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CAMPUS LIFE
Closure of ‘U’ buildings affects work for students Before renovations, the Union held a job fair for new employment opportunities SAYALI AMIN
Daily Staff Reporter
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Pete Souza, former Chief Official White House Photographer for the Obama Administration, signs copies of his book “Shade” after speaking at Rackham Auditorium Monday night.
Former Chief Official White House Photographer takes on resistance
Pete Souza speaks before sold-out Rackham audience on Obama versus Trump JULIA FANZERES Daily Staff Reporter
On Jan. 22, 2017, two days after President Donald Trump was inaugurated into office, former White House photographer Pete Souza posted a picture on Instagram of President Barack Obama sitting on his desk with red curtains in the background with the caption “I like these drapes better than the new ones. Don’t you think?” This photo came shortly after
Trump redecorated his office with gold ornate drapes. After posting the picture, Souza recalls someone commented he was “dropping shade” at Trump. After looking “shade” up in the dictionary, he agreed. “Yep,” Souza said. “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Souza’s series of “Shady” Instagram posts have since been compiled into a book titled “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents,” which he discussed before a packed Rackham Auditorium Monday night at
the University of Michigan. The photobook he presented consists of headlines referencing the Trump administration on the right side, juxtaposed by a photograph of the Obama Administration on the left. Over the course of the night, Souza highlighted several of his most pertinent moments with the Obama administration, ranging from iconic photographs of the former president with children to the worst day in Obama’s presidency to his hopes for the future. Souza’s report in photojournalism
spans decades before being Obama’s White House photographer. In the early 1980s, he worked for the Chicago-Sun Times and in 1983 became a junior White House photographer at the request of the Ronald Reagan administration’s senior photo editor. While Souza noted he wasn’t initially sure if he should take the position, he decided it would be an incredible opportunity to pass up. “I was not politically aligned with Reagan,” he said. “I was essentially being hired by the See PHOTOGRAPHER, Page 2
With the renovation of the Michigan Union estimated to continue until early Winter 2020 and renovation of the Central Campus Recreational Building beginning in 2021, these facilities will remain closed due to construction. The University of Michigan Board of Regents approved both of these multimillion-dollar renovation projects, most recently the CCRB in September. The temporary closing of these facilities affects students across campus, including those who worked in these locations. The estimated $85,200,000 Michigan Union Renovation Project includes updates to the building’s exterior, increased student space, improved disability accessibility, an expansion to the Counseling and Psychological Services space and gender-neutral bathrooms. The CCRB project has a $150 million budget and will create a
new 200,000 square foot space for recreational sports and exercise. The University Unions and Recreational Sports — a subset of the CCRB — are both large providers of student employment. Susan Pile, the senior director of the University Unions, said approximately 100 students worked at the Union, excluding the employees of leased operations such as Starbucks or Panda Express. Every year, Student Life employs about 4,000 students in part-time, work-study, and temporary positions. These positions encompass customer services, rec sports, Michigan dining, information technology and more. According to Director of Recreational Sports Mike Widen, Recreational Sports as a whole employs more than 600 students per year. Student employees at the Union were informed of the renovation plans years before the building closed for construction. “We knew a few years prior to See EMPLOYMENT, Page 3
Ford prof. discusses impact of fake Assembly U-M no. 1 addresses news on 2016, 2018 election cycles in research
ACADEMICS
RESEARCH
enviroment resolution
Nyhan asserted media influence on elections more complex than many make out to be
CSG asks faculty body to clarify ‘U’ commitment on carbon neutrality by 2035
According to Public Policy professor Brendan Nyhan, fake news may have a more complex impact on the American public than experrts previously thought.
DANIELLE PASEKOFF
BEN ROSENFELD Daily Staff Reporter
For the last several years, Nyhan has been working on a comprehensive study of U.S. fake news consumption, aiming to determine the scope and influence of fake news on the political leanings of Americans. Nyhan presented the facts and implications of his research Monday
afternoon at the School of Information’s seminar “Who Reads Fake News?” About 25 faculty members were in attendance. Media literacy has been of interest to many on campus in the wake of the 2016 election. Last fall, the University offered a one-credit class on fake news to at help
students dispel bias in the media, while computer science researchers are building an algorithm deisgned to detect fake news better than human reviewers. Introducing his research, Nyhan said he wanted to investigate the tangible See ELECTION, Page 3
volume for eighth year
Expenditures on public universities research up along with federal funding MOLLY NORRIS
Daily Staff Reporter
Daily Staff Reporter
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs met Monday to discuss students’ resolutions to combat climate change, as well as converse with guest speakers about initiatives the University of Michigan administration is employing to improve student and faculty life on campus. The meeting began with a discussion of the recent Central Student Government resolution to encourage the University to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. CSG recently asked SACUA to join this effort to persuade the University to establish clear benchmarks and goals on its commitment to carbon neutrality. SACUA debated the accuracy of statistics cited in the CSG proposal, mentioning the necessity to ensure the proposal used reliable facts. After deliberation, the assembly agreed to support the goals of the proposal, but did not endorse it until it has been See ASSEMBLY, Page 3
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Public Policy professor Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist, discusses his research into who reads fake news and the role of Facebook in exposing people to it in a seminar at North Quad Monday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 38 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
University of Michigan expenditures on research reached a record high for the third year in a row in fiscal year 2018, and the school remained No. 1 in research volume across all public universities for the eighth year in a row, according to the National Science Foundation. The report stated the volume of research at the University increased by 4.4 percent from fiscal year 2017 — from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018, the volume of research at the University totaled $1.55 billion. The highest volume of research was at the Medical School, with $624.4 million dedicated to the school, followed by Engineering, LSA and the Institute of Social Research, all of which had research expenditures totaling greater than $100 million. In a press release from Michigan News, University President Mark Schlissel said the No. 1 research volume See RESEARCH, Page 3
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PHOTOGRAPHER From Page 1 White House photo editor, but I thought it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to document a president for history, because that’s the primary function of that job is to create an archive that lives in perpetuity.” While many of the circumstances were different when he was working for the Reagan administration compared to when he was working for the Obama administration, Souza acknowledged how vital the experience was for his career. “It taught me the inner workings of the White House,” he said. “I never thought that (I would) have another chance to be at the White House. But I said to myself if I did ever get a chance to go back, I would only go back Sudoku Syndication as the chief photographer and I
(would) make sure to get the best access that anyone has ever gotten and that I would try to create the best photographic archive that anybody have ever done.” Ensuring he received all-access to the president was incredibly important to Souza, and it was the pre-condition he gave to Obama upon accepting the position. This meant Souza received topsecurity clearance, allowing him to document historic moments like the Osama Bin-Laden raid in the Situation Room. However, he noted gaining this trust was not easy at first, despite his four years of previous experience with Obama when he photographed him for the SunTimes. “You can have the presidentelect say you have access to everything but then as soon as you step in the Oval Office, things change,” Souza said. “So I had to earn the trust of the staff and the
