Thursday, June 21, 2018
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Crime
NEWS
Retired prof found dead
Schlissel interview Schlissel clarifies the role of the Bias Response Team. >> SEE PAGE 3
AAPD investigate potential homicide of Robert Sharp
OPINION
Ignorance in idols
By ALICE TRACEY
Audrey Gilmour examines the precarious relationship society has with politicians.
Summer Daily News Editor
>> SEE PAGE 5
ARTS
DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN
Beyoncé returns EVERYTHING IS LOVE finds the Carters at their most extravagant >> SEE PAGE 6
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
When Justice isn’t served
“I’m afraid, our communities are afraid, it’s time to step our laws up.” >> SEE PAGE 9
U-M prof seeks to eliminate STEM programs for women Mark J. Perry says programs like GEECS violate Title IX and state constitution By GRACE KAY
SPORTS
Summer Managing News Editor
Michael Woods The former Michigan runner ended his track career after multiple injuries and found a new outlet in professional cycling >> SEE PAGE 11
INDEX Vol. CXXVII, No. 121 | © 2018 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION ............................... 4 ARTS....................................... 6 MiC......................................... 9 SPORTS................................ 10
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In an article currently circulating Facebook, Mark J. Perry, an economics professor at the University of MichiganFlint, calls readers to act against female-oriented programs in order to encourage “diversity, equity and inclusion and end gender discrimination in Michigan.” According to Perry, the University needs to eliminate women-only programs on the grounds that they are “illegally discriminating against men and gender non-conforming students, faculty and patients.” Perry challenges 11 different
University programs, initiatives, organizations, scholarships and fellowships at U-M Ann Arbor, including groups such as Girls in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the OCH Initiative for Women in Finance and the Barbour Scholarship. In Perry’s article, published on the American Enterprise Institute website, he claims the programs violate the University’s Nondiscrimination Policy, Title IX and the state of Michigan Constitution. “It’s important to note that university programs, scholarships, initiatives, fellowships and medical programs that are for gender exclusionary (‘women-only’) are potentially illegal for excluding and violating not just the civil rights of men, but are also potentially illegal for violating the civil rights of students, patients and faculty who have non-binary gender identities that are not exclusively male or female, and would include those who are transgender, transsexual,
genderqueer, gender-expansive, bigender, dual gender, pangender, trigender, genderfluid, or agender,” Perry writes. Student organizations such as GEECS and the Ensemble of CSE Ladies were originally designed to create a support group for women within the STEM fields. However, Perry argues, these programs not only exclude men but violate their civil rights. He cites the Michigan state Constitution’s portion about affirmative action programs in his argument: “The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and any other public college or university, community college, or school district shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
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The Ann Arbor Police Department is investigating the suspected homicide of Robert Sharp, a 76-yearold retired University of Michigan professor. The victim was found dead Monday night in the basement of his house on Alpine Drive. Sharp’s death, which police believe involved foul play, happened at some point between Sunday and Monday. Police arrived after Sharp failed to appear at a community meeting, concerning other residents of his housing complex. Sharp retired from U-M faculty after teaching in the chemistry department for 39 years. He earned his doctorate from Case Western Reserve, studying Multidimensional and Multiquantum NMR of Paramagnetic Systems, and completed his postdoc at Oxford University before starting at the University of Michigan in 1969. Over the course of his career, Sharp researched and published numerous papers on the paramagnetic behavior of electrons in NMR spectroscopy. Most recently, his team focused on using oriented polyacrylic gels to map electron spin. The victim’s son, David Sharp, told MLive his father was passionate about learning. “He knew so much about so many things that you could talk to him for hours and continually learn something new,” Sharp said. Police have not made any arrests yet, but they are actively looking into the crime. The Ann Arbor Police Department tip line can be reached at 734-794-6939 or tips@a2gov.org.
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2 NEWS
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
U-M responds to sexual assault case Administration releases plaintiff’s transcript, issues official statement By ALICE TRACEY Summer Daily News Editor
The University of Michigan officially responded Friday to a lawsuit challenging its sexual misconduct policy and released the plaintiff’s transcript, which had previously been withheld. Filed June 4 by Deborah Gordon Law on behalf of a male U-M student, the lawsuit claims the administration discriminates against males accused of sexual assault by conducting incomplete investigations. The case states a female student approached the U-M Office for Institutional Equity on March 12, accusing the male student in question of sexually assaulting her in November 2017. She filed for a no-contact order against him in April and later claimed Sudoku Syndication he violated the order in a University
dining hall, though the male’s Mcard records allegedly prove otherwise. The male student said they did have sex in November, but it was sober and consensual, and he declined when she suggested having sex again. As a result of the female student’s allegations, the case alleges the University administration put the male student’s transcript on hold, temporarily keeping him from committing to a graduate school. The male student said he was also interviewed by an employee from the Office for Institutional Equity. Due to the University’s sexual misconduct policy, which doesn’t allow for cross-examination, the case states there was no questioning between the two parties. Citing a 2017 case, Doe v. Cincinnati, the lawsuit claims the University denied the male student of his due process rights by not providing crossexamination. The lawsuit also claims the administration was unfair in withholding his transcript based on hearsay. There have been no findings against the male student thus far.
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NEWS 3 AA water rates to increase Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Single-family units could pay more for water due to Council decision By RACHEL CUNNINGHAM Summer Daily News Editor
DARBY STIPE / DAILY
Schlissel responds to free speech lawsuit U-M president calls lawsuit a “mischaraterization” of campus policies By GRACE KAY Summer Managing News Editor
The University of Michigan claims free speech and the campus atmosphere have been mischaracterized in their official response to the free speech lawsuit. “Perhaps because Speech First itself has no connection with the University, however, the picture it paints of the University and its policies is a false caricature,” the statement reads. University President Mark Schlissel explains the U-M has been mischaracterized inasmuch as not only has the University’s vibrant atmosphere been entirely overlooked and misrepresented, but the role of the Bias Response Team has also been completely misunderstood by the plaintiff. “Free speech is obviously incredibly important to the University,” Schlissel said. “Actually, we can’t be a research university without putting a high value on free speech. You can’t learn unless people are free to express their opinions whether or not other people find them harmful, insulting, annoying, disagreeable — it’s critically important — so our policies don’t impede free speech.” In response to the lawsuit, the University has streamlined the definitions of “bullying” and “harassment” in the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Initially, the Statement included multiple definitions, with dictionary definitions
alongside Michigan law definitions. However, on Monday the University eliminated the dictionary definitions. “The goal is to remove potential ambiguity,” Schlissel said. “We’re changing the way we describe things, but we’re not changing the function of these groups.” Schlissel went on to explain that despite criticism from Speech First the University has several outlets for conservative students, referencing groups such as Young Americans for Freedom and College Republicans as well as the various conservative speakers like Ben Shapiro who have hosted events on campus over the past few years. In the official statement the University defends the campus atmosphere. “The university’s implementation of its policies has been completely faithful to this overriding commitment,” the statement reads. “And, in fact, the actual intellectual life on campus includes student groups, student publications, and outside speakers who are comfortable advocating and debating strongly held and sometimes controversial views across the full ideological spectrum.” According to Schlissel, conservative students at the University feel uncomfortable with organizations like the Bias Response Team due to mounting societal tensions. “In general, and not just on college campuses but all across
society we are becoming an increasingly politically fractured society,” Schlissel said. “People don’t feel comfortable talking to people they disagree with.” The Bias Tesponse Team is a way Schlissel believes the University can create a healthy learning environment. “We are responsible for making sure that students can express themselves freely regardless of the ideas they are expressing but also we are responsible for establishing and maintaining an environment where all of our students feel as if they have equal ability to participate an environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and I really very strongly believe that those things are not inconsistent with each other,” Schlissel said regarding finding a balance between protecting students and preserving free speech. Contrary to the way the Bias Response Team is represented in both Speech First’s and the Department of Justice’s statements, according to Schlissel, the Bias Response Team cannot investigate or punish students. Schlissel said a student cannot be punished for an act of bias in and of itself. The Bias Response Team acts solely as a support system to give advice to students, and only in extreme cases such as violence or vandalism the team reports the incidents to the Division of Public Safety and Security.
