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Friday, December 7, 2018
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Academic freedom panel begins campus outreach
The panel, created after letter controversy, received criticism for lack of diversity ANDREW HIYAMA Daily News Editor
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Protestors gather at the Regents’ meeting to support the implementation of carbon-neutral initiatives at the University Thursday afternoon.
Carbon neutrality, #UMDivest advocates speak out at Regents Public comment speakers discuss ‘U’ role in climate change, Israeli occupation SAYALI AMIN
Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan Board of Regents’ meeting Thursday featured 15 public comment speakers, including U-M Ann Arbor and Dearborn students as well as alumni, faculty and staff. The topics discussed included carbon neutrality, divestment from companies supporting Israel and the role of letters of
recommendation in a political context. At his annual leadership breakfast earlier this semester, University President Mark Schlissel announced he would appoint a commission to establish a timeline and distinct goals for achieving carbon neutrality. Starting in 2008 and 2009, a wave of universities mobilized around the nation to aim for carbon-neutral campuses. The University of Michigan, however, lagged
behind. Earlier this week in an interview with The Daily, Schlissel said the commission “can’t be too large.” Neurology professor Larry Junck contributed suggestions to raise awareness and educate on campus sustainability. In addition to themed semesters, he recommended multidisciplinary weekly conferences with a variety of topics and groups. “My proposal is that there be University-wide themed semesters dealing with various
aspects of climate change,” Junck said. “This is a large and great University with resources in many areas.” LSA junior Kristen Hayden said the University’s next steps toward carbon neutrality should include scientific recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the national climate assessment. “With our dedication, our See REGENTS, Page 3
The University of Michigan’s faculty panel on academic freedom is seeking input from the campus community on “the intersection of faculty members’ political ideology and their responsibilities to students,” the University announced in a press release. In addition to conducting a campus-wide online survey of attitudes on the subject, the panel will also hold a series of open meetings in December and January on the University’s three campuses to gather additional input. The University created the panel in the wake of its punishment of American Culture professor John CheneyLippold, who rescinded his offer to write a letter of recommendation for a student’s study abroad trip after discovering the program was in Israel. CheneyLippold’s punishment consists of a year-long pay
freeze, as well as a twoyear freeze on his sabbatical credits and eligibility. Several professional institutions, including the American Association of University Professors, in addition to many graduate students and faculty have criticized the University for imposing the discipline on Cheney-Lippold without due process. University President Mark Schlissel and Provost Martin Philbert announced the creation of the panel in an open letter to the campus titled “Important questions around issues of personal beliefs, our responsibilities as educators, and antiSemitism.” “As we have stated, U-M strongly opposes a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, and no school, college, department or unit at our university endorses such a boycott,” the letter read. “We will work to make absolutely clear that faculty members’ personal political beliefs cannot interfere with their See PANEL, Page 3
Yemeni Student Association hosts Piercing Journalist cultural night with cuisine, dance, dress discusses shop closes New student group brings 150 guests to event celebrating Yemeni community heritage
ANN ARBOR
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
after online campaign
struggle to get asylum
Pangea Piercing owner accused of acts of racism while assisting customers REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
The local Ann Arbor piercing studio Pangea Piercing announced the store is officially closing its doors Thursday following its reopening last Saturday after months of controversy. The store cited harassment by “communists” and local media in its store front window on East Liberty Street as reasons for closing. In August, store owner J.C. Potts temporarily suspended businessoperations after he allegedly shared white supremacist views with his customers. Customers posted on social media describing the incidents that accused Potts of using racial slurs and expressing white unification. Dozens of individuals came forward with accusations of Potts’ white supremacist views, recounting situations in which See PANGEA, Page 3
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The Yemeni Student Association at the University of Michigan opened its inaugural cultural night with a simple invitation to attendees: “We want you to experience the beauty of Yemeni culture,” LSA junior Ryan Shami told the more than 150 students gathered Thursday night in the West Quad Multipurpose Room. Shami then danced his way through the middle of the room with other board members, all clad in traditional thawbs, multicolored shawls and jambiya dagger belts unique to Yemeni men’s fashion. The women of YSA also took the floor for dabke, showing off dresses and headpieces from various regions of the country while making their way through the diverse crowds of students packed between various photo exhibits and food buffets. Guests ate dishes spanning from gallaba to harissa desserts, sipped Yemeni tea, flipped through pictures of ancient villages, castles and mountain and clapped along to the dance performances. And so went YSA’s capstone event of the semester: a celebration of not only the rich
heritage honored by Yemenis on campus, but also a growing community making its mark in bringing students together. YSA was born two years ago in 2016 with just four students who saw the a need for a space created by and for the Yemeni community. Through
informal shahee circles with the club’s signature tea service, networking with prospective students and showcases like Thursday’s cultural night, the student group has exploded from the four founders to almost 50 members and hundreds of supporters across campus. LSA
senior Sadeeque Mohamed was part of the original group in 2016, and was overcome by the “amazing” scene he saw at the cultural night.