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president. It took a few months released, the responsibility would but I think people understood fall solely on him. that the president trusted me and When asked if Souza released was willing to give me access to any pictures he wished he hadn’t, these top secret meetings. It’s Souza chuckled and responded just something that you develop that “there were many.” relationships with the people Specifically, he recalls a you’re photographing which is like picture he released toward the a family type atmosphere.” end of Obama’s first term when When reminiscing on his the government was nearing a favorite photographs, Souza shutdown. The picture he took highlighted the smaller moments featured Obama surrounded that revealed more about Obama by 10 to 12 advisers who were as a human being. all male. This coincided with a “One thing you can tell about story that there weren’t going to a person is how they interact be enough women in the White with other people,” Souza said. House because Hillary Clinton “(Obama) genuinely respects was replaced with John Kerry as people from all walks of life. secretary of state. Whether it was the White House “The most prominent woman custodian or, you know, the chief was being replaced by a man, so of staff. And I think that that this was a very tone-deaf photo respect shows through in my to put out. When in fact, as I like photographs.” to point out to people, his top LSA junior Catharine three national security advisers Greenberg said she was excited in the second term — the National http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ to see hear more about working Security adviser, the deputy intimately with Obama. National Security Adviser and “What I appreciated the Homeland Security adviser — most was the change to gain were all women,” Souza said. “But such an inside and intimate it was sort of a tone-deaf picture look into a presidency that and it fed into this misconception meant so much to me and of how he was staffing the second played such a crucial role in term.” my life when I was growing Toward the end of the up,” Greenberg said. presentation, Souza argued his This sentiment was Instagram posts serve as a form echoed by LSA junior of resistance against Trump’s Sydney Eisenberg, who presidency. lauded the genuine nature “I think I’m part of the ‘Truth of Souza’s work. Squad,’ you know, that we have “Souza made such a president that disrespects the a point to show the Office of the Presidency the authenticity of every single way he constantly lies to the photograph that he showed American people, bullies people in his presentation or that disagrees with him, doesn’t showed in his book. And believe his own intelligence he was so funny and it was agency, has love affairs with a breath of fresh air from dictators instead of our allies, the Trump presidency, makes racist comments, treats like getting this little kick- women with reckless disregard at back on Obama’s term,” times and I could go on and on,” Eisenberg said. Souza said. Souza also discussed “And for me, politics aside, that as chief White House I worked for both Reagan and photographer, he held the Obama (and) both of them power of final review for all respected the Office of the photographs released to the Read more online at public. He wanted to ensure michigandaily.com that if the wrong photo was
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EMPLOYMENT From Page 1 the Michigan Union renovation so we actively informed the campus community, including student employees, over those years,” Pile wrote in an email interview. Public Policy junior Nick Martire worked at the Union Starbucks for about seven months. Martire said he was aware of the closing before his employer told him. “While my employer did tell me about the Union renovation, I knew about it already when they told me,” Martire wrote in an email interview. Because Starbucks was a leased operation, Martire said he did not receive University assistance in finding his new job at the Alumni Association. But Pile said for those students employed by the University in the Union, alternate placements were arranged. “In many cases, the students now work at the League and Pierpont,” Pile wrote. “Any student who was working in the Union and wanted
RESEARCH From Page 1 ranking demonstrates how the University and its schools are deeply engaged with the world off campus. “The continued growth of the research productivity of our faculty is important evidence of the amazing strength of the University of Michigan,” Schlissel said. “I am proud that U-M research spans the breadth of our outstanding university and addresses many of society’s most pressing questions and challenges.” The federal investment in the University totaled $852 million last year, covering 55 percent of the University’s total volume of research over the last
another position was given that opportunity.” Pile said the Union also hosted a job fair for students employed by non-University operations within the Union to assist in finding another job. As for the upcoming CCRB renovation, Widen said student employees were informed of the renovations through meetings and email announcements after the Regents voted on it in September, though many were aware of the project from other means. Similar to the Union, time was given before the start of the project to allow for the necessary changes of employment. “The CCRB isn’t scheduled to close for replacement for two more years,” Widen wrote in an email interview. “As we get closer to that time, we will make adjustments to our hiring.” Widen said students who may be working at the CCRB in two years will work with Recreational Sports to find alternate placement. “We have other facilities like IMSB, NCRB, Sports Coliseum, Elbel Field, and Mitchell Field that all need
student staffing,” Widen wrote. “In addition, we have a number of programs that
year. Federal investment encourages research at the University that supports public health, national security and economic competitiveness. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is consistently the greatest external sponsor of research at the University, granted $579 million to the University in fiscal year 2018. Internal research spending increased 8 percent from fiscal year 2017, totaling $524 million in fiscal year 2018. These trends are consistent with the 2018 budget signed by President Donald Trump in March, which approved the greatest increase in allocation to U.S. research in a decade. Industry expenditures also increased 9 percent, totaling a record high of $109 million in fiscal year 2018.
The increase in expenditures led to a tangible increase in research in fiscal year 2018. According to the report, there were a record breaking 484 new
ASSEMBLY From Page 1 checked for correctness. Senate Assembly Chair Neil Marsh expressed his belief that the resolution is something more abstract, that supporting CSG would not take away from the faculty assembly. “I see this (resolution) as being fairly non-controversial and its heart is in the right place,” he said. “I don’t see any particular downside to us saying we support (their) resolution once it’s been passed.” Next, the assembly welcomed Jerry May, University vice president for development. One of the largest projects for the Office of Development, the Victors for Michigan campaign, which began in 2011 and is coming to its close, has raised over $5 billion and is the most successful fundraising campaign in University history. May, who announced his upcoming retirement last spring, explained his role of overseeing all fundraising activities and answered the questions of assembly members. Members of the assembly mentioned many University programs receive consistent funding, like the Ross School of Business, while other areas needing improvement do not recieve as many donations. Though donors cannot be told where to give their money, May said, many decide to donate to multiple areas instead of just one. “I’m a huge believer in multiple relationships in multiple areas, and not having one development officer … that hoards your relationship with a donor,” May said. “What I find is the more (an individual) is exposed to the breadth of the university, the more likely they are to give to more than just their one degree.” University Provost Martin Philbert then spoke to the assembly, highlighting the recent
I have had several patrons ask me when the CCRB is closing and they are often surprised that the remodeling is still a few years away need student employees as well, e.g. Group-X, Personal Training, Intramural Sports, Club Sports, Adventure Leadership.” LSA junior Mikaela Bradley currently works at both the CCRB and the Intramural Sports Building. In an email interview, Bradley said she will no longer be a student at the University when the renovations begin; however she expected if she still were a student, she would
I am proud that U-M research spans the breadth of our outstanding university inventions last year, the number of startups almost doubled to 21, and the Office of Technology Transfer signed 218 license and option agreements with companies hoping to commercialize these discoveries made at the University.
introduction of parental leave benefits for University faculty and staff. Philbert discussed how it’s a joint responsibility to child rear, and this benefit will make the University a more attractive place to work. “In a time where there are lots of issues that divide us, this is one of those that unites us,” Philbert said. “We will support the members of our community who need time to bond with their children.” The meeting concluded with questions from members of the assembly to Philbert, primarily regarding the Office of Institutional Equity amid criticism of the office’s sexual misconduct investigations, especially within the School of Music, Theater & Dance. OIE’s annual report released earlier this year found more reports were filed with the office, though the number of investigations dropped. Philbert voiced support for the policy and process as a whole. “I’ve heard concerns about the length of time it takes to complete some OIE investigations,” Philbert said. “We’re always working to ensure that those investigations are fair, thorough and timely.” The student sexual misconduct policy dictates OIE should strive to complete investgations within 60 days of their filing — anecdotal evidence reported by The Daily found, however, students were waiting from five to six months at times for responses to their reports. Philbert said some factors delay the completion of certain investigations, and opened the conversation to include suggestions from the assembly to make this process more efficient and effective. Philbert concluded the meeting by explaining the implementation of mandatory online sexual misconduct training for faculty members in the years going forward.
try to continue working for Recreational Sports. “If the CCRB was closing earlier, I would definitely try to ensure all of my shifts were at the IMSB so that I could still work with recreational sports,” Bradley wrote. Bradley also added some students are under the assumption that renovations will be occurring very soon. “A lot of students that don’t work at rec sports seem to think the renovations are going to happen much sooner than they are,” Bradley wrote. “I have had several patrons ask me when the CCRB is closing and they are often surprised that the remodeling is still a few years away.” Widen added Recreational Sports has experience with renovations over the past few years. “We’ve gone through this same process of making adjustments for student employees recently with the IMSB (2015-2016) and the NCRB (2017-2018) were each closed for their own renovations,” Widen wrote.