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On Monday, City Council decided to postpone proposed changes to zoning codes regarding University of Michigan Greek life until July 16. The proposal, if approved, would require new or expanding fraternities and sororities to maintain affiliation with the University in order to obtain a city permit. The ordinance would also set a maximum occupancy level for the Greek life houses. Ann Arbor resident Josh Winegas discouraged the council from approving the ordinance, saying it seemed unfair to Greek life homeowners. “I must urge you to vote no on this current proposal,” Winegas said. “You have heard numerous opinions suggesting why this proposal is unfair to the homeowners. I completely concur with these opinions and as a fraternity homeowner, I can attest that if we were prohibited from operating as a fraternity or sorority, we’d be forced to sell our house.” City Council also voted 7-4 to change water, sewer and stormwater rates throughout the city to better reflect usage. Stantec Consulting Services was hired to conduct a cost-of-service study for this proposal. The controversial proposal is intended to better reflect water usage throughout the city, specifically in single-family homes, while others say it unfairly increases rates for single-family users. Non-residential units would pay a flat rate for their water usage. Effective July 1, stormwater rates would also increase by 14 percent. The proposal is revenue-neutral for the city. Councilmember Zachary Ackerman, D-Ward 3, stated that a resident is not solely paying for water, but paying for the infrastructure required to transport that water to the residence.
“I think I reject the premise that a gallon of water is a gallon of water because you’re not necessarily paying for the water,” Ackerman said. “You are through your customer charges and piece of your per gallon rate but what you’re really paying for is the infrastructure to pay for that water. A gallon of milk is a gallon of milk but if a household wants to buy 500 gallons of milk, you’re going to need a larger refrigerator and you have to pay for that larger refrigerator. Similarly, if a household wants to use more water, they have to pay for that larger pipe and the bigger system to getting it there.” Craig Hupy, Ann Arbor public service area administrator, addressed misconceptions about the proposal by explaining that the city’s goal is not to seek new growth of the system. “Our policy is that development pays for development,” Hupy said. “We do not look for new growth and extension to come out of the ‘right’ dollars. This is to maintain the existing system and to pay for the existing delivery of services.” Mayor Christopher Taylor supported the proposal, saying water usage varies by user and class and must be billed accordingly. “The different classes we serve have different costs of service, and this makes sense because it costs us more to provide service to neighborhoods because they are less dense than it costs us to serve other users downtown because they are more dense,” Taylor said. The council voted 11-0 to allow vertical expansion for Espresso Royale on South University Avenue and 10-1 regarding modifying parking tickets to $35 for an expired parking meter. City Council also voted 11-0 for a new question on the Nov. 6 ballot regarding a “Center of the City” urban park and civic center. This comes after a petition with over 5,000 signatures was filed following a previous rejection by the council to put it on the ballot.
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4 OPINION
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
AUDREY GILMOUR | COLUMN
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REEMA BAYDOUN| COLUMN
I
Rice-Krispies induced nostalgia
once roamed the basement of North Quad Residence Hall during a study break to search for a quick and filling vending machine snack. As I approached the machine hoping I wouldn’t be forced to settle for a bag of chips that was 75 percent air, I noticed a blue rectangular surprise in the left corner: a Rice Krispies treat. At only 160 calories, it proudly wore the MHealthy sticker on its front. I went for it without hesitation. Peeling back the wrapper, I exposed what I had been missing for so many years. The first bite was crispy, chewy and soft — just the way I remembered it. It transported me to a decade in the past, to the kitchen table of my childhood home where my mom taught me how to make these delicacies from scratch. It was the first recipe I committed to memory, and though it resulted in a messy cleanup, it became one of my favorite bonding experiences with my mother. But I didn’t realize how long it had been since I had enjoyed Kellogg’s greatest invention (sorry Nutri-Grain bars, it was a close call). I felt nostalgic immediately after that first bite, and it prompted me to clear the CVS shelves of their Rice Krispies inventory on my way home. For some of us, it’s Rice Krispies treats. For others, it’s Smucker’s PB&J Uncrustables, Fruit Gushers or maybe even a traditional home-cooked meal. No matter the treat, many of us have strong emotional connections and memories tied to foods that have us longing for a simpler past. It’s a powerful, food-induced nostalgia. The etymology of “nostalgia” is complex, but today we understand it to be a
yearning for yesterday. It allows us to travel back to specific times in our lives and sometimes even relive old feelings and emotions — like the way I felt in my mom’s kitchen all those years ago. By evoking these feelings and emotions, food acts as a medium for childhood recollections. But what is it about food that makes it so powerful? Why does eating certain foods resurface some of our most treasured memories? The answer may be that food consumption involves memoryinducing cues that are extremely evocative, such as scents, tastes and textures. The general experience of eating is also significant to memory creation and collection as it is oftentimes tied to social activities and exchange which attaches a new layer of sentimentality to our favorite foods. The act of eating can definitely be private, but we all remember sharing food over the holidays with our loved ones and during the most social parts of our young lives, such as school lunches and summer camps. Those images suddenly come back when we revisit our favorite foods. And, from a more biological perspective, our brains are wired to form memories about what we eat. The part of our brain called the hippocampus, which is essential to the formation of long-term memories, is also home to receptors of hormones that regulate appetite, digestion and eating behavior. Perceptions surrounding nostalgia are usually negative, portraying those caught in nostalgia as stuck in the past. But some studies challenge these perceptions and suggest that nostalgia can actually be beneficial. In fact,
evoking feelings from the past can help buffer people from experiencing loneliness. Comfort food that reminds us of previous social ties can help deter feelings of isolation. Additionally, some researchers argue nostalgia contributes to feeling safe because foods that we’ve already consumed in the past can be associated with positive memories, which reduces risk-taking. If this is the case, it seems wise for food brands to play into this “positive nostalgia” in their advertisement techniques. In 2017, Post Consumer Brands did just that by bringing Oreo O’s back into our lives. After a 10-year absence, the iconic cereal reminded us young adults of what it was like to eat cookies for breakfast. I remember walking through the cereal aisle at Kroger and reading, “the highly anticipated sweet return” on the front of the box, and though the cereal hadn’t crossed my mind for years, I was suddenly convinced the comeback was well overdue. While my matured palate no longer appreciates the grainy feeling that lingers after eating sugary cereal, it was definitely worth giving Oreo O’s another go. We’ve grown out of our childhood habits to become hardworking college students. But that shouldn’t stop us from indulging in sugary snacks from time to time. Sometimes, all it takes is a Rice Krispies treat to send us back to our favorite moments. And thankfully, science supports our endeavors to reconnect with our past. Reema Baydoun can be reached at audreymg@umich.edu.