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Knight Wallace Fellow Emilio Gutiérrez Soto still waiting to receive asylum KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily
Knight-Wallace Fellow Emilio Gutiérrez Soto is currently awaiting his ruling in a political asylum case officially opened in 2008, when he f led Mexico with his son, Oscar, upon discovering his name on a military hit list after writing an article about soldiers robbing a hotel. He was detained for nearly eight months in 2017 and released one day before a deadline for the federal judge to produce documents explaining the reason for his detainment. The University of Michigan’s Knight-Wallace Fellowship advocated for Gutiérrez’s release and accepted him as a fellow for the 2018-19 school year. Gutiérrez spoke to students and faculty about his past and this struggle to receive U.S. asylum, as well as his
Students dance during the Yemeni Cultural Night celebration hosted by the Yemeni Student Association in West Hall Thursday.
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Vol. CXXVIII, No. 46 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
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SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS............5 SPORTS....................7
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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
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BAMN and Stop Trump hold event to discuss racism, sexual misconduct The tribunal covered SMTD misconduct reports and white supremacy at piercing shop building the new civil rights rapists or who blamed rape and human rights movement survivors, so too must we that can defeat Trump,” continue to say ‘no’ to victim blaming.” Stenvig said. Sitting in front of a group Ann Arbor resident Alice Along with Aarefah Mosavi, of about 20 students, activists keynote speaker and anti-rape Held, who was introduced by and community members activist, Stenvig denounced a Jessica Prozinski, president Thursday evening in Mason culture of victim-blaming that of Stop Trump Ann Arbor, Hall, Kate Stenvig, organizer often surrounds those who spoke about her experiences of By Any Means Necessary, choose to speak out against with Potts’ abusive, racist led a public “tribunal” to their abusers. In May, Mosavi and sexist behavior. Pangea encourage conversation and filed a case against Mount St. Piercing closed Thursday organize action against rape Antonio College in Walnut, following months of protests and sexual assault. BAMN and closures. Calif., alleging former student and temporary Stop Trump Ann Arbor jointly and friend Chester Brown Held said she has recently hosted the event, which raped her while on campus. felt empowered to speak addressed current issues Now, Mosavi is touring college out against her abuser after impacting the University campuses around the country having suppressed it out of of Michigan community, to speak candidly about pain and fear. such as the sexual assault “About a year and a half allegations against Music, her assault and experience Theatre & Dance professor reporting the event to her ago, I went and I got my nipples pierced from J.C. and David Daniels and the recent college’s administration. “The sexist illogic and I had no idea that he actually closure of Sudoku Syndication Pangea Piercing http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ victim blaming, trivializing already had a reputation for due to allegations of abuse, our experiences and bringing up racist topics and sexism and white supremacy slandering women as being misogynistic and just a liars or promiscuous real ass during his piercings,” temptresses who are Held said. “So I went and I asking for it still remains did that, and he commented pervasive in our courts,” on my body when he was HARD Mosavi said. “In my own taking the measurements for case, defense attorneys the jewelry and said that my demanded to know why breasts and my curves were I trusted Brown, as if the ‘blessed.’ And that made me act of trusting one who really uncomfortable, but you believe to be a friend I’m really used to people in power making comments is a crime.” Mosavi further like that when it’s really not discussed her experience appropriate, and I’m used to encountering sexism when minimizing it and brushing reporting her rape to the it off so that’s exactly what I college’s administration did.” This past Saturday, Held and, eventually, to the state courts. She said Brown was getting ready to protest was often given privileges outside of Pangea when she of privacy and respect remembered details about her while her information was abuse that she had previously made public, putting her repressed. Held said her memory has given her power in danger. “At every turn, I was to take action against Potts’ denied the same rights and behavior. “Eventually I had this privileges the man who where I raped me was afforded,” breakthrough Mosavi said. “But just as realized that I hold the truth © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. GAIN