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Thursday, November 15, 2018

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Concerns raised over dangerous crosswalk Residents file complaints over missing makings by road signs, no painted lines MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/DAILY Student activists and youth leaders Rie’Onna Holmon, Sofie Whitney, Ke’Shon Newman and Alex Wind speak at the Wallenberg Medal Presentation and Lecture at Rackham Auditorium Wednesday evening. The event recognized students advocating across the country to end gun violence.

Young anti-gun violence activists given 2018 Wallenberg Medal for courage Students from Chicago, Parkland honored for their impressive actions to curb gun violence MOLLY NORRIS Daily Staff Reporter

Representatives from antigun violence groups Bold Resistance Against Violence Everywhere and March for Our Lives were presented the 26th annual Wallenberg Medal by the University of Michigan Wednesday night. The medal is presented in honor of Raoul Wallenberg, a U-M alum who saved tens of thousands of Jews in Budapest

during World War II. The award recognizes the honorable actions of humanitarians reminiscent of Wallenberg’s bravery. The University chose to honor two groups pioneering change in the fight against gun violence. Rie’Onna Holmon and Ke’Shon Newman accepted the award on behalf of B.R.A.V.E, an organization based in Chicago that focuses on training youth to be peacemakers within their communities. Alex Wind and Sofie Whitney accepted the

award on behalf of March for Our Lives, an organization created after 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., were killed by an active shooter on Feb. 14. Wind and Whitney were both students of the school at the time. University President Mark Schlissel presented the awards, commending the honorees for their commitment to improving society. He stressed the importance of tackling all types of gun violence, from mass

shootings to everyday firearm assault. “The tragedies of this epidemic go far beyond the shootings that grab the headlines,” Schlissel said. “Gun violence is an everyday reality in many neighborhoods around our nation. It steals life from our families and communities, affecting innocent youth as they walk to and from school and as they gather with their friends.” After Schlissel presented See WALLENBERG, Page 2

RACHEL CUNNINGHAM Daily Staff Reporter

At all times of day, crosswalks on the University of Michigan’s campus are among the most traversed in the city. Some of them are well-marked — the intersection of State Street and South University Avenue, protected by stop signs on all sides with vehicles directed by a four-way stop, is one of the most heavily trafficked. Just a few yards away, at the intersection of State Street and East Madison Street, though, pedestrians cross the street regularly, even though no crosswalk existed there until earlier this year. The crosswalk is now marked by painted lines as a legal pathway from the pedestrian view. From a driver’s perspective, no signs

clearly indicate the presence of the crosswalk. Law student Akash Patel said he and 64 other law students have filed complaints with the city regarding the crosswalk’s safety. Many of the complaints cited near collisions with drivers while attempting to cross the street. Patel has worked on a campaign to increase awareness in the city of Ann Arbor of the danger of the crosswalk. He said the crossing is especially dangerous in winter when daylight hours dwindle. “Hundreds of students of all different years and programs use that crosswalk, but there is no visible indication to cars that it is a crosswalk, especially at night since, that paint is not visible after dark,” Patel wrote in an email interview. “This is particularly a problem in a See CROSSWALK, Page 3

Trans activist speaks of her work, SAAN talks Professors South Asian progress within the trans community comment

CAMPUS LIFE

sexual ed. curriculum

Ortiz was the keynote speaker for the Trans Awareness Week event series

Discussion hosted by the Woman’s Organization on Rights to Health

Reyna Ortiz, Chicago activist and educator, who helps connect transgender youth and women with medical, legal, education and housing resources, opened a presentation Wednesday by emphasizing the progress made by and within the trans community throughout time. Ortiz has been doing activist work in the trans community since her transition in 1994 at 14 years old. “I’m fighting for the liberation of the trans community in this country and in this world,” Ortiz said. “It’s my passion; it is my life. All my life experiences as a trans person for 25 years has brought me to this point, today, working and fighting for equality for trans people.” Ortiz spoke at the School of Social Work as part of the Trans Awareness Week series of events hosted by the Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan. She was the keynote speaker of the series and raised awareness of issues facing the transgender, genderqueer and gender nonconforming communities. Ortiz recalled the loneliness she felt when she came out as trans-identifying at a young age. She said for so long, she felt she was the only trans person in her

BARBARA COLLINS For the Daily

The Women’s Organization on Rights to Health and the South Asian Awareness Network hosted an open discussion Wednesday night to explore the topic of sexual health education in South Asian countries. The event “That’s Haram!: Sex Ed in South Asian Communities,” compared the teachings of sexual education in South Asian and American cultures, both of which have certain stigmas surrounding the issue. First-year Medical student Sai Talluru said she thinks there are many similarities between sexual education in South Asian countries and the United States, one of the most common topics being abstinence. “I think abstinence is definitely something that is implied or talked about (in sexual education), and it’s not always the best option,” Talluru said. “It’s just not as transparent of a conversation See CURRICULUM, Page 3

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community. This experience, Ortiz explained, helps her connect with the people she works with. “I think starting off trans so young, feeling so many types of ways about being trans is the reason why I work so well with youth in Chicago,” Ortiz said. The services Ortiz’s two trans resource programs include are GED preparation

programs, permanent and supportive housing research, and legal services for name-changing and criminal expungement. She said she’s able to see 60 to 80 participants weekly and found 50 kids supportive housing this past year. This work is not just for trans people, though, Ortiz said. She emphasized the importance of allyship,

urging allies to be active, consistent and to focus on the communities they’re supporting. Ortiz also noted everyone has different roles to fulfill in the movement. “It’s a call to action,” Ortiz said. “It’s being consistent. It’s about finding something that you feel is beneficial to a community. And it’s different for everybody, not everybody is going to do the same thing,

See AWARENESS, Page 3

MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/DAILY Reyna Ortiz discusses her work with the transgender community and her experience as a Latinx transgender woman in the School of Social Work Wednesday evening. Ortiz delivered her keynote address as part of Trans Awareness Week supported by the Spectrum Center.

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on refugee detainment

The panel focused on children separation at US southern boarder MIRIAM MERKLIN For the Daily

The Donia Human Rights Center held a panel Wednesday night to examine the impact of the current “zero-tolerance” policy of detaining refugee children seeking asylum in the U.S. This policy calls for the prosecution of all individuals who illegally enter the United States, which has resulted in the detention of refugee children who are separated from their families. More than 50 guests attended the panel, which was hosted at the Ford School of Public Policy and consisted of Law professor James C. Hathaway, the director of Program in Refugee and Asylum Law; Sherrie Kossoudji, associate professor at School of Social Work; and Ann Lin, associate professor and the Public Policy School. The panel examined the psychological, political and legal impact of the policy on the families, policy makers and public opinion, asking the question of what’s at stake. Kossoudji initiated the See REFUGEE, Page 3

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I think historically Thanksgiving has been a national holiday as a time for Americans to come together and celebrate their friends and their family and for that reason I think that the intention is fantastic. However, we have to realize the implications of where the holiday originated and understand that we persecuted the groups that we once celebrated with. Public Policy junior Kendal Kaiser

