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Thursday, April 5, 2018
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Minimum starting salary for a lecturer LEO’s requested minimum starting salary for a lecturer University’s starting salary offers in response to LEO’s demands
LEO to strike next week pending ‘U’ salary proposal Group authorizes picket lines April 9 and 10 if demands are not satisfied LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization will strike on April 9 and 10 if the University of Michigan does not satisfy their demands for significant salary increases
before Sunday. LEO members voted Wednesday evening to authorize the action. Last week, lecturers authorized union leadership to call for a walkout and have showed “overwhelming support” for them to do so, LEO President Ian Robinson said. “There is absolutely no
question of our resolve on this,” Robinson said after a general membership meeting in Ann Arbor. “All three campuses are in unity on this — for going forward with our strike plan if we do not have an adequate offer on the table by Sunday.” After several additional See LEO, Page 3A
Louis the Child headlines SpringFest, shows growth MIKE WATKINS Daily Arts Writer
Donned in maize and blue T-shirts that read “Michigan Grandpa” and “Michigan Mom,” Freddy Kennett and Robby Hauldren took the stage at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium for Music Matters’s annual SpringFest. Five months ago, the duo electrified the crowd at Detroit’s Masonic Temple with a phenomenal rundown through their discography, but last night’s performance was different. After trips to both Europe and South America for a tour with Whethan and performances for Lollapalooza’s regional tour respectively, Kennett and Hauldren seemed to have a stronger grasp of how to transform an EDM show from a disk-spinning display of their content into a dynamic and engaging experience. With new music to work with, like their beat tape Honey, Kennett and Hauldren layered tracks left and right. Their famed release, “It’s Strange,” normally reserved for the show’s encore, was thrown in mid-set with the
heavy beat of “Drip Drip” in the background. They also paid their respects to electronic music pioneers, Justice, with a remix of the group’s hit track “D.A.N.C.E.” Still, they didn’t shy away from unadulterated crowd-pleasing hits, ending the evening with their most recent blow-up track, “Last To Leave.” All in all, the performance was engaging and unpredictable, aspects that can be hard to come by at EDM shows, where
songs are often played in isolation with no regard for live arrangement. The show’s opening acts, Miller Guth and Lost Kings, also put on impressive performances, with the typically pop-driven Lost Kings toying with headbanging bass drops. These acts, plus a more artistically mature Louis The Child, made this year’s SpringFest an absolute success.
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily Students attend SpringFest’s Louis the Child concert at Hill Auditorium Wednesday Night.
Ford panel talks current-day status Health cafe Street light and market of Affordable Care Act, life of MLK lacking in
BUSINESS
COMMUNITY AFFAIRS
relocating, expanding
HuffPost Senior reporter Jonathon Cohn, joined by Public Policy professors
Organic, natural food store BetterHealth is moving centrally after rebrand
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s passing, the Ford School of Public Policy held a policy talk Wednesday evening on the prospects of the healthcare in the United States and the Affordable Care Act. The talk began with an introduction from Law professor Michael Barr. Barr highlighted King’s work during his “Poor People’s” campaign, which was designed to draw attention to U.S. poverty in the late 1960s with special attention to poor health care. “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane,” King said at a 1966 Medical Committee for Human Rights convention. The talk was moderated by Public Policy professor Paula Lantz, who explained the context of the ACA during its creation under President Barack Obama’s administration, as well as current disparagement by President Donald Trump’s administration. The ACA introduced new restrictions on health care: With few exceptions, citizens were required to obtain health care coverage, allowing states to expand their Medicaid programs to those who previously didn’t qualify. However, critics of the ACA point out its cost and inequitable distributions among classes. Lantz asked panelists where
CORY ZAYANCE
Daily Staff Reporter
Natural-foods store Better Health is relocating from its East Stadium Street location to Washtenaw Avenue, where it will rebrand itself as Better Health Market and Café. The new health produce store will open April 12 with its grand opening on April 18, and will feature an expanded selection of produce, in-house food and kombucha on tap. Owner Tedd Handlesman wanted to offer customers other options besides vitamins and supplements, so he chose to expand Better Health to sell more produce and prepared foods. “Our mission is our name, to help improve and better the health of everyone that patrons our establishment,” Handlesman said. “We want to continue to grow and to do that with new markets and locations.” In addition to the Nature’s Kitchen Café, the new location will feature a kombucha bar. Here, customers will have See HEALTH, Page 3A
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the Affordable Care Act stands today, and how it has changed under the Trump administration after an agressive but ultimately doomed campaign to ‘repeal and replace.’ Economist Gail Wilensky, former President George H.W. Bush’s senior health and welfare adviser, opened the debate by noting she believes the Trump administration has passed very little legislation with regard to the act the threat of repeal.
“Despite the efforts of not very effective Republicans in Congress, there has been precious little change on the ACA in terms of participation both by individuals and insurance companies,” Wilensky said. Jonathan Cohn, a senior national correspondent at the Huffington Post, identified two main successes of the ACA. First, he argued, the ACA has increased human welfare and access to care through its national coverage
expansion. “These aren’t just numbers and stats, these are really people getting health care,” Cohn said. Second, Cohn noted the ACA has changed political conversation and expectations of what the government should provide its people. Even though the ACA has been criticized by many, those same critics do not support absolute repeal. John Ayanian, a health See ACA, Page 3A
CHUN SO/Daily
Panelist Gail Wilensky discusses issues surrounding current health care policies at the Annenberg Auditorium Wednesday.
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Vol. CXXVII, No. 105 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
off-campus community
Residents draw correlation between crime statistics and inadequate lighting GRACE KAY
Daily Staff Reporter
Particularly in student neighborhoods surrounding the University of Michigan, poor lighting continues to be a cause for concern, as many students and Ann Arbor residents draw a correlation between frequent campus crime alerts, pedestrian safety and poor street lighting. Online crime statistics highlight a potential correlation between crime in the city and poorly lit areas. According to February 2018 data from the Ann Arbor Observer Crime Map, crime concentrates around areas like Packard or State Street. The most common crimes in these areas are burglaries, followed by slightly lower instances of robbery and sexual assault. Instances of burglary and robbery in 2017 also spiked in October through December — though in 2016, crime was much higher in the spring — especially around areas like North State and Packard Street. Packard was one of a few See OFF-CAMPUS, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................1B
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7
News
2A — Thursday, April 5, 2018
MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
TUESDAY: By Design
WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
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FRIDAY: Behind the Story
Sel @selmelendez
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KT @Kaytlynn_12
How tf did I manage to be up by 5:30, go to class from 8-8:30, take 6 AP courses, play 3 sports & work in high school but now I can’t even make it to my 10 AM???
@ umich telefund, please call in 30 years when I have money to give and I will gladly donate then.
Today in Ann Arbor has been cold, cloudy, snowy, sunny & windy. And I’m over it.
University of Michigan @UMich
Zac Gelfand @gac_zelfand
bg @briitney18
U-M will join the National Civil Rights Museum of Memphis and other institutions across the world in remembering the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination with three concerts that honor his legacy and life.
kid in front of me in buddhism class that’s working on beats on logic just received a nude via imessage
is it bad that i follow every organization that @UMich has... literally obsessed with the school
W O LV E R I N E O F T H E W E E K What is your most prized possession?
“My fish, my beta fish because I have dropped a lot of money on this fish and he is basically my therapy pet at this point.”
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Vice President of Development Jerry May announces year-end retirement One of May’s biggest accomplishments was the Victors for Michigan campaign in the position, he left to lead the Ohio State University fundraising team and raised a $1.23 billion campaign — the most successful in the school’s history. In 2003, May returned to the University as the vice president for development and since has undertaken a variety of projects. One of such projects is the Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign, launched in 2011, which raises money for increasing “student support, engaged learning and bold ideas.” The seven-and-a-half-year campaign is now its final
stretch, and though the final with whom he worked and amount has not yet been the exciting challenges of determined, May’s office is fundraising. already $330 million past its “The reason I stayed is University of Michigan Vice $4 billion goal. Campaign because I love the University President for Development Director Todd Baily has of Michigan; you can’t work Jerry May announced his known May for 30 years, and for a better place with a plans to retire at the end of described him as a dedicated better product, that’s the first the year after nearly three individual who is held in high thing,” May said. “Secondly, decades of expanding the esteem by his coworkers. the donors and volunteers — school’s fundraising efforts to “It’s been a great pleasure there stand no equals – they’re record heights. working with him,” Baily among the most talented, May has been affiliated said. “I don’t think anybody skilled people I’ve ever worked with the University since his could find a more committed, with … I love the challenge of time as a graduate student in passionate, development mounting campaigns, that’s the higher education program, professional, either here probably my specialty … during which he then took at Michigan or across the Michigan continues to have onSyndication a job in the Development country. Jerry is very well the appetite to achieve in its Sudoku http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Office. After spending 13 years respected nationally by fundraising.” peer institutions for his Some of May’s greatest fundraising leadership. moments at the University He is extremely included working with big knowledgeable about the donors such as Bert Askwith, profession and an expert Stephen Ross, and Richard on the University of and Susan Rogel — just last HARD Michigan.” week, the latter donated$150 However, before he million to the University for reaches retirement, May cancer research. explained he still plans “The kind of thing that gets to continue working and me — what you call the great travel to many major cities moments that give me the most over the next two month. satisfaction — is working with “I’m going to keep someone like Bert Askwith, raising money for the and all the things that give University,” May said. “I’m him joy and help him support going to try to support all the University,” May said. “For the good development me, it’s working with a donor professionals we have at and matching them up to the University, work with things that give them passion, the wonderful volunteers make them smile and make who help us raise the them feel good and that makes money and continue me feel good.” working as far past the Pam Stout, the senior campaign goal as we can. director of executive I got nine more months to communications, also do that.” touched on this enthusiasm May also ref lected on while thinking back on her his time at the University, experiences working with and said he continued to May. Stout has been working © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. APRIL SHOWERS puzzle by sudokusyndication.com work here because of the closely with May over the quality of the University, past year and described his the passion of those See VP, Page 3A Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com! AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter
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VP From Page 2A genuine passion allowed him to establish meaningful connections with those he encountered. “He really cares about the people he works with,” Stout said. “He really wants to treat every donor with respect
May’s office is already $330 million past its $4 billion goal.
CARTER FOX/Daily The MSwing club dances at their last Swing event of the semester at the League Wednesday night.
LEO From Page 1A bargaining sessions with the University, lecturers say though progress has been made on some issues, the negotiations are “still a long way from what is required.” “This is not enough given that salary is the number one issue,” Robinson said. LEO represents nearly 1,700 non-tenure track faculty members at U-M Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses. Bargaining began last semester,
HEALTH From Page 1A access to a draft selection of kombucha, a fermented tea filled with probiotics. According to Handlesman, the kombucha will be available by the glass or customers can bring and fill their own containers. Better Health Market and Café employs an on-site nutritionist and culinary staff, and will host community events and seminars focused on health and wellness.
We’re close to customers and plugged into the local community
“We’re close to customers and plugged into the local community, and we support a lot of local vendors where a lot of bigger chains don’t have the desire or drive to do that,” Handlesman said. “We try to provide education in our store and better everyone’s health by educating and offering superior products at a superior price.” LSA junior Ainsley Belisle started going to Better Health four years ago after she had developed an allergy to gluten.
ACA From Page 1A management and policy professor and director of the Institute of Healthcare Policy and Innovation, illustrated his firsthand experience with patients and how they have benefitted from the increased access to care. He described patients who have gone five to 10 years without care and are finally getting their chronic conditions treated. Despite its benefits, Ayanian also noted the rising prices of prescription drugs and how the
as its current contract, which has a no strike clause, expires April 20. The minimum starting salary for a lecturer in is $34,500 in Ann Arbor, $28,300 in Dearborn and $27,300 in Flint. LEO has asked that the minimum be raised to $60,000 in Ann Arbor and $56,000 in Dearborn and Flint. The University responded with an offer of $40,000 in Ann Arbor, $31,300 in Dearborn and $30,300 in Flint with gradual increases. Following general membership meetings on all three campuses this week, a
“For me, they’re really good about having lots of different options for allergies,” Belisle said. “They’re very nice; I remember we were at the store asking if they had something, and they were like ‘No, but we’ll order it.’” When it comes to running an organic food store, competition is always a challenge. According to Handlesman, new competitors entering and exiting the market keeps owners on their toes. “With Amazon buying Whole Foods, it’s becoming more of a mature business,” Handlesman said. “It’s a challenge that way, but we’ve been able to grow through it by taking good care of our customers and making sure they get a different value than they can get from anyone else.” Better Health Market and Café offers a wide selection of organic produce. The store provides sugar-free, glutenfree and dairy-free products, in addition to a wide range of vegetarian and vegan options. LSA junior Jonathan George regularly grows fruits and vegetables in his spare time and enjoys having access to the freshest produce he can find. George believes students should try to buy fresh produce if they’re able. “Well first, it’s healthier and it’s just more interesting,” George said. “People don’t realize just the variety of fruits and vegetables available to us at these stores. And it tastes better too.”