S. Jack Hu, University vice president for research, said the financial support allowed the University to produce a large amount of valuable research under the vision Research to Serve the World. “As credit to our innovative campus community and strong external collaboration, the University of Michigan has conducted the largest volume of research of any public university in the United States for eight consecutive years,” Hu said in the University release. “This type of support allows us to advance knowledge, solve challenging societal problems, create new products and services that enhance quality of life, and support students and postdoctoral fellows in research and training.”
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 — 3
COUNCIL From Page 1 impacts fake news has on public political opinion. “What I want to answer for you today are some questions like these: How prevalent was fake news consumption in 2016, what effects does have on people’s political attitudes and behavior and how are people being exposed to this dubious content in the first place?” Nyhan said. During his lecture, Nyhan put a particular emphasis on his findings that contradicted popular perceptions of the influence of fake news. “The average person, regardless of party, is not consuming this heavily skewed diet that many folks would predict,” Nyhan said. “There’s a relatively small subset of people who have strong predispositions to seek out and consume proattitudinal information.” This subset of people, as Nyhan explained, were identified through a cognitive reflection test, or a measure of one’s capability for thinking analytically about information presented to them. According to Nyhan, his survey demonstrated this subset of people were far more likely to believe fake news sources, particularly when information was presented more than once. “These (fake news) stories come to seem familiar,” Nyhan said. “You’ve seen fake news before, now you see it again, maybe you think it’s more likely to be true. We did observe a small but statistically measurable effect here.” As Nyhan explained, the foundations of his work were influenced by the crucial 2016 report “Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election,” written by political scientists Hunt Allcott and Matthew Gentzkow. According to Allcott and Gentzkow’s report, fake news doesn’t rely on an established audience or reputation to reach digital readers. “Content can be relayed among users with no significant third party filtering, factchecking, or editorial judgment,” Allcott and Gentzkow wrote. “An individual user with no track record or reputation can in some
cases reach as many readers as Fox News, CNN or the New York Times.” Alain Cohn, an assistant professor at the School of Information with a focus on economics and moral decision making, said he was particularly interested in Nyhan’s points about the strategies of persuasion utilized by fake news sources. According to Cohn, Nyhan’s work intersects with his own in several capacities. “I teach a course on persuasion and social influence,” Cohn said. “In my course I try to teach students how they are going to be persuaded in political contexts but also in consumer contexts.” Though his analysis of fake news impact presented serious implications, Nyhan contended fake news had a central impact on the outcome of the 2016 election. As he explained, the impact of fake news is far more complex than many make it out to be. “It’s pretty hard to tell a story about how vote choice was affected by fake news when the people you would expect to be the most unsure about which candidate to vote for are consuming very little fake news,” Nyhan said. “It really challenges this simplistic account of the 2016 election.” Cohn, on the other hand, worries fake news could have unforeseen yet drastic consequences. “Those who consume fake news have already made up their opinion,” Cohn said. “However, if they become more extreme, that might be dangerous. There are other ways fake news consumption may affect society, even if it’s just among a minority.” Though faculty made up the majority of the audience Monday afternoon, students are also taking up the question of fake news, especially in the context of social media. LSA sophomore Mackenzie Freeman, a communication studies major, told The Daily in an interview last month fake news is an issue that, if left undetected, could alter the efficacy of news altogether. “This is really problematic because people see the news as being able to express the truth and that feature is being taken away,” she said.
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, November 27, 2018
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ELLERY ROSENZWEIG | COLUMN
W
Relationship remixed
e lay on the carpet long-term. It sounds pretty f loor, our beds, the silly, and it shows how much couch, sit around interest we have in romantic relationships. the table and sigh. Our society Oh, how we long highly values to be in loving these romantic relationships. It’s relationships, that time of year and lately I have when my friends and been noticing the I fantasize about the pressure we get from people who we wish our media to have to meet, the ones these experiences. we are longing after There is the and those who were ELLERY just not right for us. ROSENZWEIG classic narrative in romantic comedies When will we meet princess stories of someone new who will change and and impact the rest of our heteronormativity, where a lives as we know it? Recently, man shows up solving all of I realized I spend a lot of time the woman’s problems and having conversations with my they can now be happy for the friends about the existing or nonexistent romantic partners in our lives. Sometimes, it’s really fun, and we talk about all the good things happening with those we are seeing or how we love our single life. Other times, we laugh at each other’s horror stories and cry over the heartbreak. But either way, my friends and I are constantly asking each other about each other’s love lives and relationships or lack thereof. rest of their lives. This could This Thanksgiving Break, be a driving force in why it was a common part of the women feel like they should conversation when catching want to be in a relationship up with friends and family. and why we are all so obsessed It almost came up more than with talking about these how school was going, my relationships. Women have social life or my career and been taught to think being in a relationship is going to post-graduation plans. I wasn’t shocked my friends complete us and make our and family brought it up, lives better. We are taught we because I often ask them the can only see our worth if there same. There is something is a man present, which gives exciting about learning men a lot of power. Romantic and sexual about the emotional lives of our loved ones. But people relationships are important tend to only pique interest because they can add some in this type of relationship. positivity to life, like having For example, wouldn’t it be someone who is there for you, ridiculous if my family or who lifts you up and is your friends talked about my best partner at the end of the day. friendships with the same But one’s problems are not seriousness as they would going to be solved because one about romantic relationships? now has this partner. Also, in For instance, imagine if romantic comedies the female they asked if my friend was characters are very dependent meeting my emotional needs, on the male characters. how our communication was Our media needs to portray and if I saw our friendship confident independent women
We are taught we can only see our worth if there is a man present.
JILLIAN LI | CONTACT JILLIAN AT LIJILLI@UMICH.EDU
who make things happen and do not wait for a man. Women who put their needs, wants, passions and careers before the subject of their love life. I know this is a common feminist rant about seeing more complex storylines for women and created by women. But the only way we are going to see a change in the content that is created is if these storylines are created by the people who actually experience them. Ultimately, if men with the power are creating the media women consume, they are fostering this obsession with relationships and the expectation of what we should be. We need to see more storylines about young women who do more than just fall in love. Women deserve to learn from a narrative that their interests, passions, careers and who they are as a person are so much more important than if they are in a relationship. I see my friends and me falling into toxic conversations during which we discuss our relationships first before we even bring up anything about ourselves. We all have other things happening in our lives that have so much more importance, which we should be highlighting and sharing with one another. Relationships are crucial and fun to talk about, but so are our friendships; these should be equally as important to our romantic relationships. This cuffing season, let’s try to not get caught up in the toxic messages and conversations about relationships. Let’s focus on bettering ourselves. Let’s talk about our present and future goals, passions, interests and careers. When you are ready to be with someone, make sure that they complement the already amazing life you have and the person you are without them.
T
Are Bird Scooters flying away with user data?
