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Monday, November 12, 2018
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SportsMonday The Michigan football team dominated Rutgers on Saturday with a 35-point win in Piscataway.
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CRIME
Legalization of marijuana puts ‘U’ regs. in question HANNAH SIEGEL/Daily
Students from the University of Texas and the University of North Carolina speak about their experiences volunteering with Syrian refugees in Greece at the second annual Students Organize for Syria nation conference Friday.
University hosts second annual Students Organize for Syria talks
Conference attendees ask where to go after eight years of ongoing war abroad ATTICUS RAASCH & PARNIA MAZHAR Daily Staff Reporter & For the Daily
Over the course of the second annual national Students Organize for Syria conference, from Friday through Sunday
at the University of Michigan, students and faculty from all over the country had the opportunity to listen to speakers, engage in discussions surrounding Syria and grapple with the primary question of the event: “Where do we go from here?” In the course of the eightyear-long civil war — which most
watchdog organizations estimate has claimed about 500,000 lives — Syrian students have struggled with news of chemical attacks by the Assad regime, political inaction by the U.S. and other international actors and the resulting refugee crisis. With the last national conference hosted in Chicago,
SOS National President Amal Rass, a senior at Wayne State University, was excited to have the 2018 conference at the University of Michigan. “I’m just so happy to have this at U of M, for the conference to be hosted here,” Rass said. “I think it’s the perfect place to See SYRIA, Page 2A
Federal funds require campus to remain weed-free even after passage of Prop 1 RAFI KUBERSKY Daily Staff Reporter
Last Tuesday, Michigan voters approved the passage of Proposal 1, which will soon legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state. Michigan became the first Midwestern state and the 10th in the country to legalize cannabis, as the proposal won by a margin of 56 to 44 percent. The proposal allows for adults aged 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana; eat marijuana-infused edibles; and grow up to 12 marijuana plants in their homes for personal consumption. There will be a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residencies and any
amount over 2.5 ounces must be kept in a locked container. While marijuana will most likely not be immediately available in commerical markets until early 2020, a state licensing system will be created for local governments to monitor marijuana businesses, including growers, processors, transporters and retailers. Statelicensed retailers will be able to sell marijuana and other products. The proposal will not go into effect until the vote count is certified by the state Board of Canvassers, which is projected to occur in the first weeks of December.
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Local community members question J Street org. Common pushes for gaps in resources for homeless people Language CITY
CAMPUS LIFE
changes to Hillel trips
Petition seeks to add in Palestinian views to proIsrael birthright agenda RILEY LANGEFELD Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the University of Michigan chapter of J Street, an American advocacy group that promotes the efforts of “proIsrael, pro-peace Americans,” have published a petition to incorporate Palestinian perspectives into Birthright trips with University of Michigan Hillel. Hillel is a global Jewish campus organization. As part of its mission to advocate for Jewish students, it runs Birthright trips during which young Jews can travel to Israel on a sponsored trip and learn about the state’s history and culture. Jewish students made headlines this summer by walking off of birthright tour buses due to agendas and framing on the trip they saw as one-sided. LSA junior Meghann NordenBright, the co-president of the University’s chapter of J Street, along with other leaders of the organization, gathered signatures after they heard feedback from Jewish community members.
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Presenters at Ypsilanti speak out use art, storytelling to share experiences with inequity ALICE TRACEY
Daily Staff Reporter
The Washtenaw Housing Alliance and Shelter Association of Washtenaw County hosted the second-ever Voices of Homelessness event Friday evening in Ypsilanti, inviting community members to share their experiences with homelessness through art and storytelling. A Washtenaw Housing Alliance 2018 report found 256 people in the county live in shelters or transitional housing, while 28 people are completely unsheltered. The speak-out, which marked the beginning of National Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, was intended to spread awareness about homelessness and connect displaced people to resources. Representatives from several housing and public health organizations, including Ozone House and Michigan Movement, attended Friday evening, distributing information about their efforts to support the local homeless population to a crowd of around 60. According to Eastern Michigan University student Olivia Harris, who works for the Shelter Association, the audience was composed of locals interested in the event as well as people currently experiencing homelessness. “A lot of the agency members, we tried to put them out of the shelters, so there’s a homeless
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population here as well to get directed to resources, and there’s just a bunch of people from the community,” Harris said. Following about half an hour of unstructured time during which attendees were encouraged to browse the art collection, Amanda Carlisle, executive director of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance, kicked off the evening by commending the work of the organizations contributing to Voices of Homelessness.
After Carlisle’s introduction, 12 speakers, who were only identified by their first names, told their own stories about homelessness, explaining their backgrounds and sharing lessons and knowledge drawn from their experiences. Many of the stories included themes of mental illness and self-discovery. Other common sentiments among the speakers were frustration with the systemic issues that contribute to homelessness and a desire to combat the stigma
surrounding homelessness. The first speaker, Robin, explained how she moved to Michigan as a 12 year old after losing her family’s farm in Alabama. Though Robin’s aunt in Michigan promised them housing, they were forced to live in an unheated, bed bug-ridden van in the aunt’s backyard.
to close by end of year
LGBTQIA-centered bookstore is one of ten remaining across country JULIA FORD
Daily Staff Reporter
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On Nov 3, owners Keith Orr and Martin Contreras announced Common Language Bookstore, one of about 10 LGBTQ-oriented bookstores remaining in the U.S. and Canada, will close at the end of the year. Orr and Contreras have been together for 32 years and have owned the Kerrytown bookstore since 2003. Community members lamented the loss of a gathering space. Since its establishment in 1991, Common Language has been a vital part of Ann Arbor’s LGBTQ community. When Kate Burkhardt and Lynden Kelly, Common Language’s former owners, decided to retire, Orr and Contreras were compelled to keep the bookstore alive. “It’s an important part of gay culture,” Orr said. “Bookstores are where people a lot of times have their first time in a safe space to figure out who they are.”
CAMERON HUNT/Daily
Robert Lee Mitchell shares his story at the Voices of Homelessness event in Ypsilanti Friday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 29 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
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SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............5 SPORTS....................1B
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chapter, said every speaker had an important message to share with the conference, but cited Loubna Mrie, a Syrian photojournalist, had an especially strong effect. “Honestly, the lineup of speakers was incredible,”
really important to contribute. They’re just so phenomenal and I’m really glad they took the time this weekend to come and share their experiences have it, the students seem to be very passionate about these and share their ideas on how we can make an impact.” things and want to learn about. The event included 10 I’m happy we get to have it speaker sessions with topics here.” ranging from policy, advocacy The weekend’s event and lobbying to journalism consisted of a series of talks in war zones, all of which and discussions from 13 addressed the future of the speakers, many of whom Syrian conflict. Many of represented various Syrian the discussions began with activist organizations. Activist presentations from each Shiyam Galyon, former director of the Books Not speaker before moving into a Q&A discussion with audience Bombs campaign that captured members. Qureshi said the campus attention in 2016, Q&A allowed attendees to delievered the conference not only listen but actively keynote Saturday morning— the rest of the speakers Qureshi said. “I’d say Loubna participate with the speakers. “I think it’s really important included representatives from (Mrie) who spoke yesterday, the Syrian American Medican she was a photographer on the to have that engagement Society, Syrian Community front lines, her experiences because if it’s just a bunch of Network, Syrian American were so raw and so personal lectures in a long span of time Council and the Karam and it just really struck a chord you kind of zone out and you Foundation. Public Policy within me and I think she’s lose track of what’s going on,” senior Zoha Qureshi, president just phenomenal, but every Qureshi said. “Just having that of the University’s SOS other speaker had something continuous conversation that’s really what makes things The rules of Sudoku are simple. Enter digits from 1 to 9 into stick in people’s minds.” attendees the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So Many revealed they felt personal must every column, as must every 3x3 square. connections with the event speakers. LSA senior Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be solved withoutAhmad Alabed, a member of the University’s SOS guessing. Good Luck and enjoy! chapter, said the firsthand experiences of the activists allowed him to learn new information and see the Syrian conflict from a new point of view. “I’m Syrian so I do have that firsthand experience from my family, but my family doesn’t live there,” Alabed said. “I hear from the people who live in the States, and I have my own opinion on what’s going on, but it’s very difficult to get an actual activist’s opinion who’s been there who’s been through things that these speakers have been through, and I think that’s really important. Just from the two speakers I’ve Puzzle by websudoku.com Diffi HARD puzzle Puzzle by websudoku.com bysudokusyndication.com 29THculty: U.S. PRESIDENT attended, it’s completely new information I’ve never had access to.”
SYRIA From Page 1A
It’s very difficult to get an actual activist’s opinion who’s been there
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Rackham student Hani Habra said he gained a new perspective from listening to the speakers, which provided him with a different way of learning about the Syrian situation. “I do a lot of reading on the conflict, but actually meeting the people and hearing their perspective, it kind of gives a kind of different dimension to actually reading what they have to say. It feels a lot more real,” Habra said. According to Rass, being surrounded by others who care about the conflict in Syria allows her to stay motivated and keep pushing to make an impact. “This conference is important to me for two reasons,” Rass said. “One is that it helps me stay energized, passionate and also learning on how to keep organizing and moving forward and how we can keep doing work in these universities. The second part is being around people who share this passion is so important. Being around other Syrian Americans that care about this, even being around people who aren’t Syrian who are super passionate about this cause is an enriching experience that is super important to have.” Through addressing solutions to the Syrian conflict, many speakers emphasized the importance of raising awareness for the Syrian cause. Qureshi maintainted people nationwide and around the world should learn about and advocate for solutions to the Syrian conflict to encourage tangible change. “It’s important to know that you don’t have to be Syrian to care about these issues, you just have to be human and have a heart,” Qureshi said. “Honestly, there’s just so many ways to make an impact that can be as little or big as you want it to be, I just want people to leave feeling empowered. Like Amal said, this has been going on for seven years, there’s still a lot to be done.”