THIS GRAIN puzzle by sudokusyndication.com civil society has demanded in this situation and in some the ousting of inept judges See BAMN, Page 3 who sympathize with Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com! by owner J.C. Potts. Stenvig opened the discussion by mentioning Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s recent appointment despite being accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, in September. She noted how speaking out against sexual assault and rape is painful for survivors, but can lead to a sustained movement against what she said is a current “epidemic” of assault and human rights abuses. “Our fight for our own dignity and freedom and equality is completely tied up with a collective fight that can actually lead the movement toward defending democracy, opening borders and really
LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
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REGENTS From Page 1 hard work, there is also hope that we can reach a clean, sustainable U of M, and by extension, world,” Hayden said. “Let’s turn the defining issue of my generation into the defining success. We are the future.” Alum Missy Stults, sustainability and innovation manager for the city of Ann Arbor, added young people should be included in the process of achieving carbon neutrality. “As you move forward with creating your carbon neutrality taskforce, I strongly encourage you to engage students, especially undergraduate students, in this endeavor,” Stults said. “I also encourage you to think about engaging youth, these are the next generation of leaders.” Moving on to conversations around the University’s relationship with the state of Israel, Rackham student Yahya Hafez voiced opposition surrounding the University’s punishment of American Culture professor John CheneyLippold. Earlier this semester, Cheney-Lippold rescinded his decision to write a letter of recommendation for a student wishing to study abroad in Israel. The University’s decision to admonish Cheney-Lippold stirred discussion on campus regarding the role of faculty’s academic freedoms in regards to their students. Following Cheney-Lippold’s punishment, Provost Martin Philbert appointed a faculty panel to investigate these issues, though the group has been criticized as not being representative of faculty views and levels across the University. Hafez stated other professional organizations have warned againstthe University’s actions handling the situation. In regard to Philbert’s panel, Hafez commented on the lack of Cheney-Lippold’s colleagues in humanities departments in the body, claiming this was a mistake and undemocratic. “That the provost then unilaterally created a panel to retroactively justify and recommend policies allowing these actions is even more egregious,” Hafez said. “Particularly given the complete exclusion of any panel members from the humanities, no amount of community input can make up for the undemocratic structure.” The public comment then
JOURNALIST From Page 1 experience with journalism and the free press, Thursday in an event sponsored by the English Language and Literature Department. Gutiérrez was first detained December 2017, though he sought asylum months earlier. He was received an emergency stay before deportation, but was detained and released a second time this summer. Since then, Gutiérrez and his son have been living in Ann Arbor following the beginning of his fellowship in September, traveling back to El Paso, Texas, several times for immigration hearings. Gutiérrez, through a professional Spanish translator, described the traumatic experience of leaving Mexico. He emphasized how military
PANGEA From Page 1 they have felt vulnerable and unable to disagree. Complaints range from racist, sexist and transphobic comments to sexual harassment while customers were getting piercings. Many others expressed their concerns with the safety and professionalism of the process, mentioning scarring and pain. At a BAMN event Thursday night, Ann Arbor resident Alice Held denounced Potts’ behavior as misogynistic. “About a year and a half
shifted to a condemnation of the University for not acting on divestment resolutions in the past. Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, a group of students promoting social justice and human rights of Palestinians, brought the original resolution, which sought to divest funds from companies committing human rights violations against Palestinians in Israel, to the forefront of University conversation over the past decade and a half. Last year, Central Student Government passed the divestment resolution for the first time ever, joining student governments on the Flint and Dearborn campuses in their support. However, a majority of the regents refused to consider SAFE’s call for a committee to investigate the University’s investments, releasing an online statement on the matter weeks after the resolution. U-M Dearborn student Susan Yaseen spoke of a lack of support Palestinian students felt from the