Issuu

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Monday, April 10, 2017

Ann Arbor, Michigan

michigandaily.com

Nearly a sweep The No. 18 Michigan softball team won two of the three games it played in a weekend series against No. 25 Ohio State in Columbus.

» Page 1B RESEARCH

Health care leaders talk diseases at conference ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily

University of Michigan alum and actor Darren Criss speaks during the True Blue Bicentennial event in Hill Auditorium on Saturday.

University history showcased at True Blue! event by notable alumni

Over 3,500 attendees hear from Sanjay Gupta, Darren Criss, Cecilia Muñoz COLIN BERESFORD & KAELA THEUT Daily Staff Reporters

Several distinguished alumni, including Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN, actor Darren Criss and Cecilia

Muñoz, former director for White House Domestic Policy Council, each touched on their own personal connections to the University of Michigan at the True Blue! event Saturday night. Over 3,500 students, faculty and alumni filled Hill Auditorium to watch the array of multi-media performances that accompanied the

speakers examine the University’s numerous contributions to the arts, science, athletics and social justice throughout history. In between speakers, student groups such as Michigan Men’s Glee Club, the University Chamber Choir and the Michigan Marching Band performed songs such as “I Remember, My Michigan” and

“The Victors” that were composed by accomplished alumni. LSA freshman Jack Alcantara, show participant, said he got involved with Men’s Glee Club because of his familial ties to it — his dad was also a member. He noted the size of the crowd, as well as how audience members reacted to the See TRUE BLUE, Page 3A

University alum Sanjay Gupta moderates discussion before crowd of over 300 ERIN DOHERTY Daily Staff Reporter

Top health professionals with different backgrounds and areas of expertise, including University of Michigan alumni, delivered lectures and participated in a panel Friday afternoon regarding infectious diseases and moderated by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent and neurosurgeon. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel delivered the opening remarks for the convention to over 300 people. Schlissel, who received a medical degree from John’s Hopkins University, understands the potential threat of an emerging

infectious disease. “The next pandemic is not a matter of if, but a matter of when,” Schlissel said. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, presented the 16th annual Horace W. Davenport Lecture. Fauci has served as a key adviser to the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services under five presidents. His work at the NIH and with a range of presidents has taught him the importance and influence presidential involvement can have on controlling an outbreak, which he said will inevitably occur during a president’s term. See CONFERENCE, Page 3A

Campus divided on legalization of Festifools Full line-up celebration marijuana in Michigan after Hash Bash announced

CAMPUS LIFE

ARTS

entertains thousands

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, other activists advocated for improved legislation

Art, festivities shown at annnual Ann Arbor event held political connotations

Michigan politicians were among the approximately 10,000 people in attendance of this year’s Hash Bash, signifying the push for marijuana legalization in the state. State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D– Ann Arbor) spoke at the event and advocated for the legalization of marijuana, saying it would eventually solve infrastructure issues. “If we can put a ballot initiative through that will legalize marijuana in Michigan and raise some real tax revenue for this state, we can fix our roads, we can fix our schools, we can make sure that we have infrastructure for the future of this state,” Rabhi said. Rabhi’s language mirrored that of many other Michigan Democrats, including former State Rep. Jeff Irwin, who was replaced by Rabhi and is now the director of Michigan Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. The coalition aims to gain enough signatures to put marijuana legalization on Michigan’s ballot in 2018. LSA senior Erin Dunne, who wrote her honors thesis on Ann Arbor’s Hash Bash, has dedicated much of her time to legalization efforts. Considering the number of organizations working toward legalization and the beliefs of voters, Dunne said she believes an initiative for legalization would

RHEA CHEETI

Daily Staff Reporter

Ann Arbor residents on Main Street Sunday afternoon could hear FestiFools before they saw it. Loud drums and live music paraded through the city, interspersed with thousands of people who gathered to watch the event. For the 11th year in a row, FestiFools took over the streets of downtown Ann Arbor. This year’s theme, “WishFool Thinking,” produced hundreds of giant puppet floats — from a giant bird made entirely out of balloons to President Donald Trump wearing a bib emblazoned with the Twitter logo. Founded by Mark Tucker, arts director for the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program, and former LHSP student Shoshana Hurand, FestiFools is an annual public arts spectacle hosted by WonderFool Productions, a local nonprofit dedicated to community arts. The puppets are created by students in the Arts in Public Spaces class taught by Tucker, as well as in community art workshops. LHSP student Anna Minnebo, an LSA sophomore, participated in FestiFools for the second time this year. She said being in the FestiFools See FOOLS, Page 3A

GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

CARLY RYAN

Daily Staff Reporter

likely pass. “This year, many of the organizations working towards the same goal are part of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol,” Dunne said. “The resulting committee is drafting the language of initiative. That committee involves the Marijuana Policy Project, MI Legalize, the Michigan Cannabis Coalition, the National Patients Rights Association, the (American Civil Liberties Union) and the

For more stories and coverage, visit

Marijuana Law Section of the state bar of Michigan.” Despite the large turnout at Hash Bash, many still dissent to legalization. Though the University of Michigan is smoke free, Engineering freshman Lincoln Merrill, publicity chair of the University of Michigan’s chapter of the College Republicans, said legalization would make those who aren’t interested in marijuana vulnerable to its effects.

michigandaily.com

“Rather than affecting the University area, the new law would affect the student body as they could then freely roam Ann Arbor to smoke with no consequences,” Merrill said. “Legalizing marijuana would expose a lot of people who want nothing to do with the drug to secondhand smoke, but people should have the right to not breathe that secondhand smoke when in public.” See MARIJUANA, Page 3A

DESIGN BY OLIVIA STILLMAN

INDEX

for day-long SpringFest

Festival to also include Rap Cypher, yoga sessions, art installation for U-M 200th ANAY KATYAL

Managing Arts Editor

After announcing SpringFest’s headlining acts, MUSIC Matters has released the festival’s entire lineup before its scheduled Friday kickoff. SpringFest’s daytime acts will include local bands Shmongo and The Stellars. The sixth annual SpringFest will take place Friday, April 14. The day-long festival aims to focus on the intersection of arts, culture and the University of Michigan community, with activities and performances on the Diag and North University Avenue, and an evening charity concert featuring headliners 2 Chainz, Lil Yachty and Desiigner. In addition to Shmongo and The Stellars, SpringFest will also be featuring performances from Universal Music Groupaffiliated artists Ocean Park Standoff, Nightly and Saint Mesa. The festival will also include a variety of activities hosted by UMG, given that MUSIC Matters and UMG entered a collaborative partnership for the latest iteration of SpringFest. UMG will be featuring a variety of DJ sets, interactive displays and multiple See SPRINGFEST, Page 3A

NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6

SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS........B SECTION

News

2A — Monday, April 10, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ON THE DAILY: GOODBYE, BURGERFI Ann Arbor restaurant BurgerFi shut down abruptly, with only a sign on the door to notify customers. “The BurgerFi Restaurant is now closed Indefinitely with No Plans of Reopening,” the sign read. “The Owner and Staff would like To Thank All Our Guest [sic.] for their support throughout our tenure. We apologize for the short notice and Inconvenience this may have caused. Once again, Thank You All.” No additional information has been released about the closing. BurgerFi first opened in 2013, moving into New York Pizza Depot’s former location under the University Towers apartment building at the corner of South University and Forest Streets. According to the restaurant’s website, it is part of a national franchise that began in 2011 and has been growing rapidly. Students and locals were confused about the restaurant’s unexpected closing. Because there

was lack of warning, customers were left wondering about the reason behind the shut-down. LSA freshman Maria Ficaro is living in University Towers next year, and she was excited to have BurgerFi right under her apartment. “I was looking forward to having all these food places close by, let alone right under me — like BurgerFi,” Ficaro said. “I’m confused on why they randomly shut down without giving an explanation. All of a sudden I walk by and there is a sign saying they closed down. Not cool.” Business sophomore Maddie Demeter, a current University Towers resident, had a similar experience. “Maybe two weeks ago, I was walking by and I saw (the sign),” Demeter said. “I was really surprised, the whole inside was empty. I hadn’t been in a while and I remember thinking I should go, and then it was closed! So I never got to go one last time.”

Demeter said she’s seen people walking in and out of the space since it closed, but the restaurant seems to be completely empty now. She’s hoping something new moves in, though she hasn’t heard about anything yet.

Darren Criss @DarrenCriss

“On South U, there are quite a few vacancies that need to be filled so I hope something comes soon,” she said.

Every time I’m at DTW I feel like I’m at Platform 9 3/4, everyone walking around going to or leavin @UMich, all reppin school merch & colors

- MAYA GOLDMAN

ANOTHER KIND OF CUBE

Michigan Students @UMichStudents what’s your favorite springtime activity? for my neighbors, apparently it’s giving each other haricuts on their porch

ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily

Students decorate a cube at the Community of Cultures bicentennial festival at Pierpont Commons on Friday

CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Integrating Inclusion and Equity into the Academy WHAT: Dr. Sam Museus from Indiana University will speak about specific strategies for supporting and representing diverse faculty at universities. WHO: National Center for Institutional Diversity WHEN: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School, Assembly Hall

Women’s Studies Department Honors Thesis Colloquium WHAT: Four seniors from the Women’s Studies department will present their honors theses. WHO: Women’s Studies Department WHEN: 1:10 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. WHERE: Lane Hall, Room 2239

Follow @michigandaily

Tweets

Janet Yellen, Chair of U.S. Federal Reserve System

WHAT: Janet Yellen will speak about the Federal Reserve and monetary policy. Admission is free but tickets are required. WHO: Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School, Rackham Auditorium

Michigan Students @UMichStudents

The Politics of Measuring Human Rights and Gender Violence

what a lovely day … to sit inside and do homework

WHAT: Sally Engle Merry from New York University will discuss data and human rights. WHO: Science, Technology & Society WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Tisch Hall, Room 1014

Tony Lewis speaks in the RC

“What the Health” Movie Screening

Islamic Dance and Drama with Gamelan

Senior Recital: Margaret Tigue, soprano

Andrew D. Martin @ProfADM

WHAT: Author Tony Lewis will talk about his memoir, “Slugg: A Boy’s Life in the Age of Mass Incarceration,” about growing up in the age of mass incarceration. WHO: Residential College WHEN: 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: East Quadrangle, Room 1405

WHAT: A documentary will be screened, looking into the prevention and reversal of chronic diseases, as well as the role of government in health care. WHO: Maize Pages Student Organizations WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: DANA Building, Room 1040

WHAT: Student dancers and musicians will join two distiguished dancers from Indonesia in a performance about the development of a Javasese Islamic saint. WHO: Residential College WHEN: 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. WHERE: Hill Auditorium

WHAT: Senior Margaret Tigue will give her vocal recital for a public audience. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall

Ann Arbor is feeling foolish today, much like the weather in Michigan. Happy #Festifools!