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he has been inspired by the hope he has seen around him. “Since that day, I’ve had a lot of time to think,” Wind said. “And what I see everywhere I go is hope. What I think is most important for me to be here today to tell all of you is that you are the hope that I see. And I want to thank all of you for coming out tonight because it means that you

care. It means that you care my mother might lose another enough about gun violence son, because of where we live to try and stop it. And I think and because of the way that that is the most important the conditions are right now.” thing, is that we are here to Newman said he was the awards, each panelist stop gun violence.” unwilling to allow his got the chance to introduce Wind followed this up by brother to become another themselves. Wind began by urging the audience to act on statistic. He decided to join addressing the crowd and their empathy and call their B.R.A.V.E to make a change thanking them for their congressmen. in his community so another commitment to this cause. “I want to give you all a tragedy doesn’t have to HeSyndication said since the Parkland little job,” Wind said. “When happen to another family. Sudoku http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ shooting nine months ago, you go home, and it doesn’t “I’m tired,” Newman said. have to be today, just “I’m tired of losing loved this week, even if it’s this ones, I’m tired of fear inside month, and I want you to of everyone’s heart. I’m tired call your congressman of people portraying a Black and I want you to say man as a threat or portraying that you want gun them as a gang member, or HARD violence legislation to be saying that they were inside passed … The next step that incident because they is making sure that the were inside of a gang. I’m people that we vote for tired of someone being pulled are actually representing over and shot because they our views, and we will thought they had a weapon, not get anywhere unless when they were really trying we take that initiative, to brush their hair.” unless we actually pick Wind shared this up the phone.” sentiment, also illustrating a Sixteen-year-old frustration with the dangers Ke’Shon Newman, one of Americans have to live with the representatives from every single day. B.R.A.V.E, shared his “We should not be afraid personal gun violence to send people to school,” tragedy with the Wind said. “We should not audience. be afraid to send people to “On May 2nd 2016, my grocery stores. We should not brother was shot nine be afraid to go to a bar, to a times and killed due to nightclub, to a movie theater. him being in between We should not be living in crossfire,” Newman fear due to gun violence in said. “That day brought this country, and we need my family so much things to change.” IT’S SNOWING puzzle by sudokusyndication.com trauma, not just because Whitney described to © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. of his death, but because the audience the day of the of fear that another day See WALLENBERG, Page 3

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CROSSWALK From Page 1 place like Ann Arbor where our days are really short during our long winters, which means sunlight will not help illuminate that crosswalk for as much of the day as we need.” Patel has witnessed near collisions between pedestrians and drivers because of the crosswalk’s lack of indication. “Just this weekend, I saw a pedestrian and a student on a skateboard almost get hit because one car coming from one direction stopped but another car from the other direction didn’t,” Patel said. One of the anonymous complaints to the city came from a blind student, who noted their additional difficulty associated with using the crossing. “The new crosswalk on the north side of the T-intersection where Madison meets State Street. has created unintended hazards. This is particularly concerning for me, as a blind individual, because I stop at the crosswalk, wait, and, hearing no cars, expect and begin to cross,” the complaint read. “A problem arises if I

am crossing and there are no lights to indicate to cars that a crosswalk exists. I cannot see the cars because I am blind; but, the cars should see me.” According to an Aug. 30 report Councilmember Kathy Griswold, D-Ward 2, sent to The Daily, the city’s prioritization process for determining construction funding considers vehicle crash incidents within the past five years, public requests and proximity to heavily trafficked areas, such as schools and government offices. The report ranks the crosswalk at E. Madison and State streets a “mid-level” priority. Griswold says the crosswalk is not well marked compared to others on the same street, many crosswalks on campus include pedestrian signs and f lashing lights on both sides of the street. “I noticed on State Street that the other crosswalks were well marked,” Griswold said. “Drivers are expecting to see signage. Engineers from the city should also look at the traffic pattern because I saw many more students crossing on the south side of State Street where there isn’t a crosswalk.” Griswold also thinks the

width of the road is a safety concern. “I was amazed at the number of students crossing and the volume,” Griswold said. “I got out of my car and I think there was maybe six inches between me and the vehicles because the road doesn’t seem really wide there.” Griswold noted the University’s pedestrian-level streetlights, which are globe shaped, are more energy efficient but do not illuminate the crosswalk. She hopes to see the City Council highlight mobility concerns throughout the city once she begins her term later this month. “I would like to get more emphasis on it (mobility issues) because things are changing so quickly and the technology is changing so quickly,” Griswold said. “In Ann Arbor, we’ve struggled with inconsistent marks on our crosswalks for years now.” Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said the city is committed to pedestrian safety, but did not say whether there were plans to address the problems at the crosswalk at State and E. Madison. “It’s important to the city that pedestrians be safe,” Taylor said.

Thursday, November 15, 2018 — 3

AWARENESS From Page 1 you have to find your niches.” Challenging the audience further, Ortiz reminded everyone though there has been much progress, it’s crucial to acknowledge the trans activists of the past — many of them being trans women of color — such as Sylvia Rivera. The work of these women in the 1960s and ’70s, she highlighted, set the foundation for all work being done today. “Pay homage to the queens,” Ortiz said. “To think about being trans-identified women of color in the ’60s and the ’70s, it just blows my mind the level of survival these women had to go through. So when you think about gender f luidity in 2018 and how open everyone is, it’s wonderful, it is progress, but sometimes we do have to pay homage to the queens. They laid the foundation for gender f luidity in this country.” This idea resonated with Kari Nilsen, a Social Work and Public Health student who came to the event because of their non-binary

trans-masculine identity and because of their desire to work in Ortiz’s field. Nilsen talked of the significance of recognizing the different racial identities within the trans community and repeated Ortiz’s message of paying homage to the “queens.” “It’s really important that we make sure to have an intersectional lens and recognize that the people that have done the work are trans women of color,” Nilsen said. Nilsen further emphasized another of Ortiz’s points, which was to always ask about someone’s gender identity and never assume. “One thing you all can do to be an ally is in every single introduction ask what someone’s pronouns are,” Nilsen said. “Because it’s just like your name, it’s just how you’re referred to. It’s the exact same thing and there’s no way you can know without asking.” Social Work student Erica Watson said she came to learn about the challenges of the trans community face — something especially close to home because of her queer identity and her partner’s trans identity.

“I came because I identify as queer and my partner is trans, and I’m always trying to learn as much as I can about the community and really engage with the community and I think the best way to do that is to really listen to the people who are experiencing these things,” Watson said. Watson expressed her appreciation of Ortiz’s discussion of the positives happening in the trans community and in trans social work. This type of discussion is especially imperative in a time full of negative news and policies. “I get lost often in the idea that everything seems bad and it’s only getting worse, and it feels overwhelming, like there’s nothing you can do and I think it’s really good to take time and look at the work that people have been doing and will continue to do,” Watson said. Ortiz left the audience with words empowering the trans community. “This society needs to understand that trans people are here, we have been here and we will always be here,” Ortiz said.

THE BIG CHAIR CURRICULUM From Page 1 as you’d like, and I feel like people aren’t open about it and there’s a lot of shame.” LSA junior Sumrah Jilani agreed sexual education in both South Asia and the United States is a difficult topic for educators. She said it is important to eliminate the stigma against sex education in these places so people will be able to have comfortable conversations about the issue. “I think one of the biggest things we highlighted was a lot of the misconceptions that are out there,” Jilani said. “There’s such a big stigma associated with anything related to sex, and getting rid of that stigma and making it so that it’s not a super taboo topic, so that people are able to talk about it and learn about it in a healthy way and know what all of the risks are and consider all of the factors. I feel like that’s really important.” LSA junior Liliana Pfeifer, co-president of WORTH, an organization that promotes activism for women’s health rights, said inclusivity should be emphasized when learning about sexual health. This would produce a more well-rounded sexual education.

WALLENBERG From Page 1 Parkland shooting, and the sheer disbelief she felt when she heard gunshots inside of her own school. “We live in a very privileged community,” Whitney said. “So I was in denial, I was in shock. I obviously ran back into the classroom, and in my head the entire time I was thinking, ‘This isn’t real. This would never happen to us. This is our school.’” Whitney described the sadness felt by her community the day after the shooting, and she said she knew in that moment that something had to change. “We woke up the next day and we went to a vigil,” Whitney said. “More people than I have literally ever seen, I think the entire city of Parkland was there, and that’s a lot of people. And it was just so sad. Like, I’ve never experienced such sadness, and it was just, there was so much of it, and we needed to do something.” Following the introductions, the panel took questions from the audience, and audience members asked what they

“I learned the importance of a comprehensive sex education,” Pfeifer said. “Including genders, races, cultures and the LGBTQ community is very important, and making sure the people who are doing the sex educating are trained in that intersectional perspective.” Participants also shared their own personal experiences with sex education in these countries. Talluru said she wishes her sexual education was more comprehensive. “I had a very biology-focused sex ed. My own parents never really talked to me about sex ed,” Talluru said. “Definitely not comprehensive. Definitely would have liked to learn more growing up.” Jilani said the multitude of perspectives present made the discussion more valuable. “I think this discussion was really interesting because we got to kind of hear a lot of different perspectives,” Jilani said. “While a lot of people here were South Asian, they all grew up in different backgrounds and a lot of people had different experiences … There were also a few people here who weren’t South Asian but still were able to relate to a lot of the experiences or shed light on their own experiences as well.”

could do to help. Panelists stressed the need for well-placed support from adults, and the challenges they face when adults don’t listen to them. Holmon expressed disappointment in the coverage she felt the B.R.A.V.E organization has received from the media. “Being heard is a big challenge for us, because they don’t listen to a bunch of Black kids that are advocating for themselves,” Holmon said. “With Parkland, they’re passionate about their movement and what they’re doing. But media, they look at us and we’re just angry Black kids.” Overall, the panelists pleaded with the audience to put pressure on their elected officials and use their voices to the best of their ability. “Everyone is realizing that change-making doesn’t have an age limit,” Whitney said. “As long as you’re passionate about something, and as long as you truly believe that you’re doing the right thing, then quite literally anything is possible.”