In its Privacy Policy, Bird he Bird scooters that dropped in Ann Arbor makes sure to disting uish this September and between the personalized content that they have continued to provide based f lock around campus on individual are really akin to users and the the common pigeon. “anonymous They populate the or aggregate sidewalks in droves information” that and weave in and they are able to use out of crowds of for “any purpose.” pedestrian students. The personalized They have their content establishes typical nesting areas, ALEX the connection practically stacked SATOLA between Bird and on top of each other e-scooter enthusiasts, outside of the MLB, Ross and its other places that are just a bit however, this aggregate data too far from the other side of is also of huge value to cities, campus. City officials have developers and businesses tried to control them, but still v ying to apply the analysis they zip and zoom in every of usage patterns to the direction. They have become, development of their smart at the same time an exciting city initiatives. The wording new mode of transportation of “any purpose” also implies and a menace to society, but the wide scope of Bird’s ability what Bird riders may not to use its data in any way it realize is how the scooters wants. might be feasting on their data. Bird, a startup out of Santa Monica, connects its electric scooter service to a free app on your phone. Once you have downloaded the app, uploaded your payment information and a snapped a picture of your driver’s license, you are ready to ride. The rides cost $1 per ride plus $0.15 per minute and have become a source of transportation for Because Bird claims to be the awkward “last mile” of the urban commute where a playing a role in shaping the destination is too far to walk green cities of tomorrow, it yet not far enough to drive. should be as open as possible Bird’s environmental mission with its aggregate data. It is to provide cities with a has actually been pretty good clean, car-free transportation about this, providing cities with its GovTech platform alternative. Though a majority of the that monitors how citizens using the scooters data security issues that are I have written about are and putting forth possible for unwanted tied to the internet and the solutions For example, reg ulation of firms that activity. operate on the digital sphere, geofencing will notif y riders with the prospect of “smart of locations in a city where cities” and data-driven urban Birds are prohibited, and planning, it is important that the Community Mode allows we turn our attention to “the individuals to report incidents internet of things.” Simply of unsafe activity or poor put, this concept is the idea parking. We should also stop and of connecting any and every possible device to the internet think, despite the supposed to streamline its use for inherent value of Bird’s data, consumers and more easily whether scooters really are config ure the data for the a viable alternative for “last companies that provide the mile” transportation. From a sustainability perspective, service. Bird doesn’t just collect data riding an electric scooter from mobile phones, however uses only 1 to 2 percent of — the scooters themselves the carbon dioxide emissions are prodigious data collection that driving a car the same machines, specifically for distance does. The individual highly valuable location data. consumer choice is never The company automatically that simple, though, and collects the precise GPS Bird introduces extraneous location of its scooters, the costs that the average rider routes riders take and the doesn’t think about. All the rental status of its scooters. scooters have to be rounded The information collected is up by trucks overnight and also directly associated with charged by workers with their a user’s individual account, own vehicles. In addition, making it possible for Bird these fun new scooters might to “personalize” content for be replacing lower emission a specific user in the form of options such as walking, reports, recommendations and riding a bike or using public feedback according to user transportation. There is just not enough data right now preferences.
It seems that Bird doesn’t prioritize data protection overall.
beyond the extrapolations of e-scooter companies to judge their long-term environmental impact. Beyond aggregate data, reg ulators should also curtail the amount of unnecessary personal information that Bird is collecting from its users. Bird uses persistent data tracking to record every move riders make from the moment they get on a scooter to the moment they get off, meaning that if you took a scooter to a protest, a religious service or a sensitive medical appointment, the scooter would know. Bird is operating under the assumption that people want extremely personalized experiences on their scooters, when in fact most riders just use their services to get from point A to point B. The company could still de-identif y all of the precise GPS data and use it to achieve the goal of a cit y with fewer cars, but it would be hard to convince Bird executives to do this because the data would suddenly lose commercial value to advertisers. There is no need for the Birds of the f uture to suggest possible destinations based on my preferences; I am just tr ying to get to class. The data that Bird collects might also fall into the hands of governments attempting to use the technolog y to sur veil their citizens. Bird says loosely that it shares its data based on the “goodfaith” belief that such action is necessar y to comply with the law, leaving this transfer of personal data including photos and GPS tracking up to its discretion. It also seems that Bird doesn’t prioritize data protection overall. In the brief section on “How we protect your information” in its Privacy Policy, Bird says it takes measures to protect user information while also forcing the user to acknowledge that Bird cannot g uarantee the transfer of personal information and that it is all “at your own risk.” Essentially Bird reserves the right to do whatever it wants with the information you provide, and if any thing goes wrong it’s your problem. The rules are a bit more stringent concerning international users, especially for European Union data on subjects living under the umbrella of the General Data Protection Reg ulation. As with any tech startup claiming to offer revolutionary new services for cheap, the value and concern lies in data. Scooters are fun, but the data security challenges surrounding them could become a pest.
Alexander Satola can be reached at apsatola@umich.edu.
Ellery Rosenzweig can be reached at erosenz@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
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Arts
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 — 5
DAILY FOOD COLUMN
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
On Yaeji, her intimacy and ephemeral state of being EMILY YANG
Daily Arts Writer
The literary critic Jesse McCarthy’s essay “Notes On Trap” combines musical analysis with cultural history in a dizzying, nearly-encyclopedic account of a now-ubiquitous genre of music. He writes that, “Trap is the only music that sounds like what living in contemporary America feels like. It is the soundtrack to the dissocialized subject that neoliberalism made.” While reading, I was reminded of the 2014 piece “We Are All Very Anxious” by the English collective We Are Plan C. The essay’s thesis is that anxiety is a “reactive affect” to contemporary life, which is increasingly defined by political instability and post-truth politics, as well as pervasive mass surveillance and social fragmentation. McCarthy points out something obvious: If it’s difficult to say how we feel in public, the music of recent years has been telling us how we feel for a while. It works like this not only in content but also in form, in format. Music is better than almost any other art form at capturing the kind of placeless feelings that one gets from seeing increasingly horrifying and ludicrous news, logging on and off of dream-like social media simulacra, seeing people crowdsourcing funds for essential healthcare and negotiating the baffling array of techno-capital contrivances that mediate transportation, interaction with strangers, interaction with colleagues, interaction with close friends
and loved ones. It’s a public secret that a lot of us are incapable of dealing with all of this, and the popular music records this — it practically trips over itself to tell us what we already know. Consider “raingurl” by Yaeji. The beat is miniaturized to the size of mobile streaming, almost a scale model of itself. The kick drum is an obscure thump, routed through plastic, and the percussion is a brittle stage whisper. Everything inessential is discarded or diminished to the size of her languid, halting vocals — she mumbles, and the rest of the instrumental mumbles with her. Her drum patterns codify the tendency of dance music to end up mostly accompanying stationary head-nodding while holding a drink (and more often: walking somewhere, sitting on the bus, studying, a constant distraction). The beat in “raingurl” does not move forward, it rather levitates and rotates like a sprinkler head. A song from the same EP, “drink I’m sippin on,” does much of the same thing to a sort of bubble-wrapped trap music. The drum pattern has the gliding fluency of trap but none of the momentum. It instead sways pendulously side to side, directing the listener’s attention to the ceiling. Sasha Geffen writes in his review of Yaeji’s EP2 that the songs “remind you of the limits of dancefloor transcendence, and the strange, lonely pocket you fall into when you aim for transcendence and miss.” It might be more appropriate to say that the songs take that pocket as a starting point: You’re disillusioned from the moment you walk into the club.
The definitive move in Yaeji’s lyrics is the abrupt pivot from rumination to half-hearted partying and back again, and her production style sticks definitively to the former. Her remix of the Australian producer Mall Grab’s track
The music of recent years has been telling us how we feel for a while
“Guap” is emblematic. Her deadpan delivery completely changes the energy of the 20-plus years of accumulated references to “the club” that she has inherited, and the production style is more moody than anything else. With her voice, the repeated line “Every time I walk in I feel the same / In the shadows, life is just a game” loses any insider allure and becomes almost a plea. Her music is, in summary, presenting an internal and an external state at the same time, presenting the public narrative of nihilistic luxury and accumulation while also showing private doubts, dejection, rumination, anxiety. “raingurl” prickles like doubt, moves with a weird fixedness. It is music of the moment, music that moves into the future only because there’s nowhere else to go.