University on its Dearborn campus. Yaseen also expressed disappointment in the University’s handling of the resolution for divestment. “We feel that we lack meaningful support from our administration at Dearborn when it comes to speaking in our own voices,” Yaseen said. “The issues that we care deeply about seem to have traction only when non-Arabs are involved.” Graduate student instructor Elizabeth Walz spoke against all study-abroad programs located in Israel, claiming they contribute to the violation of Palestinian freedoms. GSIs also joined Cheney-Lippold in academic boycotts of Israel: Early in october, Rackham student Lucy Peterson, a Political Science GSI, also declined to write a reccomendation letter for a student studying in Israel. Walz said the University’s commitment to student freedoms was also not maintained when the University refused to consider the resolution passed by CSG. “What has University of Michigan, and what specifically have you, the regents, done to protect this supposed freedom when the CSG passed the resolution to explore the divestment?” Walz asked. “Especially after sitting through the meeting today, does this University care about anything other than money?” The Regents did not respond to any of the public comment speakers.
intimidation and concern for his own life and the life of his adolescent son was what ultimately pushed him to leave. “It seemed incredible to me that we were leaving behind forever our modest legacy, our home. To preserve our lives was more important. In the darkness of that night, our lives changed. The following day, we had determined already to ask for political asylum in the United States, that was our opportunity for life,” Gutiérrez said. “We had security, but not freedom. The first night that we were under protection, they put us in a room that was so cold that we could see our breath and our fingers were numb. We had to ask one of the guards that he let us look for some towels so we could protect ourselves from the wind coming from the air-conditioning. I covered my son with two towels and hugged him to keep him warm.” He described the frustration
ago, I went and I got my nipples pierced from JC and I had no idea that he actually already had a reputation for
He commented on my body when he was taking the measurements bringing up racist topics and being misogynistic and just a real ass during his piercings,” she said. “So I went and I did
Friday, December 7, 2018 — 3
D I S N E Y A N I M AT I O N
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily Cesar Valazquez, head of effects at Walt Disney Animation Studios, shares his expertise on the animation industry at the School of Art & Design Thursday.
PANEL From Page 1 obligations to our students with regard to letter-writing and all other modes of academic support.” Faculty members have criticized the lack of diversity on the panel, noting it consists entirely of full professors, and does not include any professors in the humanities. The panel is chaired by Science and Engineering professor James Duderstadt, who served as the University’s president from 1988 to 1996. Duderstadt could not be reached for direct comment. “Our goal is to solicit a broad range of perspectives on this question: What ought to be intersection of faculty members’ political thought/ideology and their responsibilities to students?” Duderstadt said in the press release. “Our charge is not to formulate specific policy or processes, but to recommend appropriate considerations and principles.” In a recent interview with The Daily, Schlissel affirmed the purpose of the panel was to analyze the opinions of the community, clarifying final decisions on policy would rest
with the ongoing case, from the lack of consideration of witnesses to missing case documents. “Our case has been very tiring, we have been in this process for 10 years already,” Gutiérrez said. “The judge has taken our case, instead of doing it as a matter of legal process, he’s taken it as a personal matter.” According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 47 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 1992. Gutiérrez assured this number is much higher when responding to a student inquiry regarding the costs versus benefits of risking his life for the sake of freedom of expression. “The risk that you take is for the love of the work and love of the freedom, and because you like to participate in a democratic society,” Gutiérrez said. “My recommendation is that before you report, to
that, and he commented on my body when he was taking the measurements for the jewelry and said that my breasts and my curves were ‘blessed.’ And that made me really uncomfortable, but I’m really used to people in power making comments like that when it’s really not appropriate, and I’m used to minimizing it and brushing it off so that’s exactly what I did. Eventually I had this breakthrough where I realized that I hold the truth in this situation and in some way that’s going to protect me. The truth is going to protect me and I have to have faith in that.”