Bicentennial-themed contest to recognize University innovations

420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com

Multi-faceted prompt allows students to consider multiple dimensions in projects AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter

As the University of Michigan reaches its 200th year, two Presidential Bicentennial Professors have paid tribute to the innovation the school has been known for by announcing the Campus of the Future Competition.

For this contest, Joanna Millunchick, a material science and engineering professor, and Mika LaVaque-Manty, a professor of political science, are inviting University students and post-doctoral fellows from all disciplines to come together to create projects that reinvent the idea of the University and what is means to be a Wolverine. All University students have

EMMA KINERY

HUSSEIN HAKIM

the opportunity to submit a Editor in Chief Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 project abstract by May 1, which kineryem@michigandaily.com hjhakim@michigandaily.com could lead to a project showcase in October and the chance to win $25,000 in prizes. The projects will be assessed by a panel of NEWS TIPS ARTS SECTION PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION judges during the showcase news@michigandaily.com arts@michigandaily.com photo@michigandaily.com next semester. Students from all LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SPORTS SECTION NEWSROOM majors are encouraged to submit tothedaily@michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com 734-418-4115 opt. 3 their ideas. EDITORIAL PAGE ADVERTISING CORRECTIONS Millunchick expressed her opinion@michigandaily.com dailydisplay@gmail.com corrections@michigandaily.com excitement for the competition and working with students. “I’m really looking forward to seeing all the ideas, and AMELIA CACCHIONE and EMMA RICHTER getting the students to expand Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com on what they’re thinking,” she Senior Photo Editors: Zoey Holmstrom, Evan Aaron, Alexis Rankin said. “So far, the people I’ve REBECCA LERNER Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Meingast, Emilie Farrugia, Sinduja Managing Editor rebler@michigandaily.com met are so inspirational. It’s Kilaru, Sam Mousigian, Marina Ross fun working with the students, ALEXA ST.JOHN LARA MOEHLMAN that’s my favorite part always.” Managing News Editor alexastj@michigandaily.com Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com The Campus of the Future Senior News Editors: Riyah Basha, Tim Cohn, Lydia Murray, Deputy Statement Editor: Brian Kuang. Yoshiko Iwai Nisa Khan, Sophie Sherry Competition emphasizes three Assistant News Editors: Kevin Biglin, Caleb Chadwell, Erin http://sudokugenerator.com/sudoku/generator/print/ main scales: the room scale, Doherty, Maya Goldman, Matt Harmon, Andrew Hiyama, Jen DANIELLE JACKSON and TAYLOR GRANDINETTI building scale and total campus Meer, Carly Ryan, Kaela Theut Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com scale. These encompass the Senior Copy Editors: Marisa Frey, Ibrahim Rasheed scope of what one’s project ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com could focus on — they also DYLAN LAWTON and BOB LESSER Senior Opinion Editors: Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Max challenge students to come Managing Online Editor lesserrc@michigandaily.com Lubell, Madeline Nowicki, Stephanie Trierweiler Senior Web Developers: Erik Forkin, Jordan Wolff up with new ideas as to how the University could change BETELHEM ASHAME and KEVIN SANTO ABE LOFY Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com its methods to accommodate Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Sports Editors: Laney Byler, Mike Persak, Orion Sang, Senior Video Editors: Gilly Yerrington, Matt Nolan, Aarthi more individuals with diverse Minh Doan, Chloe Aubuchon, Sylvanna Gross, Chris Crowder Janakiraman, Emily Wolfe backgrounds. Assistant Sports Editors: Rob Hefter, Max Marcovitch, Avi Sholkoff, Ethan Wolfe, Matthew Kennedy, Paige Voeffray According to the competition’s JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com message, the University hopes ANAY KATYAL and NATALIE ZAK Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Christian Paneda, Tanya to adapt to the ongoing needs of Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Madhani, Neel Swamy, Adam Brodnax, Areeba Haider, Halimat the community with the quickly Olaniyan, Sivanthy Visanthan Senior Arts Editors: Tess Garcia, Dayton Hare, Nabeel Chollanpat, Madeline Gaudin, Carly Snider shifting world. Arts Beat Editors: Caroline Filips, Danielle Yacobson, Danny ELLIE HOMANT LaVaque-Manty further Hensel, Erika Shevchek, Matt Gallatin Managing Social Media Editor explained the many dimensions Senior Social Media Editors: Carolyn Watson, Molly Force MICHELLE PHILLIPS and AVA WEINER of this project and how there are Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com various interpretations of what Senior Design Editors: Alex Leav, Carly Berger, Christine Lee the prompt could mean. “You can think of campus of the future in all kinds of ways,” SONIA SHEKAR Digital Marketing Manager he said. “When we use the word ‘campus,’ we might be meaning JESSICA STEWART National Accounts Manager EMILY RICHNER higher education in general or Sales Manager JULIA SELSKY university campuses or we might Local Accounts Manager ANNA HE be meaning campuses here — and Special Publications and Events Manager CLAIRE BUTZ we might be talking about space Production and Layout Manager in the Diag. It means all the things that happen on campus.” The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the

Editorial Staff

Sudoku Generator

EASY

Business Staff

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

Opinion

4A — Monday, April 10, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ROBERT SELLERS | OP-ED

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

EMMA KINERY Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY

and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors

REBECCA LERNER Managing Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Carolyn Ayaub Megan Burns Samantha Goldstein Caitlin Heenan Jeremy Kaplan Sarah Khan

Anurima Kumar Ibrahim Ijaz Max Lubell Alexis Megdanoff Madeline Nowicki Anna Polumbo-Levy

Jason Rowland Ali Safawi Sarah Salman Kevin Sweitzer Rebecca Tarnopol Stephanie Trierweiler

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

FROM THE DAILY

We stand with our GSIs and GSSAs

he Graduate Employees’ Organization, the labor union that represents graduate student instructors and graduate student staff assistants at the University of Michigan, is in the process of negotiating a new contract for union members. GEO hopes the new contract will address issues of the rising cost of living in Ann Arbor, health care and diversity labor under the University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan. The climate surrounding the negotiations has become more heated in recent weeks, with the union holding a number of protests, including a 400-person sit-in at the Fleming Administration Building. The Michigan Daily Editorial Board calls upon the University to support a contract that acknowledges the changes in cost of living and other benefit needs graduate students face since their last contract negotiation, and we implore the University to pay graduate students for diversity labor under their new contract. As of now, the University’s proposals for GSI and GSSA salaries and benefits do not appear to respect the value of their labor. Graduate students play a particularly tangible role in undergraduate education, often serving as a valuable link between a student’s desire to learn and achieving mastery in a subject by teaching small discussion sections that complement large lecture courses. GSIs alleviate much of the burden of grading and additional instructional hours that would otherwise fall on the backs of faculty. In addition to doing this labor, graduate students have coursework of their own to attend to, making it hard for them to find time to supplement their income through other jobs. While the relationship between graduate students and the University is complex given their dual status as students and employees, our GSIs deserve better than an administration that refuses to recognize the need for substantial changes to accommodate rising costs of living. In exchange for their invaluable labor, part

of what the members of GEO wish to gain is a raise of 17.5 percent over three years to accommodate the increasing cost of living in Ann Arbor, a request to which, as of March 15, the University responded with an offer of substantially less over the next three years. GEO is also seeking changes to graduate worker health benefits that cap the amount spent on copays for mental health services, which many graduate students seek out. Additionally, they urge the University to expand paid parental leave to be inclusive of all parents, not just birth parents, allowing graduate students to assist their newly grown families when they need it most. While reasonable negotiations are to be expected, we are seriously concerned that the University has not budged on its proposal for a meager increase in wages and other benefits. Most troubling is the University’s outright refusal to negotiate on the issue of unionized diversity labor by graduate students. Payment for diversity work has been a major issue for many campus movements. The students the University constantly seeks out for input and

labor on diversity issues are often the very students most disenfranchised by the current campus climate they’ve been tasked to help repair. Recent events have shown that addressing barriers to equity on campus isn’t easy for anyone. Asking graduate students whose time and wallets are already extraordinarily strained to spend time on diversity efforts without pay and unionization f lies in the face of the principles the University claims went into the DEI plans. If the University is serious about implementing its DEI plan, it must pay for unionized diversity labor. GSIs and GSSAs are integral to our campus’s continued functioning, yet the University’s attitude toward the current contract negotiations with the GEO have not recognized the serious struggles they face under the current contract. This bargaining period could have been a test for the University to put the principles of this year’s DEI plans into action. We’re not confident the University has passed.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

APPLY TO BE A COLUMNIST OR CARTOONIST Have opinions? Love to write? Draw? Apply as a cartoonists or columnist for the Spring/Summer! Visit http://bit.ly/2o0oVGV to find out more about where you might fit in this summer. FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU

DEI work critical at the University

he work required to make the University of Michigan campus a more diverse, more equitable and more inclusive community of scholars requires a longterm commitment. That’s why, when we developed and launched our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan last fall, it was a five-year plan. And, like with any plan of this magnitude and significance, there were immediate calls for us to do more and do it quicker. That’s a natural reaction. But today I want to make sure that our community knows just how important this work is for all of us. It is so important that there is a team of more than 200 UM employees on the Ann Arbor campus who are devoting all or a portion of their professional lives to this work. Additionally, there are countless numbers of faculty, staff and students across our campus who are assisting by sharing their experiences, offering their advice and volunteering their services in many different ways. Student involvement in the DEI planning and implementation processes is critical. Many units across campus have involved undergraduate and graduate students in their work. My office has a student advisory board. The Division of Student Life has established two DEI Student Advisory Committees made up of 25 undergraduate and 25 graduate student volunteers. I recognize and value the historic and contemporary contributions made by students to the University’s progress with respect to both the DEI planning process and more broadly diversity, equity and inclusion over many years at the University.

