2018-03-14 by The Michigan Daily

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Ann Arbor, Michigan

BBUM: Our history

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Senior MiC editor Lorna Brown explores the history of multicultural lounges on campus

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T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | M A RCH 14 , 201 8

GOVERNMENT

Gun control fuels debate btwn. state lawmakers HALEY MCLAUGHLIN/Daily

Dr. Tom Insel, former director of the National Institute of Mental Health, discusses how digital technologies can help address depression at the Depression of College Campuses Conference Keynote in Rackham Tuesday.

Depression on College Campuses keynote speaker talks technology

Other discussions include promoting campus wellness,aiding international student health SAMANTHA SMALL Daily Staff Reporter

More than 100 people gathered inside Rackham Auditorium at the University of Michigan Tuesday afternoon to explore the benefits of digital technologies in helping depression on college campuses

nationwide. This discussion is just one of many events taking place during The Depression on College Campuses Conference held March 13 through 14. The conference, which has been held annually for 16 years, includes a series of workshops, panel discussions and sessions that pertain to

mental health awareness. These sessions include information on how to provide safe spaces for LGBTQ students, how to promote wellness on campus and how to aid international student mental health. There is a multitude of sessions specific to every kind of individual and demographic. A campus task force last year

found 96 percent of student respondents feel mental health should be accommodated on a college campus, but 74 percent do not feel comfortable addressing their concerns with faculty. Tom Insel, co-founder and president of Mindstrong Health, kicked off the two-day conference. See DEPRESSION, Page 3A

Students across Michigan prepare to walk out of class on Wednesday in protest LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter

Anthony, an LSA junior at the University of Michigan, said he learned to shoot when he was 8 years old. His grandfather, a military veteran, taught him how to do it well and how to do it safely. He mainly uses guns for hunting and target shooting, and owns several different types of rif les, all of which he keeps in a locked safe. Anthony, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of student repercussions, said he’s noticed some common misunderstandings about guns — and posed

counterarguments often raised by gun owners. “That owning guns is ‘dangerous,’ I’ve heard that one a lot,” he said. “They’re not dangerous to own, it’s people who lack proper knowledge and care.” Anthony, who has had official training in gun safety and taken hunters’ safety courses, said he’s also seen people “fearing a gun based on how it looks,” citing recent calls to ban AR-15 rif les. “People just need to have knowledge on guns and do their due diligence on the issue because most things they are told around the issue is false, but they have See GUN CONTROL, Page 3A

AAPD seeks to promote diversity by New center Students at launches increasing their pool of applicants panel talk

RESEARCH

CAMPUS LIFE

to combat fake news

Department looks to new recruiting strategies to boost connections with underserved

Former Obama social media manager to serve as head program director

According to a recent study of demographics within the Ann Arbor Police Department, the demographics of the city’s police force do not match those of the Ann Arbor community. In a city that is 69 percent white according to a 2010 census, a surveyconducted earlier this year shows the AAPD is 87 percent white or Caucasian. Several members of the AAPD explained the lack of diversity within the department seems to be the result of an even greater lack of diversity within the pool of graduates from the police academy. Lieutenant Mike Scherba said in the state of Michigan, about 97 percent of the academy graduates are white males. “What we found traditionally is that those coming out of the police academy in this area are white males and the tentative pool for the police department is then obviously primarily white males,” Scherba said. “As a result, we had to then look and think: ‘How do we better represent the diversity within our city?’” A need for diversity representative of the Ann Arbor populace has also been emphasized due to recent racially-charged incidents in AAPD, such as the shooting of

MOLLY NORRIS Daily Staff Reporter

Students know it is almost impossible to visit a social media site today without coming across an example of “trolling” or “fake news,” terms that have become prevalent in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. The University of Michigan has positioned itself on the academic front of combatting low news literacy with courses on campus and online, and is now making a bigger institutional commitment. The School of Information opened the Center for Social Media Responsibility last week, aiming to create strategies assisting social media makers, consumers and platforms in fending off these “trolls” to make internet news outlets more credible. Information School Dean Thomas Finholt said when he was a candidate for the dean position in 2016, one of his major platforms was that the faculty had a responsibility to help social media be more See INVALIDATE, Page 3A

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GRACE KAY

Daily Staff Reporter

Check out the Daily’s News podcast, The Daily Weekly

Aura Rosser in 2014 and the violent arrest of high school student Ciaeem Slaton in September, leading Ann Arbor citizens to call for increased transparency in the AAPD as well as a police review board. At an October rally in support of Slaton, Ann Arbor resident DaQuann Harrison said the incidents involving Slaton and Rosser –– both Black residents of the city –– were representative of a larger problem that existed in Ann Arbor as well as the rest of the country. “(Ciaeem) is one of many youth of color who are targeted

by police in here,” he said. “His situation is also one of many that has historically appeared here in Ann Arbor.” Members of minority communities at the University of Michigan as well, including Rackham student Javier Solorzano Parada, have experienced a lack of communication and understanding with AAPD that they feel is not on par with the relationship between the police and white student communities. When students were arrested at a tailgate hosted by Solorzano Parada’s former fraternity, which is

predominantly Latino, he said officers provided no explanation. “Communication is key with communities of color, and you need to tell us it’s not about race but safety, or size or whatever reason you may have,” he said. “And if I’m scared after all these years here, what must it be like for an undergraduate student? Or a first-generation student? We shouldn’t have to be afraid of the police. We shouldn’t have to live in fear.” To combat the discrepancy between the community demographics and the lack See DIVERSITY, Page 2A

ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily

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INDEX

navigating disabilities

At SpeakABLE event, students call for more empathy and awareness NATASHA PIETRUSCHKA Daily Staff Reporter

Engineering sophomore Hannah Rieske wanted her audience at the fifth annual SpeakABLE event Tuesday to know that her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was not a disability, but a difference. Rieske was just one of many other University of Michigan students and staff who came together at Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library for a student panel. The event, organized by the Services for Students with Disabilities Advisory Board, provided a platform for students to speak on their disabilities and experience at the University. Panelists at the event showed passion for advocating for disabilities rights. Many have chosen academic pathways that allow them to use their skills to help others in similar situations. LSA senior Henry Leor Schreibman uses their background in theater to speak on queer and disability rights. “The one area where both the narratives of queerness and See DISABILITIES, Page 3A

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

SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7

News

2A — Wednesday, March 14, 2018

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY: By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN VS. ERVIN DEWAIN MITCHELL JR.. Frank Lee Daily Staff Reporter Prosecutor prepares to take serial rape case to trial For the past 2 1/2 years, Ann Arbor citizens have had to live with the fear of possibly becoming the next victim of a serial rapist - a criminal who brutally beats his victims into unconsciousness and then rapes them. The viciousness of his attacks left one woman dead and four others emotionally scarred. Then on Christmas Day, an alert cab driver gave Ann Arbor police a gift in the form of a tip that led to the arrest of a suspect. Ervin Dewain Mitchell Jr., 33, now stands accused of being the serial rapist. If he is convicted, many concerned members of the community will finally have peace of mind. Before the arrest, the Ann Arbor police, who questioned nearly 800 possible suspects, seemed powerless to stem the series of sexual assaults occurring on the city’s west side. Mitchell was already in police custody at the Washtenaw County Jail on $50,000 bond awaiting an

April 3 trial before Judge Donald Shelton for an assault and attempted Christmas Eve pursesnatching of a 34- year-old Ann Arbor woman. If convicted on those charges, he faces up to 15 years in prison. He was denied bond last week when he was charged with four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of first-degree murder. “First-degree murder in Michigan carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole,” said Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie, the attorney handling both of Mitchell’s trials. “Criminal sexual conduct in the first degree carries any term of years - up to life.” Mitchell remained unemotional as he pleaded not guilty before 14-A District Court Magistrate George Parker. The arraignment came after months of public speculation and one of the most intensive manhunts in the police department’s history. Before the arraignment, while his client sat in jail unable to meet his bond, Washtenaw County Assistant Public Defender Lankford

accused the prosecution of stalling and not being able to meet their burden of proof. “If the evidence the prosecution has is that good, why haven’t they charged him?” Lankford asked. “If you can’t charge him, you definitely can’t convict him.” It was less than three months ago that police arrested Mitchell for allegedly punching a 34-yearold Ann Arbor woman in the 1800 block of Dexter Avenue and attempting to take her purse. Amid the glare of TV camera lights and a swarm of reporters, Mitchell smiled at his arraignment Dec. 27 on those charges before 14-A District Court Magistrate A. Thomas Truesdell. “You all are going to be seeing a lot of me,” Mitchell said as he was escorted back to his jail cell in handcuffs and leg shackles. Mitchell’s words were prophetic indeed.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENTS: UCLA DEPRESSION GRAND CHALLENGE & RESILIENCE PEER NETWORK SPEAKER: ELIZABETH GONG-GUY, PHD Wednesday, March 14, 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Rackham Auditorium

The steady rise in mental health service offerings has continued to exert pressure on CAPS services campus-wide. In this talk, Dr. Elizableth Gong-Guy of UCLA’s Resilience Peer Network will address how strategic engagements have helped train and engage students to support the delivery of robust evidencebased internet cognitive behavioral therapy for students screened for mild-to-moderate depression and anxiety. Dr. Gong-Guy will provide a preliminary overview of our findings, and describes our successes in bringing a scalable screening, early intervention, treatment, and resilience-building program embedded in research to our students. This special presentation is part of the U-M Depression on College Campuses Conference, and is free and open to the public. For more information about the overall conference:

www.depressioncenter.org/docc

Opinion

4A — Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ROBERT DALKA| COLUMN

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STEPHANIE TRIERWEILER | COLUMN