with him, Philbert and the University’s deans. On Dec. 3, the Office of the Provost sent an email to students and faculty announcing the faculty panel’s open meetings and containing a link to the four-question survey. University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said the initial response to the message “has been good.” The first question asks whether respondents agree with the panel’s identification of primary “responsibilities to students”: teaching, advising, assessing, giving feedback and recommending. The second question asks if respondents can envision “conf licts between faculty members’ political thought … and faculty members’ responsibilities to students,” and how they should be managed. Professor Emeritus Alan Wald spoke at a recent teachin held in response to the University’s punishment of Cheney-Lippold that was dubbed the “Unappointed Advisory Committee on Academic Freedom.” Wald said the survey questions failed to get at the heart of the issue, and seemed like “a diversion from the truly pressing concerns.” “They (the questions) evade the central problem that has
investigate, and if it’s not prudent for your life, perhaps don’t work. I say that because in Mexico there are statistics of 128 journalists assassinated in 11 years, 30 that have disappeared. And Mexico, even though it is not a place with war, there are 320,000 dead in 11 years. So you have an idea of the risk that you take in the name of freedom of expression.” Gutiérrez also considered the political environment, from Donald Trump’s administration’s hardline immigration policy and Central American migrant caravans that have pushed to enter the U.S in the past year. He correlated current immigration tension in the U.S. to historical U.S. policy in Central America. “The people that are at the border now from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua,” Gutiérrez said. “Their countries are in crisis from corruption and poverty
BAMN From Page 1 way that’s going to protect me,” Held said. “The truth is going to protect me and I have to have faith in that.” An LSA freshman who requested to remain anonymous said the tendency for universities to ignore or diminish sexual assault claims is especially painful for those who have experienced abuse in the past. “I was a victim of sexual abuse, I was groomed for two years, and it has very deeply impacted my mental
now become crucial to both faculty and students, and is the cause for campus-wide concern: Is it permissible for faculty members to rely on their own ethical reasoning when making decisions that affect students, such as whether or not to write a letter of recommendation for a position with an organization or institution that engages in discrimination or other practices to which the faculty member is morally opposed?” Wald wrote in an email to The Daily. “At present, this reads like a smoke screen to provide the veneer of open and inclusive decision-making when, in reality, the fix is already in.” The third survey question asks, “Do notions of academic freedom bear on question #2?” History professor Howard Brick, who spoke at the same teach-in, called the survey questions “exceptionally vague.” Questions of defining academic freedom, he said, “must ultimately reside with the faculty.” Brick agreed the University should seek the input of students and staff, but expressed doubts about whether the panel’s outreach would provide a genuine opportunity, given the actions the University had already taken. “To convene such a
discussion after punitive measures have been taken against the faculty member shows a deep problem with the whole university’s response to this issue,” Brick said. “If it doesn’t cast doubt on the fairness of that inquiry in terms of how (the)] committee and its powers are constituted, it at least exposes the punishment of the professor as unfair, because it confesses that there has been no consensual terms regarding the legitimacy of such actions heretofore.” According to Broekhuizen, however, “academic freedom is not in question.” In an earlier interview with The Daily, Schlissel agreed the problem was not one of freedom of expression, which he said could be practiced through venues that didn’t overlap with responsibilities to students. “We also want the faculty to share this consensus that it’s about the student,” Schlissel said. “It’s not about (the professors). It’s not a platform for their speech and their politics. It’s about our obligation to support students. And it can’t be imposed as a rule; it has to be imposed by values.”