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Michigan in Color
3A — Monday, November 12, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
a lynching in
2018
MICHELLE FAN/Daily
On the intersection of complicity, racism, and violence in America AAREL CALHOUN MiC Contributor
I saw this tweet today. “a young Black man was LYNCHED. yes, in America. yes, in 2018. yes, for real. no, it wasn’t covered by the media. no, it’s not trending on Twitter. no, it wasn’t an accident. SAY HIS NAME: DANYE JONES. SAY HIS NAME: DANYE JONES. SAY HIS NAME: DANYE JONES.” I’m struggling to put into words or writing what I think about this. The words, along with the image that I didn’t see of Danye’s body, float around in my mind. I am unable to grasp any of them. Danye Jones, the son of a prominent Black activist in Ferguson, Mo., was found hanging from a tree in his mother’s backyard. I am
both surprised and not surprised that something as horrible as this has happened. Just the other day two Black people were shot in a grocery store, just because they were Black. The killer said to a white man who stood up to him that he didn’t have to worry about getting killed because “whites don’t kill whites.” What? So now I have one more thing to think about when I’m in a public space and white people are present. Am I just a person, or am I a target that day? Now, I have a lynching to add into my internal list of reasons to feel uneasy in public. I thought … I don’t know what I thought. I just never thought I’d read about someone being lynched today. That’s a piece of news that
I never thought would be current in my lifetime. However, a small part of me feared something like this could happen after the 2016 presidential election, but a bigger part of me thought things could never get this bad. At the people who voted for Donald Trump: Yes, I’m still mad at you. Why? Because you gave someone power who didn’t need it. His power and support of white supremacists has brought these people into the light in a way where they don’t feel exposed, they just feel accepted and empowered. Instead of allowing them to be the ones with fear, you have brought new fears to me. On some days it feels silly to even worry about how my race may affect my safety; yet on others, it’s a prominent thought.
Do you, Trump Voter, ever have to experience any days like this? My guess is no. What are the reasons people gave to explain why you guys voted that way? You were poor??? That was your reason for letting this happen? Self-interest? Oh wait, no — maybe you weren’t poor. Maybe you were in business, and despite literally any single negative fact about Trump, you thought voting for him was a good decision. You rejoiced at the end of the night during the 2016 election when your man, your white supremacist, your sexist, your rapist in chief, Donald J. Trump, won the 2016 election. But what exactly did you think it would lead to? Did you think it would lead to a lynching?
I did. “Oh but that’s ridiculous, there’s checks and balances for this kind of thing. You don’t need to worry. He won’t get out of hand.” Is that really true? What about the people who feel empowered by him? Who’s keeping any of those people in check? Does it matter to you, Trump Voter, what I’m going through? What any person in the United States who is not a Brad or Chad is going through? Does it matter to you, 53 percent of white women who voted for Trump, the news I read today about Danye Jones’ lynching? Your identity as women will come with oppression, but your whiteness brings a relative sense of security that I don’t have. What do you think about when you hear that information? A part of
me sinks every time I hear about another Black person being killed in the news. There are times when I have to take a break from the news because I can’t keep seeing over and over that no matter how many times we insist that it does, my life does not matter. But how do you react? Do you care? Do you revel in this information, appearing to care online yet silently smiling to yourself when you read the headlines? Do you outwardly proclaim your hate for anyone who isn’t white? Are you happy? Was it worth this? Was protecting … essentially nothing, honestly, more important than Danye Jones’ life? To you it was. And you are to blame. Did you hang anyone? No. But you did.
Bollywood elitism & AndhaDhun People of Color’s oppression shouldn’t be your creative tool ZAINAB BHINDARWALA MiC Senior Editor
I’m not gonna lie, I love Bollywood’s masala movies as much as the next person. But it wasn’t until I watched a noncommercial film that I realized how much my perception of the industry is shaped by those in power. I was just in India for a couple weeks and while I was there I watched a movie that I had never heard of before: AndhaDhun didn’t feature any stars that I would consider “big”, yet the entire cast is very experienced and criticallyacclaimed. The movie itself is one of the best I’ve seen come out of Bollywood in ages. I watch Hindi movies to stay connected to my roots. But it wasn’t until I saw Andhadhun that I realized I have a singular idea of what Bollywood and “my roots” look like. I decide which Hindi films I want to watch based on who is in the movie, rather than what the movie is about. The big players in the industry - the Khans, the Kapoors, and anyone that Karan Johar casts in a film - influence which movies I deem worth seeing. This may not be problematic in itself - naturally, you’re going to watch the movies that feature celebrities you like. However, it’s
important to examine exactly why you like those particular actors over others. My favorite actors are the ones in the movies I grew up watching: Hrithik Roshan, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Aamir Khan, Priyanka Chopra, and Preity Zinta … they’re the big stars of the 90s and early 2000s and the movies they starred in are the ones I watch when I’m sick, when I’m bored, and when I’m just feeling nostalgic. But, I didn’t decide who my favorite actors of the current generation are based on their acting ability - I love Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Siddharth Malhotra, and Aditya Roy Kapoor because they were in commercial movies and they were interviewed on Koffee with Karan. They’re not terrible actors… in fact, I would argue Ranveer Singh is an excellent actor! Yet, Rajkumar Rao, Kangana Ranaut, Radhika Apte, and Ayushmann Khurrana (the main actor in AndhaDhun) most definitely have incredible acting skills. Yet, when I think of my favorites celebrities, or even Bollywood as a whole, their names don’t come to mind. Because of this, I have most likely deprived myself of so many great films. I’m so focused on getting myself to the movie theater to see the commercial films with the big name actors that I never
even realized that I’m missing out on some really great content. The fault isn’t entirely mine though the bigger stars have more money, more industry connections, and more name recognition (thank you nepotism) so their movies get advertised here in the United States more than movies with not so famous actors. Yet, the movie theaters make their decisions based on what the audience wants. So, if I make a more dedicated effort to actually go to the theater and watch the movies that don’t feature a Kapoor or a Khan, then maybe the theaters will start promoting them more and they’ll be more popular. Watching AndhaDhun has made me decide to prioritize the quality of films over who is in them. And I hope Bollywood’s audience will also move in this direction as well. I see this happening a little bit already, as movies like AndhaDhun did better at the box office than Namaste England, which featured two stars born into prominent Bollywood families. It may not be an immediate shift, but I hope this means more high-quality films featuring actors who worked their way into the industry instead of being born into it - are advertised more and actually premiered in theaters in the United States, so I can go watch them!
KAI MASON MiC Blogger
Almost a week ago, in an assignment for my screenwriting class, each student had to post two ideas and two comments on the class Canvas page for a short script that we hoped to write. My class is overwhelmingly white and male and so, just to shake the table a bit, I made one of my ideas the almost autobiographical tale of a burnt-out grad and her gay part-Black best friend. It would, I hoped, in an ambitious 10 pages, cover the questions of success, failure and identity, but frankly, aside from the extensiveness of the plot, I had doubts about posting the idea at all. Mostly, I was afraid, especially as the sole Black person in my class (I’m one of at most four Black people in ALL of my classes this semester), to be the person who makes it all about race. Yet everything is about race — a fact of which I would soon be reminded as I completed the task. As I scrolled through everyone else’s idea posts, looking for a place to leave my remarks, I came across one of my classmates’ submissions and stopped scrolling
instinctively, guffawing. When a Black frontierswoman is terrorized by ex-Confederate soldiers in the Wild West, began the student, whom we can call Justin for now, she must choose between fleeing or fighting alone. Objectively, I didn’t have an issue with the script, except for the fact that Justin is a white male. Subjectively, I wondered aloud, again, why people wrote from perspectives they didn’t know. Now, this isn’t to say that writing from any identity outside of your own is off-limits — it isn’t. But when I realized Justin would most likely be using the n-word in his script, for “authenticity,” I felt the writing of oppression should be left to those who experience that type of oppression. Explaining this thought requires the question: Can white people make a race-based film? The answer is yes, but only if we’re not necessitating it to be a nuanced or sophisticated one. Consider the films “Detroit” by Kathryn Bigelow and “Django Unchained” by Quentin Tarantino — both are innovative and interesting works but neither really say something new of racial strife, only serving
to remind the people that they are central players in historical oppression, in graphic form. For a racial group that, despite their intentions, can only ever be on the “winning” end of racism, writing about race and racists initiates the regeneration of onedimensionally racist characters — old white men with old white minds, unabashed Neo-Nazis and unafraid wizards of the Ku Klux Klan — a dangerous pattern that obscures the shape-shifting manifestations of racism in the current day. For white people, racial oppression is an easy plot device that instantly makes a movie “deeper.” For Black people, racial oppression is an everyday reality that we don’t have to go see on screen. Unless it’s like “Get Out,” a movie written for Black people by Black people to show the intricacy of racism with an unmatched sensitivity, there’s nothing new that can be said in a movie about the twisted past and present of racism as long as it’s not working to write racists with nuance, who, if we’re being completely candid with ourselves, are most likely people a lot like Justin.
Yoni Ki Baat Showcase: Through the lens of your gun HALIMAT OLANIYAN MiC Blogger
You’re American but you’re too Black. You’re Black but you’re too African. You’re African but you’re too dark. I’m sick of being told what I am and what I am not. You say I’m too much of that
but not enough of this. Just because my looks don’t fit your stereotyped definition of what I should be. Who are you to tell me who I should be. Whoever gave you the right to put me in a box anyway. You sort, prioritize, and fixate on the different parts of me. You think you can strip me down until I’m no longer whole. You fail to realize those
disparate pieces of me fit together to make me me. They’ve so specifically shaped my worldview. With every experience one piece stands out from the rest But you don’t see that. You can only see the most salient piece of me. And that’s the piece you decide to label me as. Your lens is so narrow you think my being one thing
automatically makes me something else. You fail to see the intersections that make me more than just one thing. No one is just one thing. I am a scholar, visionary, and advocate. A writer and student. I am a fashionista and lover of the finer things in life. A wonderer and loyal friend. I am adventurous, curious,
and a little unpredictable. Intelligent and still manage to make a fool of myself. I am brave yet still afraid. Because I know you watch my every steps in dismay. Just waiting for me to slip up and prove to you that I am nothing more than a mistake. That you can erase several bullets at a time. So everyday while you put on your vest to protect yourself
From my just living life, trying to do me, ever so freighting to you self I put on a smile, wear school apparel, avoid dark hoodies, and keep my hands where you can see them In hopes that your loaded gun doesn’t see my dark skin as a threat. To the Black men I love and have never met, I see you.