Standing with Planned Parenthood, again

t this point, it hardly feels like a headline since it happens so cyclically: Republicans are once again trying to defund Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of reproductive health care and sex education in the United States. Last Thursday, Politico reported that after nearly coming to an agreement on funding levels with House Democrats, House Republicans “reneged on women’s health issues” during a discussion on the annual health spending bill for 2018. They are demanding several policies that threaten health care, including cutting off federal funding to Planned Parenthood as well as eliminating a federal family planning program. This comes on heels of President Trump’s administration slashing funding for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. Articles revolving around the bill trickled into my newsfeed at the end of last week, quietly juxtaposed with the massive waves of pride, conversation and activity sweeping across the internet for International Women’s Day. Hearing news of this attack on women’s freedoms feels like a stinging reminder of just how far we still have to go. Despite our progress and sense of empowerment in so many spaces, women’s autonomy and lives continue to be at stake. Make no mistake: If attempts to defund Planned Parenthood come to fruition, people will suffer, particularly women, people of color, communities of lower socioeconomic status and rural communities with geographic barriers to health care. National Public Radio explains that Planned Parenthood’s federal funding comes from Medicaid reimbursements and Title X grants. “Defunding” the organization would immediately block low-income, uninsured people — who depend on public health programs — from accessing health care. And since near half of its revenue comes from government funding, Planned Parenthood would struggle to maintain its centers and services in the same

capacity. Planned Parenthood currently plays a central role in providing health care to millions of people across the country. According to its 2016-2017 annual report, the organization saw 2.4 million patients and provided 9.5 million services. It’s the largest provider of sex education in the United States and has programs for schools, families and professionals. It has also conducted research in reproductive health for over 100 years and provides services such as birth control, pregnancy testing, emergency contraception, abortions and referrals, sexually transmitted disease testing, treatment and vaccines, HIV testing and medication, and LGBTQ education. Additionally, Planned Parenthood provides critical services for people who don’t have other options. For example, 78 percent of its patients have incomes at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. According to the Guttmacher Institute, family planning health centers like Planned Parenthood are the only source of care for four in 10 women. Brianna Jackson, a regional patient services associate for Planned Parenthood of Michigan and member of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan, said in an interview that her interactions with patients remind her every single day of why she does her job: “Just today, I saw a patient who was coming in for an IUD (intrauterine device), which is usually standard. However, she is also homeless and is battling an eating disorder, depression and anxiety without medication. We got her signed up with Medicaid so she could have insurance moving forward to find a counselor and found her resources to go to a shelter if needed. We try and go beyond basic health care and address the patient and their needs as a person.” Despite how much Planned Parenthood means to women’s health care, rights and education, anti-abortion activists have unleashed smear campaigns against the organization and lawmakers

have relentlessly attempted to strip it of funding. But this crusade is nothing new. Planned Parenthood has been routinely demonized throughout its history, and its activities have been unfairly framed, time and time again, as morally objectionable. Even its beginnings are rooted in fighting stigma. When Margaret Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States in 1916 and distributed birth control as well as health information to women, she and her staff were arrested within two weeks for distributing the materials. (This clinic was later organized into what would become Planned Parenthood after national attention was brought to her cause). And since the 1970s, many state and federal attacks have been made to circumvent access to abortions and criticize Planned Parenthood for being a significant provider of abortion services. The common denominator? An ideological push that views women as second-class citizens. Yesterday, it was birth control. Today, it’s abortion. Tomorrow, it might be something else critical to women’s health. Jackson says of the consistent attacks: “At the end of the day, we want to offer comprehensive women’s health care, and some people really don’t like that. Because of the fact that we offer abortion services, because we’re such a large organization and because we receive federal money, we’re being attacked. But we are never going to stop abortion services just so the attacks stop. Safe and legal abortions are part of women’s health care and part of their rights.” This new threat of defunding is particularly worrisome due to the Trump administration laying the groundwork to roll back protection of abortion rights. But we must be resilient, we must support women and we must fight for organizations that do critical work for women. I stand with Planned Parenthood.

HANNAH MYERS | CONTACT HANNAH AT HSMYERS@UMICH.EDU.

Stephanie Trierweiler can be reached at strier@umich.edu.

A case for more science in high school

n preparation for writing my previous column, “A 21st Century Science Course,” I interviewed Yuri Popov, a lecturer for two sections of Physics 140. Originally, I had planned to talk to Popov about changes that he has seen throughout the years while teaching introductory mechanics. However, we ended up discussing how U.S. high school students compare with other students around the world in math and science. The causes and how to address these problems are debatable topics, but the fact that the U.S. lags behind many other industrialized countries in math and science education is a well-researched fact. From data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment and analysis conducted by the Pew Research Center, the U.S. ranks 38th in math and 24th in science out of 71 countries assessed. Some people may not see this as a huge issue. Though the U.S. is not first in either math or science, we are not last either. Someone might ask why this even matters as most people will not end up using what they learn in high school chemistry class in their everyday lives, and they might be right. However, it is important to expose every child to these topics so that they have every opportunity available to them. Just because someone doesn’t use the information every day, it does not mean that it is useless to teach. There is inherent value in teaching every person math and science. In these high school classes, students focus on logic and reasoning, and this will influence their cognitive development. We owe it to future generations to improve the way we teach these subjects to give them the best opportunity to learn and to grow. To do this, we first must recognize some of the problems that could be causing U.S. students to fall behind. Popov highlighted what he sees as the issues that cause U.S. students to fall behind. “The three main problems are how schools are funded, who decides the curriculums and the (excessive) amount of choices these young 12 and 14-year-old kids have when signing up for classes,” Popov said. The property taxes that fund schools obviously offer more advantages in high-income areas as opposed to low-income areas. Changing the way that schools receive funding would make education more equal across the board. Deciding what material to

teach and how to teach it has also been a hot issue for many years. Popov suggested that professionals in each field should be the ones to help develop the curriculums so that what is truly important is able to be discussed in the classroom. These first two issues I think most people understand, and it is fairly simple to show that these are problems. However, the third is slightly more complex, and I myself did not think of this as a problem initially. In fact, giving kids choices and autonomy over their own lives is important for their development. As pointed out by Ned Johnson in an interview with Scientific American, children can lose motivation if they do not feel they are in control of their lives. It is great for someone who is a parent to encourage their child to explore what interests them and allow for them to make choices based on those interests. However, as I began to reflect on this topic more, I realized that there might be some value in more standardized requirements and less flexibility in a high school student’s class schedule. I can’t speak for everyone, but at least for me, choosing courses in college is a confusing and anxiety-riddled time. I probably change my mind about a certain class four times before finally signing up for it, and I was the same in high school. Though it may help a child’s motivation if they are able to make their own choices, how do they know where their interests lie if they end up electing not to take what could be an important course in high school? From the Scientific American article mentioned earlier, Ned Johnson used the example of allowing children to choose their own personal pastimes. I agree these choices should come in the form of what extracurricular activities a kid wants to participate in and what to do with their Saturday afternoons rather than what classes to enroll in. If a student has been required to spend a few years in high school studying and learning a topic, they will be more prepared to make decisions regarding specialization after high school. During Popov’s years of secondary education, he was required to take four years of physics, four years of math, two years of chemistry and two years of biology. There was an importance placed on math and science, and the classes filled up his schedule. Four full

years of physics in high school seemed unheard of to me, but thinking about it, I came to see it as not unreasonable. To many people, this might seem too intense for every student. However, I think that if done correctly, this type of curriculum would be very beneficial. This is anecdotal evidence, but many people I talk to found physics, or any science for that matter, hard because it was confusing and taught very quickly. In contrast, if you had four years to really learn it, the subject could be taught at a better pace and be much more approachable. In doing so, people who may not have considered a career in a certain field might now be more inclined to do so. It may seem like a radical change, but I think science literacy is truly just as important as English literacy. The more you are exposed to true science and scientific thinking, the better you will be at telling truth from fiction. From a study conducted by the National Science Foundation, from data located in Appendix Table 7-11, one can see that in 2014, 80 percent of college graduates responded that astrology was “not at all scientific” whereas only 60 percent of high school graduates responded with this answer. I believe this is because those who go on to college become exposed to more scientific thinking and therefore are able to distinguish real science from pseudoscience. Increasing the amount of science that is taught in high school would help those who do not go on to college or those who avoid science classes in college, to think more critically in their everyday lives. Of course, there could still be room for advanced programs, classes that go at a slower pace and a multitude of electives to fill in gaps, but a more standardized high school curriculum that places more importance on science than it currently does is needed in the U.S. Implementing this is highly dependent on solving the issues of funding and curriculum creation. However, if every student was exposed to more science, more people would develop better analytical thinking skills and more opportunities would develop for those who may not have been exposed to these subjects otherwise. Robert Dalka can be reached at rbdalka@umich.edu.

CHARLES CALLIS | OP-ED

CSG campaigns ignore guns and student safety

n Feb. 14, 17 children and educators’ lives were taken at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Since then, students, educators and millions of others have called for policy changes to curtail the epidemic of mass shootings in America. However, here in Ann Arbor, Central Student Government campaigns stayed silent. It is the sad reality in America that as students, we are an at-risk population for mass shootings. Yet, spending much of my time holed up in classrooms and focusing most of my energy on my studies, the threat of an active shooter is not normally at the forefront of my attention. When I find myself thinking through what I would do if there were a shooter on campus, I find myself utterly ill-equipped. The Parkland massacre and the more than 200 other school shootings in America since Columbine in 1999 demonstrate the threat of an active shooter on the University of Michigan’s campus is more of a concern than I thought previously. Still not sold? Ask Central Michigan University students how they felt on Friday, March 2. Each CSG election cycle, students complain about the governing body’s inability to impact important issues, like minority enrollment, and its fixation on seemingly less important issues, like Wi-Fi on the Diag. This year, the campaigns for CSG can address an issue of national and local importance: school shootings. Yet, since the Parkland shooting, the MVision, momentUM, True Blue, eMpower and aMplify campaigns have not even acknowledged

the tragedy Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, let alone proposed any ideas for gun violence prevention. The current leadership has done marginally better, sharing the March for Our Lives Ann Arbor event happening later this month, but without mention of any steps to ensure a tragedy like Parkland does not happen on this campus. Why the deafening silence on the issue? Is the University of Michigan, one of the most prominent public universities in the nation, immune to school shootings? Of course it isn’t. The threat to the lives of students is very real. It is the duty of our future campus leaders to protect our hoMe from gun violence. In Florida and across the country, students have risen up. They organized school walkouts, protests and the March for Our Lives. These efforts joined movements like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, the Center for American Progress, Dick’s Sporting Goods and many other non-profits, government officials and businesses in demanding policy change. CSG campaigns must join these brave students and organizations to take a stand for the safety of the University’s students. CSG campaigns can start by talking about the issue. Incorporate student safety and gun violence prevention measures into campaign platforms and messages. Demonstrate we, as at-risk students, are taking a stand against gun violence. Explore preemptive measures. Arm educators and students, not with guns, but with the knowledge of what to do in the event of a shooting. Then,

require professors share this information with their students at the beginning of the semester, as they do with campus mental health resources. Explore advanced infrastructure, such as safety-communication apps or bulletproof doors, which can prevent or mitigate the effects of mass shootings. Take a stand, as representatives of the student body, and lobby University and government officials at all levels in favor of policies ensuring the safety of University students. Campaigns should also take a stance on policies that do not work. Arming professors increases the risk of accidents in the classroom by allowing potentially dangerous and untrained individuals to carry weapons in the very classrooms we seek to protect. Arming educators also perpetuates the unrealistic idea of a teacher saving the day, demonstrated by the armed sheriff deputies hiding during the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Armed faculty creates more problems than solutions. If this year’s CSG campaigns truly seek to improve the livelihood of students, let us start by ensuring no one is lost to gun violence here on campus. To all those pursuing a position within CSG, the time to talk about this issue is now. Take a stand, speak out and pursue changes that will protect the student body and save lives. Take this opportunity to give light to and impact an issue of local and national importance. I would say campaigns can keep their thoughts and prayers, but it seems like those aren’t on the table either. Charles Callis is a Senior in the Ford School of Public Policy.

