other members are Tommy everywhere to be, their vigor Siegel (guitar, vocals) and Jesse for life is so pure it’s almost Kristin (drums, vocals) –– tangible. together the group has played Despite being danceable almost 1,000 shows together, as hell, Jukebox the Ghost’s slowly creeping their way up music avoids falling into the the power-pop landscape and nonsensical trap of lyrics that collecting an ardently loyal fan pop music is occasionally base. victim to. “We started playing “It varies,” Thornewill wrote together in college (at George when talking about the group’s Washington University) — creativity. “Sometimes it’s a Jesse (the drummer) and I lived good book, a new song, bad next door to each other in the TV, relationships … Inspiration dorms, and we met Tommy can come from anywhere if you through a flyer he put up in the keep your eyes open.” music department,” Thornewill With endless muses, their wrote. “It started out as us songs are about irresistibly ARYA NAIDU
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teaches a class titled “Michigan Poets, Then and Now.” The symposium will loosely follow the structure of Walker’s class. “I hope that this is something that people will really remember as important … that it stays with them,” Walker said. Walker acknowledged that many of the poets — like Frost and W.H. Auden — who either were students or taught at Michigan may not be widely associated with the campus community. This event could help draw attention toward Michigan’s history of poets, therefore acknowledging both the poets and the University itself. “Frost was a presence on campus, and he helped to establish the idea that having a poet on campus might be a valuable thing, besides for teaching,” Walker said. Walker also noted that several of the professors involved with the symposium are retiring after this year, have retired recently or will retire soon, including Nicholas Delbanco, Goldstein and Taylor. While the retirement of these professors is not the main focus of the symposium, Walker believes it is significant for them as well. The event serves not only as a public act for them, but as an act of commemoration. “These people have been here for decades and decades and decades, and they are the institutional memories of this place,” Walker said. “The conference gets to celebrate them as these fonts of wisdom.”
normal human triumphs, losses and fates. They’ve got oomph. Their latest record, the self-titled Jukebox the Ghost, encompasses the progressive fruition of the band. The 23 tracks hold true to their pop background yet venture into the realms of jazz and hip hop. Including a solo piano version of each song, the album is reflective of the experiences, nuances and distinctions the group has accumulated over their time together. “We are currently working on our fifth studio album,” Thornewill said. “I think when music is your life, it constantly evolves. The evolution is a byproduct of years on the road, getting older, growing increasingly senile and falling
Embodying the trio’s fervent restlessness, Jukebox the Ghost never cease to chase possibilities
in and out of love with the sound of a cowbell.” Continuing their voyage through pop, the group is rearing to experience fresh territories with their audiences. Fans can expect to party their hearts out and newbies should anticipate bopping around to their tunes long after the night fades. Playing some new songs and keeping on with their easygoing power-pop gusto, Jukebox the Ghost is set to take the stage at the Blind Pig next Friday.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, April 7, 2017 — 7
Speight and Hamilton quickly develop working relationship ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
The first time Pep Hamilton ever saw Wilton Speight, it had nothing to do with the Michigan football team. Speight wasn’t the starting quarterback for the Wolverines yet. In this case, he was just a high school lacrosse player. Hamilton, then at Stanford, had made his way down to Richmond, Va., to watch the lacrosse game of a defensive end he was recruiting. Speight just happened to catch his eye as a player who was “extremely quick and athletic for his size” on the lacrosse field. Hamilton later found out who the “scrawny” 6-foot-5 kid really was: Collegiate School’s starting quarterback who was supposedly heading to North Carolina State to play football, and that was the full extent of the interaction back then. Lo and behold, Speight never played for the Wolfpack, despite holding a childhood affinity for them. He ended up in Ann Arbor. So did Hamilton, many years later. And it didn’t take long for Michigan’s new associate head coach and passing game coordinator to realize the connection he had with his new pupil. “I knew as soon as I decided to be a part of coach Harbaugh’s program who I was going to have an opportunity to work with,” Hamilton explained Tuesday. The two have built what appears to be a solid working relationship through the early part of spring practices. Both, as Hamilton relayed, have a good understanding of what his job is, which is to help Speight become the best quarterback he can be. That has clearly resonated with the redshirt junior as he enters his first spring entrenched as Michigan’s
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight and associate head coach Pep Hamilton have emphasized a football-first focus to their relationship in the early going.