A
Ignorance in idols
s a society obsessed with superhero movies and raised to t a l k about ou r persona l heroes f rom a ver y you ng age, it is no su r pr ise t hat A mer ica n s a re i n fat uated w it h idolizi ng ou r polit icia n s. From my ex per ience, Democrat s love to idolize cer t a i n polit icia n s a nd f ig u res f rom t he pa r t y. Some popu la r people on t h is list i nclude i ndiv idua ls such a s Supreme Cou r t Just ice Rut h Bader Gi n sbu rg a nd for mer President s Bill Cli nton a nd Fra n k li n D. Roosevelt . It ’s nat u ra l to have f ig u res who i n spi re us a nd i n f luence ou r v ision of t he world a nd ou rselves. When we t u r n ou r polit icia n s i nto heroes a nd idols, however, we fa il to see t he wea k nesses i n herent i n t hese u lt i mately ordi na r y people. No one wou ld a rg ue t he idea t hat no average person is per fec t , a nd yet ma ny Democrat s t reat some polit icia n s a s if t hey a re per fec t . Li ke t he average person , a ll polit icia n s have made quest ionable decision s t hat may have had di re con sequences. By placi ng polit ica l f ig u res on pedest a ls, we ma ke it dif f icu lt to cr it icize t hei r ac t ion s a nd sepa rate t he good f rom t he bad; mea nwh ile, t he com mu n it ies t hat suf fer f rom a n idolized polit icia n’s ac t ion s a re ig nored. Gi n sbu rg (a lso k now n by her ma ny n ick na mes li ke “The Notor ious R BG”) is a ver y popu la r libera l fem i n ist icon . Gi n sbu rg ha s become a n i n spi rat ion to ma ny women a s t he second woma n to become a U. S. Supreme Cou r t a ssociate just ice. She ha s worked ha rd t h roug hout her yea rs on t he Supreme Cou r t to uphold t he f u nda ment a ls of ou r Con st it ut ion a nd suppor t t he r ig ht s of ma ny ma rg i na lized com mu n it ies. However, Gi n sbu rg ha s a lso spoken out ag a i n st a popu la r for m of protest w it h i n t he Black Lives Mat ter movement : k neeli ng du r i ng t he nat iona l a nt hem . In 2016, Gi n sbu rg sa id she con sidered t he ac t ion when Coli n K aeper n ick , Sa n Fra ncisco 49ers qua r terback , k nelt du r i ng
t he nat iona l a nt hem “du mb a nd disrespec t f u l.” She compa red K aeper n ick ’s ver y leg it i mate for m of protest to bu r n i ng f lag s, ca lli ng it a ter r ible ac t . Gi n sberg did go on to apolog ize for t hese st atement s shor t ly a f ter wa rd, but t h is wa s st ill her f i rst reac t ion to a Black ma n’s protest ag a i n st system ic racism in t he Un ited St ates. A s someone who is t a sked w it h k now i ng, u nderst a ndi ng a nd upholdi ng t he U. S. Con st it ut ion , Gi n sbu rg shou ld have been able to respec t t h is ac t of civ il protest . St ill, t h is si ngle com ment t wo yea rs ago does not disqua lif y ever y good t h i ng Gi n sberg ha s done i n her life a nd ca reer. However, if we t a l k about Gi n sberg a s if she is per fec t , put her on a
“By placing political figures on pedastals, we make it difficult to criticize their actions and separate the good from the bad.” pedest a l a nd ca ll her ou r hero, what message is t hat sendi ng to t he Black com mu n it y? Idolizi ng someone who dism issed a nd belit t led a protest ag a i n st systemat ic racism cou ld be i nter preted a s a sy mbol of depr ior it izi ng racia l just ice, wh ich is t he opposite di rec t ion t he Democrat ic Pa r t y shou ld be mov i ng i n . A not her revered polit icia n w it h i n t he libera l com mu n it y is Fra n k li n D. Roosevelt . F DR ser ved t h ree ter m s a s president , seei ng t he U. S. t h roug h bot h t he Great Depression a nd World Wa r II.
Continue reading on page 5.
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Ignorance in idoltry by Audrey Gilmour continued below:
We lea r ne d a b out h i s c a re er in element a r y s cho ol h i s t or y b o ok s a nd were t aug ht t o s e e h i m a s one of t he mo s t s ucce s sf u l pre sident s i n U. S . h i s t or y. However, this image complet ely er a s e s s ome of t he at ro c it ie s F DR com m it t e d du r i ng h i s pre sident ia l t er m s . A mer ic a n s f i nd a way t o conven ient ly for g et F DR wa s re sp on si ble for t he i nt er n ment of over 10 0,0 0 0 Japa ne s e A mer ic a n s a nd Japa ne s e i m m ig ra nt s . Wh i le t he Un it e d St at e s wa s s upp o s e d t o b e f ig ht i ng xenophobia i n Eu rop e, it wa s c reat i ng a si m i la r d i s c r i m i n at or y c u lt u re w it h i n it s ow n b order s . M a ny of t he Japa ne s e A mer ic a n s i nt er ne d i n t he Un it e d St at e s h ad never l ive d i n Japa n a nd were i mpr i s one d pu rely ba s e d on t he fea r t h at t hei r et h n ic it y wou ld lead t hem t o b et ray t hei r cou nt r y. Ten s of t hou sa nd s of Japa ne s e A mer ic a n s were place d in i nt er n ment c a mps w it h t hei r on ly c r i me b ei ng t he f ac t t h at t hey h ad at lea s t one g reatg reat- g ra ndpa rent who wa s et h n ic a l ly Japa ne s e. B y no mea n s wa s t h i s F DR’s on ly que s t ion a ble ac t du r i ng h i s t er m s a s pre sident , but it wa s one of t he mo s t eg reg iou s a nd i s of t en for g ot t en complet ely or ig nore d by t he g enera l publ ic . F DR i s one p ol it ic ia n for whom we shou ld s er iou sly que s t ion whet her t o refer t o h i m a nd h i s leg ac y p o sit ively. B y refer r i ng t o F DR a s one of t he b e s t pre sident s i n U. S . h i s t or y or ju s t refer r i ng
t o h i m i n a p o sit ive way i n g ener a l , t he s u f fer i ng of over 10 0,0 0 0 Japa ne s e A mer ic a n s a nd Japa ne s e i m m ig r a nt s i s er a s e d . There a re m a ny p ol it ic ia n s a nd p ol it ic a l f ig u re s who cou ld b e adde d t o t h i s l i s t , i f not a l l of t hem . A s we at t empt t o b e come a more i nclu sive s o c iet y, we mu s t m a ke de c i sion s a s t o whet her cer t a i n f ig u re s c a n b e t a l ke d a b out p o sit ively a f t er t a k i ng a l l of t hei r ac t ion s i nt o con siderat ion . Th i s a r t icle i s by no mea n s i nt ende d t o s ug g e s t a l l p ol it ic ia n s a re t er r i ble p e ople u nwor t hy of ou r p o sit ive opi n ion s or pr a i s e. M a ny p ol it ic ia n s p er for m good publ ic s er v ice i n t he at t empt to m a ke t he Un it e d St at e s a b et t er place for a l l it s i n h a bit a nt s . However, t he s e good ac t ion s do not ne ce s sa r i ly cou nt er ac t de c i sion s t h at neg at ively a f fe c t t hei r con s t it uent s , pa r t ic u la rly t ho s e of m a r g i n a l i ze d com mu n it ie s . We mu s t m a ke s u re we con sider hol i s t ic a l ly t he s e p ol it ic a l f ig u re s b efore bl i nd ly si ng i ng t hei r pra i s e. L i b er a l s c a n s t i l l re sp e c t Gi n sbu r g for her p o sit ion a s t he s e cond wom a n t o sit on t he Supreme Cou r t a nd t he g o o d work she h a s done si nce her app oi nt ment . A s a pa r t y, we mu s t b e more con s c iou s of lo ok i ng at ou r leader s a s hu m a n s w it h b ot h s t reng t h s a nd f au lt s wh i le con sider i ng t he h a r m idolat r y c a n c au s e. Audrey Gilmour can be reached at audreymg@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to emmacha@umich.edu
OPINION 5
POOJA SUBRAMANIAM | WOLVERINES ABROAD
I
The hypocrisy of helping people
t was the first day of my spring break — halfway through a grueling semester — and I was unsure about my choice to spend my break in Nicaragua. I sat in an airplane with 12 of my peers, each of us silent, due in equal parts to our unfamiliarity with each other and the tiredness that often accompanies an early morning f light. I quickly texted my parents and boyfriend and closed out of Instagram on my phone, catching a final glance at the clear, blue waters of friends in Mexico that filled my feed. I said a quick prayer and, like that, we were off. The Ross School of Business, with a generous sponsorship from the Royal Bank of Canada, organized a service learning trip in the recycling-based community of La Joya, Nicaragua where we would work alongside International Samaritan, an Ann Arbor-based organization focused on serving communities that live in garbage dumps around the globe. In the days following the initial morning take-off, I would help build the foundation of a home for Yorlena, a mother who worked tirelessly collecting recyclables from the nearby landfills to sell at a small margin. I would grow to adore the 12 peers who joined me on our adventure in the Nicaraguan town of Nandaime. I would practice my Spanish while twisting wires with a construction worker, speaking with him about his daughters and wife. I would learn about the beauty of Nicaragua from our International Samaritan leader Tanya and how she decided to bring her higher education back home to help her nation with its most dire needs. I would learn how to mix cement and to remind my friends to drink water in the heat. And I would fall in love with the neighborhood kids who came and watched us work on a new, fortified home, much unlike their own. Yet through the thousand things I learned, saw and finally understood, from my own obvious privilege, to the potential negative effects of volunteerism, the patriarchal norms in many developing nations that help contribute to these issues and even the manual
labor that goes into building a small home, one thing stood out to me. My biggest takeaway from my trip was double-edged sword of “doing good.” On our first day at the landfill, our group met with Yorlena and a few of her coworkers, all mothers who spent their days collecting recyclables among the dusty, expansive piles of trash.
