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ACADEMICS
LSA pauses creation of new minors for Fall 2018
Finding their With 111 exisiting minors, committee decides to review current programs
voice SAYALI AMIN
IBRAHIM IJAZ/Daily
LSA Program Coordinator Shamalia Ashraf speaks at the Low Socioeconomic Status Workshop in Mason Hall Tuesday.
Inclusive Campus Corps discuss economic disparities on campus
Homogenity of CSG, other student orgs connects to high average SES of ‘U’ students TAL LIPKIN
Daily Staff Reporter
While the University of Michigan has the ninth highest endowment of universities in the world, many students
say they see an apparent lack of collectivized resources for students of lower socioeconomic status on campus. To address this issue, the Inclusive Campus Corps held a workshop Tuesday for student leaders centered around “Low Socioeconomic Status on Campus.”
The workshop was led by three students who are a part of the Inclusive Campus Corps — Ryan Bennett, Ben Rosof and Aubrey Klein, all LSA sophomores. The students began with a discussion about the definition of low socioeconomic status, resources on campus
and personal experiences at the University. Bennett and Rosof shared their contrasting experiences growing up, and how their personal socioeconomic status has dictated how their lives operate at the University See INCLUSIVE, Page 3A
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA Dean Andrew Martin sent out an email to all LSA department chairs last month informing them the LSA Executive Committee has reached the decision to halt the production of new minors housed within LSA and for LSA students at the University of Michigan. The LSA Curriculum Committee will take time until the end of fall semester 2018 to review the current and existing minors within LSA. Currently, LSA offers 111 minors. LSA Associate Dean Angela Dillard, who serves as the chair for the LSA CC, said the
‘U’ staff host conversation on origins of R&E reqs do not live blackface following racist Snapchat
increasing number of minors in the college was becoming more difficult to navigate. “The growing number of minors, and the confusion caused by the increasingly complex relationship between and among them (prompted the decision),” Dillard wrote in an email. “Some minors are in separate units but very close to each other in content and focus. There is also a general lack of guidance from the College about the requirements for new and existing minors that seems worthwhile to address.” Dillard wrote it is also possible some smaller minors may be suspended or re-conceptualized. Public Policy junior Lauren Schandevel has been working See MINOR, Page 3A
ACADEMICS
RESEARCH
up to hopes of students
History Club facilitates dialogue connecting historical roots to modern incidents
Effects of racism may be linked to weight gain
Students disappointed in “watered down” content of Race and Ethnicity classes
In the wake of a blackface incident involving Snapchat on campus, History Club at the University of Michigan hosted a dialogue Tuesday evening to examine the historical roots of the blackface caricature and its harmful modern-day implications. The racist Snapchat was posted by LSA sophomore Lauren Fokken wearing a black face mask with the caption “#blacklivesmatter.” Stephen Berrey, associate professor in the Department of American Culture, led Tuesday’s conversation, providing insight into how the blackface caricature has evolved from 19th-century minstrel shows to the ultimate “taboo” of blackface by 1980. When Berrey introduced himself, he said cultural conversation on blackface, and its racist implications, is largely neglected. “I would say that the majority of people in this country know that it is wrong or know that on some level it is offensive but not necessarily why or how it is this symbol that is connected to this much over history,” Berrey said. The earliest historical evidence of blackface is linked to T.D. Rice, a white entertainer in the late 1820s who
ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter
Information senior Ibrahim Rasheed said he knows he took “two or three” courses at the University of Michigan that fulfill LSA’s Race and Ethnicity requirement, but cannot recall which ones they were. After spending a few minutes searching for his LSA audit to no avail, he decided that one of the courses was most likely titled, “The History of Islam in South Asia.” After checking the LSA course guide, he found that the course did in fact fulfill the requirement. Rasheed, who is a South Asian Muslim, said he took the course in order to learn more about the history of his culture and religion as it explores the tensions of being Muslim in South Asia and the role of Muslims in South Asian society. Rasheed took the course because of the subject matter, and the fact it fulfilled a requirement was a “bonus.” While he later transferred to See R&E, Page 2A
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popularized an act imitating an African-American man he met on the street who he claimed was named “Jim Crow.” Over time, Rice began to burn cork and rub the black residue over his face. “All of minstrelsy is about imagining, rather than the diversity and the humanity of a population, reducing it to a few stock caricatures representing millions of people,” Berrey said. Despite the fact Rice began the blackface act in New Orleans, Berrey cited how blackface minstrel shows were
most popular in the Midwest and Northeast. The rowdy audiences attending these shows were mostly white, working-class men from states such as Ohio, New York and Kentucky. As blackface minstrel shows reached their peak popularity during the mid-19th century, hallmarks of the blackface caricature began to emerge including “minstrel black” makeup, white gloves and mocking dialect patterns. By the early 20th century, blackface minstrel shows
experienced a professional decline.Yet, blackface continued to be a welcome image of American culture well into the 20th century, evidenced by the traces of blackface imagery in cartoons, advertising and film characters. Berrey engaged students in attendance by passing around blackface pamphlets from the 20th century including howto guides, blackface makeup catalogs and blackface show scripts. Berrey has accumulated an archive of blackface artifacts See ORIGINS, Page 3A
CAMERON HUNT/Daily
LSA Professor Stephen Berrey discusses blackface throughout recent history in Tisch Hall Tuesday.
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Vol. CXXVII, No. 104 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
‘U’ researcher connects “vigilance”, burden of race to unhealthy eating habits MOLLY NORRIS Daily Staff Reporter
In Research Assistant Professor Margaret Hicken’s lab at the University of Michigan, the word vigilance takes on a new meaning — as in, the stress associated with carrying the burden of one’s race whenever one walks out the door. Through her research and findings, Hicken said she has associated this vigilance with unhealthy habits that could be contributing to obesity among marginalized communities. “Vigilance is a lay word; it’s just part of our regular vocabulary,” Hicken said. “But the way I use it that it’s the anticipatory stress or the worry-related stress about structural and cultural racism. So it’s not about discrimination or about one person being mean to another person. I’m talking about the stereotypes that we hold of marginalized groups, and then the actions that we take as a society to marginalize different racial groups.” She further emphasized SeeWEIGHT,Page 3A
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THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: COLEMAN LEADS ‘U’ THROUGH LAWSUITS ON RACE SANCTIONS WASHINGTON - Six years ago, Barbara Grutter was looking over a letter of rejection from the Law School. Today, she will look over nine Supreme Court justices as they hear her lawyers argue that she was denied admission because of an illegal system of racial preference. The hearing today is the result of a lawsuit she filed to challenge the school’s use of race in its admissions policies. “We all feel very much a sense of ‘We need to be, here, and it’s time for us to be here,”’ Grutter said at a press conference yesterday with Jennifer Gratz and’ Patrick Hamacher, the two plaintiffs suing the College of Literature, Science and the Arts for its race-conscious admissions policies. All three applicants said they were feeling a wide range of emotions in the hours preceding the start of the oral arguments that the court will hear at 10 a.m. today. They added that these cases are more about discrimination by the University on the basis of their skin color than the methods or actual policies of the Law School or LSA. “We are taught in our schools and in our homes and in our churches that you
should never judge another person based on her skin color,” Gratz said at the conference, which was organized by the Center for Individual Rights, the law firm representing the plaintiffs. “Patrick, Barbara and I are asking only that everyone be judged according to the same standard, regardless of race. That’s what the Constitution requires, and that’s what we’ll ask the Supreme Court to reaffirm tomorrow.” Hamacher said his 3.3 grade point average, a score of 28 on the ACT and numerous extracurricular activities merited acceptance into the University. “Like Jennifer Gratz, and many hundreds of other white and Asian applicants, I wasn’t treated fairly by the University of Michigan because they explicitly considered our race to be a negative factor,” Hamacher said. Although they said the University’s policies discriminated against them, all three applicants said they want to pursue graduate-level education and would still consider attending the University. Grutter, a 49-yearold mother of two and health care information technology consultant in Michigan, said
she plans to reapply to the Law School if the court requires it to use a race-neutral policy. “I have not relinquished the desire to combine the practice of law with health care information system management,” she said. Hamacher, a 24-year-old accountant from Flint, said he hopes to apply to the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy if the court rules in his favor. Gratz, who is 25 years old and a software trainer in Oceanside, Calif., said she would consider attending a University graduate school but may choose a school closer to her current home. CIR President Terence Pell also spoke at the conference, saying he believes the University has “operated blatantly segregated, two-track admissions systems designed to boost the number of minorities.” Although he refused to pre-
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dict the court’s ruling, which is expected to be announced in June, Pell said he considers a clear, sweeping ban on raceconscious admissions policies a victory. If the court upholds both policies, “there will be no end to (the University’s) type of racial engineering,” Pell said.
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ON THE DAILY: ANTS IN ANN ARBOR MAYA GODLMAN Daily News Editor
Be careful where you put your Zingerman’s sandwich this summer — you might just watch it get carried away by a group of children and their human-sized ant leader. Tuesday, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival announced the 2018 month-long event would
R&E From Page 1A the School of Information, which does not have a Race and Ethnicity course requirement, he said he still views the requirement as problematic. “Race and Ethnicity is not the forefront purpose of the course,” Rasheed said. “Right now, Race and Ethnicity, it’s like the second addition, or the add-on. It’s a bonus. You don’t take Race and Ethnicity courses with the intention of thinking deeply about race and ethnicity. You take it for the subject, and it just so happens that it gets qualified as being a Race and Ethnicity course.” Rasheed is not alone. Many students, particularly students of color, have expressed they take issue with the requirement. Most
include performances by eVenti Verticali’s 2-D and 3-D show “Wanted,” as well as Australia’s Polyglot Theatre production of Ants. EVenti Verticali is an Italian multimedia aerial theater company that involves visual comedy projected onto a large outdoor screen. The group travels the world showcasing their art and will be in Ann Arbor for the Top of the Park festival on June 19 and 20.
Polyglot Theatre’s Ants will also be in Ann Arbor this June. Their show includes actors dressed as giant ants leading children through an activity of placing breadcrumbs into artistic designs. The Polyglot Theatre, based in Australia, is internationally regarded for their “interactive spectacle for children.” “Faced with hundreds of giant bread crumbs and three big insects, children are irresistibly
cite the watering down of what constitutes a Race and Ethnicity course, as well as the inconsistency regarding which colleges at the University require it, as a problem. Currently, LSA, the Ford School of Public Policy and the Stamps School of Art and Design require Race and Ethnicity credit for undergraduates. The Race and Ethnicity requirement was formed after student activists lobbied the University to institute a requirement following racial tensions on campus. Public Policy junior Allie Brown, a contributor to The Daily, helped LSA Associate Dean Angela Dillard complete a public history project on the requirement, and believes the requirement has been “watered down” and does not live up to its mission. “The purpose of the Race
and Ethnicity requirement is to get white people to be a little less racist, for people to be a little bit more knowledgeable about the world they live in,” Brown said. “That’s really what it came about after the activism. Not just, ‘Oh, learn about race and ethnicity in general.’ That’s not really the purpose behind it. A lot of the courses that are counted as R&E today don’t require cultural competency, that’s the problem. It’s just like, ‘Oh, we mention race and ethnicity, thus we should be counted as Race and Ethnicity.’ ” Like Brown, Rasheed thinks the requirement should focus on cultural competency and on helping students make present-day connections to material learned in the classroom. “I didn’t learn from (The History of Islam in South Asia) what the intention of R&E is meant to be, which is empathizing with others,” Rasheed said. “I simply interpreted it as a history course, not as an R&E course, which is supposed to help me grow as a person. I’m not familiar with how a course qualifies as an R&E course, but I would say that it wasn’t a course that made me think deeply about race and ethnicity as a whole and how we’re supposed to take lessons from then and apply it to right now, which I think is the intention of the race and ethnicity course.” Public Policy junior Kyra Hudson agrees and thinks it’s important for students to realize that race and ethnicity issues occur in “real-time.” “The Race and Ethnicity requirement was born out of student activist demands in response to racism and a turbulent racial climate on campus and also in society and the world,” Hudson said. “And so the fact that somebody can take the class that doesn’t ever
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drawn in to discover what the ants want them to do,” the AASF’s website states. “Gradually a world of meaning unfolds, illustrating the human desire for order by transforming any public space with wavering lines and patterns, crossing adult lines and disrupting the everyday.” The AASF will take place June 8 through July 1, with Ants making a special appearance June 26 through June 28.
touch on the current racial climate, your place within it, it doesn’t ever mention how its affecting students real-time. I don’t think it’s acceptable to call it something that will fulfill your Race and Ethnicity requirement if it doesn’t engage with race and ethnicity in a real capacity. I think it needs to do more to teach people how to engage in those difficult conversations.” Hudson said as a Black student at the Public Policy School, she often finds it difficult to separate her racial identity from her political beliefs. This is something she said her more privileged peers do not have to do. “For me particularly, when I got to the policy school, it became really challenging to know when it was appropriate to bring my personal racial identities up when talking about policy and politics, because my outlook on life, my perspective on issues and policies that are enacted in our nation and the world, I look at those through the lens of my racial identity,” Hudson said. “Sometimes we’re encouraged to not mix the personal with political and it’s hard for me to be able to do that for myself, but also to be in classes where other people do have the privilege of being able to separate their personal from their political or policy beliefs.” However, both Hudson and Brown cite Intergroup Relations Dialogues as “definitely comprehensive” in discussing problems surrounding race and ethnicity. “It really required us to engage in very intentional conversations about race, and to look a little deeper than just racial climate, but systems and structures that created the racial climate and how your See R&E, Page 3A
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018 — 3A
CHANGE OUR WORLD ORIGINS From Page 1A
CHRIS FCASNI/Daily
Youtube personality and transgender rights activist Kat Blaque speaks with students at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre in the League Tuesday night.