ACA has not affected much change to slow the underlying cost growth. “We have to come up with some better mechanism, particularly for paying for new breakthrough drugs that may benefit a small part of the population, but really can draw out control for public and private insurers,” Ayanian said. In Nebraska, Cohn said, people receiving subsidies have little choice for coverage, and those above the subsidy line face prohibitive costs that force them into alternative health insurance options. These alternative options include Christian sharing
final meeting is planned for Sunday to review bargaining process up to that point. The Union Council, an eightmember body comprised of elected leadership and campus chairs, will then decide whether or not to call a strike. Robinson said there are three possibilities at this point. “One outcome is that they bring in an offer in the next couple of days that we can say is just,” Robinson said. In that case, the union bargaining team would bring the proposal before members for a ratification vote and the walkout would be
OFF-CAMPUS From Page 1A neighborhoods the University of Michigan Student Advisory Council identified as lacking proper lighting in a 2017 report. Councilmember Julie Grand, D-Ward 3, corroborated these findings and explains crime seems to concentrate around student neighborhoods. “Lights certainly make people feel safer whether or not they’re actually related to crime,” Grand said. “I keep tabs on my ward where crime is highest and the student areas are definitely one of those. Through the Student Advisory Council and others, we are trying to work to increase street lighting.” Former SAC Chair Jeremy Glick, an LSA senior, said he sees the concentration of crime in student neighborhoods not only as the result of poor lighting, but also a lack of education among students regarding safety. “There definitely seems to be an uptick in crime in the Packard area,” Glick said. “This is a non-data based personal opinion, but there seem to be greater chances of attacks and assault. Students are a more vulnerable population. Adequate lighting helps with crime in any area, but greater things to focus on with home invasion would be to be educate students regarding proper practices.” In response to the lack of
ministries, which offer short-time care aimed to help between jobs. These loopholes are affordable but inefficient, and avoid federal insurance regulations the ACA was created to implement. Wilensky explained citizens slightly above the poverty line get more subsidies than citizens with employer insurance, which she believes is unfair and leads to further instability. “What can we do to try to stabilize these markets that will not be inherently unfair to the people right above them, or right beside them?” Wilensky asked.
canceled. If no such development is made, Robinson said, the “strike is inevitable.” However, a third option is available. “If they don’t come to table with an adequate deal but it shows enough progress that we can call off the strike in good faith, then we will,” Robinson said. “We would call of the strike and continue bargaining.” University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said in an email administration remains “hopeful” a compromise will be reached before the union’s
lighting, a group of University students have created a petition to brighten the city’s streets. Titled “Bright Students Need Bright Lights,” the petition has gained 203 signatures thus far, and been posted in multiple University class Facebook groups. The petition argues, “From a security point of view, light correlates with safety.” One of the petition writers, LSA sophomore Jenna Jacobson, said insufficient street lighting affects Ann Arbor crime and a student’s day-to-day life. “We are passionate about the lack of lighting in Ann Arbor, and are convinced that if there were better street lighting, there would be less crimes in Ann Arbor,” Jacobson wrote in an intervie with The Daily. “When going to study at night, students have to worry about how they are walking home and if they have friends to walk home with because of the poor lighting. I even have found myself walking home earlier than I wanted to from the library because of the poor lighting on campus. This has definitely impacted my studies.” Poor lighting in Ann Arbor is not solely a student concern. Monday, the Ann Arbor City Council heard several residents express their concerns regarding pedestrian safety and street lights. Resident Kathy Griswold specifically argued for the safety of children at crosswalks.
Ayanian differentiated between health care and health insurance, explaining the ACA was aimed to reform health insurance, not health care. However, he stressed the importance of integrating health care and social services, arguing the U.S. is spending too much on health care services and not enough on social services to actually implement an increased access to health care. “We’re not getting the value for the dollars we spend on health care,” Ayanian said. Lantz asked the group what the one policy problem surrounding
and integrity, but also holds the highest values of the University in check. He has an incredible memory for details. You can be in an event with 500 people and he can walk over to somebody and remember what their children are up to and where they went to school … and it’s really amazing.” In the future, May hopes the University continues to encourage students to pursue higher education and remain
a leader in various disciplines. “I hope the University of Michigan will always be a leader — that’s first and foremost — always be an academic leader, an athletic leader, a cultural and arts leader,” May said. “I hope we have people that come up with new innovations in science and technology. I hope we play a major role in helping to solve diseases or at least help patients manage chronic illness better. I hope we keep teaching students the joy of learning. Higher education is not just about a job, it should be about what you learn to add to the quality of your life.” As for himself, May admitted while he wasn’t entirely ready to retire, he hopes to continue to help the University in different ways and looks forward to having more time for leisurely activities. “I love what I do, truthfully I’m not really entirely ready to retire, but I’ve decided I’m going to retire because you can’t have it both ways,” May said. “I want more time for myself. I want more time to do fun things. I want to travel … but I hope I’ll always keep my hands in some kind of fundraising and helping the University as a volunteer or through consulting work.”
contract expires. “A work stoppage or strike by LEO members has its biggest negative impact on students at a critical time near the end of the academic year,” Fitzgerald wrote. “The University believes strongly that the collective bargaining process is effective and there is no need for LEO to call for a strike.” Under state law, teacher strikes and strikes by public employeesare illegal. Robinson called the prohibition “unjust.” “From time to time states pass unjust laws and this is one
of them,” he said. “Sometimes we have a duty to violate unjust laws. We’re not going to stand for unjust laws that stop us from getting a just contract.” Teachers recently instigated a statewide strike in West Virginia, where such action is also against the law. Robinson also said he laid the blame for the strike on the University. “If we do go out on Monday and Tuesday, I put that on them,” he said. “They need to come to the table and make right what has been wrong for so long.”
“Will the 2019 budget include dollars for adequate illumination at all of our crosswalks given that we have new low-cost options with solar and LED?” Griswold asked. Similarly, resident Eric Lipson expressed his frustration with the lack of lighting. “No bureaucratic inertia is an excuse for losing a human life due to lack of public safety,” Lipson said. According to Glick, the issue of street lighting seems to be a problem both off and on campus. “University grounds are not exempt from this problem,” Glick said. “For example on North Campus, when I have taken night classes on North Campus, I have noticed areas of darkness where the trees obscure the light.” Though many citizens consider poor lighting to be the city’s responsibility, Grand said a partnership with the University could fix this problem. “We continue to put more money into street lights in our budget and trying to find long-term sources of funding,” Grand said. “I would ideally love to see the University be a partner in how we fund our street lights, particularly the street lights that are in areas where students live. I don’t think it falls solely on the city. I would love to see this be a partnership between the city and the University, and I think students are an important
voice in helping that process go forward.” Jacobson and Glick both countered though the University could take a more active role in this issue, ultimately the problems falls heavily on the city. “Legally, the lighting is the responsibility of the city and is a part of city maintenance,” Glick said. “Ethically, the governing bodies of the University take an integral role in the community.” Looking forward, Glick says that he believes street lighting will continue to be an issue the SAC will seek to highlight, though it’s no longer a primary focus. Similarly, Grand says street lights will continue to be a priority for City Council. The city has been continuously attempting to keep up with the safety concerns. In January 2017, the council voted to approve a$143,296 contract with OHM Advisers to take inventory of the city’s streetlights and determine the price for future repairs. Similarly, the city voted in 2015 to spend $200,000 on new streetlights for neighborhoods such as Hill Street, Oxford Road and Geddes Road. Most recently, in a March 12 budget meeting, Financial Services discussed increasing expenditures for street lighting, almost doubling the budget from $295,000 to $595,000. With this new budget, City Council could install about 30 new streetlights a year.
the ACA would they fix. Ayanian again highlighted expanding Medicaid in the 18 states that have not yet implemented the ACA, as it would help millions of people with chronic illnesses. Cohn and Wilensky focused on the inequities brought about by the subsidy distribution, and how it is arguably a root cause of the instability brought about by the ACA. Cohn specifically suggested making the subsidies bigger and more generous, while Wilensky suggested focusing on horizontal and vertical equity.
At a Ford panel on the same topic last Februrary, students said they appreciated frank disucssion. LSA freshman Kieran Byrne said he wanted to cut through media portrayals of the healthcare debate. “I think it’s important that people have a good idea of what’s going on in terms of the legislation that’s going to happen and what laws are already doing for us,” he said. “I think a lot of news and information is very sensationalized and it’s important to hear from the people who actually have an impact.”
Opinion
4A — Thursday, April 5, 2018
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HANNAH HARSHE | COLUMN
T
Activism through good food
he Lunch Room didn’t start with a business plan or a value proposition. Instead, it started with two neighbors cooking food together in their kitchens. After eight years, three brick-and-mortar locations and success beyond what anyone could have predicted, its origin story isn’t hard to believe. Step inside any of The Lunch Room’s three locations and you’ll instantly feel like you’re at home having a meal with your family. The Lunch Room emanates a casual, almost hippie-like vibe, with meals that taste home-cooked and posters on the wall promoting The Lunch Room’s social activism with the Youth Justice Fund. In a city like Ann Arbor, perhaps those qualities alone could account for its incredible success as a restaurant. But Joel Panozzo, co-founder and co-owner of The Lunch Room, hopes his restaurant’s success is due to more than just its location in a notoriously community-focused, activism-centric city. “I’ve been wanting to think that it’s possible for businesses to do the things that we’re doing, even not in Ann Arbor,” Panozzo said in an interview at The Lunch Room’s Kerrytown location. “That’s what my personal longer-term goal is — to be an example that a restaurant can do these things. A restaurant can pay its employees a livable wage, it can provide health and dental benefits, it can provide gym membership reimbursements, it can farm its own vegetables, it can work with formerly incarcerated adults, it can work with people recovering in the community, regardless of what town you live in. It helps that a community like Ann Arbor identifies with those things, but I’m hoping that it grows further from there.” Panozzo’s sentiment may be more controversial than it initially sounds; how many diners do you know that pay their employees a livable wage? However, it seems to be working for The Lunch Room. This past summer, The Lunch Room opened its third location,
Detroit Street Filling Station, which is right across the street from its original location in Kerrytown. “You’ve probably seen what it’s like when (The Lunch Room) gets super busy and there’s a line down the hallway,” Panozzo said. (For the record, I have seen The Lunch Room that busy, just about every time I’ve been there). “It turned into be an issue. I would run into our regulars on the street and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you in so long, what’s been going on?’ And they’d be like, ‘Yeah, I don’t come anymore cause it’s so busy, it’s crazy.’” Not many restaurants have this problem, and Panozzo acknowledged “it’s a good problem to have, but it’s still a problem.” When space opened up across the street, Panozzo and his co-owner, Phillis Engelbert, immediately jumped on it. What put The Lunch Room in a position to be so successful that it was forced to open another location? It appears that Panozzo and Engelbert don’t view most of their decisions as business decisions, but rather as opportunities to provide the highest quality of service. First and foremost, this means good food. The Lunch Room is an all-vegan restaurant, meaning it doesn’t use meat, eggs or dairy (like cheese) in any of its menu items. According to Panozzo, this isn’t to hit the niche market of vegans in Ann Arbor. Rather, it allows them to create the highest quality of dishes that other restaurants may not be capable of creating. “When you are using really heavy creams and cheeses and animal fats, it can kind of mask a lot of the other things that you have going on in your food,” Panozzo explained. “When you’re using entirely plant-based ingredients, it’s like an opportunity to find other spices, herbs, crazy vegetables. It’s an opportunity to actually make something that hits a flavor palette that somebody has maybe never tasted before. Or a flavor palette that could be there, but then it’s got melted cheese is all over the top.” The Lunch Room doesn’t hesitate to give back to its community. Recently, The Lunch
Room began a partnership with the Youth Justice Fund, a nonprofit that works with formerly incarcerated youth in the Ann Arbor area. “That kind of grew out of a separate program that we were running,” Panozzo said. The Lunch Room used to have a 10 percent giving program, where each month it promoted a particular nonprofit. On Saturday nights, the nonprofit would advertise The Lunch Room to its donors and employees, and 10 percent of the restaurant’s sales would go to that nonprofit. Over time, The Lunch Room used this program to partner with local prisoner-rights attorneys and create the Youth Justice Fund. This form of charity appears to be a no-brainer for Panozzo. When I ask him to explain it further, he emphasizes the need for such a nonprofit in the community, rather than explaining why it helps The Lunch Room as a business. This attitude is characteristic of Panozzo; he views The Lunch Room as an opportunity to make the right life decisions, not necessarily the right business decisions. The business success follows, almost as an afterthought. As for long-term goals, Panozzo doesn’t plan on expanding any further. “I imagine us starting to work more on an advocacy level, where my business partner and I would start stepping out and maybe teaching other businesses how to do what we’re doing,” he said. “It’s great that we’ve been able to do the three places that we have been able to do, but like I don’t think more locations is like necessarily … we’re feeling very content with the amount of craziness that three locations entails.” As for Panozzo, The Lunch Room is still the place that he began cooking in his neighbor’s kitchen back in 2008. “Yesterday, I was cooking on the line for like eight hours,” he said with a laugh. “It would be nice to just step back a little bit.”