“This belief of recycling at the home level carries over in what I believe should be an international norm.” Standing near these women, I was extremely aware of my waterproof hiking shoes and the iPhone in my pocket. My mind couldn’t help but f lit to the recycling standards I so heavily preached in the United States: reduce when possible and recycle at home so that we can create a more efficient recycling process. This belief of recycling at the home level carries over in what I believe should be an international norm. To me, this method was always the solution to our excessive use of plastics, but bringing my own principles to Nicaragua would be heavily destructive. Yorlena provided for her three children only because a recycle-at-home infrastructure does not exist in the Grenada area — with this type of social program, she, and many of her colleagues, would lose their jobs. As students at the University of Michigan, many of us are looking for ways to improve the world. Whether we choose engineering, business, science or the arts as our medium to create that change, for many of us, it is our final goal. Yet, for me, standing in Nandaime, surrounded by kind people who let us enter their homes and lives for a short period to simply teach us about their way of life, I knew what I had learned – what I had
thought was right – would not help people in this community. Nevertheless, I still believe we should reduce our use of plastics and encourage in-home recycling internationally. It is this tension between doing what is theoretically good and what is good for the real people in real communities that drives the difficult decisions that come with creating solutions for the social good. This hypocrisy of helping people was, at first, entirely disappointing. But looking back, months after that first f light with strangers, I now realize this hypocrisy is the reason change is so scary and the reason change is so important. Yorlena had a picture in her home that’s still clear in my mind: she, her husband and her children, smiling and holding each other, photoshopped into a beautiful living room, unlike the small, concrete room in which the picture hung. Tanya told us it was a common practice--families photoshopping themselves into nice homes for their family pictures, a framed escape of their own reality. While generating industry change and positive environmental impact may not help Yorlena achieve the standard of living she wanted for her children, it’ll help others move away from working in landfills to find more lucrative, less dangerous ways to support their families. Back in Michigan, I’m once again entranced by idealistic solutions, rooted from my own experiences and education. I know that, directly, my actions may not affect the people of Nandaime, but indirectly, my perceived positive beliefs may have negative consequences, consequences that are now no longer distant from me. But maybe that’s why we travel, maybe that’s why we value an education abroad so deeply — it shows us the people who may be hurt by our solutions and challenges us to understand the implications of our actions and make sure the solutions we choose to believe in, we can still believe in even in the face of those they hurt.
Pooja Subramaniam can be reached at plsubr@umich.edu
6 ARTS
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC REVIEW
SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
‘EVERYTHING IS LOVE’ is an expanse of grandeur ROBERT MANSUETTI Daily Arts Writer
Ever since “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde,” Jay-Z and Beyoncé have wanted you to know two things about their relationship: They’re in love and they’re rich. For years that’s the most they’ve cared to divulge. They kept their 2008 wedding as hush-hush as possible and would almost never
be caught publicly without sunglasses — Jay often opted to cover his eyes while they sat courtside at indoor NBA games. They popped up here and there as if to bless us with their public presence, but that exterior appearance was all us normal people got to witness. It wasn’t until 2016, with the release of Beyoncé’s creative opus Lemonade, that cracks in the perfect marble sculpture of
the Carters became visible. Bey not only touched on the social and political nature of Black love, but the personal as well; she was on a quest for self-knowledge in the face of infidelity. That infidelity, Jay-Z’s alone, was nothing but a tabloid rumor for a couple years but made headlines with Lemonade and was only further made concrete when 4:44 arrived in 2017. With 4:44, Jay-Z brought his flaws to the forefront, admitting his guilt and asking for forgiveness. Who knows what happened between the two superstars behind closed doors,
EVERYTHING IS LOVE Sony Music Entertainment Beyoncé and Jay-Z but it seems to them the highest form of therapy is making music together. And with the unannounced drop of EVERYTHING IS LOVE, this unorthodox trilogy of healing has its final act. EVERYTHING IS LOVE represents a synthesis of Beyoncé’s perfect pop formula and Jay-Z’s classical brand of rap, but instead of being the lavish pairing we have come to expect, it comes across as a controlled mess. The couple’s undying love is at the center of the album, but the music itself has no heart — there’s no sonic flow as the tracklist jumps from a sexy string symphony to trap-inspired synth banger or songs that sound less like col-
laborations and more like Magna Carta Holy Grail or 4 leftovers. If anything, one of the few consistent musical takeaways from the album is that Beyoncé has cemented herself as a good rapper, sometimes outshining Jay-Z in terms of technical ability. She borrows the triplet flow on “APESHIT,” trades bars with Pharrell on “NICE” and poetically chides her husband on “LOVEHAPPY.” “You fucked up the first stone, we had to get remarried,” raps Bey, almost certainly looking at Jay dead in the eyes in the booth. In this way, EVERYTHING IS LOVE comes across as Beyoncé album that happens to feature Jay-Z on every track, as he functions more as afterthought than equal collaborator. His contributions are fewer and further between than those of his wife, and his verses occupy the portions of any given instrumental at its barest; Beyoncé is backed by a soulful chorus on “BOSS” while Jay-Z is left to work with snare drums and a singular background vocalist. When Jay-Z flips off the NFL and tells them “You need me, I don’t need you” on “APESHIT,” it’s almost as if Beyoncé could say the same to her husband himself. There’s something off about this new version of Beyoncé, though, as she brags about Lamborghinis and Patek Philippe watches on a verse clearly written by Offset of the Migos (him and Quavo lend their ad-libbing talent to “APESHIT”), and her flow perfectly matches Pharrell’s on “NICE,” leaving you wondering if he just didn’t give her half of his verse. In fact, there’s this whole manufactured quality of EVERYTHING IS LOVE that makes this meditative masquerade sound artificial. Each song rests on the shoulders of a veritable army of songwriters and producers: Ty Dolla $ign, Cool & Dre and Boi-1da, to name a few. Beyoncé and Jay-Z are so in control of their public images that it should come as no surprise they recruited such talent to bring this album to life. However, facts like that make this celebration of their love seem hollow. The convenient rollout of EVERYTHING IS LOVE and the two preceding solo albums, along with the On the Run II Tour, makes the inner conspiracy theorist in me wonder if the whole saga of Jay-Z’s affair (except Solange whooping Jay’s ass in an elevator) was nothing more than a carefully crafted public-
ity stunt to drive album sales and Tidal subscriptions. Ironically, the best moments of EVERYTHING IS LOVE comes when it relaxes its precise focus on the power couple. Album highlight “BLACK EFFECT” is a love letter to their own Blackness and acceptance of the symbolic power they have in their community. Jay-Z aims to uplift, shouting out “I’m good on any MLK Boulevard” and demonstrating the power of unity. The video for “APESHIT” is similarly empowering; the two have the fuck-you money to rent out the Louvre for one night and use it as their per-
When Jay-Z flips off the NFL and tells them “You need me, I don’t need you,” it’s as if Beyoncé could say the same to her husband himself.
sonal artistic playground, juxtaposing successful Black artists like themselves and their team of dancers with perhaps the most recognizable collection of white art on the planet. Jay-Z props himself before The Raft of the Medusa, a rarity among famous paintings as a Black man is at the pinnacle of the composition, while Beyoncé dances in front of the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory of Samothrace, placing herself as the new ideal of beauty among those classical notions. Yet, without the visuals for “APESHIT,” the song is nothing more than an elevated trap anthem, as the lyrics give no hint of its take on high art. And this identity crisis is representative of the whole album itself: While it attempts to shape Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s love, success and passion into a jubilant meditation on Black excellence, it celebrates Carter excellence instead. Albeit tastefully opulent, EVERYTHING IS LOVE can’t shake its extravagant vanity.