WEIGHT From Page 1A how marginalized groups must take extra care in the way they present themselves to the public due to societal stigmas — a repetitive cycle of actions which weighs heavily upon the individual forced to practice such vigilance. “That burden of not being seen as an individual but being just seen as a member of your race — I argue that that results in people of those marginalized groups, like Black Americans, having to be careful about what they say, be careful about how they dress and appear, and take care of where they go and how they socialize, and just kind of prepare themselves on a daily basis for things that might or might not happen,” she said. “And that’s what I call vigilance.” Hicken said she studied the effects this type of vigilance can have on individuals and has found, particularly for Black women, this vigilance can lead to unhealthy eating habits and associated weight gain. “I had been reading things on how obesity, especially the kind that is really related to poor health which is the kind around your waistline, the ‘apple shape,’ can be related to stress,” Hicken said. “So not only can chronic stress change your metabolism so you start to deposit fat around
INCLUSIVE From Page 1A Bennett explained why growing up in a low-income household has affected his life as a student. “I come from a low socioeconomic status home,” Bennett said. “I was raised by a single mother, so I know what it is like to be raised in a household that lives on a weekto-week paycheck.” Rosof then shared his experience of growing up in a high-income environment, and why he chose to get involved in the Inclusive Campus Corps. “Only once I got to college did I realize how privileged I was,” he said. “I joined this workshop to educate myself because I know I have made numerous mistakes in the past. I personally feel this is something that the University does not talk enough about.” Bennett and Rosof then shared statistical data of University students which clearly displays the economic disparities within the University student body. One of the pieces of data shared was the median family income of University families as $154,000. Bennett continued, emphasizing the discrepancies in percentages of students at the University who are in the top 1 percent of family income and those who are in the bottom 60 percent. “Students in and above the 1 percent are 9.3 percent
your organs, but then also that stress can result in eating behaviors, because what we call comfort foods that are high end in fat or sugar can release these chemicals in our brains that make us feel better. ” Hicken said she focused her study on women because women are much more prone to weight gain and obesity based on stress according to her own research. She found that while white women also have to deal with discrimination rooted in sexism, they do not encounter forms of vigilance compounded by race and identity. “Discrimination might be important for Black women, but if we start to really account for vigilance, then that becomes what is important,” Hicken said. “On the other hand, for white women vigilance does not matter, it’s not related to health at all, and really it’s about discrimination, and the difference between these two is that vigilance is about the burden of your race, and discrimination is about this person was mean to me, or this person treated me unfairly in my day to day life, and that’s really the difference.” Lindsey Burnside, a research associate at the Institute for Social Research, has been working with Hicken since she was undergraduate at the University. “Individual effects of discrimination happen to everyone all the time,” Burnside
said. “So someone could say something really bad to me, but if they don’t have any power to back it up then it doesn’t mean very much, whereas if someone that has power over me, then it has a lot more impact on my body and how I cope with the individual act, and then also what that means chronically, long term.” Burnside said that while it is hard to think of ways we can fix the institutional racism that causes vigilance, it is still very important to confirm that this vigilance exists and that we must do something about it. “It is meaningful to understand,” Burnside said. “And it is empowering as you are going through your life to be able to understand that there are reasons for the things that are happening to you, in ways that better equip individuals to actually cope, when you’re like, ‘No, this is not just me, no I am not being gaslighted about what’s happening to me.’ It helps to really understand why these things happen, and that you’re not alone in it, and that having coping responses is absolutely natural.” Public Health Graduate student Alexis Stanton said she found the research she conducted with Hicken to be incredibly important, especially coming from a public health background. “I think that in my work with Dr. Hicken, I’ve been able
to think more deeply about the way that cultures and systems are often foundationally racist in many ways, and how that can perpetuate health inequities in marginalized communities,” Stanton said. “I think it’s really important work, and as someone who’s coming from public health I think we often think about issues like discrimination on a very interpersonal level, but I think that studying vigilance we think instead about the way culture and society perpetuates racist views an ideologies, and how that can really impact people’s health and well-being.” Hicken stressed this phenomenon was the fault of society rather than any individual, and that it was something that needed to change. “Once you start really understanding the systematic continuous unfair treatment of Black Americans throughout our history up until today, it’s astonishing, and heartbreaking, and my goal is to really start documenting that it’s not just coincidence, or it’s not just poor health behaviors,” Hicken said. “This is not about something that Black Americans are doing, this is about something that society is doing to Black Americans, and to other racialized groups as well.”
of students and those in the bottom 60 percent are 16.5 percent of students,” he said. The participants were then separated into groups to discuss what being a low-SES student means and what the University can do to aid lowSES students. Public Policy junior Lauren Schandevel shared her definition of low socioeconomic status and explained how it means more than low income, but also a lack of opportunity. “I think it is someone’s income relative to everyone else’s,” she said. “But I also know that it’s more than just income and also about access to opportunity.” The presentation then transitioned to a series of guest presenters who explained their work on improving the economic disparities on campus. LSA senior Micah Griggs, former Central Student Government vice president, shared her experience of being a member of CSG and how she has worked to develop the Leadership Engagement Scholarship. “I ran to be a member of Central Student Government and once I was elected, I realized that I was the only Black girl in the organization and that it was a pretty homogenous group,” Griggs said. “When our first demographic report was published, it showed that the majority of our organization was white, male and upper middle class.”
She then continued to explain why economic disparities play a large role in allowing the homogeneity of CSG and other student organizations. “There are barriers within student leadership,” she said. “When you’re involved in student organizations, you’re involved maybe five to 10 hours a week. Other students cannot spend that time because they are working and because they cannot afford to.” Griggs also explained how the divides she experienced in CSG motivated the Leadership Engagement Scholarship, which was released on April 2, 2018. “These barriers are what led us to create the Leadership Engagement Scholarship,” she said. “This scholarship provides financial awards to emerging or established new leaders who are low-SES or facing some type of financial burden.” Reginald Hammond Jr., the assistant director of the Kessler Presidential Scholars at the University, spoke about the different resources the scholarship office has like “Walk-in Wednesday” and peer tutoring. “What we do is offer a drop-in period called ‘Walkin Wednesday’ and we invite students every week, whether it’s about income, social, or something else, to come and troubleshoot ideas with us so they can help us help them,” Hammond said. “We also have the peer mentor program which is our one way of really
getting to know the students. What we want to do is to help them set goals.” Schandevel, one of the authors of the “Being NotRich at UM” Guide, explained why she decided to create this guide for low-SES students and why it is important that the issue of socioeconomic status is discussed since it often is an invisible identity. “My document was in response to the CSG Affordability Guide, which had a lot of good information,” Schandevel said. “A lot of the criticism people had towards it was that it was geared towards all students on campus, and when you’re on a campus where 66 percent of people are a part of the top 20 percent, you’re going to have something that doesn’t quite match the needs of lower income students.” She continued to explain why she felt that a resource such as the “Being Not-Rich at UM” is necessary for low-SES students. “This document is so people can identify others who have had other experiences and learn from them,” she said. Engineering junior Lindsay Rasmussen explained why she felt having events that increase awareness of low-SES identities is important. “It’s important to come to these events because a lot of people at this school do have privilege and making people more aware is a good first step in getting the ball rolling so we can improve things for lowSES students on campus,” she said.
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through eBay to inform his research. In attendance at the event was LSA senior Levi Teitel who said he learned new information about how widespread the popularity of blackface was at one point in American culture. “What struck me is how much is really ingrained in American mass culture and that (blackface) was always a popular force within it and not a marginal prejudice,” Teitel said. LSA junior Nikola Jaksic, vice president of History Club, emphasized how Berrey’s presentation filled gaps in his own knowledge concerning blackface. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t know how explicitly modern use of blackface is tied to these minstrel shows,” Berrey said.
R&E From Page 2A personal identities relate to the social climate,” Hudson said. Engineering junior A.J. Ashman, who recently ran for president of Central Student Government under MomentUM, emphasized the Race and Ethnicity course is designed to help University graduates achieve cultural competency and inspire them to work to fix these issues after leaving the University. “If our goal is to produce global citizens who are culturally competent in all kinds of things, we need to push that in our R&E classes and not have R&E classes that kind of touch on R&E but don’t really bring it forth,” Ashman said. “This really does serve a higher purpose than just another box on one student’s checklist before they graduate. This is about making students aware of injustices in our world, along the lines of race and ethnicity, and saying each of us have a role to play in fixing these issues. These issues should somewhat affect you. It shouldn’t be, ‘Oh that sucks.’ They should be a call to action.” While Brown does not believe that better implementation of the requirement would cure racism like blackface, or people writing racist messages on the University rock, she does think
MINOR From Page 1A with other students on a new Class and Inequalities Studies minor for about a year and a half. This minor would draw on courses from various departments across campus, but would be potentially housed within the Women’s Studies Department. Schandevel said the Women’s Studies Department chair reached out to her letting her know of this decision made by the LSA CC. “We thought initially there’s no use advancing this minor at this point, but I reached out to Angela Dillard,” Schandevel said. “I explained that we had been working on it for a year and a half.” Next month, Schandevel said the minor will be presented in front of the full Women’s Studies faculty for their approval. With faculty approval, it would go to the LSA CC for approval. According to the email sent out by Martin, the high number of LSA minors has made Registrar’s Office’s work more complicated. “Academic majors required multiple layers of review, including accreditation by an external state agency,” Dillard wrote. “Minors do not; they are relatively unregulated.” Dillard wrote the units sending proposals for new minors in the fall may still do so; however, the process for getting them approved will require considerably more time and consideration.
“It is unfortunate that we have to talk about these things specifically, but it is great that we have people like Professor
“It is unfortunate that we have to talk about these things.”
Berrey who are knowledgeable and can facilitate a discussion about why these things are problematic, what we can do about them, and hopefully create a more informed student body.”
it would be a “fantastic start.” “We wouldn’t have to focus on the racist things, like blackface, or people writing on the rock, ‘F*** Latinos,’” Brown said. “We wouldn’t have these things if people were actually culturally competent and understood the complex histories of the people they
“If our goal is to produce global citizens whoa re culturally competent in all kinds of things, we need to push that in our R&E classes...”
mock and ridicule. I can’t say that the Race and Ethnicity requirement is a catch-all, but it would be a fantastic start to eliminating a lot of the racist problems on campus.”
For certain programs, such as the Entrepreneurship minor, the area of study is offered only through its minor. Jeni Olney, academic program manager for the minor, said the roles minors play for students is unique. “That’s the value that a minor adds to an undergraduate student experience … You can decide how you want to spend your time in terms of which major, but beyond that, you still have other interests and skills that you want to explore,” Olney said. “So, finding a minor that complements that is really what can enhance a student’s experience.” Olney said Entrepreneurship is a program that will stay as a minor because it is intended to be applied to other disciplines students are engaged in. Dillard also wrote the high number of minors has spurred questions about the nature of minors such as whether they should be interdisciplinary or the number of credits they should encompass. “There is also the question of whether 111 minors is enough or too many,” Dillard wrote. “We’d like to have enough time and space to think through these questions.” Public Health Junior Faith Reynolds expressed disappointment, stating she thinks academic ingenuity will be limited by this change. “It’s sad that LSA is considering stopping the creation of new minors because that leaves little room for growth and exploration of new academic horizons for both the students and faculty involved.”