A fundamental motivation by which graduate students for creating a strategic plan was with interest in DEI issues to make the unpaid DEI work can gain valuable educational of countless members of our and professional development community (including graduate experiences with appropriate students) the responsibility of compensation. Possible the University. examples include: a new DEI That means the bulk innovation fund; possible of the day-to-day work of new Rackham Graduate implementing the DEI plans School Diversity Allies grant across campus must fall to supplements; internship the faculty and staff who have opportunities through been given the responsibility the National Center for of DEI plan implementation Institutional Diversity and the and who are paid for that Office of Diversity, Equity & work. At the same time, we Inclusion; as well as potential also recognize the personal, educational opportunities professional and educational in other units across the benefits that being involved University. with DEI work provides. I have I am confident that this personally benefitted from task force provides the them throughout my career. best process to address the To address the issue of the shared concern that graduate appropriate role for graduate students, particularly students within the DEI under-represented graduate strategic planning process, students, should not my office is working with a be required to perform task force equally comprised uncompensated work within of graduate students and DEI the DEI plan. It is a process strategic plan implementation that will include graduate professionals. The task force students in designing their will have two charges. roles in the DEI plan. We also First, the task force will anticipate creating additional go through all the unit DEI funding for graduate students plans and identify where to work in concert with the unpaid graduate student DEI plan that will provide work may exist. The task graduate students important force will then recommend educational benefits. appropriate ways to address Ultimately, the University this work (including providing is interested in fostering a appropriate compensation). supportive relationship with The work needs to be tasks graduate students that is both for which graduate students mindful of their time and are uniquely qualified to do respectful of their efforts. or it should be done by faculty Through these outlined actions, or staff. The work also should we believe that together we can have some educational benefit achieve these goals. to graduate students since they came to the University to get the best education possible. Robert Sellers is the University of The second charge of Michigan chief diversity officer and the task force is to identify vice provost for equity and inclusion. existing opportunities He also is the Charles D. Moody within the plans as well as Collegiate Professor of Psychology and recommend new mechanisms a professor of education.

ISAIAH ZEAVIN-MOSS | COLUMN

My lonely mind

ast week, my best friends at the University of Michigan. I from home visited Ann think my way of understanding Arbor because they have how to be happy at the University each dropped out was to do the most of school to pursue things, to get most music careers and, involved, as a means of through a web of leaving my mark on this connections and campus as someone mutual friends, they who tried to change all were given studio the fucked-up things time in Detroit. So that happen here. they would spend Because, from its their days mostly in origins, this university the city, and then is really unjust, both ISAIAH come back here and ZEAVIN-MOSS in its history and in hang out with me. the way in which And while I was spending time the discourse surrounding with them, I realized, among other that history takes shape, as the things, that I don’t feel very close powerful Stumbling Blocks to very many people in Ann Arbor. exhibit shows: This land was How could I? After all, I went to the stolen from Native Americans, in same school from the time I was 3 part, with the understanding that years old to when I graduated high Native children would be able to school, so I’ve known many of attend this school, and yet not a the people who visited me for my single Native American attended entire waking life. Immediately the University of Michigan once they arrived, the choice of during the next 130 years. whom to spend time with was Today, at a school which is abundantly clear: With my meant to represent the world friends from home suddenly here, in which we live and, I believe, there was not really anybody else the world in which we want to be around. to live, only 13.8 percent of And yet, I don’t think I saw as the class of 2020 comes from much of my friends from home underrepresented backgrounds. as I could or as I wanted to. Despite these statistics, of course, And this is because I do a lot of the University brands itself different things on this campus. as “Always Leading. Forever I have two majors and a minor in Valiant,” and it has made this three departments whose work year’s graduation ceremony and faculty members I respect one to explicitly celebrate the enormously. I work with a lot of University’s history — fraught change-making organizations: with discrimination — instead the Prison Creative Arts Project, of inviting a dynamic speaker to Students4Justice and the help graduates construct a more Program on Intergroup Relations, egalitarian future. to name a few. I truly admire what The answer is not in celebrating these organizations stand for, and our past. The answer is in I am more than willing to help in interrogating our past relentlessly any way I can. and brutally. Invite a Native In a Positive Psychology American whose ancestors were textbook referencing a 2002 lied to by University founders positive psychology study, the and administrators to speak to author notes that the investigators the class of 2017. Invite somebody Ed Diener and Martin Seligman whose ancestor was denied entry found that the most consistent, into this country by the Chinese salient characteristic among Exclusion Act of 1892, drafted people who scored the highest in part by former University on a happiness survey was President James Angell. “their strong ties to friends All of this — our past and the and family and commitment to way we go about discussing it — spending time with them.” This is is pathetic and inexcusable. And, something one of my friends from as I type out these aspects of our home pointed out to me while he University that I myself already was here. know, I feel rancor boiling within And yet it’s something I’ve not me. I begin to look at students thought about during my time entering and exiting Mason Hall

with this rancor attached to all of them, because I see them all as not doing anything about the deeply problematic aspects of this school. I see them only in the context of this; I see them as lazy, ungrateful, blind. And so I work to change this campus by joining organizations. I will not become the blind, lazy idea of people that I sense all around me. But I’m not writing this just to say that. I’m writing to say that this work has not brought me happiness. My days are grossly routinized: wake up, homework, class, class, homework, meeting, dinner, sleep. I barely speak to people here — why would I, if I think of the average University student as complacent and fundamentally silent? I don’t laugh for extended periods of time here. “There is too much work to be done,” I think. Nor am I writing this to criticize the people in my life or the people on this campus. Not at all. I’m writing this as a certain diatribe against myself and the way in which I have lived on this campus. I have not worked to foster deep, long-lasting relationships. I have known people in meetings and lectures. I have not known people by taking walks with them and singing and dancing and playing Scrabble and Boggle with them. Instead, I have seen people in this campus largely as products of this university’s history — the anger I feel toward the people around me, right now, just having recorded a few of the horrendous historic aspects of our University’s history — is proof of this. I am writing this, instead, to catalyze a shift in the way I see people here: not merely colleagues and peers, but people with stories and lives to share. I’m reminded of a quote by the transcendent author Audre Lorde: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is selfpreservation.” I think I have somehow denied myself the ability of self-care, denied myself the time and space to create deep and long-lasting relationships, which are, I do believe, the key to happiness. Isaiah Zeavin-Moss can be reached at izeavinm@umich.edu.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Arts

Monday, April 10, 2017 — 5A

DAILY TV/NEW MEDIA COLUMN

ALBUM REVIEW

A girl kills herself, leaving behind 13 cassette tapes

4AD Future Islands

Future Islands returns with stunning ‘Far Field’ On their fifth LP, Future Islands evokes beauty and expanse SEAN LANG

Daily Arts Writer

Three years since their breakthrough album Singles, an album “of singles” that f lexed about as much as the title might suggest, Future Islands have returned with their fifth LP, The Far Field. Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, the three-piece have been committed to their particular brand of hardedged synth-pop revival for over 11 years. The Far Field is a stunning summation of this dedication and experience, and perhaps the most linear record in the band’s discography. Future Islands regularly tours with drummer Michael Lowry, but recruited him to play for the studio recordings this time around, lending the album a greater sense of direction. Despite the relatively boring “Candles,” The Far Field delivers on the promise that Future Islands made with Singles in 2014: a purposeful step towards accessibility without compromise of the band’s core values. Singles “Ran” and “Cave” signal urgency, frontman and vocalist Sam Herring’s familiarly hearty rasp soaring over fast footstep-like cymbals. In the music video for “Ran,” Herring, fittingly, runs across a countryside before closing out the last minute crooning from behind dancing embers. Like Future Islands’ live performances, Herring’s face contorts itself, the visible strain in his brow evidence of his earnestness, an earnestness perhaps even more central to the band’s identity than Herring’s voice. Although The Far Field is stylistically distinct from the rest of the group’s releases, it is also, in some ways, a return to form. On the lyric sheet included with the vinyl edition of the album, just below the list of acknowledgments, is a small note that the album’s

title was inspired by Theodore “dying garden” is ref lected Roethke’s poem of the same in the roses (“Through the name, itself the fifth in a Roses,” “Black Rose”) of The series titled “North American Far Field. “Through the Roses” Sequence.” The poem informs struggles with reconciling the not just the album’s themes, but highs and lows of life, before the band’s mission statement. the chorus’s proclamation “I learned not to fear infinity that “It’s not easy, just being / The far field, the windy cliffs human.” of forever / The dying of time Though keyboardist in the white light of tomorrow Gerrit Welmers’s and / The wheel turning away from bassist William Cashion’s itself / The sprawl of the wave arrangements are expansive / The on-coming water.” So and sprawling, Herring’s ends the second part of “The accompanying narratives Far Field,” evoking images of are often autobiographical vastness, the same way The Far in nature. “Black Rose” finds Field does with its Herring wishing soaring quality for another and occasional chance at love The Far Fields with a particular slow builds, from Future Islands individuality significant other, to infinity. In while “Beauty 4AD Evening Air, of the Road” Future Islands’ is similar in second album, thought and the was similarly most pointedly inspired by a autobiographical, Roethke poem. (The artwork opening with the lines: “Left for both albums was also done out on the road eight years ago by the same artist, Kymia / And you left too but I never Nawab.) Practically, the effect really thought you would go.” here is almost insignificant, On The Far Field, lyrical and but the connection does bring stylistic decisions juxtapose a greater sense of purpose and the singular man and the cohesion to the band’s work. expansiveness of being, The opening track, continuing Future Islands’ “Aladdin,” rises out of nothing obsession — a welcome one — with a fade-in that will have with nature. All of the band’s you wondering for a moment album titles, save Singles, refer whether you actually clicked to nature (Wave Like Home, play. The sort of detail that In Evening Air, On The Water, reveals its importance over The Far Field ) and mentions listens, this fade-in is an of blizzards, gardens, fire, indicator of Future Islands’ rain and the overwhelming commitment to a theme. It power of water are sprinkled makes sense that an album throughout the album. The that confronts the relationship album’s only duet, “Shadows,” between the finite and the even invokes religion, with infinite must become slowly, mentions of Dante and the from nothing, as did man. Garden of Eden that further Where Roethke is “renewed by contextualize the experience death, thought of [his] death, of the individual. Masterfully / The dry scent of a dying creating a space both large garden in September,” Herring enough to lose yourself in and struggles, on “Cave”: “Is this simultaneously small enough a desperate wish for dying? / that you may just see what Or a wish that dying cease? / looks like your ref lection, The fear that keeps me going peering back out at you, The and going and going / Is the Far Field leaves us with one same fear that brings me to my final suggestion: “All finite knees.” What’s more, Roethke’s things reveal infinitude.”

SEARCHING FOR FREE WEBKINZ CODES? SO ARE WE! E-mail arts@michigandaily.com for information on applying.