CARLY BEHRENDT | CONTACT CARLY AT CARBEHR@UMICH.EDU
Hannah Harshe can be reached at hharshe@umich.edu.
P
We can’t just Passover Palestine
assover is a holiday of liberation, retelling the story of Jewish slaves in Egypt and their exodus. We use food to symbolize different parts of the story: maror to remind us of the bitterness of slavery; charoset to represent the mortar used to build the pyramids; karpas to celebrate the welcoming of spring and new life with salt water to reminds us of our ancestors’ tears; and matzah to remind us of the rush of the exodus as the bread didn’t have time to rise — eat that for a week and you’ll be newly grateful for any yeast you can find. Once we were slaves in Egypt. Now, we sit together and remember our ancestors’ hardships and give thanks to the freedom we’ve found. Passover is one of my favorite holidays, because it is always relevant; Jews have been persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism is still alive and well. That said, many others have been and continue to be persecuted, and our suffering is neither more important nor severe than anyone else’s. Yesterday, just hours before the first night of Passover, 14 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 wounded by Israeli fire on the border of Gaza during a Palestinian protest. Just hours before the seders began, soldiers were dropping tear gas over countless civilians fighting for the same cause we fought for — freedom and liberation. There are layers upon layers of complexity in this issue, as historical, religious and emotional stakes are very high. Similarly, leaving Egypt was no small feat and the stakes then were very high — that’s why we celebrate the story and remember it so vividly. Yet on this holiday,
we continue to violently oppress an entire people. Gaza has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, severely limiting human travel and cutting them off from medical supplies, food, electricity and more. As Jews, we know the importance of resistance and resilience, and if we’ve forgotten, this timely holiday is here to remind us. So why this double standard? Why was our fight for freedom, which was violent and cruel (a commanded killing of a newly born child is never warranted), something to celebrate while a Palestinian protest is something we feel the need to suppress? Why is Jewish liberation more important than that of Palestinians’? It’s not. My grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. He survived a mass genocide of his people, and he moved to Israel. My family is in Israel. My parents are from Israel. I identify with Israel. So why is this country that is supposed to be a safe haven for Jews treating others the way we were treated? When we think back to the tragedies that took so many Jewish lives, we say, “Never again.” But we turn a blind eye to Israel’s oppressive and abusive behavior and continue to celebrate it without question. It’s time to wake up and ask these questions! I am proud of my heritage and culture, but how can this country that is supposed to represent that be so cruel? I know I will hear arguments about the Palestinians starting it and throwing stones and this and that — I’ve heard it all before. But ask yourselves, why do children feel the need to throw stones? Why are they so afraid of an Israeli soldier?
Is it because they lost a family member to the blow of one of their guns? It very well could be. As Jews, we understand suffering and displacement. We know the hardships of being driven from our homes and fighting with nothing to lose. So where is our empathy? Palestinians, especially in Gaza, have been oppressed and dehumanized for decades. It’s on us to understand the hardships that have caused the oppression and work to make it better. It’s on us to meet Palestinians where they are, because if our history has taught us anything, it’s empathy in suffering. Israel’s oppression and violence is not acceptable, and as Jews we have a responsibility to say that out loud. Israel’s actions are shameful and not reflective of our culture and history. It doesn’t need to be this way, but it is, and we can’t ignore that. So on Passover, as you eat your charoset and drink your wine, as you remember the 10 plagues and sing Dayenu, sing it for those in Palestine who are no longer able to sing themselves. Sing it for the lives lost to violent military control and do something to change the story. We need to question and criticize Israel if we care about a fair and just Jewish nation. On April 19, some will celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, or Israeli Independence Day. On that day, take pleasure in how good it feels to be liberated and remember that everyone deserves that sense of freedom. It’s time to free Palestine.
Alona Henig is an LSA Junior.
BRETT GRAHAM | COLUMN
B
Pod hold the partisanship
y all accounts, it was a pretty standard October Saturday. Michigan football was playing in a few hours and I stood on a friend’s lawn near the corner of State and Hoover streets, watching with a red Solo cup in hand as hordes of people decked out in maize and blue passed by. Then, I saw a familiar face in the crowd. And then two more just behind it. “Friend of the Pod!” I shouted. “Friend of the Pod here, can I get a picture?” Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor and Dan Pfeiffer were passing by on their way to the game, having taped an episode of their extremely popular podcast “Pod Save America” in the Michigan Theater the night before. It might be hard to believe for some, but these former President Barack Obama staffers have gained a huge amount of celebrity since their time in the White House. Their podcast reaches about 1.5 million listeners per episode and their live shows sell out theaters across the country. They have interviewed nearly every major candidate for Congress and the presidency in 2018 and 2020, respectively. On specs, for progressives and liberals at least, the success of their company, Crooked Media, and its growing list of podcasts is cause for celebration — finally, an answer to conservative talk radio and Fox News! Young liberal voices are helping the average American contextualize the hot mess of current events in the President Donald Trump era and stay informed. Still, long-time listeners (such as yours truly) have observed a certain shift in tone over the past few months that makes me think I would not have such an enthusiastic reaction if I were to see them walking around Ann Arbor today.
Co-hosts Favreau, Vietor, Pfeiffer and Jon Lovett, a former speech-writer and funnyman, have spent hours and hours discussing the state of the Democratic Party. They have rehashed the 2016 primary and the relationship between the so-called Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sander wings. They have parsed apart the party’s position on health care, immigration and gun control to find the most progressive or most sensible stance. They have interviewed countless experts, trying to understand how to best fight the Trump presidency. They used to plainly criticize a number of high-profile Democrats. As the 2018 midterms have approached, though, the Pod is sounding more and more like a partisan rallying cry than the serious autopsy that it once was. I first got this feeling in the wake of the Alabama special election in December. Obviously, Republican candidate Roy Moore’s loss is something to celebrate, and a Democrat winning that seat goes a long way toward liberal politics returning to the South. But Democratic Sen. Doug Jones is and always has been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. He does not support single-payer health care, which is now enjoying almost universal (no pun intended) support from liberals and progressives. He even once celebrated a Confederate colonel. He will face a tough re-election campaign in 2020, and anyone who expects him to be a consistent and reliable liberal vote in the Senate is naïve; he will be looking for every opportunity to work with his Republican colleagues. And yet, listening to “Pod Save America,” you hear very few – if any – of these caveats. None of this context. “Someone with
a (D) next to his name on the ballot won, so let’s celebrate!” they seemed to say. Now, as the midterms approach, listeners hear regularly how important it is to elect Democrats nationwide in November. I would agree, with one slight adjustment. It is important to elect the right Democrats in November. Progressive, non-corporate ones with vision. A roster of Doug Joneses is not going to cut it. To a certain extent, no one can really blame them. They are all partisan Democratic operatives, not journalists. They do not pretend to offer any sort of unbiased perspective. What is worrisome to me is that their audience is comprised of thoughtful, progressive people who now rely on “Pod Save America” for information and context. These people are looking to mobilize and can change the fundamentals of the party if given the chance. They could become an informed, motivated, progressive base that not only helps win elections but keeps its politicians honest. This is only if it is an ideological, and skeptical base rather than a partisan and impressionable one. At the end of the day, I’ll continue to listen to “Lovett or Leave It” regularly and “Pod Save America” on occasion. Crooked Media as a whole employs progressive voices from people of color and women (Symone Sanders, DeRay Mckesson, Ira Madison III) and they deserve commendation for that. To my fellow listeners, though, a word of warning — stay vigilant. This podcast is no longer what it was and may be transitioning into something less than appealing.
Brett Graham can be reached at btgraham@umich.edu.
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, April 5, 2018 — 5A
The Daily makes its predictions for Michigan and the Frozen Four THE
MICHIGAN DAILY HOCKEY BEAT
Frozen Four? Frozen Four. A very long time ago, the Big Ten Preseason Coaches’ Poll predicted a sixth-place finish for the Michigan hockey team. The Wolverines needed a while to shrug off those projections, but thanks to a second-half push, they did just that and more, storming into the national semifinal for the first time since 2011. That year was also the last time the Frozen Four was played in St. Paul, and coincidentally, three of the four teams in this year’s field — Michigan, Minnesota-Duluth and Notre Dame — were there in 2011. Ohio State, making its first appearance since 1998, is an outlier in this regard only. The Buckeyes are one of three Big Ten teams, along with the Wolverines and Fighting Irish, in this year’s Frozen Four. On Thursday, the Wolverines will face Notre Dame for the fifth time this year, and should they win, a familiar face will await them for the national championship. Either it will be their fiercest rival, Ohio State, which dealt them five losses during the regular season, or they’ll take on Minnesota-Duluth, which beat them in overtime for the 2011 national title. Michigan coach Mel Pearson, then an assistant under Red Berenson, has said that the loss still sticks with him. Seven years later, the Wolverines are back in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, looking to make up for the heartbreak of 2011. The Daily’s hockey beat writers predict if they will do so: Jacob Shames Prediction: Michigan Mel Pearson said last week that Michigan is “happy to be (in the Frozen Four),” and is playing “bonus hockey.” It’s the sentiment of a coach whose team wasn’t expected to even approach St. Paul this season, let alone the NCAA Tournament. But now that the Wolverines are here? They might just mess around and win the whole damn thing. Despite scares against Michigan Tech and Providence in the regional round, Notre Dame — with its Hobey Baker finalist goaltender, disciplined defense and balanced offense — is every bit as good as its No. 1 seed indicates. But Michigan has defeated the Fighting Irish twice, and played them dead-even in two losses in January, outshooting them 70-63. Out of Notre Dame’s six goals against the Wolverines this year, only one of them came from five-on-five play. Michigan is fully capable of creating scoring chances against the Fighting Irish’s defense, and as long as it plays most of the game at even strength, this game is effectively a toss-up. In a low-scoring tussle, I think the Wolverines can sneak a couple past Cale Morris — at least enough to win. Ohio State — which should handle Minnesota-Duluth in the other semifinal — averages more and allows fewer goals per game than Notre Dame. The Buckeyes laid waste to Denver — the defending national champion — in the regional final, and in five meetings with them this season, Michigan has yet to win. But in the teams’ most recent matchup, the Wolverines fell to Ohio State in an overtime contest that was even in just about every way. Michigan’s lost only once since Feb. 9, and it came that night in Columbus. For my money, the Buckeyes
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
The Michigan men’s hockey team faces a familiar foe on Thursday in Notre Dame, and if it wins, it could face another one Saturday in Ohio State.