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, April 4, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ETHAN KESSLER | COLUMN
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NOAH HARRISON | COLUMN
If Trump fires Mueller, time for the i-word
T
he instability in the White House deepened in the past two weeks with the firings of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Secretary of Veteran Affairs David Shulkin. Amid this string of high-profile departures, rumors circulated that President Donald Trump is considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 election is reportedly zeroing in on senior Trump administration officials. Trump lacks the direct authority to fire Mueller himself, as does Attorney General Jeff Sessions who recused himself from the Russia investigation last year. But Trump could orchestrate Mueller’s dismissal by ordering a top-ranking Justice Department official to fire Mueller, and firing those officials who refuse, until someone agrees. Such a sequence would be reminiscent of the notorious “Saturday Night Massacre” in the final year of Richard Nixon’s presidency, when Nixon forced the firing of the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. If Trump follows in Nixon’s footsteps and fires Mueller, it will be time to discuss the “i-word.” Yes, impeachment. Many Democratic members of Congress have already called for Trump’s impeachment, but Democratic Congressional leaders have pushed back strongly against impeachment, and rightfully so. Trump has made many poor decisions in his short time as president, but none warranting impeachment. That changes if Trump decides to fire Mueller. Trump has not tried to hide his disdain for Mueller’s investigation. He has repeatedly belittled the probe as a “witch hunt” and recently called for a new special prosecutor to scrutinize alleged bias at the Justice Department, including within Mueller’s investigation. The idea of a new special prosecutor to investigate the special counsel is every bit as ludicrous as it sounds, especially when considering Mueller’s hard-earned reputation for integrity and professionalism. On Saturday, Sessions declined to name a new special prosecutor, reigniting tension between Sessions and Trump. Trump has long loathed
Mueller’s investigation, but his irritation will likely only grow now that Mueller has subpoenaed The Trump Organization and is focusing in on Trump’s inner circle. In addition, Mueller’s face-to-face interview of Trump looms in the distance. With Trump’s growing animosity toward Mueller, Sessions and the Justice Department in general, it appears distinctly possible that Trump may move to fire Mueller, as he has long yearned to do. Unlike cabinet secretaries and White House officials, special prosecutors do not serve at the pleasure of the president. Mueller can only be legally fired with just cause, and despite repeated attempts by many of the right wing to discredit his investigation, no such legitimate cause exists. Mueller is a distinguished attorney and a Bush-era former FBI Director (and a lifelong Republican). His sole loyalty is to the law, and the notion that his investigation is biased, as has been claimed by both right-wing pundits and politicians, simply doesn’t hold water. Trump’s true motive to fire Mueller is clear: to end the investigation before it could uncover anything incriminating about his senior aides or himself. If Trump’s campaign did not collude, or conspire to collude, with Russia to win the election, then the president can rest assured that Mueller’s probe will vindicate him. This fact is what makes it so alarming, if not outright suspicious, that Trump is considering firing Mueller in the first place. Certainly, an unresolved special investigation is a political nuisance, but, as Trump’s advisors have surely told him, the political fallout would be far worse if Trump fired Mueller, raising again the question of why Trump would even consider doing so. This speculation, though, is hardly a sufficient replacement for the concrete answers that Mueller’s probe promises to provide. Furthermore, with the way that the Congressional inquiries into Russian interference have gone, the Mueller investigation is likely the only one that will come to a reliable conclusion. The House Intelligence Committee’s investigation devolved into a partisan sham, with both parties issuing their own concluding reports last month. Later, Rep. Mike Conaway,
JOE IOVINO | CONTACT JOE AT JIOVINO@UMICH.EDU
R-Texas admitted to the media that the committee did not even try to fully investigate collusion. The Senate’s investigation, while still ongoing, has also run into partisan divisions. The importance of Mueller’s investigation cannot be understated, as it is the only one capable of definitively determining whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia. This fact, coupled with the absence of a justifiable reason to terminate Mueller’s investigation, is why firing Mueller would amount to a clear case of obstruction of justice. Impeachment is not a word that should be thrown around lightly, nor a political weapon to be used casually. But no one, including the president, is above the law. That principle has guided American politics since the Nixon era and will be tested if Trump decides to fire Mueller. Thus far, Trump has done nothing to warrant impeachment. He has committed (that we know of) no high crimes or misdemeanors. However, if Trump decides to fire Mueller, he will have obstructed justice, a grave offense and one worthy of impeachment. Political realities are a delicate matter. Trump enjoys Republican majorities in both houses of Congress and could foreseeably dodge the natural consequences of firing a special prosecutor. While some Republicans have sharply warned Trump against doing so, others have joined Trump in criticizing Mueller and would likely rally to his side. But another political reality is that the president of the United States is under investigation for possibly colluding with a foreign government to inf luence his own election and is reportedly considering using his powers to prematurely end that investigation. This matter goes beyond everyday politics and extends to the integrity of our democratic institutions. Impeachment is not on the table right now, nor should it be. But should Trump fire Mueller, impeachment would be the appropriate and requisite response.
Noah Harrison can be reached at noahharr@umich.edu.
F
How to talk about climate change
rom the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events to rising sea levels, man-made climate change has already begun to bear environmentally-detrimental fruit. These trends jeopardize the environment and the human populations that they sustain. The effects of climate change, while often difficult to observe in a short period of time, will only continue to materialize unless significant steps are taken to curb its causes. Climate change — defined as the significant increase global temperatures since America’s industrial revolution — is mostly fueled by the incredible amounts of carbon dioxide pumped into the air by human consumption of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum products. It follows, then, that phasing out fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, will help curb this crisis before too much damage is done. However, the acknowledgment of climate change’s effects and subsequent attitudes toward renewables have devolved from matters of scientific and accepted fact into divisive subjects of increasingly virulent political and cultural dispute. While a nearconsensus of scientists agree on the reality of climate change, current doubt among the public has persisted, largely due to the turnaround in conservative ideology in the last decade. This turnaround owes itself to a confluence of political factors, stemming from both special interests of certain conservative donors and a reaction to Barack Obama’s presidency. Amid the realization that renewables posed a serious threat to oil, industry executives launched a campaign to undermine the legitimacy of climate change, and the shift to renewables that it encouraged. These selfish business interests, along with lasting perceptions of President Obama’s legacy, surely approach conservative opinion on climate change more rationally than morally sectarian narratives do. Should shifting conservative opinion back to environmental protection, then, rely on countering the effects of these political occurrences? Democrats do not seem to think so. So far, Democrats efforts have instead opted to repeatedly emphasize
the science behind climate change and its negative impact on both the environment and people. This tactic might work well for citizens that already lean left, but solely addressing the moral aspects of environmentalism neglects citizens predisposed against this point of view. Consequently, liberals have failed to win over any real converts—87 percent of selfidentified Republicans doubt the scientific consensus behind manmade climate change, an opinion shown to be the “gateway” to supporting meaningful action on climate change. Winning nonenvironmentalists back to the cause must occur soon before the effects of climate change become grossly irreparable. In order to succeed, the left must swiftly deviate from its current approaches and redress the factors that originally fueled conservative antipathy toward environmentalism. The first of these factors, large injections of political money from fossil fuel interest groups, reflect an artificial distortion of the energy market away from renewables. Even though renewable sources of energy are inherently much more efficient than fossil fuels, they largely remain less economically viable than would be presumed due to subsidies for fossil fuel industries. This disparity continues in stark violation of freemarket values, leaving room for conservatives to cozy up to the idea of renewable energy use. The economic benefits of renewables are clear— improvements in solar and battery technology could slim average electricity costs by a factor of three. The significant consumer benefits conferred by embracing renewables illustrates the large role of economic values in resonating environmentalism with non-environmentalists. Just as important in reconciling acceptance of renewables with non-environmentalist ideology are the national security concerns of climate change. Looking at recent mass migrations out of Pakistan to the current water crisis in South Africa, it is blatantly obvious that climate abnormalities can fuel instability and uncertainty around the globe. Climate change specifically plays a key role in aggravating existing conflicts and dynamics, as has been already acknowledged
by military officials, increasing the likelihood that American military insertion becomes necessary for stabilization. Given conservatives’ dedication to military service members and restraint in foreign military involvement, climatecaused stresses should give any conservative American cause for real fear. Much as arguments centering on economic viability and national security would help reverse the environmental antipathy sparked by fossil fuel interest groups, conservatives’ distaste with the Obama administration’s handling of energy policy could be ameliorated with appeals to personal security interests. President Obama’s rollout of executive orders, directives and regulations centered on environmental reform inextricably tied environmental reform to the idea of extreme federal overreach for many Americans. What better to counter this sentiment than highlighting the increased self-sufficiency that accompanies renewable energy use? A shift away from power grid reliance would grant Americans the ability to power themselves independent of utility companies and the government. And, contrary to dismissals of renewables as less reliable than fossil fuels, encouragement of renewable energy use actually prompts energy production on a larger scale, bringing substantially decreased variation in collective energy output. Those pushing environmental initiatives would be wise to underscore how renewables, as reliable as they are pervasive, contribute to personal security interests. In today’s political climate, it can be difficult to remember how effective environmental policy used to work. However, it is not enough for current environmentalists to reiterate the same calls to action, founded in the science, morality and sense of responsibility behind climate change. Effectively convincing entire populations of Republicans and non-environmentalists instead demands a tailored presentation founded on conservative ideology.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com Ethan Kessler can be reached at ethankes@umich.edu.
HANNAH CONNORS, RACHEL SCHWAB, ALICIA VANDERPOOL, CHARLOTTE MASUCCI, JORDAN STONE | OP-ED
Address mental health in first-year experience
T
he University of Michigan has exceptional academics, athletics, alumni and more, but it is severely lacking in one area: providing mental health education and awareness of resources on campus. The University’s First Year Experience programs are excellent in providing freshmen with information on sexual assault, bystander intervention and the dangers of binge drinking. Yet, there is a dire need for something similar to fill the current void of mental health education and assist students in navigating an oftentimes confusing system. Too many freshmen enter campus without the knowledge of where to access these resources and support in times of need not only in their first year but also throughout their entire college experience. With a mental health education component in freshman residence hall meetings equipping students with knowledge of both the resources available and how to best utilize them, many issues regarding mental health on campus would be alleviated. According to the University’s Counseling and Psychological Services website over 57.7 million people suffer from the negative consequences of various mental health disorders and illnesses each year, and a 2002 study showed over 31,000 people act on these negative consequences, ending their lives via suicide. Based on our own experiences and those of our peers, we know many students suffering from these different disorders saw their mental health deteriorate after arriving on campus. More importantly, they were not adequately informed of the resources they had access to
on campus to receive help. We have seen, either through our own experiences or those of our friends, the ways in which mental illness can severely hurt one’s college experience. As the first in her family to attend college, a member of our group, Alicia Vanderpool, had no prior knowledge or preparation for how difficult college life would be. Three years later, she is just now becoming aware of the resources available to help treat her now diagnosed generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. However, because she has already developed these different mental disorders, it has become much harder to treat and is taking more of the University’s time and resources than it would have if she would’ve been treated much earlier on. Another member, Hannah Connors, is a Wolverine Support Network leader and frequently refers students to campus resources they either did not know about or have trouble navigating. Throughout her three semesters as a leader, she has noticed the need to better educate students about the help available to them and knows there are thousands of students she has not met who may be struggling similarly. Only 42 percent of students surveyed are aware of the Wellness Zone on Central Campus, 27 percent are aware of the CAPS embedded model and 17 percent are aware of “the Department of Psychiatry of Outpatient Clinics (including the Depression Center),” according to the Central Student Government Mental Health Taskforce report published last year. There are already enough barriers for students seeking help for their
mental health, including general stigma and fear — confusion over resources should not add to the challenge. To remedy this problem, a mental health education component should be included in all freshman residence hall meetings. It is a small enough setting that students are more likely to actively pay attention and retain information as this is a meeting almost all students already attend. Since 97 percent of first-year students live in University housing, it is one of the best places to relay information. Implementing programming like this would likely call for the University to hire at least one new full-time staff member since thousands of first-year students live in University Housing and coordinating the mental health education component of so many meetings would be timeintensive. While this presents an upfront cost to the University, a preventative measure like this one will decrease the overall trauma students experience through mental illness and will save the University time and money in the long run. In order to convince administration, a great number of students and staff need to demonstrate their support. To aid this cause and pressure administration to take action on this important issue, you can sign and share this petition: http://bit. ly/umich123 Hannah Connors is an LSA Sophomore, Rachel Schwab is an LSA Sophomore, Alicia Vanderpool is a Stamps Junior, Charlotte Masucci is a Public Health Junior and Jordan Stone is a School of Information Sophomore
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 — 5A
ALBUM REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
The Weeknd is vulnerable on ‘My Dear Melancholy,’ DANNY MADION Daily Arts Writer
When The Weeknd released Starboy in 2016, he wanted to become a pop star. He shed his old R&B persona, cutting his signature hair and strangling his old self to death in the “Starboy” music video. He armed his album with A-list pop producers and DIABLO ENTERTAINENT
‘Flower’ is an underbaked try at a teen angst comedy Luke into a downward spiral after middle school, their Daily Arts Writer actions causing more harm than good and leading to a “Flower” is like a Betty blooming but wholly unearned Crocker cake taken out of romance. the oven 15 minutes too early The film’s most egregious — guiltily enticing, golden- issue is its audacity to expect brown on the outside, but empathy for a punishingly evidently inedible after the boring protagonist. Erica is first cut. With a cast headlined written to be a wild, renegade by Zoey Duetch (“Everybody teen who takes her town by Wants Some!!”) the reins, not and Adam Scott taking slack (“Parks and from anyone. Recreation”), This was not the film quickly accomplished. Diablo loses its sheen as On screen, Entertainment it devolves into Deutch tries way one of the worst too hard to be State Theater teen edge-fests in edgy and just recent memory. It seems immature, tries to shock the which can viewer into some sometimes be a Stockholm-syndrome-esque fine trait in a main character appreciation of an absolutely if it is used as a touchstone to unlikable main character as measure future growth (see she dances through her twisted “Rushmore”’s Max Fisher) but antics to some forgettable it doesn’t work here. Instead, radio-pop mix. It’s hollow Erica’s actions and responses entertainment. to situations become too The teen f lick follows a familiar too fast. She’s petulant crude and unusual 17-year- and predictable, and she sours old sexual extortionist Erica quickly. (Zoey Deutch) as she deals “Flower” has primed with her new, fresh-out-of- some comparison to 2018 rehab step-brother Luke (Joey heavyweight “Three Billboards Morgan, “Scout’s Guide to Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” the Zombie Apocalypse”) in as both follow a female lead her own special way. They who takes it upon herself to work together to take down a bring to justice child predators pedophile whose actions sent in their towns. In a way, it STEPHEN SATARINO
“Flower”
suffers from a similar problem. While these characters may be fighting for a perfectly moral and just cause, the way they accomplish their end goal matters. Granted, “Flower” doesn’t deserve to be in the same conversation, but there is some trend present. If actions of characters in a film were supposed to be just a means to an end, filmmakers would have resorted by now to showing found footage of liberated prisoners of war walking out of American airports and of children hugging chronically abused puppies as they leave humane society shelters. If the characters given are too unlikable, it doesn’t matter what they’re doing, it will still be a difficult movie to watch. In “Flower,” Erica doesn’t do enough to distance herself from the actions on screen. The movie attempts to humanize her through a few softer scenes toward the end, but as your father told you when you were losing that fourth grade travel basketball game by 18 points late in the second half: “you can’t get it all back on one trip down the f loor.” “Flower” chucks it up from half-court a few times toward the end instead of creating well-rounded characters throughout, and just like in that basketball game, it doesn’t work.