Arts

5A — Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

TV REVIEW

Mindy Kaling’s ‘Champions’ off to a slow, steady start MAITREYI ANANTHARAMAN Daily Arts Writer

A carefree bachelor’s life turns upside down when his kid is dumped on his doorstep. We’ve seen that before, haven’t we? “Parenthood” did it. So did

“Champions” Series Premiere NBC Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. “Baby Daddy” and the short-lived “Grandfathered.” But if anyone can take an old trope and give it new life, surely it’s Mindy Kaling, who elevated the workplace sitcom with heart and chutzpah on “The Office,” and subverted the expectations of romantic comedies on “The Mindy Project” just as often as she reveled in them. On “Champions” — her charming new NBC comedy with “Mindy Project” co-producer Charlie Grandy — Kaling returns to TV in a recurring role as Cleveland-based single mom Priya Patel, who surprises her high school flame Vince (Anders Holm, “Workaholics”), a washedup gym owner in Brooklyn, with their flamboyant 15-year-old son Michael (J.J. Totah, “Glee”). Michael needs a place to live in the city so he can attend a prestigious performing arts high school, and Vince is Priya’s last resort. Holm did excellent work on “The Mindy Project” as pastorturned-DJ-turned-shoe mogul

Casey, but as Vince, he’s woefully underwritten and lacking the depth or charisma of anyone he shares scenes with, leaving him in the awkward position of being a supporting character on his own show. He’s helped out a bit by the delightful Andy Favreau (“The Mick”) as Vince’s brother Matthew, who manages to muster enough energy for the both of them. The breakout star here is J.J. Totah as Michael. An updated version of “Ugly Betty”’s Justin Suarez, Michael is equally stylish and quippy, this time with a little extra swagger, delivering every biting takedown with a breezy elan, but also with a fragile, earnest hunger for a life beyond Ohio that recalls the likes of Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel. His great fear is having to “go back into the closet, marry an ugly girl from my high school and run a pashmina cart at the mall.” It’s refreshing, and maybe a testament to the state of TV today that Michael’s homosexuality is neither bad comedy fodder nor some nagging source of tension. Where Justin’s coming out was a seasons-long, milked-for-all-thedrama-it’s-worth saga typical of television in the aughts, Michael’s is done quickly after meeting his newfound father and uncle, who are both totally unfazed. “You think we have a problem with gay people?” Vince chuckles. “Our big dream is that someday our gym will become a gay gym, because women and straight guys are filthy.” If something like “Champions” had aired 10 years ago — even five years ago — it would certainly be littered with lazy jokes operating under the bizarre premise that

jockish homophobia is hilarious. But thankfully, there’s none of that here, and the show is far better for it. But one wonders how far the

But if anyone can take an old trope and give it new life, surely it’s Mindy Kaling, who elevated the workplace sitcom with heart and chutzpah on “The Office,” and subverted the expectations of romantic comedy on “The Mindy Project” just as often as she reveled in them

“theater-crazed kid meets gym bros who don’t understand him” gimmick can really go. It got old

pretty fast on “Glee,” and it gets old pretty fast in the pilot. Jokes that write themselves tend not to be very funny. At a certain point, the audience sees it all coming, so the show will have to work to avoid falling into the sorts of clichés its premise suggests it will fall into. The bad news? “Champions”

‘In The Heights’ highlights real Latinx communities SAMMY SUSSMAN Daily Arts Writer

Prior to 2008, few musicals centered around (or even contained) Latinx characters. Besides “West Side Story,” a musical now heavily criticized for its casting of white actors and actresses in Latinx roles, Latinx communities were depicted almost entirely in a negative light. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s awardwinning “In The Heights,” however, was the first hit musical to realistically depict America’s Latinx lifestyle. Predating his now famous “Hamilton,” it uses rap music and bilingual lyrics to depict both the strength of the Washington Heights community in New York City and the challenges that it faces. Written while Miranda was still in college, it is a first-hand depiction of the Latinx experience. “It tells a very recent story about Latino immigration in the United States,” said Musket production director Bruna d’Avila, a junior Theatre Performance major in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. “It’s about a community that is so lively and happy and energetic, and so many people can relate to this story.” “It really changed the game for Latinos in terms of representation on stage,” said Gian Perez, a sophomore acting major in SMTD. “It’s never a piece about Latino pain or Latino struggle. It’s the first show to meet the mainstream that portrays Latinos as just a community with a particular culture.” “The audience in the Midwest doesn’t know this as well,” said d’Avila. They are “welcoming the audience into this community like they’ve never felt welcomed anywhere before.” Musket has worked to preserve the diverse nature of the original production, putting together an extremely diverse cast. It is a point of pride for all involved, with d’Avila boasting that it is, “the most diverse stage the University of Michigan has ever seen.” It’s a topic that is deeply

personal to many members of the cast. “I’ve always thought that as a Puerto Rican actor, I should be limited to Puerto Rican roles,” said Perez, “but there are parts of being a Latino man that I’m learning in these roles.” The play even goes beyond the generic Latinx identity

“In the Heights” Mar. 16 and 17 @ 8:00, Mar. 18 @ 2:00 Power Center $7 - $15 to pick apart the various nationalities within this identity. Seemingly subtle differences in pronunciation and dialect, for example, can represent entirely different national identities within the larger Washington Heights community. “It brings together so many different styles of Latin American music into one musical,” said d’Avila. Though the significance of the rap and hip-hop influences in the show’s music is now largely overshadowed by “Hamilton,” it was a groundbreaking idea that sparked the careers of both Lin-Manuel Miranda and music director, arranger and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire. “When I’m rapping I’m actually just speaking,” said Perez. “I think that the audiences can engage with this much more than they can with other musicals.” The musical also features a style of rap noticeably different than much of what is being produced today. It is the rap of the early 2000s and earlier, the rap that was being produced not for streaming services or mass-market consumption, but for public performances within urban environments such as Washington Heights. “I’ve never really felt that I could readily access poetry that speaks about struggle and pain at face value like this,” said

Perez. “It has that essence of rap being used for togetherness and unity. It’s about erasing the lines between people.” Earlier this semester, the cast was given the rare opportunity to work with Alex Lacamoire. The musical theatre department, through their extensive alumni network, was able to reach out to Lacamoire. Last week was the 10 year anniversary of the musical’s premiere on Broadway. Lacamoire’s recent work on “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” however, has distracted from this early success — he was just as excited to speak about this early work as the cast was to work with him during the rehearsal process. “It was very emotional to talk about ‘In The Heights’ the way that he would have 10 years ago,” said d’Avila. “He had several amazing notes, and it made the process so much more exciting.” And while the story may take place in a Latinx community, it is, at its core, about the basic struggle of human emotion. Whether it is the experience of first attending college or the struggle of working three jobs, it is a deeply relatable story about the American experience — particularly among recent immigrants. “We all went through what Nina goes through,” said d’Avila. “We have all had to make a whole new group of friends.” “In The Heights” is a story about the Latinx experience in contemporary America. It is a story of a diverse, multifaceted group of people overcoming the stereotypes that they face both in the real world and on stage. A striking relic of the diverse American dream as it was defined in 2008, the musical is a chilling reminder of the changes that this concept has undergone, as previously marginalized groups have sought to redefine it. “It will open the audience’s eyes to a different perspective,” said d’Avila. “It’s about all those who have immigrated to America. It’s a message from them saying, ‘We’re OK. We’re doing fine.’ And it’s about sharing this story as only theater can.”

compelling is what “The Mindy Project” and “The Office” often struggled to do in later seasons: balance out the zaniness with some narrative heft and walk that fine line between character and caricature. It has all the pieces of a great comedy, all that’s left is putting them together.

NBC

FILM NOTEBOOK

‘Rudderless’ demonstrates painful struggle of healing SAMANTHA NELSON Daily Arts Writer

COMMUNITY CULTURE

isn’t instantly impressive. The good news? Network sitcoms rarely are — “The Mindy Project” certainly wasn’t — and Kaling’s shows tend to be at their best once they’ve gotten into a reliable groove and established a set of familiar rhythms. What “Champions” will have to do to be fresh and

Art and emotion share an essential link, and in order to thoroughly leave an impression on their audiences, artists must harness what they feel within and translate it into something tangible. As one of the most intense human emotions, grief is a timeless topic explored by artists, and one that William H. Macy’s film “Rudderless” exemplifies and entwines with song. Severely unrecognized, “Rudderless” is a film that will draw audience members under with sorrow, while still managing to entrance them with the marvelous and curative powers of music. Desperate and floundering to regain purpose following his son Josh’s (Miles Heizer “Nerve”) death in a university shooting, Sam (Billy Crudup “Almost Famous”) is, as the film title suggests, rudderless. Quitting his high-paying suitand-tie job for a construction gig and splitting from his wife, Sam enters a life of solitude, sustained by low-budget meals and booze on an isolated houseboat. Despite his clear attempts to distance himself from the outside world and from the memories of the past, Sam slowly begins to unravel his grief when he happens upon drafted songs written and recorded by his son. He reconnects with one of the passions that he and his son shared: music. Through the reluctant relationship that he develops with energetic, fanboyish Quentin (Anton Yelchin “Star Trek”), who idolizes Sam’s musical prowess, Sam is able to regain a semblance of the

musical connection he shared with his son. Crudup and Yelchin’s portrayal of Sam and Quentin’s slow-growing bond is golden. On the surface, through his exudence of childishness that counters Sam’s uncaring, asshole attitude, Yelchin’s character could be labeled as a convention, serving as a “replacement” of sorts for the hole in Sam’s life left by his son. However, what Crudup and Yelchin are able to conjure on screen feels so genuine that, convention or not, we want to buy into it. Though in completely different life stages, Sam and Quentin are able to find an unexpected commonality through their affinity for music. For Quentin, his musical talent represents a glimmer of hope for finding a path to success, fame and money, while for Sam, it is a means of holding on to what little he has left of his son. Along with the fabulous performances by Yelchin and Crudup, another commendable piece of this film is its soundtrack. A perfectly compiled mixture of tunes sung by a mashup of artists, the music in this movie is truly masterful in its remarkable ability to be simultaneously raw, spirited and heartbreaking. Filled with both the slower and more downcast pieces composed by Sam’s son and a variety of new, more upbeat songs crafted by Sam and the band, the blend of contrasting tones in the songs creates a bittersweet effect, reflective of Sam’s broader internal struggle. On the one hand, music for Sam has become a means of regaining a sense of joy and light in his life, emphasized through fast-tempo, eccentric and playful numbers like a rock-infused “Wheels on