quarterback. For once, there is some comfortability in his position — though Speight and Hamilton have said the customary things about fending off internal competition — and that has allowed Speight to set his eyes on further goals. He doesn’t want to be just the best quarterback on the team. Now, he wants to be the best in the entire conference. “It’s always, ‘OK, if I can check this off, then it’s (the) next (box),’ ” Speight said. “It’s
“I’m trying to check off that next box.”
SOFTBALL
Wolverines ready for clash with Buckeyes MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Writer
It will be strength against strength when the No. 18 Michigan softball team (6-0 Big Ten, 26-7-1 overall) visits No. 25 Ohio State (6-0, 27-7) this weekend. The Wolverines’ top-ranked pitching rotation, which hasn’t surrendered a run in Big Ten play thus far, will face a Buckeye offense that hits .444 and averages over 11 runs per game — good for the conference lead in both categories. Ohio State’s run production was apparent against Rutgers last weekend, as it outscored its opponent, 32-3, in a brisk sweep. The Buckeyes also notched three victories against Maryland to open conference play in late March. Sophomore Lilli Piper, who hits .443 with nine home runs and 38 RBI, leads Ohio State offensively. She will undoubtedly be the toughest matchup both senior righthander Megan Betsa and junior right-hander Tera Blanco have faced in the last month. But it’s not a one-woman show for the Buckeyes. Seven players are hitting over the .300 mark, including junior Taylor White, who has hit seven home runs in 2017. “You look at Taylor White — she’s a player,” Hutchins said. “They hit very well.” In the circle, Ohio State right-handers Shelby Hurst (1.79 earned-run average) and Lena Miller (2.08) are talented starters who can capitalize on
not, ‘OK, let me sit in this little checked-out box for as long as I can and be comfortable.’ It’s ‘OK, I need to keep achieving every little goal that I have on my list.’ “Obviously, I’m still doing my best to make sure that box is checked off and I’m the quarterback here, but at the same time, I’m trying to check that next box off.” How he’ll achieve that next step will surely involve the tutelage of Hamilton, who replaces former assistant Jedd Fisch — a coach Speight described as being “on the same
Michigan’s struggles against effective pitching. When facing pitchers with an ERA under 2.00, the Wolverines are averaging just 1.625 runs per game and have been shut out three times. That shortcoming proves to be the culprit behind Michigan’s lackluster 2-6-1 record against ranked opponents this season. If that trend is any indication, the Buckeyes’ ranking isn’t promising for the Wolverines. Then again, Michigan’s offense has excelled recently, averaging eight runs per game in Big Ten play. Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield’s bat (.556) ranks fourth in conference while sophomore outfielder Natalie Peters’ .444 mark rounds out the category’s top 10. “(Canfield) has improved so much since last season,” said junior designated player Amanda Vargas. “It just pumps me up to watch her” After rain and snow hit the Columbus area this week, a doubleheader is now scheduled for Saturday with the series concluding Sunday afternoon. With six days in between games, Hutchins will put an emphasis on “playing live” in Friday’s practice, scrimmaging for an abbreviated session. By doing so, she hopes to prepare the Wolverines to add to their 12-game winning streak. But Hutchins is still very aware of Ohio State’s capabilities. “They’re a talented team,” Hutchins said. “They’re a balanced team, hit for power, and pitch well. We have our hands full.”