GODMODE
Ann Arbor and millennial foodies ELI RALLO
Daily Food Columnist
Ann Arbor, Mich., a college city dominated by millennials, rises to the occasion of each and every new millennial trend to take off, leaving students (and their Instagrams) content with the hip place we call home. I’ve been one to drink the Kool Aid — or eat the fancy avocado toast — buying into all the the food trends that have taken off in Ann Arbor in the past few years. With students promoting the restaurants and eateries in Ann Arbor that are the most hip, have the best brunch, are the best looking and the most healthy and unique, more and more restaurants are popping up offering vegan, gluten free, vegetarian and “clean eating” options. Additionally, more and more places are fostering their menus and vibe to match the millennial aesthetic, one that seems to stem from a desire to constantly be connected, and to share photos with the world. The millennial generation lives in a world where the internet is a click away at all times. Our constant link to technology pushes us to reach for an expensive açaí bowl over a two dollar candy bar for two reasons. First, we have access to the internet in ways no generation has ever had before. We have a constant stream of information at our fingertips telling us about the healthiest food choices, the trendiest ingredients and recipes and what we should be eating. Between Tasty videos on Facebook, and quick articles from Buzzfeed, it’s impossible to ignore. Second, we live surrounded by restaurants and cafes that are pushing themselves to foster that millennial aesthetic, to create food, beverages and an atmosphere that millennials will find worthy of their Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter feeds. The millennial aesthetic stems from a desire to Instagram, Snapchat, tweet and text our way from place to place, making ourselves look hip and trendy online. So what came first, the trendy restaurant or the Instagram pics? I wonder often if restaurants are simply catering to the fact that students will come in dozens if they have an Instagramworthy aesthetic. While we go out to eat to be present, many of us are caught up in the “phone eats first” mantra, and won’t take a bite of food until we snap the perfect picture. I’m guilty of this myself — constantly trying to take the perfect Instagram photo
before I try the food I’ve ordered, or ordering what I think will turn out the most photogenic. These notions are, in recent years, being replicated and promoted all throughout Ann Arbor. If your Instagram feed isn’t cluttered with pictures of Freds’s açaí bowls, poke
I’ve been one to drink the Kool Aid — or eat the fancy avocado toast — buying into all the the food trends that have taken off in Ann Arbor in the past few years
bowls, avocado toasts (and/or a Boomerang of a fork carefully slicing into a poached egg, so that all your followers can watch the yolk dribble down the side of the avocado and cascade over the edge of the toasted bread — don’t act like you don’t know exactly what this is) it probably isn’t Sunday. Brunch is for the internet these days — we’re going out to eat to get the perfect picture. If Snapchat and Instagram aren’t filled with photos of perfectly swirled colliders from Rod’s, aesthetically pleasing brunch from Sava’s, Angelos, Avalon and Afternoon Delight, if you’re not documenting every moment of Korean BBQ at Tomukun, your latte at Lab, your flight of ice cream at Blank Slate, your drunk Hippie Hash at Fleetwood — did you really go? The wait at Freds on any given weekend morning can be up to an hour, with students waiting on the street for their picture perfect avocado toast and tumeric latte. For many students on this campus, that $12 avocado toast on the clean white plate with the adorable interior decor inside of Fred’s is worth it. For millennial foodies, it’s no longer about
the cheapest, easiest or most convenient option. Students are seeking out the best ingredients, the healthier and trendier options — and the best looking choices. Willing to shell out the extra dollars because all of these restaurants are taking the time to work on presentation and to cater to what we’re all going after. The commercial world of food has evolved just as technology and social media has, changing for the tiny iPhone screen, the Yelp reviewer, the Snapchatter and the millennial foodie alike. Ann Arbor, a city of college students and millennials, is the greatest example of this millennial foodie world. Ann Arbor has two thriving vegan restaurants in Kerrytown alone: Detroit Filling Station and The Lunch Room, which not only promote healthy eating, but are also consistently jam-packed. They are both not cheap due to their high quality, but students don’t seem to mind. On most afternoons and weekends, both restaurants are full from open to close. Poke and açaí places are opening around the clock — restaurants around town are popping up with cauliflower pizza crust the minute it hits the shelves in the local Trader Joe’s and students get to talking about how trendy it is to eat a pizza made out of a vegetable. So what has pushed the college student — the modern foodie — to treat food as such a large part of their agenda? Larger than any generation before? Is it a problem, or is it inevitable? As much as I wish we could all go back to the times our parents would take our phones at the dinner table, or to the far off time where there was no technology bleeding into our meals at all, that simply isn’t realistic. But the obsession with food photos, going out to eat at the trendiest most Insta-worthy spots and our iPhone cameras may be inhibiting our ability to share real, human moments in a world where we seem to be losing more and more of those by the day. At the end of the day, social media and technology have become so wildly used and necessary in every facet of life that it is impossible to literally shut down at any point during the day. Suddenly, with the ability to Instagram your latest brunch spot, Snapchat your favorite cocktail at your favorite bar and tweet about how #amazing the most recent vegan ice cream flavor at Blank Slate is … Everyone has food on their mind, and in their camera roll.
BOOK REVIEW
‘You Had To Be There’ an exposé of life’s darker shades TESSA ROSE
Daily Arts Writer
I read a tweet once that said: “Rape isn’t always bloody and violent, it can be silent, slow
“You Had To Be There: Rape Jokes” Vanessa Place powerHouse Books Nov. 2, 2018
and enacted by your friends and family.” There’s something shockingly impactful about pulling the rug from underneath your feet, falling face-first into the hardwood panels of reality and truth. And that’s basically what Vanessa Place does in her book, “You Had to Be There: Rape Jokes,” based on a live performance in which she straight up tells rape jokes for the entirety of a 45-minute show. As an
artist, writer and criminal appellate attorney, Place has encountered and defended the appeals of countless felons, namely sex offenders. She has mastered the art of hitting the hardwood f loor — nothing to brace herself with, just a free-fall into the cold, hard reality of rape, pedophilia and sadomasochism. At this point, you’re probably wondering, “Why rape jokes?” Because that’s definitely what I was wondering. What could be funny in the slightest about rape? It feels inhuman, sick, twisted to even consider cracking a smirk at a single joke regarding rape or pedophilia or sexual violence. But here you have it, folks. Humor serves many purposes, and when dealt with correctly for even the most sensitive, too-hot-to-touch topics, it can be an artisticallyand politically-potent piece of work. Place’s humor is designed to remove the veneer that has concealed our failure to deal with the subject of rape and sexual violence effectively and appropriately. It is a piece that forces you to “confront
the horror of rape” without having anywhere to hide or escape back into the comfort of disregard for the more perverse things life brings to the dinner table. And in each of Place’s shows she witnesses the guilty giggles and shameful smirks that escape the taut lips of countless audience members. And this is where the activation of art and language comes into play; words that are fraught with humor, sickness and dismay find a home inside the dustiest corners of our minds. What I’m really trying to say is that Place, as Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek writes, “bitch-slaps you into consent.” Place devours cultural schisms, splintering them wide open for the world’s eye to behold. She asserts that rape culture “is our culture” and it is most exposed in our “mediadriven” society today. She starts with fairytales (“Call me ‘Prince Charming,’ but there’s nothing more kissable than a teenage girl in a coma”) and ends with pornography (“‘Barely legal’: when ‘almost underage’ sounds a bit too