are the best team in the country. But with the Wolverines’ rapid improvement over the last two months — as well as Ohio State being without third-leading scorer Matthew Weis due to injury — there’s no reason that they can’t beat the Buckeyes once, short of being cursed to never defeat them again. In an unpredictable NCAA Tournament that saw two No. 1 seeds fall in their first game, I predict the title game will follow suit, and Michigan will raise a championship banner at Yost Ice Arena next season. Benjamin Katz Prediction: Michigan Almost two weeks ago, I wrote about the 20th anniversary of the 1998 Michigan hockey national championship team and its eerie similarity to today’s Wolverines headed into the NCAA Tournament. “Maybe this team won’t have the same success,” it read. “But the parallels can’t be ignored.” Akin to 1998, this Wolverine team is the decided underdog, staring straight in the face of Notre Dame with slim expectations directed their way. Win and advance to battle thunderous Ohio State or Minnesota-Duluth. Like two decades ago, Michigan needs to embrace dogged, nothing-tolose motivation to win its 10th National Championship in 25 Frozen Four attempts. It’ll do just that. Don’t get me wrong — navigating the Fighting Irish, arguably the best team on paper, is an arduous task. But the Wolverines’ last series against them shows its immense improvement as the season progressed and ability to rattle Morris early and often. On Feb. 16 in South Bend, Michigan outshot Notre Dame, 17-6, in the first period on the way to a 4-2 win. It was the Wolverines’ best-played period all season. Fast starts and holding leads continued, as they never trailed against Northeastern and Boston University in the Regional rounds. I don’t see this trend stopping against Notre Dame. Then there’s a date against Ohio State or Minnesota-Duluth. With the former more likely to advance to the national championship, college sports’ foremost rivalry would again be on display. The Buckeyes may be America’s most well-rounded team. They allow just 2.08 goals per game, succeeds on 89.29 percent of penalty kills and, with boasts
a lethal first line of Tanner Laczynski, Mason Jobst and Freddy Gerard. While goaltender Sean Romeo may not be Morris, he’s been highly reliable down the stretch with dramatic saves late in games. After being outscored, 17-6, in their first four contents against Ohio State and losing their fifth, 3-2, in overtime of the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, Michigan won’t be embarrassed again. Secondary scoring from freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes and sophomore forwards Jake Slaker and Nick Pastujov — and solid netminding from sophomore Hayden Lavigne — will propel the Wolverines to college hockey’s apex, where not even the most optimistic prognosticator expected them to reside this season. Anna Marcus Prediction: Ohio State Michigan has positioned itself right where it wanted to be this season. The Wolverines will be well-acquainted with their Thursday night opponent in St. Paul. Seeing Notre Dame — the Big Ten conference and tournament champion — for the fifth time this season actually looks like it could be a good thing for Michigan. Rankings-wise, the Fighting Irish look like the clear favorite. They’ve also been either at the top of the nation or just under it all season. But judging by all four of the previous meetings this season, the Wolverines have played right there with them — or better. Michigan has a significant offensive edge, averaging 3.41 goals per game compared to Notre Dame’s 2.95. In fact, in all of their contests this season, the Fighting Irish haven’t shot more than two pucks past Hayden Lavigne. Of course, it is impossible not to recognize Cale Morris and his .945 save percentage, but the Wolverines proved twice in February that they can evade him enough times to pull off a win. In the press conference following the regional, Mel Pearson noted that he “liked the matchup” with Notre Dame. His team should, too. And I believe Pearson’s squad will see a spot in the championship game. Michigan then will find itself in familiar conference company — squaring off against Ohio State for a sixth time. The Buckeyes made a takedown of Denver look
easy in the Midwest Regional, and shouldn’t have too much trouble doing the same with Minnesota-Duluth. But once the Wolverines get there, they will fall short of a national title. It’s safe to say that Michigan wants to avenge its five losses thus far this season to Ohio State. And while that sentiment should not be underestimated, the Buckeyes are just too good, plain and simple. None of the Wolverines’ five losses to Ohio State, other than the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, were even particularly close. Thinking about capitalizing on a power play? The Buckeyes probably won’t let it happen. They run the best penalty kill in the nation, preventing goals over 89 percent of the time. And Michigan scored just once with a man-advantage when playing them. In a season where no one but Michigan itself predicted that it would land a spot in St. Paul, the
Wolverines will prove everyone wrong by making it to the final game of the year. But Ohio State will take it all. Robert Hefter Prediction: Who knows? In the beginning of the year, if you’d asked anyone if the Wolverines would be in the Frozen Four, they would have told you off with good reason. In the second week in January, Michigan was swept by Notre Dame — a series no one expected the Wolverines to take. The Fighting Irish boasted one of the better defenses in the country with the nation’s best goaltender. After 2-1 losses both nights, many commended Michigan for its fortitude in a powerhouse matchup. But that commemoration was representative of an underlying storyline at play. The truth was that, after the Notre Dame defeats, no one expected the Wolverines to get over the hump
Classifieds Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Farm unit 5 “Uh, don’t forget about me ... ” 9 Selling point 14 Soon, quaintly 15 Diamond corner 16 Busch Gardens city 17 USAF plane for small runways 18 Word of proof? 19 Video game based on a film, e.g. 20 Meal owed to President Clinton? 23 Help 24 __ bran 25 PC-to-PC system 28 Employing echo in audio? 32 River to the North Sea 36 “Blue Bloods” rank: Abbr. 37 Devotee 38 Northeast gubernatorial family name 40 Paris café brew 42 African antelope 43 Get in 45 “__ Believer”: Monkees hit 47 __-bitty 48 Rules for righting wrongs? 51 WWII general 52 Map abbr. 53 Bun, for one 58 Mail about system improvements? 62 Like gymnasts 64 Camping stuff 65 Every which way 66 Wash cycle 67 One-named supermodel 68 Nutrition bar with a crescent moon in its logo 69 Like pet hamsters 70 Conciliatory gestures 71 North Sea feeder
2 Dealer’s requests 3 Circuitous routes 4 Zhou of China 5 Helped in a job, perhaps 6 Difficult 7 Biblical brother 8 Comet fragment, perhaps 9 State of mind 10 Proceed easily (through) 11 Sense something’s amiss 12 Prefix with center 13 “The Joy Luck Club” novelist 21 Georgia, once: Abbr. 22 Syrup-soaked cake 26 Ticket __ 27 Dweebish 29 Pro with a tabletop scale 30 System of moral values 31 Most piano sonatas 32 Bluemountain.com product 33 Drew 34 Adjacent to
35 Mideast potentate 39 Stuff at mealtime 41 My Chemical Romance genre 44 __ perpetua: Idaho motto 46 Sticks 49 Worsted fabrics 50 Consume 54 Amalfi Coast country 55 Romulus’ twin
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RELEASE DATE– Thursday, April 5, 2018
DOWN 1 Southeastern Iraqi port
Michigan coach Mel Pearson says he likes his team’s matchup with Notre Dame heading into the Frozen Four.
of securing victories against the nation’s best. That all changed the next weekend. Michigan went on a four-game win-streak against top-15 teams in Minnesota and Penn State. It didn’t look back. A newly diversified attacking arm consisting of veteran offensive performers such as junior Cooper Marody and senior Tony Calderone supplemented by the likes of sophomore Jake Slaker, freshman Jack Becker and others now defined the squad poised for a postseason run. But they’ll certainly face a challenge with the battle-tested Fighting Irish defense headed by Jordan Gross and Cale Morris. One thing is for sure, though, Notre Dame seems to be playing the same hockey now that it was at the beginning of the season — steady defense with slow, calculated offensive pressure. On the other hand, Michigan is clearly playing with more confidence and it has shown in its impressive, unpredicted postseason performance. With Calderone and Marody at the reins with supplementary bombardment from the Wolverines’ depth, Morris won’t be able to stop the Michigan offensive train unless he conjures up Brodeur-esque style. In the other matchup — Ohio State against MinnesotaDuluth — both teams happen to be quite similar. Both have outstanding power plays. Both are defined by a stalwart back line. And much like the media has hinted at for the past week and a half, the Wolverines will meet the Buckeyes in the national championship to duke it out for the sixth time this season. Just like the first six matchups, though, Ohio State’s penalty kill paired with its deadly offense headlined by Tanner Laczynski and Mason Jobst could be too much. But Michigan has since built a reputation as a fast, scrappy team since the two’s last faceoff in the Big Ten semifinal. My guess, it’s up for grabs.
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Sports
6A — Thursday, April 5, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Martin sisters enjoy success on the field but strive for a better game JODI YIP
Daily Sports Writer
In observance of March’s Women’s History Month, The Daily launched a series aimed at telling the stories of female athletes, coaches and teams at the University from the perspective of the female sports writers on staff. Daily sports writer Jodi Yip continued the series with this story. Competing on the same collegiate soccer team has been an amazing journey for siblings Alia and Reilly Martin. The Martin sisters’ story began when Reilly was five years old and Alia was three. Their mother had just signed Reilly up for a league called Little Kicker and asked the coach whether her other daughter — who was two years younger — could also participate. The coach gave a response that ultimately lead the Martins to where they are today. “If she can stand in line and not throw a tantrum, then (Alia) is welcome to join.” Fast forward 16 years. The Martin sisters are back at it again and competing on the same team. This time, however, is different. Instead of lining up without crying as their sole responsibility, they are now competing for championships and public recognition. This year, Michigan was formally introduced to Alia and Reilly Martin — the bloodrelated superstars hailing from Carmel, Indiana, the sisters who bleed maize and blue. Reilly is currently a junior enrolled in the School of Kinesiology majoring in psychology. The list of accolades is extensive. She’s been awarded Big Ten AllFreshman Team (2015), All-Big Ten second team (2016), All-Big Ten third team (2017) honors. Reilly’s counterpart, Alia, is a freshman in LSA. When Alia
ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily
Junior forward Reilly Martin and her sister, Alia, have enjoyed success on the field in their time at Michigan, but they hope for a better future in women’s sports.
was in high school, she was ranked No. 36 overall and the No. 14 midfielder in the Class of 2017 by Top Drawer Soccer. She was also named Gatorade Indiana Girls Soccer Player of the Year in 2015. In high school, the Martins did not give much thought about playing on the same collegiate team. When Alia was being scouted by colleges, Reilly was already committed to Michigan. Though family was a big factor in her decision, Alia did not allow her sister’s soccer career to determine where she would play for the next four years. “You don’t only look at what other people are influencing you to do,” said Alia. “You look at what you want to do as well. This school, in general, is a great school. Nobody wants to think this way but if you were to get
injured, where would you still want to be if you couldn’t play?” It is not a shocker that both sisters chose the Wolverines. Michigan’s academic reputation coupled with the competitive atmosphere and the overall feel of the women’s soccer team convinced both Reilly and Alia that Wolverines were the perfect match. When asked about their experience of going to the same school, Alia laughed about their lack of contact during a regular school day. “We have this joke that we don’t see each other so much,” Alia said. “We train at different places. (Reilly) would train as a forward and I would train as a defender. We would be split up with two different coaches. We really would not see each other too frequently in the day.” But when it comes to playing
together on the same field, their chemistry is unmatchable. “We have this connection on the field,” Alia said. “I would always look for her as she would with me. I am very familiar with her style, and we play to those strengths because we are familiar with each other.” Occasionally, there are times of miscommunication and frustration on the field, but there is no “bad blood” mixed in the Martin family line. Instead of competing against each other, the sisters are constantly pushing each other to improve together. “It’s always the next thing, what can we do from here,” Reilly said. “We’ve really grown to be the best we can be.” *** While the Martin sisters have grown as individuals and improved athletically, they
believe the women’s soccer team still has a long way to go. The program has been running since 1994, but the average attendance of a home game plateaus at around 860. On the other hand, the men’s soccer team regularly welcomes large crowds including a sellout crowd of 2,637 at its matchup with Michigan State. It is a common subconscious decision for people to root for men’s sports over women’s sports. Though Michigan provides student athletes with the same opportunities — including weight rooms, training rooms and athletic staff members — the women’s teams are underrepresented in media and public support. “It gets frustrating,” Reilly said. “You do what you can on the field, you put in the work and you hope to get recognized
for whatever you are doing. “You put in as much time as the men’s team, you train as hard and you focus just as much.” The Martin sisters have seen first-hand the lack of recognition female athletes receive. But Reilly is passionate about change through selfimprovement. “One of my big things is that you don’t settle to be disrespected if someone treats you differently because you are a woman athlete,” Reilly said. “As a team, we do a good job to push ourselves to expect the same standards as a male player. You need to focus on what is in your control.” Both the Martins were highly recruited in high school to play at prestigious colleges, but the sisters are still relatively unknown, proving that the perception of women’s sports as equal to men’s is a work in progress. But there seems to be a glimmer of hope for Wolverine sports. Earlier this month, Jennifer Klein was named the new head coach of the women’s soccer program replacing Greg Ryan. A new female voice can bring about the change in leadership that Michigan soccer has so greatly sought after. “The new transition has to do with taking what people say into consideration and not blowing it off,” Reilly said. “What Michigan stands for is respecting women’s athletes and voices.” It will be a slow and gradual process to change the perception of women in sports and recognize they possess the same competition and athletic capabilities as men in sports. But recognized or not, the Martins’ list of accomplishments keeps growing. Gender equality in sports has yet to come, but hopefully the Martin sisters will be around the experience it.