“They’re a balanced team, hit for power, and pitch well.”
page all the time” with. Despite any unfamiliarity, the new mentor and mentee jumped into things from the very moment they met in person. Speight recalls shaking Hamilton’s hand before immediately heading to a whiteboard together, where Hamilton quizzed him on his decisionmaking versus certain defensive looks. “His big thing was we’ll get to know each other as time goes on, we’ll build a good relationship, but right now it’s
about football,” Speight said. “That’s what I love — a working relationship first.” Hamilton had a lot of praise for what his new quarterback brought to the table performancewise — especially from what he saw watching last year’s tape. “I thought that (Speight) had aboveaverage physical stature for the position,” Hamilton said. “He can function from the pocket, he has great field vision and he can deliver the ball under duress. And I felt like that was
“It’s been all ball, all the time.”
an extreme positive.” Speight’s mental grasp of the game, especially as Hamilton adds new concepts and terminology to the preexisting offensive scheme, has impressed the coach as well. “Wilton is a conceptual learner, and so some of the things that we’ve put on his plate up until this point in the spring, he was a quick study,” Hamilton said. “... It’s preferred that you have guys that understand the why, that get it the first time. I think it helps them to ultimately be good decision-makers post-snap, and that’s something that you see in Wilton when you watch him. “You just go back and watch his film. He can manage bad plays, and he does a good job of playing situational football.” While Hamilton and Speight have hit the ground running on the field, there doesn’t appear to be much of a personal relationship. Hamilton even said he didn’t know that he would label what the two have as a relationship yet. That won’t be an issue as Hamilton seeks to build the offense around Speight’s strengths. His new pupil has the keys to the Ferrari, and their utmost concern is making sure Speight knows just how to handle that responsibility while continuing to elevate his game. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if the two became even closer as they continue to work alongside each other. After all, they have the most important thing in common — they want to win. “I think once we finish spring ball and maybe while we’re over in Europe, we’ll have a chance to actually sit down and get to know each other better,” Hamilton said. “A lot of our time is spent just grinding on football right now, and thank goodness Wilton is mature enough to manage all his affairs very well off the field. It’s been all ball, all the time.”
‘M’ riding seven-game win streak into Illinois JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer
The No. 18 Michigan baseball team’s scheduled game against Bowling Green was cancelled Wednesday after just half an inning due to rain. That has been just about the only thing capable of putting out the Wolverines’ fire the last two weeks. Michigan’s bats took off against Toledo, Central Michigan and Penn State last week as its offense drove in 64 runs, while the pitching staff was as dominant, allowing just 13. And after five straight routs, the Wolverines showed they still have what it takes to win close battles, rallying from a three-run deficit to defeat Notre Dame on Tuesday. Michigan (4-2 Big Ten, 23-6 overall) will look to extend its seven-game winning streak at home against Illinois (0-3, 10-16) this weekend. While the Fighting Illini are experiencing somewhat of a down year, they have historically been one of the Big Ten’s stronger teams. During coach Dan Hartleb’s 11-year tenure, Illinois has won two conference titles, in 2011 and 2015,
and has finished lower than sixth just twice. Illinois’ season so far has been heavily influenced by the long ball. Despite ranking in the middle of the Big Ten in most offensive statistics, the Fighting Illini lead the conference with 30 home runs. But Illinois ranks last in terms of giving up homers, having surrendered 40 this season. With Michigan’s offense the most productive as it’s been this season, it has a perfect opportunity to keep its momentum going against the Fighting Illini. The Wolverines rank third or higher in the Big Ten in every offensive category aside from home runs, and lead in on-base percentage (.396) and stolen bases (67). Junior third baseman Drew Lugbauer, who bats .286 with eight home runs and 34 runs batted in, is Michigan’s main power threat. But the entire lineup has been impactful as of late. Sophomore right fielder Jonathan Engelmann has hit .700 over his last six games to vault from ninth to first on the team in batting average, while sophomore designated hitter Nick Poirier – who normally bats one