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HANNAH HARSHE | COLUMN

Hope amid tragedy

expected the world to look been glossy and pink and hope different when I woke up always appears to be in vain. One of my good friends grew last Wednesday. I don’t up near Thousand know exactly what Oaks, Calif., which I expected it to was the location look like; perhaps of the shooting. I I thought I would didn’t talk to her see catchy quotes much about it, but lighting up the sky I know she spent in bold pink font, most of Thursday proclaiming that the in mourning. Real future is female and people in Thousand therefore that I am — people the future. Maybe HANNAH Oaks with families and I expected the sun HARSHE dreams to change to shine a little differently, to ref lect on the the world — simply went out crimson maple trees around to enjoy their evening at a bar, campus so the leaves would and now they’re dead. Gone. glow like a thousand little Executed for committing the stars and light my path as I unforgivable crime of existing walked down State Street to my on American soil. On Friday, the same friend economics lecture. For the past two years, I sent me a video of her neighbor’s had been told Tuesday would house in California, engulfed in be my chance to change the a blanket of sinister f lames that world. Instagram had been danced with gleeful knowledge f looded with glossy images of of the destruction they were feminism and intersectionality causing. Historic wildfires that promised a better life for have taken over the region, and us all if we would simply vote. have now killed more than 30 We were told that if we voted people. Thousands of families on Tuesday, we would have have lost their homes, and a chance to paint America dozens have lost someone they sparkly pink and wrap it up love. How are we possibly with a bow. We were told our fate was in our hands if we supposed to find hope when would just show up to the polls. there seems to be nothing but So we showed up. We voted in death from sea to shining sea? Personally I know of two record numbers. It was a groundbreaking activities that give me hope: election. We, as voters, decided When I’m loving kids and when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will I’m telling stories. It’s fairly simple, actually. I be the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress, Ilhan volunteer for two really great Omar will be the first Somali- organizations: one for which I American in Congress, Sharice spend time with 10th graders Davids and Deb Haaland will in Detroit and one for which be the first Native American I hang out with middle school women in Congress, and Letitia students in my hometown. James will be the first African To me, nothing beats being American woman to serve as with these kids, hearing about New York’s attorney general, their classes and career goals among several other decisions. and their crushes. And telling We decided it’s finally time stories – well, you can already for over 100 women to serve in see God gave me a love for Congress. For a split second, words, and when I sit down and I let myself get caught up in put them on paper, it just feels the hope and hype. I thought right, like all my confusing maybe when I woke up, things thoughts finally have a purpose. There’s nothing profound would look and feel at least a about either of those things, little different. Then, Wednesday night, and they won’t put an end to more than a dozen people were mass tragedy, but they give me brutally murdered on American a small opportunity to make soil simply for spending time at the world a little bit better, and when faced with that a country music bar. After 20 years of living in opportunity, I’m going to take this country, I should have it. As heartbroken as I am by the known better. I should have known the country has never current state of our country,

I am a proud American and I consider it my honor to perform my civic duties. I’m an informed voter and I’ve participated in multiple protests when voting didn’t seem to be enough. I actively reach out to my elected officials. If you’re an American and you don’t do those things, it’s high time to ask yourself why not. Nothing is going to change if we don’t demand change. But I have another civic duty, one that wasn’t listed in my Advanced Placement Government textbook: to sit in a middle school cafeteria and listen to 12-year-old girls complain about their gym classes. Every one of us has more civic duties. Some of us are called to improve the country by helping advance our computer systems, or to do research on cells, or to bring beauty to people’s lives through art. I beg of each and every one of you: Do what you were put on this planet to do. That’s your civic duty. You can’t singlehandedly prevent tragedy from ever occurring again, but there are plenty of things you can do to make this broken, hurting country a little bit more joyful. This isn’t a call to complacency, telling you to follow your dreams instead of fighting for change. Far from it, in fact. Please do everything you can to enact change in this world because we so desperately need it in more ways than I can begin to list in this column. My call, instead, is for you to remember though we may never see bold pink words engraved in the skies, though perhaps we will always find ourselves in a country of mass tragedy and heartbreak, we can never be stripped of our hope. There is always something we can do to make today a little bit better. And in two years’ time, when our fate is once more in our own hands, I hope we believe it, and show up to the polls again, and, despite everything, I hope we continue to vote in record numbers.

Hannah Harshe can be reached at hharshe@umich.edu

Arts

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BOOK REVIEW

Thursday, November 15, 2018 — 5

TV NOTEBOOK

‘Hannah Versus the Tree’ a poor attempt at depth MIRIAM FRANCISCO Daily Arts Writer

“‘Hannah Versus the Tree’ is unlike anything I have ever read — James Wood,” reads the sole endorsement quote on the front cover of Leland de la Durantaye’s debut novel.

“Hannah Versus the Tree” Leland de la Durantaye McSweeney’s Nov. 20, 2018

“Hannah Versus the Tree” is indeed unique. The main character is Hannah Syrls, a young woman who opposes the brutality that has made her family rich. The unnamed male narrator speaks in the second person, addressing an also unnamed matriarch. The world of the novel is immediately presented as different than our own, though it’s never clear if that difference is a result of the narrator’s skewed perspective or if “Hannah Versus the Tree” is meant to be science fiction. The language seems intentionally vague, but this authorial choice is confusing rather than poetic. “Before the Divide, our world heated up. It was like a return to the beginning, to the first circle of warmth,” the narrator said as he describes the first time he met Hannah, his friend and later lover. What is “the first circle of warmth?” This is a question the novel poses but does not answer in any comprehensible way. Even in the book’s first chapter, the layers of distance between the narrator and the events he is describing (which take place in some unknown years prior to the telling and which he is describing to some unknown person) create a chasm between the reader and the created world of the text. The narrator and Hannah are schooled in myths and theology by “the Old One” and “the Wise One,” and the beginning of the novel is flooded with references to literature and culture that

attempt to situate Hannah’s story in the history of epic poetry. Instead, the citations read as awkward and forced. These scenes remind me of Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History,” in which a group of college students commit themselves to the study of ancient Greece. However, de la Durantaye never manages to create the same sense of mythic intensity that Tartt develops. This issue of failed profundity plagues the rest of the “Hannah Versus the Tree” as well. “‘Hannah Versus the Tree’ presents a new literary genre, the mythopoetic thriller,” announces the inside flap of the book jacket. What an odd, bold claim, considering that mythopoeia is nothing new at all and that many works in the genre are certainly thrillers. Here lies the essential problem with “Hannah Versus the Tree”: de la Durantaye has disassembled and obscured plot, characterization and language to create a work he believes is original. If the book had any semblance of subversion or intrigue, this could be a successful trade-off. Unfortunately, the trite and tired character archetypes — manic pixie dream girl, wise grandparent, feisty protagonist — do not infuse the dull, impenetrable plot with any sense of humanity. The language is labyrinthine, and the reliance on cliché detracts from any moments of clarity. In a final, desperate plea to attach universal importance to the novel, de la Durantaye inadvertently hammers the last nail into the book’s coffin. At the midpoint of the text, Hannah is raped by her uncle after she opposes his plan for the environmental devastation of the Amazon. The scene is described in uncomfortable detail that masquerades as insight. “As he came closer his eyes changed and he grew enchanted by the pain, causing more so as to see more power to cause it,” the narrator said. This sentence — like many in “Hannah Versus the Tree” — is so tortured as to be incoherent, and the effect is a bizarre, ill-defined fetishizing of pain and power. After the rape, Hannah is immediately overcome with the desire for revenge: “As he walked out, replacing the key, he said, ‘If you even whisper of this I’ll

do worse.’ And she whispered back that he was wrong.” By eliminating any nuance from this scene, de la Durantaye indulges in the unimaginative trope of a woman whose motivations can all be traced back to a man and the act of violence he has committed against her. Why do men love writing about sexual assault? Hannah’s BRAT