Opinion
4A — Monday, November 12, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALEX SATOLA | COLUMN
The dangers of Alphabet’s data grab
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L
The obvious solution
ast week’s mass shooting in Southern California reminds us that we rarely go more than a few months without a gun tragedy in America. Though purely criminal gun violence is far too commonplace to receive extensive coverage, schools, places of worship, concerts and pretty much anywhere else that should be devoid of bloodshed are periodically assaulted by firearmwielding domestic terrorists or psychologically unhinged chauvinists. In response to this crisis, we often hear reignited calls for incrementally stricter gun regulations. But, this time, we should instead start with a thorough reevaluation of the Second Amendment. As its mere existence contributes greatly to the current epidemic of gun violence, and as it fails to contribute to the greater security of the American public, it is time to do away with it completely. Against the backdrop of today’s gun problem, it’s hard to remember 50 years ago America’s gun violence reached a fever pitch. In a killing spree that spanned less than five years, assassins had brought to the grave the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy; his brother and presidential hopeful Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; and civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. What kind of nation, ailed by slaughter of this degree, could honestly pride itself in effective governance? In response, President Lyndon B. Johnson attempted to tighten restrictions on firearm purchases, issuing a call for a national gun registry and a license requirement for all would-be gun owners. These suggestions marked the first major gun control legislation opposed by the National Rifle Association, whose evolution from genteel promoter of marksmanship to ideological lobbying machine was sparked, in part, by the domestic turbulence of the 1960s and the credibility this lent to more aggressive gun control efforts. Though these provisions were successfully stripped from what would later become the Gun Control Act of 1968, the act was nevertheless deemed by former NRA President David Keene as the “most restrictive piece of Second Amendment legislation ever passed,” foreshadowing the emergence of a full-throated and well-endowed gun rights movement. But for how vehemently the amendment is attacked and defended in current political discourse, its purpose remains widely misunderstood. Politicians’ campaign ads and lukewarm commentary would have you believe the Second Amendment exists to serve the needs of camouflaged sportsmen and overprepared homeowners, when in reality it was written solely to
protect the concept of the militia. Up until modern times, this traditional reading of the Second Amendment was reflected in a deep American distrust of the standing army, a necessary evil the Constitution entrusted to the federal government instead of the states or people. By preserving well-armed militias, the authors of the Constitution hoped to preempt the tyrannical impulses of an overarching federal government and any outsize standing army it may raise. Until recently, however, this insurance policy was not interpreted to protect the individual’s right to bear arms. As Richard Primus, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, puts it, “The idea that the (Second) Amendment is about an individual right to own firearms, rather than the allocation of defense responsibilities between the states and the federal government, is a modern re-reading of the amendment.” Perhaps there was once a time where the provision of militias protected the American public from tyranny. The emergence of a full-time, professional military fighting force over the course of this country’s existence, however, discounts the continued justification for any traditional reading of the Second Amendment. For sake of argument, however, let’s assume the NRA is right to instead characterize the Second Amendment as an “individual freedom.” The revulsion with which gun rights activists treat one of the most prominent gun control proposals, the assault weapon ban, henceforth becomes all too understandable. In this reading, the individual’s right to revolt enshrined in the Second Amendment does not only protect the duck hunter’s double-barrel shotgun or the concerned father’s handgun, but it must also protect the mass shooter’s AR-15 assault rifle (with all of its military features) and the like. For just as the vastly powerful AR-15 parallels the battlefield service rifles wielded by the troops of our very own, outsize federal army today, the archaic muskets protected in the early years of the Second Amendment guarded their owners from the federal armories of comparable firepower. To those concerned, mere rifles could not sufficiently serve as tools of revolt against a modern U.S. military comprising tanks, drones and nuclear bombs. Consider that overwhelming control and subjugation hinges not on annihilation, but on occupation of the populace. Insurgents fielding little more than assault rifles against our own military have indeed driven this point home over the past 50 years. Even so, the underlying rationale of a right to revolt is flawed. If the
Second Amendment were the only provision preventing our functioning democracy from plunging into a state of tyrannical frenzy, wouldn’t the healthy democracies of Europe, with their acute lack of similar liberties, have descended into authoritarian rule by now? It is not unreasonable to conclude American democracy has instead been preserved by institutions such as separation of powers, checks and balances, free and fair elections and civilian rule— institutions that, unlike a right to bear arms, define democratic rule. Additionally, there are costs associated with the Second Amendment, and an informed public has the right to consider them. No right exists in a vacuum, and those enshrined in constitutional amendments are no different. Indeed, as a plethora of research has shown, any benefit derived from a right to unfettered civilian armament fails to outweigh the costly damage this armament inflicts on American society. From our country’s insatiable saturation with guns, to the uniquely American ease with which these devices find their way into the hands of dangerous, untrained and suicidal individuals, it is no wonder we live in a steady state of firearmfueled chaos. Children in a firstworld country should not have to train for gunmen to interrupt their elementary school math class. This violent American reality, unparalleled in other developed nations, necessitates sensible restrictions to be placed on which Americans, under what circumstances, can obtain lethal weapons. While repealing the Second Amendment would not preclude state and local governments from upholding the legality of guns for home defense and hunting, it would invalidate the NRA’s stated raison d’être and thereby allow these sensible restrictions to be seriously debated, considered and passed by our legislative bodies. The prominent political assassinations of 1968 parallel our own gun crisis today, as the relatively limited scope of those tragedies did nothing to limit the horror and subsequent outrage they delivered. The powerful influences that stymied effective change then are also at work now, and ensure the continued survival of a gun crisis in America. As was the case in 1968, the role of the government is to restore public safety in the most effective way possible without putting individual liberties at risk. Doing away with the Second Amendment is the ideal and obvious solution to this dilemma. What is there left to consider?
MAECY LIGHTHALL | CONTACT MAECY AT MAECYL@UMICH.EDU
Ethan Kessler can be reached at ethankes@umich.edu.
T
hose who share my concerns about the growing dominance of technology corporations know the major source of their influence comes from data. The usual suspects — Google, Amazon and Facebook — would not be able to reap such massive profits from their services without the vast quantities of data their users provide. The unfortunate reality is tech companies will not stop at the command of the digital world; they want control of where we live, too. My latest fears stem from an urban renewal project in Toronto’s Quayside neighborhood managed by Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, that purports to engage in “urban innovation.” Just as the Google search engine has fine-tuned the way we research online, Sidewalk Labs now aims to transform a decrepit, flood-prone area in Toronto’s eastern waterfront into a “smart city” that will integrate data into the everyday lives of its residents. Some of the early proposals included self-driving cars, sensors that measure air quality and solutions pertaining to sustainable building and energy use. Sidewalk will also enlist the help of thirdparty developers and consultants to help with various tangible aspects of the project. The initial illustrations completed by Michael Green Architecture are, I will admit, very appealing, though perhaps a little imaginative. Beyond the high-rise timber buildings and floating movie theaters, however, lies a threat to the residents of Toronto: mass surveillance and retention of information. On the one hand, Sidewalk claims it is working closely with privacy experts and the local community to make sure people’s personal information is protected. One of the supposed guiding principles of the project is “Privacy by Design,” a concept developed in the 1990s by Ann Cavoukian, the information and privacy commissioner in Ontario, that prioritizes company-driven protection of personal information. Sidewalk invited Cavoukian to work with the team last year as a consultant, but in October she resigned to “send a strong statement” about the prevalent data privacy issues
in the project. The reason for her departure centers around access of third parties to stores of “identifiable” information collected as a part of Sidewalk’s services. Obviously it would be impossible to obtain everyone’s consent for, say, CCTV footage of pedestrians recorded in order to measure foot-traffic patterns, but in order to counteract this type of situation Sidewalk says it will use a slew of de-identification techniques. However, while Sidewalk has committed to de-identification practices, it admitted it could not force third parties to do the same. When Cavoukian heard this in a meeting, she packed up and left, saying, “I’m sorry. I can’t support this. I have to resign because you committed to embedding privacy by design into every aspect of your operation.” It is a pretty bad sign for your datadriven urban innovation venture when one of the foremost data privacy experts in North America makes such a vote of no-confidence. The former CEO of Blackberry Jim Balsillie put his opinion in less neutral language by calling the project “a colonizing experiment in surveillance capitalism.” Indeed, the privacyconscious minds in the tech industry all seem to be thinking along similar lines. It all raises the question: Why would Alphabet want to do this? Why make an upwards of $50 million investment in this seemingly random Canadian neighborhood? The biggest reason is data: Its availability offers immense value to these types of companies. The data to be mined in Toronto represents trillions of dollars of intangible assets that easily outweigh any current or expected investment. Hardly any actual opposition stands in their way, and Sidewalk is taking all the ground they can get in terms of self-governing the entire project. During the public announcement, former Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt touted the long-standing goal for “someone to give us a city and put us in charge.” Unlike elected officials or government appointees, there would be very little oversight or accountability coming from regulators, let alone people living in Quayside. One way Sidewalk is confusing their critics into submission is the
hijacking of data typology. Data typology simply refers to the kind of data Sidewalk is trying to collect, and different types are subject to their own level of regulatory scrutiny. In a recent draft proposal, Sidewalk actually creates a new type called “Urban Data” for regulators to puzzle over. The ambiguity of this term is further complicated by the fact that it includes data ranging from CCTV camera footage to thermostat usage. Though “data laundering,” whereby criminals disguise the proceeds from illegal activities by “mixing” it with money from cleaner sources, is already used in cybersecurity to describe the sale of illegally mined data, the analogy works well for the massive amounts of data to be collected in Toronto, too. Sidewalk is placing more benign data types alongside more valuable, sensitive personal information and placing them all under the umbrella of Urban Data with its own unique set of rules. As long as Sidewalk has the ability to set its own guidelines, it will employ a healthy amount of obscurity as a tool against regulation. Another major issue with the Torontoprojectistheroleofintellectual property. Though residents may benefit from the amenities and quality of life on offer, businesses that work with Sidewalk may lose the ability to license their IP externally. In July, a “plan development agreement” between Waterfront Toronto and Sidewalk outlined how Waterfront Toronto could benefit from a stake in the project’s IP. Conversely, a design-procurement document obtained by a Canadian news outlet in August showed Sidewalk asking potential consultants to cede their IP rights, or at least to give them exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to the rights. Sidewalk’s manipulation of other entities — whether they be government agencies, private companies or the citizens of Toronto — shows their unrestrained influence in the project. Whatever the outcome of the Sidewalk Toronto project, its legal framework will serve as the benchmark for future data-driven urban innovation projects. Let it be a Alex Satola can be reached at apsatola@umich.edu.