Set for Frozen Four, Wolverines look back at January turning point First series against Notre Dame showed the potential of what Michigan was capable of accomplishing in the future ANNA MARCUS Daily Sports Writer
It all started with Notre Dame. According to Mel Pearson, the first time the the Michigan hockey team’s spark really ignited was the first weekend in January — the weekend of its first series against the then top-ranked Fighting Irish. On paper, it may not have looked like much. The Wolverines lost both of those games, 2-1. But the headlines that read a Fighting Irish “sweep” didn’t necessarily tell the full story of the weekend. Michigan knew it had still done something big. “You know, Notre Dame had been one or two all year,” Pearson said Wednesday at a press conference in St. Paul, Minn. “And I think that series, you saw some things that our coaches, okay, maybe we have a chance. If we play like we did this weekend, we got a chance to win every game we play.” That message clearly seemed to stick. The Wolverines went on to win 10 of their remaining 14 regular season games throughout January and February. That included sweeps of then-No. 9 Minnesota, thenNo. 12 Penn State, and the largest of them all — a 4-2, 1-0 sweep of the still-No.1 Fighting Irish. It all started with Notre Dame, and for Michigan, the final destination it dreamed of — the Frozen Four — will see its growth come full circle. For the fifth time this season, the Wolverines (22-14-3) will face off against the Fighting Irish (27-9-2), this time at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on the biggest stage of the season. Given the teams’ familiarity, they know the most threatening aspects of their opponents’ game. For Notre Dame, look no further than the blueline. The Fighting Irish give up a miniscule 2.19 goals per
game, which can be credited to the combination of a highfunctioning defensive zone and absurd goaltending. “I think their defensive zone is incredible,” said senior forward Tony Calderone. “They make it really hard for us to get to the middle of the ice. And as long as we can get there, sacrifice and get some shots on net, get some rebounds, I think we’ll be okay.” Notre Dame’s goaltender — Cale Morris — is one of the most highly-acclaimed players in collegiate hockey. This season, the sophomore was recognized as Big Ten Player and Goaltender of the Year, a Hobey Baker Finalist and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team. Morris’ .945 save percentage has greatly
helped the Fighting Irish, who don’t run a particularly f lashy offense. Almost in polarity, one of the Wolverines’ greatest strengths lies in the offense. Led by Calderone and his junior linemate Cooper Marody, the offensive unit averages 3.41 goals per game. When just looking at the postseason, this number spikes, as three out of four of Michigan’s wins after the regular season have seen six or more pucks in the net. But again, these things should not come as a surprise
to either team. And with the record split at 2-2, the outcome will likely come down to whether the Wolverines can successfully crack Notre Dame’s defense like they did during February’s series. This familiarity is not generally a common sentiment this late in the season. Last year, not a single Big Ten team was in the Frozen Four. Now, three of the four teams left standing are members of the conference. And Michigan was quick to acknowledge not only how
“You know, Notre Dame had been one or two all year.”
big of a feat it is for the Big Ten to claim these spots, but how beneficial it has been to compete all season in a strong conference. “I think it’s huge for the league,” Calderone said. “I have been here for four years. The Big Ten wasn’t nearly as good my first three. It’s been incredible seeing the improvement over the years. “And I think it’s great for us, too, playing in the Big Ten because it’s prepared us. We’ve played these teams so many times and I think it’s great. It’s really exciting to see it move forward.” Leaving the January series against Notre Dame, the Wolverines were under .500. It’s safe to say at that point, the Frozen Four, let alone
the NCAA Tournament was nowhere in sight. But that weekend, Michigan was able to play up to the caliber of the Fighting Irish, which catalyzed a transition for the Wolverines. As the season moved forward, Michigan became a team that could hang with the best. Now, the Wolverines are one of the best. “That weekend really showed us something,” Pearson said. “And we went into Minnesota and had a good weekend. Penn State came to Yost. We swept them. At that point, things started to come together.” And Michigan will see Thursday if all the tweaks it has made over the past three months are enough to get past Notre Dame — just one more time.
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Senior forward Tony Calderone says he believes the Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan hockey teams’ participation in the Frozen Four is “huge” for the Big Ten and an incredible improvement.
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Advocating for disability and inclusion in the arts Novicki said now is the time for inclusion. He cites the ABC sitcom “Speechless,” which has multiple people with disabilities involved in production and writing, as well as “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad,” both of which have characters with disabilities portrayed by people with those actual disabilities, as examples of what
proper inclusion looks like. “I have to say, it’s unbelievable to see Peter Dinklage on ‘Game of Thrones’ as this amazing, smart leader of a family, really the brains of the operation,” Novicki said. “And for all those people who watch the show, they’re not thinking of the helpless dwarf. They’re thinking of the leader.” Despite the lack of
representation now, Novicki is certain that the tide is shifting, and he’s confident that more exposure will lead to more opportunities for people with disabilities. The 2018 Disability Film Challenge will be held Apr. 13 through Apr. 15, and registration is open until Apr. 11. There is a 50 percent student discount.
COMMUNITY PROFILE
Rolling into the spotlight: My sister’s opera journey Courtesy of Nic Novicki
MATT GALLATIN Daily Arts Writer
The presenting theme of the arts in 2018 is by and large inclusion. We saw it in the recent 90th Academy Awards when a jittery Frances McDormand fierily advocated inclusion riders to a crowd of hesitant yet emphatic cheers. The Grammys, in typically uncanny fashion, had a few cutesy symbolic gestures of their own and brought out rapper Logic to preach mental health awareness. Despite Logic’s inevitable corniness, and the faintly musty smell of the Oscars, there was a sense that these organizations cared — or at least wanted you to know that they cared — about representing diversity. There is a difference, of course, between the portrayal of inclusion and actual inclusion. People who have any sort of difference from the norm might be portrayed in film or in music, but whether they’re actually included within the process of the art making is an altogether different question, and one that varies community to community. For people with disabilities, the question of whether they’re included in art making is almost always answered with a dismissive “no.” While people with disabilities make up nearly 20 percent of the U.S., they’re rarely included in the arts. A survey of 900 films from 20072016 found only about two percent of characters have a disability, and overwhelmingly those who do are portrayed by an able-bodied person. Take the Oscar winner for Best Picture this year, “The Shape of Water.” The film follows a mute janitor who falls in love with a mythical sea creature. Because of her disability, the character speaks in sign language. The character was portrayed by Sally Hawkins, an able-bodied actress, and she spent months training with an American Sign Language teacher for the role. Disability-rights advocate Susan Fitzmaurice said in an interview with The Daily that the portrayal missed a crucial detail. “As the movie went on, she looked at her hands. Nobody who signs looks at their hands. That became a real distraction for me. It’s a great movie, but that one piece was a distraction. And for people who were deaf or mute, it became an extreme distraction,” she said. Fitzmaurice is particularly interested in the intersection of arts and disability. For 10 years she has been a volunteer for VSA Michigan, the state chapter of the international organization that focuses on arts and disability. VSA, or Very Special Arts, was founded by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and is a department in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. VSA’s website explains their mission is “to create an inclusive society where people with disabilities participate in, learn through, excel in and enjoy the arts.” Because disability can take many forms, VSA’s advocacy and consulting do as well. VSA teaches artists how to get involved in the disability community, and it
teaches teachers interested in incorporating art into the classroom how to interact with a student with a disability. Many of these teachers have never received any kind of disability training. VSA Michigan works with professional artists too, putting on exhibitions and local workshops around the state. Fitzmaurice’s work with the organization is focused on accessibility. She makes sure the venues are accessible for events the organization puts on, visiting and testing each facility in person. Because Fitzmaurice uses a wheelchair herself, she said she can recognize the details that well-meaning facilities might simply overlook. “I open a lot of eyes. I think a lot of people think about disability in terms of what they can see, and they don’t think about the little stuff,” Fitzmaurice said. She gives an example by shaking the table at which she’s sitting. “Like how distracting it is if you have a table that moves around, and you have a kid that’s really distracted with movement.” She shakes the table again. “You want them to pay attention and you want them to interact with the art, and instead all they’re thinking about is that this table they’re sitting at is moving. They can’t focus on what the art is trying to do; they can’t focus on what the teacher is trying to tell them to do. They’re focusing on this table that’s moving,” Fitzmaurice said. Fitzmaurice is passionate about ensuring people with disabilities have equal access to art because she said it offers them the ability to express themselves in nontraditional ways. Art can be different, she said, as long as it speaks to you. People with disabilities can feel liberated in creating things that don’t necessarily look traditionally beautiful, because it speaks to their individual experience. People with disabilities can communicate through this form of expression. “It’s OK that your art doesn’t look like everybody else’s art. Art may be perfect for who you are. And just that can inspire people to look at it,” Fitzmaurice said. She points to a painting that sits atop a bookcase, a red and orange abstract expression. “That was painted by an elementary-school student who had a disability. I walked in, it spoke to me, so I bought it,” Fitzmaurice said. VSA Michigan assists in all forms of art. That means painting, but also film, music, performance, etc. She gives the example of an after-school rap group they worked with in Hamtramck and a young soloist program they have. While VSA Michigan sometimes finds professional artists with disabilities to work with students, Fitzmaurice said it’s difficult because these systems aren’t currently in place in public education. Students with disabilities are rarely given the opportunity to participate and pursue art at a young age, and so people with disabilities are not always well represented in the arts community. Most of those who go on to have full
careers in art, she said, are in film. Nic Novicki, an actor, comedian and producer, understands the nuances of being a person with a disability in the film industry. From early on, he learned that to have a fulfilling career in film, he needed to carve his own path. “I think the fact that I was producing my own content gave me the experience that traditional Hollywood wouldn’t have given me,” Novicki said in an interview with The Daily. For Novicki, his extensive résumé of producing is what got his foot in the door for major roles, like his first on “The Sopranos.” He started doing stand-up comedy while in business school at Temple University and began writing and directing films, including “A Little Broke,” which was acquired by ShortsTV. Once he had that experience, he was able to land other TV roles, like his critically-acclaimed work on “Boardwalk Empire” as showman Carl Heely. Like any other actor, he said, it took years of consistent progress to get work in the industry. Producing content also meant writing and portraying the roles Novicki wanted to play rather than roles that were focused solely on his disability. “As a little person actor, it can sometimes be hard to find roles that aren’t so focused on the disability itself. But in doing my own work, I’ve been able to allow people with disabilities, even beyond myself, the role of the lawyer, or the bad boyfriend, or the good boyfriend, or a gangster,” Novicki said. Realizing he was in a position to change the narrative of people with disabilities in film and TV, Novicki worked with Easterseals — a national organization that advocates for people with disabilities and of which Novicki is a board member — to create the Disability Film Challenge. For a span of 55 hours over the weekend, participants write, film and produce a three-tofive-minute short film. A winner is selected at the end of the competition. While actors are certainly involved, Novicki is focused on getting people with disabilities behind the camera too. It’s the lack of representation in the entire film set and not just on screen that accounts for misrepresentation and stigmatization of people with disabilities, he said. Winners of the competition include Jamie Brewer, an actress with Down Syndrome, best known for her acclaimed work in “American Horror Story,” and Dickie Hearts, a gay and deaf man whose winning short film “Passengers” went on to win HBO’s Project Greenlight digital series competition in 2015. The aim is to get the film industry and the disability community working together. According to Novicki, filmmakers and industry professionals often come to the festival to get people with disabilities involved in their projects. For people with disabilities, it offers a chance to get their name recognized, meet other filmmakers and gain experience in an industry that is not always easy to break into without an extensive network.
ERIKA SHEVCHEK Daily Arts Writer
Every time my older sister Lauren would shower, she’d send vibrations into my quiet room, drowning the space with a loud but angelic voice. There’s a home video of her at three years old, singing absolute nonsense to herself on the beach. She has always had some type of leading role in every school musical, and she could always flawlessly take any note up an octave. Since I can remember, my sister has always been singing. By the time Lauren was 14 years old, she was studying classical music and taking opera lessons. Four years later, she played Carlotta in our high school’s version of “Phantom of the Opera,” and she even had a senior solo at an awards ceremony, where she sang “Caro Nome” from the Italian opera “Rigoletto,” by Verdi. Shortly after, she went off to Penn State to study speech pathology, and there, she found herself joining singing groups like a contemporary co-ed choir and an all-female gospel choir. Her talent and passion for music haunted her, however, and it was toward the end of her freshman year when she decided she would leave Penn State to pursue studying opera. Lauren’s future was changing, and it was wellstructured, promising and bright. In the summer of 2013, Lauren’s glistening future was called into question when a fluke dive into a black-bottom pool caused her to be paralyzed from the nose down. Her singing was, momentarily, pushed to the side. Just trying to scratch her nose became her first challenge among many. Through the past five years, Lauren has overcome a sea of adversity in her journey to recovery. From not being able to feed herself to now being able to lock her own knees (the most important feature of regaining walking ability), Lauren is, literally, steps away from walking and gaining different forms of independence. Even with her dedication to physical recovery, her passion for singing has made a way into her paralysis. Nonetheless, singing as a quadriplegic is a completely new experience from her pre-accident voice. A physical hurdle that comes with singing as a quadriplegic is lung capacity and abdominal control — operatic singing demands a great deal from those areas. She mentioned the difficulty of breathing deeper while sitting
and trying to tighten the abs to extend a note. Due to the height of Lauren’s injury (her C-6 vertebrae, just at the base of her neck), these areas of her body were weakened and, therefore, needed to be re-trained. “There’s less fluidity. I have to really think about my body much more, which makes singing almost like a workout,” Lauren told me. “When you’re paralyzed at the level I’m at, my core and legs are affected by the type of paralysis that I have. I have been lucky enough to regain function and sensation in that part of my abdomen, but you never realize how physical singing is until you don’t have a fully-working body to sing in.” Despite physical hurdles, there are mental and emotional challenges Lauren has faced when trying to present her talent. She highlights that one of the main struggles was trying to be less critical of her current voice, which has become less powerful and full due to the lack of abdominal control. She has had to overcome the stress of being in a unique spotlight: an opera singer in a wheelchair. “Mentally, I’m trying to get over that personal criticism. I don’t feel like I’m as good … There’s a fear around performing or not wanting to be seen in a vulnerable way or perceived as untalented,” she said. “Even with singing, and going on stage performing, there are limitations to parts you can play or pieces you can sing … it’s stressful.” However, Lauren is an innovator and an explorer. She enjoys seeing what her body can do as it’s paralyzed. She mentioned how singing for her is still freeing — singing from her chair, in the car or during rehabilitation workouts: “I’m more inspired to sing just for fun, even if I’m judging myself,” she said. “There are so many emotions that can be processed when you have any event happen to you like a spinal cord injury. Art is an amazing way to process those emotions.” She is familiar with this idea due to her inspiration from other artists in the disability community. She reminisced with me about the time she met Ali Stroker, a quadriplegic performer who was the runnerup on “The Glee Project” in 2012 and made history as the first-ever Broadway actress in a wheelchair. Lauren also mentioned her love for Andrea Bocelli, the wildly talented and famous Italian singer who is blind. She believes that it’s people like Bocelli who are “giving visibility to the disability, and that
there are things that need to be said and need to be heard” within the art world. Other than Lauren’s almostachieved goal of walking again, singing is something she still sees in her future. She reflected on the idea that opera has always been a part of her and a part of our family, and she wants her talent to stay close to home as a hobby. “I love singing, and if anything, I think it would be cool to make your own beats or sing over your own track — some form of creative expression,” she said. “But ultimately, I think opera is such a niche genre, so I definitely would have to find a way to blend it with something more contemporary.” My sister and I are highly invested in art. Whether we paint together or we watch a movie, she and I are always engaging in different mediums of creativity and new avenues of exploring art. She believes that if one has the “need to create art,” then there is a place for anyone in the art community. “We’ve all overcome a lot, and while I’ve overcome something different than most people, at the end of the day, that shouldn’t be a criterion on how you’re judging my art,” she said. “I don’t need a grading curve for my art. I don’t think I’m the only person in the disability community that feels that way because we want to be seen as artists, not artists with disabilities. You should want to judge their art for how it makes you feel.” I could hear the tightness in the back of her throat over the phone, that constriction one feels as they begin to form tears. “I never want to be judged in a way that’s like ‘Oh my god, she’s so good and she’s in a wheelchair.’ I never want to be good because I’m disabled. I want to be great, period.” And she is. She’s great because she’s a singer, a painter, a fearless artist and my pain-in-the-butt sister. She’s great because she cries, she laughs and she sings nonsense on the beach, even at 24 years old. She’s not just great because she’s a quadriplegic operatic singer, and she’s not just great because she’s triumphantly overcome tribulation. She’s great because she’s Lauren, period. “Art is meant to be shared, although it’s a personal thing. It thrives more so on an outside opinion because that’s where it can grow and can be cultivated. Art blends all the facets of one’s life. Our emotions do not stop. Ever. And by expressing that emotion, you can work through anything.”