The novel deteriorates into formulaic banalities about the very subjects de la Durantaye set out to complicate

rape is the catalyst for every one of her subsequent actions, the single defining event of her life that drives her ravenous desire for revenge against her family. I could have overlooked all the other problems with this book if it were not for de la Durantaye’s callous use of assault as a means of articulating his misguided notions about victimhood and violence. Rape is not a plot device, and its use as such in “Hannah Versus the Tree” is the most egregious example of de la Durantaye’s lacking imagination. The whole book feels like a weak gesture at some undefined avantgarde ideal. It seeks to interrogate power, beauty, knowledge and capitalism, but it is missing the gravitas and compassion that could have elevated the novel beyond its structural weaknesses. By exchanging complexity of emotion for the complexity of construction, the novel deteriorates into formulaic banalities about the very subjects de la Durantaye set out to complicate. Simply put, “Hannah Versus the Tree” takes itself far too seriously.

SINGLE REVIEW: ‘NOWHERE2GO’

FLICKR

Almost exactly a month after Earl Sweatshirt released his second studio album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside, “solace,” a 10-minute extended single, emerged from Sweatshirt’s unofficial YouTube channel. Captioned with a vague, “Music for when I hit the bottom and found something,” it’s about as introspective as one can imagine. In between dissonant instrumental interludes and softly gliding synths, Sweatshirt raps about past addictions, loneliness and his grandma. It’s subject material that has been used in most of his past projects, from Doris to I Don’t Like Shit, yet, differing from both of these, “solace” presents something softer, a little more hopeful. “And I buy nothin’ by myself, my second thoughts, my sec,” he mumbles in the fourth section, stumbling into silence, before picking back up with, “My hands, I start to cry when I see them / Cause they remind me of seein’ her / These the times when I need her the

most cause I feel defeated.” On their own, the verses drag with a melancholic weight, yet the piano in background is open and

“Nowhere2Go” Earl Sweatshirt Tan Cressida gentle; in complete emptiness, there is always solace to be found, he seems to be saying. When rock bottom has been hit, there is nowhere to go but up. This past week, Earl Sweatshirt, after three years of nearly complete silence, dropped “Nowhere2Go.” When I listened to it for the first time — and nearly every other time after that — I was inexplicably reminded of “solace.” Lyrically, “Nowhere2Go” isn’t as darkly intimate: “I found a new way to cope / It ain’t no slave to my soul / But I keep the memories close by,” he raps in a steady march. Yet, both songs share a similar vulnerability,

the looping drum melody of “Nowhere2Go” inducing the same effect as “solace”’s wandering lo-fi ambiance — a subtle optimism that was rarely seen amid the bleakness of I Don’t Like Shit or Doris’s chaotic whorl. “Nowhere2Go” isn’t a single in the traditional sense. Rather, it seems to serve as an introduction of what’s to come, a snippet of a new sound that Sweatshirt has been toying with since “solace.” After all, you can barely hear Sweatshirt deliver his bars underneath “Nowhere2Go”’s heavy production, and this seems to be intentional. Languidly, he throws out monorhymes alongside more complex rhythms, and both are allowed to surface organically, free-flowing from the clutter. The result is something drowsily thoughtful: ideas that Earl Sweatshirt’s been mulling over in his head for a while but has only just now found out how to put into words. – Shima Sadaghiyani, Daily Music Editor

New Brat pack forms as Disney’s tween reign ends ALLY OWENS

Daily Arts Writer

To attain a firm grasp on what in the actual fuck the digital programming platform Brat is, we need to discuss the nuance between the young people that comprise Generation Z. Generation Z encompasses anyone born between 1997 and 2009, but as anyone born between 1997 and 2009 will tell you, this is not the full truth. As a result of the dawn of the smartphone and easier internet accessibility, our generation is in many ways fragmented by way of extreme differences in childhoods. Generation Z is comprised of two distinct sectors: those who watched their chaste crushes on Nick Jonas evolve into sexually charged feelings towards Harry Styles and those who (unironically) crush on Noah Centineo and Jacob Sartorius. Some of us remember big drama unfolding on G-chat, while others can only recall Snapchat. Most importantly, while some of us were raised on a television diet consisting of Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney Channel with occasional sprinkles of YouTube for clips or music, the younger sector’s entertainment is almost completely based on YouTube. Nowhere else is this difference between us as apparent than on the Brat network. For those not cool enough to be in the know about the hottest children’s programming, Brat is a new digital network created by app developer Rob Fishman, with content that is targeted at the eight- to 13-year-old demographic. Armed with $40 million from investors, Fishman’s goal with Brat was to steer YouTube away from the monotony of vlog content and short-form Vine style comedy and transform it into a legitimate platform that not only offers the former, but also can serve as a real competitor to television. In his pursuit of the ubiquity of networks like Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, Fishman has decided to tamper with the formula in some ways to great success. Banking on the community of the Internet that largely defines the younger sector of Generation Z, Fishman has shrewdly taken a shortcut; rather than awaiting a team of executives to discover and mold an unknown, Brat is hiring viral teen sensations. By bringing aboard and crafting vehicles around tweens who have already amassed a huge following on apps like Tik Tok (R.I.P. Musical.ly), the only thing needed to promote the shows are the names of the minicelebrities. Shows on Brat are billed as “Annie” and “Hayden” in “Chicken Girls” or “Kehlani” and “Taylor” in “Dirt.” To put their fame in perspective, all of them are apparently big enough to their respective fanbases to be recognized as mononyms. Whereas in the past, the project (a “High School Musical,” for example) would

do the job of promoting thenunknown actors, on Brat the reverse is true. If a show needs to land, they will shove in someone that they know their preteen masses will love. It almost sounds too easy, yet the system is clearly working — a little over a year after its initial launch, Brat is surpassing its creator’s expectations, with at least 10 individual shows being cranked out so fast that some are already in their third season, and are averaging at least three million views per episode. Fishman and company also take advantage of the lack of sophistication of Brat’s primary audience. For someone

Fishman has shrewdly taken a shortcut; rather than awaiting a team of executives to discover and mold an unknown, Brat is hiring viral teen sensations

who is reportedly backed by investors with $40 million to craft an online network from scratch, the quality of the product should not look as pathetic as it does. The sets look laughably fake. Not one person on Brat’s payroll can act. The central stars, the tertiary characters and even the adults act as though they have never processed the English language before. Even more hilariously, there is little consideration given to casting characters who look their age that it took me an entire season of “Chicken Girls” to decipher which grade the characters were in. However, the joke is not on Fishman for producing lackluster content. At the end of the day, he is still profiting immensely. Brat is not trying to boast the newest crop of teenage acting phenomena, and they’re not apologizing for not doing so. Brat is all gimmicks, no talent. The gimmicks have only become more evident in Brat’s quest to outdo Disney — to do what Disney has never been able to do. Even in its inaugural year, Brat has undergone rapid image reconstruction to shed its innocent children’s television persona and tackle melodrama. Nowhere is this shift as clear as on its f lagship show, “Chicken Girls.” In season one of the show (aired