creepy.”) The repetition of crude text and content compile into a monotonous chant that dominates the reader’s emotional and mental safety net. In a way, her jokes end up mirroring the structure of the act of rape itself — “a violent discharge of repressed sexuality.” Even the term rape has been overworked and sensitized into ambiguity. “Sex” is a term we all know — even the word “fuck” is graspable, risky but not explosive — but “rape” requires taking a plunge into uncharted territory. It’s not all meant to be shocking, though. Most jokes are rooted in a statistical reality we are all too sickeningly familiar with. Some jokes that prompted this response for me include: “Only 6 percent of all rape cases end in conviction. Anyone else like those odds?” and, “I live for sex. Unlike my victims, who have sex to live,” followed by: “If God doesn’t need a woman’s consent to get her pregnant, why the fuck should I?” It’s easy to see why Place’s
work is, more often than not, considered too controversial to be performed live, but Place is merely stripping away the boundaries of art making
Place devours cultural schisms, splintering them wide open for the world’s eye to behold
and doing what many artists are too afraid to do. By being overtly politically incorrect she has unlimited legroom to challenge the unduly sensitive political landscape we have
constructed today. Place’s humor serves a different purpose, when telling rape jokes, than that of “Tosh.0” host Daniel Tosh or male comics like Dave Chappelle. Instead of allowing people to look down at their feet when the topic of rape arises, Place’s work forces readers to be wide awake to a subject matter that has been stashed away for so long. And she does this by surfacing the voices of the convicted, those outcasted from the perimeters of humancoded normality and sanity. Place’s work is risky from start to finish, but that is what makes it so uneasily potent. To Place, “Art is violence, to time and space and representation.” Her work fully lends itself to risk because it thrives on tension through antagonism and the brutal honesty of the darker shades life has to offer. Some denounce Place as racist, some say she is a rape sympathizer, but I would rather appoint her as an artist with no limits or bounds in a subject matter that is often erroneously and blindly suppressed into nothingness.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, November 27, 2018
TV REVIEW
‘Escape at Dannemora’ is a brilliant portrayal of a bizarre yet true story SAYAN GHOSH Daily Arts Writer
In June 2015, two inmates escaped from the maximumsecurity Clinton Correctional Facility in the small upstate New York town of Dannemora. The subsequent manhunt for the two men caused schools
“Escape At Dannemora” Showtime Series premiere Sundays @ 10 p.m. to cancel class, highways to close and ultimately accrued a cost of over 20 million dollars. The investigation revealed a story much more complex and bizarre than originally thought. Ben Stiller tackles this stranger-than-fiction story in “Escape at Dannemora.” Benicio Del Toro (“Sicario: Day of the Soldado”) and Paul Dano (“Okja”) play the two escapees, Richard Matt and David Sweat. Both are convicted murderers who were placed in a block in the prison that granted them extra privileges such as televisions and cooking stations. Their escape is aided by Tilly Mitchell (Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”), a prison worker who is romantically and sexually involved with the two men. Evoking classic prison movies such as “The Shawshank Redemption,”
Stiller masterfully creates an atmosphere that accurately ref lects the harshness of life in prison in the desolate tundra of upstate New York. Yet compared with what we would expect, Matt and Sweat are shown to have (relatively speaking) idyllic lives in the prison. Matt is an artist, and he exploits his talent to gain favors from other prison guards. Sweat, while less charismatic and mysterious, is heavily involved in the prison’s tailoring workshop, which is where he gets involved with Mitchell. While all three lead performances are exceptional, Arquette rises above the rest. Barely recognizable as a rather homely upstate New Yorker (complete with the region’s distinct accent), she is a fascinatingly sympathetic character. The first episode uses her testimony for a federal investigator, and from the minute we meet her, it is difficult to see her as anything other than a poor woman who is living vicariously through the fantasies she concocts with Sweat and later Matt. Yet there is nothing exactly redeeming about any of these three characters. Matt and Sweat are coldblooded criminals and master manipulators, and while Mitchell is sympathetic, it’s difficult to ever justify her actions. So far, Stiller has not explored Mitchell’s life story enough to perhaps give a bit more context as to why she risked her life and career for such an outlandish plan. Stiller opted to film several scenes in the village of
Dannemora itself, capturing the area’s isolation and solitude, as well as its economically-
Brimming with potential and tension, “Escape at Dannemora” is a worthy watch for anyone interested in dark, gritty drama
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father. On Christmas Eve, with their mother scheduled for an overnight shift at the hospital, Kate and Teddy take a break from their usual bickering and craft a scheme to catch Santa in the act on video. Though successful in meeting Santa, Kate and Teddy’s night takes a turn for the unexpected when they indirectly cause him to lose his bag of gifts and team of reindeer. The Harper kids soon find themselves thrown into a wild, magical adventure, helping the king of Christmas recover his lost items, in what proves to be a Christmas Eve they’ll never forget. Conceptually, the notion of an overnight ride in Santa’s sleigh, a run in with reindeer and elves and a trip to the North Pole, sounds like more than any eight-year-old could ever want for Christmas. That being said, when Santa is the sarcastic and rugged Russell, the reindeer look as fake as cardboard cutouts in the mall and the elves’ disposition is comparable to ewoks, the fantasy quickly turns nightmarish. Perhaps the most triggering aspect of the film is the bizarre interactions between outof-place, animated creatures like the unbearably annoying ewok-elves and live actors. The epitome of these strange encounters is exemplified in a scene where a posse of “badguy” types, clad in leather, capture Teddy as he tries to secure the precious bag of gifts. All that really needs to be said about the events that follow is that a fight breaks out between the barely-foot-tall elves and the hardcore gang
members. Yes, the elves win. And yes, it is painful to watch.
Russell’s personification of Santa is so frustrating and unbelievable is that, in acting so human, the mystery of the extraordinary man who delivers Christmas cheer each year without fail is unveiled. And we don’t like what we see
Fundamentally debilitating to the premise of the film
is that Russell plays Santa. Russell is a sleek, updated, 21st century Santa. Santa 2.0, if you will, orchestrates a grand, semi-risqué jazz performance in a prison (this really happens). But this modernized, snide-commentmaking version of “Santa” is unrecognizable to audiences, miles from the concept of “Santa” that we all know and love. Santa is not supposed to be filled with clever quips and boyish jokes. Call it traditional, but whatever happened to the big-bellied, white-haired grandpa figure with a calm temperament and an easy smile? Maybe what makes Russell’s personification of Santa is so frustrating and unbelievable is that, in acting so human, the mystery of the extraordinary man who delivers Christmas cheer each year without fail is unveiled. And we don’t like what we see. The lure of a new Christmas movie is enticing, but this Christmas, it’s probably best to just stick with the classics. By showing us exactly what Santa isn’t, ironically, “The Christmas Chronicles” delivers the important reminder that the true beauty of Santa has nothing to do with seeing him in the f lesh. Rather, it lies in the imagined idea of the mystical toy-maker with a twinkle in his eye. When face-to-face with Santa, his charm and wonder are dulled, suggesting that maybe we aren’t meant to understand his magic at all. Maybe all we have to do is be good, put cookies by the fire and believe without seeing.
downtrodden landscape. There is a lot of further potential in exploring the region itself to explain the motivations of the characters. Stiller’s drama directorial debut is a meticulously researched, planned and executed work. Brimming with potential and tension, “Escape at Dannemora” is a worthy watch for anyone interested in dark, gritty drama.