KRYSTAL HUR | COLUMN
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Romanticizing incarceration
ollege students love their themed parties — so when Halloweekend comes around, many pull out all the stops to dress in a multitude of dazzling costumes that will inevitably end up contributing to a never-ending stream of Halloween posts on Instagram. Some popular costumes I spotted this year were boxers, devils and, of course, all kinds of feline ceatures. While these costumes certainly were not very original, I thought they were fun, and the people wearing them looked great. In contrast, a costume that I did not like was one I saw many people wearing – a prisoner costume. Not only is dressing up as a prisoner for Halloween in poor taste, it’s also incredibly offensive. An orange jumpsuit isn’t some quirky, sexy outfit that people should parade around in for fun, and wearing it while toting matching handcuffs discounts how terrifying and degrading it is for many who actually do get arrested and sentenced to prison. Prisoners are real people, many of whom have been unfairly sentenced by a deeply flawed justice system, and to wear the attire that represents their sentence for the sake of having a fun costume is offensive. Conversely, dressing up as prisoners and portraying them as pitiable people is also problematic, because that reduces all prisoners to helpless populations rather than individuals. We can see how flawed the United States justice system is when we examine famous statistics and cases: The U.S. has about 5 percent of the world’s population but about 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population. Young white men like Brock Turner are imprisoned for only three months after sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, whereas young Black boys like Trayvon Martin are shot (the shooter George Zimmerman found not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter). Alice Marie Johnson, a Black 63-year-old woman, was only granted clemency from a life sentence for a nonviolent, first time drug offense after
Kim Kardashian used her celebrity status to appeal to the president. This isn’t to say all police officers are racist and violent and everyone who is a part of the justice system is corrupt. Of course there are plenty of good people in the justice system — but the flaws that plague it are also plentiful and obvious. So when people dress up as prisoners for Halloween and pretend to get arrested for the sake of some likes on Instagram, they are making a mockery of actual
An orange jumpsuit isn’t some quirky, sexy outfit
prisoners and how the justice system has failed so many people, even if they don’t mean to do so. It’s not “just a costume” because of the history of injustice that permeates even to a fake prisoner’s jumpsuit, and it doesn’t matter that the people wearing such a costume don’t mean to offend, because intent doesn’t change effect. A reason why people may believe prisoner costumes are appropriate may be due to the romanticization of prison life in recent years. TV shows such as “Orange is the New Black” and documentaries such as “Making a Murderer” are incredibly popular, as are crime shows. Jeremy Meeks, otherwise known as “Hot Felon” or “Prison Bae,” went viral because of his good looks (and is somehow now dating the heiress of TopShop). People are intrigued by prison life and the justice system because of how mysterious and almost glamorous the whole process seems. Is the accused truly guilty? How can the lawyers convince others of their client’s innocence? People live out their Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes fantasies while they watch
murder mystery types of shows and try to figure out the truth, and shows like “Orange is the New Black” offer them a glimpse into a life they have always been warned against living. Whether these shows mean to romanticize prison life and the processes that occur in the justice system, impressionable viewers are free to perceive them however they want to. The popularity of prisonrelated media complicates the question of whether dressing up as a prisoner is acceptable when we examine generic costumes versus specific costumes. While dressing up as a generic prisoner is offensive, is dressing up as Piper from “Orange is the New Black” just as insensitive? This is a bit of a gray area, because dressing up as a specific character means representing only that one character rather than an entire group of people, and those who choose to put in the effort to dress up as a specific character usually tend to have a general respect for that character that shows in their costume. In this case, the portrayal of the character matters more than the character itself: For example, dressing up as a hyper-sexualized version of Piper would be offensive, because doing so would essentially turn the costume into a caricature of the character and implies Piper’s life as a prisoner is glamorous. Once again, the person shouldn’t reenact any gory or sensitive scenes for any reason, such as for the sake of a “cool” photo. In the end, it all boils down to using good judgement. Halloween should be enjoyable, and perhaps taking care to not wear offensive costumes takes away from that, but wearing offensive costumes has deeper, more hurtful implications. It’s not difficult to make sure a costume isn’t offensive, and the payoff is well worth the effort. So please, don’t dress up as a prisoner for Halloween. Krystal Hur can be reached at kryshur@umich.edu
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Monday, November 12, 2018 — 5A
FILM REVIEW
‘Outlaw King’ is slow-moving, not worth the time
NETFLIX
make the decisions they do, forced to supplant their memory with only guesses as to the logic of events. Whether involving a rushed romantic subplot between Bruce and Queen Margaret (newcomer Rebecca Robin) or a deceitful murder toward the film’s start, Mackenzie does not seem to care whether viewers even receive such explanations. Another reason that the narrative of “Outlaw King” may confound the audience is through its editing. While the film lasts just over two hours, the original cut was clearly much longer. There are obvious gaps in the story,
entire missing scenes that later contribute to a payoff that simply doesn’t land. In particular, when a fighter dies on the battlefield, the frames decelerate to slowmotion. The heroes cry the name of their fallen companion, but the audience often has no idea who just died. The emotional impact of these moments is nearly negligible because the source of attachment to these soldiers — a backstory — ended up on the cutting room floor. Although, inserting these scenes back into the film would not be a neat solution either. In the third and penultimate act,
“Outlaw King” takes a turn, to put it mildly, toward being boring. The film is paced in a way that bookends the narrative tension, and towards the middle, viewers may not so much wonder what happens next as they will why they are still watching. A subplot involving Bruce’s wife and a dull recruiting phase for the rebellion cut between each other for what seems like an eternity. For diehard war movie fans, this film might just offer a solid half hour of enjoyment. For everyone else, myself included, “Outlaw King” is below passable and not worth seeing.
NETFLIX
ANISH TAMHANEY Daily Arts Writer
“Outlaw King” is a historical war drama about Robert Bruce (Chris Pine, “Wonder Woman”), a fearless pariah who leads a
“Outlaw King” Netflix
take initially reveals the politics of the war in the confines of a dark tent, then travels to the brighter war camp outside. From there, the shot showcases a brilliantly choreographed sword duel that likely took weeks to rehearse, as well as an impressive catapult launch that ends in a fiery explosion. At first, this opening sequence truly seems to herald strong camerawork and action scenes from director David Mackenzie (“Hell or High Water”). And yet, for all the effort that Mackenzie puts into his later battle sequences, they fall short of being original. One sequence involving a riverbank by a dense forest was so reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” that it felt tacky. Another set piece involving a fiery nighttime assault on Bruce’s camp brilliantly combined practical and digital effects to immerse a viewer in the heat of the battle, but gradually descended into incoherence as Mackenzie’s camerawork lost its focus. Aside from the film’s action and costumes, it is a thoughtlessly constructed mess in terms of narrative, editing and pacing. Almost every character feels underdeveloped and poorly written, to the point that entire
passages of dialogue play out nonsensically. While there are a few standout performances from Pine and Stephen Dillane (“Game of Thrones”), even their lines
Viewers may not so much wonder what happens next as they will why they are still watching
DAILY LITERATURE COLUMN
Taylor Swift and the image of writing
I was recently asked who I consider to be my favorite writer. It’s always a difficult question for me to answer — everyone I look up to for their writing, I look up to for a different reason, and there are quite a lot of those people. A Bob Dylan quote about his influences always jumps into my mind: “Open your eyes and your ears and you’re influenced.” There is something to learn from everyone. But today I’m going to talk about an answer I pretty much never give in conversation: Taylor Swift. feel wooden and hollow. Pine I know what you might be specifically does an admirable thinking — “Ugh, not this again.” job as a scruffy rebel king, and his I stumble into a conversation Scottish accent is spot-on. Though about Taylor Swift, or onto a the strength of his performance news headline about her, on at cannot overcome a painfully weak least a weekly basis. We’re all script, there are several moments obsessed with her, in a national in the film in which viewers are sense, whether we love her left wondering why characters or love to hate her. Even I, a fan of Swift’s, can admit that it can get a little tiresome. Today my goal is just to tackle Swift from a literary perspective, Call: #734-418-4115 because to me she is the best Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com representation of something that I’ve seen from other Release Date: Monday, November 12, 2018 artists as well. When I said I never give Taylor Swift as an answer, Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis it was for two 47 Ocean map dot 30 Claire of 3 Hockey ACROSS reasons. The first “Homeland” 48 Cereal go-with enclosure 1 Tempo similar to CLEANER NEEDED 31 Observed closely 49 Smooching in 4 Received lento I’ve already hinted $550/WEEKLY 32 Cuts (off) a crowded park 5 Rescheduled 6 Quacked at: It’s Taylor Swift. 36 Phone in a purse and such, briefly Working Days: after being insurance name There are a lot of 37 Legal document 50 Road divide canceled, as a 11 Film watcher’s Monday and Friday things about her I 39 Enjoying the 51 Lake that’s a meeting channel Time Schedule: 8AM ‑ 2PM ocean homophone of 6 Afflicts 14 Plane, to Pierre don’t like. I think Email: johnlegend876@outlook.com 40 Enjoyed the 59-Across 7 House with 15 “Fighting” Notre that people are ocean 52 Lightened, as brothers Dame team right to criticize 8 Slimming 42 Yves’ yes hair 16 Listening organ her tendency to 55 Nietzsche’s surgery, for short 43 Biblical pronoun 17 Forgetful moment “never” 9 Braying beast 46 Cooled with 19 Falsehood slip in and out cubes 56 Casual shirt 10 Frito-Lay corn 20 Request of convenient snacks 21 Great enthusiasm ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: identities (“the 11 Blessed with 22 Revise, as text ESP victim” being a big 24 Indian lentil stew 12 Primary 25 Sporty sunroofs one), and a few too thoroughfare in 26 One arguing for many of her songs many towns the unpopular for my liking milk 13 Believability, for side short 32 Absorb the the concept of being 18 Break in the lesson “not like other girls.” action 33 Applauds I wanted to know 23 Soft shoe 34 Effort 24 TiVo products that she supported 35 Rowing tools 25 Freq. sitcom 36 “Cha-__!”: Democrats much rating register sound earlier than 2018 26 Right smack in 37 Delighted shout (although I’m very the middle from the roller 27 Threat from a glad to have it coaster fault 38 Summer hrs. in confirmed now). 28 NFL list of Oregon Only last month, games, e.g. 39 William __, early Akanksha Sahay 11/12/18 bathysphere user 29 Crook’s cover 40 Exclaimed wrote a great piece 41 Education interrogating the division governed complicated, at by a board times problematic 44 Peer 45 Humble dwelling nature of Swift’s 46 Aleut relative relationships with 47 Louvre Pyramid feminism and architect privilege and her 50 Govt. agent 53 Windy City rail recent political initials evolution. 54 Facts known to a The second select few ... and a hint to each set reason is more of circled letters what I’d like to go 57 Funhouse into here: When reaction people ask which 58 Wafer named for its flavor writers I admire, 59 Like a funhouse they usually mean 60 Dr. of rap a specific type of 61 Best Buy “squad” writing. I generally members 62 Faked, in hockey take it to mean novels and short DOWN stories, because 1 Dalai __ 2 NYC’s Madison fiction is what I By Matt McKinley 11/12/18 and Lexington ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC write personally,
rebellion with his countrymen to reclaim his homeland from the formidable English army in the 14th century. While the movie boasts a strong attention to period detail and notable battle sequences, “Outlaw King” collapses onto a weak narrative skeleton and proves mostly unwatchable in its later acts. Some of the film’s few highlights are its costumes and set design. The first quarter, which largely takes place during indoor feasts, never fails to appear genuinely synchronistic. The appropriately plain kilts, candlelit interiors of war tents and gleaming armor of soldiers breathed life into an otherwise bland visual palette and dismal conversation scenes. The inarguable high point of “Outlaw King,” however, is its first shot. The nine-minute