in Sept. 2017), the central drama was wholesome, clean fun — drama between two middle school dance teams, characters being too afraid to kiss boys and hanging out in the neighborhood arcade. Season three (currently airing) has taken a drastically different approach. Nine episodes into season three and I have already witnessed plotlines related to underage tattoos, school vandalism, open mouth kisses with boys at parties, peer pressure from older girls, frank discussions of sexuality, infidelity and using boys as pawns to gain popularity. Someone get me my church fan. In addition to these drastic changes within one series, Brat has also seen its cleaner content like “BroBot” and “Overnights” canceled in favor of “Dirt,” a new series that is so dangerous that, without a doubt, millions of pre-teen girls across America will be sneaking to watch it after their parents have gone to sleep. Kids are poppin’ pills (granted, it’s Ibuprofen) on “Dirt.” If anything, Brat’s rapid rebranding indicates a mastery of PR, but on a more haunting level, a knowledge of how to straddle the line between innocence and adult content all for the sake of views and profit. So what does the boom in YouTube celebrity mean for the fate of old standards like Disney Channel and Nickelodeon? While the two still retain the upper hand in terms of recognizability, this recognizability can act as a double-edged sword — because the powerhouses have been operating under the same system, wherein being risqué has always been a hard “no,” if they were to abruptly shift their image it would come across as solely opportunistic and soulless. With Dan Schneider’s ousting at Nickelodeon (among murky accusations) and Disney’s failure to produce stars of the magnitude of the golden era of Miley, Selena and Demi, it seems that Brat is the only network that is daring to do something — granted, icky — different from the typical formula of television targeted pre-teens. Brat seems to be one step ahead of Disney and Nick in all respects. Brat also has actor/ singers akin to the storied traditions of Disney and Nick, but they are strategically advertising their own station on Spotify during their shows. Disney and Nick may have episodes posted on YouTube, but while they cost money to view, every episode of every series on Brat is free. Brat also has an acute understanding of playing up the popular “ships” of characters on their series, in order for the subsequent frenzy to lead to more views and more interaction with their content. Brat and its shows may appear to be a joke to you and me — a 20-year-old woman who chooses to spend free time ridiculing children’s television — but it would be foolish to underestimate the seismic shift in television we are bearing witness to.

Arts

6— Thursday, November 15, 2018

COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN

Offensive humor and forced introspection This past weekend, my friend and I went to see “Candide.” After the show, we couldn’t stop talking about the controversial and potentially offensive nature of some of the jokes. For those unfamiliar with the show, much of the humor revolves around seemingly impossible sequences of negative events befalling various characters. My friend was particularly struck by a long sequence in which the audience laughs as Cunegonde recalls being stabbed, repeatedly raped, left to die and then almost buried alive — the humor comes in that she somehow escapes from this sequence of events entirely unchanged. This conversation got me thinking about other examples of over-the-top, offensive humor. I’m a huge fan of “The Book of Mormon,” for example, and it has many examples of this. One example that comes to mind is a character interrupting happy moments throughout the play by repeatedly singing “I still have maggots in my scrotum.” Another example is the song “Sal Tlay Ka Siti,” in which the audience invariably laughs at an African character’s misconception of American society. Statements such as “I’ll bet the goat-meat there is plentiful / And they have vitamin injections by the case,” or “The war-lords there are friendly… And there’s a Red Cross on every corner / With all the flour you can eat,” are always greeted with laughter despite their potential offensive nature. What makes this humor acceptable in a society becoming increasingly cognizant of unconscious biases and offensive stereotypes? As my friend said, why were these statements acceptably humorous in context though they would obviously have been offensive out of context? Could my laughing at these statements be seen as condoning these stereotypes? Does my laughter minimize our collective awareness of the harm of these stereotypes? Initially, I will admit, the distinction between agreeing with these stereotypes and finding humor in them seemed insignificant. In both instances, I thought, not challenging these stereotypes ingrains them. This distinction seemed superficial — beneath this façade of laughter or tacit acceptance lies a negative stereotype that gives the statement context and meaning. Unless we call out these statements, are we not allowing them to spread under the surface? With more analysis, however, the distinction between laughter and agreement could not be clearer. While laughing at these jokes out of context is indeed offensive, laughing at them in context is the opposite of offensive. Laughing in context indicates that we are aware of the offensive tropes

or discriminatory assumptions that allow for this humor. Humor, after all, is the juxtaposition of two illogical or contradictory concepts. We laugh because we witness something unexpected, illogical or otherwise atypical. We laugh because we are aware of the contradiction that makes a statement humorous and not simply meaningful. Laughing at jokes such as those described above indicate that we understand the stereotype

SAMMY SUSSMAN that makes them humorous. In “Candide,” for example, the audience laughs at the long list of negative events because it clashes both with the unrealistic positivity that we expect of an operetta and the amount of unluckiness that we think could ever befall one person. Rather than condoning or tacitly accepting this long chain of negative events, we laugh specifically because we know them to be improbable, if not impossible. Humor proves that we have analyzed the play on multiple levels and focused in on a glaring contradiction between what we think is possible and what the play has told us is possible. In “The Book of Mormon,” the complexity of African society contradicts the stereotypes of “developing country” simplicity pervasive throughout American culture. The seemingly absurd statements in “Sal Tlay Ka Siti” are thus humorous in that they demonstrate to us the inherent impossibility of these stereotypes. Through the singer’s confused understanding of American society, we begin to see how flawed our conception of African society is. The play holds a mirror to our unconscious biases, reflecting them back on us in the form of a glaringly stereotypical representation of Africans dreaming of American society. This concept of humor relates to my understanding of art and my views on what constitutes “good” art. I view good art as art that makes us question our beliefs and reassess our unconscious biases. It touches us on an emotional level, bypassing the intellect and provoking new lines of thought. It is emotionally complex, allowing for endless interpretation, and it communicates something about the human condition that transcends the limitations

of any specific time period or culture. Good humor, I realized, does much the same thing. Humor trains the mind to be skeptical, to question information against our expectations and find statements so illogical as to be humorous. And while this humor can be based on offensive statements, the effect of this offensive humor is actually the opposite of offensive, as it forces us to become conscious of the stereotypes and biases that make the statement humorous. Unless we are aware of an underlying stereotype, we cannot find a statement to be funny. Humor can even be effective in fighting white nationalism. In an article in The New York Times last year, for example, Tina Rosenberg describes an unconventional and surprisingly effective means of fighting neo-Nazism. After years of staging counterprotests at neo-Nazi events to little success, some American towns have begun humorously mocking event participants. Groups such as the “Coup Clutz Clowns” greet white nationalist protesters with confetti and shouts of “white flour” (an intentional misunderstanding of cries of “white power”). White nationalists feed off the victimization and the need for hyper-masculine aggression that serious counter-protests provoke. Counter-protesting with humor deprives these white nationalists of the attention, fear and power they seek. Though some would argue that reacting to these events with humor willfully ignores the severity of the threat that they pose, this humor proves to be incredibly effective in depriving those in the movement of the hypermasculine validation they seek. Humor is thus an incredibly effective tool not for building up ideas but for tearing down opposing ideas. Humor forces us to be skeptical, to accept nothing at face value; humor brings even the most ingrained unconscious biases to the realm of the conscious and intentional. When used well, it exposes contradiction without allowing for a counterargument. And though it can be offensive on the surface, humor predicated on an inoffensive and unprejudiced worldview is ultimately anything but offensive. It functions much as my understanding of good art functions, provoking an immediate emotional reaction that lays the groundwork for lengthy, complex thought on the ambiguities of the human condition. And if this whole column can be generated from one potentially offensive joke in an operetta, imagine what can be generated from a series of jokes! The possibilities abound for those willing to take this Matrix-esque red pill of skepticism.

BOOKS EVENT

Susan Orlean at the Ann Arbor District Library TESSA ROSE

Daily Arts Writer

At some point in our lives, we will allow ourselves to be consumed by something, kindled by the f lames of art, sex, passion or whatever else transcends you beyond the mortal realm of existence. If we weren’t curious about something or hungry for knowledge, we would be left on empty, our own f lames extinguished.