spot ahead of Engelmann – has put up a .556 clip of his own. Two Wolverines possess impressive streaks they will look to continue against Illinois. Senior shortstop Michael Brdar is riding a 15-game hitting streak into the weekend, while sophomore second baseman Ako Thomas has reached base in every game this season. The Fighting Illini possess a young lineup, with only one upperclassmen among their top seven hitters. That one upperclassmen, however, is senior first baseman Pat McInerney – the Big Ten leader in slugging percentage (.727) and home runs (11). But McInerney doesn’t do it alone. Outfielder Jack Yalowitz has boosted his batting average from .227 his freshman year to .355 this season, and forms a formidable middle-of-the-order duo with McInerney. Casey Dodge and Michael Massey also contribute with solid batting averages of .299 and .291, respectively. Illinois’ pitching staff is equally youthful, and has shown its inexperience this season – its team earned-run-average of 6.20
is ahead of only Rutgers in the Big Ten. However, freshman Ty Weber gives the Fighting Illini hope. In seven starts this season, he has compiled a 3.80 ERA and has held opponents to a .210 batting average. While McInerney and Yalowitz are two of the Big Ten’s best hitters, they’ll have their work cut out for them against Michigan’s pitching staff. Junior left-hander Oliver Jaskie (4-1) is coming off a career-high 12 strikeouts against Penn State and leads the conference in that category, while juniors Ryan Nutof and Michael Hendrickson round out the starting rotation, coming off quality outings of their own last week. And when it comes time to shut the door, the Wolverines know they can turn to senior closer Jackson Lamb, who has saved seven games and has yet to allow an earned run this season. Illinois does boast its fair share of talent, but with the way Michigan has been playing lately, and barring more inclement weather, the Wolverines appear to be in a good position to extend their winning streak this weekend.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Sophomore right fielder Jonathan Engelmann has been a big part of the Wolverines’ offensive surge as of late after hitting .700 over his last six game.
Sports
8 — Friday, April 7, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
For Wolverines, three voices form one vision ANNA MARCUS Daily Sports Writer
Every year, Carol Hutchins’ phone rings. It’s the athletic department of yet another college, and they want to offer associate head coach Bonnie Tholl and assistant coach Jennifer Brundage head coaching positions. And every year, these programs receive the same answer. The assistants always turn the offers down. When asked why this is, Hutchins doesn’t need a second to hesitate. She provides a simple, yet authentic, answer. “I think they bleed blue.” *** When Tholl graduated from Michigan in 1991, she had already made a name for herself in the softball sphere. As Hutchins put it: “She was one of those kids who was kind of a program changer.” And that wasn’t an exaggeration. Tholl — a four-year starter at shortstop for the Wolverines from 1988 to 1991 — made history when she became the first player to net All-Big Ten First Team honors four times. During her tenure as a player, Tholl was a captain, a record-setter and a role model. She could have left Michigan after her senior year knowing she had already made her mark, but she and Hutchins both knew she wanted more. They both knew she was meant to be a Michigan coach. “I think when you leave a place that’s so special to you, you kind of compare any other place you go to the place that was special,” Tholl said. “My vision and my thought process was that someday, I wanted to come back to Michigan.” After working for two years as an assistant coach of Indiana while simultaneously obtaining a master’s degree in athletic administration, Tholl had the chance to return to Ann Arbor much sooner than she had anticipated. The current assistant coach for the Wolverines could only work part time, but Hutchins was doing a majority of the heavy lifting by herself and needed more experienced hands on deck. Tholl was the clear woman for the job.
ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins has worked alongside Bonnie Tholl and Jennifer Brundage for nearly 20 years, and together they have made 12 WCWS appearances.