“My Dear Melancholy” The Weeknd XO/Universal Music
buzzworthy features like Max Martin and Kendrick Lamar. His efforts paid off — Starboy placed several songs on the Billboard Top 40 and scored him another number one with the album’s title track. With frequent comparisons to Michael Jackson, it seemed like we had a new, darker Prince of Pop. But the release of My Dear Melancholy, almost two years later, indicates the
“Silicon Valley” Season 5 Episodes 1-3 HBO HBO
In its fifth season ‘Silicon Valley’ is back in its groove SAYAN GHOSH Daily Arts Writer
As someone who grew up in Silicon Valley, the HBO show of the same name always felt uncannily more like a documentary than a comedy. From the get go, “Silicon Valley” has been astute satire of the Valley, a
place where obscene amounts of money and a somewhat overzealous sense of selfimportance produce a uniquely idiosyncratic environment. Ironically, the show has been enthusiastically embraced by the very demographic it relentlessly pokes fun at. Walk into any startup office or CS building at any university and you’ll find that our (speaking as an engineer) affinity
towards the show’s humor is not entirely dissimilar to a 12-year-old’s towards toilet humor. Guaranteed guffaws at popular sound bites such as “this guy fucks” or “middle out” illustrate how “Silicon Valley” has transcended into being a possibly niche, but still hilarious cultural icon. Nonetheless, I was quite worried going into season five. Season four was easily
while burying The Weeknd’s voice under synth layering and smoky vocals that made Trilogy so emotive. On Melancholy, there’s also moments of new, vulnerable Weeknd. “Call Out My Name” — the opening and likely best track — finds The Weeknd exposed. With minimal production and a slow-burning intro, the track depicts The Weeknd begging a lover not to leave. The syllables of the chorus as he sings “Call out my name” are drawn out and imploring, shedding light on his wounded heart. But, like other Weeknd projects, the EP is top heavy, trailing off towards the end. “Hurt You” sounds like the “Starboy” beat repurposed for the typical “I’m unemotional and sex-driven” Weeknd tune. “Privilege,” the closing track, builds well but climaxes on a forgettable chorus about a heartbreak-driven drug binge. Despite a few lackluster tracks, My Dear Melancholy, is The Weeknd at his most vulnerable and genuine. Like the title, the project feels addressed to someone specific, allowing us third party listeners in on a private conversation with him and a lover.
XO/ UNIVERSAL MUSIC
the series’s weakest, with Pied Piper going frustratingly nowhere during the course of the entire season and Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch, “Kong: Skull Island”) going from lovable awkward nerd into a character that was at too many points simply painful to watch. The satire still had its edge, but it seemed like the show’s magic was just about running out. Was the show just overstaying its welcome?
TV REVIEW
old Weeknd survived. The EP is exactly what I’d expect after his reinvention: a mix of pop inf luences ingrained into the classic drug-induced R&B that jump-started his career. Although his three mixtapes, which combined to make Trilogy, were groundbreaking in their hazy and electronic R&B, the lyrical themes grew repetitive over the course of three tapes. The Weeknd sings about sex and drugs without really specifying which drugs he’s using and which people he’s having sex with — at times, it can seem braggadocious and immature. However, with My Dear Melancholy, The Weeknd feels more intimate and authentic, like a personally addressed letter. Since stardom, The Weeknd has had two long-term and high-profile relationships: one with model Bella Hadid and another, more recent, stint with singer Selena Gomez. He’s had adult relationships and experienced real heartbreak. On “Wasted Times,” The Weeknd references two relationships, ref lecting on the lost time spent with a past lover. The production borrows from Starboy, with its heavy snare and vocal distortion,
Sun. @ 10:30 p.m.
Thankfully, the beginning of season five has me cautiously optimistic. We find the team without Erlich Bachmann (T.J. Miller, “Deadpool”) for the first time after a disappearance in Tibet, and although Erlich is one of the show’s most notable characters, I wasn’t quite miffed by his departure. By the end of season four, he was just a cheap source of crude humor, a deadbeat who had little relevance to the plot or progress of Pied Piper. It turned out that T.J. Miller in real life was becoming a bit too much like the character he played, forcing the writers to strand him in the mountains. Oh well. Anyway, season five sees the group move into a
new office, and throughout the course of the first few episodes, welcome a large group of engineers. And to that I say: finally! Pied Piper is finally actually making some progress. One of the aspects of season four that was so frustrating was the feeling that the show didn’t have to be quite so cyclical. The possibilities for conf lict and comedy with a larger team as Pied Piper expands are limitless. While Richard is still hopelessly unfit as a motivator and CEO (an early scene has him give a ridiculously cringeworthy speech to his new employees), he shows glimpses of a Silicon Valley staple many viewers of the show are expecting to pan out: the transformation from being a brilliant, dopey coder to a ruthless businessman, aka Hooli CEO Gavin Belson (Matt Ross, “Captain Fantastic”). Belson is brilliant as ever, with a renewed zeal to destroy the upstart Pied Piper. The show continues to excel at his characterization as well as incorporating new gags, including a recurring bit that involves three new coders the team dubs “stallions, each one more magnificent than the last.” Each time the stallions are mentioned, sentimental music plays while the camera pans to three disheveled engineers rubbing their eyes while squinting at their laptops. While Dinesh (Kumail Nanjiani, “The Big Sick”) and Guilfoyle (Martin Starr, “Spider Man: Homecoming”) have not developed as much as I would like, their interactions are as snide and petty as ever,
and characters such as Laurie Breem (Suzanne Cryer, “The Cloverfield Paradox”) remain as perfect imitations of some of Silicon Valley’s more unusual personalities. Jared (Zach Woods, “The Post”), one of the show’s most intriguing characters, continues to drop some truly disturbing lines which lead me to think he grew up in a weird cultist/Neo-Nazi family.
I was quite worried going into season five. Season four was easily the series’s weakest
Meanwhile in Erlich’s absence, Jian Yang (Jimmy O. Yang, “Crazy Rich Asians”) takes over and hatches a plot to “inherit” his wealth. While Jian Yang is hilarious in short bursts, it is worrying that the show has set him up to potentially be a main villain of sorts. At the moment, he still feels stuck as a caricature. “Silicon Valley” is back, sort of. Early on, season five is encouraging, actually stimulating the idea that Pied Piper will grow and encounter a new set of problems. However, as I stated before, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Arts
6A — Wednesday, April 4, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
FILM REVIEW
On the futile & tiresome quest to make perfect art Shaggs, but the idea actually proved to be quite freeing. I participated in a few of these projects and actually really enjoyed myself. We made songs about really wacky topics in as little as five minutes. There
RYAN COX
Daily Arts Writer
NETFLIX
‘First Match’ exhausts the tropes of a drained genre Interspersing sequences of Monique training for competitions on her high school team and rekindling her Why is the concept of teetering relationship with her a powerful and talented father, the rhythm of the film is female athlete still revered as lost. In one moment, audiences something unexpected and are rooting for Monique on revolutionary? It’s 2018. Women the wrestling mat, yet in the have been competing and next, we are onlookers to a dominating in predominantly poorly-scripted conversation male sports for years, yet the between Monique and her cinematic world is still inclined father. Basically, the whole of to exhaust the tale the film consists of the female who of ever-so“proved herself” “First Match” slightly modified by competing like variations of these Netflix “one of the boys.” two sequences, Netflix’s new failing to deliver “First Match” fits the one-two this archetype in punch needed to its entirety and holds no real keep viewers engaged. flavor, other than that which it More frustrating, however, is has sucked from predecessor the negative stereotype of Black flicks within the wrestling, women that is perpetuated boxing and troubled-youth through Monique’s rudeness subgenres. and overall “fight-me” attitude. In “First Match,” aggressive In one sequence during the and hardened Monique (Elvire beginning of the film, a girl at Emanuelle, “Rock of Ages”) is school makes a snide comment an aimless teen with an attitude about Monique’s joining problem, stuck in foster care. the wrestling team, causing After discovering her father, a Monique to lash out, grabbing former high school wrestling the girl by the hair and initiating champ, has been released from a physical brawl. Though the prison, she joins her school’s film’s intention is to show wrestling team. However, that Monique’s hostility is — balancing her new commitment surprise, surprise — prompted to the sport with her aim to by her difficult past, Monique impress and gain validation embodies the misconceptions from her father, who reveals that society has about Black himself to be a shadier and women being loud, hotheaded shadier figure by the minute, and willing to go off on whoever proves far more complicated tests them. than Monique could have Though not enough to imagined. redeem the film’s shortcomings, SAMANTHA NELSON Daily Arts Writer
the bond between Monique and her foster mother Lucila (Kim Ramirez, “Nerve”) serves as one of the more intriguing elements. Divided by both barriers of language and Monique’s clear lack of desire for any sort of relationship, interactions shared by Lucila and Monique are exclusively negative for the majority of the movie. Subtly, however, their relationship eventually begins to grow. Lucila does not bleed into the role of the relentlessly doting foster mother, unphased by Monique’s hostility, as one might expect. In fact, the dislike between Lucila and Monique is clearly mutual, which feels much more realistic and, by extension, unexpected among the consistency of cliché throughout the film. The greatest weakness with “First Match” is that it knows exactly what it wants to be. Feeding from both worn-out storylines of the rough-aroundthe-edges foster teen and of the tenacious girl proving herself in a male sport, the filmmakers of “First Match” mistake the combination of these two conventions as somehow sufficient to fabricate a feeling of inventiveness. However, women pushing the boundaries in the athletic world is hardly a fresh topic. Without adding its own distinctive twist on an already overused narrative, “First Match” struggles to pin down audience members, who quickly tire of the film’s predictability.
Art is a really weird thing to me. I’m not really sure how to explicitly define it besides saying that it’s any form of creative expression — but even that seems extraordinarily vague. I don’t claim to know a lot about art, or how to be an accomplished artist in any way whatsoever. However, one sort of epiphany I’ve had over the past few months about art is that all art, no matter the medium, is not perfect in any sense of the word, and there will never be a piece of art that is. I have so many friends who pursue creative interests of a wide variety here in Ann Arbor. From painters to dancers, classical musicians to performance artists, I think I’ve had a glimpse into the world of an extensive range of artists. Something I’ve noticed about the work that really takes my breath away is that it doesn’t strive to be perfect. Too often the descriptions of artist and perfectionist become synonymous, and this is a stigma that I think is extremely toxic to the creative mindset. Art should be fueled by creativity, not perfection. If you have an impossible idea, see it through in any way you can, regardless of how achievable you think it is. Over the summer, a few of my friends started a project called The Bada-Ba-Ba-Ba’s, an endeavor that encouraged those who chose to participate to experiment and make purposefully “bad” songs. It was a really interesting concept based loosely off of the sound of the female-fronted, outsider garage rock group The
One sort of epiphany I’ve had over the past few months about art is that all art, no matter the medium, is not perfect in any sense of the word
was no re-recording. There was no writing. It was all about putting down whatever ideas came to you as fast as they came, without worrying about the quality of these ideas. Ideas are debatably one of the most important resources to an artist, but they shouldn’t be treated as such. Ideas are cheap and malleable. It may not be important for you to carry out an idea exactly as you imagined it, but what does matter is that you follow it to some point of completion, even if it’s not what you originally thought. Nothing is going to come out exactly as you imagine it to, and that’s half the fun. If you have an idea,
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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
BOOK REVIEW
‘Another City: Poems’ is a slim, powerful collection SOHPIA KAUFMAN Daily Arts Writer
“At his table, my dead father sat in the green sleeveless jacket with orange on the inside. Or now and then the jacket was reversed, depending on whether he was hunting me or hiding.” — David Keplinger, “Embarrassment” “Another City: Poems,” by David Keplinger, constructs worlds with fewer lines than you’d believe, deftly painting pictures with thin, precise brushstrokes. The slim collection is an even mix of prose, poems and more stylized verses that depend on their enjambment and deliberate spacings to convey their point. Themes are varied but matching. Some of the prose poems — “My Town” in particular — sound almost like a mix between Mitch Albom and Thornton Wilder. Some tell stories of the narrator’s father, simultaneously introspective, detached and whimsical. Many of the works easily capture the point of view of a
child, slipping into dialectical and observational patterns that evoke both nostalgia and protective tenderness, while others convey the peculiarities of being or wanting to be a parent — or acting in a way that a parent does. The
“Another City: Poems” David Keplinger March 13, 2018 Milkweed Editions arc of giving in “Citizen Small,” in which the narrator used to crumple in feigned surprise for laughs, gracefully unfolds downward, until the speaker is left unable to pick himself easily back up (perhaps a pointed metaphor, vaguely reminiscent of “The Giving Tree,” but a beautiful piece nonetheless). The best poems in “Another City” are reminiscent of snapshots. “City of Youth” distills all of the salient sentiments that come from holding the edges of an old photograph, peering into
faces that can no longer peer back. “Wave” imagines a moment of Abraham Lincoln’s journey on a train, leaving Springfield in 1861, a sepia-toned image deftly painted with but a few carefully designed brushstrokes. Another poem, “A Young Man’s Copybook: 1861-1864” (and the following few) is written after the journal of his great-great-grandfather, who fought for the Union Pennsylvania Volunteers and was later incarcerated for desertion after his discharge papers were stolen. The melding of historical snippets and imagination is cleverly and sensitively done. “V-Sign” offers a surprisingly congruent relationship between the crumpled stockings on the ground, and birds in the sky. “Marie Curie’s Century-Old Radioactive Notebook Still Requires a Lead Box” is a tribute to the scientist’s passion for her work. The beauty in “Another City” is subtle; crystal-clear images shine out from a muted color palette of material. Keplinger’s voice is perhaps above all musing, appraising pain, decadence and loss with an unclouded eye.
do what you can to make it a reality, and see what the outcome is. In the past, I’ve talked about how Ann Arbor’s D.I.Y. and house-show scene has inf luenced me and the way I think about creativity and art, but I don’t think I can stress how important this mindset is for an artist. My housemate and I have, for a while, really enjoyed staying in on a Saturday night and just hanging out and listening to music, and sometimes that music includes — wait for it — showtunes. We had joked around a lot about putting on a two-man musical, but what was stopping us from actually putting one on? So, we got some songs together, found a few props, created a Facebook event and started transforming our living room into a theater. We had everything planned out, and even though we didn’t have an orchestra or a stage, we put on a show for about 50 people in our living room. The only thing stopping us from putting on a musical in our house was the possibility of a noise complaint. We wanted to do a musical, so we took what we had and we put one on ourselves. Was it the same quality as a production put on by Broadway professionals? Holy moly, no. But it was an idea we had, and after a few weeks of planning, we did what we could to put it on. Striving for perfection will get you nowhere, and although I feel hypocritical for saying that (the amount of unfinished demos I have on my computer is pretty sad), what really matters is creating, no matter how subjectively good you think it is. The point of art is to create, not to achieve perfection.