the Bus” and “Real Friends.” At the same time, however, playing Josh’s songs functions as a cutting and consistent reminder that his son’s presence in his life only exists through the songs he has left behind. The final scene, in which Sam strums one last song, “Sing Along,” before the screen goes black, is perhaps the film’s most impactful exemplification of grief. By the end of the film, Sam is not cured of the pain and heartache that the death of his son has inflicted because there is no such cure. The depth of this closing scene comes from the fact that it does not attempt to provide resolution or a guarantee of happiness for Sam in the future, nor does it illogically suggest that Sam’s grief will eventually fade. Instead, it demonstrates Sam confronting the grief, owning it, playing for his son, not out of acceptance of his death, but out of remembrance. Finishing the song, Sam tearfully sings, “I will find a way to sing your song,” a final promise to hold on to the memories of his son, painful as it may be. In its essence, “Rudderless” is a film about finding direction and regaining purpose. It explores the complexity of grief, the necessity of friendship and the healing capabilities of music. Far quieter than its contemporary — the popular, bold and critically adored musiccentric picture “Whiplash” — “Rudderless” is undeservingly overshadowed. Despite the film’s lack of recognition and appreciation by the cinematic community, its poignancy and profundity is undeniable and in passing it by, viewers would be missing out on a true treasure of a film.

PARAMOUNT

Arts

6A — Wednesday, March 14, 2018

BOOKS

ENTERTAINMENT COLUMN

The renaissance of 2000s era video games It’s a classic scene. Pizza boxes litter the floor. Soda cans lie empty on the table. It’s 2 a.m.. “Mario Kart” is on the TV. Is this a middle school sleepover? No, it’s an average Wednesday in some dorm or apartment or student house somewhere on a college campus. College kids like to play video games, but what a lot of college kids like to do more than play video games is play old video games. The GameCube is a popular console on campus, with perhaps 70 percent of its usage coming purely from “Super Smash Bros. Melee.” “Wii Sports” still makes regular appearances from time to time. But “Mario Kart” remains the gold standard. It’s not unusual to see an Xbox 360 or Playstation 2 right next to a much nicer and more expensive newer model on the mantel. What’s the appeal of old games? Is it simple nostalgia? Or is it something deeper? When I left for college after high school I brought my family’s Nintendo Wii with me. I didn’t take the PS4 that had become a mainstay over the previous year or two. Part of the reason for this was because it was easier to convince my younger brother to let me take the Wii than the PS4, but part of the reason was also that I thought the Wii would be a more fun thing to have. I was right about that, but not for the reason I had originally thought. While my freshman year roommate and I did play some “Mario Kart” and “Wii Sports” from time to time, what really made the Wii worth our while was its backward capability with GameCube games. We picked up a copy of an early 2000s children’s game, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Battle Nexus,” for a few dollars at a game shop and reignited our childhoods. I cannot recommend this game enough to anyone. Designed for children by people who clearly didn’t care that much about the finished product, the game is simple enough to seem easy but poorly designed enough to be excruciatingly difficult. Some of the jumps between platforms require mind-boggling precision. Many of the boss battles took us weeks to complete. It had a simplicity you wouldn’t find in modern games and a stupidity that was

almost charming. Would we have ever bought a Ninja Turtles game that was released for the PS4? Doubtful. Something

IAN HARRIS about it being a GameCube added to the mystique. We later picked up a Hot Wheels game that was actually impossible and the first and third games in the Turtles GameCube series, neither of which were as good as “Battle Nexus” and were soon abandoned. One of my current roommates brought home his old PS2 after Thanksgiving and has spent

What’s the appeal of old games? Is it simple nostalgia? Or is it something deeper?

the past few months playing through the game version of “Shrek 2.” Multiple members of a student org I’m in bring their old Nintendo DSs on every trip we go on so they can play Pokémon. Old games have a strange appeal. “Super Smash Melee” is still deemed the greatest Smash game, even though both Brawl and the one they released for the Wii U feature more players and more characters. Graphics have improved dramatically since the

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

mid-2000s, so why is there an appeal in cracking out “NCAA 2005” for the Xbox 360? For a culture that is increasingly growing cordless, cords are starting to have nostalgic value. Just the act of having to plug a controller into a TV and sit within a certain range to not pull the console off the ledge adds a level of intimacy with the product that doesn’t exist in modern videogames. The fun factor of, “Oh, I remember this level,” and the journey of rediscovery is an easy way to form connections to childhood with people whom you’ve only known since the age of 17 or 18. Recently “Wii Sports Resort,” the “Wii Sports” spinoff that required an extra “Wii Motion Plus” adapter for the controllers in order to be played, has become my friend’s go-to late night game of choice. The jankyness of the controls, the randomness of the game designs, the hilarious idea that Nintendo actually released a game designed purely to get people to buy an extra add-on for their Wii-motes and that people actually did it, all of that has made “Wii Sports Resort” a great addition to our late night nostalgia. Expense is surely another reason why old games appeal to college students. Video games nowadays are really expensive. New games can go for as much as $80 just for a single disc or download. But you can get an old PS2 for like $30 on eBay. These things don’t break often either. Most GameCubes were made between 2001 and 2005 and most people I know who still have one have never had a problem with it. A buddy of mine had an old Xbox that had to be kept a precise angle so as not to shred the disc in it but that was still remarkably useable after almost 15 years of use. This kind of tactile upkeep adds a sense of character to an object and gives the games a story, a story that is funny to tell to others. So the next time you wonder if your house needs some more videogames, maybe consider going backwards and picking up an old Wii, Xbox or PS2. Or go to your grandma’s and dig an old Atari or N64 out of the attic. For many college students, video games are a semi-constant part of their lives. The older the better.

Starnone deftly sketches a ghost story in ‘Trick’ ROBERT MANSUETTI Daily Arts Writer

The late and great American author Henry James was fascinated with the ghost story. Unlike most writers of horror fiction, however, James was not concerned with a ghost’s capacity to scare. Rather, he focused on its ability to function as dark reflections of humanity, how they supernaturally guide us through the darker side of the human psyche. Ghosts are “the strange and sinister embroidered on the very type of the normal and easy,” writes James in the preface of his final ghost story, “The Jolly Corner.” Daniele Mallarico, the central character of contemporary Italian author Domenico Starnone’s “Trick,” is very much a ghost himself. An aging illustrator past his prime, Daniele has been commissioned to create images to embellish a deluxe edition of “The Jolly Corner.” While this task certainly occupies his time and his fading livelihood, Daniele primarily functions as a grandfather as the book unfolds, as he labors to look after his four-year-old grandson, Mario. The contrast between Daniele’s overbearing protectiveness (manifested sometimes in meanness) and Mario’s advanced innocence for a boy his age defines the relationship between the two but creates problems. Conversations between those two push the narrative forward, as Starnone explores the connection between artistry and age. Translated masterfully into English by Pulitzer Prizewinning author Jhumpa Lahiri, “Trick” — like “The Jolly Corner” — is “about the horror of returning to one’s place of origin,” states Lahiri in her introduction. Daniele has to

return to his ancestral home in Naples, which has now become the modern living space for his daughter and her family. And while his daughter and her husband are off at a work conference having relationship issues of their own, Daniele

“Trick” Domenico Starnone Europa Editions Mar. 6, 2018 has to care for the boundless ball of energy that is Mario. While Mario oscillates at 100 kilometers per hour between playing with his action figures, watching TV and just generally jumping and moving around, Daniele is weakened in his old age and constrained in his childhood home. This contrast of bodies — “One small and mighty, the other large, laid low” — is central to the relationship dynamics of “Trick.” Much like Spencer Brydon, the protagonist of “The Jolly Corner,” Daniele prowls the house he once grew up and confronts the ghost of the man he might have been. Only for Daniele, this ghost is alive and has manifested itself in Mario. For a four-year-old, Mario is quite capable but limited by his size; for example, he knows exactly how to make breakfast for his family and how his father takes his coffee, but he can’t reach the milk in the fridge. In this way, Mario and Daniele are a perfect pairing, yet they never play off of each other’s strengths. Many a time their relationship is strained because Daniele lacks the vigor to do what Mario asks of him. The climax of the narrative, a “trick” Mario plays on his grandfather, is humorous on paper, but is exacerbated because completing the “trick”

Classifieds

requires Mario to go beyond his physical capabilities and listen, for once, to Daniele. The crucial moment that defines the relationship between grandfather and grandson happens when Daniele finally allows Mario to work alongside him, both drawing. While Daniele works on the James story, Mario, miming his elders in a way only a child can do, decides to draw his grandpa. When Daniele gazes at Mario’s work to see what he drew, he is in awe of the “natural harmony of composition, a fanciful sense of color.” Yet Mario doesn’t realize the simple perfection in his drawing, which causes Daniele to be overcome with horror: “I really was my ghost.” After Mario is finally reunited with his parents and the story ends, an appendix awaits the reader, presented as Daniele’s diary before and during his time with Mario, accompanied by some of his illustrations. To Lahiri, it is “an organ literally cut out of the story, seemingly extraneous but in fact fundamental to our understanding.” Providing a crucial subtext to the action of the book, this appendix fuses Starnone’s writing with James’s fiction, glued together by Lahiri’s translation. But while Starnone willfully combines art of the past, he does so with purpose. In Mario’s purity of age, he only does what he knows and copies the work of his grandfather, of the past. In copying, however, he creates something entirely new, something comparable to his grandfather’s work but stands entirely on its own. While most artists are well past their childhood, with “Trick,” Starnone reminds them to never forget their initial inspirations and how their art serves as a vivid link between past and present.