Susan Orlean, a journalist for The New Yorker and acclaimed author of “The Orchid Thief” (the basis for Oscar-winning, Meryl Streep-starring 2002 film “Adaptation”), had her own fascination sparked by the Los Angeles library fire of 1986. The f lames that devoured over 400,000 library books was a travesty to page after page of history, memories and untainted knowledge. Beyond the content inside, the library building itself was a mecca for connection among people and

words that left patrons with a reviving sense of community and ineffable nostalgia. Last Thursday night in the Ann Arbor District Library, aisles were filled with admirers of Orlean’s endearment towards library books and the worlds they hold inside. Orlean’s curiosity surrounding this tragic event prompted her latest release, “The Library Book,” a biography that peers into why libraries and library books are cherished as sacred spaces across the globe.

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Orlean’s work consisted of investigating the arrest of the young man possessed by his dream of stardom and the subsequent legal case surrounding his arson. The results were in: 45,000 works of literature, 9,000 business books, 6,000 magazines, 18,000 social science books, 12,000 cookbooks (including six books of popcorn recipes) and numerous other devastated book categories making the recovery attempt the largest on record. All of the books were wet from the firefighters’s attempt to put out the f lames. The only way to salvage some more time for the books to have a chance at restoration was for them to be frozen. The library reached out to various food companies in L.A. that had freezers large enough to store hundreds of thousands of damaged library books. “They shoved aside the broccoli and the shrimp. And the books were frozen for 6 years,” Orlean said. While writing “The Library Book,” Orlean’s mother was diagnosed with dementia. “I came across an expression that is used in Senegal when someone dies, and rather than saying that he or she died, you say his or her library has burned,” Orlean said. As Orlean watched her own mother’s library burn down, she finally recognized the power libraries have to retain things eternally

while humans fade closer to oblivion with each passing inhale and exhale. “Each of us in a sense as our own private library, our own set of volumes of stories and vignettes. Libraries in a

If we weren’t curious about something or hungry for knowledge, we would be left on empty, our own flames extinguished

way replicate what we have inside ourselves, a collection of information that defines who we are, who we’ve been and who we dream of being,” Orlean said. There’s a reason that

burning books seems like a heinous crime against humanity, and to Orlean, it is because books preserve who we are. For this same reason, oppressive regimes burn books as a method of terror against other nations, sending the message that “you don’t exist.” “The number of books burned in World War II and libraries burned is the single greatest loss of books in the history of civilization,” Orlean stated. Books become extensions of ourselves that preserve culture, history, science and all other bits and pieces of human thought rendered into ink-inscribed words on paper. Orlean concluded the event with a reading from the end of “The Library Book” that best captures the sentimentality of libraries: “The library is so big that I can feel private. Almost like a secret place,” she said. The idea, it seemed, was that libraries connect people with ideas, cultivating spaces for the embers of passion and inspiration to be set ablaze. “The silence was more soothing than solemn. The library is a good place to sulk in solitude. A place where you feel part of a conversation that has gone on for hundreds and hundreds of years even when you’re all alone... You don’t need to take a book off of a shelf to know there is a voice inside that is waiting to speak to you.”

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HELP WANTED Release Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Passé saver of fave programs 4 Energized 11 Sales add-on 14 Parseghian of Notre Dame 15 “Alas, it’s true” 16 Juan Perón’s wife 17 Level the playing field? 18 Was felt very strongly 19 Say no to 20 Medicare section 22 Big name in shoe stores 23 “Same here” 25 Camper’s heater 27 Links targets 28 *Fresh face in a newsroom 32 ORD airport postings 34 Get hitched on the run 35 Giant in nonstick sauté pans 38 Big oafs 40 Saw 41 Galaxy, e.g. 42 Practice frugality 43 Tense NFL periods 44 “Bleeding Love” singer Lewis 45 Beat in a pie contest, say 47 Booted out 48 Turncoat 50 Cable network since 1972 51 Error the answers to starred clues might make 58 *Fresh face at online gaming 59 *With 60-Across, fresh face at a dojo 60 *See 59-Across 62 “Try again” 63 Zeus’ shield 64 Bike signal 65 Website for handmade jewelry 66 Egg holders 67 “Match Game” host Baldwin

DOWN 1 Improvises, in jazz 2 Dubrovnik resident 3 *Fresh face at boot camp 4 Site with many home pages? 5 CalArts degree 6 Await a decision 7 George of “MacGyver” 8 Picked from the deck 9 Find a place for 10 Keith Haring genre 11 *Fresh face in the Boy Scouts 12 French postcard word 13 Graph line 21 “I wouldn’t lie” 24 Is really boiling 26 Mining find 27 Hurdle for a future Ph.D. 29 Red Muppet 30 Frost, e.g. 31 Goes (for) 32 Too 33 Amazon Fire TV Stick alternative

36 Hathaway of “Ocean’s 8” 37 Take charge of 39 __ plug 41 Plum-apricot hybrid 46 Where bubble tea originated 47 Persistently haunt 49 Little laugh 50 “Start the music!”

51 Carrot or turnip 52 “My bad” 53 Follow orders 54 “Top Gun” enemy planes 55 “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” group 56 Ship’s backbone 57 Glamour rival 58 Mobile-toKnoxville dir. 61 Dr. Mom’s skill

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11/15/18

Sports

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Brown calls Rutgers play “wake-up” call MIKE PERSAK

Managing Sports Editor

It’s hard to find lapses in the Michigan football team’s defense. Over the last few weeks, the fourth-ranked Wolverines have dominated on every side of the ball, but especially when the opponent has the ball. They have given up just 34 points in the last four games and have the No. 1 total defense in the country. So when Michigan traveled to Piscataway to take on Rutgers, the Big Ten’s perennial bottomfeeder, it was expected to be a blowout the whole way, with the Wolverines’ defense smothering the worst offense in the conference. For the most part, that was what happened. If it weren’t for an 80-yard touchdown run from running back Isiah Pacheco, the Scarlet Knights would have been held scoreless with fewer than 200 yards. “Well thought-out play,”

said defensive coordinator Don Brown on the play. “They lined up three backs in the backfield, they motioned one of them out, we made the adjustment nicely. They brought that guy back and faked the reverse with him and we lost one of our edges and the safety who had him man-toman was adjusting to him. But we lost the edge to the defense — the back edge — and it got out.” Of course, in the grand scheme of things, the play doesn’t really matter. But it can serve some purpose for a defense that has done nearly all that is asked of it. For one, Michigan is still chasing its first shutout of the season. In fact, it hasn’t shut a team out in two seasons — the last coming in 2016 against Rutgers. That was a focus when the Wolverines faced Penn State two weeks ago, as they nowfamously wanted revenge for the Nittany Lions’ beatdown over them in 2017. But Michigan

couldn’t get it done then thanks to a late, garbage-time touchdown. And on Saturday against the Scarlet Knights, the Wolverines once again fell just short of the shutout, thanks to Pacheco’s run. The second way the play serves a purpose is as a bit of a wake-up call. Before Michigan played Rutgers, the Wolverines played, and beat, three-straight ranked teams. The Scarlet Knights, along with Indiana this week, make this part of the schedule inarguably easier than what Michigan just endured. Perhaps because of that, Brown said his team needed a wake-up call last Wednesday, so he yelled at them a little bit. Pacheco’s run had a similar effect. “That was a wake-up call for me,” Brown said. With a defense this good, that’s about the only call they need.

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Defensive coordinator Don Brown says Rutgers’ touchdown tun was a “wake-up” call for him.

Thursday, November 15, 2018 — 7

Warriner says ‘M’ exceeds expectations

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Offensive line coach Ed Warriner has taken over and helped Michigan’s offensive line steadily improve.