ACROSS 1 Whirlpool brand 6 “M*A*S*H” actor Jamie 10 Italian smoker 14 Saint Kitts neighbor 15 Drink with a polar bear mascot 16 Overflow (with) 17 Civil rights org. 18 Alum 19 End of a Basque ball game? 20 She walked into Rick’s gin joint 21 Tournament that awards a green jacket 23 Springsteen’s __ Band 25 Speech therapy subject 26 Museum collection 27 Show of strength? 29 Montreal Canadien, to hockey fans 32 Wolfgang Puck restaurant chain 35 Litigant 36 Golfer’s target 37 Home of 21-Across 40 Real estate measure 41 Quizzes 42 Colgate rival 43 “Full Frontal” host Samantha 44 Website with a “Craft Supplies & Tools” section 45 Fenway team: Abbr. 46 Totally at sea 48 Actress Redgrave 52 Exciting section of 37-Across, familiarly ... and a configuration found in four apt places in this puzzle 56 Rating unit 57 Tennis score 58 Granola grain 59 Skinny South American country 60 Swimming event 61 Formerly, formerly 62 Songwriter Leonard
63 __ Domini 64 Ball belles 65 2014 film set in Alabama DOWN 1 Miss Hannigan’s charge 2 Board, in “room and board” 3 Sailor’s “Halt!” 4 Central American nation 5 Egyptian viper 6 Argue 7 Farm field unit 8 Paper order 9 Emergency status 10 Les __-Unis 11 Whispering party game 12 Warm, in a game 13 French friends 21 Asian New Year 22 Joe Torre’s retired Yankee uniform number 24 God with a bow 27 Musty-smelling 28 Grazing grounds 30 “What a shame!” 31 Karate skill award 32 Swedish auto 33 Unadulterated
34 Anna Paquin won her Oscar for “The Piano” at it 35 Insolence 36 Good luck symbol 38 Drew on? 39 Tapped symbol 44 PC bailout key 45 “Cheers” setting 47 “You’re __ talk!” 48 Three-piece pieces
49 Chain saw brand 50 Western state capital 51 Toronto’s Rogers Centre, for one 52 __ mater 53 Faucet brand 54 Few and far between 55 Accident investigation agcy. 59 Dosage amts.
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 — 7A
Wolverines sweep Delaware with Franklin homer JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Writer
As the Michigan baseball team clung to a 3-2 lead over Delaware in the bottom of the eighth inning, junior center fielder Jonathan Engelmann stepped up to the plate and delivered a rocket up the middle to get on base. With lectures about the importance of creative baserunning surely floating through his mind, Engelmann overzealously took off toward second base. But his efforts would crash and burn, as the Blue Hen catcher launched the ball to the second baseman for an easy tag-out. Junior third baseman Blake Nelson then grounded into the second out. After a promising start, the Wolverines found themselves facing a two-out, bases-empty situation. Enter freshman slugger Jesse Franklin. After Engelmann’s baserunning error and Nelson’s groundout, expectations were low for the first baseman. But Franklin shocked the crowd at Ray Fisher Stadium by cranking a shot to deep left field. The ball flew over the wall, and the Wolverines poured out of the dugout to celebrate the impressive shot. Franklin rounded the bases, triumphantly stomped on home plate and was quickly mobbed by his gleeful teammates. The solo bomb gave Michigan (16-11 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) a vital insurance run, effectively sealing a 4-2 win over Delaware (13-12). “I just got a good fastball over the middle of the plate,” Franklin said. “Coach (Nick) Schnabel has been trying to give me tips to go the other way, and I’m just glad it went over the wall.” Even before Franklin’s blast over the left wall, the Wolverines had a prolific day at the plate, amassing ten hits in the contest. But those hits didn’t translate into as many runs as Michigan would have liked. The team
was plagued by ineffective baserunning the whole day. Five runners were thrown out while trying to take additional bases, and the Wolverines stole just two bases despite their numerous attempts. Despite a disastrous day on the basepaths, Michigan’s incessant desire to nab additional bases has paid dividends in the past and allowed the team to consistently compete. “Today was probably our worst day baserunning-wise,” Franklin said. “We had a bad day today, but on Friday our baserunning won us the game and we were just going around and around and around. We talk a lot about extra 90s and how it changes a game.” Added coach Erik Bakich: “It’s just a mindset thing. Just wanting to get on base and go. We don’t want to be tethered to the base, we wanna get to scoring position. The more you can advance 90 feet, the more chances you have to score runs. So again, we’re not a power hitting team, it’s nice to get an occasional home run, but we’re a manufacture type of offense.”
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Michigan tops No. 18 UIC Wolverines overcome mistakes, defeat
Flames ahead of Big Ten Championships For the Daily
On Senior Night, freshmen Jacob Moore and Cameron Bock delivered top performances, leading the Wolverines to a 417.700-366.500 win against No. 18 UIC. After honoring the graduating team members, Michigan began the competition on floor routine. Moore — ranked third in the nation on floor — carried out a dominant performance, scoring 14.900 to nearly match his personal best. Following Moore, junior Emyre Cole performed a clean routine, sticking all five of his passes and scoring 14.350. Following their strong show on the floor, the Wolverines wavered a little with a shaky pommel horse routine. Freshman Cameron Bock struggled with his form, but remained on the horse without falling — a remarkable feat in itself, according to coach Kurt Golder. “It’s just pure strength and determination that he kept going,” Golder said. “And he did a real good job of recovering from it, because it was a big mistake.” Despite those mistakes by Bock and sophomore Mack Lasker on pommel horse, Michigan maintained a 138.100-117.650 lead after the second rotation. The seniors led the lineup on still rings. Tristian Perez-Rivera built momentum by performing two strong and stable iron crosses on his way to a score of 13.450. Dmitri Belanovski followed with a score of 13.650, and freshman James Read anchored the rings, scoring 14.300. “He just really turned it on
The first batter Criswell faced hit a bomb to deep left field, and the ball bounced off the wall where freshman Jordan Nwogu collected it and launched it to second base. The throw was just in time, and Michigan collected the out. “It fired me up for sure,” Criswell said. “Seeing a guy like that make an incredible play just kind of lit a little bit of a fire in my stomach and kinda let me just go get the next two for the rest of the guys. It was an incredible play and props to him, it was a really good throw.” With the win, Michigan extended its winning streak to 12 games, marking a drastic turnaround from a disappointing 4-11 start to the season. “We don’t ever want to go back to that rollercoaster of not only emotions, but of inconsistent play,” Bakich said. “It just feels different now because of the mindset the guys have. So, all the credit goes to them. Recognizing that their mindset needed to be better and then doing something about it and sustaining it to get the team hot.”
Freshman first baseman Jesse Franklin sealed Michigan’s win over Delaware with a home run in the eighth inning.
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VAQAAS ASLAM
On the defensive side of things, though, the Wolverines were rock-solid. Sophomore righthander Karl Kauffman gave Michigan a solid performance, tossing six innings and allowing two runs, only one of them earned. Kauffman’s outing was supplemented by a combined three sound innings from freshman right-hander Jeff Criswell and junior left-hander Will Tribucher. Criswell was cool and collected in his two innings of relief. In the eighth inning, Criswell found himself on the mound with the bases loaded but stepped up and sent the Blue Hens back to their dugout with their tails tucked between their legs. “My approach there was just stay calm,” Criswell said. “Take deep breaths, just realize that if I can make a good pitch, somebody around me will pick me up and make a good play like they did today.” Supporting Criswell in his showcase was the athleticism and ferocity of the Wolverine defense, which was in was in full display in the top of the seventh inning.
maybe a month ago,” Golding said of Read. “We decided to pull his redshirt, and right now I’m real glad we did that.” Michigan continued onto vault where Cole impressed the judges with a strong Yurchenko earning a 14.500 mark. On parallel bars, Bock delivered a confident showing with a double-pike before sticking the dismount. The judges scored Bock’s routine at 14.600. Belanovski also delivered a notable routine with a score of 13.950. Redshirt junior Alec Krystek led the lineup on high bar. Krystek struggled to execute his routine as he fell off the bar during a straddle Tkachev. While they started with a sub-par performance, the Wolverines stayed focused as Bock finished strong with two Tkachevs in his routine and stuck a full twisting double layout dismount. The Wolverines finished the meet ahead of the Flames. Bock was recognized for both his effort and skill by breaking the school record in parallel bars, high bar and all around. Belanovski also finished with a season best on high bar with a 9.300 on execution, and 14.350 overall. “A little more confidence,” Belanovski said, “made it a little more safe, and focused on hitting that execution score.” For Michigan, the theme of the meet was confidence and consistency. Although there were a few noticeable mistakes, the Wolverines seem certain that they can iron out the kinks before the Big Ten Championship next week. “I think we have a great chance,” Belanovski said. “And we’re ready to bring it home.”
“It’s just pure strength and determination that he kept going.”
WATER POLO
Michigan ekes out win against No. 13 Indiana JODI YIP
Daily Sports Writer
In a pressure-cooker event, Indiana came close to snapping the Michigan women’s water polo team’s 15-game win streak. The ninth-ranked Wolverines (1-0 CWPA, 23-7) added another victory to their ongoing 16 game win streak. The 9-7 win against No. 13 Indiana (1-2, 20-6) awarded head coach Marcelo Leonardi his 100th victory at Michigan. On Senior Night at Indiana, electricity was in the air as the match against the Hoosiers was highly anticipated for both sides. Michigan was looking to win its 18th straight conference opener and continue its winning record. “It was an environment where everyone was super pumped up,” said freshman utility player Maddy Johnston. “They had their band there, as well. We knew that we had to talk to each other because you can’t hear the coaches on the bench.” The Wolverines started out strong by gaining possession during the initial sprint. Within the first two minutes of the match, Johnston posted her opponent and was open near center cage. Junior Julia Sellers recognized the opportunity and dished a lob pass that landed a perfect arm-distance grasp in front of Sellers. Johnston whipped the ball towards the corner of the
cage and put Michigan on the board. The two teams continued to trade goals throughout the second and third quarter. But the Wolverines’ momentum began to pick up. With the score tied at 5 and one minute remaining, Indiana’s Juli Hilovsky committed a penalty — giving the Wolverines with a six-onfive opportunity. Junior driver Kim Johnson spotted an open look and assisted on senior attacker Caroline Anderson and tossed her the ball awarding Michigan with a 1-point lead going into the final quarter. The Wolverines never looked back. Several more power plays by Michigan and a few more missed shots by Indiana gave the Wolverines their well-deserved victory. Though the 16-game win streak itself calls for celebration, the coaching staff and players still believe the team needs to clean up some aspects of their game. “We try to break down teams,” Johnston said. “We need to learn to be patient in our offense and learn to strike at the right time.” However, the winning streak does not seem to be in jeopardy due to strong leadership and a drive for even greater play. “We have strong leaders on our team so we always talk a lot,” Johnston said. “There is never too much communication. It helps with getting everyone on the same page.”
“We need to learn to be patient in our offense.”
Michigan notches sixth straight victory Behind production from bottom of the lineup, Wolverines sweep weekend PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Editor
For weeks, it has been the same story. The Michigan women’s tennis team has struggled in its non-conference schedule, but turned its season around for Big Ten opponents. And while the Wolverines picked up two more conference wins this weekend, the story finally changed. It wasn’t just the big hitters and the higher-ranked players doing all the work this time — the rest of the lineup has finally caught up. Michigan faced rival Ohio State on Friday and Penn State on Sunday, and while the matchup with the Buckeyes proved to be tougher than matches against the Nittany Lions, the Wolverines walked away with 4-3 and 7-0 victories, respectively. For the past two seasons, every time Michigan has played Ohio State, it was considered a nonconference match. And for the past two seasons, the Wolverines lost
to the Buckeyes, yet won the Big Ten. Some might say those Big Ten Championships don’t really count, but if the Wolverines were to go on and win the Big Ten this year, there wouldn’t be anything left to say. “Last year they were clearly the better team,” said Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein. “We struggled against them. Every year’s a new year and it was definitely good to go in there and pull that one out. “… Every time we play Ohio State it’s a huge rivalry, and we were excited to get through.” After dropping the doubles point and two of the first three singles matches off the court, Michigan was in a 3-1 hole. A three-set win from sophomore Chiara Lommer at No. 3 singles trimmed the deficit to one, but there was still plenty of work to be done. Senior Mira Ruder-Hook and freshman Bella Lorenzini remained on court at No. 5 and No. 6 singles — if either lost, it would seal the match for Ohio State.