She returned to Ann Arbor for the 1994 season, diving into her second assistant coaching role just three years out of college. She found herself in uncharted territory, working side by side with Hutchins for the first time, instead of playing for her. It’s been 24 years, and Tholl has never looked back. *** Hutchins still remembers the first time she saw Brundage play softball up close. It was in a 1995 game between Michigan and UCLA, one of the best softball programs at the time. When the game ended, though, the Wolverines were triumphant, proving themselves worthy of competing with the big-name teams. Despite the end result, Hutchins found herself intrigued by one Bruins player: Jennifer Brundage. “I just remember, I’m on third base (as coach) and Jenn’s the third baseman,” Hutchins said. “And I admired her game and her style.” Brundage, a senior during that game, batted .518 on the season, above any other NCAA Division I
player that year. That season, she broke the UCLA records for home runs, runs batted-in and doubles. After coaching as an assistant at Tennessee-Chattanooga for a year, she went back to UCLA for the 1997 season, having been offered the assistant coaching spot. At this time, Kelly Kovach Schoenly, now the head coach at Ohio State, worked as Hutchins’ pitching coach. But in 1998, Schoenly had been offered a position at Penn State, a job that would be both an upward move for her and closer to her home in Pennsylvania. Hutchins needed a new pitching coach, and she thought of Brundage. Having started in the circle just five times for UCLA, she may have seemed like an unusual choice at first glance. But Hutchins had done her research. “(UCLA) was the only school that didn’t recruit (Brundage) to pitch,” Hutchins said. “If she’d have played at Ohio State, she would have been a pitcher, and so I knew, when the job opened up, that she had an extensive pitching background.” In her interview, Brundage convinced Hutchins that she could take the pitching program and run
with it. Brundage was hired as an assistant coach for the 1999 season, joining a team that Hutchins and Tholl had already brought to four-straight Women’s College World Series appearances. It was this season that the foundation of Michigan softball, as it is known today, came together. And 19 seasons later, the core still hasn’t left. *** When the trio began working together, a few questions remained about how the dynamic would shape out. For the first time, Tholl began taking on many duties, spearheading the program’s recruiting efforts and coaching the outfield. How would she handle these newfound responsibilities? And while Hutchins knew Brundage could pitch, there was still the question of how she would bode supervising the position as the primary pitching coach. The coaching staff had to overcome these hurdles, but with a little bit of time, they metamorphosed into a cohesive unit. “When I was here my first couple years, I wasn’t mature enough to make all the decisions I make today,” Tholl said. “And I think under Hutch’s tutelage, I’m now a product of all of her teaching.” One thing that didn’t take time, though, was for each coach to bring their unique knowledge and experiences to the table, something that proved vital to building the elite program that stands today. Hutchins brought expertise. When Brundage joined the program in 1999, Hutchins had already been Michigan’s head coach for 14 years. Just a year later, she notched her 638th victory, putting her in first place for all-time wins among Wolverine coaches. With upward of 1,500 wins today, she is the NCAA’s winningest softball coach of all time and arguably the greatest coach in the history of the sport. Brundage brought a rare combination of skilled pitching and slugging knowledge. In her tenure at Michigan, she has helped in the batter’s box while also coaching nine players to Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors. And Hutchins was quick to note that no school has had more All-Americans in the circle than Michigan since Brundage joined the staff. Tholl brought creativity to the team with defensive coaching, mainly in the outfield, and an aptitude for recruitment. Right off the bat, in her first recruiting class, she found Sara Griffin and Kellyn Tate, the class that propelled Michigan into its first WCWS in 1995. Tholl’s hard work and skill led to a promotion for the 2003 season to associate head coach. “She has an even better mind for the game than I do, and she has a better recruiting mind than anybody in the country,” Hutchins said. “She’s like a Rolodex. “People from all over the country would call her and say, ‘Hey do you remember this kid that played for a certain team?’ and (Tholl) knows her name, she knows the year of graduation, she knows all about her. If Bonnie sees a kid play she remembers them for life. She even remembers their birthday.” And with such a strong knack for recruitment, it would have been easy for Tholl to take every step of the recruitment process under her wing. But that was never how