Classifieds
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
but I’m sure people would also be receptive if I named a poet, an essayist or a playwright. A songwriter is a little less
LAURA DZUBAY expected, which in a way makes sense — you don’t sit down and read songs. I got into Taylor Swift in middle school, not long before I started attending an arts school where the literary part of myself would be set on fire by writers like Joyce Carol Oates and Flannery O’Connor (both of whom, I’ve found out since, have their own huge sets of problems, but that’s for another time). In those days, I wrote constantly: on the bus, in class, after school. All of my class notes
HELP WANTED
GO BLUE
She paints a picture of a world, a dream, in which her own emotions and thoughts and ideas become manifest
from middle school generally follow a pattern — half a page or so of real note-taking, then two or three pages of exciting fiction during which you can bet I wasn’t paying attention at all. The front pocket of my backpack was always crammed with the loose pages of some story, strung together across whatever was around: printer paper, loose leaf, napkins, pamphlets. While occasionally I’d muster up a crush on someone just to have something to talk about, I was not particularly interested in romance at the time. So when I danced around my room to the songs from Taylor Swift and Fearless, shouting along to the lyrics about some boy I was falling in love with, no particular person had taken shape in my mind. I loved Swift’s images — “the moon like a spotlight on the lake,” “Friday night beneath the stars / In a field behind your yard” — but didn’t live in them myself, and didn’t really want to yet. I loved Taylor Swift more
than anything because she made writing fun. The pieces from that initial phase that I remember most clearly all have to do with that passion: an image from her first album’s liner notes of Swift poring over a notebook, deep in concentration, a video of her exclaiming about how she’s getting a really good idea. Another video of her high school classmates being interviewed, talking about how Swift was constantly writing — they’d even seen her write on paper towels and napkins when she didn’t have paper. There were always writers I loved, but Taylor Swift struck something new for me. In middle school, like everyone, I felt awkward, cumbersome, insecure and off-and-on lonely. It thrilled me to learn about somebody who was so passionate about writing that, when she was my same age, she’d decided to make a career out of it — and she’d done it successfully. Swift was working regularly as a songwriter long before she put out her first album, and a few albums later, she was still excited to be doing it. Her first album’s first song, “Tim McGraw,” mentions “a letter that you never read,” and one of her very first hits, “Our Song,” ends on the image of writing: “I grabbed a pen and an old napkin / And I wrote down our song.” And while it’s true that she sometimes wielded this self-reference in ways I didn’t like (“All those other girls, well they’re beautiful / But would they write a song for you?”), I was still drawn to this attention to writing because it made me feel encouraged in my own life. As a kid who had often stayed in from recess during elementary just to write short stories by myself, I was enamored. I’m still enamored. Swift didn’t just have passion; she had the direction and determination to see that passion through, and she still does. She writes in her music videos, and in YouTube videos about her songwriting process. One Google search of “Taylor Swift writing” yields a ton of images of her scrawling in notebooks, mulling over a guitar. I think one of the reasons we love Swift (those of us who do) is always going to be her image. When Taylor Swift falls in love, it’s in a beautiful dress, in the rain. When Taylor Swift writes, she looks good doing it, and then later that writing comes out on an award-winning album. Through all of her storytelling — her love stories, her angry tirades, her diaryesque reminiscing on childhood memories and family and friends — she paints a picture of a world, a dream, in which her own emotions and thoughts and ideas become manifest. This is the very core of the act of writing, and it’s what makes it so easy to fall in love with Swift’s work. She can take the emotions that make her vulnerable and, using talent and hard work and her craft, turn that vulnerability into something admirable and untouchable. To me that has always been the ultimate superpower.
6A — Monday, November 12, 2018
Arts
COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
Rude Mechanicals wows in ‘Let the Right One In’ RYAN COX
Daily Arts Writer
Blind dates are always an interesting experience. Like most things, they can go one of two ways: well, or not so well. You run the risk of commiting to a long interaction with a person you do not get along with at all, or you get the awesome experience of meeting a person that you mesh really well with that you never would have known otherwise. Last Sunday, I had a blind date with the Rude Mechanicals’s production of “Let the Right One In.” It started off pretty well; The show started on time and the set was beautiful. However, the conversation I was about to have was dramatically different than I was expecting. I was expecting a performance about letting the right people into your life, or something along those lines. However, when the production opened with a gruesome murder, I was surprised, to say the least. One might expect someone writing a review of this play to have done a little more research before actually seeing said play. While most of the time I agree, the initial, raw reactions are also interesting and noteworthy. The story follows a young boy, Oskar, and his recently established friendship with the new girl in town, Eli. Amid merciless bullying and a less than great life at home, Oskar’s relationship with his new friend blossoms. However, Oskar starts to realize a connection between the sudden murders in the town with the appearance of Eli. After such an intense opening scene, I was hooked. Director James Harbaugh seemed to do
everything in his power to grab the audience and keep them intrigued from the get-go in this almost three-hour performance. The opening details seemed perfect; the beautiful set, complete with seemingly realistic snow and trees, created an eerie environment that portrayed the dark woods of a Norwegian town quite well. Seeing the snow fly up in gusts as characters ran from stage left to stage right reminded me of winter here in Mich. The production used a fitting soundtrack of industrial-based synth music, adding tension to climaxes and atmosphere to other scenes. However, there were times when it felt like the production seemed to rely a bit too much on the music for each of those things. One of the biggest action sequences towards the end felt slightly reliant on the sudden burst of sound to startle the audience, when the screams and movement on stage were just as alarming. These effects definitely added to the experience, but they crept a bit too much into the fore every once in a while. Relationships between characters proved to be a central element throughout the play, whether it be Oskar’s relationship with Eli, his bully or his separated parents. The production does this quite well through juxtaposition. Slight changes in SMTD Junior Bryan Chan’s portrayal of Oskar highlighted the other characters’ current struggles with relationships. Even Oskar’s lonesome walks across the stage through the fake snow displayed elements of character development. SMTD Sophomore Emma Steiner’s portrayal of Eli,
however, was absolutely haunting. Every action she performed gave more and more depth to her character. From every breath she took to every scream she belted, it felt as if it was coming from a 200 year-old vampire. And not the vampires that “Twilight” glamorized: Her portrayal was monstrous, sickening and terrifying at times, yet I felt sympathy for her. I wasn’t disgusted, and I wasn’t sure why. That level of depth from the character, even after killing and dining on blood, had me concerned for the characters’ safety and well-being at times. The production was dark, both physically and conceptually. However, while there were small, more subtle instances of comic relief inserted (and I mean, very subtle), the audience seemed to crack up at these small moments, almost ruining the mood and continuity of the performance for me. This isn’t necessarily a critique of the performance itself, just an observation on going to a live event. You’re in the space with other people, and that adds to the aspect of live performance, whether you like it to or not. The date itself was great, it’s just that the atmosphere was a bit distracting. I regret not seeing more student theater productions here on campus. As someone who has only briefly participated on stage, I really respect the work these students put into their craft, and after working on multiple projects with actors both in and outside of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, I know how talented they are. After a successful first date, to say that I’m excited for more dates with the Rude Mechanicals would be an understatement.
WARNER BROS. RECORDS
‘Simulation Theory’ is an unconvincing dystopia DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer
Muse might be a British band, but they reached the height of their popularity in the States when George Bush’s presidency turned toward absolute contention. Without feeling too abstract or derivative, Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations
Simulation Theory Muse Warner Bros. Records played like soundtracks to “1984”; they spoke to our emotions, not just our politics. You might have even hated Muse, felt their political slant was a bit too “holier than thou,” but there was no denying their talent, the magnetic bass of Christ Wolstenholme and Matt Bellamy’s impressive vocal range. This is why 2015’s Drones was a disappointment: On a surface level, it was a classic Muse album, concept based and musically exceptional. But the lyrics and concept itself were trite, difficult to follow and downright patronizing. Drones is comparable to your uncle frothing conspiracy theories during Thanksgiving dinner; it lacked tact and tried too hard to push a message about war and drones. In essence, it forgot how to have fun. Muse’s latest release Simulation Theory settles somewhere in the middle. Although by no means their best release, it handles its concept well and brings Muse’s lyricism back to earth. Inspired by the “simulation hypothesis,” it talks about sci-fi like a dystopian novel would: thematically cautious and immersive, elegantly riding off the ’80s synth and pop culture trend without sacrificing Muse’s sound. The initial track “Algorithm” begins with a pounding synth that transforms and builds; it gets grittier and rougher until
it culminates in a softer, almost symphonic pulsation with the introduction of a piano and violin. Bellamy’s iconic falsetto carries the rising and falling of the beat following the minuteand-a-half mark. It plays like a fresher intro theme to “Tron,” with its ominous but melodic beat that oscillates between chugging and fluttering forward. Although the lyrics (“Churn like a cog / We are caged in simulations / Algorithms evolve”) are far from a little hard to take seriously, it still plays well into this sort of “Brave New World” Muse attempts to illustrate throughout Simulation Theory. Conversely, the third track off the album, “Pressure,” veers less into abstracts. The imagery is a lot easier to grasp as Bellamy croons “I’m feeling the pressure / I can’t break out / No one can hear me scream and shout.” The phrase “pressure building” is whispered sporadically throughout the song, further pushing the image of someone breaking down with building tension. Classic Muse guitar riffs streak the song and pull it forward as a subdued synth slinks in the background. Heavyhanded and perhaps a slightly more esoteric presentation of our current political state, the song doesn’t make it too obvious, playing off more anthemic and catchy. “Propaganda” serves as the album’s most overtly ’80s sounding song. Its opening rumbles with scratchy robotic vocals that repeat the word “propaganda” erratically, an obvious reference to Prince’s 1999. There are vague whispers of “Kiss”’s guitar licks and beats that marry well with Bellamy’s notably high-pitched vocals. But where Prince succeeds in telling his listeners “Fuck it, let’s party” at the sight of the end of the world, Muse fails as they persuade us to save it, folding in vague references to oil slicks and lying politicians. The rest of the album follows the same formula of synth, a vague ’80s reference and political commentary. This isn’t to say the elements do not bond well with
each other; every ingredient works in tandem to deliver Muse’s unwavering commentary and caution. Musically, the album is refreshing, deftly stitching in
Muse does not bring any new ideas to the table despite their extensive efforts to present themselves as profound
influences that generally exist strictly in genres. Despite the heavy incorporation of synth, the instrumentation is lavish and full, with bass and drums making useful appearances as well. As a concept album, “Simulation Theory” is polished, cohesive and steered clear of monotony. The problem with “Simulation Theory” comes in the sense that it is too polished, too clean and too obsessed with the bigger picture. It paints a political picture broadly and in binaries of good and evil rather than exploring the more human component to our current political climate. Muse does not bring any new ideas to the table despite their extensive efforts to present themselves as profound. Politics is a lot fuzzier and expansive than brainwashing and good versus evil. A political concept album only really succeeds when it can be made personal and tell a story — not merely scream out abstractions and emotive lyricism.