Ruder-Hook managed to claw out a 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 victory of her own, leaving the team’s fate in Lorenzini’s hands. Her match was tightly contested for its entirety, as she took the first set in a tiebreaker and was down 5-4 in the second set. As much as Mary Beth Hurley tried to force a third set and keep the Buckeyes alive, Lorenzini won three straight games to take the second set, 7-5, to give her team the victory. When the Wolverines struggled early in the season, the pressure often fell on junior Kate Fahey at the top of the lineup. The team could typically rely on her to get a point, but couldn’t produce points down the rest of the lineup. But the opposite was true of both Friday and Sunday’s matches, where after Fahey dropped her match, Michigan’s other singles players came in clutch. That came in play during Sunday’s match as well. Due to Penn State having just four courts,
not all the singles matches were played at once. No. 3 through No. 6 went out first, and with four wins on four courts, the match was clinched before Fahey and the top of the lineup even got the chance to play. “I think we’re getting more confidence as a group,” Bernstein said. “Three through six pulled through on Friday night and today we had three through six on to start the match. So I think everyone’s feeling confident and that’s what you want to do. As the season goes on, I mean we’re getting to April now, and you want to be playing with some confidence. “We’ve definitely turned it around, which is good.” The bottom of the lineup is finding its form just in time for the conference schedule to conclude and championship season to begin. With six straight wins and an unbeaten record in the Big Ten, Michigan’s early season woes seem to be a distant memory.
DARBY STRIPE/Daily
Freshman Bella Lorenzini helped the Michigan women’s tennis team earn two conference wins over Ohio State and Penn State this past weekend.
Sports
8A — Wednesday, April 4, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Lavigne’s solid play exemplifies Michigan’s run
I
t all began with Hayden Lavigne. Before Michigan’s 14-61 record since New Year’s Day, before it reached the 25th Frozen Four in program history, there was the sophomore, starting in goal against Michigan State in the JACOB Great Lakes SHAMES Invitational. Lavigne wasn’t terrific, allowing four goals. But he did enough for the Wolverines to win, and enough to earn a start against No. 1 Notre Dame three days later. Despite compiling a .937 save percentage over the course of the series, Lavigne couldn’t save his team from being swept. But he did enough to assert himself as the unquestioned starter heading into Michigan’s most crucial series of the season at Minnesota. Against the Golden Gophers, Lavigne wasn’t exactly the second coming of Marty Turco. But once again, he did enough — stopping 41 of 45 shots on the weekend — and the Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor with two massive wins under their belt. The turning point in Michigan’s season wasn’t the product of some miracle pill. Nothing was radically different from October, November or December. Everything — offense, defense, special teams — was just a little bit stronger, a little bit more solid, a little bit more stable. Ask coach Mel Pearson or any of his players why the Wolverines started to roll, and they’ll talk about what you’d expect. They’ll talk about consistency. They’ll talk about confidence. Then they’ll talk about Lavigne. “(The Notre Dame series) was our first weekend where we played two really solid games,”
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne is the most likely candidate to play hero in the Frozen Four, but thanks to his own leadership, he may not have to at all.
said sophomore forward Jake Slaker last week. “Even though we lost, we were really happy with our game. … Hayden Lavigne was kind of the starter of that.” And not only was Lavigne the starter of that, he’s also epitomized it. Pearson has compared Michigan’s surge to a snowball making its way down a hill; growing and growing as it continues to roll. It’s an effective metaphor for Lavigne’s own development — gaining experience and confidence with every save and every game. “I’ve been able to string together four pretty solid games back-to-back,” Lavigne said on Jan. 18. “That in itself leads to a little more confidence where I’ve found myself playing a little bit
farther out, little bit more sure of the plays I’m making in net.” The next day, he made 35 saves against Penn State to blank the highest-scoring team in the nation. For an encore one night later, he stopped 43 of 45 shots — frequently doing so in spectacular fashion — and prompted the Nittany Lions’ official Twitter account to desperately exclaim in all caps, “Even if they were selling goals at Yost tonight our card would get declined!!!” Lavigne hasn’t always stood on his head like he did that weekend. But like the Wolverines as a team, he’s mostly alternated between solid and great for the last three months. He’s had rough patches, sure — three goals in the first
eight minutes of the Big Ten Tournament. But he’s been dominant at times — a shutout of the Fighting Irish on Feb. 18. And there’s been some luck involved — Andrew Oglevie’s shot painstakingly crawling across the crease and past an open net in the final minute of the aforementioned shutout. “There’s obviously still room to improve, as there always will be,” Lavigne said Monday. “But I feel this is some of the best hockey I’ve played in my career.” That hockey has brought him and his team to the Frozen Four, to a place Michigan wasn’t supposed to be this year. Notre Dame and Ohio State are No. 1 seeds. Minnesota-Duluth was on this stage a year ago. Compared to the rest of the field,
For Eastern, ‘M’ matchup is more than a game ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
Melissa Gentile loves Alumni Field. Everything — the field, the Alumni Band, the energy from the stands — it all transports her back to her days as a player under Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. Now, as the head coach at Eastern Michigan, she looks forward to the competition the Wolverines provide in an annual matchup between the two teams. Eighteen years after graduating, it’s still her home away from home. On Wednesday, Gentile will return to Alumni Field, not knowing if she’ll ever be back. After this season, her program will no longer exist. *** Gentile found out Monday evening, Mar. 19. The rest of her team was told at 7:30 on Tuesday morning. The athletic department was short on funds. It was cutting four sports, including softball. Once the season was over, the team would be no more. The Eagles’ first conference series against Buffalo was that weekend. But all of a sudden, it was the last thing on their minds. Gentile ran her practices with urgency. Her focus was no longer winning games. Instead, it was making sure that her team’s last days together weren’t wasted. “(We’re) just trying to enjoy every moment with each other and relish every moment,” Gentile said. “ … Just trying to infuse some fun into a very difficult situation that they’re going through, so it’s any little thing that we can do … to keep them loose and trying to keep them positive and moving forward.” She infuses that fun into every practice, whether it’s a game of tag with the coaches or kicking around a hacky-sack. Off the field, she consoles her players while they cry over their uncertain futures. She calls other coaches asking if they
have room on their rosters. Her own future is on hold because the team comes first. “My family and I will land on our feet,” Gentile said. “… I’m just worried about our players and making sure they’re taken care of.” Even before the announcement, it had been over two weeks since Eastern Michigan had won a game. And now, with the dissolution of the only program these players have ever known, it’s seemingly a never-ending spiral, a 17-game losing streak that shows no signs of ending any time soon. Before each game, Gentile gives them a typical coach’s pep talk. Live in the moment. One game at a time. “All those things sound right to tell them,” Gentile said. “But while telling them that, they’re talking to other college coaches and trying to find opportunities to transfer to schools and have a plan.” Faced with losing the thing they loved, it seemed impossible to focus on something so frivolous as a singular game. *** Twenty minutes across town,
the Michigan softball program is the antithesis of the Eagles’. The Wolverines always draw large crowds. They contend not only for conference titles, but national titles. They’ve won 22 of their last 23 games. They have nothing to worry about. But for both programs, the benefits of a yearly matchup are similar. For Hutchins, nonconference home games early in the Big Ten season help get her team accustomed to the distractions of the sometimesrowdy crowd. For Gentile, the Wolverines provide the toughest competition the Eagles will face all season — similarly good preparation for Mid-America Conference play. And for both, the game provides an opportunity to reconnect. Gentile has always seen Hutchins as a mentor, the person she looks to for advice. Now, though, those reasons seem so meaningless. “We’re trying to get our emotions in check and come out and really go out with a bang,” Gentile said. “We know that our games are limited and our opportunities are limited. …
Our kids are devastated.” If this were a movie, Eastern Michigan would come out on Wednesday and beat Michigan — or at least put up a fight. It would spark them to a streak to end its season. The Eagles would band together and save their team. But this is Washtenaw County, not Hollywood. The athletic department made it clear to Gentile that its decision is final. And take your pick at any stat — it’s clear that the probability of an upset is almost nonexistent. Instead, Eastern Michigan will approach the game knowing that after it’s over, the Eagles will have just 14 games left together. There’s little hope of salvaging their program or their season, so instead they’ll come to Alumni Field holding onto everything they still have. Their devotion to the game. Their spirit. And each other. “I hope this team’s legacy … is that they just go out leaving their hearts on the field,” Gentile said. “And whatever happens, happens, but they leave their heart and passion for what they do on the field.”
FILE PHOTO/Daily
Melissa Gentile (far left) and Carol Hutchins (far right) will face each other for what may be the final time Wednesday.
the Wolverines are outsiders, and they know it. “Out of the four teams, we were probably the least likely to get there,” Pearson said last week. “ … Obviously we’re the underdog.” In net, this theme remains. Cale Morris, Sean Romeo and Hunter Shepard all rank in the top-10 nationally in save percentage. Lavigne? He sits 39th, with a relatively pedestrian .909 figure. But like the three-point shot in basketball, goaltending is hockey’s great equalizer. Could Lavigne outduel Morris, Romeo or Shepard over a multi-game series, all other variables being equal? Probably not. But can he take over a single game by himself? Without question — he’s done it before. Here’s the thing, however: he doesn’t have to.
Four months ago, Lavigne might have needed to will Michigan to a victory over the Fighting Irish, Buckeyes or Bulldogs. But that’s no longer the case — and it’s the end result of a process that was made possible because of him. Slow, incremental improvement in every facet of the game has gotten the Wolverines, and Lavigne, this far. Sure, it hasn’t necessarily been special, but it’s been enough — just like Lavigne’s run in early January. And when Lavigne held down the fort, Michigan — as a team — followed suit. Pearson doesn’t anticipate, nor does he want, Lavigne playing Superman this weekend. All he desires out of his netminder is security in the crease. “He’s going to have to make a number of good saves,” Pearson said Monday. “But we don’t expect him to have to carry us. Can he do that? Absolutely. He’s had some games where we’ve given up too many chances against, but we’re going to hopefully play better defensively in front of him and cut down the shots.” Added Lavigne: “I expect to come out there and make the saves I’m supposed to, and then make some that I’m not. I plan to go out there and hold the team in it when they need me, and at the same time I expect them to do the same for me.” If the Wolverines need a hero in St. Paul, Lavigne might be the most likely to take on that role. But somewhat ironically, he’s done his part to make sure that they won’t. It all began with Hayden Lavigne. Thanks to him, Michigan can end its run as a team. It might not be fancy. More likely, it will be solid, unspectacular even. And it might just be enough. Shames can be reached at jacosham@umich.edu or on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
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Seniors celebrated in regular season finale Tristian Perez-Rivera and Dmitri Belanovski were honored Saturday BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer
Five years after arriving in Ann Arbor, Tristian PerezRivera finally got his Senior Night celebration. After missing all of the 2016 season and most of the 2017 season due to injuries, the senior was granted a fifth year of eligibility in 2018. While his performance is now limited to just one or two events, he remains an integral part of the Michigan men’s gymnastics team. “It’s too bad Tristian, with his health issues, is down to just doing a couple of events,” said Michigan coach Kurt Golder. “But those two guys, (senior Dmitri Belanovski) and Tristian, have really helped a tremendous amount.” Before Saturday’s meet against the University of Illinois-Chicago, Golder and the Wolverines honored Perez-Rivera, Belanovski and volunteer assistant coach Brennen Thomas. Belanovski and PerezRivera have both starred in competition during their time at Michigan, while Thomas’ contributions are less immediately obvious. But Golder was quick to point out his key role during competitions, and anyone who has attended a meet has seen Thomas working with each and every gymnast throughout the competition. “He tried out for the team two years in a row, got cut two years in a row,” Golder said. “He’s extremely valuable as you can see during the meet, he’s very helpful to the program.” Thomas is frequently the first to congratulate the gymnasts after a strong
performance, but he serves an equally important role in reassuring a gymnast after a disapponting routine. Belanovski earned AllAmerican honors in 2015 and 2016, though he missed most of the 2017 season with injuries. As a captain this year, his leadership has been key for the Wolverines as they’ve battled inconsistency throughout the season. Saturday’s competition took place at Crisler Center, rather than the team’s usual home of Cliff Keen Arena. This move was intentional, preparing Michigan for the Big Ten Championships coming to Crisler next week. For the seniors, the extra experience in the competition arena will be a big advantage in the championship. “It was special out here, competing on a podium especially. I don’t think there’s ever been a Senior Night on a podium before,” Belanovski said. “It was a nice test run before Big Tens, consider it a little bit of Senior Night part one.” The Wolverines have not won a conference title since 2014, Perez-Rivera’s freshman season. He is the only gymnast on the team with a title under his belt, so the rest of the seniors are looking forward to making a run for their first title. “We’re at home, you know, it’s ours to lose,” Belanovski said. “I think we have a great chance, and we’re ready to bring it home.” And if they do bring it home, Perez-Rivera, Belanovski and Thomas will get to experience Senior Night on a whole new level for their final competition in Ann Arbor.
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | A PR I L 4 , 201 8
Finding their
voice
2B
Wednesday, April 4, 2018// The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | A PR I L 4 , 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: Waiting for Michigan to tip off BY FINN STORER, COPY CHIEF
I
’m trying to write this column at Blue Leprechaun, a bar and grill on South University Avenue. A$AP Ferg’s “Plain Jane” is playing over the speakers and Bayern Munich is currently beating Borussia Dortmund five goals to nil. The other people at the table are enjoying their Saturday, camped out playing cards while waiting for Michigan men’s basketball to tip off in the Final Four against LoyolaChicago and Sister Jean. I’ve been continuously asking people for ideas for this piece but I’ve shot down every one out of stubbornness. My sister just texted me a video of my dog. I feel like I’m actually doing a “stream of consciousness” piece like the ones I read in AP English. I remember reading those and not understanding one word of them. I’m going to be honest, I had no idea what to write about in this column. Elise Laarman, my co-copy chief, and I pitched the Copy That series to our copy editors.