Courtesy of Lauren Shevchek
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PROFILE
Ezra Fields-Meyer & the engaging art of animation NITYA GUPTA Daily Arts Writer
“I am an expert in Disney and other animated films. When people tell me their birthdays, I can tell them what movies were released on those days.” Ezra Fields-Meyer has been making animated videos since he was 12 years old, having loved animation from a young age. He also draws pictures using online tutorials to guide him and finds art to be soothing for his autism, which he was diagnosed with as a child. One of Fields-Meyer’s first videos, “Alphabet House,” stemmed from his interest in letters, numbers and shapes. In the video, every letter of the alphabet lives in a house. The letter “F” climbs to the top of the house and falls, and several of the letters take him to the emergency room. When “F” returns home, all the letters celebrate and tell him not to climb up again. It’s clever and charming,
with funny dialogue and colorful animations. But when Fields-Meyer posted the video on YouTube in 2008, he didn’t know it would lead to something larger. “One year later, a bestselling children’s book author and illustrator named Tom Lichtenheld saw my video on YouTube and he thought the idea would make a great children’s book,” Fields-Meyer wrote in an email interview with The Daily. Their book, “E-Mergency!” was published in 2011, and it follows the story of the letter “E” who becomes injured and has to be replaced by the letter “O.” “It took a couple of years to publish and it was an exciting and thrilling experience to become a published author at age 15,” Fields-Meyer wrote. “It was inspired by my ideas from ‘Alphabet House,’ but Tom did most of the work. He is very talented!” Now, Fields-Meyer makes f lash-animated videos at Exceptional Minds, a nonprofit animation and visual
effects school and studio for young adults on the autism spectrum. Exceptional Minds helps him learn the computer
Art therapy and art in general have become increasingly recognized as potential treatment options for people on the autism spectrum
skills and techniques needed to create animations. This doesn’t come without its challenges for Fields-
Courtesy of Tom Fields-Meyer
Courtesy of Tom Fields-Meyer
Meyer. His autism can make it difficult for him to focus in art classes, and he stresses about scheduling events. “I have a lot of anxiety about certain things,” Fields-Meyer wrote. “For example, I worry about whether I’ll be able to make it to movies or other things I follow. But doing art helps me calm down. Also, it’s fun and it makes people happy when I share them on social media.” In the future, Fields-Meyer hopes to continue creating his own animated films and collaborating with others. He’s also considering working as an animator as well as some other options. “I love children’s books such as ‘Dr. Seuss,’ ‘Curious George,’ and ‘Eric Carle,’ and I would like to create more children’s picture books,” Fields-Meyer wrote. Individuals on the spectrum often face difficulty entering the workforce. According to a 2015 report by the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, 58 percent of young adults with autism were employed. This is significantly lower than their peers with disabilities, as 95 percent of young adults with a learning disability, 91 percent with a speech or language impairment, 91 percent with an emotional disturbance and 74 percent with an intellectual disability were employed. Art therapy and art in general have become increasingly recognized as potential treatment options for people on the autism spectrum. Art provides a
medium for communication and may help children tolerate new stimuli as they become exposed and desensitized to new textures and smells for their artwork, like using paste-covered newspaper strips to create a paper-mâché project. “I use certain tools when I draw my pictures that calm me down — such as colored pencils, markers and even the paper,” Fields-Meyer wrote. “Just sitting and doing it calms me down and makes me feel good. It also calms me down when I play games on my iPhone or I listen to familiar songs from Disney and other animated films.” Fields-Meyer isn’t the only artistically inclined person in his family. His father Tom wrote human interest stories at People Magazine for 12 years. His last article was about his relationship with Ezra, which he eventually turned into the novel “Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love From His Extraordinary Son.” “I thought it was unbelievable that he wrote down stuff that happened with me that I actually remember and it was so exciting to have it remembered in a book. I also thought it had lots of funny and amusing parts and it helped people understand autism,” Fields-Meyer wrote, ref lecting on the experience of reading his father’s memoir. When Fields-Meyer isn’t making animated videos or drawing, he can be found
visiting museums, theme parks and zoos, teaching online and reading books to kids in preschools and elementary schools. “I love reading books to young kids because it makes me feel good when they get a reaction from the stories they hear — they laugh or smile at the pictures or words or they ask questions,” FieldsMeyer wrote. “I love being with young kids and teaching them.” Regardless of what FieldsMeyer is doing — whether creating animated videos, reading to children or making other artwork — he maintains a positive outlook on his life and disability. “Even though I have autism, it’s totally OK and it’s a really good thing because despite the disorders I can do certain things not many others I know could do. I have a photographic memory of certain things and I remember all kinds of things since I was a little boy. If I meet you, I can ask you when your birthday is and tell you what film was released on your birthday or what movies came out the year you were born,” Fields-Meyer wrote. “I like certain things that other people don’t like as much — for example, I usually like sequels better than (or just as much as) the original movie. And I like some movies better because they are more colorful and high tech and more modern. Sometimes I talk loud but I don’t mean to but that’s OK. I don’t think it’s bad — it’s totally fine. It’s the way I am.”
TV
The representation of autism in modern television MAITREYI ANANTHARAMAN Daily Arts Writer
There’s a saying in the autistic community that if you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism. Autism spectrum disorder is just that: a spectrum. It manifests in drastically different ways in different people. This can present real challenges for writers, actors and directors looking to tell stories about autism on screen. If the autism spectrum is so broad, how could any fictional representation come close to capturing the autistic experience? What would an accurate depiction of autism even look like? The good thing about television is that there’s no other form of entertainment that allows an audience to spend as much time with characters as they develop, to encounter those characters in a variety of emotional states and situations and to come away with a nuanced understanding of who those characters are. The small screen seems like the best-suited medium for creating complex, layered portrayals of autism, and a recent wave of shows with autistic characters suggests audiences might start seeing these more often. Last week, “The Good Doctor,” a medical drama about a surgical resident with autism and savant syndrome, ended its first season on ABC as the most-watched drama on network television. Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore, “Bates
Motel”) is a brilliant surgeon whose mind works in fascinating ways. In each episode, we see visual representations of his brain as he pieces together anatomical diagrams and snippets from medical school textbooks to arrive at unconventional diagnoses. It’s a sweet, if mawkish, celebration of difference, but there’s something troubling about the way Shaun’s autism is framed throughout. In the pilot, the hospital’s board of directors convenes to discuss their concerns about Shaun’s hiring. Empathy and communication, they say, are crucial for doctors to have — doesn’t Shaun’s autism make these impossible? The hospital president Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff, “The West Wing”) quickly emerges as Shaun’s sole defender, delivering an impassioned plea on his behalf — the first of many. “Yes, he has autism,” Glassman cries. “But he also has savant syndrome — genius-level skills in several areas!” The pop culture fascination with the autistic savant isn’t new, and it carries with it the uncomfortable implication that autism is some sort of flaw to be compensated for. Are people on the spectrum without savant capabilities less worthy or valuable? On “The Good Doctor,” the constant sentimentality can make these stirring speeches seem compassionate. Beneath the surface, though, they feel capitalistic — insensitive conceptions of human worth as a function of productivity. “Atypical,” a Netflix comedy which aired its first season in
August 2017, is decidedly less schmaltzy, but falls into a few unsettling tendencies of its own. The show centers around Sam (Keir Gilchrist, “United States of Tara”), an autistic high school senior who decides to foray into the world of dating. It’s a family show, with all of the usual trappings of the genre — high-strung mom, dopey dad, neglected sibling — but to its credit, it isn’t the sensational or glamorized version of autism “The Good Doctor” is. “Atypical” is quite honest about what it means to be Sam, and what it means to be a part of his family. Where the show really stumbles is its humor. Too often it feels as if we’re meant to be laughing at Sam, as if pieces of his personality are punchlines. It raises some interesting questions about how comedies should go about handling autism. Character-driven comedies have long used their characters’ idiosyncrasies and quirks as fodder for jokes. But what happens when those behavioral idiosyncrasies are symptoms? How should writers navigate that balance in a way that isn’t needlessly cruel or judgmental? On “The A Word,” a lovely drama on the BBC, the jokes are plenty, but they’re never at the expense of Joe (Max Vento, “Cotton Wool”), a fiveyear-old in Northern England recently diagnosed with autism. The show is a smart, tender, fabulously soundtracked portrait of the joys and frustrations of raising a child with autism. At times, “The A Word” could focus a bit more on Joe and a bit
less on the sordid personal lives of his relatives, but the show is
Start including people with autism in the making of these shows often at its most engaging when it uses a wider lens to examine the way communities respond
to disability and interrogate their own prejudices. It’s all done with such a light touch that “The A Word” never feels like a PSA or a “Very Special Episode.” The nuance brings to mind the underappreciated “Parenthood,” which offered audiences its own measured, groundbreaking portrayal of Asperger’s — one that still remains a favorite of the autistic community. For all the strides made in autism representation recently, there’s still so much room for improvement. The prevalence of “autism headcanons,” fan interpretations of undiagnosed TV characters as autistic — Brennan on “Bones,” Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang
Theory,” Abed Nadir on “Community” and Benedict Cumberbatch’s “Sherlock” are just a few — speaks to the real desire for a broader range of identities and experiences on screen. Television characters with autism have been, for the most part, high-functioning, straight, able-bodied, white and male. Stories about autism should aim to be as diverse as the real autistic community. One way to achieve that? Start including people with autism in the making of these shows. Not just as interview subjects or informal consultants, but in the writers’ room and in front of the camera. Our TV will be far better for it.