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
‘Tag’ disappoints JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer
A24
‘Hereditary’ contemplates inherited trauma and pain MAX MICHALSKY Daily Arts Writer
Horror is a genre that often lends itself to formula — people just aren’t that hard to scare. The horror film typically operates under an unspoken contract between the filmmakers and their audience: You may go see the most recent installment of the “Scream,” “Halloween” or “Saw” franchises and, for about an hour and a half, you’ll be treated to an adrenaline rush courtesy of a collection of tried and true horror tropes. The film will fall into a familiar rhythm, and the beats the story hits will serve to both unnerve the audience while maintaining a healthy degree of separation. And what does the filmmaker gain from this contract? They get to refine these types of films to a science and pump out yearly installments ad infinitum (2017’s “Jigsaw,” for example, marked the 8th installment in the blockbuster “Saw” franchise). It’s by no means a slight against those films, as they occupy their own niche within the state of modern cinema; these films are sure to entertain, shock and most importantly, scare. Ari Aster’s directorial debut “Hereditary” is not one of those films. It did not scare me — it shook me to my core. The film tells the story of the Graham family, whose lives are turned upside down when Ellen Graham, the family’s cold, ritualistic
ARTS 7
matriarch, dies, leaving behind boxes filled with secrets that will haunt her grieving family. If this sounds vague, that’s because this film evades description. It knowingly takes the aforementioned agreement between filmmaker and audience and tears it to shreds, following no familiar rhythm and actively subverting classic horror tropes. The result is a visceral, disturbing film that will stay with audiences long after the credits roll. While the film provides gore and shocking images abound, Aster’s true strength lies in his ability to make familiar things seem unspeakably terrifying. Toni Collette (“Please Stand By”) delivers a truly earthshaking performance as Annie, Ellen’s grief-stricken daughter and a mother of two. In one particularly unsettling dinner table scene, Collette shows her acting chops as she jolts between overwhelming grief and blinding, animalistic rage. Her unhinged, manic face, outlined by the dim f licker of candlelight, is one of the film’s most unnerving images. The film is further bolstered from an impressive display of cinematic ingenuity from Aster, who proves himself as an important new name not just within the horror genre, but for film as a whole. In almost every regard, from soundtrack to cinematography, “Hereditary” manages to impress with its inventiveness. One of Aster’s greatest triumphs is how well he understands the
power of the viewer’s imagination, often demonstrating an uncanny ability to decide what to show the audience and what to keep hidden. While Aster does eventually show the audience many of these truly gruesome and disturbing images, he masterfully builds suspense leading up to it. For all its disturbing imagery and terror-inducing moments, perhaps the scariest part of the film is that at its core, the true “monster” of the film is something decidedly real. Much like
“Hereditary” State Theatre A24 2014’s “The Babadook,” which used the image of an eight-foot tall man-creature stalking a woman and her son as an analog for grief and despair, “Hereditary” makes similar symbolic overtures. Even when the film does stretch its legs and reach into more outlandish territory, the center of what makes it so profoundly upsetting feels decidedly real, leaving the audience with the creeping fear that maybe this could happen to them. Maybe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and maybe — no matter how much we may struggle — we can’t ever escape what we inherit.
There’s not much to “Tag” that you won’t get out of most bigbudget comedies. The cast is almost unanimously made up of names you’ll recognize from their previous work, and you’ll leave the theater feeling like at least one of your favorites was shafted for screen time. At least a full quarter of the jokes will feel like a bad improvisation that goes on way too long and mostly consists of two or more characters trying to talk nonsense over each other. There will be a Big Emotional Moment that comes out of nowhere about ten minutes from the end of the movie, when the writers realized they couldn’t just have the characters play tag the whole time. “Tag” ticks all these boxes and more, but when it dabbles in cliché, it does so with such gusto and such commitment to the insanity of its premise that it’s really hard not to like. Unlike similar comedies like “Daddy’s Home 2” or “The House,” there’s an understanding here that just putting funny people on camera together doesn’t naturally generate comedy. The cast of “Tag” is actually given ample opportunity to show off their well-established comic chops — Jake Johnson (TV’s “New Girl”) as a stoner, Jon Hamm (“Beirut”) as an uber-charismatic doofus, Ed Helms (“Father Figures”) as the biggest man-child in a group of man-children — and almost everyone gets a laugh. The stand-out doesn’t even wind up being one of the leads; it’s Isla Fisher (“Nocturnal Animals”) as Anna, the wife of Hoagie (Helms) who harbors an unhealthy obsession with the game. Fisher’s talents have been unused for too long, and her ability to shift between different personas at a moment’s notice is put to good use here. In one scene she’s shocked that she forgot to show off vacation photos of her kids to a visiting reporter. Soon after, she tries to waterboard
Thomas Middleditch (TV’s “Silicon Valley”) so her husband can tag Jeremy Renner (“Wind River”). It’s ridiculous and absolutely hilarious. Other members of the cast don’t acquit themselves as well, usually due to a lack of screen time as opposed to any fault of their own. Rashida Jones (TV’s “Parks and Recreation”) has proven herself a terrific straight man in the past but isn’t given the chance to do anything in “Tag” but participate in a tired love triangle with Johnson and Hamm. And Annabelle Wallis (“The Mummy”) is mostly an audience surrogate who sticks to the background, though it would have been nice to see her get in on the action a bit more. Then there’s Renner as Jerry: the crux on which the whole movie turns and who ultimately feels like he’s in a different movie. Since most
“Tag” Quality 16 Warner Bros. of the movie consists of him running away from the rest of the cast, he’s the odd man out, the one who never really feels like “part of the group.” This is almost certainly part of the point, that Jerry has grown farther from his friends mentally as he has physically in the game, but where we understand the relationships between the other characters due to their shared screen time, we never get the same insight into Renner, so the Big Emotional Moment that ensues with his character late in the movie falls comparatively flat. The upside to this is that at no point does “Tag” treat Renner’s character like he is bound by the laws of physics and logic, which allows for unexpected, overblown action in a movie based on a children’s game. It’s drenched in slow motion and accompanied by Renner’s smirking voice over. In a time when most comedies don’t allow themselves to lean into their ludicrous premise, watching “Tag” step up and own its insanity is pretty refreshing. WARNER BROS.
8 ARTS
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
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WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, June 21, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Throw out a line 5 Marner of fiction 10 Santa Monica attraction 14 Funny Bombeck 15 Letter-shaped fastener 16 “Young Frankenstein” Fräulein 17 Meadows 18 Siamese fighting fish 19 New Mexico resort 20 Girl skipping school? 23 Plate duster 24 Transparent 25 “The Prisoner of __”: 1937 Fairbanks film 27 Reason your ears are burning? 32 Collect over time 35 __ juice 36 Second-largest bone in the body 37 Ticket word 38 Note from one who’s shy 39 __ Cruces 40 Low joint 43 ID with two hyphens 44 “Totally had you going there!” 46 Farm sound after sunset? 49 Backyard game for two 50 Saudi money 53 Prefix with pass 54 Knight game impact? 59 Early automaker 61 Trunk 62 Kitchen floor covering, to a Brit 63 Singer’s syllables 64 Considering everything 65 __ Eats: food delivery app 66 African antelope 67 Propagated 68 Word on an Irish stamp DOWN 1 “Tainted Love” band Soft __
2 Measurements made by planimeters 3 Tennis shot 4 Loafer adornments 5 Many a commuter’s community 6 Sarcastic comment 7 Senate majority leader after Dole 8 Some choristers 9 Poetry unit 10 Racetrack stop 11 Lower than low? 12 Swellhead 13 Speak harshly 21 Company VIPs 22 Fröbe who played Goldfinger 26 Feature of a twoltr. monogram 28 Pennsylvania sect 29 Relaxed 30 Wired, with “up” 31 Big cut 32 Severely damaged Asian sea 33 Like a birder’s field glass
34 With very little grace 41 Burning 42 Env. fattener 44 Puritan 45 Landscape artist’s shade 47 To wit 48 California governor after Gray 51 Defensive line?