Understandably, a number of viewers have published their criticisms in the week since “13 Reasons Why” premiered. In this piece from The Mighty, a website dedicated to publishing stories from people with serious health conditions, Alyse Ruriani explains her issues with the show, and with “Thirteen Reasons Why,” the novel on which it’s based. I agree with some of Ruriani’s points; she mentions that the series doesn’t address mental illness’s role in suicide, which is a pretty glaring oversight considering “a mental disorder and/or substance abuse is found in 90% of suicide deaths.” At a time when so many people still don’t understand the nature of mental illness — that you don’t have to have quantifiable reasons why you’re suicidal, that you can be suicidal because mental illness attacks your mind just as clinically as physical illness attacks your body — it’s true that greater exposure to stories explicitly about mental illness are necessary. Maybe it’s better to think of “13 Reasons Why” not as a story about suicide, but a story about bullying. It’s not an entirely accurate portrayal of depression, with its cause-and-effect storytelling, but it does paint a devastating picture of how acts of bullying can pile up and build off each other, how relentless bullying can make a person believe they’re worthless. Organizations like The Trevor Project and It Gets Better exist for a reason. But I also don’t think that even if “13 Reasons Why” was meant to be an accurate depiction of suicide, not every story about suicide needs to fit into that majority statistic. I don’t think “13 Reasons Why” is trying to pass itself off as the definitive portrait of depression and suicide. Can’t this just be a story about one girl and what drove her to suicide? Do we have to expect it to fit into all of our preconceived notions about why things like this traditionally happen? Besides, though “13 Reasons Why” rarely explicitly acknowledges mental illness (it’s mentioned that Clay used to take pills and see a therapist, but that’s mostly just hinted at), it never outright dismisses the possibility of

Hannah having clinical depression. Perhaps this is simply a story with uninformed characters, a story full of people determined to scapegoat, to find someone to blame instead of accepting that not everything is easily explainable. That might seem like a cop-out, to suggest that it’s not the show that’s ignorant but the characters, but there’s evidence for it. “13 Reasons Why” is frequently selfaware in ways that people overlook. There’s one scene in particular, in the final episode of the series, that illustrates this beautifully. The two main characters, Hannah and Clay, each sit down with their guidance counselor, Mr. Porter, at different times. Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez (“The Stanford Prison Experiment”) toggles back and forth between these two conversations, showing us

BEN ROSENSTOCK Hannah’s final attempt to seek help at the same time that he shows us Clay confronting Mr. Porter with his failure to save her. “13 Reasons Why” — which, it must be said, isn’t a great show, though it’s often quite a good one — paints Clay a little too frequently as the hero. That continues in the final episode, as he walks Mr. Porter through the final day of Hannah’s life, showing him that it was his negligence that led to Hannah’s final decision to kill herself. And it’s true: We watch Mr. Porter’s session with Hannah, and we see him repeatedly stumble. When Hannah admits she was raped, he reveals his simplistic view of sexual assault, subtly victim-blaming by suggesting that if Hannah didn’t explicitly tell her rapist to stop, she must’ve initially consented then changed her mind. He repeatedly tries to rush her into an explanation for her feelings, then rushes her into revealing the

Classifieds

identity of her rapist. Finally, he sets up a false dichotomy: Hannah must either press charges and directly confront Bryce, or “move on.” What makes the sequence a great one, though, is that Mr. Porter isn’t a bad person. He’s probably a poorly trained counselor, but he recognizes his mistakes, and he sometimes says the right things. When Hannah asks him if he can promise Bryce will go to jail, he says, “I can’t promise you that, Hannah. But I will promise you this: I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and protect you in this process.” While the series generally positions Clay as the hero of the narrative, the righteous avenger seeking justice for Hannah by confronting her bullies, Mr. Porter makes some good points in this scene. “Whatever happened to Hannah, between you and her, with other kids, she made that choice to take her own life,” he says. Later, when Clay suggests people should try to do better, Mr. Porter says, “We can try to love each other better, but we’re imperfect people. We love imperfectly, we don’t always get it right … you can know all the signs and understand the issues and still come out missing something.” In that moment, the show’s true philosophy comes out. “13 Reasons Why” isn’t suggesting that there were 13 individual reasons Hannah killed herself, even if Hannah suggests that. In the wake of loss, everyone searches for closure, for some reason to explain how something so tragic could happen. Just because the characters of “13 Reasons Why” never seriously consider mental illness as the sole cause for Hannah’s hopelessness doesn’t mean the show itself endorses that point of view. In the end, “13 Reasons Why” subverts its own title, acknowledging that people are essentially unknowable. Maybe Clay, or Mr. Porter, or anyone could’ve prevented Hannah from resorting to suicide. What’s even more terrifying, what few of the characters consider, is that maybe there was nothing they could’ve done.

Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

RELEASE DATE– Monday, April 10, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

AUTOMOTIVE

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 “__ Noon”: Gary Cooper classic 5 Tippy watercraft 10 “Make it snappy,” in memos 14 Length-timeswidth calculation 15 Take place 16 Pleasant 17 *Niña and Pinta’s sister ship 19 Camper’s quarters 20 Like some rye bread 21 Number of little pigs, in a fable 22 Decorative theme 24 Crystal ball reader 25 Up to now 28 *Leader of the pack 32 Surfing at one’s desk, say 34 Places for studs 35 Fellow 36 Rod’s fishing partner 37 “__ you go again!” 39 Like Solomon 40 Aunt, in Argentina 41 Fashionably smart 42 Crusty roll 44 *Yale, for five U.S. presidents 47 “SNL” host’s monologue, e.g. 48 Door-to-door cosmetics seller 49 Cavalry sword, in Sussex 51 Kitchen cover-up? 53 Granola alternative 56 Luau torch type 57 Coffee break time ... and a hint to an abbreviation aptly placed in each answer to a starred clue 61 Opinion column, for short 62 Unfamiliar (to) 63 Director Preminger 64 Baseball’s “Amazins” 65 Bamboo lover 66 Karate award

DOWN 1 “__ it been that long?” 2 Tax-sheltered plans: Abbr. 3 Heredity unit 4 Venomous letters 5 Cleaner sold in green canisters 6 National park in Maine 7 ATM maker 8 Avignon assent 9 Division of history 10 “O Canada,” e.g. 11 *Renamed lemon-lime soft drink 12 Clearasil target 13 Rose of baseball 18 Festoon 21 Lipton products 23 Takes for a sucker 24 Princess Fiona’s beloved ogre 25 Somewhat, informally 26 NBC newsman Roger 27 *Spot for bargain hunters

29 Golfer’s goal 30 Surgical beam 31 January, in Mexico 33 Hawke of “Boyhood” 38 Triple or homer 39 One who scoffs at boxed Merlot, say 41 “Hurry up, will ya?” 43 TV network, e.g.

45 Sidesteps 46 Smashed into 50 “__ sera”: Italian “Good evening” 51 Proton’s place 52 Plumbing unit 54 Calorie-friendly 55 Not domestic, flight-wise: Abbr. 57 Travel guide 58 Dockworker’s gp. 59 Clamorous noise 60 Understood

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

CASH FOR YOUR used vehicle Reputable, honest Mike: 734‑263‑0764

SERVICES STUDENT SUMMER STORAGE Specials ‑ Closest to campus ‑ Indoor Clean ‑ Safe ‑ Reserve online now annarborstorage.com call 734‑663‑0690

SUMMER EMPLOYMENT WORK ON MACKINAC Island This Summer – Make lifelong friends. The Island House Hotel and Ryba’s Fudge Shops are seeking help in all areas: Front Desk, Bell Staff, Wait Staff, Sales Clerks, Kitchen, Baristas. Dorm Housing, bonus, and discounted meals. (906) 847‑7196. www.theislandhouse.com

xwordeditor@aol.com

04/10/17

FOR RENT 712 WEST HURON ‑ PURRFECT downtown location. Bring your furry friend for FREE! $0 Application Fee. Call today to schedule your tour! 734‑741‑9300 ANN ARBOR APARTMENTS ‑ CMB Management has 17 premier loca‑ tions to choose from! Call today for spe‑ cials and to schedule a tour of your new home! 734‑741‑9300 ARBOR PROPERTIES Award‑Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2017. 734‑649‑8637. www.arborprops.com BROADVIEW APARTMENTS ‑ FREE Parking, FREE laundry, and FREE resident shuttle!As low as $1110 for rent! Call today for specials! 734‑741‑9300

04/10/17

GEDDES HILL APARTMENTS ‑ SAVE up to $1200 off rent! Call now for details! 734‑741‑9300

Arts

6A — Monday, April 10, 2017

ALBUM REVIEW

‘Pure’ a big undertaking that brings mixed results

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM REVIEW

Father John Misty returns with poetic brilliance and pretension LAURA DZUBAY Daily Arts Writer

Two years ago, Father John Misty (originally known as Josh Tillman) proved his worth with I Love You, Honeybear. The album was a fully formed and emotional follow-up to Fear Fun, his first enterprise as “Father John Misty” since parting ways with the Fleet Foxes. Misty’s newest release, Pure Comedy, is less musically interesting than most of what he has done up until this point, but it has enough lyrical substance to keep his fan base happily questioning the meaning of life and mulling over the many shortcomings of humanity for as long as they please. Pure Comedy starts off on a strong note. “Total Entertainment Forever” stands out in particular, calling into question the creepily dominant role that technology has come to play in our lives. The song approaches the subject from an eerie angle, and closes off with a strong stanza predicting how someday historians will find us “In our homes / Plugged into our hubs / Skin and bones / A frozen smile on every face.” The closing line, “This must have been a wonderful place,” hammers in the sinking feeling that the rest of the song has been building up: the sense that our elaborate technologies are only keeping us busy and distracted, while history trickles away all around us. Pure Comedy sees its strongest moments when it is exploring messages like this, and to be fair, the album does a lot of exploring. Questions of the validity of millennial life and the pervasiveness of corruption ebb and flow through songs like “Things It Would Have Been Helpful to Know Before the Revolution,” “Birdie” and “Two

Wildly Different Perspectives,” change in tone toward the and manifest in their most end of the song, as well as the memorable form in “Leaving incorporation of automated voices. LA,” a thirteen-minute-long self- The penultimate track, “So I’m described “diatribe” that sums up a Growing Old on Magic Mountain,” lot of the main points of the album. also finds a gentle, artful tone It’s melodically repetitive and with which to start closing off the doesn’t quite need to be thirteen album. However, since the album minutes long, but it does include starts out with some variety and some striking and well-crafted then regains its depth toward the scenes, like a van cruising past end, it would have been nice to see commercial billboards on its way more inventiveness throughout its out of L.A., and a child (presumably duration. This is true in particular the young Misty) choking on a because Misty so clearly fashions piece of watermelon candy in a the journey of the album as a JCPenney. sort of Odyssean For all of Misty’s exploration of Pure Comedy lyrical passion, the experience he sometimes of humanity, and Father John Misty overshoots his since humanity can Sub Pop target. Not all of his look like so many insights are exactly different things, the revelations; in music of the album “When the God of Love Returns,” could have reflected some more for instance, he remarks on how variety. the true hell is human nature, Misty clearly understood the and how “this place is savage and gravity of his undertaking, since unjust,” both of which are fair the album is nearly an hour and messages, although not really fifteen minutes long. He genuinely new ones. In addition, “Ballad wanted to make sure that he of a Dying Man” notes how we was successfully saying what he leave this world “as clueless as we wanted to say with Pure Comedy, came,” at the end of a song that and really, this is when it all comes aligns Misty’s perspective with down to the listener. Misty indulges that of a dying man, even though himself in going a little overboard he likely has never been one. Misty with his own language, and an is an intelligent songwriter, but album that tries so hard to impress he can get carried away with his lyrically could have benefited own language, just enough that it from a little more attention to the fails slightly to match up with a lot innovative potential of the music of the substance that would have itself. However, he clearly cares been behind it. about the messages he is trying to The album also doesn’t take on get across in terms of consumer very much in the way of melodic culture and general reliance upon experimentation. Misty proved in entertainment, and this sentiment I Love You, Honeybear that he was does come through in his lyrics. In able to explore musically within spite of the album’s shortcomings, an album, and there are ways in anyone who is already a fan of which he tries to take this in a new Misty’s poetic habits and the less direction on Pure Comedy. “Birdie” romantic, more philosophical side makes for a cool, synthetic blend of his songwriting will find at least of styles, featuring electronics, a few key messages to appreciate in piano and echoey vocals, and “The Pure Comedy. Memo” features an interesting

COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK

Where women play a role in the gender-bent theatre

Writer Eli Rallo explores the blurring lines of gender and theatre ELI RALLO

Daily Arts Writer

The future of the world is female. The future of art is female. The future of theatre is female. When I was a naive eightyear-old interested in theatre and music, my parents enrolled me in a theatre program at a local dance studio. We were doing “Hairspray Jr.” and did not have enough boys in the cast. Because of this, I was cast as the charismatic, titular male host of the “Corny Collins Show,” Corny Collins. In the

world of theatre, this is called “genderbending.” Genderbent casting occurs in one of two ways: Either the role is changed to suit the gender of the actor or the actor plays the opposite gender. In my case, at eight years old, I was playing the opposite gender — slicked back hair, a tiny suit, Converse high tops, and I looked like, well, a little boy. At this age, I didn’t have the mental capacity to really think about what genderbent casting meant and how conversations about gender have really made a home in the theatre. However, as I’ve grown

up, thinking about that moment in my life — in which I took on a male role without a single comment or complaint — has led me to discover an interest with gender and casting in the theatre. Genderbent theatre casting began in the time of Shakespeare, when women were not a part of theatre, which led to men dressing in women’s clothes and playing the female roles. It is so intriguing to me that one of the most liberating forms of expression was once confined to the patriarchy in a completely nonsensical way. As as kid, I was playing a

LES FILMS DU LOSANGE Still from new film, “Personal Shopper”

‘Shopper’ is technically perfect, underwhelming Beautiful film “Personal Shopper” proves empty in meaning ASIF BECHER Daily Arts Writer

Directed by Olivier Assayas (“Clouds of Sils Maria”), “Personal Shopper” is the story of Maureen (Kristen Stewart, “Certain Women”), an American expat living in Paris and working for a wealthy model as a personal shopper and assistant. Maureen is grappling with the recent death of her twin brother, Lewis, of a genetic heart condition. The siblings believed that they both had connections to the spirit world, so after his death, Maureen believes Lewis is attempting to contact her from beyond the grave. She also begins receiving messages from an unknown number, someone who knows intimate details of her life, and is strangely transfixed by them. The film is difficult to categorize. It’s at once a tense psychological thriller, an understated exploration of grief and loneliness and a horror movie. Really, the film is a study in tonal shifts, some of which are more effective than others. Assayas attempts to balance these shifts by grounding the story in a kind of bland, muted affectation that encompasses the entire film. Characters speak at a low mumble, the visuals are bleak and graded grey, the edits are slow and blunt.

male role because the director had no choice. But now, as an eighteen-year-old in a constantly progressing world, the choice to have a woman occupy a historically male role defies an array of norms. It provides for thought-provoking conversation; it is not just a choice made out of necessity, but for a myriad of other reasons. Today, it is becoming more common to see women playing male roles as social criticism or artistic choice by the director of the piece. To me, it is stunning and important to see a female “Hamlet” (Diane Venora in Joseph Papp’s adaptation), a role originally created to be played by a male. Seeing a female as this strong leading character changes the message of the show and provides a new context to its well-

The result is a deceptively simple the phone itself. It’s so long and surface that hides just how much is slow that you can’t help thinking happening tonally and within the there had to have been a better way internal lives of the characters. to convey this information. “Personal Shopper” takes a Even though its drama is wellrather unconventional and tricky articulated through a carefully approach to storytelling. At a quick considered character arc, the movie glance, it may appear meandering still feels slow and meandering. It and plotless, but in reality, all of the seems more concerned with being drama happens within Stewart’s artful than with being empathetic. Maureen. It’s tightly focused on That is, there are some moments tracking her emotional progression of genuine tension in the movie, as she tries to grapple with all of but those moments are few and these feelings, which Stewart, far between. We’re left with who thrives in muted tones watching a character experience and understated a lot of emotions, “Personal Shopper” characters, conveys but nothing in the in a brilliant story apart from the Les Films du Losange performance. character herself Michigan Theater Maureen is a truly exists to enhance perfect character those feelings. I for Stewart — the kind of person don’t suppose that it’s a particularly whose stony and careful exterior is bad thing for a story to rely on an just a fragile cover for the deep well actor’s performance, but “Personal of feelings underneath. Shopper” would be absolutely Despite Stewart’s strength nothing if not for Stewart’s as an actress and Assayas’s charisma. There are no external clear understanding of plot and conflicts, no ways for the audience character mechanics, “Personal to feel what Maureen is feeling — Shopper” is, well, a bit of a slog only ways for us to see it. To make to get through. For one thing, it’s a story resonate, storytellers need self-indulgent: For example, about to work a lot harder than simply halfway through the film, we’re telling us what happened. As it treated to a nearly ten-minute stands, “Personal Shopper” gives sequence of Maureen anxiously its audience no reason to care. It’s answering and receiving texts a shame, too — it could have been from the unknown number on a beautiful. train, mostly shot in tight shots of

known plot. There has been controversy surrounding genderbent casting for years. The best example of this can be found through the original 1954 Broadway production of the musical “Peter Pan.” Ever since Mary Martin took the stage as the iconic lead role, women have been cast as Peter. This raises the debate whether the cross-gender casting of Peter Pan reflects the movement toward equality of women in society or if it reflects the old concept that suggests a boy who is effeminate and can’t grow up has to be played by a female. Due to these controversies, greater than just the necessity for more gender bent casting in professional theatre is the necessity for more strong, resilient

female lead roles. If the world sees an array of female characters in theatre holding important jobs, carrying big decisions and being the catalyst for action instead of timid stock characters or damsels in distress, there may be no need to bend male roles to make social statements. Until the theatre community recognizes the power of a female driven plot or a female lead, directors must continue to look at casting in a way that seeks to inspire the female, not leave her to the same types of roles she is “expected” to play. This genderbent style of casting seeks to show the audience that women can do anything men can do.

Read more at MichiganDaily.

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | April 10, 2017

STREAK OUT Wolverines’ offense sputters against Ohio State, Michigan fails to maintain perfect conference record in Columbus ANNA MARCUS Daily Sports Writer

Going into its final game of the series against Ohio State on Sunday, the Michigan softball team was riding a 14-game win streak. Only one day earlier, it blasted 26 hits in a doubleheader, symbolic of a swelling offense that had found its rhythm. It was invincible so far against Big Ten competition. The Wolverines had been making it look easy. But that didn’t mean that it always would be easy. And Sunday shed light on that. In its first time being shutout in over a month, No. 18 Michigan (8-1 Big Ten, 28-8-1 overall) fell, 5-0, at the hands of its conference rival, the 25th-ranked Buckeyes (7-2, 23-9). Though the Wolverines took the series with consecutive victories Saturday, they left Columbus with their previously perfect conference record gone. “Today wasn’t easy,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “We get our toughness when things don’t go our way, not just when things go our way. And we need to be tougher when things aren’t going our way.” In a storyline that seems all too familiar for Michigan this season, it left eight runners stranded on base Sunday,

finding just three hits on the day. For a team seeing so many wins as of late, this problem may be easy to overlook, but it has continued to plague the Wolverines all season. With a solo home run in the bottom of the third inning, Ohio State took a 1-0 lead that Michigan would not be able to recover from. In the fifth inning, the Buckeyes sealed the deal under pressure, picking up four additional runs with two outs on the board. The offensive surge led to the removal of senior right-hander Megan Betsa from the circle, putting junior right-hander Tera Blanco in her place to finish the game. The Wolverines saw their best scoring opportunity in the final inning with two outs and bases loaded. But they couldn’t capitalize, stranding all three runners and ending the game. Hutchins was less than pleased with the day’s performance. “We had so many poor at-bats,” Hutchins said. “We swung at poor pitches and we didn’t have anybody step up and give us confidence in our lineup.” But that’s not to say Ohio State’s sole victory on the weekend wasn’t well deserved. The Buckeyes had triple the number of hits as Michigan and stayed dominant in the circle as well. Ohio State’s right-hander Shelby McCombs —

the third-best pitcher in the Big Ten, according to earned-run average — commanded the circle with 10 strikeouts, neutralizing the Wolverines’ offensive efforts throughout the day. “I thought Shelby McCombs was outstanding today,” Hutchins said. “She threw a great game against us and she built on her confidence. Her presence kept getting better and better. But again, when you’re facing good pitching you have to counter it. And we really just played into her game. It was her win.” However, Saturday’s story was much different. In the pair of games, Michigan outshined the Buckeyes across the board. Seven separate Wolverines pounded out hits in both games, contributing to 13 total RBI on the day. Senior shortstop Abby Ramirez and junior first baseman Aidan Falk registered four hits apiece, with Falk bringing in four RBI. See SOFTBALL, Page 2B

Michigan’s ninth inning comeback effort falls short, Wolverines’ nine-game winning streak is snapped by the Fighting Illini HUNTER SHARF Daily Sports Writer

The fairytale script was there. Down 9-7 in the ninth inning, with two men on, two men out and a 2-2 count, junior third baseman Drew Lugbauer launched a ball deep to left field. The crowd erupted, anticipating a walk off threerun home run – only to watch the ball drift foul. The strong winds kept the ball from staying fair. On most other days, that shot would have been gone. The very next pitch, Lugbauer struck out. “You’re not always going to get the fairy tale ending,” said junior right-hander Alec Rennard. The loss marked the lone blemish for the No. 18 Michigan baseball team (6-3 Big Ten, 25-7 overall) in its three-game series against Illinois (1-5, 11-18) – the defeat

A busted streak

The Michigan baseball team failed to complete a comeback and dropped the third game of its weekend series against Illinois.