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

FOR RENT RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

SINGLE REVIEW: ‘THERE’S A REASON’

COLUMBIA RECORDS

It’s been two years since Brooklyn-based indie pop group Wet last came out with new music. After their debut Don’t You in 2016, they pretty much fell off the map, giving no indication that they were working on future records other than the occasional releases of remixed versions of old songs. Until this past week’s surprise, “There’s a Reason”: evidence that Wet is back in the studio with a potential new album just around the corner. The single is also evidence that Wet have used their hiatus as a time to explore their sound, gaining confidence and adding weight to their previ-

ously noncommittal synthpop ambivalence. “There’s a Rea-

“There’s A Reason” Wet Columbia Records son,” contrasting the washy ballads that often times turned Don’t You into a haze of directionless rambling, is a bubbly celebration. The steady percussion keeps a lighthearted tempo, the nearly nonexistent synths clink together in the background like champagne glasses. Towards the end of the track, dulcet string instrumen-

tation give the listeners one final serenade. Throughout it all, the steady optimism of frontwoman Kelly Zutrau’s vocals holds the song’s various components together. “There’s a reason you’re by my side again,” she sings over a beat that leaves no room for Don’t You’s hesitation. With “There’s a Reason,” Wet proves themselves to be new and improved; selfassured, they back every note with a conviction that gives their melodies substance. It’s almost spring, and Wet is ready to blossom. -Shima Sadaghiyani, Daily Music Editor

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Flow back 4 “Get outta here!” 10 Column in a pugilist’s record 14 Congressional auditing org. 15 Rhine wine region 16 Stable parent 17 Door-to-door seller’s form 19 Very smart 20 Gosling of “Blade Runner 2049” 21 Tupperware sound 23 Jeans label 24 Nightly TV staple 25 Do some bargain-hunting 28 Where K-I-S-S-I-N-G goes on 30 Hold the floor 31 Fabled beast 32 Brad Paisley venue 34 Copycat 35 Text with maps and timelines 39 Org. in Dan Brown’s “Digital Fortress” 40 Temps 41 “There’s an __ for that” 44 Figures on a sports news crawl 47 Input, as accidentally erased data 49 Residential get-together 53 Aviation prefix 54 Pop __ 55 Mongolia locale 56 Camp Lejeune gp. 57 Losing proposition 59 Game with ringers 63 Burden 64 Smart people? 65 NBC skit show 66 2016 #1 hit for Rihanna, which can precede both parts of 17-, 25-, 35-, 49- and 59-Across 67 More sinewy 68 Farm area

DOWN 1 Cause of star wars? 2 Scrubby wastelands 3 Fragrant shower gel 4 Setting for most of “Charlotte’s Web” 5 Overhead trains 6 Volcanic __ 7 Billy Blanks’ workout system 8 Become frozen 9 Aquarium fish 10 SHO sister channel 11 Liqueur in an espresso martini 12 Point in the right direction 13 Formally withdraw 18 Point in the right direction? 22 Ask for a hand? 24 “Empire” actress Long 25 Nasal dividers 26 Deli option 27 Cookie with a Peeps variety 29 Antarctic waters 33 Many mos. 34 “__ Road”: Beatles album

36 QB’s mistakes 37 Mongolian tent 38 London-born supermodel 42 Word of interest? 43 Quid __ quo 44 Omen on February 2nd 45 “Starsky & Hutch” Ford model 46 Highbrow filmmaker

48 The “N” of CSNY 50 “Get outta here!” 51 Garlic mayonnaise 52 Worth more to collectors 56 KGB country 58 “Naughty, naughty!” 60 __-fi 61 Squeeze (by) 62 Plotting

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Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2018— 7A

Too early to start thinking about next year for Barnes Arico, Wolverines? The Michigan women’s basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament — and has the pieces to make a run next year, too ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan women’s basketball team finally got what it wanted. During Monday night’s Selection Show, the Wolverines were chosen as a seven seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The tournament bid called for a moment of celebration for the team. The last time Michigan (10-6 Big Ten, 22-9 overall) made it to the tourney was 2013, during Kim Barnes Arico’s first season as head coach. The Wolverines defeated Villanova and made it to the second round, but their run ended when they fell to Stanford, 73-40. Since then, though, Michigan hasn’t had the same post-season luck. The Wolverines have come close to getting bids on multiple occasions. Last year, they finished third in the Big Ten and racked up 22 victories by the time the Selection Show rolled around, yet were shocked to find out their efforts weren’t enough. Instead, they went on to win the WNIT Championship. Because of last year’s disappointment, guard Katelynn Flaherty and forward Jillian Dunston entered their senior years having never played in the tournament. That’s right. Flaherty, the school’s alltime leading scorer — man or woman — and Dunston, the team’s defensive backbone and leader, have never played under the big spotlight. That’s why this year’s opportunity is all the more important to them. “Thrilled for our seniors and for our program,” Barnes Arico said following the Selection Show. “Katelynn and Jillian deserve to be watched on the national screen. … Just happy that they will have an

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

The Michigan women’s basketball team has earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 as a No. 7 seed.

opportunity to represent the University of Michigan and the ‘Block M’ before they graduate.” Given all that’s happening, it’s hard not to fixate on what is to come over the next week. On Friday, Flaherty and Dunston will live out their dreams when Michigan takes on No. 10 seed Northern Colorado (26-6) in Waco, Tex. As the tournament approaches, though, the end of the season still looms overhead. At any moment they could lose and it’s all over. With that said, one can’t

help but wonder — what happens next year? With Flaherty and Dunston gone, the Wolverines will have big shoes to fill. Junior guard Nicole Munger and junior center Hallie Thome both return and will likely play a more prominent role. The duo has started in every game this season and has played an integral part in the team’s success, averaging 9.4 and 17 points, respectively. Munger’s offensive contributions will be essential next season. She is shooting 41

“Thrilled for our seniors and for our program.”

percent from beyond the arc, which will need to be put on full display next year to help make up for Flaherty’s departure. With Flaherty gone, the offense may also shift toward post play by giving the ball to Thome more. Freshman forward Hailey Brown and freshman guard Deja Church are also returning. Brown was a starter until suffering an injury in February against Michigan State. But when healthy, she was an impact player. As the season progressed, Brown got into her groove and shot at least 50 percent from the field six games in a row. Her recovery and return to the court next season will be vital to her team’s well-being. Church should see more minutes as well. Prior to

becoming a starter due to Brown’s injury, Church was Michigan’s first player off the bench and often gave the team a much-needed spark. She will likely need to replace Flaherty at point. Sophomore forward Kayla Robbins and sophomore guard Akienreh Johnson have potential to work their way into the starting lineup, too. Johnson significantly improved late in the season — when Brown went down — and notched 19, 17 and 13 points against Minnesota, Maryland

and Penn State, respectively. The roster is expected to expand next season as well, with five freshmen set to join the squad. Five-star guard Amy Dilk is Michigan’s top recruit. The Carmel, Ind. native is ranked No. 39 in her class by ESPN. She’s a talented ball-handler and scorer, so if the transition to the college game goes smoothly, she could help fill in Flaherty’s spot. “She has an unbelievable IQ for the game and can see things happening two steps ahead of anyone else,” Barnes Arico told MGoBlue on Nov. 8. “She is a true point guard with tremendous size that we have not had at the position before. She has the ability to see over smaller guards and to really make everyone around her better. “She can score in so many ways — off the bounce, from the threepoint line. She runs her team and has a great feel for the game. She has played for a great high school program, and we have watched her develop throughout the years into one of the top point guards in the country. She is going to have an immediate impact on this program.” Four-star recruits in forwards Naz Hillmon, Emily Kiser and guard Ariel Young and three-star guard Danielle Rauch will also look to contribute. Though it will be challenging to make up for losing Flaherty and Dunston, the pieces to the puzzle are there. And if Barnes Arico can put them together effectively, then she may be able to build another tournament bid.

The Wolverines will have a longer roster next season.

Michigan’s mental toughness put to test at NCAA Indoor Championships TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

Mental fortitude isn’t something that comes to mind when talking about weight throws and shot puts. But for the Michigan men’s track and field team, that wasn’t the case this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships. “I was thinking too much,” said junior Joe Ellis. “That was the real bane of the throwing events. You just have to let your body take over, and I started to think, ‘I just really want to blast each as far as I could’ instead of just letting the process naturally happen as it happened all season.” The mental aspect of the sport was put to the test early in the rounds for both weight throw participants, Ellis and senior Grant Cartwright. Coming into the championship, Ellis had posted career-highs in all areas. He credits the recent success to a shift in emphasis towards technique. Whereas last year was frontloaded with room strength training — specifically squats — this year was fully focused on

improving techniques. “I added an extra turn,” Ellis said on his technique changes. “I do four turns in the ring and I think that added a more difficult, technical aspects, but when I hit a good one, it’s usually farther because of that. I’m a lot more technically sound. “This year was way more on the technical (side), trying to figure out how to just throw far right away, and I’ve done that all season. I threw pretty deep all season, and this was kind of a shocker, when I fouled my first two, because before this meet, I had only fouled two or three throws.” The result, despite finishing fifth in the event and earning First-Team All-American accolades, was not what Ellis had expected or wanted. Breaking multiple school records through the regular season, expectations couldn’t have been higher for him. However, he just couldn’t cash in. “It’s the nature of the event,” Ellis said, “and you only get six chances or three chances, and if you’re lucky, you get all six.” Though disappointed

he couldn’t do better, Ellis’ performance wasn’t one to forget. “I’m phrasing it a lot like it wasn’t a successful weekend, but in fact it was,” he said laughing. “Becoming a First-Team AllAmerican is super difficult, and this is my highest performance I’ve done yet at any national meet. … You were saying improvement from last year. You know seventh (last year), I felt like I squeaked in, but fifth, I felt like I was really part of the conversation all year.” It just so happens that Ellis had found himself in the highestleverage situation he’s been in all season — and on the biggest stage. Fouling his first two rounds out of the sector put immense pressure to throw a big one for the third round with the goal of ultimately qualifying. Already swamped with thoughts that troubled him in the early rounds, he stepped back and took to his friend and teammate Cartwright. Cartwright calmed him down and brought him back into focus. As Michigan coach Jerry Clayton put it, it was a “competitive advantage” to have friends both participate in the same event

— the NCAA Championships at that. But for Ellis, it was a helpful beacon to remind him it was just another throw, allowing him to post a 22.55-meter mark. Cartwright faced a similar situation as Ellis, but rather than fouling the first two rounds by throwing outside the sectors, he committed foot fouls. For his first attempt, he threw what could have been a qualifying First-Team All-American throw, but he couldn’t hold the front of the ring. For his second throw, just narrowly, Cartwright fouled on another good throw, which was met with skepticism from the Michigan coaching staff. After filing a protest to challenge the call, his throw was

reviewed and confirmed a foul. Just as Ellis had, Cartwright had to face his final throw with mounting pressure to make the final round. He failed to qualify, throwing 20.82 meters to get a 12th-place finish, good for Second-Team All-American honors. “You have to go after the throws and hit the rhythm,” Clayton said. “The problem is you can’t — I guess people say to just take a ‘safe throw’ — but you can’t really take a safe throw at this level and make the finals, especially with two fouls.” Sophomore Andrew Liskowitz also got Second-Team AllAmerican honors with his 18.38meter shot put. Just as the other

Wolverine participants, his first two attempts were met with fouls. “That week, you always have on your mind, ‘You have to make finals,’ and there were 16 other people in the heat which was a little irregular,” Ellis said. “And so when you have your first one, you wait about 15 minutes before you have a chance to get back in the ring, and so it really takes a toll on you mentally.” The mental strife was evident through Michigan’s performances for what was an underachievement by the standards of the players and program, but there was plenty to learn from for the players going forward.