MIKE PERSAK

Managing Sports Editor

When the Michigan football team hired Ed Warriner as an offensive analyst last offseason, it was unclear what his immediate role would be. Warriner had always been an offensive line coach at Division I programs across the country, but the Wolverines already had an offensive line coach and run-game coordinator in Tim Drevno. But Drevno left the program for Southern California, and Warriner was promoted to take his place. “I wanted to be a part of this program, and I knew that I would contribute in whatever role I had,” Warriner said. “And then it came to be, probably a few weeks after I got here, and so there was no promises or anything like that going into it. So I just came here to be a guy to help in any way, shape or form. “Then when the

opportunity presented itself and (coach Jim Harbaugh) said, ‘You’ve got the line,’ of course I was ecstatic about that.” In hindsight, that move may have made all the difference for Michigan’s offense. The offensive line, which was under fire all of last season, has improved as this season has gone on. It’s to the point now where that unit may be one of the Wolverines’ strengths. That was unthinkable in years past. “I’m really pleased at where they’re at,” Warriner said Wednesday. “So we’re headed in the right direction. We keep getting better and better. I think we’ve grown a lot. I still think there’s some room to squeeze a little more juice out of it, and we’re gonna try to do that.” The growth of his position group may have shaped how Warriner feels about his experience in general.

He said he expected big things when he came from Ann Arbor — stemming from the beginning of his career when he was at West Point coaching Army and much of the staff there had previously been at Michigan. Even with that, Warriner says being a part of the Wolverines’ program has exceeded expectations. “Michigan is what I thought it would be — the University, the athletic department, what (athletic director Warde Manuel has) got going here, what (coach Jim Harbaugh has) got going here,” Warriner said. “But for me, it’s been better, but it was all gonna be about how much could I impact the group I had, and could they get them where they could help this team play at a championship level? So that’s been very fulfilling. But my expectation was this is a place that’s as good as it gets, and it is as good as it gets.”

Garrett Van Wyhe, fourth line looking to add secondary scoring threat BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer

From his first game in a Michigan hockey sweater, Garrett Van Wyhe made an impact. In the Wolverines’ season opener against Vermont, Van Wyhe witnessed the Catamounts hit sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes from behind multiple times. The freshman forward had enough of his teammate taking unnecessary hits and got in the face of the Vermont player, seemingly telling him to back off Hughes. For the rest of the game, Hughes was relatively unscathed. “I don’t like taking penalties, but sticking up for our teammates is one of the things that morally, I think is all right,” Van Wyhe said Wednesday. “I’m not gonna just let our team get bullied, and I’m gonna make sure that everyone knows that I’m gonna stick up for my guys. … They’re my brothers, so I’ve got their backs.” But outside of standing up for his teammates, Van Wyhe hasn’t had a huge impact on the stat sheet. He has started as the fourth-line center in all nine games for No. 16 Michigan (5-4 overall, 1-1 Big Ten), but his linemates changed throughout the first few weeks, making line chemistry — and offensive success — more difficult. In the last couple weeks, it seems that the line has settled in with freshman forward Nolan Moyle and sophomore forward Dakota Raabe on the left and right wings, respectively. Van Wyhe, Moyle and Raabe have found some chances to score since they’ve been playing together, but across the three of them, Raabe is the only

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Freshman center Garrett Van Wyhe made an impact physically in Michigan’s opening game of the season against Vermont, but he and his linemates haven’t been able to string offensive production together.

one who has found twine. The first and second lines are carrying the Wolverines on offense to this point, with 37 combined points — compared to the nine combined across the bottom two lines. That’s an unsustainable recipe across a full season. “We’re still trying to find some scoring from some different people,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “We’ve got a couple lines that are carrying us. We need some other guys to kick in here

“We’ve got a couple lines that are carrying us.”

and there, and obviously that secondary scoring.” Now that the players seem to be locked into positions, it could be Van Wyhe, Moyle and Raabe that help the Wolverines find that secondary scoring they’ll need through the rest of the season. In the 2-1 win against Notre Dame on Nov. 9, it was that fourth line of forwards that kept the game moving in Michigan’s favor. It seemed that nearly every time they were on the ice, they were stealing the puck from the Fighting Irish or putting pressure on goaltender Cale Morris. “They’ve controlled the play in the other team’s offensive zone when they’ve been out

there, and that’s what you’re looking for,” Pearson said. “They’ve been good momentum changers, too. There’s been a couple times in games we’re playing in our zone, we throw them out there and they change the momentum and they play in the other team’s zone, so good for them. We’re gonna need that.” Now, it seems, the only thing left for Van Wyhe, Raabe and Moyle is to break through on the stat sheet. The scoring chances are coming more and more frequently, but they haven’t found consistent success on those chances yet. With Van Wyhe as the center of the line, the offense is expected to f low through

him. Pearson said he’s good at distributing the puck but added that some of his open shots have caught him a bit off guard. “I think he’s pretty right on that one,” Van Wyhe said when told of his coach’s comments. “I think I get a little too anxious if I find myself with a little more time than I thought and kinda just get in my own head. Calming down is kinda the perfect term for it. Just rely on my instincts and be able to bury chances.”

When Van Wyhe and the rest of his linemates get the chemistry they need, they’ll be valuable additions to the Wolverines’ offense. And the chemistry has improved every game they’ve played together, so it seems to be only a matter of time before there’s a breakthrough. “They’ve got the potential to score,” Pearson said. “I think once they get a little more chemistry and once they kick in a couple, that dam’s gonna break, and look out.”

“Once they kick in a couple, that dam’s gonna break.”

Sports

8 —Thursday, November 15, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Philly Special ‘M’ avenges national championship Stubborn defense fuels Wolverines loss to Nova with blowout, 73-46 win as they hold Wildcats to 46 points THEO MACKIE

Daily Sports Writer

VILLANOVA, Pa. — This was not supposed to happen. Last April, Villanova took the floor in San Antonio and put on a spectacular display of basketball dominance. The Wildcats seemingly scored at will, while suffocating the Michigan men’s basketball team on the other end. Wednesday night in Villanova, history was supposed to repeat itself. And it did — except that the roles were reversed, with the 18th-ranked Wolverines (3-0 overall) jumping out to an early lead and never looking back in a stunning, 73-46 win. If anything went as expected on Wednesday, it was Michigan’s defensive dominance. After allowing just 13 points in the second half of Saturday’s win over Holy Cross, they limited the eighth-ranked Wildcats (2-1) to 17 first half points on 6-of-25 shooting. Postgame, Villanova coach Jay Wright was asked what went wrong for his team. Midway through a lengthy self-reflection on the Wildcats’ performance, he stopped and corrected himself. “Number one: their defense.” At half time, Villanova trailed in all but two categories — personal fouls and turnovers. The Wildcats finished with two more free throws than the Wolverines but the turnover disparity remained, as they finished with 21 — seven more than their made field goal tally. “We really are gonna probably be as good as our defense is gonna be this year,” said coach John Beilein. “And it was really good today.” “People ask, ‘well what’s this scheme or what did you do?’ We have really good individual defenders, including our big guy Jon Teske. They’re really good at picking you apart and finding a weakness. We didn’t have many weaknesses individually on defense today and that was a big difference.” Eight minutes into the first half, Michigan had already

quieted a raucous Villanova crowd by building an early 14-8 lead. That wasn’t enough for Beilein, who replaced junior center Jon Teske with freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis and shifted sophomore forward Isaiah Livers to the ‘5,’ where he would remain until Teske returned with 25 seconds left in the half. By that point, the Wolverines led, 44-17. Livers made a dramatic introduction to his new position, pulling up from just beyond the 3-point arc to hit Michigan’s second consecutive 3-pointer and start a 25-5 run, but his biggest impact came on the defensive end. “(Livers) allows us, with a driving big like they have, he can stay in front of him,” Beilein said “… And then, hitting those two 3s in the first half really was big for us. You’ve watched our games, you know right now, we were struggling getting open shots from outside. He knocked down those two 3s. Added Wright: “If they’re with (Livers) at the ‘five’ and he’s the biggest guy and he’s guarding our guards, that’s a hell of a team.” But much like against Holy Cross, it was Brazdeikis and redshirt junior forward Charles Matthews leading the way for the Wolverines. Matthews led all scorers with 19 points — including 16 in the first half. His most ferocious two came with the game teetering on the edge of a blowout, as Michigan led with 26-13 with 6:29 to play in the first half. Livers missed a layup under the hoop, but Matthews elevated above multiple Villanova would-be rebounders to slam home a twohanded dunk before flexing to the crowd. “I just play and let my passion take over,” Matthews said. “It was an exciting game, it was a

“We really are gonna probably be as good as our defense.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Freshman wing Ignas Brazdeikis (left) took a key charge early in Michigan’s 73-46 win over Villanova.

fun game and I got the dunk, and I just screamed. I didn’t know what else to do.” Livers made amends on the next possession with his second three of the day. Sophomore guard Jordan Poole followed up with an isolation three over forward Jermaine Samuels before Brazdeikis completed an and-one to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 24. If the Wildcats had any suppositions of a secondhalf comeback, junior guard Zavier Simpson — Michigan’s defensive star all night — quickly put those to rest with a basket, steal, and fastbreak assist to put the Wolverines up 32 within two minutes. From there, the rest of the game — much like the closing minutes of the national championship — was little more than a formality. Only this time, it was Michigan exhibiting its dominance. “Whatever the final score was,” Wright said, “it wasn’t that close.” Safe to say, that is not something the defending national champions were planning to say about a 27-point defeat.