» Page 4B

snapped a nine-game win streak from the Wolverines. Similar to the first game of the series, the Fighting Illini got on the scoreboard early Sunday. In the top of the second inning, Illinois managed three runs with only one ball leaving the infield. After a leadoff single by right fielder Jack Yalowitz, Michigan junior left-hander Michael Hendrickson loaded the bases with a hit by pitch and a walk. Then, third baseman Trent Hammond bunted down the third baseline. The ball was fielded by Hendrickson, whose throw bounced in front of junior first baseman Jake Bivens and slipped past him to the wall – allowing two runs to score. Two at-bats later, the Fighting Illini added another run on a fielder’s choice, giving them a 3-0 lead. The following inning, Michigan’s woes continued when Illinois left fielder Dan Rowbottom hit a three-run home run. Hendrickson’s outing ended after that homer. In 2.1 innings, he allowed two walks, six hits and six runs (three earned) – the most runs the lefty has given up on the season. The Wolverines had allowed 16 combined runs in the first three innings of their last four games. “Our mindset has consistently been good to start each game,” said Michigan

coach Erik Bakich. “But for whatever reason, we weren’t as sharp (in) three of the four games this week.” Despite being down by six, the Wolverines responded quickly, cutting the deficit to two with four runs in the bottom of the third. With the bases loaded, senior centerfielder Johnny Slater hit a single to right field, scoring sophomore designated hitter Nick Poirier and sophomore right fielder Jonathan Engelmann. Two at-bats later, with an 0-2 count, Lugbauer belted the ball to right field for a double, adding two more runs. In the fifth, Michigan scored another run as sophomore second baseman Ako Thomas advanced home following a wild pitch. But the Fighting Illini picked that run back up in the seventh off a double by second baseman Michael Massey. However, it could have been a much worse inning for the Wolverines. With men on second and third and no outs, senior right-hander Mac Lozer and freshman left-hander Tommy Henry escaped the jam with two strikeouts and a ground-out. In the bottom of the eighth, Michigan had a comeback opportunity with runners on first and second. But the Wolverines were unable to capitalize, leaving both men on base. On the day, Michigan stranded eight runners. See BASEBALL, Page 2B

Livin’ on a prayer

Andrew Robinson and Dymonte Thomas united in prayer before every game of 2016 season.

» SportsMonday Column, Page 2B

SportsMonday

2B — April 10, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

A starter, a walk-on and a prayer

ndrew Robinson’s house was on State Street, and Dymonte Thomas’ was right behind it on White Street. So last summer, as the two were in Ann Arbor preparing for the Michigan football season, Thomas was always JAKE cutting LOURIM through Robinson’s yard. Whenever Thomas went anywhere, he walked down Robinson’s driveway, and then, because he’s Dymonte Thomas, “next thing you know we’d see him in our living room, just saying ‘What’s up?’ and stuff,” Robinson said. That’s how the bond formed between the two men who shared almost nothing except a yard and a football team. Their friendship developed in the coming months, after softball games and bowling outings and Thursday night Pizza House dinners along with kicker Ryan Tice. And then Thomas and Robinson blinked, and it was around 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 19, 2016, about an hour before kickoff of Thomas’ last game at Michigan Stadium. So as warmups proceeded around them, the two did what they always do at that time on Saturdays: They met in the north end zone, took a knee, locked arms and prayed. *** College football gets stressful, Robinson notes. So it’s good for him to have a “jokester” on the team like Thomas, who could walk into the locker room, crack a joke and lighten spirits. “He is the way I am,” Thomas said. “I don’t know, it was just one of those friendships

JAKE LOURIM, DAILY SPORTS WRITER/Daily

Andrew Robinson and Dymonte Thomas knelt together in the endzone and united in prayer before the Orange Bowl, as they did before every game last season.

that you have where you just automatically connect really well.” That’s how the friendship developed between the two, by playful ribbing. Robinson’s younger brother would come visit, and Thomas would say to him, “Oh, the better Robinson’s here. When are you going to come here and take your brother’s spot?” Thomas would drop an interception, and Robinson would tease, “That’s what you get for not having hands.” Their football careers have almost nothing in common. When they prayed together last year, Thomas was a senior starting safety, Robinson a redshirt sophomore backup long snapper. Thomas could be an NFL Draft pick later this

month; Robinson will never have that opportunity. Thomas was a four-star recruit in 2013, the No. 71 recruit in the nation and the No. 9 safety according to 247sports.com. He chose Michigan over Ohio State and Notre Dame. Robinson had to send out his game film in order to receive a visit from Michigan. He picked the Wolverines over Ohio and Grand Valley State. But the two shared some connections — family was important to both, as was religion. Thomas used to pray before games with reserve cornerback Terry Richardson, who played at Michigan from 2012 to 2015. After Richardson graduated and transferred to Marshall, Robinson asked

Thomas before last season’s opener against Hawaii if he could pray with him during warmups. The free moment always came after Thomas finished stretching with the return men, and Robinson finished practicing with the kickers. Thomas would f lag Robinson down — “I wouldn’t pray without Andrew,” he said — and the two found a brief moment of peace before the chaos started. Thomas typically led. He fought nagging injuries, so he’d pray for health. He’d pray for Robinson to perform his job if called upon. He’d pray for either to be able to bounce back if Thomas dropped an interception or Robinson botched a snap.

Michigan surrenders early lead to Blue Jays MATTHEW KENNEDY Daily Sports Writer

For three minutes on Saturday in Baltimore, the Michigan women’s lacrosse team was sitting pretty. Senior midfielder Kim Coughlan put the Wolverines (1-3 Big Ten, 5-10 overall) on the board two 8 minutes MICHIGAN J. HOPKINS 15 into the contest. Thirty seconds later, senior attackman Jess Angerman found the back of the net, and Michigan held a 2-0 lead over Johns Hopkins. But the shutout held for just 30 more seconds, before Blue Jay attackman CeCe Finney gave her team its first goal of the game. One minute later, Finney scored again, and after that the Wolverines’ Potemkin lead collapsed into a 15-8 loss. Three minutes after Finney’s second goal, midfielder Nicole

DeMase gave Johns Hopkins (1-3, 9-4) the lead for good. The Blue Jays flew away with the rest of the half, as they scored five more goals — eight unanswered in total — to take an 8-2 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the period. Following Johns Hopkins’ eighth goal, Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla decided to pull sophomore starting goalie Mira Shane in favor of redshirt freshman Alli Kothari. Kothari proved valuable for the remainder of the first period, saving two shots and allowing no goals. Her saves started to build up some momentum for the Wolverines, and with just 23 seconds

remaining in the period, freshman midfielder Chandler Kirby scored the team’s first goal in over 27 minutes – a much needed boost going into the locker room. Just 38 seconds into the second half, Coughlan found the back of the net for the second time. A mere 13 seconds after that, freshman midfielder Molly Garrett put the ball past Blue Jay goalie Caroline Federico, and suddenly the Wolverines found new life. Johns Hopkins expanded the lead back to four just before the 28-minute mark — capping off a barrage of three goals in two minutes to begin the period — and that difference held steady for eight more minutes.

But the resurgence disappeared as quickly as the mirage it appeared to be.

The Michigan resurgence was still not over, though, as freshman attacker Lilly Grass and redshirt junior attacker Bianca Brueckner both found the back of the net to narrow the Wolverines’ deficit to just two – the team’s smallest margin since the 20:13 mark of the first period. But the resurgence disappeared as quickly as the mirage it appeared to be. The Blue Jays outscored Michigan 6-1 in the closing half of the second period to secure a 15-8 lead and win their first Big Ten game of the season. For the Wolverines, the loss marks the third straight in as many Big Ten matches since they won their opening conference game against Ohio State. Michigan will have two more chances to earn wins against Big Ten teams at home and improve its standing before the Big Ten Tournament in College Park.

After the prayer, Robinson would give Thomas a pep talk. The message, in Thomas’ memory: Show why you’re one of the best safeties around. Dominate the day. Know that God’s got your back, and he’s going to protect you. After they finished, they stood up and hugged in a long embrace, and then they resumed their football duties. They did not skip a prayer last season. *** Once last season, Robinson’s mother told him she saw a fan tearing up in the front row watching the weekly prayer. The Wolverines pray as a team before every game, but Thomas and Robinson also enjoyed the chance to make their ritual public.

“I look back at life and realize how blessed I am,” Thomas said. “I think it’s the right thing to do to give God credit, not only in silence but in front of people as well.” Thomas graduated in December and is spending his final months in Ann Arbor training and preparing for the NFL. His Michigan career finished strong, yet as he looks back, the prayer meant most to him in the toughest times. His first season, he played defense in just three games and finished with seven tackles. He had to soak up the playbook and adjust to his college studies. “When you go through (adversity) and some things that just don’t go your way, I won’t necessarily say you get away from God, but you kind of focus on trying to get better at whatever you’re struggling at,” Thomas said. “…At first, it was just hard, and I felt like God was leaving me, but then Andrew helped me realize that I can get through anything with God, and God’s never going to let me walk down a path by myself. He will always be there for me.” As for Robinson, football returns to Michigan Stadium on Saturday for the annual Spring Game, and Thomas won’t be there waiting in the end zone. Robinson has thought about what will happen then and thinks for now that he will pray by himself, until he and someone else find the same connection. When they do, watch for them. They’ll be in the same end zone, under the same goalposts, arm in arm, around noon. Lourim can be reached at jlourim@umich.edu and on Twitter @jakelourim.

BASEBALL From Page 1B

SOFTBALL From Page 1B

“There were a couple of opportunities that we had that maybe we missed,” Rennard said. “But I think we did a really good job on offense, defense and pitching to settle things down.” Despite the loss, the bullpen proved to be a bright spot. In six and t wo-thirds innings of relief, the bullpen allowed only one run and struck out seven. Rennard highlighted the bullpen’s strong effort, coming in for Hendrickson and allowing only one run in 3.2 innings. “(My mindset) was just to throw up zeroes, and keep the team in it by doing the best job I could and swing the momentum back in our favor,” Rennard said. In order to ensure that Sunday’s game is an anomaly, Michigan must be ready to play from the start. “ We all (need to) lock it in from pitch one,” Rennard said. “ You’re supposed to be, and sometimes it doesn’t happen. So from pitch one having that mentalit y of being agg ressive and not feel out the f irst inning.”

During the second game, Falk blasted a three-run bomb, seizing the lead that Ohio State previously held. Blanco was a presence at the plate as well, adding four RBI in the game, including a three-run double that cushioned Michigan’s victory in the sixth inning. Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield posted a career-high four hits in the second game, going 7-for-10 on the day. Canfield’s elite performance in the doubleheader is consistent with her recent achievement at the plate. She now bats .373 on the season — the third-best average for the Wolverines. “I’ve just kind of been getting comfortable,” Canfield said. “And I just go up (to the plate) to attack, see ball hit ball, just keeping it simple.” Betsa had yet another impressive showing as well, fanning 21 Buckeyes over 10 total innings pitched on the day. The ace tossed a complete-game win in the first slate and relieved Blanco for the last three innings of the second. She was untouchable in relief, allowing zero hits and collecting nine strikeouts. Moving forward, Michigan is looking to have a lot more days like Saturday. “My goal is for us to just keep getting better,” Hutchins said. “We’ve gotten a lot better in the last month and two months, but I thought we took a step back (Sunday). We can’t ever think that were done getting better.”