ABC
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SECONDARY
An investigation into the accessibility within arts
Courtesy of Nyle DiMarco
MAX MICHALSKY Daily Arts Writer
For people with disabilities, engaging in the arts can be a frustrating and isolating experience. Around the world, countless theaters, museums and concert halls lack the proper accommodations necessary to be accessible to people with disabilities. In the last half-century, the global disability rights movement
If art venues aren’t doing everything feasibly within their power to ensure that the arts can be accessed and enjoyed by all people, then they are doing an active disservice to the advancement of the arts as a whole
has made significant strides in securing the rights of people with disabilities to lead full, independent lives. Despite this progress, however, there’s still work to be done. Deaf actor and model Nyle DiMarco recently reminded people of this after a series of his tweets spurred controversy surrounding AMC Theaters’ subpar closedcaptioning system for deaf and hard-of-hearing moviegoers. “I’m really disappointed,” DiMarco tweeted. “Theaters are basically for all the ablebodied people.” DiMarco made note of the faulty closedcaptioning devices used at AMC theaters, which are often prone to inaccuracies and skipping lines. Stories like DiMarco’s have led to an influx of pressure on movie theaters to upgrade their equipment or offer more frequent showings with on-screen closed captioning. The frustrations of DiMarco and other deaf moviegoers, however, are only a symptom of a greater problem affecting the arts: Accessibility for people with disabilities is often not taken into account. It is the privilege of ablebodied people to not have to
worry about how they’ll be able to get up a flight of stairs, navigate a crowded museum or enjoy the show they’re trying to attend. It stands to reason, then, that this lack of accessibility comes more from ignorance than anything else. The unique needs of people with disabilities may seldom be thought of in the corporate boardrooms that make decisions which impact accessibility at arts-related venues. It’s a problem that’s worsened by the lack of exposure to invisible disabilities. Some forms of autism, for example, may make it difficult for people to be in crowded areas or deal with sudden loud noises, while long restroom lines may be prohibitive for individuals with Crohn’s Disease. It is absolutely crucial that the arts be accessible for all people, and the current lack of accessibility is unacceptable. Art isn’t just entertainment; it’s a form of interpersonal communication meant to transcend barriers of language, race and national origin. It highlights how we are far more similar than different. If art venues aren’t doing everything feasibly within their power to ensure that the arts can be accessed and enjoyed by all people, then they are doing an active disservice to the advancement of the arts as a whole. Film, music and other mediums occupy a massive portion of our collective societal attention, and the right of people with disabilities to enjoy art and partake in these social phenomena is instrumental to their ability to lead normal, fulfilling and independent lives. Luckily, there are art institutions and venues striving to do it right. In 2014, English National Ballet turned their sights toward creating accessible children’s media. The company decided to put on their own adaptation of the ballet “Coppélia.” The ballet tells the story of Doctor Coppélius, a cantankerous old inventor who builds a life-sized dancing automaton. The company’s production, titled “My First Coppélia,” was intended to be a simplified version of the classic 1870 ballet, complete with numerous accessibility measures to ensure all children would be able to enjoy the show. Striving to make the show accessible to children with autism, the company scrutinized their lighting, sound effects and narrative. They reworked the dancing role of Doctor Coppélius into an on-stage narrator and brought a British Sign Language consultant on board to teach the dancers and narrator key signs to aid deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The production also incorporated a digital companion that used Widgit symbols, an alternative form of communication used by those with certain communicative impairments. “My First Coppélia” was the first in a whole series of modified ballets, titled “My First Inclusive Ballet.” The Louvre in France has also taken notable steps to
enhance museum accessibility. The museum is housed in what was once the Louvre Palace, originally built in the 12th and 13th centuries by King Philip II, which is not exactly what comes to mind when you think of accessible structures. Nevertheless, the museum has taken extraordinary measures to ensure accessibility for all guests, including special tours for guests with mobility impairments. The Louvre reports these tours serve roughly 10,000 guests per year. In 1995, the museum installed the Tactile Gallery, a permanent exhibit for the visually impaired in which the museum’s golden rule — do not touch — is encouraged to be broken. “Some people run their hands over the works, and some even knock on them to understand the material of which they’re made,” the Los Angeles Times wrote in a proflie of Cyrille Gouyette, the co-head of the gallery. In the piece Gouyette said: “There’s really a way to learn how to touch, with habits to learn.” The gallery contains exact replicas of original works and is one of a growing number of touch galleries and tours found in museums around the world. In comparison to many of the innovative accessibility advancements being made
These ongoing innovations in accessibility of art spaces form the cornerstone of an ongoing effort to make the arts available to everyone, regardless of race, religion, background or disability
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
available with advance notice. At other University institutions, such as the University of Michigan Museum of Art, accessibility seems to typically meet only the bare minimum. All of the museum’s exhibits are wheelchair accessible, and wheelchairs are available upon request. The museum’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan states American Sign Language interpretation is available, but such a service isn’t directly advertised anywhere on the museum’s website. To its credit, the museum does have occasional programs featuring increased accessibility, such as the “My Turn” Special ASD Access Hours, which has been held once a year for the last two years. The program is intended for families with children affected by Autism spectrum disorder and features “sensory reducing accessories and a quiet area with tactile toys.” While these efforts are a step in the right direction, it’s not
enough for an institution to be
In comparison to many of the innovative accessibility advancements being made throughout the world, accessibility in art spaces at the University seems to be a mixed bag inclusive and accessible for one
day a year. Greater accessibility standards should be the norm, not a special occasion. Until these accessibility measures are applied on a more consistent and permanent scale, it’s hard to say the University’s art spaces are accomplishing anything more than meeting the bare minimum of accessibility standards. It’s unlikely that all art spaces will ever be completely accessible to all people, but it’s important that any institution committed to the advancement of the arts also be on the forefront of innovative accessibility measures. This is because art is, at its core, meant to be a documentation of the human experience — to leave anyone out is to detract from that fundamental goal. These ongoing innovations in accessibility of art spaces form the cornerstone of an ongoing effort to make the arts available to everyone, regardless of race, religion, background or disability.
CARDI B. MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: ‘BARTIER CARDI’
ATLANTIC RECORDS
As a song, “Bartier Cardi” is self-indulgent. From the opening line, “Your bitch wanna party with Cardi,” Cardi B makes it known that she’s not here to be humble. Celebrating her newfound fame and fortune, Cardi B revels in the luxury that comes with being the center of pop culture attention. With “Bartier Cardi,” she has her cake and eats it too, wearing her Cinderella crown with pride, dropping verses about her diamonds, her Ferrari, her Offset without even a second glance. It makes sense, then, that the music video for “Bartier Cardi” is equally as ostentatious, glittering with excessive opulence and starring Cardi B: necklaces winking in the spotlight, nearly engulfed by a bright red fur coat, blonde hair piled high. Marilyn Monroe, eat your heart out. The video opens on the sunbleached decks of a pool house, marble statues waving from the peripheries as Cardi B mutters, “Bardi in a ’Rari, diamonds all over my body / Shinin’ all over my body,” in the background.
Wealth is disposable here: shots of dollar bills lying forgotten in the water, rooms overrun by elaborate fruit plates and furniture arrangements and girls in every corner, reclining in fur
“Bartier Cardi” Cardi B ft. 21 Savage Atlantic Records robes, swiping the frosting off of cakes with one bored finger. In every location of the music video, as it moves from the pool to a dimly lit labyrinth where men with eight-packs walk around like Ken dolls before finally ending at an underground party, Cardi B is omnipresent. She watches on from television sets placed in discreet corners, as girls count endless piles of money. She shows her influence through the “Cardi” tattoos that grace each of the shirtless men’s necks. These people are her accessories. Fallen completely under her spell, they can’t take
their eyes off her pixelated image on the screen. Even 21 Savage ends up entranced, after being tied up in front of a row of glaring TVs in a scene taken straight out of “1984.” At times, “Bartier Cardi”’s music video can be overdone; the shots of Cardi reclining on the hood of a car coupled with clips of Cardi and Offset wrapped around each other in that same car’s backseat borders on cliché — a lower quality version of what Beyoncé already did in “Partition.” But, to be fair, this is Cardi B — the woman who once said she would most likely find her dream man in a strip club — so over the top can be expected, even embraced. After all, she never seems happier or more comfortable than she does at the end of the music video, as a beautiful bride dressed head to toe in white (fur coat on, as always), walking into a party created just for her. -Shima Sadaghiyani, Daily Music Editor
SINGLE REVIEW: ‘BE CAREFUL’
ATLANTIC RECORDS
throughout the world, accessibility in art spaces at the University seems to be a mixed bag. The University Musical Society, for example, organizes musical performances in various venues across campus, including Hill Auditorium, the Power Center for Performing Arts and Rackham Auditorium. UMS offers a noted array of accessibility measures in the venues it uses; these include programs in large print and braille, assistive listening devices, and American Sign Language interpretation
Contrary to what Cardi B may have lead you to believe on her previous releases, she has a fragile side. While “Be Careful” is certainly a scathing postbreakup track, its chorus doesn’t shy away from Cardi’s vulnerability: “Yeah, my heart is like a package with a fragile label on it / Be careful with me.” Trading in the booming atmosphere of her party anthems, Cardi raps and croons over a lilting, tender synth line, undercut with sparse snares and only the subtlest ripple of bass. It’s a total 180 in comparison to hits “Bodak Yellow” and “Bartier Cardi,” but an
impressive, intriguing lead up to the release of a new album next Friday, Apr. 6. On “Be Careful,” the phrase takes on a double meaning. Cardi
“Be Careful” Cardi B Atlantic Records warns her past lover that actions have consequences, while warning future lovers that she won’t tolerate offense or infidelity. She raps on the second verse, “Teach me to be like you so I can not
give a fuck / Free to mess with someone else, I wish these feelings could melt / ’Cause you don’t care about a thing except your mothafuckin’ self,” spiteful of her own emotions and the apathy of a significant other. The lyricism is surprisingly emotional here, and much more introspective than most of her previous work. It’s anyone’s guess if this lead single is indicative of the tone for the rest of the album, but thankfully we only have a few more days before finding out. — Dominic Polsinelli, Senior Arts Editor
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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STYLE
MUSIC
Aaron Philip & necessity to represent disability in the new world of fashion MARGARET SHERIDAN Daily Arts Writer
First Access/Warner Bros. Sweden
The sad guard of emo rap CLARA SCOTT Daily Arts Writer
For the past 50 years in music, it has often been cool to be sad. The countercultural phenomena that have guided teenagers and young adults for decades — movements like grunge, goth, new wave, alternative and punk — tap into the darker side of life, opening the door to themes like depression, nihilism, dissatisfaction and rebellion for millions — if not billions
Though this movement often boasts an image of party-savvy and drugged-up youth, it has also offered a niche for rappers to tackle previously untouched or hidden topics, one of these subjects being mental illness and the nihilism that sometimes comes with it
— of those who identify with them. The hipsters of every era tend to be typecast as angsty, if not completely bummedout — it’s a modern tradition for each period of bubblegumsweet popular music to be matched with an opposing force of artistic power, one that is historically more alternative and well, sad. This plays into stereotypes, yes, but it also offers a mode of expression for people struggling with legitimate issues beyond the façade, namely mental illness and the disabling, very real sadness it can produce. Now, without the need for a record company to distribute music, this tradition of counterculture has shattered into thousands of subgenres within subgenres, an endless line of evolutions from the legends of the past. Nothing has changed the rap scene in this way so much like the full embrace of Soundcloud as a method of distribution and expression — so much so that the “Soundcloud rapper” has become a social type. Though this movement often boasts an image of party-savvy and drugged-up youth, it has also offered a niche for rappers to tackle previously untouched or hidden topics, one of these subjects being mental illness
and the nihilism that sometimes comes with it. This has spawned rap’s new guard, an assemblage of teens and early 20-somethings with names like Lil Pump, Lil Xan, Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Peep, boasting the collective title of “emo rap.” Why are they all “Lil”? We’ll never know. But it is clear from their music that these artists are not afraid to attack the darker side of life, most notably the realities of depression and the drug addiction that can accompany it. Their songs have lyrics like, “I don’t really care if I die / Push me to the edge / All my friends are dead,” (“XO TOUR Llif3,” Lil Uzi Vert) and “My life is goin’ nowhere / I want everyone to know that I don’t care,” (“OMFG,” Lil Peep). This music is a subversive tangent from the classically hyper-masculine stereotypes of rap, attacking the taboos of mental illness and its consequences with a brash sense of self-assuredness. It has a characteristically slow, reserved tempo and heavy low end, creating a weight in each song that only enhances their typically melancholy or mundane lyrics. “Emo rap,” or “sad rap,” as some have called it, still maintains the “party hard, get bitches” mentality of the rap music of late, a parallel with the similarly popular trap music of artists like Migos. But it goes beyond the party, often using the motifs of drugs like Xanax and lean to enhance a blissedout image. Though it may seem like their music encourages drug use, it is slowly moving towards the opposite. Artists like Lil Xan often make a point to deter their fans from diving into drug use further than just the image it presents. Xan himself is known to yell things like “Fuck Xanax 2018!” at his concerts, and his songs contain lyrics like “Xans don’t make you / Xans gon’ take you,” to emphasize this sentiment even more. The emo rap scene originated with a sense of self-destruction, but has recently shifted towards an image that still maintains the teen angst and recklessness of its past with a new warning of its dangers. Though it still perpetuates an image that glorifies sadness and heavy drug use, emo rap has the potential for change in this area. The people who listen to emo rap are typically in it for the aesthetic, but can get drawn into the lifestyle via the image and fall prey to its realities. This image is likely not going to change anytime soon, as it is sometimes more popular than the actual music, but the content has a chance to make up for that. Instead of completely embracing the sadness of depression and addiction, Lil Xan and many of his contemporaries have integrated a wary message into their music — one that celebrates partying, but points out the disabling sadness and looming addiction that the party lifestyle often creates in its participants with a rough but honest voice. This presents itself most intensely in light of the recent Nov. death of Lil Peep, one of the genre’s rising stars. Peep was only 21 at the time of his untimely death — a suspected drug overdose on his tour bus in Temple, Ariz. He was perhaps
the most outspoken member of the emo rap scene about his struggles with depression, taking a no-holds-barred approach to his musical content in terms of transparency. Peep was open about the realities of life as someone who battled many demons, a drug user and a member of the genre which has, in the past, glorified drug use to a dangerous extent. In one of his last interviews with Montreal media outlet MONTREALITY, Peep touched on this candidly, saying “You can’t predict where you’re going to be next year. You have no idea. I’ve been in very, very, very low points like shitty situations, horrible situation,” continued Peep. “My mom always tells me time will heal everything … It will eventually get better.” His colleagues, artists like Lil Xan, have taken his death as an opportunity to comment on the image they portray of an alluring world that indulges in drugs and sadness. There is still a ways to go in order to get rid of the negative aspects of the emo rap image, but many of the genre’s intentions show a unique side of rap that has been left unexplored in the past. The realities of mental illness and disabling addiction are a consistent presence in emo rap, and that has opened a door for further development of the genre.