52 Hermit 53 2018 Ron Howard film subtitled “A Star Wars Story” 55 Faux pas 56 Bird crop 57 Cruise stopover 58 Became frayed, say 60 Kenny G’s horn
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06/21/18
The Michigan Daily loves its readers a LATTE
By Clive Probert ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
06/21/18
Pixar tightens up in ‘Incredibles 2’
breaks the news to the family, and it seems that the Daily Arts Writer superhero era is officially over. However, superhero fanatic telecommunications Of Pixar’s announced and sequels since “Toy Story 3,” mogul Winston Deavor (Bob “Incredibles 2” was the first Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”) that didn’t indicate a creative contacts the Parr family with drought within the studio. Its a plan to restore the public’s predecessor, “The Incredibles,” admiration of superheroes. Deavor assigns Helen Parr ended with a mole-like villain drilling his way through the (Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”) city, signaling that the Parr to return as Elastigirl and fight family’s work was far from crime while being videotaped publicity purposes. over. And with the expectation for that every superhero movie Meanwhile, Bob Parr must must spawn at least two sequels forgo his role as Mr. Incredible and sometimes even a complete to take care of his family. franchise reboot, the existence This presents a welcome of “Incredibles 2” was never change in roles uncommon in contemporary superhero doubted. Brad Bird (“Tomorowland”) movies — the traditionally strong, returns as the writer and director “Incredibles 2” indestructible man takes a of “Incredibles 2,” backseat to with practically full Rave Cinemas, his wife, who creative control. proves to be Unlike other Pixar Quality 16 more efficient movies, where the on the job. director and writers Walt Disney Along with split duties, both Studios last summer’s “Incredibles” movies “Wonder are Bird’s complete Woman,” vision. After a 14 year break, “Incredibles 2” “Incredibles 2” is a breath of proves that Bird has not lost fresh air in a genre flooded his ability to create a unique with hunky men with bulging universe with well-rounded biceps and deep voices. At home, Bob (Craig T. characters. The movie begins months Nelson, “Book Club”) must deal after the original as the family, with Jack-Jack, the couple’s in full Incredibles form, infant, as he begins developing attempts to stop the same a diverse array of superpowers. mole from destroying the city. Jack-Jack, whose superpowers After the the Parr family’s were only hinted at in the unsuccessful attempt, the original, solidifies his fangovernment bans superheroes favorite status with some of the from fighting crime. Rick movie’s funniest moments. Dicker, portrayed by the Read more at gravelly voiced Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”), MichiganDaily.com WILL STEWART
MICHIGAN IN COLOR 9 When justice isn’t served
Thursday June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thick, untamed and lovely: My hair
By NARMEEN REHAM MiC CONTRIBUTOR
PHOTO COURTESY OF NINA CEDRO
By LORNA BROWN MiC EDITOR
“It’s so thick I can’t get the hair dryer through it.” My hairdresser grits her teeth for the fifth time as another piece of her hair dryer breaks off in my hair. So thick, not even the best styling tools can make its way through its roots. If only I had my sister’s hair, that allowed for combs and dryers alike to slide through it without having to worry about getting stuck at the base of her neck. The solution? Relaxing my hair so it was easier to deal with. My first relaxer burned. It burned and it didn’t feel right; the smell curdled my stomach and every part of me screamed internally, but my mother told me it was the right thing to do. It was right, I had to, it was too much work for other people to do my hair. So, there I was, with the chemicals I could not pronounce permeating and burning my skin as I sat there taking in the salon. Magazines with dog-eared pages a little too close to the edge of the coffee table, the fan blowing to keep the scent of burning hair from being too strong for the customers, and of course, the sound of laughter that seems to bounce off the walls of the shop. My hairdresser nods at me and I walk from the dryer to the sink. The water cools my scalp, and I close my eyes. I am standing in the mirror; my hair is straight as I run my hands through it in my
bathroom when I get home. Careful not to touch my scalp, which still feels tender from the perm, I pick up the comb next to me and it slides through my jet-black hair. Then I throw on my uniform for school. I’ll finally be like all of the other kids at school. There will be one more relaxer in my life and after that, my hair will start to break off, clumping in chunks on my pillow, and my scalp will itch continuously until we realize that the perms were, in fact, destroying my hair. For every Black girl, there remains this battle between her hair and society. Many of us grow up thinking that the hair growing from our scalps is wrong. It doesn’t lie flat or grow down, it grows up towards the sky and its roots are thick and untamed. So, much like our mothers did to their hair, we take chemicals and burn our skin, close our eyes and flinch when the hot comb gets too close to our necks and stay still in the chair while the hair dryer yanks our hair out. Growing up, every part of me knew that this did not seem right. But I didn’t say anything because my “nappy” hair did not belong in the world. It was meant to be hidden and stay that way. Just like when my ancestors hid their natural hair to assimilate into society on plantations by using chemicals to burn their scalp because it was what the world told them to do to survive.
After discovering my hair did not like being chemically straightened, we decided hot combs and straighteners were the best options. Driving 40 minutes to get my hair straightened every three weeks created less guilt within me, but I still felt I was not caring for my hair the way it deserved. With time and patience, my hair grew back and although it was long, that didn’t necessarily mean it was healthy. So, after I graduated from a high school filled with nothing but Eurocentric-based beauty standards, I decided to give my hair what it deserved. So, I wanted box braids. “Box Braids?” My mother’s mouth opens inquisitively as her sunglasses are pulled down to the rim of her nose. We’re at the pool on my senior trip. She hands me back my phone displaying a girl with box braids smiling at the camera. She has no clue what they are, and it shows. However, I know what I want and if there is one thing that has always made me ambitious it’s my determination. I was sick and tired of seeing my heatdamaged hair that limply fell at my shoulders when I got out of the pool or shower. My hair was meant to be thick and untamed, not limp and damaged. So I did my research and I devised a plan to give my hair what it
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I pin my scarf around my hair until it feels secure. The night is still as the call for prayer (athan) sings through my phone — I close my eyes and take a deep breath of the warm June air. I exhale to the cadence of the athan, renewing a sense of calm and strength in my body after a long day of fasting. As I walked down the road to my mosque, I reflect on the feeling of security underneath the crescent moon of a Ramadan night. I’m sure Nabra Hassanen felt the same. The headlights of a car zipping around the corner interrupt my daze and I pick up my pace in a small panic, remembering the heartbreak that occurred almost a year ago. Earlier that day, I came across a video of Nabra Hassanen’s father responding to questions about the brutal murder of his daughter. My heart ached for him and I could see my own father in his cries. Last Ramadan, she was killed by Darwin Torres while walking to her mosque after an early morning suhoor (breakfast) with her friends at McDonald’s, a spot my friends have frequented at the brink of dawn during our Ramadan nights. That could’ve been any of my friends leaving the McDonald’s parking lot to not return again. This cut felt deep. It was personal. It has been almost one year since Nabra Hassanen’s father called for justice in the name of his daughter, believing there is no doubt that she was targeted because she wears hijab. Instead, the news was quick to call it “road rage.” Torres grabbed a bat from his car and furiously beat her face unrecognizable and the news said it was “it wasn’t about her.”