Congratulations to the 2017 Michigan Daily Sports March Madness Bracket Champion:

Rebecca Lerner She edits our content for one semester and thinks she can start showing us up. MAX KUANG/Daily

Redshirt freshman goalie Alli Kothari replaced Mira Shane in net Saturday, allowing just seven goals in just over 40 minutes against the Blue Jays.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SportsMonday

Hudson leads the way in VIPER competition BETELHEM ASHAME Managing Sports Editor

Entering the 2017-18 season, replacing Jabrill Peppers is the undisputed top priority for the Michigan football team. The redshirt sophomore took ‘making an impact all over the field’ to a whole new level last year, spending time at linebacker, safety, nickelback, running back, slot receiver and wildcat quarterback. Peppers more than lived up to the hype he brought with him to Ann Arbor as the No. 2 player in the 2014 recruiting class, and the accolades poured in. He earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Linebacker of the Year and Return Specialist of the Year honors — and that’s just on the conference level. Peppers, a Unanimous First Team All-American, also received the Paul Hornung Award for his trademark quality of versatility in his final season as a Wolverine. But Peppers’ main role was the VIPER — a hybrid linebacker/safety in Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown’s system. The Wolverines caught a glimpse of life without Peppers in their 33-32 Orange Bowl loss to Florida State. That game pushed the question of who would replace him at the VIPER next season to the forefront. Halfway through spring ball, the spot is still up for grabs, but sophomore defensive back Khaleke Hudson looks likely to be Michigan’s answer. “It means a lot that Coach Brown trusts me enough to be the VIPER,” Hudson said. “... Everyone’s been working hard, but it just means a lot to be there. I feel that it’s a good fit for me, to be able to play in the box (and) play outside. “It’s a position where you could be all over the field, you could be at safety, you could be at linebacker, you could be in the slot, so you have a lot of

April 10, 2017 — 3B

MEN’S GYMNASTICS

‘M’ struggles at Big Ten championships JAKE KARALEXIS For the Daily

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Sophomore defensive back Khaleke Hudson has been tapped to be the successor for former Wolverine Jabrill Peppers.

responsibilities.” Hudson and fellow sophomore defensive back Josh Metellus have been taking reps at both VIPER and safety so far this spring, but Hudson seems to have the upper hand over his classmate. Despite minimal playing time on defense last year, Hudson did see action at safety in two games, contributing eight tackles and one pass breakup. While splitting time at multiple positions could serve as a distraction for some, Hudson sees the experience as beneficial to his growth. As the VIPER, Hudson would have to balance pass defense and run stoppage, both of which require a different mindset and skillset. “You see everything from a different perspective,” Hudson said. “You might see everything farther back (and) then you see it up close in the box. Just

knowing what everyone else does makes your job even easier. “One play, you could tackle someone who’s fast, the next you could tackle someone big and strong. You just have to be prepared for who your opponent is.” Hudson made a name for himself on the special teams unit last season for his ability to see a play develop ahead of time. Blocking a punt against both Illinois and Indiana — putting him in a tie for the team lead — Hudson was named the special teams player of the game twice. Guided by Michigan special teams coach Chris Partridge, who also heads the linebacker unit, Hudson carved out a role for himself on kickoffs, punt returns and returns. Interestingly, Partridge was the head coach at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey where he helped develop

Peppers into the special teams threat that he is. “He coaches it well. He gets us prepared for each team,” Hudson said. “… I just worked hard, and good things happen when you work hard.” With that strong work ethic on display in spring ball as well, Hudson has distinguished himself from the competition at VIPER. While the question of replacing Peppers will likely persist well into the fall, Hudson has begun to give the Wolverines an answer. And with his new role starting to take shape, Hudson has begun to hear a different question. “Everyone’s asking me about, ‘How does it feel replacing Jabrill?’ ” Hudson said. “But I just take it as, ‘I’m gonna play the best I play and be the best Khaleke,’ and just work hard and do everything top notch and work 100 percent every day.”

At the Big Ten championships in Champaign this weekend, the No. 9 Michigan men’s gymnastics team competed with hopes of staying competitive in the stacked conference. But out of the seven schools competing, the Wolverines finished in dead last, with No. 3 Ohio State taking home the win followed closely by No. 4 Illinois. Michigan (3-5 Big Ten, 7-13 overall) was led in the all around competition by its top gymnast, sophomore Emyre Cole, who finished in sixth place with a score of 80.650. Cole also offered an impressive performance in the f loor event, taking third place with a score of 14.700. The Wolverines had previously been in good form, winning two of their last three individual meets — a 409.200405.300 loss against No. 7 Penn State sandwiched between a 402.10-386.80 win over No. 8 California and a 414.950-368.600 victory over No. 17 UIC — coming into this weekend’s championships. Michigan also received impressive performances on the vault, courtesy of Cole as well as sophomore Anthony McCallum. McCallum placed second overall for the second straight year with a score of 14.800, just behind Minnesota’s Yaroslav Pochinka, who scored a

14.900. Cole tied for third with Minnesota’s Zach Liebler and Vitali Kan with a score of 14.700. The Wolverines didn’t score as well in the pommel horse as their top scorer, freshman Mack Lasker, finished in ninth place with a score of 14.000 — a far cry from the winner of the event, Illinois’s Brandon Ngai, who paced the competition with his score of 14.550. Despite the tough finish in the pommel horse, Michigan bounced back in the high bar. Sophomore Adam Dean finished tied for second with Minnesota’s Jalon Stephens with a score of 14.500. Dean tied, and was close behind Illinois’s Tyson Bull, who won the event with a score of 14.550. The Wolverines also failed to impress on the rings. Their best finisher in the event was sophomore Ryan Dunning, who was 13th with a score of 13.700. The final event of the weekend was the parallel bar, where the Wolverines were once again carried by Cole. Cole finished tied for seventh with Nebraska’s Anton Stephenson and Ohio State’s Jake Dastrup with a score of 14.200. Michigan has to bounce back quickly after its disappointing last-place finish, as the Wolverines will compete next weekend at the NCAA Championships next weekend, hoping to improve upon their ninth-place finish from last year.

The Wolverines had previously been in good form.

Michigan claims weekend sweep ‘M’ remains unbeaten in Big Ten ALAN SELZER For the Daily

Confidence seemed to be radiating from the Michigan men’s tennis team on Sunday as it defended its home court to continue climbing up the Big Ten leaderboard. The energetic Wolverines (6-1 Big Ten, 16-4 overall) surged into sole possession of second place in conference standings after two home wins against Minnesota (4-3, 15-6) on Friday, 5-2, and Wisconsin (4-2, 14-4) on Sunday, 4-0. Strong doubles play was crucial for the Wolverines to find success against the Badgers. On the No. 1 doubles line, senior Jathan Malik was paired with freshman Connor Johnston — a potentially daunting place for such a young player. But not for Johnston. After being up 5-2 and having the opportunity to seize the match, Johnston and Malik squandered the game, giving Wisconsin hope. But that didn’t faze Johnston, as he and Malik took the next game and the match, 6-3, to secure the doubles point for Michigan.

“I definitely use energy to my advantage,” Johnston said. “I try to win points and just go as crazy as I can and I feed off of that. The crazier I go, the better I play.” Johnston’s role is strictly in doubles play for now, but the energy he creates clearly benefits his team. The Wolverines are 15-0 on the season when securing the doubles

“I thought if we gave out an MVP for today, it’d be him.” point, and senior Kevin Wong stepped up to make sure they wouldn’t suffer their first blemish Sunday. Capitalizing on an early opportunity, Wong found his groove to break his opponent and take a 4-1 lead in the first set. Although things seemed to be smooth for Wong, Wisconsin

freshman Chase Colton fought back to win three straight games and lock up the first set at four all. However, Wong’s experience proved to be too much for Colton, as he surged to a 6-4, 6-4 win to give the Wolverines one of three singles wins to take the match, 4-0. “I was proud of him today,” said Michigan coach Adam Steinberg. “He’s had an injury and the last few weeks he hasn’t really played much singles, and to come out in these conditions with a win against a really good player from Wisconsin, that was a big lift for us. I thought if we gave out an MVP for today, it’d be him.” Michigan has been dominant in Big Ten play, but it doesn’t want the train to stop chugging. “Obviously it’s not our goal,” Steinberg said. “Our goal is to be number one, so that’s what we are trying to do and what we are really focusing on.” With just four matches left before the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan’s play has been stellar enough to potentially take the top spot, but the Wolverines must continue to bring a high level of energy if they want their goals to become results.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Freshman Connor Johnston parterned with senior Jathan Malik to win the doubles point at the No. 1 spot for Michigan.

JAKE KARALEXIS For the Daily

The No. 8 Michigan women’s tennis team rebounded from a tough match against North Carolina on Thursday to notch two conference road wins this weekend against Rutgers and Maryland. The Wolverines (8-0 Big Ten, 16-4 overall) — who had their six-match win streak snapped by the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill — came away with two convincing victories this weekend, taking down the Scarlet Knights (1-8, 6-12) 6-1, and the Terrapins (3-4, 12-5) 4-1. “Maryland was really tough,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein. “We got off to a slow start in doubles, and we had to rely on the singles to come through. I’m proud of our playing. We had our backs against the wall today.” Sophomores Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor — the No. 1 and No. 2 singles players — led the Wolverines. Fahey won her match handily, emerging with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over the Terrapins’ Alexandra Stanova. Minor had

a much tougher match, battling back after losing the first set to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Ekaterina Tour. Fahey and Minor also won their singles matches Friday against Rutgers, proving that the two continue to be the driving force behind Michigan’s success this season. “Those two, being sophomores, playing up high like that, it gives everyone else confidence all the way down the lineup,” Bernstein said. “We need to put six people out there that are fighting and competing for the win.” The Wolverines also received support from the other singles lines Sunday, as freshman Chiara Lommer brought home a victory at No. 4 singles against Kate Yemelyanenko, 6-1, 6-2. Freshman Valeria Patiuk also produced a strong effort, winning her match at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 6-0 over Caroline Williams. The other two singles matches were abandoned before they were completed once Michigan had clinched the match overall. Maryland did have success against Michigan in the doubles, as they took two out of the three

matches. Fahey and junior Alex Najarian took the No. 1 doubles match, 6-2, over Stanova and Kristina Hovsepyan. However, the Terrapins captured a victory in the No. 2 doubles match, where Tour and Williams took down Minor and junior Mira Ruder-Hook, 6-2. Maryland also took the deciding No. 3 doubles match, with Cassandre Thebault and Arnelle Sullivan defeating Lommer and senior Annie Wierda, 6-1, to win the doubles point. “I think the biggest takeaway is that we need to figure out our doubles and get to where we need to be in May over the next couple of weeks,” Bernstein said. “We’re not even giving ourselves a chance. We need to change it up a little bit, maybe give people new looks in partners.” The Wolverines will return home this weekend with matches against conference foes Iowa and Nebraska after the solid performances on the road. “It was good, we had a tough weekend just being on the road,” said Bernstein. “I just think these tough matches are only gonna make us better moving forward.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Sophomore Kate Fahey, the No. 1 singles player for the Wolverines, won her singles matches Friday and Sunday.