11 T H A N N U A L

GRAMLICH

STUDENT Friday, March 16, 2018 | 2-4 p.m. Poster session with refreshments. Free and open to the public. Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Weill Hall, Great Hall 735 S. State Street Info: 734-615-9691

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Senior Grant Cartwright finished in 12th place in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

fordschool.umich.edu

NED GRAMLICH 1939-2007

Sports

8A — Wednesday, March 14, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Montana Kaimin writer offers insight into Michigan’s first round opponent MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor

Montana’s name popped up on the screen as the Michigan men’s basketball team’s first-round opponent and you froze. You knew nothing about the Big Sky Tournament champions. And you weren’t alone. Michigan coach John Beilein’s initial reaction was equally tepid. “Is Montana the Grizzlies?” Beilein said shortly after the bracket announcement. “I’m sure they’ve got a great team. They wouldn’t have 26 wins without a great team.” And as Beilein and his staff are busy cutting tape and concocting a gameplan, The Daily reached out to Jackson Wagner — a reporter for the Montana Kaimin, the University of Montana’s student newspaper — to get the lowdown on the Grizzlies ahead of Thursday night’s 9:50 pm ET tipoff: The Michigan Daily: For Michigan fans who maybe haven’t seen Montana play, who are the main two guys to watch out for and the skillsets they bring? Wagner: I’d say the main two guys to watch out for is Montana’s backcourt. Mike Oguine is a hyper-athlete basically. He gets to the rim almost relentlessly. He’ll try, bacially everytime he gets the ball, to get to the rim, but he also has expanded his shot this year. He’s our Big Sky Conference Tournament MVP and the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year. Just all over the floor. He plays with a ton of energy. And Ahmaad Rorie is the Oregon transfer that is easily the best scorer on the team when his shot’s falling. He’s had some off games, but when he gets hot, he’s a really, really good shooter and a really good ballhandler. He made the SportsCenter Top 10 with a crossover in the Championship game. Those two are the main guys to watch for, I’d say. TMD: You wrote in your article the Big Sky Tournament run was improbable. How so?

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

The Michigan men’s basketball team will face No. 14 seed Montana on Thursday. The Grizzlies enter the game with a 26-7 record.

Wagner: I think it was just kind of the nature of what happened. This is the best Montana team we’ve seen in awhile. I would say it’s the best since the mid-2000s when they beat Nevada in an NCAA (Tournament) game, but they just trailed in a lot of games and it seemed like everything was kind of going against them. We’ve been good with this coach, Coach Travis Decuire, but haven’t gotten it done in the Big Sky Tournament. So when things started to go against them, it looked like it was going to be another early exit. But they came back in multiple games, they were down 11 in the championship game, came back. That’s something we have seen from them all year — they’ve been a super good second half team. Decuire has made a ton of halftime adjustments where, they would go in down five or six and come out and win games by 15 points. It was

something we had seen all year, but come tourney time it seemed like teams had made the adjustments in the first half and then Decuire would outsmart them in the second half to get those wins. TMD: Was there a pattern to those adjustments? Wagner: I think it was mostly defensive changes that he made. Eastern Washington has a player, Bogdan Bliznyuk — the Big Sky’s MVP of the regular season. He’s kind of a bigger guy, so Decuire started with the post on him to try to keep him outside, but then he was controlling the (championship) game basically as a point forward. So Decuire switched Rorie, who’s our smallest player, and typically not a great defender, onto him and it just threw everything that Eastern Washington was doing off. That’s kind of been what’s happened in a lot of games — defensive changes that he makes.

They’re kind of balanced as far as where they’re at in rankings terms of offense and defense, but it’s the defense that’s won more games for them this year. TMD: What are a couple strengths and weaknesses of this team? Wagner: The biggest strength has been that anybody can be on on any night, which especially looking forward against a team like Michigan is going to be harder to do. But against Big Sky teams they basically have — one through seven — that anyone can go off for a 15-to-20-point game. Timmy Falls and Sayeed Pridgett both off the bench have been pretty dynamic as far as, if the Grizz are lacking scoring they just plug one of those two guys in and it seems like every time they get a response from them. The big guys down low, Jamar Akoh and Fabijan Krslovic, have both just been pretty efficient.

They look to Akoh a lot more, but Krslovic is a high efficiency guy. He doesn’t get a lot of looks, but he’ll probably get close to 10 points in a game just on layups coming from people focusing elsewhere. One through seven being able to step up has definitely been their strength — they’ve failed in the past because of (isolation) and guys trying to take over games on their own, and that hasn’t happened this year. The weakness, I would say, is just the size, kind of, and athleticism. 6-foot-8 is basically as big as we go, and not dominant down low defensively. There’s no real rim protector on this team. Krslovic and Akoh are both good defenders. Krslovic is a really smart defender, but not very athletic and not great at defending the rim. They’ll try to take a lot of charges but not get a lot of blocks, I would say. TMD: A lot of talk in Michigan has been about the matchup

problem with Michigan’s bigs who can stretch the floor. Is that a problem you agree with? Why or why not? Wagner: I think, especially looking at Wagner, that’s a guy already with three inches on basically anyone the Grizz will put on him, and the ability to stretch the floor. I dont think that’s as huge of a thing, because we don’t have big guys that just sit in the paint and protect the rim. Both of them can move pretty well. As far as getting out to him on the threepoint line, I think they’ll be OK. But just the sheer size. If Michigan decides to pound the ball into him, I don’t really see the Grizz having much of an answer for that. TMD: What do you think is the formula for an upset? Wagner: I think the formula basically is they have to be almost perfect offensively. I think defensively, Michigan is going to exploit the mismatch down low. Other than that, I think Oguine and those guys can kind of hold their own. They’re a good enough team defensively that I don’t think Michigan will be able to just beat them by scoring 90 points, like we see with some of these matchups. But for Montana, Ahmaad Rohrie is going to have to have a big day. They’re going to have to be knocking down the 3-point shot, which is something they’ve struggled with at times this year. Their starter at the ‘3’, Bobby Moorehead, hit a huge shot when they were down in the Big Sky Conference Tournament, but he hasn’t really proved himself from the 3-point arc. But I think that’s going to be basically what Montana needs — to get a few buckets down low early, to get shooters open, then they just need to be almost perfect shooting the ball. TMD: Prediction? Wagner: I think Michigan is easily the favorite. You guys are coming in super hot and have more talent and athleticism. I think it’ll be fairly low scoring, maybe like 66-52, Michigan.

Marody, Hughes headline Big Ten Honors BENJAMIN KATZ Daily Sports Writer

While the Michigan hockey team awaits its destiny in the looming NCAA Tournament,

five players already have reason to celebrate after earning allconference awards Tuesday afternoon. Junior forward Cooper Marody netted All-Big Ten first-

team honors and clinched the Big Ten scoring title. Freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and was also a second-team conference selection.

Senior forward Tony Calderone also earned secondteam distinction and sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne was an honorable mention. Senior defenseman Sam Piazza was voted Michigan’s Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree for the second straight season. Marody notched 27 points in 24 conference games, becoming just the third Wolverine ever to be the Big Ten scoring champion. In his first full season donning the maize and blue, the Brighton, Mich. native boasted 46 points — 14 goals and 32 assists, which rank third in the country and first in the Big Ten. Hughes entered the season as a blue-chip prospect for the upcoming 2018 NHL Entry Draft and didn’t disappoint. Described by Michigan coach Mel Pearson to be “worth the price of admission,” he tallied 24 assists, first among Big Ten freshman, third nationally and the most by a rookie defenseman in program history. The youngest player in college hockey, Hughes’ 28 points tied for 12th in the NCAA, and rank third among Big Ten freshman and third most for a freshman in Michigan annals.

On a team with 16 underclassmen — the third youngest in college hockey — Calderone’s veteran presence shined when the lights were brightest and Michigan needed a leader. In his senior campaign, the captain posted career-highs with 40 points, 17 assists and 23 goals — most in the Big Ten and eighth nationally. When asked about the line of Calderone, Marody and senior forward Dexter Dancs after Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, Pearson was quick to praise its leadership. “They gave us what they have all year … on and off the ice when we need a goal,” he said. “That’s what you expect from seniors and juniors. It’s been fun for me to be around these guys, I hope I get another couple of weeks.” While Hughes protected the blueline, Pearson constantly underscored the importance of the goaltender being the best defenseman on the ice. After splitting starts with classmate Jack LaFontaine, Lavigne assumed the starting job halfway through the season. He recorded a career-

high 16 wins in 30 starts, averaging 2.79 goals allowed per game and posting a .910 save percentage. Helping Lavigne in the defensive zone was the alwaysdependable Piazza. During his final season in Ann Arbor, he set career bests in games played (35), assists (13), points (15) and shots (64). The blueliner was nominated as a finalist for the Senior CLASS award, recognizing student athletes who shine on and beyond the ice. The prestige of awards notwithstanding, after a dismal 15-win campaign in 2016-17, the Wolverines are less than a week away from returning to the NCAA Tournament and having a chance at a national championship. And that’s in part because of those awarded Tuesday. “Coming in at the start of the season, nobody really believed in us,” Marody said. “Nobody saw us having any success this year, and we proved people wrong. We did that by out-working opponents and coming together as a team. Battling to the end is something we take a lot of pride in, and we know we’re going to have to do that to have success in the Tournament.”

MAX KUANG/Daily

Junior forward Cooper Marody earned the Big Ten scoring title with 27 points in 24 conference games.

statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | M A RCH 14 , 201 8

Michigan in Color

BBUM: Our History

Wednesday, March 14, 2018// The Statement

statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | M A RCH 14 , 201 8

Managing Statement Editor: Brian Kuang

Photo Editor: Amelia Cacchione

Deputy Editors: Colin Beresford Jennifer Meer Rebecca Tarnopol

Editor in Chief: Alexa St. John

Copy Editors: Elise Laarman Finntan Storer

Managing Editor: Dayton Hare

Copy That: The article that was never supposed to exist

BY ANGELA LIN, DAILY COPY EDITOR

he summer before my freshman year, I worried about what I was going to do in college. There was so much pressure to grow, to get involved, to build that résumé. One day, I received a copy of The Michigan Daily in the mail. And I thought: Why not? As a questioning, indecisive, undeclared English major, getting involved with journalism was probably a good idea. But there was a problem. I didn’t like journalism. The thought of writing for a newspaper scared me. I liked to write, but I didn’t like to write articles. I felt like I couldn’t report news brilliantly or state strong opinions eloquently. I didn’t like the idea of being forced to write a certain number of pieces by a deadline. So much for that.