He ripped her hijab off, carried her limp body deep into the woods to assault her, and the police were quick to state it was “not a hate crime.” Sure, it could have been road rage — but it also could have been the same rage that prompted an individual to set her memorial ablaze. This incident is far from isolated. It reminded me of years ago when bullets ripped through the home of three Muslims in North Carolina: Deah, Yusor, and Razan. Their executionstyle deaths were attributed to a parking dispute. When you witness and experience discrimination firsthand, these terms of prosecution begin to seem naive. This insidious hatred doesn’t only target Muslim communities, but those marginalized across the nation. In order for a crime to be classified as a hate crime, it must show that the crime clearly targets an individual due to their characteristics. However, to be a minority in America is to know that discrimination does not need to be overt or blatantly stated to be felt. To be a minority in America is to watch as the brutal murders of people who look like us are lessened to “coincidences” and are abandoned in the rule of law. We know damn well it’s no coincidence. We feel ourselves, our families, and our friends in each name that quickly passes through the ticker at the bottom of the news screen. How many lives will our communities lose to ignorance and hatred that will be labeled as else? Does America sweep the targeting of individuals on the basis of religion, race, and sexual identity under the rug so we don’t have to address the greater issue of toxic biases in America? Why do we bury
hate under legal euphemisms instead of calling it out as it is? In a call of remembrance for Nabra and justice for the many minorities that are targeted on a daily basis in America, I make a case for the hate crime. There are a number of reasons why America is uncomfortable labeling these offenses as driven by hate. This discomfort in itself is a sign that we need to debate and explore the semantics of them more. Legally, it is complicated. Once it carries the label of a hate crime, it elevates a normal crime to a more serious offense, requiring greater attention from law enforcement. Police often aren’t trained on these matters and there is no uniform method to track and handle these crimes. Socially, it is a symbol. Hate crimes say to criminals that bigotry will not be permitted in this community, state or nation. To communities targeted, it says that they are heard, respected and protected by the rule of law. This begs the question — is there a reason why we don’t take the extra steps to make minority communities feel more safe and welcome? One wrong interaction, one wrong person to cross paths with — this is all it takes. When stories of hate crimes air on the news, they’re often followed by my parent’s “This is why we tell you to be careful.” But, we both understand that no matter how careful I am, I can’t control those around me. I can’t control someone who wants to meet my beliefs with a bullet, who sees my brother’s skin color as a bulls-eye or who wishes my friend’s hijab were a noose. I’m afraid, our communities are afraid and it’s about time our laws step up to protect us.
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Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CAMERON HUNT / DAILY
Junior center fielder Jonathan Engelmann signs with the Cleveland Indians after being drafted in the 31st round of the MLB Draft and a breakout year with at Michigan
Engelmann departs ‘M’ and signs with the Indians JACOB KOPNICK
Summer Managing Sports Editor
Jonathan Engelmann sat in a locker room in Goodyear, Ari. listening to sage words from the Cleveland Indians director of player development James Harris. With an insecure future and a head full of fantasies, Engelmann gathered with all the new Indians signees at at Cleveland’s spring training facility in Arizona. That’s when Harris reminded them all why they were there. Harris instructed the young ball players to close their eyes and imagine that it was game seven of the World Series and that they were part of the team that had a shot to win it all. He asked them to imagine what that moment would feel like, what it would smell like. “Now imagine that’s five years from now,” Harris said as the players then opened their eyes. He then followed with a simple question, “What would you do every day to prepare yourself for that moment?” Through a simple yet effective exercise, Harris had inspired every individual in that room—least of all the
now-former center fielder for Michigan. “It’s something I won’t forget,” Engelmann said, “So leaning on that and carrying that through my professional career for as long as I can is what’s gonna drive me.” Only a few days prior, Engelmann had chosen to forego his final year of eligibility at Michigan and sign a major league contract. Engelmann was drafted in the 31st round by the Indians and will now embrace the slow grind of minor-league baseball. It’s a drastic change for any top-tier baseball player. You go from being the go-to guy at a big program to working your way through the ranks. But Engelmann is confident that he’s prepared for this moment. “It’s funny, going back to the bottom of the totem pole, gotta work your way back up, which is fine,” Engelmann said. “It’s kinda how I’ve lived and I’m no
stranger to adverse situations, and this is something that I’ve trained for at Michigan. We always train to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations.” Another circumstance that Engelmann will have to overcome is his draft position. As long as sports drafts have existed, players drafted later than expected have been humbled in their abilities. And that’s exactly what happened with Engelmann at the MLB Draft. Heading into the draft, Engelmann and his camp heard rumors that he could potentially be selected in day two, meaning rounds 3-10. Then, for whatever reason — the draft, much like the game of baseball, is very fickle — Engelmann tumbled down draft boards and was selected in the 31st round. With a year of eligibility left, getting drafted that late forces the player to make a tough decision — stay in
“It’s a chip on my shoulder that I’m gonna carry forever”
school or go for the pros. Getting drafted in the latter half of the draft does not guarantee the draftee enough money to make it worth it and may not set that person up for immediate success within the organization. Getting his desired amount of money and a shot to play in the pros, Engelmann signed and never looked back. Despite being picked so late, Engelmann remains optimistic about his future— but simultaneously will be playing with a massive chip on his shoulder. “It’s a chip on my shoulder that I’m gonna carry forever,” Engelmann said. “It’s something that you realize, how lucky of an opportunity this is regardless of what round, and I’m extremely happy with that. I mean don’t get me misconstrued, getting a chance to play professionally has been a dream of mine since I was young, so I’m more than happy, but yeah, there is a chip. “I go out there and it’s time to go and prove some people wrong.” One of the people Engelmann will not have to prove wrong is
Aaron Etchison. Etchison, a former Michigan coach during Engelmann’s freshman and sophomore seasons, now works as an area scout for the Indians. Knowing what Engelmann was capable of, Etchison rolled the dice and was able to pick up the junior in the 31st round. Always the first to recognize the scope of an institution like Michigan, Engelmann remains thankful for the connections being a Wolverine has given him. “So there’s a great Michigan connection right there, just one of the many reasons you go and get your degree,” Engelmann said. “You have that network, and there’s always one person in that big company or firm that knows or has studied at Michigan.” Now Engelmann will depart the team after having completed a breakout junior season. The center fielder led the team in runs (43), hits (74), doubles (14) and stolen bases (21) and was second on the team in batting average (.351), home runs (6) and RBI (44). The junior joins fellow teammates junior left-hander William Tribucher and senior right-hander Jayce Vancena in signing major league contracts. Tribucher was drafted in the 14th round by the Colorado Rockies and Vancena in the 31st by the Detroit Tigers. Engelmann may not don a maize and blue uniform next season, but his time in Ann Arbor is not done yet. He will finish out his degree in Ann Arbor next year, barring the existence of any development camp he would have to attend for the Indians. In terms of his baseball career as a Wolverine, though, all that’s left for Engelmann now is to ref lect on his legacy at Michigan. “I hope that the one thing that I can say a lot in my head is that I left the uniform in a better place,” Engelmann said. “You put your uniform down and you think, ‘Did I do everything to represent Michigan right and be the best teammate that I could? And I hope that above everything, above any stats or moments on the field, that I was the best teammate and the best person and the best Michigan man that I could be.”