and violence that comes from political involvement from the U.S. Nobody wants to leave their home to come for an adventure. I left my good job behind, I had two houses as a legacy for my child. And besides my hob, I had the opportunity to run a ranch. I felt happy with my work.” Prof. Andrea Zemgulys, director of undergraduate studies, highlighted the pertinence of the discussion for students to explore future careers and understand the importance of professional writing. “We’re definitely trying to think about our majors, and any student who’s on campus and thinking about a career in writing, and just kind of helping think about the future, this is a step in that direction,” Zemgulys said. “We, in general, are trying to think more about life after college for our students, and so professional
writing and journalism is one of those things.” LSA sophomore Ellie Katz attended the event because of its national relevance and to hear a firsthand account of immigration, especially as it relates to freedom of expression in other nations. “I came to learn more about his experience,” Katz said. “We’ve been talking so much about the immigrant experience in our (Spanish) class and what it means politically to be a migrant, but also, in more of a humanitarian sense, to be a person without a home. I think that today I learned about his experience in particular but also his reiteration of how it feels to be a person without a state or a home, just kind of existing in the in between. That was most impactful for me.”
health,” she said. “I’m finally able to seek therapy and help for it, which is very nice to finally be able to do that,
on such a deep and personal level and which can destroy you is being neglected just because somebody wants to make the university look better.” Stenvig ended the conversation by noting how difficult and brave it is for survivors to make their experiences public to find some semblance of justice. She also said sexual assault has become so commonplace that speaking out is necessary, but often bears no reward for the survivor due to victim-blaming. “We shouldn’t have to be subjected to abuse to be at the University of Michigan,” Stenvig said.
We shouldn’t have to be subjected to abuse to be at the University but it’s horrifying to me that something so traumatic and something that impacts people
Opinion
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MARGOT LIBERTINI | COLUMN
Looking abroad for 2020
A
That is not to say 2020 isn’t s a buzz of tweets about Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s important — curtailing Donald presidency should possible 2020 election run Trump’s definitely be a prominent have surfaced in Democratic aim. As we the past few days, a inevitably focus our particular meeting attention on 2020, I hope has resurfaced in Democrats will hone in on the minds of many foreign policy and national progressives. In security as a key part of 2017, O’Rourke met their campaign effort. with the American The Democratic Party Israel Public Affairs has long been ambivalent on Committee, a foreign policy, which makes prominent proMARGOT Israel political LIBERTINI it a very difficult issue to unite our base around. action committee, and affirmed his support for Israel Issues such as the U.S. alliance with in a tweet expressing that he Israel and Saudi Arabia, the war learned “how the United States in Iraq and intervention in warcan continue to support our torn Syria have left Democratic important ally in the region.” As politicians on opposing sides. many progressives identify as pro- There is not quite a salient divide, Palestine, O’Rourke’s status as their as Democrats don’t emphasize hero is being questioned. Why are these subjects enough to stir up we just now learning or re-learning huge controversy within the party. While Democrats love to focus about this seemingly important policy stance after his Senate race on health care and economic justice, national security has ended? It’s because Democrats don’t love concerns consistently rank among to talk about foreign policy. Despite Americans’ top three concerns. its importance to American voters, The way we choose to engage in it has never been a rallying cry for Yemen and Syria will have a large the Democrats. Instead of drawing impact on our national security attention to the civil war in Yemen for years to come. Thus, Trump’s or political instability in South and reckless engagement in these Central America, Democrats have areas should be a major focal point been talking a lot about who might for Democrats, but we instead run in 2020: O’Rourke, Minnesota continue to allow Republicans to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Vermont Sen. attack us on the grounds of being Bernie Sanders, California Sen. weak and dovish. More important than the smart Kamala Harris and the list goes on. The election is still about two political strategy that strong years off, but potential candidates Democratic foreign policy could are already speaking explicitly be, these issues are of great moral about their prospects. This buzz is consequence. The Yemeni Civil indicative of our current political War is the largest humanitarian state, in which sensationalism akin crisis of our time, and the country to Hollywood gossip and iconic is quickly headed toward famine. personalities often overshadow Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to manufacture and ship arms policy concerns.