No one signed up to write the April 4 column, so I took one for the team. My initial ideas included writing about how golf relates to Copy, how my alternative spring break experience connects to Copy, the joy of being an arbiter of words at The Michigan Daily and an examination of the future of copy editing. In the end, I’m not confident writing about any of these topics. Maybe this lack of creativity is why I’m a copy editor and not writing editorial columns or TV reviews. I mean, my predecessor wrote something similar in a previous Copy That article. Maybe it’s in our DNA. I like to think I’m creative in real life, but just not in my writing. I can live not being creative in my writing — I don’t aspire to write the next great American novel. The only idea about which I could write a lot is golf and Tiger Woods, but I need at least 2,000 words to do that and it still would have way too much going
on. But here we are. My 800 words on golf and Tiger Woods are lying in a different Microsoft Word document saved as “Copy That.” This is “Copy That Two.” I realize this is turning into the ramblings of someone who wasn’t meant to write a column. Angela Lin wrote in her Copy That article that it was never meant to exist. I understand that. I initially wanted to join Opinion when I came to The Daily before I was steered to Copy. Imagine my columns. I have deep respect for our columnists. My friend Matt Harmon writes the “Soundtracking” column every other week, and it’s incredible. But that makes sense. That’s his passion. He loves to write. I love sports, politics, barbeque chips, my Co-Copy Chief Elise Laarman and, of course, editing. But writing is not editing and it requires a whole different set of skills. This whole process reminds me of Michael Scott in “The Office” episode
ILLUSTRATION BY BETSY STUBBS
when they have to make a local ad. Scott says, “Has anyone told you you’re not creative? That’s outrageous. I love this place!” Michael Scott has my back. I’m much more appreciative of being a copy editor now and not having to worry about creative content every week. Arts and Opinion and the Statement can handle this creative content stuff. I’ll stick to being a copy editor. I feel like I’m stealing this from Matt too. He wrote a “Soundtracking” column about not knowing what to write about earlier in the semester and I enjoyed it very much. I just want Matt to know I’m not stealing this format, but rather it’s an homage to his creative work. Sadia Jiban wrote a wonderful Copy That column about how copy editors see what others don’t. It’s a very true sentiment. As a copy editor, I now see why I am not a writer for our paper. Elise Laarman wrote a great piece on styling her hometown of St. Louis. Sadly, there is only one way to style Houghton, MI so the nice piece about home is out the window. I’ve thought about what I’m going to do after my time as copy chief and I’ve thought being a columnist would be fun. Right now, it’s not sounding super fun. I’m starting to think I pass over ideas because I want the perfect idea and then the perfect column. But that’s not possible. You can write good, even great, columns, but not perfect ones. With copy editing, you can edit perfectly for style and facts. AP Style is definitive and facts are indisputable. Not to say I edit every piece perfectly but it’s more attainable. I had to hand this column off to Elise for some editing and she gave me this analogy: Creating something out of nothing is hard. Like mining for diamonds. Writers dig the rock, editors polish the gems. Well I’ve hit my word count and I am going to close out this column. Ironically, my own column will hit my desk on Tuesday night before print on Wednesday. Hopefully I won’t leave too many copy notes for myself.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 // The Statement
3B
Soundtracking: A Perfect Day
BY MATT HARMON, SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
T
he End — The Doors “This is the end / My only friend, the end” This has been quite the journey for my mom and me, who is probably the only person to keep reading this column. We’ve been through a lot — public embarrassment, self-deprecating humor, the whole nine yards. But seeing as the semester is almost over and I have wasted space in the Statement with these extended diatribes for a whole year, I’ve decided this will be the last Soundtracking column in the paper. (The truth is I was actually forced to retire by Statement staff but I wanted it to seem like it was my decision). I thought I would end my Statement career on a high note, one more uplifting column as opposed to downtrodden and all about how I continuously make a fool of myself. Though that humor still appeals to me, I feel as though my final column should mean a little more. If you want more “Matt can’t do anything right” content, just follow me around for a day. It’s inevitable. But please tell me if you are following me because I expect you to be in full trench coat, sunglasses and wide brim hat, reading a newspaper with eyeholes poked through. When I was on an Alternative Spring Break trip in Harlan, Ky. this year, we spent a lot of time in a van. While the abstract idea of being forced into a University of Michigan van with five strangers, driving for hours on end for a whole week, doesn’t sound that appealing, it turned out to be an incredible experience. You get to know each other really quick. I believe the first story I told before we had even left Ann Arbor was the time I almost drove my grandma’s van through her garden when I was eight. Adult Diversion — Alvvays I stand by my belief that if you want to really get to know someone, ask them to describe their perfect day. You don’t get the vague “I like music and hanging out with friends” responses. You get true passions. You understand what really makes them happy. And that is beautiful in its own right. Driving away from the Cumberland Gap, my van mates got on the topic of describing a perfect day back home. While many of us were from Michigan, our days were completely different due to the surroundings we grew up in. I can’t describe everyone else’s days to the tee like they could, but I can give a quick outline of mine. My perfect day would start with me waking up — a crucial start to any day, ever. I’d be in my twin bed in my childhood room in Royal Oak. I’d roll over to only be met by my bright red walls (which I picked out even though my mom thought it would look horrible) and the sunlight beaming through my pink
and purple window curtains, bathing the room in lavender. Immediately I would text Charlotte, who I met in kindergarten and has never been able to get rid of me, her sister Becca and our friend Louie about breakfast. It would be probably about 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday as I’d hop in the shower, hang with my mom while she made coffee and start cleaning the house and throw on clothes before running out of the house to meet Charlotte, Becca and Louie. Heading down Crooks Road with “Ann Delisi’s Essential Music” on WDET booming through my car’s radio, I’d pull into National Coney Island on Main Street — a Royal Oak tradition that still holds a special place in my heart. Finding the gang in the parking lot, we’d run in and grab a booth in the corner. Starfish and Coffee — Prince As we’d find our seat, I’d scan the room, looking for people I hadn’t seen in a few months. I’d inevitably see two or three. It was bound to happen at National. I’d order my favorite breakfast National order: spinach, feta and tomato omelet with black coffee and crispy hash browns — the perfect start to my day. Laughing about the events in each of our lives since the last time we’d seen each other (which was probably a few days prior if I’m being honest), we’d shoot the shit and scarf down plates of breakfast food. I’d toss my Coney Bucks Rewards Card I always keep in my wallet down with my bill and make plans to see them all tomorrow. Hopping in my car, I’d call my friend Michael to make sure he’s free and swing by to pick him up. We’d automatically know where we’d be adventuring to once I got on I-75 toward downtown. From Eden — Hozier The original John K. King Used & Rare Books location on Lafayette Boulevard in downtown Detroit is arguably the greatest place on Earth. Fuck Disney World. I used to say John King was four stories but then I realized that was an incredibly confusing way to describe a bookstore. Now I end up saying it’s four floors of endless hallways stacked to the ceiling with any book you can imagine. It’s the only place in the world where I’m grateful for the dust that causes my allergies to act up. You need a map to get around this place — and in fact, they do supply you with one. Otherwise, you might have to send up a flare to have the store rangers come rescue you. With Michael scanning the radio but ultimately leaving it on WDET because nothing beats Ann Delisi, I’d pull into the tiny parking lot next to the bookstore behemoth. We’d spend hours there, grabbing titles off the shelf and reading a chapter or two on milk crates in the deep corners of the store. I always position myself next to the windows so the light,
diffused by wax paper, illuminates the page and increases the contrast of the black typeface on the cream pages. Finding each other every now and then, I’d ask what he’s been reading. With Michael, it’s most likely some ancient biology or engineering book or, occasionally, an extended philosophical novel. I would be huddled up next to the paperback Dramatists Play Service box, finding foldable copies of plays I’ve never heard of and reading the first scene to see how the playwright decided to break the stasis of their play — arguably the most important decision in a play. With a few titles in our hands, we’d check out and drive to Hamtramck to crack into our new paperback adventures. I’d need a cup of coffee to pair with a new text. Best One — NxWorries We’d roam around Hamtramck, looking for street parking, until we’d inevitably find a spot and run inside Cafe 1923. There are a few reasons why 1923 is included in my perfect day. First, the coffee is incredible, and its only a quarter for refills. Second, they always play Bob Dylan over the speakers. Finally, they have a back room with large windows letting sunlight in, comfy chairs, chess tables and bookshelves surrounding the entire space. That way, if we want a break from our new books, we can scour the shelves around us until we find another book that piques our interest. It’s also an amazing writing space. I’d bring my raggedy notebook and a pen to work on any various writing I choose. The world is my oyster at Cafe 1923. After two hours of reading and writing and sipping coffee, we’d head toward Redford for a night at my second favorite place on Earth — Redford Theater. The theater, which has a Japanese motif, was covered up during World War II but was eventually restored. Now, they screen older flicks. I’ve been going there since I was eight. It’s where I saw
ILLUSTRATION BY BETSY STUBBS
my favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” for the first time. Honestly, I wouldn’t care what movie was playing that night. I’d just want to see the theater again. After buying our tickets and walking around, marveling at the giant screen and the ceiling which twinkles like stars, we’d take our seats and wait for the original Barton Theater organ to rise out of the pit and begin the 30-minute concert before the movie. Wait for the Moment — Vulfpeck By the time the movie is over, it would most likely be about 10:30 p.m. I’d drive Michael back to Royal Oak and drive around in the dark for a while, listening to music and letting the activities of the day soak in. Pulling into a parking lot because texting while driving is bad, I’d text my friends from high school who went to the local Catholic school. It’s a long, convoluted story as to how a public-schooled halfJew came to be such good friends with kids raised in the Catholic school system, but I’m always grateful for their presence. Even at 11:00 at night, a lot of them would still be up and game for anything. But we all know where we’d end up — National Coney Island is open 24 hours. Back To Back — Drake We’d all meet in the parking lot just like I did with Charlotte, Becca and Louie earlier that morning and we’d cross our fingers, hoping the big corner booth is open. In my perfect day, it would already have our names on it. There, I’d order a Diet Coke and laugh the entire night, quoting Vines and just swapping stories since the last time we’d all been together. We’d leave at 2:00 a.m. and I’d finally head home. Collapsing in bed, I’d take a deep breath and hope to remember that feeling of excitement and bliss forever. I know it would be gone in the morning but all I can do is dream. As my eyelids drift closed, I’d get ready to make the next day the best it can be. Because that’s all I can ask for. Perfect Day — Lou Reed
4B
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 // The Statement
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 // The Statement
Finding their voice: Inside an American accent workshop by Maya Goldman, Daily News Editor
I
n an ivy-covered building hidden in the depths of the medical campus, a big wooden table sits in the center of a small blue room. At the head of the table sits Senior Speech-Language Pathologist Gordon Krainen, who leads a workshop titled “Speaking American English: A Communication Skills Workshop for English Language Learners.” Surrounding him are five participants from across the world, and with Krainen’s help, they’re all trying to master the American accent. This is the third week of the seminar, and they’re working on the differences between “s” and “z” sounds. It’s a difference that can seem obvious to a native English speaker. “I didn’t know about these things until I started studying this,” Krainen assures the group. But many non-English languages don’t distinguish between the two sounds. They have other sounds native English speakers might not pick up on at first, too. According to the Linguistic Society of America, this is part of the reason speakers of different languages have different accents. While humans are born with the
capability to produce and perceive all the sounds available in the world, they learn early on which ones are used in their own languages and which ones not to worry about. “The older you get, the harder it becomes to learn the sounds that are part of a different language,” the Society’s website reads. This is exactly the task the six registered course participants — Krainen shies away from using the word “students” because he sees them as his equals — are trying to accomplish through this 10-week course. Each participant has been learning English for at least a decade, so they all have a strong command of the language, but none of them previously practiced speaking much until they came to the United States. And while every participant has their own reason for taking the course, all are centered around the same theme: building confidence. Zoey, an LSA sophomore from China studying computer science, asked not to have her last name printed—she hasn’t brought up the fact that she’s taking the class with her friends yet. Smiling from
The class practices reading sentences from a workbook during a Speaking American English workshop.