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | November 12, 2018
Alec Cohen / Daily Design by Jack Silberman
MICHIGAN 42 RUTGERS 7
SPORTSMONDAY
Page 4B
Michigan had to come from behind to beat Holy Cross, using a strong second half to move to 2-0.
Comeback
Page 3B
Karan Higdon eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in Saturday’s win over Rutgers, reaching a goal he has coveted.
Millenium Mark
Page 2B
The Daily took another long, arduous roadtrip this weekend — this time to Piscataway. There are good reasons.
Another Roadtrip
SportsMonday
2B — November 12, 2018
T
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Another Daily road trip
he Daily’s sports section takes road trips. It’s oddly part of our identity. And they’re not normal road MIKE trips, where you stop PERSAK at a hotel and take it easy. We’re talking throughthe-night-for-10-hours-backfrom-New-York road trips. The type of road trips where you get done writing after a game and immediately get in a car, because there’s class or a paper to make the next day. We wouldn’t do it if we didn’t have to, but the budget is tight, and we apparently don’t have any alumni at Boeing who want to donate a plane. So we drive. And when we get to games, the adult sports writers shake their heads and laugh at our efforts. That’s especially the case for a trip like last weekend’s, when the football beat drove to Piscataway to cover No. 4 MichiALEC COHEN/Daily gan’s game against Rutgers. The Michigan Daily’s football beat drove 10 hours to Piscataway for Michigan’s game against Rutgers on Saturday, their longest road trip of the season. About 20 hours on the road much caffeine, I honestly don’t trips, I wouldn’t have memowrote our stories and got back for a game that was all-butroom,” while we were waiting mind it. There’s something ries of Mark’s lead foot, Max’s in line for the restroom. The on the road, just over 24 hours predetermined. inability to steer smoothly peaceful about it, and if anyafter we had gotten off it. local newspaper, The ProgBut The Daily’s sports secthrough a turn Mark started body’s going to tion prides itself on covering ress, had stories or Ethan’s cripfall asleep and and took the things in person. So, Mark Cal- about selfie stapling carsickfirst tank of gas, crash into a cagno, Max Marcovitch, Ethan tions and leaf ditch, it might ness. More filling back up pickup operaWolfe and I — along with the formatively, I at another rural as well be the two photographers: Alec Cohen tions on the wouldn’t have Pennsylvania Managing and Ruchita Iyer — crammed front page. the countless Sports Editor. station around in a rental Dodge Caravan and That was More than the inside jokes to pretty much it 3:30 a.m. Suntook off around 10 a.m. Friday fondly look back day. From there, actual driving, morning. An experienced crew, until Rye, but fondly on. though, I think I took over. the daytime the trip to Rye, N.Y., — where It seems the affinity for By this point, we were staying the night with drives aren’t the weird that these these road trips I’ve developed interesting ones another Daily writer’s parents things come stem from what a reputation anyway. — went off without a hitch. to mind for you learn about for driving the We had a We stopped once for gas at me before the events that we the people in the car with you, graveyard shift on road trips. hot dinner and a good night’s a small station in rural Pennactually covered. I’ve covered and the memories that result The next morning I regret sleep, woke up, watched the sylvania, where the attendant Jordan Poole’s buzzer beater from that. it very much, but during the Wolverines beat up the Scarlet pumped our gas for us and and a Final Four and football If we didn’t take these road drive and with the help of too Knights for a few hours, then told us to “just use the ladies’
And they’re not normal road trips, where you stop at a hotel...
Michigan beats Rutgers, 42-7 ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer
PISCATAWAY — For a f leeting moment, HighPoint. com stadium broke out into riotous cheers. With 39 seconds left in the first quarter, Rutgers running back Isaih Pacheco found a gaping hole through the teeth of the No. 4 Michigan football team’s No.1-ranked defense — an accomplishment of its own. Then he kept running, past a f lat-footed secondary and into the endzone for an 80-yard touchdown and the longest rush since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014. “The immediate response is we’ve been through a lot worse,” said junior defensive end Rashan Gary. “One touchdown is not gonna hurt us. We’ve got to get back to playing football. “And that’s what we did.” The moment — an explosion of excitement from fans who rarely experience it — faded. It was never Rutgers’ (0-7 Big Ten, 1-9 overall) night, nor was it supposed to be. The Wolverines (7-0, 9-1) eventually settled in and cruised to a 42-7 win, spearheaded by junior quarterback Shea Patterson, who finished 18-for-27 for 260 yards and three touchdowns. “That was a really tough night to throw the ball.” said coach Jim Harbaugh about the playing conditions. “… He made some throws that were just unbelievable. Put it in the right spot, with the wind blowing and swirling.” Before Pacheco’s score, senior running back Karan Higdon found paydirt first on a drive featuring five different ball carriers to give Michigan the early lead. On the drive following the 80-yard touchdown, Higdon scored again from one yard out. Both of the Wolverines’ touchdowns
could have materialized into longer scores, but wind and dropped passes kept its longest play to 16 yards. That was until the 5:07 mark in the second quarter. Secondary miscommunication allowed sophomore wide receiver Nico Collins to streak unchecked and open for an easy 36-yard toss from Patterson to bring a 21-7 lead into halftime. “It was like, the (defensive back) passed me off and it was one-on-one with the safeties in the middle of the field, so I thought ‘I’ve got a chance to make this play,’ ” Collins said. “And once he passed me off I’m like, ‘It’s just me back here, the safety is nowhere near here,’ and I got the ball.” Rutgers, meanwhile, met expectations of mediocrity in the first 30 minutes: no sacks or tackles-for-loss, cornerback confusion, a shanked punt, zero firsthalf passing yards despite two completions and so on. But the infrequent chunk yardage plays and sluggishness from Michigan were enough to warrant praise from Collins. “They came out and they were ready to play,” Collins said. “They had nothing to lose so they came out there with a little chip on their shoulder and try to beat us. … They came out with their A-game.” Then the second half happened. Both teams and fanbases probably wish it hadn’t. Already without safety Josh Metellus and cornerback Lavert Hill to respective soft tissue and head injuries according to Harbaugh, the Michigan defense saw linemen Kwity Paye and Josh Uche leave the field in pain. And in terms of on-field excitement, it was few and far between. Sparked by a reaching, 21-yard catch by tight end
Zach Gentry on third down, Michigan kept its first drive of the half alive. It culminated with Patterson, given all day to throw, toying with the Rutgers defense on a broken play to find Oliver Martin for a 16-yard touchdown. “The pocket awareness, finding where the quiet spot is — he looked as good as he’s ever looked tonight in the pocket,” Harbaugh said of Patterson. “Not panicking, moving suddenly, getting to the quiet spot.” The Scarlet Knights ran a trick reverse pass later in the quarter which landed into the arms of backup quarterback Giovanni Rescigno for 17 yards. Then Rutgers fumbled the ball away the next play. Then it punted the following series. Then it punted again. Between these series, the Wolverines found the endzone off a 10-yard, back shoulder fade to Collins and a 61-yard run up the middle by Chris Evans. “It was a one-on-one matchup,” Collins said of his second touchdown. “Shea just trusted me to make a play and that’s what we did. We like the matchup, and we’re gonna take that chance.” A runaway win was hardly out of the question, even if the result and gameplay was uninspiring. The defense allowed just 59 passing yards, but 193 rushing yards. The offense dropped 42 points on the road, but was hardly reminiscent of the 78-0 victory from 2016. Lessons from the game can be interpreted any which way, but one thing still stands — Michigan just had to get through this game as it awaits its next big test at the end of the season in Ohio State. “I feel like we need to stop coming out slow, but we still got the win,” Collins said. It’s the perfect explanation of Saturday’s game.
We got back to Ann Arbor after the sun had already risen.
games at Notre Dame Stadium, Spartan Stadium and now, Highpoint.com Stadium. Come to think of it, it’s weird trying to describe any of these personal memories shared between a few people. Perhaps this column was much better in theory than it was in practice, but in the dead of night, with nobody else on the road and me clinging to my sanity and the steering wheel at the same time, I pondered why we do these drives in the first place. Then I looked in the rearview mirror, at Mark leaning on top of Max, both trying to get a few hours of sleep. I looked at Ethan, valiantly staying awake with me and singing along to the words. I saw Alec and Ruchita in the backseat, falling in and out of sleep but along for the ride. I hope they’ll remember these dumb trips affectionately like I do. Anyways, it’s better than any exaggerated conclusions I could have tried to draw from the football game, which ultimately went as planned and told us nothing we didn’t already know. We got back to Ann Arbor after the sun had already risen. I dropped off Mark then Max then Ethan. As I pulled up to Alec and Ruchita’s apartment building, Ethan texted me that he forgot his aux cord in the car. It’s a good thing he did, because I didn’t know how to end this column at that time. But after Alec and Ruchita got out of the car and I was by myself again, “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd came on shuff le. I can’t explain, you would not understand, sings Roger Waters. Persak can be reached at mdpers@umich.edu, on Twitter at @MikeDPersak or on Venmo at @Mike-Persak.
The Michigan Daily Top 10 Poll Each week, Daily sports staffers fill out ballots, with first-place votes receiving 10 points, second-place votes receiving nine and so on. 1. Alabama: “If you wanna crown ‘em, then crown their ass!” - Dennis Green 2. Clemson: Trevor Lawrence has two first names. 3. Notre Dame: Ian Book? What a nerd. 4. Michigan: Not even Rob Ash could stop this team. 5. Georgia: All this effort to get smoked by Bama in the SEC Championship. 6. Oklahoma: Sooner rather than later, imo. 7. West Virginia: Will Grier would be a household name if he had become a Vine star like his brother 8. Washington State: Every single fraternity in the world has a kid with a name like Gardner Minshew, and they all have that moustache. 9. UCF: Back-to-back national championships soon cometh. 10. Ohio State: Definitely DON’T check Zach Smith’s Twitter timeline.