However, as I was browsing The Daily’s website, I found a section that stopped me mid-scroll: Copy Desk. I read the description, and I knew this was the role for me. I sent an email asking how I could join the copy desk and received an answer back from the copy chief. I starred the email and spent the rest of my summer keeping this job in the back of my head, looking forward to applying. Before I knew it, I arrived on campus. I found The Daily at Festifall. I attended the mass meeting. I took the copy quiz. I shadowed shifts. I took the post-test. I got the job. “When do you get promoted to writing articles?” many of my friends obliviously asked when I explained my new job to them.

“No,” I would reply. “I applied to be a copy editor. I don’t want to write — I want to edit.” This response is often met by confusion and polite, though piteous, chuckles. Who wants to fact-check news and opinion articles and correct grammar and style? How is that fun for anyone? I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be a copy editor until I received the email congratulating me that I was in. Many of my fellow copy editors walked into the newsroom with the intent of joining another section — news, opinion, sports, arts — with the hopes of actually writing articles. I went in knowing the only thing I wanted to do was edit them. I made a beeline for the copy desk after

ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH MYERS

the mass meeting, frantically avoiding all the other sections. Now, every time I go in for my shift, I make that same beeline. I love words. I love English. And the copy desk offered me the perfect opportunity to do something I was passionate about in a way that I was comfortable doing. But, my anxiety towards articlewriting kept coming back to bite me. There was a voice in the back of my head — an echo of everyone around me — telling me that the work I do is inferior to the work I am editing. Now, I know that voice is full of lies. The copy desk, one of the quietest sections in the newsroom, is my favorite section. There is a much underappreciated need for copy editors, and I enjoy the work I do. I don’t need to be on the frontlines interviewing the lead singer or star running back or presidential candidate to leave my mark on The Daily. In fact, the mark I leave from behind the copy desk is arguably more important. But, college really is about getting involved and overcoming fears. And with that, we are here. I am happy to report that I have accomplished the one thing I wanted going into college — joining the copy desk — but I have also accomplished the one thing I wanted to avoid going into college — writing for The Daily. With this Copy That, I have conquered that fear. There are no objective facts here that can be fact-checked, yet they are undeniable facts to me. There is no strong, controversial opinion here, yet I feel strongly about this position. For some people, Copy Desk is a backup option. For many more, Copy Desk is misunderstood. For me, Copy Desk is right where I belong. This is my article, one I wrote rather than edited. And one article is enough for now. Baby steps — even though this a giant leap for me. So, thank you, Copy Desk, for giving me everything I wanted — and everything I didn’t want as well.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 // The Statement

Critical Questions: Who gets to say what feminism is? BY ISHI MORI, COLUMNIST

ho gets to define feminism? With contemporary feminism going global from its origins as an originally 1960’s American movement, the way various groups absorb — or reject — feminism in their own cultures is an intrig uing subject. The topic crossed my mind when I was attending a career seminar for students interested in working in Japan. Five of us sat in a small room in the Michigan League, listening to an agent from a recruiting company explain the job search process in Japan. After the seminar was done, the agent asked if we had any questions. One female student raised her hand and asked how working conditions were for women in domestic Japanese companies versus Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies. The agent calmly answered the latter was better for women. I was shocked by the casualness of the whole exchange. In the agent and student’s voices, there was an assumption that the geezer male executives in domestic companies wouldn’t do anything for women. There was also a tone of defeatism. To the female attendees, it was an immovable fact of life that working as a woman in Japan will be subpar when compared to men, but it couldn’t be helped (or as we like to say in Japan, shikata ga nai). And their attitude is understandable. Only 12.1 percent of women in Japan are in managerial roles as of the 2016-17 fiscal year, a far cry from the government’s stated objective of 30 percent by 2020, which they since abandoned in 2015. Women are still expected to cut their careers short when they start having children. The Supreme Court of Japan decided in 2015 that married couples cannot legally have separate last names, and not to mention the notorious groping and molestation on public transportation, which in turn is fetishized in adult media. (This isn’t to say Japan is some sort of hellish dystopia for women. Though it may be lacking when compared to Europe and the United States, it still fares better than most other countries. But it’s also understandable that Japanese international students, upon experiencing the superior conditions in the U.S. and especially in liberal Ann Arbor, can’t go back to the world they knew before.) I just listed facts lamenting the lack of progress for women in Japan,

A sign as seen at the second annual Women’s March on the Diag in January.

but if someone else were to say that to me, I would be defensive about it. It’s similar to how if some foreigner criticized the U.S.’s atrocious record on environmental causes or role as world police; I know we’re doing terribly and I know the criticism wasn’t personal, but no one wants to believe their neighbors are bad people. “We live in different cultures,” I’d say. “We have our own way of dealing with internal issues.” This defensiveness, I feel, is an obstacle for feminism going forward globally. When Black women became tired of middle-class white feminism and the male-dominated civil rights movement, they created Black and intersectional feminism, with the notion that sexism, racism, class oppression and gender identity are linked together. But can we reproduce that on a global scale? Take female genital mutilation as an example. Though women (and men, including myself ) in the West think it’s a horrible and inhumane idea, the practitioners may be wondering

why college-educated white women feel entitled to decide what they want to do with their child. Indeed, some anthropologists have criticized Western opposition to FGM as cultural imperialism and the imposition of Judeo-Christian morals. Another example would be the treatment of women in Islam. Certain sections of Islamic texts can be read as oppressive to women in a Western context: For instance, a section in the Quran says that a woman’s testimony in court is equal to half of that of a man. Many Muslim-majority countries follow this custom in some or most legal cases. The Quran also explicitly states there are only two genders in this world, in direct contrast to progressive Western ideals. It is understandable why many liberals and feminists are silent on this issue; they know Islamophobes and farright elements have used this argument to sow division in multicultural societies. But philosophically speaking, it does beg the question of why moral relativism overrides universal human

Matt Vailliencourt/Daily

rights in certain areas but not others. If feminism were to become a truly universal movement penetrating people of all nations, genders and classes, it would need to be able to resolve this internal conflict. For feminism is about giving all women the freedom to choose, but if a woman chooses to live under what we in the West call “oppression,” would it be acceptable? Philosopher John Stuart Mill wrote in “The Subjection of Women” in 1869 that men have successfully conditioned women’s minds to view oppression and subjugation as a form of benevolent paternalism. But who are we in the West to tell women in other cultures that their choice is locked under certain invisible constraints set by their patriarchs? As numerous feminist scholars have argued over this and haven’t produced a universally accepted answer, and I am not a woman, I cannot claim to answer it. Who defines feminism? It’s a food for thought during Women’s History Month.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 // The Statement

BBUM: Our History by Lorna Brown, Senior MiC Editor

t is hard adjusting here because there are so many people who do not look like me, and the first thing people do is judge me by my appearance, my skin color.” When asked what was the hardest part of their first year at the University of Michigan, every Black student responded with this answer in one way or another. Your melanin-enriched skin is a target you carry with you each day of your life. What separates you from the crowd of people you pass on the Diag, what makes you the only person in your chemistry class and what narrows you down to 5 percent on a campus of about 46,000. Your Blackness is something the world will never let you forget, especially on a campus where there are few spaces for your Blackness to be unapologetically itself. However, life was not always like this… The year is 1979 and the Black population is 8 percent at the University, near double today’s. It was a group effort across campus: the Black Student Union, the Black Law Student Association, the Association of Black Social Work Students and Black students from the University medical and psychology schools. Each organization came together to create the Black Action Movement (BAM) to manifest change for students who faced marginalization for their skin color on a daily basis. They demanded the University increase the

Black population to 10 percent, in order to ref lect the state of Michigan’s Black resident population at the time, and to overall increase the representation and awareness of Black students on campus. Through strikes that often lasted up to a week and protests with students passionately holding signs and chanting, seven years of enraged passion at the University’s failure to create a campus for students of color were finally recognized. Professors canceled classes until students’ demands were met and the faculty and staff worked to create changes that were insisted after years of failure to recognize their Black students. Lasting from 1970 to 1987, BAM I, BAM II and BAM III progressively worked to increase the Black population and bring attention to the concerns of harassment, racial tension and discrimination on campus. Though the University never did reach 10 percent enrollment, programs like the multicultural lounges in each dorm and living/learning communities exclusively for Black students arose as a result of the BAM movements that took place in the early ’80s — places like the Ambatana Lounge in South Quad Residence Hall. Black students finally had spaces to escape from the everyday racism of campus — spaces just for us. pades, UNO and of course … the kid that f lipped the Monopoly board over because he did not want to pay rent to the rest of his oppo-

nents. This was how my parents met. Long nights in the Ambatana Lounge in South Quad. Spontaneous step-shows between rival Greek organizations in the middle of Angell Hall as students walked to class. Soul Train Lines that formed on Friday nights in the cafeteria of Mary Markley Residence Hall. Basketball courts full of late night pick-up games. These were unforgettable memories for students like my parents. They found camaraderie in the living communities that brought Black students together from different parts of the country. Through funded trips to attend movie premieres and snacks for their lounges provided by the council, the Black community grew closer. Black history at the University of Michigan is complicated, affirmative action ended in 2006 and the Supreme Court upheld the ban after a momentous 6-2 vote. The Black population at the University dropped dramatically, and with that came the end of an era. The Black living/learning communities that created friendships among Black students who lived just across the hall from each other disappeared. The lounges that were once centralized places for Black students to easily socialize with others of their own community until the early hours of the morning slowly grew empty. This is a result of the scattering of Black students across campus. With the loss of the living communities, connections that were formed by living next door to one another were broken. It was much harder to meet Black people who lived in different parts of campus, especially since the already miniscule number of students continues to falter. A diminishing population could no longer sustain the elements that made it home for so many. interviewed a few alumni about their experiences at the University. This is what they said: The Athlete (1999-2003): “My experience at the University of Michigan was different because I was a public figure and so people were more willing to come up and talk to me than what was the case for most of the Black community. I was approached and asked questions because I was the face for the University, for the basketball team. However, I knew at the end of the day that I would always have a community to come Courtesy of Lorna Brown back to after long days of practice when I walked into South Quad. There was

A step show by the Phi Beta Sigmas in the Markley cafeteria in 1981.