SportsMonday

4B — April 10, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan can’t claim second comeback win PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Writer

On Sunday, the Michigan baseball team learned the difference a day can make. After taking their first two games in the series against Illinois, the Wolverines fell to the Fighting Illini in the third game of the series, 7-5. Sunday’s game closely mirrored Friday’s. In both games, Michigan fell into a hole early, surrendering six and seven runs, respectively, through the first three innings. The only difference was the Wolverines’ ability to forge a rally. While they made an impressive comeback in Friday’s outing to steal the game, 9-8, the resurgence wasn’t in the cards Sunday. In the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, sophomore second baseman Ako Thomas started off the effort by taking base after being hit by a pitch. With the tying run at the plate,

senior centerfielder Johnny Slater hit a single to left field to put two men on base. In a situation like that, senior shortstop Michael Brdar is the one player the Wolverines would want at the plate. Coming into Sunday’s game, he carried a 17-game hitting streak and had his chance to extend it in the ninth frame. Unfortunately for Michigan, that streak came to an end. Brdar popped a ball up to left field for the second out. With one more out to work with, junior third baseman Drew Lugbauer stepped to the plate. He has come to be known as the player who can provide for Michigan in big moments. Lugbauer is no stranger to walk-off home runs, as he hit a three-run home run against Northern Illinois on March 19. He currently has nine home runs on the season, with the most recent being a grand slam in Friday’s game against Illinois to help the Wolverines overcome their deficit.

The two-ball, two-strike, twoout pitch was perfect. Lugbauer crushed it towards the left-field wall. But the high winds forced the ball foul — robbing him of the walk-off home run — and he struck out swinging on the next pitch to end the game. “I don’t want to say there is (complacency), but that’s obviously a slight part of it,” said junior right-hander Alec Rennard. “I think that is one factor, you don’t want to get complacent, you want to stay hungry. No matter how much you win by, you always want to focus on how much you didn’t do right.” The loss ended a nine-game winning streak for the Wolverines, who have been prone to pull out comeback wins as of late. Michigan came back from a three-run deficit Tuesday against Notre Dame and a seven-run deficit Friday against the Fighting Illini. “We kind of just felt like we knew we were going to comeback the whole time,” Lugbauer said

Friday. “Even when we were down seven, we were like ‘Alright, whatever.’ … We were smiling and laughing, no worries, that’s just kind of the team we have this year.” While this mindset worked Friday, it may have hurt Michigan on Sunday. The Wolverines weren’t able to connect their hits like they had earlier in the series. Friday and Saturday’s game saw a lot of action from Michigan, as they totaled 25 hits through two days. On Sunday, though, just five players combined nine team hits. “It’s just that early deficit where we’ve been fortunate to be able to comeback and come out on top,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “It didn’t end up that way today. That’s what happens when you play with fire that many times, eventually you get burned. “It’s too bad we had to learn this lesson this way. But if I know this group at all, which I do, they’ll bounce right back.”

BY THE NUMBERS The Michigan baseball team’s weekend series against Illinois

Hit allowed by Ryan Nutof during his outing on the mound Saturday.

34 Total hits amassed through three games.

21 Total runs scored through three games.

11 Hits surrendered in the

Wolverines’ sole loss on the weekend. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Senior shortstop Michael Brdar carried a 17-game hit streak into Michigan’s Sunday matchup with Illinois, but saw it broken after striking out in the ninth inning.

Lugbauer’s grand slam Wolverines notch one-hitter against Illinois propels ‘M’ to victory BASEBALL

PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Writer

HUNTER SHARF Daily Sports Writer

With one swing of the bat, junior third baseman Drew Lugbauer rejuvenated the No. 18 Michigan 8 ILLINOIS baseball 9 MICHIGAN team and the depleted crowd at Ray Fisher stadium. In the bottom of the fifth, with the bases loaded and the Wolverines down 8-3, Lugbauer sent the ball over the left-field wall for his second grand slam of the season. “Once Drew (Lugbauer) got that big hit, even though we were down a run, I think the mindset of the guys was, ‘We know down a run is nothing,’ ” said Michigan Coach Erik Bakich. “The belief system was we’re going to find a way to tie it up and find a way on top.” And three at-bats later, the team did just that, as redshirt sophomore left fielder Miles Lewis scored on a fielder’s choice, tying the game at eight apiece. From there, Michigan (5-2 Big Ten, 24-6 overall) completed its seven-run comeback to notch a 9-8 victory against Illinois (0-4 Big Ten, 10-17 overall) on Friday, marking the Wolverines’ largest come-frombehind effort of the season. In first game of the weekend series, Michigan’s ace left-hander Oliver Jaskie simply wasn’t himself. The junior survived just three innings, surrendering seven runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks. It was Jaskie’s shortest outing of the season. The Fighting Illini got to Jaskie right away, as leadoff batter Jack Yalowitz began the game with a home run. Illinois added another run on a passed ball by senior catcher Harrison Wenson. After showing promise by retiring the side in order in the second inning, the Fighting Illini again overwhelmed Jaskie in the third, increasing their lead to 7-0. The inning was highlighted by a

bloop single by designated hitter Casey Dodge that scored two runs. Despite the large deficit, the Wolverine players never thought they were out of it. “We kind of just felt like we knew we were going to come back,” Lugbauer said. “We believe in each other and just play our game.” Bakich wasn’t as optimistic, noting he was “very concerned” with his team down seven runs. However, in the fourth, Michigan began to mount its comeback, putting up three runs. The rally started with a oneout single by senior centerfielder Johnny Slater, who then stole second. In the next at-bat, senior shortstop Michael Brdar blasted a double to left-center, scoring Slater. Both Lewis and sophomore right fielder Jonathan Engelmann followed with a pair of singles, scoring two more runs. In the seventh, two innings after the Wolverines tied the game, Michigan established its first lead. Lewis – who went 3-for3 on the day with two runs batted in and two runs scored – hit a double to the wall in left-center, scoring Lugbauer to make it 9-8. In the top of the eighth, Illinois attempted a comeback of its own. But with runners on the corners and one out, senior right-hander Mac Lozer produced a strikeout and fly out to retire the side. “(The victory) was great, it sets the tone (for the rest of the series),” Lewis said. “It’s maybe a wake-up call to not come out so flat tomorrow.” The comeback win displayed the fighters mentality that has been stressed to the team all season. Bakich and his players credit this to their extensive mental toughness training in the offseason. “I think the belief system is there that we can comeback,” Bakich said. “But it’s one thing to think you can do it and it’s another thing to actually do it.”

If the No. 18 Michigan baseball team learned anything from Friday’s comeback win over Illinois, it was to come out strong from the first pitch. The Wolverines put that lesson into practice in the second 0 ILLINOIS game of 7 MICHIGAN their series against the Fighting Illini (0-5 Big Ten, 10-18 overall), as Michigan sent seven Wolverines up to bat and scored three runs in the first inning alone en route to a 7-0 victory. Sophomore second baseman Ako Thomas reached base first from the leadoff spot, hitting a slow rolling ball to the shortstop and beating the throw to first. Though he was later thrown out at the plate, his hit started the ball rolling for the rest of the lineup. Redshirt sophomore left

fielder Miles Lewis smacked a double to the corner of left field, scoring senior shortstop Michael Brdar and senior centerfielder Johnny Slater. The Wolverines (6-2, 25-6) are currently 12-0 when leading after the first inning, a big incentive to strike early. “We talked about the last two games and playing from a deficit and digging ourselves a hole,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “If that’s the case, that’s the case, we’ll do it if we need to, but it’s not exactly how you want to draw it up. “We wanted to get a good lead and establish a lead and try to extend it.” Michigan kept up its scoring in the next inning, when junior

third baseman Drew Lugbauer singled to centerfield and picked up two runs batted-in to give him 41 on the season — increasing his lead atop the Big Ten. On the mound for the Wolverines was junior righthander Ryan Nutof, who had one of his best outings of the season. He allowed only one hit through six scoreless innings. Nutof had been struggling the most out of the weekend starters — posting a 5.84 earned-run average — but he was sharp on the bump against Illinois. “We walked a few early, had to pitch out of some pressure situations early,” Bakich said. “But as the game progressed, Ryan Nutof in the fourth, fifth and sixth was better than he

“We wanted to get a good lead ... and try to extend it.”

LIZZY XIONG/Daily

Junior right-hander Ryan Nutof allowed only one hit through six innings against the Fighting Illini on Saturday.

was in the first, second and third. “And then ( junior righthander) Jayce Vancena followed his lead and so did (sophomore right-hander) Jack Bredeson of just attacking the strike zone and letting the defense work behind them.” Vancena and Bredeson rounded out the pitching effort for Michigan on Saturday, contributing to the one-hitter — a feat the Wolverines hadn’t accomplished since 2012. The Fighting Illini posed the biggest threat to Michigan in the third inning. Third baseman Trent Hammond got the team’s first — and only — hit of the day with a double to left field. With a runner in scoring position, Thomas denied Illinois’ Jack Yalowitz with a diving stop. When Nutof later walked a Fighting Illini batter to load the bases, Thomas came up clutch once again with an easy putout to first to end the inning. After putting up five runs through the first two innings, the Wolverines cooled down for the rest of the game. Michigan tacked on two more runs in the sixth and eighth innings to extend its lead, and Illinois couldn’t come up with a response. All but two of the Wolverine batters managed a hit, with Thomas and Slater leading the team with four and three, respectively. Both singled each time from the one and two slots, respectively, in the batting order. Their ability to reach base is crucial for Michigan. “Anytime you can get the top of your order on base, those guys are table setters, they’re catalysts,” Bakich said. “Especially those two because they can get in motion and advance into scoring position, so anytime we get them on base we create scoring opportunities.” The Wolverines have now won nine straight games and will look to continue their streak in the series finale Sunday afternoon.