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Teammates make Gary proud in homecoming MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Editor
PISCATAWAY — With a loosened brace draped over his right shoulder, Rashan Gary peered at the stat sheet on the podium in front of him. “Pssst,” Gary muttered to no one in particular. “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.” The junior defensive end, in fact, repeated that phrase four times throughout his postgame press conference. On Saturday, it must have been “great” indeed. The Michigan football team bludgeoned Rutgers for the fourth time in as many years under coach Jim Harbaugh, this time winning, 42-7. It was a celebratory homecoming for numerous New Jersey natives on the Wolverines’ roster, including Gary — an alumnus of Paramus Catholic High School. But just a month ago, Gary’s return to his home state was in question. He missed three October games with an AC joint injury in his right shoulder, and rumors swirled that he might end his collegiate career before the season’s end. After all, the former No. 1 overall recruit’s talent had never been in question. Gary could have been a high pick in the 2019 NFL Draft without playing another snap for Michigan — in the same vein as Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa. But tucked inside the underbelly of Highpoint.com Stadium on Saturday, it became clear why Gary did not take that route. Gary’s reaction to the stat sheet in front of him was not some self-aggrandizing remark. Four tackles and one quarterback hit against the Scarlet Knights, though a solid performance, is not going to make his name jump on NFL Draft boards.
On the other side, familiar misery
P
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior defensive end Rashan Gary returned to New Jersey on Saturday to face the Scarlet Knights with Michigan.
So why was Gary so elated? “I just like seeing my brothers, man, just seeing what my brothers are able to do,” Gary said. “It’s ridiculous. I’m just happy to see my brothers eat. That just shows us as a team — looking at the stat sheet — that we’re improving individually and as a team.” The most noteworthy of those stats was Karan Higdon’s 44 yards, which put the senior running back over the 1000-yard mark just nine games into his season. When that was brought to Gary’s attention, he pumped his fist repeatedly. It was a benchmark Higdon had been hankering to eclipse, and Gary
certainly knew it. Minutes later, junior quarterback Shea Patterson uttered a statement he has not been coy to share. “I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a team that’s been this close,” Patterson said. Yeah, that is as cliché as it gets — the types of things Michigan coaches would want Patterson to say publicly. But it feels genuine because Gary is exhibit A. Insurance policies are an inevitability these days, but Gary is literally risking millions of dollars by continuing to play for the Wolverines. He has ground to gain in mock drafts, sure,
“I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a team that’s this close.”
but all it takes is one play for things to go really south. But Gary said he never considered leaving. “I’m out there with my brothers,” Gary said. “I’m having fun f lying around. Being around these guys, they give me energ y. “Tell me how (my shoulder) looks.” Gary then moved his arms around rapidly, from side to side and up and down, like he was practicing some fauxkarate moves. The shoulder looked fine — both then and during the game he chose to play in. “That’s a testament to his character,” Patterson said. “He could have easily sat the rest of the season out and kept his goals and dreams for a few months, but it’s all about the team. “That’s just what makes Rashan, Rashan.”
Higdon finally gets his coveted 1,000 yards MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
PISCATAWAY — Karan Higdon knew how close he was to the 1,000-yard mark for the season. After all, just this summer he sat at Big Ten Media Days and said he would have entered the NFL Draft had he crossed the 1,000-yard threshold in 2017-18. So the senior running back had to have known that his two-yard carry late in the second quarter against Rutgers on Saturday got him over the milestone. Yet, for the most part, Higdon kept it to himself. When asked about the milestone after the Michigan football team dominated the Scarlet Knights, 42-7, junior defensive end Rashan Gary said he hadn’t heard Higdon mention it this season. “I feel like Karan, he had a goal in his head,” Gary said. “He said it last year. There’s no reason to keep talking about it. You know, the season went on, he kept getting better and better — progressing, progressing. You know, he attacked his goal, and we knew it was coming by the way he worked and by the way he leads the team. So, you know, I’m happy for him.” Gary’s statement is a teamwide response. Well, almost all of it. The teamwide part: Anybody can see the improvements Higdon has made this season. Until Saturday, he had seven-straight 100-yard games. His teammates clearly respect him, or they wouldn’t have named him one of four captains before the season. The other part — that Higdon kept his yearning for the milestone a secret — isn’t entirely true. At the very least,
November 12, 2018 — 3B
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior running back Karan Higdon crossed the 1,000-yard mark for the season in Saturday’s win over Rutgers.
he mentioned his quest for 1,000 yards to redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry, one of his close friends on the team and one of the players who would be blocking for Higdon on Saturday. “He was talking about it before today’s game,” Gentry said. “He was like, ‘We’ve gotta get me over that 1,000yards mark.’ And that was a big, kind of, incentive for the offensive line to go out there and make sure we’re getting all of our blocks, because we do care about Karan and he has earned that. So we wanted to get him over that hump. “Oh yeah, he said that today,
“I feel like Karan, he had a goal in his head.”
and I said, ‘We’ve got you. I’ll be blocking for you.’ ” For as inspiring as Higdon is to his teammates, the run that broke his season total into four figures was far from the most inspired Higdon has produced this year. He took a simple handoff on 3rd-and-5 and didn’t come close to the first down. In fact, the run was a part of an uninspired performance for Higdon, in comparison to what he has done the rest of the season. Higdon finished with just 42 yards on 15 carries, though he did punch in two touchdowns. Still, what Higdon did against Rutgers was enough to push him past 1,000 yards.
“It’s unbelievable,” said junior quarterback Shea Patterson. “It’s really cool, especially, you know, going — we went with him in the spring and summer and saw all the hard work he put in. And, you know, he’s such a pivotal leader on this team. So just to see him accomplish that goal, it’s amazing, because we all know how hard he’s worked to get it.” Perhaps that work in the offseason was a product of what Higdon mentioned in July. If Gentry is to be believed, Higdon has been thinking about his 1,000 yards since then.
ISCATAWAY — Amid the bitter chill and dozens of devoted (or delusional) fans, the clock slowly winds Saturday’s game to a close. The MAX scoreboard MARCOVITCH reads: “Michigan, 42. Rutgers, 7”. As the Scarlet Knights scamper for a first down, the PA announcer chimes in with a hearty “That’s a Rutgers… FIRST DOWN!” Two plays later, Wolverines sophomore cornerback Ambry Thomas intercepts a pass from Scarlet Knights quarterback Artur Sitkowski. “We can still win!” yells a member of the Rutgers band. The last two remaining brave souls in the front row donning scarlet hold up three fingers. They boast ironic smiles as a Michigan third down approaches with under a minute left in the game. Devotion, delusion, what’s really the difference? Fandom requires plenty of both. The game comes to a merciful close, Rutgers notching its 33rd conference loss since joining the Big Ten in 2014. Players share pleasantries. Some search for their families. Then the two programs walk down the tunnel at the same time, diverting into polar opposite paths. On one side of the locker room is a program blossoming into a national juggernaut. With the win, the Wolverines marched one week closer to a potential Big Ten title and College Football Playoff appearance. “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine right now,” said junior defensive end Rashan Gary “That’s all I got to say.” On the other, a team slowly crawling toward season’s end. The Rutgers team meeting room is littered with motivational quotes and checklists, as if offering a plea rather than encouragement. One — posted in between the meeting rooms, covering a full wall — lists special teams goals that have been met or failed to have been met in each game. Another includes a four-step “plan to win.” Rutgers coach Chris Ash starts his press conference by thanking reporters for coming, and you truly believe him. “Coming into the game (Michigan was) playing as good as anybody in the country,” Ash said. “Playing a team like that, you’ve got to play almost perfect football. We made some mistakes in all three phases of the game to let that score get the way it did.” He laments many of those mistakes. His team threw for
just 59 yards — 19 of which came via a running back. His defense stopped just four of Michigan’s 12 third down attempts. In the end, what was a 7-7 game after the first quarter spiraled into the 42-7 blowout everyone expected. He also lists achievements. He was proud to have been able to run for 193 yards against a stout Wolverines front. He thinks his team held up well in the trenches. There was a moment late in the first quarter, when Scarlet Knights running back Isaih Pacheco scampered 80 yards to tie the game at seven, and cast just a shadow of doubt on this forgone conclusion. The crowd was giddy. The players jumped around. Positivity — a foreign feeling to many — spread around the stadium. “I felt like we’ve been there before,” Pacheco said, on the feeling around the team after the score. “This is a play we could do to any team. We’ve just gotta all play together.” Sitkowski felt a heightened belief, too. Maybe, just maybe, this one-win football team could pull off the unthinkable. “We believed as soon as we stepped foot on that field, man. We believed. We all believed. We’ve believed since we saw Michigan on our schedule,” Sitkowski said. “No matter what was going to happen we all believed in each other. It never crossed our mind. When Isaih hit that run, I tell ya, we were all excited. It shows that we can do it, man. We can do anything we put our minds to in life.” The Wolverines rattled off 35 unanswered the rest of the game — and Rutgers returned to its interminable stasis of misery. Michigan junior quarterback Shea Patterson largely did as he pleased, completing 18-of-27 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns in three tidy quarters of work. Sitkowski finished a beleaguered 8-of-19 for 40 yards and an interception. This is nothing new for Rutgers. This was just Saturday. After being asked a generic question about his team’s performance, Sitkowski responds with a 15-second answer that includes the phrase “we played hard” five times. In fairness, what is there left to say? His team hasn’t won a conference game in over a full calendar year. Since joining the conference in 2014, Rutgers has routinely served as the doormat of the Big Ten. Saturday evening was just the next in line of beatdowns and humiliations. Sophomore center Cesar Ruiz emerges from the scrum of players after the game and walks up to Rutgers offensive lineman Micah Clark. Clark lets out a sigh and a smile. He needs not say more.
“Playing a team like that, you’ve got to play almost perfect...”
Marcovitch can be reached at maxmarco@umich.edu or on Twitter at @Max_Marcovitch.
“And, you know, he’s such a pivotal leader on this team.”
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Rutgers coach Chris Ash said his team made mistakes in Rutgers’ loss.