the Michigan coaching dynamic worked. Everyone was invested in the future of the team, and everyone wanted to be involved in all aspects of coaching. The recruitment of senior centerfielder Kelly Christner was a clear illustration of that. Christner still recalls that Brundage was the first to see her play in a game in high school, and that she left quite an impression on the assistant coach. During the game, Christner went for a foul ball before colliding with a fence and flying off of it. “I’m pretty sure that’s why (Brundage) called Hutch and was like, ‘You should check this kid out, she’ll do anything.’ ” Christner said. “But honestly, she and Bonnie and Hutch all rotated around. … I think they try to work that in with every recruit just so they aren’t focusing on one coach.” While this deep level of investment and involvement from Hutchins’ coaching staff has become commonplace in the Michigan program, Hutchins doesn’t take it for granted. She remembers what it was like before having Tholl and Brundage around and is very grateful for their consistent presence and commitment to the program. “I’m glad I have them,” Hutchins said. “I wouldn’t want to live without them again. “Everyone expects that the head coach is really invested in the program, but the key to our success has been that my assistant coaches are every bit as invested than I am.” The three core coaches’ equal investment in Michigan softball comes along with their three distinct and strong personalities. Because of this, the staff is not always in agreement on every smallscale decision regarding the team. Every day, the coaches work together to prepare their next practice — and the planning sessions are not always simple. When the meetings get heated, and they often do, they can last upward of an hour. But at the end of the day, the coaches can consistently agree on one thing: They want what’s best for the softball team. And given
the unique circumstance Hutchins and her assistants find themselves in, they have had more time to formulate and perfect a singular vision for the team than most other coaching units. “We walk in every day to make this program better and to try to get us to the College World Series,” Hutchins said. Michigan has seen this vision realized many times. With the earliest in 1995 and the most recent just last year, the Wolverines have made 12 WCWS appearances, with the trio being together for the last eight. The triad’s cohesion has numbers to show for it as well. It has netted the Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year accolade on 12 separate occasions, including the last four consecutive years. In 2005, the coaching staff earned Michigan’s first Speedline/ NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The season was monumental, as the Wolverines claimed their only NCAA national championship and finished the season with a program-best 65 wins. Undeniably, the Michigan softball program has a lot to be proud of. Yet it is equally important, if not more so, that coaches of such a celebrated program understand how to work with failure and not just success. Whether an individual is struggling or the team as a whole is in a slump, performance will not always meet up with expectations. Last year, Christner dealt firsthand with not meeting up to her own expectations at the plate. Under the tutelage of the seasoned coaches, she was able to take on a new mindset for this season. “I think I’ve become much more comfortable with failure,” Christner said. “Being mentored by them has really taught me how to handle it and how to come back from it.” Part of what has made Michigan players like Christner feel that they are able to come back from a slump is having three supportive mentors to go to. And Hutchins shared these sentiments. “We’re very lucky,” she said. “We have three people that are all head coaches, really.” Hutchins, from the start, has treated her assistants with the responsibility and respect of equals. This coaching style has paid dividends both for the team and for the tight-knit nature of the coaching staff. “(We) all have a voice in our staff meetings and she wants input from everyone,” Brundage said. “She doesn’t have an ego where she has to be right all the time. It’s pretty cool that arguably the greatest coach in our sport wants to hear what the rest of us think and allows us to have a voice.” The way in which Hutchins supervises the staff has given each coach the opportunity to learn from one another. The Michigan coaching philosophy is that no matter one’s success and expertise, there is always room for growth. “(Coaching) doesn’t get old for us,” Tholl said. “The game is always changing and we are always learning. It doesn’t matter if Hutch has been the coach for over 30 years here, she’s still learning different parts of the game.”
ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily
Jennifer Brundage came to Ann Arbor as a pitching coach in 1998.