to Saudi Arabia to keep bombing innocent Yemeni civilians. As long as Democrats claim to be on the side of social justice, they must hold our leaders accountable for the blood on their hands. Thankfully, a new class of Democrats like New York incoming Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez and Minnesota incoming Rep. Ilhan Omar are starting to look abroad in their fight for justice and call attention to the plight to which we are contributing. Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, has also taken on the project of encouraging Democrats to talk about national security by creating the National Security Action, an organization dedicated to “shining a light on” the Trump administration’s dangerous foreign policy and constructing a Democratic vision. While Trump continues to praise Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin-Salman, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other murderous despots, the Democrats have a prime opportunity to call out Republicans for their complicity in both financing murder of foreign civilians and creating a more dangerous world for Americans. Though the issues feel more abstract when they’re far from American shores, it only takes a smart communications team to connect the dots and transform this into a key messaging tactic. Americans should feel secure in their decision to vote for Democrats, knowing they are the best party to serve their interests domestically and abroad. Margot Libertini can be reached at mliberti@umich.edu.
HALLIE FOX | OP-ED
C
The next step in fighting climate change
ongress has finally taken some action on climate change, and the solution is exactly what we’ve been hoping for. On Nov. 28, three Republicans and three Democrats introduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018 in the House of Representatives. This bill, viewed as a free market solution to climate change, is revenue neutral, adds 2.1 million jobs to the U.S. economy and gives American taxpayers hundreds of dollars each month. Oh yeah, it’ll also cut United States carbon emissions by 40 percent in 12 years, which is on par with what the International Panel on Climate Change recommends to keep global warming limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Sounds a little too good to be true, right? Here’s how it works: Carbon Fee The policy puts a fee on fuels like coal, oil and gas at the source. As soon as the fuel is drawn, a $15 per ton fee will be added to the price. With each year, the fee will grow by $10 to create a progressive policy. Because the price of carbon would increase due to the fee, energy prices for coal, oil and gas would increase as well. This would act as a market-equalizer by incorporating the environmental cost of these fuels. As the price of carbon fuels increases relative to the price of renewable energy, renewable energy will become a more economical option for households. As a result, the demand for renewable energy will increase and companies will be incentivized to invest in renewable technologies that are not subject to the tax. Carbon Dividend It’s important that it’s a carbon fee,
not a tax. All of the money collected from the fee will be given back to the American people at the end of each month — not diverted to any other programs. Because each American gets the same amount of money, this policy will actually offer some benefits to the middle and lower classes. It’s estimated 53 percent of households will receive more dividend money than they spend on energy costs at the end of the month. Program costs will also be taken out of the funds collected by the fee. The dividend would be given to the people as a general transfer of funds, meaning Americans would be able to spend their money as they see fit. Border Carbon Adjustment To protect U.S. manufacturers and jobs, imported goods will also be subject to the carbon fee. As a result, manufacturers will be disincentivized to move overseas to avoid the fee. American goods that are exported will receive a refund for the carbon fee under this policy. Regulatory Adjustment The policy prevents redundant carbon regulations as long as the targets are being met. Regulations on auto mileage and other pollutants will not be affected. This policy is the best way for the United States to amp up its fight against climate change. But first, it needs to get passed in Congress. That might sound like a pretty big order, especially with our current government, but there are ways that you (yes, you!) can have a real impact on the political conversation about climate change. The most important thing you can possibly do is call or write your representative and tell them you
support this bill. Though it might seem like representatives don’t care what you think, they definitely do. Your vote decides whether they have a job in two years, and they are responsible for representing your interests on the national stage. Hold them to that. There are also several environmental groups that focus on climate activism. I’m a part of the University of Michigan’s chapter of Citizen’s Climate Lobby, an international organization that focuses on speaking to representatives to advocate for the bipartisan passage of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Through this organization, I’ve had the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C., and speak with Michigan senators and House representatives. There are also groups like Climate Blue, Students for Clean Energy and the Climate Action Movement at the University that advocate for campus sustainability. Our climate can’t wait for us to make slow change. The IPCC Report and the recent U.S. Climate Report say we don’t have that much time left if we want to stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming. We need to see widespread community action to drive policy if we are going to protect our future and our children’s future. The best way to do that right now is to get Congress to pass the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. We’ve been taking baby steps to combat climate change. It’s high time for us to start sprinting.