Peep was open about the realities of life as someone who battled many demons, a drug user and a member of the genre which has, in the past, glorified drug use to a dangerous extent
Though much of its music now highlights partying, emo rap holds an intriguing promise for the future, one which offers a complex mix of awareness and the classic themes of recklessness that listeners know well. It continues to be a fascinating case study in what happens when self-destruction reaches a tipping point. The response to Lil Peep’s death has proven that many of the genre’s artists are committed to shifting their message to one that warns of the dangers hidden in partying and the glorification of mental illness. It is possible that the Soundcloud rappers have something more to say here, and their music has the potential to spread that message to those who really need it.
In a culture centered around appearance, the fashion and modeling industry holds a huge weight in today’s society. Amid unrealistic body expectations, name brands and distorted representations, it is easy to get wrapped up in the downfalls of this materialistic business. With such an emphasis on aesthetics and looks, a great amount of room for error and false representation comes into play in the world of fashion and modeling. I love fashion as much as the next person, but among the love and lust, a fair amount of mistakes, misinterpretations and just straight-up misconducts go unnoticed. In 2015, Interview Magazine released their winter cover, which pictured none other than Kylie Jenner posing in a wheelchair. Jenner and Interview’s motive for the shoot caused an explosion of comments within and beyond
Ever present now as it was in 2015, the need for this multifaceted community to be integrated into the fashion and modeling world is all the more necessary. We need accurate representations of the disability community in modeling, and we need adequate and fashionable and practical clothing options for this community as well. Lucky for those searching for a silver lining in the sometimes dark industry, followers of the fashion industry are able to find hope and inspiration in Aaron Philip. Gaining guidance from fashion trailblazers with disabilities such as Jillian Mercado and Nyle DiMarco, Philip, a transgender model whose pronouns include she/her/hers and they/them/ theirs, have started a revolution in the fashion industry. As a model, they represent and advocate for themself and the entire disability community through their work. DiMarco, a deaf actor, model and activist, was the first deaf person to win “America’s Next Top Model” and “Dancing with the Stars.” Founder of the Nyle
“The modeling industry has so many issues with not even bothering to take risks and portray disabled bodies of all types in any way,” Philip wrote. “Sometimes they may see an aesthetic within disability in terms of the mobility aids we use and glamorize that, but they still proceed to prioritize big names & able-bodied people. They appropriate disability instead of getting actual models with disabilities involved.” As a Black, transgender and disabled model, Philip has built a platform for themself via social media and blogging, working into the modeling world and setting straight the false aesthetics the modeling and fashion industry can so often rest heavily upon. “I have issues with the way fashion tends to ignorantly objectify certain things from certain types of people and amplify it. For example, cultural appropriation is a problem, ableism in the sense that disabled bodies are negatively objectified by the disability and not the talent, general racism & trans people
Courtesy of Ella Wiznia
the disability community. One woman’s response to the photoshoot managed to spark an entire conversation surrounding Jenner’s controversy. Author and disability activist Erin Tatum went viral when she reenacted Jenner’s cover in her wheelchair. “If being in a wheelchair is trendy now, I’ve apparently been a trendsetter since before Kylie was born,” Tatum wrote in a Tumblr post. Defining ableism in its rawest form, Jenner’s fetishization and wrongful depiction of the disability community opens up a conversation that is still extremely relevant in the fashion and modeling industry today. The disability community is simply not represented in modeling, or properly designed for by leaders of the fashion industry. White, cisgender and able-bodied females like Jenner stand at the center of this industry that many of us care so much about. Jenner portrayed disability as something artsy and provocative when represented by her identity, but when actual members of the disability community fill this role, they are looked down on as incapable, sick and sad, as Tatum mentioned in her Tumblr post.
DiMarco Foundation, DiMarco serves as a role model to deaf models and children, speaking to language equality and advocacy for literature. Philip’s leading inspiration, Jillian Mercado, who was diagnosed with spastic muscular dystrophy as a teen, has landed modeling contracts with IMG Models and Diesel Jeans, agencies that include a lineup of famous supermodels such as Kate Moss and Heidi Klum. In addition, Mercado starred in Beyonce’s “Formation” video and a marketing campaign for Target. Aligning themselves with these individuals with disabilities, Philip accredits their pursuance of modeling to Mercado especially. “I credit Jillian Mercado as a trailblazer for people with disabilities in fashion,” Philip wrote in an email interview with The Daily. “I credit all the hard working Black models for their beauty & visibility in fashion right now. I credit all the upcoming trans models for their advocacy and visibility as well. I’m a part of all of this, and I just want to work hard to break boundaries.” Acknowledging the need for progress in this industry, Philip is spearheading a movement one simply must rally behind.
feel uncomfortable in fashion as a space,” Philip wrote. Philip’s role in the modeling and fashion world is the much-needed push for a long overdue change to what can be a challenging cycle. Philip’s multifaceted identity is real, something people can relate to and certainly something that has challenged the idea of models as commodified products. “I think designers could start with acknowledging physically disabled folk as a part of their narrative and as potential clients, and with that comes having to work with physically disabled models of all conditions and body types as well,” Philip wrote. So to the modeling world: Please, no more Kylie Jenners posing in bedazzled wheelchairs. What we need is a continuation of the monumental movement Philip, DiMarco and Mercado have started and will continue to sculpt for future generations of the disability community. The ever-changing industry needs an aesthetic that is real, accessible, narrated and designed by those who live the reality of disability. Only then will the fashion and modeling industry be something we will be proud to associate with and acknowledge.
Courtesy of Ella Wiznia
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FILM
WARNER BROTHERS
Examining cripface and ableism in Hollywood: A look into the nature of cinema’s disability representation MEGHAN CHOU Daily Arts Writer
The Oscars adore films that address disabilities. In recent years, actors and directors have grappled with portraying a wide range of mental and physical challenges, and their peers have rewarded them for it. Eddie Redmayne (“The Danish Girl”) won Best Actor in 2015 for his portrayal of the late Stephen Hawking, who had Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), in “The Theory of Everything.” Last month, Guillermo Del Toro’s film “The Shape of Water,” whose
In fact, according to a study by the Ruderman Family Foundation, 95 percent of characters with disabilities are played by ablebodied actors
mute protagonist communicates through American Sign Language, won Best Picture. However, neither Redmayne
nor Sally Hawkins (“Maudie”), the leading actress for “The Shape of Water,” share the same disability as their character. In fact, according to a study by the Ruderman Family Foundation, 95 percent of characters with disabilities are played by ablebodied actors. I reviewed “The Shape of Water” and originally applauded Hawkins for her performance. As an able-bodied person, I was unconscious of the issues with giving a potential role for a mute person to an actress who can speak. My praise for the film also had to do with the onslaught of tone-deaf and caricatured portrayals of people with disabilities that had desensitized me to the more nuanced problems with representation. After watching the recent comedy “Please Stand By” about a young woman with autism and the trailer for the romantic tearjerker “Me Before You,” I had low expectations for these films. “Me Before You” perpetuates the false notion that death is better than living with a disability. The film exploits the character’s disability to tell a tragic, pathos-heavy story where suicide is glorified as the best and only choice, and love as a sort of cure, trivializing the real struggles people with disabilities face every day. The casting of Sam Claflin (“Love, Rosie”) in “Me Before You” and Dakota Fanning (“The Alienist”) in “Please Stand By” are just a couple examples of Hollywood using “cripface,” a term that refers to able-bodied actors portraying characters with disabilities. Understandably, several opinion articles and film reviews published on Huffington Post and The Guardian from members of the disability community have expressed discontent over their representation in films. In particular, films like
“Please Stand By” attempting to examine the autism spectrum fail to remember that there is a spectrum. Instead, actors go for what they think will have the most dramatic, emotional result, but end up giving a cold, detached performance or a volatile, violent depiction — neither of which fairly represent people with autism. What’s worse is that according
disability as a way to manipulate audiences numbed me to the underlying issues with “The Shape of Water.” When I watched “The Shape of Water,” I wasn’t outright offended. Here, I thought, no one used unrealistic, insulting slapstick humor relating to an aspect of the character’s condition. The character wasn’t flat or tokenized, exploited for
happy cheerleaders who bring up the spirits of those around them, their performances suggest a subliminal and actually insulting implication that able-bodied people can find joy through comparing their situation to a person with disabilities for perspective. Or when M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split” and other horror movies like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” incorrectly suggest mental illness as a precursor to violent and homicidal behavior. In the case of “The Shape of Water,” critics praised the film for embracing the “other,” but on a second look, the movie actually shuffles its marginalized protagonist away from society and into the arms of a non-human species. A common counterargument to the need for more disability representation in film is that an actor’s job description demands inhabiting the mind and body of a character different from themselves. While this side of the debate has some legitimacy, the point is not to ban ablebodied actors from portraying characters with disabilities. Instead, filmmakers need to offer equal opportunities to actors with disabilities, especially since casting actors with disabilities may help alleviate the exploitation and potential insensitivity of the portrayal of a character with disabilities. Plus, able-bodied actors have a larger variety and choice of roles. Filmmakers love to tell stories with disabled characters, yet Hollywood discriminates against people with disabilities through both inaccurate depictions and unequal opportunities on screen. Although big and independent studios have failed to represent the disabled community, short films have done a better job and often express an explicit educational message. This
proving movies don’t need an able-bodied actor to have incredible stunt scenes.
Filmmakers love to tell stories with disabled characters, yet Hollywood discriminates against people with disabilities through both inaccurate depictions and unequal opportunities on screen
Other actors with disabilities on the big screen also defy the myth that audiences will not watch films starring people with disabilities. Millicent Simmonds (“A Quiet Place”) stole the scene in last year’s film “Wonderstruck” about the parallel stories of two deaf children in different eras — and, as a deaf actress, she has the right to tell this story unlike ablebodied Rinko Kikuchi (“Pacific Rim”) in “Babel,” who portrayed a deaf teenage girl. Peter
PARAMOUNT
to a comprehensive list compiled by film website Indiewire, many of these actors are rewarded with accolades: At least 59 ablebodied actors have received Oscar nominations for portraying characters with disabilities, both mental and physical. The way that films like “Me Before You” and “Please Stand By” so blatantly appropriate
tears or violence. But these are excuses. Especially now, we should hold films to a standard above just being inoffensive. A film that might appear inoffensive can send dangerous messages and perpetuate prejudices through stereotyped characterizations. When Cuba Gooding Jr. in “Radio” or Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump” act as
year’s Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film went to Britain’s “The Silent Child,” featuring Maisie Sly, a young deaf girl, as she faces challenges at school without a teaching aide. In addition, the wellrespected Manhattan Short Film Festival awarded Latvian actor Aleksandrs Ronis the honor of Best Actor for his starring role
A film that might appear inoffensive can send dangerous messages and perpetuate prejudices through stereotyped characterizations
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
in “Just Go!.” Ronis, who lost both his legs, speeds through the streets in this action short,
Dinklage (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) has such an extensive filmography it needs a separate Wikipedia entry. He overcame discrimination from casting directors who only wanted him to act as a leprechaun or other demeaning characters to find critical and commercial success, becoming one of the highest paid actors on television for his work in “Game of Thrones.” His career shows an evolution in representation afforded to great talent after many years of struggle finding work. After refusing to play degrading characters, Dinklage took on roles that transcended common tropes of characters with disabilities — the victim, the object of pity or the undesirable. His first commercial breakthrough in the Christmas movie “Elf” allowed him to react with outrage when the main character wrongly mistakes him for an elf. But in Tom McCarthy’s 2003 drama “The Station Agent,” Dinklage plays a character with sexual desires and attracts the attention of his romantic interests, a narrative often withheld from characters with disabilities. At the end of the day, Hollywood needs to recognize the discrimination inherent in refusing roles of characters with disabilities from actors with disabilities. It’s not a question of acting caliber or ticket sales, but of providing equal opportunity to everyone.