Thursday, June 21, 2018 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Spikes to Spokes: Woods’ new career ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
Closing out the final kilometers of the race, professional cyclist Michael Woods was in a solid position. Positioned among the front group, he knew he’d finish well. And that’s exactly what he did. Woods finished in second place at the 2018 Liège-BastogneLiège in Belgium, a feat he could only dream of a few years prior. **** Growing up in Ottawa, Canada, Woods frequently rode his bike—but only for fun. He’d head to the park to attempt jumps and other tricks, but beyond that, his focus was running. And he was quite good at it. Among his many achievements as a runner, he won gold in the 1500-meter race at the 2005 Pan American Junior Championships and even ran a sub-four-minute mile (3:57.48) that same year. With his success, colleges started opening their doors to him. Michigan stood out the most because it was a good school for distance running, but also because of another Canadian runner who had raced for the Wolverines — Kevin Sullivan, the current head coach of the Michigan men’s cross country team as well as an assistant coach for track and field. “My hero as a kid was Kevin Sullivan who’s now the coach. He was my hero when I was starting in running and he went to Michigan,” Woods said. “Basically, in Canada, every high school distance runner would talk about how amazing the University of Michigan was. So, it was definitely my first choice. And then also, you know, I wasn’t a terrible student as well so Michigan really stood out in that sense as well.” So, Woods followed in Sullivan’s footsteps and headed to Michigan on a full scholarship to run both cross country and track. But his career as a runner took a turn for the worst around 2006 when he started getting
stress fractures in his left foot. Woods underwent two surgeries and had pins placed in his foot but still failed to recover completely, effectively ending his career as a Wolverine. “I just tried coming back too fast. Constantly trying to get back into running but never really was able to just because of this injury,” Woods said. “It was not gradual at all. I continuously tried to come back.” In 2008, Woods graduated with a degree in English. He kept at his running career but eventually, the clock ran out. Fall of 2011, while racing in a 10k road race, he sustained yet another injury and knew it was time to say goodbye to the sport. Though his career as a runner was over, his life as an athlete was far from it. Just as he always ridden a bike in his childhood, Woods did so in college too. He lived near Yost Ice Arena and would hop on his bike to get to class. After graduating and while pursuing professional running but battling injuries, he rode his father’s bike to stay fit. Woods notes 2012 as a major turning point in his athletic career. He’d been away from running for some time and was working. His then-girlfriend — and current wife — suggested that he put all his energ y into cycling. “She saw my potential,” Woods said. “She saw me when I was running at my best and knew what I was capable of as an athlete. She really believed in me and she told me ‘I think you should make a real focus at cycling and see where you can take it.’ So I quit my job, and she was amazing and helped support me when I first started out. I started racing that year and started getting results.” When he took up cycling, his main goal was to make the Olympics — a goal he then achieved in 2016. “I just feel so lucky to have been able to go and represent Canada,” Woods said, “and just be at the Olympics.” Woods proudly races for the professional team EF Education
SPORTS 11
COURTESY OF COURTESY OF BETTINI PHOTO / CYCLING NEWS
Former Michigan runner Michael Woods ended his running career at Michigan and discovered a career in professional cycling
First–Drapac p/ b Cannondale, an American team based out of Boulder, Co. that also has a hub in Girona, Spain. “The team I’m on right now really stood out because it’s taken such a huge anti-doping stance,” Woods said. “We’re not a win-at-all-costs team. Obviously, we want to try and win — we want to do well — but riders on this team are unique characters. A lot of the guys on our team are interesting people and we’re well known for being that team that’s focused on doing things the right way, making sure we’re not trying to stretch the rules or cheat.” With his current team, he races on professional cycling’s biggest stage. He’s already competed in two out of the three Grand Tour events — twice at the Giro d’Italia and once at the Vuelta a España where he finished in seventh out of 158 riders in 2017 — a tremendous accomplishment considering he hasn’t been cycling for that long. “Because I ruined one athletic career already I really feel lucky to be doing this professionally and getting paid to do this,” Woods said. “And the fact that I didn’t start that long ago, I really appreciate how big these races are because I was just a fan of the sport before. I have quite a few pinch-myself moments when I’m in these big races and there are people running beside me up a climb and yelling and screaming my name.” Woods has yet to race the
Tour de France, but plans to do so in the future. So far, he’s been focused on the other two Grand Tour events, including the Giro d’Italia where he was the team leader this year. “Unfortunately, I haven’t done the Tour yet,” Woods said. “The Vuelta and the Giro are huge races, but the one problem with those races is they’re not as well-known as the Tour. I really wanna do the Tour because I’m tired of explaining to somebody who doesn’t really know cycling that when they ask me, ‘Have you done the Tour?’ I have to respond, ‘Oh no, I haven’t done the Tour. But I’ve done the Italian and the Spanish version.’” Woods ranks his secondplace finish at this year’s LiègeBastogne-Liège as his best athletic achievement. The event is the world’s oldest one-day Classic race and is regarded as one of the five monuments of professional cycling. “I love that race. I’m now accruing enough experience that I understand how that course works, and I just had a good day,” Woods said. “It was a real out-of-body experience. I started this only a few years back, and when I first started I was riding the trainer and just watching races like this on the TV and dreaming of being in these positions.” Since taking up cycling, Woods’ life has changed. For starters, he’s competing in a sport that — although it may
seem to share many similarities with running — he believes is very different. Woods admits he was unaware of the differences between the two sports when first making the transition. “I thought, you know, because I was really good at running I’d also be good at cycling,” Woods said, “Just because I had this engine.” Now, he believes that although aerobic capacity is vital in both sports, cycling is much more technical and tactical. Woods often trains more than 30 hours a week — a schedule he says is much more timeconsuming than running. Most of that training happens in Girona, Spain — the location of his team’s training facilities. He also spends time each year in Andorra and back home in Ottawa. His career involves a significant amount of travel, a part of his life he missed while facing injuries. Woods travelled all over the United States when running as a Wolverine, but stayed put when he took up a job between sports. Now, he’s glad to be back on the road — and on the plane. “I certainly don’t take it for granted now. I really enjoy the adventure that I get to go on,” Woods said. “We get to go to really cool places, and even when I train, I get to see these amazing vistas and go down these really cool roads. I just feel really fortunate.”
COLUMN TIEN LE
Managing Sports Editor
BELLEVILLE, Mich. — The common perception of Memphians — inhabitants of the great city of Memphis, Tenn. — is that we’re tough and gritty. Or that’s what I had to remind myself when I trudged out of bed before 6 o’clock in below-freezing temperatures. I mean, who wouldn’t, right? After all, this was the last chance of the year to catch the Michigan rowing team at a home meet. Ok, I’ll admit it. I was really hoping to just call it quits and go back to bed — but not because I didn’t think the meet was important. It’s just that, well, I was hesitant about everything leading up to the meet. 30-degree weather at the end of April? Driving 40 minutes to a lake I’ve never heard of in
a rented car? I could just smell the trouble. But that first step I took from my bed was all it took to get me up and moving. The first step’s really all it takes to change a person’s perspective. *** If you drive down a rocky and bumpy trail while following flimsily-placed signs throughout the path, you’ve experienced the rowing-meet commute — or rather felt it. The potholes in the road make the trip quite the rollercoaster. Arriving after several fruitless attempts to follow the signs, I parked the car in a field that was littered with sloppilyparked cars. Though I can’t say I really helped either. Two steps. That’s all the amount of walking I got in before a cart — Michigan decorated — drove up to me and offered me a ride.
Sure, why not. It was a confusing path by foot, and I was running on thin ice to be on time. The staffer who drove the cart was intrigued by my Tennessee origins. “Oh, you’re from Memphis?” said the grounds crew worker. “That’s cool. I actually know a few people from Nashville.” Ding ding ding. There it is. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that statement, I wouldn’t be a broke college student. So you can imagine I hear it a lot. But he shifted right after to hyping up the rowing meet. “Just wait until you get to the patio.” the grounds crew worker said after I told him it was my first time at the lake. I could hardly wait. Literally. The meet was about to start in less than ten minutes, and we stopped once again to pick up more bystanders.
This time it was an elderly couple who were arguing right outside their car. Their daughter was lost, and they were on the phone trying to direct her. But “luckily,” I got lost too, so I knew a good way to break down the directions. “Just listen to the young man’s advice,” the wife said to her husband. “He obviously knows what he’s talking about.” I was trying to speed things up, but I ended up delaying myself ten minutes, as the husband was adamant on explaining the directions himself. After the grounds crew driver took pity on my dying soul, he offered to come back to pick up the two, who happily complied. All I could think of the rest of the ride, despite trying to keep up with the driver’s conversation, was, ‘Boy, this is a steep hill.” The cart drove down what
DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN
PHOTO BY ALEC COHEN
felt like a 100°-angled hill. But I didn’t mind. If it helps us get to the lake faster, I’ll take it. Three steps from the cart, which dropped me off conveniently close to the event, I met up with the Managing Photo Editor, Alex Cohen. “Why am I here?” He asked bluntly. It’s easy to understand. This was the first time either of us had absolutely no idea where to go. No press box. No courtside. There was just the lake house and the mini-peninsula made out of the mud and dirt. So naturally, we stuck to the minipeninsula. The thing is, that’s where the best view came from. It was like a sand-point bar, so naturally, you could see where the boats started, and you get the last glimpse of where they break off into the sunset. *** I had covered rowing all year, so I knew what to expect.
Or that’s what I thought before the first varsity eight boats pulled from the starting line. You don’t deal with words and numbers any more. You’re dealing with suspense live stats can’t capture, with performances you can’t capture with recaps and phone-cover details. Both 1V8s broke out to a similar pace, neither able to top the other. The first 500-meters was a nail-biter. The lead, which was created just briefly, teetered between the two teams before Michigan created a larger separation. But the atmosphere from between the lake-house patio — where both fanbases anxiouxly waited — and the boats had a feeling about it that draws you in.
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