“Whatever the final score was, it wasn’t that close.”

JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer

VILLANOVA, Pa. — It happened exactly as John Beilein expected. On Villanova’s second possession, senior forward Eric Paschall drove the lane, right at Ignas Brazdeikis. With Paschall’s 40-pound weight advantage and three more years of college experience, it should have been an easy two points. Instead, the freshman held his ground, absorbed the contact and took the charge. “We thought they’d isolate him and go right at him,” Beilein said. “And he stuck right in there and drew a charge. That was moving his feet. Many players come in as freshmen, they aren’t ready to do that or it wears them out … His endurance and his toughness today were outstanding.” It’s hard to point to the defining moment of a blowout like the 27-point shellacking Michigan unleashed on the Wildcats Wednesday night. But just 78 seconds into the game, Brazdeikis had set the tone. The freshman forward from Ontario, Canada joined the Wolverines with a reputation for scoring. A knack for shutdown defense doesn’t show up on his scouting report. It did, however, appear on Wednesday’s boxscore. Brazdeikis stifled Paschall all night, forcing him into an uncharacteristic

3-for-14 shooting night and just 10 points, and matching the Villanova power forward on every one of his drives to the basket. “Iggy’s kind of like a mini pit bull,” said redshirt junior forward Charles Matthews. “He’s not scared of anything. He took the challenge, played against a good four-man. He came out there, just played hard, played smart and tried the best he can.” With Michigan boasting elite defenders such as Matthews junior guard Zavier Simpson and junior center Jon Teske, it makes sense why the Wildcats tried to attack Brazdeikis, sensing a relative soft spot in the nation’s third most efficient defense. It didn’t work — and neither did anything else. “They’re really good at picking you apart and finding a weakness,” Beilein said. “We didn’t have many weaknesses individually on defense today.” Meanwhile, the pre-perceived strengths of the Wolverines’ defense remained strengths. Simpson — the fiery, hard-nosed leader of the unit — racked up a whopping six steals while relentlessly hounding point guard Collin Gillespie into five turnovers to just three assists, which prevented Villanova from finding any rhythm offensively. “He’s just such a tough kid and he’s tough to get off the floor, sometimes I have to drag him off the floor,” Beilein said. “... (His teammates) look at him and they see leadership all over him.”

Added Villanova coach Jay Wright: “Every time (Gillespie) caught it, they were in on him. That’s why he was driving so much, and when he was driving they were just banging the hell out of him, not letting him go by them.” Matthews, meanwhile, matched up with shooting guard Phil Booth, who came into the contest averaging 20 points per game. All night long, Matthews’ range and athleticism thwarted the Wildcats’ normally lethal perimeter attack, closing out hard on 3-point shots, recording two blocked shots and holding Booth to nine points on 2-for-8 shooting. Beilein noted that Villanova shot just 15 3-pointers on Wednesday — less than half of its season average, and an essential ingredient in Michigan’s victory. Matthews’ length and athleticism were huge reasons why. “He’s just active. His defense is what’s making us right now,” Beilein said. “Booth is a heck of a player. A heck of a player. So Charles is relentless when you give him a matchup like that.” The Wildcats had no more luck dealing with the Wolverines’ big men, either. Teske is known for his prowess in the paint, but Wednesday showcased a different side of his game. Michigan often defended Villanova’s ball screens by switching Teske onto the ball handler, and the 7-foot-1 giant proved he was no statue. “Most teams, if you switch a ball-screen, they’re not gonna get more complicated after,” Beilein said. “So Jon can do that. Jon can really move his feet, and that was very obvious today.” Last season, the Wildcats possessed the second-most efficient offense in the KenPom era. On Wednesday, Villanova scored just 46 points total. It shot 31.8 percent from the field and 20 percent from behind the 3-point line. It had more turnovers (21) than made field goals (14). And for Michigan, it was the entire team — Simpson all the way down to the unheralded Brazdeikis — that made such a performance possible. “Their defense was very physical, very aggressive, and really locked in to their scouting report,” Wright said. “... They’re playing with Brazdeikis at the ‘5’, and he’s the biggest guy and he’s guarding our guards. “That’s a hell of a team.”

Michigan looking to continue growth against Western Michigan CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer

For a relatively young Michigan women’s basketball team, every game is another opportunity to grow. A Thursday night trip to Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan (1-1) is no different. Though the Wolverines (1-0) may have Big Ten title aspirations come the end of the season, their goals are much less ambitious at the moment. “I think the team is just focusing on getting better each and everyday,” said senior g uard Nicole Munger. “We’re looking to be the best team we can be, and that’s going to take some time but everybody is enthusiastic about the process.” Michigan is coming off a dominant home opener against Mount St. Mary’s, where its starters combined for 62 points en route to an 88-40 win. The Wolverines’ defense was a bit shaky in the first quarter, allowing Mount St. Mary’s to score nearly half their total points within the first quarter. The offense picked up the slack though. Senior center Hallie Thome, specifically, got

anything she wanted. With Michigan in control, coach Kim Barnes Arico could afford to empty the bench and give freshmen some valuable game experience. Forward Naz Hillmon scored 10 points, while g uards Ariel Young and Emily Kiser pitched in four points each. There wasn’t much to complain about from Barnes Arico’s perspective, but with some tough tests coming up at the end of November, every minute detail counts. So as Michigan turns its attention to the Broncos, the team’s focus is on starting strong. “I think for the entire team, freshmen included, it’s important that we come out of the gates ready to play for 40 minutes,” Barnes Arico said. “I think that’s happened to us the past couple of games where we came out kinda comfortable and in the first quarter they scored a lot more baskets than we would’ve liked. Once we settle down and follow the game plan, I think we were able to stop them and really do a good job. So the goal is really to play that way for 40 minutes.” If the Wolverines hope to accomplish this, their defense will have to be cognizant of

Western Michigan’s forward Leighah-Amori Wool. The sophomore starter is averaging 18 points through the Broncos’ first two games. Though most of Western Michigan’s other contributors are experienced upperclassmen, none of them present the scoring threat that Wool does. As a result, the Michigan lineup should be well-equipped to deal with

them. The Wolverines’ leng th should also help their cause. Much like Mount St. Mary’s, Western Michigan’s lineup doesn’t feature a player taller than six feet — Wool being the tallest. Down low, Thome and 6-foot-2 sophomore Hailey Brown should be able to take advantage. Following Western

Michigan, Michigan will return home for a game against Detroit Mercy, before its schedule really heats up Thanksgiving weekend at the Gulf Coast Showcase. “We’re going down to Florida to play Missouri in the opening round,” Barnes Arico said. “In that tournament, dependent on how things shake out, we can have an

opportunity to play Texas and Duke too. So three top-25 programs: boom, boom, boom. Those early-season tests in the non-leag ue will only help prepare us for leag ue play.” With all that said, priority number one for the Wolverines right now is their game against Western Michigan and the learning opportunity that comes with it.

“I think the team is just focusing on getting better.”

MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily

Freshman point guard Amy Dilk and the rest of the Michigan women’s basketball team is looking to continue its steady improvement against Western Michigan.