Listings of Multicultural Lounges in every dorm

always someone f lipping over a chair because they were losing at Spades, and I remember those days as being the best moments of my college career. ” The Sigma (1979-1984): “Being here from 1979 to 1984 was the peak for the Black community, we had the largest Phi Beta Sigma pledge line the University had ever seen and it was exhilarating being a part of something so special. Learning the steps and staying up late practicing with my Line Brothers, the parties, and competitions we used to perform in; those are the moments I will never forget. I made friends for life during my time here, and I wish everyone could have a piece of what I had during undergrad.” The Socialite (1979-1983): “Although I was not a part of any clubs, I had the time of my life here. The lounge is where I met my best friends, beat people in Spades, and tried to learn Calc. Being at the University of Michigan gave me the confidence I needed to succeed in the real world. The programs in the dorms that created activities for the Black kids helped me to find people who experienced the world like I did. Although, I wish that it was something that all minorities had because creating a space for people who are marginalized is so important in this world.” he lounges remain, but the historical context and the memories of those who once occupied these spaces do not. The multicultural lounges now serve as spaces where members of non-marginalized communities can enter. With the recent removal of a short orientation requirement for use of multicultural lounges like CAMEO in Couzens and the Ambatana Lounge in South Quad, the history and camaraderie that once centralized Black students and other minorities alike is now forgotten. Ambatana, the lounge named for the Swahili term “stick together,” has unfortunately lost its meaning when students began referring to it as the “Afro-American Lounge.” With the decreased use of these lounges by minority students and the fear of creating spaces that were “too exclusive,” the lounges had to accommodate students from the entire campus, including those who made us feel unwelcomed. A door closed on history is now silenced by the effort to create inclusiveness, but takes away from the meaning of what created these safe places, to begin

Swahili meaning in parentheses · Ambatana (Stick Together) or Afro-American Lounge and Yuri Kochiyama Lounge: South Quad ·

CAMEO: Couzens Active Minority Ethnic Organization: Couzens ·

Asubuhi (Morning): West Quad

Umoja (Unity) and Vicky Barner Lounge: Alice Lloyd · ·

· Ambatana picnic at Fuller Park in 1982.

with. Ironically, the most notable difference is what remains invisible to us all: the immense number of kids who were denied the opportunity to attend this University because affirmative action was voted out. Considering that the state of Michigan currently has a population of 14.2 percent Black/African American residents according to the 2017 census report, it does not make much sense as to why our University’s Black population is so small. Black students especially have lost the opportunity that they once had to attend one of the highest-ranked universities in the country. For Black students like my parents, education paved a pathway to a lifestyle outside of the one that society fabricated for them. We will never know the accomplishments of students who were denied the opportunity to attend this University: a chilling reality we all need to face. Efforts to create a community for the Black population by the Black Student Union, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and many other Black organizations on campus should not be overlooked. For example, the screening of “Black Panther” put on by BSU united Black students

Abeng (Conch Shell): East Quad

Angela Davis Lounge and Aarti Sharangpani Lounge: Markley

Courtesy of Lorna Brown

from around the campus. NPHC events highlight the tradition and the importance of Black Greek life, and academic groups like the National Society of Black Engineers bring Black engineers together in a field that lacks Black representation. Without the tireless ventures from these programs that help bond the Black students at the University of Michigan, we certainly would not feel as united. Black History Month might be over, and soon the school year will conclude with melting snow and longer days. Before we know it, our time as students will come to an end. The moments we share and relationships we build are a testament to our community. Simply because we know what it means to overcome the targets placed on our backs by society and the outside world as a whole. Simply because our journey to defy what has been fabricated to deter us will never be easy. Simply because having a supportive community that unifies us through every moment of our journey is imperative to our success in a world of homogeneity. Simply because … We matter. A special thank you those who were interviewed for this piece; without you, this would not be possible.

MLK Jr. Lounge: Bursley

· ·

Grace Lee Boggs Lounge: Baits

Nikki Giovanni Lounge and César Chávez Lounge: Mosher Jordan ·

Audre Lorde Lounge: Newberry Residence ·

Mahatma Ghandi Lounge: Oxford ·

Rosa Parks Lounge: Stockwell Edward Said Lounge: North Quad

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 // The Statement

Let’s Bitch About It: Travel etiquette BY LYDIA MURRAY, COLUMNIST

am devoting my first column after Spring Break to a friendrequested topic: Travel etiquette. Many students spent this week-long break from classes traveling — be it on University-affiliated trips like Alternative Spring Break or definitely-not-University-affiliated trips to Cancun or Miami or even just a simple trip home filled with sleep and pets. In all of these scenarios, it is likely that you traveled in some way, from driving to f lying. With travel comes annoyances from your fellow travelers, and if you don’t find other travelers annoying, you are either far nicer than me or the annoying person yourself. Am I allowed to recline my seat? The question of who owns the space taken up when reclining a seat on a plane or bus is as controversial as pineapple on pizza (ew). People spend $21.95 on Knee Defenders, which prevent people from leaning back their airplane seats. However, amid controversy, the device was banned by many airlines. I have heard complaints from many friends about the issue of shrinking seats and decreasing legroom, but since I only stand at 5-foot-3-inches, I cannot say that this is a problem I can

relate to. In fact, I regularly recline my seat on airplanes, because why wouldn’t I? If I’m not allowed to recline my seat, why is there a button on my armrest? And if I have a long f light ahead of me, I want to be as comfortable as possible. Why would the airplane include this feature if I’m not supposed to use it? And if the person in front of me wants to recline their seat, I welcome them to do so. Of course, this experience is different for tall people, but there are options if the issue is that important to you. Pay extra for economy plus or exit row seats on airlines that offer it. Even if you are traveling on a budget, the extra cost is not outrageous. If you don’t feel that it is worth the extra cost, then remember that you chose not to pay extra for more legroom before you get angry with someone for reclining their seat. On top of all that, a few hours of discomfort is a small price to pay given the other benefits of being tall. You can reach high shelves, you might be more likely to be rich and successful and you might be seen as more attractive (I would never make it on America’s Next Top Model). I’m sorry that in this one area you do not get to exercise your tall

person privilege, but in economy class on an airplane, we are all equals in seat size and reclining ability. Who taught you how to walk? While there isn’t necessarily a right way to walk, there are definitely wrong ways to walk. So here is a list of things that people need to stop doing. Walking slowly in a group of more than two and taking up an entire walkway: Please move or I will rudely shove past you, hitting you with my bag without remorse. Why do people always seem to walk slower in groups? @UMichresearch get on this. Taking up both sides of a moving walkway/escalator: I understand that some people have their life together and are not constantly late for things, but please have mercy on those of us who are about to miss our f lights and move to the side so I can get past. It is a narrow space that can fit usually two people, so please stand to one side. Stopping/dramatically slowing down to look at your phone: Are you 60 years old? Why do you need that much concentration to look at your phone? If you cannot maintain your velocity and send a text message, please move to the side before you look

ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH MYERS

at your phone. How about you manspread yourself away from me? I honestly don’t understand how manspreading is still such a large issue. You tell women to close their legs to solve unwanted pregnancies, but you can’t do the same thing? I’m talking to you white-haired, tattooed man with the scruffy beard on my f light over break. And to you, sweaty man in shorts that are too short on the bus. Women are stuck cringing and sitting on the far side of their seat in order to avoid the discomfort of touching some strange man’s leg. Why is this necessary? Is it a display of male dominance? Are you overcompensating? It’s not even a comfortable way to sit. Just please stop. Did your infant really enjoy the family vacay? On my f light back to Michigan, I had the unfortunate experience of sitting near four infants and three toddlers, courtesy of five different families. Several times I made eye contact with the f light attendant in mutual understanding that there is nothing worse than babies on a plane. I don’t understand the compulsion to bring your young child on vacation. They are not going to remember any of it, and you are just making the trip worse on yourself. Are you really enjoying your trip if your child still cannot sleep through the night? How can you enjoy a beach or sightseeing if you have to push a stroller and constantly worry about the well-being of a small child? I understand that parenting is difficult, but it was your choice to have the child. Please do your best to stop it from running up and down the aisles and screaming for the entire duration of the f light. Not everyone finds it cute when your unrestrained toddler stares at them for an entire two-hour f light. Please spare the rest of us (and likely improve the quality of your own vacation) and leave the kid with their grandparents during your vacation, until they can at least use the bathroom and eat on their own. While most of us will be stuck on campus for another few weeks, please keep these helpful tips in mind the next time your travel. If you do not, then know you will be the victim of angry stares throughout your journey.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018// The Statement

Letter to the Editor: Article on Martha Cook dorm gets it wrong BY MELANIE BOSKOVICH,

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN CLASS OF 2017 Dear Michigan Daily Editors, I am an April 2017 graduate of the University of Michigan and four-year resident of the Martha Cook Building. I read with intense interest Ms. Andrea Perez’s article: “An Afternoon Tea: The stark traditionalism of Martha Cook dorm.” I found the lack of objectivism, bias, and complete misrepresentation of the Martha Cook dorm breathtaking. While there exist two other allfemale dorms, as well as countless sororities, on the University of Michigan campus, Ms. Perez chooses to emphasize Martha Cook’s “distinctive reputation.” From the beginning of the article, Ms. Perez’s intent to criticize the Martha Cook Building’s deeply rooted history and traditions is extremely clear. The result is both defamatory and insulting. As a four-year resident of the building, I can truly say that Martha Cook residents are some of the most intelligent, inclusive, and progressive women on the University of Michigan campus. William Cook intended for the Martha Cook Building to be governed by women. An all-female Board of Governors continues to run the dorm to this day. I am also disappointed that Ms.

Perez did not discuss the residents’ regular involvement in building-wide multicultural events, as well as the building’s largest event of the year: International Tea. As a prior student journalist, I fully endorse Ms. Perez’s right to express her opinions about the history of female oppression on the University of Michigan campus. However, it is extremely inappropriate to falsely depict the Martha Cook Building’s residents as ignorant and entitled to advance the purpose of her article. Additionally, I am disappointed that the Daily editors did not adequately fact-check or question Ms. Perez’s illusory statements and conclusions. For instance, Ms. Perez’s description of “baby days” is not a Martha Cook tradition, but is generally stated in Dr. Yanni’s work. I wish Ms. Perez luck in her future journalistic endeavors. Best, Melanie Boskovich Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2020 University of Michigan, Class of 2017

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 // The Statement

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