Sports
4B — November 12, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan falls to Notre Dame, 6-2, in rematch for series split TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
A hockey game lasts 60 minutes. Three periods of 20, two breaks in between. Sixty minutes is what Michigan coach Mel Pearson expected from the No. 14 Michigan hockey team in Saturday’s matchup against No. 6 Notre Dame. Forty, or two periods, is what he got, more or less. The Wolverines fell to the Fighting Irish, 6-2, despite what Pearson thought was a good start to the game. “I thought we were really ready to play tonight,” Pearson said. “I thought great start, one of the best starts maybe we had this year, we were all over them, created some great scoring opportunities, didn’t give them much.” There are often question marks for a team after a successful bout — especially with the Michigan hockey team. Throughout the season, every time the Wolverines have started to be successful, they have fallen under the trap of losing focus and taking things for granted. When Michigan beat St. Lawrence on Oct. 26 - 27 for its first weekend sweep of the season, the team went on to lose, 5-2, to Lake Superior State the following weekend. Sophomore Michael Pastujov noted they weren’t ready going into that matchup. So the big question for the Wolverines was about whether Michigan was hungry enough to play a full 60 minutes in its rematch over Notre Dame, like Pearson thought they had during Friday’s 2-1 win. The short answer is no. To begin the game, however, the Wolverines didn’t skip a beat from its game the day before, going aggressively to the net and playing as equally physical. Lockwood opened the period with a shot on net after initiating
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Senior defenseman Joseph Cecconi notched an assist in Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, putting his season total at nine through nine games.
a well-crafted attack to set the tone. The shot didn’t go in, but it was a warning for Notre Dame to be ready. And soon after, senior defenseman Joseph Cecconi drew a penalty. Michigan saw success on the power play Friday, converting its first two, and tonight was no different. In the dwindling stretches of the power play, sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes shot a pass towards traffic. Junior forward Will Lockwood, who was in the midst of battling for position, tipped the puck and created the early 1-0 lead. And the great start Pearson
saw from the team was nearly capped off by a second goal. Cecconi had wrapped around the net and found Hughes lingering around the crease. Hughes then passed the puck across ice to Norris, who was waiting at the other side of the net and tapped the puck in. The goal, however, was called back due to offsides. “It’s the right call,” Pearson said. “But if that goes in, it’s 2-0, and we had them on their heels, and that just gives you a little more momentum.” The overturned call marked the turning point of not just Michigan’s momentum, but its efforts as well. Michigan, who had been so
“I thought we were really ready to play tonight.”
stout defensively, began to loosen up. Notre Dame found its first high-danger attempt stopped by junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne, who extended his leg to stop the rebound from turning into an easy open-net goal. Then, the goaltending heroics ended shortly after that. The Fighting Irish scored, and did it quickly. “Basically a couple bad decisions, a couple easy goals at the end of the first period,” Pearson said. “We go from that lead, almost two nothing, it was offside, tough break for us, good break for them. “But again, we gave up two goals within two minutes to end the first, and then we gave up
three goals in four minutes to start the second period. And that was the game.” To put it simply, the Wolverines were demoralized after Notre Dame’s two goals. In hopes of turning the tides back to how they originally were, Pearson switched goaltenders, bringing in freshman goaltender Strauss Mann. Mann had held Notre Dame to only one goal in Friday’s matchup, and in order to weather the storm, Pearson hoped he’d replicate his performance. However, a few more bad bounces, and the Wolverines were only further behind. “You have to continue to
“You have to continue to stay in the game.”
stay in the game,” Pearson said. “What happens usually when a team scores is it give them a lift. And that’s what really (ignited) Notre Dame. “Even the third goal, I think the third goal was sort of a real backbreaker, just an innocent shot behind net and they through it out front and it goes in. It got away from us, in a hurry.” The best way to get back into a game, mentally and literally, is to score. And toward the end of the second, an opportunity presented itself — a five-on-three situation. As Cecconi put it, score there, and the game changes. But Michigan couldn’t. And despite ending the second period on a further disheartening play, a goal off of a deflection, the Wolverines came into the third period in full spirit. “I think we all knew that the second period was pretty embarrassing,” Cecconi said. “And that’s not Michigan hockey, that’s not how we want to play. And some of the guys talked in the locker room pretty much just decided that everyone was going to play their game and compete.” The third period brought a familiar look, an aggressive and gritty team that was ready to play and aiming to win. Despite only mustering one goal, a shot between the goaltender’s leg from freshman defenseman Nick Blankenburg, the Wolverines outshot Notre Dame 15-4 in the final period and played a style they thought better reflected their quality of hockey. “We talked about a standard of play,” Pearson said. “There’s a certain standard of play that we need to have each and every night here at Michigan and I think they just got back to that. “I think once you chase a game and you get behind, you have a tendency to get away, try to do some things maybe too individualistic instead of trying to stay within the team concept. We just wanted to get back to that and just work our defense.”
‘M’ topples Mount St. Mary’s, 88-40 Wolverines beat Holy Cross, 56-37 ARIA GERSON
ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
Daily Sports Writer
On the first possession of the game, freshman guard Amy Dilk lobbed a pass from the right wing to senior forward Hallie Thome in the paint. Thome failed to convert, but it didn’t matter. Sophomore forward Hailey Brown was there to grab the rebound and get her team on the board. That opening play was a preview of how most of the game would turn out. The Michigan women’s basketball team (1-0) used its physical advantage to defeat Mount St. Mary’s (1-1), 88-40, Friday night at Crisler Center. Offensively, the Wolverines pushed the tempo from the start. This sense of urgency didn’t result in success immediately, though, as the team missed quite a few early shots. For instance, Brown had a couple unsuccessful attempts during the first few minutes. However, she kept attacking and the persistence paid off as she finished with 14 points. “At the beginning of the game, I mean, my shot, it wasn’t falling,” Brown said. “So, if you’re a shooter and your shots aren’t falling, the next option is to drive.” Five minutes into the first quarter, Dilk dished another effortless lob to Thome. And this time around, she scored. Thome dominated all night with her post play and led the team with 25 points and 10 rebounds. “She knows the game so well. It’s fun to definitely play with someone who has that much of a basketball IQ,” Thome said of Dilk’s passing. “So, I know every time the guards give me the ball, they’re putting me in the best position to score. So, the credit is all to them.” Despite its offensive success, Michigan’s defense took time to settle in. This resulted in wide-open shots for the Mountaineers, who
For 20 minutes, Michigan’s offense was dead and its defense was porous. For 20 minutes, Holy Cross posed questions the Wolverines couldn’t answer. Then the second half happened. It wasn’t always easy — the Michigan men’s basketball team (2-0 overall) often struggled against the Crusaders (1-1) and their Princeton offense and matchup-zone defense — but the Wolverines pulled away in the second half for a 56-37 win. Both teams traded missed shots back and forth to start — neither scored until freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis made a free throw with 17:08 remaining in the first. Then, they swapped baskets, with an inside jumper from Brazdeikis giving Michigan an early 9-5 advantage. But the Wolverines didn’t score for almost four more minutes. To make matters worse, defensive lapses led to three open treys for Holy Cross to put the Crusaders up 18-9 at the under-12 timeout. A few minutes later, redshirt junior wing Charles Matthews hit a 3-pointer off a turnover to narrow Holy Cross’ lead to four, but for the rest of the half — over 10 minutes — Michigan’s only points came off free throws from Matthews, Livers and sophomore guard Jordan Poole. Going into halftime, the Crusaders led 24-18. “(Michigan coach John Beliein) was just telling us to be calm, this is what we expected,” Brazdeikis said. “We prepared for this team very well. We knew they were gonna be in a matchup zone. And we knew they were gonna play a slow-paced game. But he was just saying, attack the seams, make our shots and make good plays.” And after the half, the Wolverines started to make those plays. Brazdeikis led the charge with two layups, a trey,
MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily
Freshman guard Amy Dilk played in her first game as a Wolverine on Friday.
capitalized to stay in the game. The Wolverines led 12-11 heading into the first media timeout. Freshman forward Naz Hillmon and junior forward Kayla Robbins hopped on the court after the break. The duo gave Michigan the spark it needed to start putting the game away. The Wolverines soon went on a 7-0 run extending into the second quarter, and resulted in Michigan taking a 43-29 edge into the locker room. Mount St. Mary’s defense had no answer for the rest of the game. At 6-feet, junior Alexis Wooden was the Mountaineers’ tallest starter, thus they often had to double-team the Wolverines to compensate for the height disadvantage. Michigan responded frequently with effective passing to find whoever was was left unguarded. The team’s solid ball movement also helped it excel in transition. In addition to Thome and Brown, Hillmon and senior guard Nicole Munger reached double digits in scoring with
10 and 12 points, respectively. The height mismatch significantly helped the Wolverines with rebounding as well. Michigan finished the game with 46 total rebounds, while Mount St. Mary’s grabbed 26. As the lead grew bigger, the Wolverines expanded their rotation. Junior guard Akienreh Johnson was the only Michigan player who didn’t get playing time, as she’s recovering from an injury. Even the newcomers found time on the court, as freshmen made fair contributions. Midway through the third frame, Hillmon fought for a loose ball near half court, pleasing both the crowd and Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “How ‘bout the spark she brought, huh?” Barnes Arico proclaimed. “She just brought a level of intensity and just dialed it up for us.” Favored headed into the match, the Wolverines were expected to win and did just that. However, there is still an entire season to go for the Wolverines.
four free throws and a midrange jumper in the first five minutes. When junior center Jon Teske received a pass from junior guard Zavier Simpson, beat his lone defender to the basket and threw down a dunk, it felt like the momentum had shifted. “We really changed what we were doing offensively,” Beilein said. “We were probably trying to do too much, trying to create leverage, and we just really simplified our attack in the second half. And just tried to, just go off penetration.” In the second half it was Holy Cross that couldn’t buy a bucket. The Crusaders went seven minutes without scoring and struggled to even get a shot off due to Michigan’s stif ling defense. Holy Cross scored just 13 points in the half and committed nine turnovers. “(We got) some open shots and some easy baskets, and they were missing some things that maybe normally they make in the first half,”
said Holy Cross coach Bill Carmody. “And then the second half they just, they turned up the heat. … We had some empty possessions on offense and then we just weren’t able to handle anything with the pressure.” It was still ugly at times for the Wolverines. But Matthews and Brazdeikis took a more aggressive approach than they had at the beginning and it paid off, as they finished with 20 and 19 points, respectively. And even when its shooting was off, Michigan’s uncharacteristically good performance on free throws kept the lead comfortable. Brazdeikis, especially, took advantage, going 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. For the final 20 minutes, Michigan’s defense stole the show while the offense did just enough to hold up its end of the deal. And for the final 20 minutes, it was the Crusaders who couldn’t find any answers.
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Junior guard Zavier Simpson tallied seven assists in Saturday’s win at Crisler.