the moment she hurries into the room with a bulging backpack and headphones around her neck, it’s difficult to imagine her classifying herself as shy. But she came to the workshop because she found herself too nervous to speak in history discussions. She worried her professor wouldn’t be able to understand her accent. “I’m afraid of speaking out because they cannot understand what I’m saying,” she said. “And I have the idea that my pronunciation is somewhat different from the standard American accent, but I cannot tell where I should improve, so I took this class to see what’s wrong with my pronunciation.” Next to her sits Sandra, a Spanish language lecturer in the Residential College from Peru who also didn’t want her last name printed. Because she speaks Spanish at work and at home, she hasn’t had much time to practice her American accent. When she has to clarify a word for her students in English, she worries they can’t tell what she’s saying. “If I need to clarify a word, I need to be speaking english and the student is clueless!” Sandra said. “Sometimes they’re
Amelia Cacchione/Daily
like what? So I have to repeat the same thing.” On the other side of the table is Laurent Burlion, a quiet visiting aerospace engineering scholar from France with a friendly face. He says his wife suggested he take the class so he would feel more comfortable speaking up— in English or in his native French. “I’m here to learn to open my mouth,” Burlion said. “But I think it’s also useful for my French because my wife also thinks that I don’t open my mouth… And also I have remarked that here in the U.S., often people ask me to repeat. So I’m here to improve my speech so I don’t have to repeat all the time.” rainen is a mild-mannered guy who readily doles out positive reinforcements to his clients. He’s a trained speech pathologist and became interested in accent modification about 25 years ago. While speech pathologists often treat people who have communication or neurological disorders that affect their speech, Krainen found himself drawn to helping people who had a social desire to alter their speech. After noticing a need for an accent modification workshop on the University of Michigan’s campus two years ago, Krainen decided to started the workshop. Most of the workshop’s participants find out about it through word-of-mouth recommendations or some limited advertising around the University and online. According to Jennifer Corey, Clinic Manager for the University Center for Language and Literacy, the department in which the workshop is housed, some of the online advertising caused the workshop to come under fire this past winter for being potentially “insensitive.” While the UCLL did not disclose much information about the pushback, Corey said she remembered it having to do with an angry Facebook comment. “A person may have thought that we’re trying to change something that’s part of someone, and why do you want to change this person when you’re perfectly fine the way they are?” Corey said. Indeed, it’s easy to imagine why some might question the motives of this workshop. What’s wrong with an accent? But Corey explained goal of the workshop is not to paint any accent as “incorrect” or to minimize anyone’s culture. It’s a selfselecting course that seeks to help inter-
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ested people communicate with their peers. “We’re not trying to change someone,” Corey explained. “That person is coming to us, because they’re having difficulty in whatever situation they’re in… we’re not going to get rid of their accent. We value everybody’s accent.” Despite some pushback, the workshop continues to grow in popularity. Krainen still wants to keep it small, though—it’s more impactful that way, he says. The small size also makes sense considering how labor-intensive the class is for Krainen. During the first hour-long class of the seminar, he has each participant complete a small video-taped assessment so he can analyze their speech patterns. He guides them through what an accent is, how they acquired their accent and the reason their languages’ sound systems are different from the one English employs. The next week, after he’s analyzed the tapes, Krainen makes a list of goals for each person, complete with all the sounds he thinks they need to work on. Sometimes the modifications are more grammar-based, like making sure to tack an “s” sound on the end of a plural noun, and other times they’re specific vowels or consonants he thinks could be improved. Sometimes the group has similar things to work on; sometimes each person has a totally different curriculum. Krainen doesn’t mind the work, though. He says the real challenge is keeping up with the progress his participants make. “They’re so bright, so motivated,” he said. “I’ve got to stay somewhat ahead of them just to say well, ‘Oh OK, you guys are challenging me now.’ But it’s a real fun experience and I’m hoping to see it keep on going.” It seems like one would have to be bright and motivated to commit themselves to the accent modification process. Krainen recommends 15-20 minutes of practice outside of class every day. To him, it’s like playing the piano. “I play piano, and you have to learn some basic chords, basic scales to learn the tune and then to get really good you’ve got to do it for a long time and really go over these things,” he said. “You could take lessons for almost forever and keep on improving… it’s the same idea of fine tuning.” Burlion agrees constant practice is the only way he would actually be able to develop a more American accent. Even if he does that, though, he knows it could take him a long time to get to where he’d like to be. “I feel mistakes, but it’s step by step,” Burlion said. “I think I need to practice a lot. But I have realized that I can do it. I can practice, and step by step it’ll come.” Sometimes, though, practicing itself is a daunting task for Burlion. He says he’s finding the class valuable, but now instead of feeling more able to open his
LSA sophomore CJ Na reads from a workbook at the Speaking American English workshop.
mouth, his new knowledge of American pronunciation makes him want to keep it shut all the more. In class, Gordon stresses the importance of exaggerating certain vowels, but Burlion worries about overdoing it. “I’m afraid to exaggerate and make people laugh, you know? If I say I need to SOOOOlve the PROOOOOBlem, people will laugh,” he said. Even if he doesn’t practice his own accent much at work, Burlion finds himself paying close attention to how his colleagues speak. “Now every time I go to a seminar, I understand the math or something like that — it’s very interesting — but I’m focused on the accent! I’m like ‘Oh wow, they speak so well!,’” he said. “I could not do any seminar! Not because of the math or engineering stuff, but because of my accent. I find everybody — they speak so well!” Of course, the intricacies of an American accent can’t be learned in just 10 weeks. Jason, a Chinese engineer who isn’t affiliated with the University, found out about the workshop through his boss at Chrysler. He found the course so helpful that he’s currently taking it for the third time. “I think the first purpose (of taking the class) is to improve (my) work relationship with my co-workers, because they are all Americans,” Jason said. “I think the second purpose is also life, because I’m living in the U.S., and it’s an Englishspeaking country. When I watch TV or read the news or read books, I have to speak English. So it’s much better for me to improve my English.” Chan Jong Na, an enthusiastic and talkative LSA sophomore who goes by CJ, is on his second time through the workshop. Originally from Korea, he
spent two years of high school in Michigan but came to Krainen because he felt like he could only improve so much on his own. Na is so dedicated to modifying his accent that he also pursued other avenues of working on it. “I took an Intro to Acting class last semester,” Na said. “I think it helped me speak better English. It’s more vibrant, acting— it’s lively English.” Na and Zoey, who are taking this class on top of their regular academic schedule, say finding the time to practice is almost an impossible task. While Zoey hopes to continue working on her accent next year, she thinks it’ll be easier for her to practice on her own from the textbook all course participants get for the workshop. “For the next year, I think I’ll have more difficult courses, and (it’ll be) hard for me to make time for this course,” she said. “But I think I may follow the book and practice following the recording and try to speak more English.” Na agrees it can be overwhelming to work on his accent at the same time as his schoolwork, but he says it helps to remember why he’s taking the class in the first place. “(In the past) my friends would point out, ‘Hey, you said that again,’” he said. “But now I don’t hear that that much, so I have more confidence.” t’s the last session of the class, a cold and dreary Michigan day at the end of March. The class started with six participants, but attendance has dwindled. Only Na, Zoey and Sandra could make it this week. According to Krainen, past workshops have had more consistent attendance, but he understands it can be difficult to find time. Krainen begins the session by recording each person saying a list of words.
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5B
Amelia Cacchione/Daily
With a small handheld camera and a little black tripod, he video-tapes each person reciting their list. Just like at the beginning of the workshop, he plans on analyzing the recording and emailing everyone a list of sounds they could continue to improve on if they choose to keep practicing. “I want to say, I’m really impressed with all of you and the work you’ve done,” he tells them at the end of the class. Krainen is always quick to chime in with positive reinforcement, and this is no exception.” “You’ve showed progress. It’s not an overnight process, it’s a gradual process, and you’ve got to immerse yourself. Congratulations, you guys, you did a great job.” The class is over, but the participants want to keep improving. Sandra says she feels like she still struggles with many parts of the American accent, but she’s beginning to recognize her mistakes. Na says he knows he’s getting better but isn’t ready to stop working at it. He might come back for a third go at the class next fall. “I’m definitely getting my points across, but the thing is, whenever I make a mistake I know it, and it’s kind of embarrassing,” he said. “So I’m trying to make that happen less often.” Zoey feels more confident now, though speaking up in her history discussion is still scary. “I’m still scared, even today!” she said. “I think basically it’s the information, and I’m not quite sure how the American students can speak up so quickly, and how they can organize their sentences in such a short time.” “Oh, but if we were to learn Chinese we would be kind of slow too, to respond,” Krainen assures her.
6B
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 // The Statement
Navigating through apprehension BY COLIN BERESFORD, DEPUTY STATEMENT EDITOR
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riving through the valley, we could see a storm looming in the distance, but all we could do was hope it wouldn’t be coming toward us. It’s incredibly difficult to predict where a storm is heading in the mountains, as one ridge will force it east and the next will push it south. As we pulled up to the trailhead, with the presence of the storm fading from our minds, a clap of thunder echoed between the mountains, reminding us that there would be no escape. This was exactly what I was hoping wouldn’t happen. I was being dropped off with my girlfriend at a trailhead, and from there we would be almost completely alone for the next six days. The trail, the Sawback Trail in Alberta, Canada, would take us from Lake Louise to Banff, Alberta.
Winding through three passes and over 46 miles, it was easily the most ambitious backpacking trip either of us had taken. I was used to backpacking in Michigan and in Ontario, Canada, and had done so a number of times, but this was a completely new adventure. Backpacking at high elevation changes everything, from how the weather moves, to causing below-freezing temperatures in July. And I had always gone out in bigger groups, with someone who was more experienced than I was at the time. I was trying to put on a façade of being uber-confident and not concerned about what we were faced with so my girlfriend wouldn’t get any more worried, but my nerves were eating away at me. I couldn’t stop wondering if we were making the right decision.
Reluctantly, we lifted our nearly 50-pound backpacks on to our shoulders, clipped our hip belts and set off. Soon after we started trekking up the rest of the pass, the storm caught us. The near golf ball-sized hail forced us to stop and wait under a tree, but the lightning suggested that might be unwise. At this moment, we were questioning what the hell we were even doing on that trail. Neither of us had backpacked in Banff, or in any sort of elevation for that matter. On top of that, I was the more experienced backpacker of the two of us, leaving me to make most of our decisions. When I made this realization, coupled with being in the mountains and turbulent conditions, I became more scared than I ever have been while backpacking. The pressure of knowing that your
Courtesy of Miranda Miley
safety, as well as someone else’s safety, rides completely on your decision making is scary and overwhelming. Regardless of how ready I felt prior to the trip, at that moment trekking up Boulder Pass I felt everything but that. We were challenged with whether or not to push forward, completely unsure of how long the storm would hover above us. On one hand, it could stop advancing once it reached the top of the pass, but it was just as likely to keep going through the pass and follow us down the valley on the other side. If we had turned around, we wouldn’t have woken up in the middle of our first night to the vicious purr of a wolverine outside our tent (it was confirmed to be a wolverine by a friend who was at the same campsite a few days later who said he saw one there). If we had turned around, we wouldn’t have gotten trail lost for over four hours when we came across a part of the trail that had been completely wiped out by an avalanche the previous winter. But above all, if we had turned around, I wouldn’t know that I could do it: I would be left wondering if I could conquer the rest of the trail. The sense of accomplishment we felt as we hitch-hiked our way down the mountain after coming out on Mount Norquay, the southern end of the Sawback Trail, was unbelievable. When I found out about the trail several months prior, it seemed like something incredible to do, but highly unlikely to take on given my lack of experience navigating complicated trails and hiking in big mountain ranges. But I went for it anyway, trusting what I did know, and came away knowing that doubting myself wouldn’t get me anywhere. It’s those scary, risky situations that teach the most. Backpacking (sometimes too often) presents me with near life or death situations, where I’m forced to trust my decision making, and that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. There is no room to doubt yourself. On that day heading up Boulder Pass, I was definitely doubting myself. I had little confidence that we would get off that trail unscathed. But we did, and we’re both better for it.
V I S UA L STAT E M E NT:
Wednesday, April 4 2018// The Statement
7B
Photo Staff Class of 2018: Goodbyes I never thought I’d call myself a photojournalist. Thanks to the existence of The Daily’s photo staff, however, I now claim this title with pride. I’ve been lucky enough to photograph presidents, NCAA tournaments and countless other events that have shaped my craft. I’ve been able to travel the country while looking through my lens to capture impactful images, getting a taste of sports, music and news. From navigating around Ann Arbor to highways across the country, I’ve made irreplaceable friendships and experienced once in a lifetime events because of this publication. The Daily has allowed me to pursue my passions and capture the essence of the human condition. I couldn’t imagine my time at Michigan without 420 Maynard, and I will forever cherish the experiences it gave me.
The Daily always seemed impenetrable to me. I felt like I’d have to have years of journalism experience to even enter the Student Publications Building. However, I was shown otherwise after taking my roommates’ advice (shoutout to Fahd Ahsan and Ibrahim Rasheed, both Daily alums) and joining The Daily as a columnist in Winter of 2017. I’ve worked in Opinion and Photo and have come to know some truly great individuals who value truth, and more importantly the way truth is presented. Best of all, I’ve been able to practice my passions (writing opinion pieces and photography) in a scheduled manner which has shown me how to balance a busy life and doing what you love.
Zoey Holmstrom
Ibrahim Ijaz Courtesy of Amelia Cacchione
Courtesy of Maaz Khan
Unfortunately, the time has come where I’ve maxed out my time at The Daily with eight semesters full of some of my best memories at the University of Michigan. Not many people can say they got to witness The Game go into double overtime from the sidelines and watch JT Barrett (who may or may not have been short) get that infamous first down. Few can say they’ve photographed presidents, their favorite band or a Michigan football bowl game. And even less can say they’ve captured the raw elation on our basketball players’ faces when they capture a Big Ten Tournament title or punch a ticket to the Final Four. And yet The Daily has provided me these experiences that I’ll remember for a lifetime. Combined with the friendships made through late nights at production, The Daily was a key component to my college identity. Thanks to all my past and current MPEs for giving me the opportunities to shoot big events, and to any staff photographer who’s been on my dayside taking killer photos — you made my job easy. Proud to have been a member of photostaff for the last four years and excited to see what future generations accomplish!
Photographing for The Daily has been a great outlet for me to explore what this campus has to offer. Some of the most memorable events I have been privileged to capture through The Daily are men’s gymnastics, a panel of Michigan’s Democratic Gubernatorial candidates and the Yoni Ki Baat Spring Monologue show. The variety of events I’ve photographed has challenged me to be a more dynamic photographer. I never felt like I was restricted to capturing only sports or arts or news events. I got a little taste of everything, which has really helped me appreciate my time at the University. I was on The Daily last summer and returned for the current semester. Ahad Bootwala
Sam Mousigian Courtesy of Benji Bear
Courtesy of Katelyn Mulcahy
8B
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 // The Statement
V I S UA L STAT E M E NT:
Photo Staf f Class of 2018: Favorite Pictures
Zoey Holmstrom/Daily
Ibrahim Ijaz/Daily
Ahad Bootwala/Daily
Sam Mousigian/Daily