NETFLIX
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Release Date: Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
FILM REVIEW
Off-center ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ underwhelms SAMANTHA NELSON Daily Arts Writer
Would it really be a holly, jolly Christmas without the man, the myth and the
“The Christmas Chronicles” Netflix legend that is Santa Claus? Doubtful. When the holidays roll around, Santa Claus seems to permeate nearly every aspect of our lives. We find him plastered on Coke bottles, posing in malls, adorning Christmas ornaments on trees and starring in favorite holiday f licks. Though Santa’s imprint on the most wonderful time of the year can appear in all different shapes and
FOR RENT
sizes, after watching “The Christmas Chronicles,” it is abundantly clear that Kurt Russell’s (“Escape from L.A.”) embodiment of old Saint Nick is exactly what we never knew we never needed. Aiming to be a family feel-good — through its wonky mixture of animation and live-action sequences, painfully poor jokes and ridiculous predictability — Netf lix’s latest Christmas f lick can’t quite bring the tidings of comfort and joy that it intends to. The Harper family used to be all about Christmas — that is until their father, Doug (Oliver Hudson, “Walk of Shame”), the leader of all things holiday cheer, passes away. Spirited preteen Kate (Darby Camp, “Big Little Lies”), her moody and angst-ridden teen brother Teddy (Judah Lewis “Demolition”) and their overworked mother Claire
(Kimberly Williams-Paisley, “Father of the Bride”) are left
Netflix’s latest Christmas flick can’t quite bring the tidings of comfort and joy that it intends to
behind struggling to embrace Christmas without their
ACROSS 1 Transvaal treks 8 Quarters 15 Big building 16 Political power structure 17 Asian setting of a 2017 PBS documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick 18 Not belowdecks 19 Snakelike fish 20 Golf club part 22 Mend one’s sinful ways 23 Paul of “Ant-Man” 25 GI entertainers 26 Many soap opera meetings 27 Scottish caps 29 Ray of fast food 31 Nuclear pioneer Enrico 33 Kickoff aid 34 Physical therapy, briefly 39 French __ soup 40 Appt. book blocks 41 Mountains between Europe and Asia 42 Channel for school sports 43 Frequently, in verse 44 December temp 45 Skater Lipinski 47 Combat vet’s affliction, briefly 48 Bombard with noise 52 Tax whiz 54 Spanish “this” 57 Nonresident hospital employee 58 Gutter locale 60 Party bowlful 61 Brutish 63 Dilapidated digs 65 Contrived sentimentality 66 Funded 67 Like the oldest bread 68 Emails anew DOWN 1 Break, as ties 2 French parting 3 *Educational outing 4 Toward the stern
5 Mark on a table from a wet glass 6 Wax-winged flier of myth 7 Their winners go to the finals 8 The 1% in 1% milk 9 Portuguese wine city 10 *Social elite 11 Sounding like Popeye 12 Tastes 13 “Wish I __ said that” 14 Decides to leave in the manuscript 21 *Gambler’s stoic expression 24 Bourne portrayer 28 *Quick-cook side dish 30 Enjoy a recliner 31 Enemy 32 Nav. rank 33 Norse god with a hammer 35 Dry-__ board 36 Without a doubt ... or what the starts of the answers to starred clues are?
37 PC key near Ctrl 38 Org. with merit badges 46 Chronological records 47 Stately 16th-century dance 48 Financial obligations 49 Wield, as influence
50 Perplexed 51 __ monitor: OB/GYN device 53 Peeling device 55 Like many shower stalls 56 Opinion columns 59 JFK postings 62 Tennis do-over 64 Furrow maker
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
By Jeff Stillman ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/27/18
11/27/18
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VOLLEYBALL
‘M’ sends its seniors off with win over Spartans SOPHIA JASKOSKI Daily Sports Writer
As the regular season came to a close, the Michigan women’s volleyball (22-9 overall, 11-9 Big Ten) managed to provide a bittersweet send-off for its senior players with a win over Michigan State (17-16, 5-15) at Crisler Center on Saturday night. Like true rivals, the Wolverines and the Spartans were neck-and-neck throughout the first set, with the biggest deficit being just three points. By the time it was 23-23, it was anybody’s game. But two consecutive attacks errors by the Wolverines allowed Michigan State to edge out Michigan, 25-23, to take the first set. “I think we came out pretty stale in the first set,” said junior setter Mackenzi Welsh. Knowing this was their last game at Crisler, and possibly even at home depending on their seeding at Sunday’s NCAA selection, the Wolverines sought to turn the night around, digging, diving and getting the invested crowd on its feet. On both sides though, the pressure was obvious, as highlight-worthy plays were followed by nervous fumbles and uncontrolled ball-handling. Star hitters for either team were consistently shut down by stellar blocking defense that put the players’ height to good use. Rattled over losing the first set to a team it swept just a week earlier, Michigan played the first few points of the second set like a deer in the headlights, with slow reactions and miscommunication putting a kink in the well-oiled machine. “What scared us was how we came out in the second set,” said Michigan coach Mark Rosen. “I thought we just came out a little tentative, a little on our heels, and it looked like we were just second-guessing ourselves a little bit.” Even the veterans were off their game. Consequently, Rosen called a timeout after senior outside hitter Carly Skjodt gave up a point on a ballhandling error. A “Go green, go white” cheer broke out, calling attention to the decent amount of Spartan fans in the audience, and the mood shifted as Michigan State gained its largest lead of the game, 11-7. Freshman outside hitter Paige Jones stepped up and emerged as the game’s equalizer, showcasing her versatility as
a hitter and blocker. A forced Spartan timeout following one of her deafening spikes allowed the Wolverines to come from behind and take the lead of the set, 19-18. Apparently Michigan State coach Cathy George gave the team the pep-talk it needed, because the Spartans came back to tie the score at a nail-biting 24-24. Ultimately, Spartan sophomore Alyssa Chronowski hit the ball out of bounds to hand Michigan the second set, 27-25, leveling the match to one set each. Michigan State took the lead again early in the third set, but it was Skjodt’s 11th doubledouble of the season that underscored Michigan’s overall dominance. An ace service from Welsh seemed to signal the end was nigh. Nevertheless, the Spartans fought tooth and nail, and the Wolverines took the third set by another two-point margin, 25-23. Despite the closeness of the match, the mood lightened as senior night festivities took place. Senior libero Jenna Lerg was voted “Most likely to be President” by her teammates, and Michigan danced to the Macarena, waiting for the fourth set to commence. This show of camaraderie reminded the crowd that senior night not only means the team will graduate three star players in Skjodt, Lerg, and setter Maddy Abbott, but also three friends and fellow Wolverines who have made a lasting impact on their younger teammates. “I hate senior nights,” Rosen said about the disappointment of losing his players. “You can see their teammates’ reaction, how much this team, those players, mean to the whole team.” He acknowledges that while Skjodt, Lerg and Abbott will be moving on, their impact on the younger team members will remain. “Their legacy is going to be strong,” Rosen said, “but hopefully the younger players were paying attention to how they led, how they carried themselves, and we hope they set a great example for the future.” As the fourth set culminated in match point, a final Spartan serve was fielded by Skjodt, set by Welsh and then nailed down into the back corner by Jones. And just like that, from senior to freshman, the torch had been passed.
“We hope they set a great example for the future.”
Sports
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 — 7
Munger guides Michigan in win over Huskies
ANNIE KLUS/Daily
Senior guard Nicole Munger led Michigan with 27 points in its win over Washington in the third place game of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Sunday.
ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
Judging by the first half, it seemed like the game would come down to the wire. The Michigan women’s basketball team (5-1) held a slight, threepoint edge over Washington (3-3) with the contest still up for grabs. But in the second half, senior guard Nicole Munger did everything she could to help the Wolverines pull away in an 80-73 victory that garnered them a third-place finish at the Gulf Coast Showcase, Sunday evening in Estero, Fla. “I’m just really happy with the way that we just kept fighting and kept fighting,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico to WTKA after the game. “So I just think it speaks volumes.” With one second remaining
in the third stanza, the Huskies converted a jumper to tie the game at 55. The Wolverines quickly regained the lead in the fourth, off a layup from senior center Hallie Thome, but couldn’t take full control, so the game remained close. And although Michigan ultimately held the lead until the final buzzer, Washington still had hope. Munger made sure to crush that hope. With just over three minutes remaining, guard Missy Peterson capitalized on a fast break to keep the Huskies within five points. Munger responded right away from beyond the arc, but then forward Hannah Johnson made a triple of her own to keep Washington in the game. The Huskies called a timeout to plan their comeback, but when play resumed, Munger drained another dagger from the
3-point line to spoil their plans. Freshman guard Amy Dilk then made a layup on the Wolverines’ next offensive possession to give her team a 10-point lead — their biggest of the night — that sealed the deal. Munger finished the game with seven 3-pointers and a stellar 56.3 percent field goal percentage for a team-high 27 points. “Incredible. Absolutely incredible and so happy for her,” Barnes Arico said. “I mean, she’s just an unbelievable kid — unbelievable player in our program — and just really personifies what we stand for.” Dilk also contributed significantly with 19 points and seven assists, while Thome and junior forward Kayla Robbins also scored in double digits with 13 and 10 points, respectively. “She has really shown what she’s capable of doing,” Barnes
Arico said of Dilk. “And she was pretty special for sure.” The first half was a backand-forth fiasco; every time Michigan scored, the Huskies struck back and vice versa. The lead changed 20 times throughout the first two frames, with neither team building more than a four-point advantage. The Wolverines had a bit of an upper hand, though, as they never trailed after Thome made a layup with about three and a half minutes left in the second frame. “It was incredible. We knew it was a tough game. We looked a little tired in the first half. We weren’t getting back in transition defense like we normally do,” Barnes Arico said. “They challenged us in so many ways. And everytime we got ahead, and we thought we had a lead, they’d cut it. It was a heck of a battle for us.”
Eric Montross talks Wolverine-Tar Heel matchup ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
Last year, the Michigan men’s basketball team was run out of the Dean E. Smith Center in an 86-71 loss to North Carolina. This year, as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the two teams will match up again — this time with a venue change, as the seventh-ranked Wolverines will take on the 11th-ranked Tar Heels in Ann Arbor. Of course, these aren’t the same teams that squared off in Chapel Hill, N.C., last November. North Carolina (6-1) no longer has star point guard Joel Berry or wing Theo Pinson. Instead, surrounding forward Luke Maye — who has been in the National Player of the Year conversation since his breakout season last year — are center Garrison Brooks, forward Cameron Johnson and two heralded freshmen in guard Coby White and forward Nassir Little. Both were top-25 recruits who have already made their presence known early in the season. Michigan (6-0), on the other hand, lost forward Moritz Wagner, guard MuhammadAli Abdur-Rahkman and wing Duncan Robinson — three of its five starters in last year’s game. And the starting point guard at this time last year was Eli Brooks. A month later, he lost his job to then-sophomore Zavier Simpson, who has since become the soul of the Wolverines. Sophomore guard Jordan Poole, sophomore forward Isaiah Livers and junior center Jon Teske have seen increased roles, while freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis has impressed early. With both schools off to good starts — Michigan beat reigning national champion Villanova on the road, while the Tar Heels defeated UCLA — the matchup is one of the Wolverines’ most anticipated this year. The Daily spoke with former North Carolina player and current Tar Heels radio analyst Eric Montross about the matchup and the history between the two schools. North Carolina’s first trip to
Ann Arbor Michigan has a lot of history with the Tar Heels. Most notably, the two met in the 1993 National Championship game, famous for Chris Webber calling a timeout that the Wolverines didn’t have. Montross played for the titlewinning North Carolina team that year. The two teams had also met in the NCAA Tournament in 1987, 1988 and 1989. But despite that, the Tar Heels have never played in Ann Arbor. “It’s almost mind-boggling that these teams haven’t met in Ann Arbor,” Montross said. “ … Top programs in the country and top players in the country want to play against the best players in the best venues, and there’s no doubt that Crisler Arena is one of the best venues, and this is one of the best teams.” Turnover troubles When the Tar Heels take the court on Wednesday, they will hear Roy Williams’ voice in their head, telling them to hang onto the basketball. Turnovers weren’t the only problem in North Carolina’s loss to Texas last week, but they were a big part of it. The Tar Heels turned the ball over 17 times and allowed the Longhorns 31 points off turnovers.
“They’re not typically a turnover-prone team, and I think as they watch the film of the game against Texas, they saw there were a lot of unforced turnovers,” Montross said. “But at the same time, those, what we would call unforced turnovers … you could argue that they actually were forced by a little bit of a frenetic defense that Texas conveyed.” That won’t work against a team like the Wolverines, who are known for their relentless defense. Opposing teams have had double-digit turnovers in every game so far against Michigan, and the Wolverines’ transition attack is good at converting those into points. “Certainly, Carolina will put a premium on a low number of turnovers versus Michigan,” Montross said. Anticipation for the hotly contested matchup This game has gotten a lot of national hype, and for good reason. Beyond rivalry games, few matchups garner the level of enthusiasm that players and fans have for marquee non-conference contests. “Even if they haven’t played while they’ve been in college, even for some of the upperclassmen, they know each other,” Montross
said. “They’ve watched each other on TV. … For the freshmen, there’s probably a very good chance that there’s a familiarity there because of their paths having crossed in high school or AAU or different all-star teams. “I think that when I was in school, obviously that was a long time ago, but I was still very familiar with Chris Webber and Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose and Jimmy King and all those guys. You know and respect the players and … you’re enthused about playing them.” The history of the two teams in March Madness is more of a driver for the fans than the players — no one on either roster was born in 1993. But it’s not just the history that contributes to the aura of the matchup. “The expectations are that it’s a real heavyweight fight,” Montross said. “It’s two of the country’s best programs, two of the best public universities that are really peer institutions — they recruit the same kids, they’re both very well coached, they have high expectations. … We know it’s gonna be a raucous environment, and the fans are terrific. I think there’s a high expectation for the level of enthusiasm that there will be in that arena.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
The Michigan and North Carolina basketball teams will face off in Ann Arbor for the first time on Wednesday.
Sports
8 — Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Rashan Gary declares for NFL Draft MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
The postseason roster shifting has begun for the Michigan football team. Junior defensive end Rashan Gary announced Monday that he will forgo his senior season with the Wolverines to declare for the 2019 NFL Draft. “I would like to thank my higher power, my family, the University of Michigan, the students and the fans,” Gary said in his video. “But I will be forgoing my senior season to make a dream come true to declare for the draft. Thank you. Go Blue.” The announcement, which came via a 30-second YouTube video posted to Gary’s Twitter, does not come as a surprise, as he has been unanimously projected as a first- or second-round pick in the draft. Really, Gary has always been a highly-coveted prospect, no matter the level. He first came to Ann Arbor as the No. 1 recruit in the 2016 class, out of Paramus,
N.J. His recruitment came down to the wire on National Signing Day, and his choice to come to Michigan gave coach Jim Harbaugh arguably the biggest recruiting win of his tenure. Since then, Gary has never looked back. He amassed 166 tackles, 10 sacks and a forced fumble, helping the Wolverines to a 28-10 record in that time, and any time he got the chance, he expressed his love for Michigan and his teammates. “I just like seeing my brothers, man, just seeing what my brothers are able to do,” Gary said after the Wolverines blew out Rutgers, 42-7, on Nov. 10. “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.
“... It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.” Perhaps Gary’s resume at Michigan would have been a bit stronger had he not suffered a shoulder injury this season, which kept him on the sideline for games against Maryland, Wisconsin and Michigan State. The declaration is the first in what could be a large group of Wolverines to do so. Junior linebacker Devin Bush, junior cornerbacks Lavert Hill and David Long, junior safety Josh Metellus, junior guard Ben Bredeson and junior quarterback Shea Patterson are the big names that have realistic options to move on from Ann Arbor, though most of their draft projections aren’t as strong as Gary’s. Gary’s video did not clarify whether he plans to play in Michigan’s bowl game or not.
“I will be forgoing my senior season to make a dream come true.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior defensive end Rashan Gary announced Monday that he will forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com