Hallie Fox is an LSA sophomore.
I
How #GivingTuesday became the selfie of altruism
t seems like every six months there is a new holiday that spends an entire day absolutely obliterating social media feeds. Last week, #GivingTuesday took its turn in this newly created digital spotlight, prompting me to wonder where #GivingTuesday came from and what #GivingTuesday can tell us about the current state of charity work. #GivingTuesday’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. In 2012, just after being founded by the United Nations Foundation and 92nd Street Y, #GivingTuesday was able to raise an “inspiring” $10.1 million. This past week, only six years later, #GivingTuesday raised a whopping $380 million. In 2012, Mashable was “thrilled” about the “new annual celebration” that “is less about buying gifts and more about giving back,” referring to the mass consumerism and abject purchasing that occurs every Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But how did #GivingTuesday become such a phenomenon? And why does it seem to exist almost solely on social media? The answer is actually quite simple; from #GivingTuesday’s inception, “the movement” was able to score partnerships with a litany of powerful technology and social media companies. Its official sponsors include the likes of Skype, Cisco, Microsoft, Sony, Mashable, Facebook, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google Plus. #GivingTuesday’s digital strategy can be seen in every part of the movement. In fact, on #GivingTuesday’s official website says “#GivingTuesday harnesses the potential of social media.” One also doesn’t really have to look past the name, which officially has a hashtag in it (cringe), to see that #GivingTuesday was tailor-made for social media. On the surface, #GivingTuesday seems like it is not much more than a shining example of the more noble potentials of social media. While the positive material outcomes of #GivingTuesday are undeniable, it’s important that we don’t allow corporate-created social projects to exist solely in their desired state of unbounded positivity.
I can’t help but feel a cold draft rush into the room when I think about the advanced publicity chess move that sponsoring #GivingTuesday is for a company like Facebook. It is no secret that Facebook has been under massive amounts of public scrutiny ever since the 2016 election. Of course every corporation is invested in maintaining its public image, but it’s important to understand that image is far more important for social media companies than almost any other type of company. Facebook does not actually sell people a product, nor do they actually provide anything that cannot easily be replicated; someone halfway through a computer science degree could recreate Facebook from scratch. The entire value of Facebook comes solely from the fact that other people use Facebook. Essentially, anyone can create a Facebook 2.0, but it’s nearly impossible to convince billions of people to sign on. It’s this dynamic that puts Facebook at a very uncomfortable crossroad. I wonder how many board meetings Facebook has had on this exact topic: If people say they hate Facebook so much, why do they keep using it? Or rather, why don’t they stop using Facebook? There are tons of interesting potential answers to this question, but, for Facebook, #GivingTuesday is a solution. By supporting #GivingTuesday and making Facebook a fundraising friendly website (started in 2017) in general, people start to view Facebook with a sense of idealism and as a place where organizing and sharing thoughts to help those in need is easy and abundant. In short, Facebook’s shift toward philanthropy seems to fit a timeline in which Facebook wants people to think of Facebook less as a place filled with fake news and conservative radicalization and more as a place that helps facilitate the homeless to get their next meal. It may be unfair to cast Facebook’s philanthropy efforts as being completely disingenuous, but it is also unfair to ignore #GivingTuesday as a publicity stunt for Facebook and tech companies alike. The broader idea of creating a charitable movement around
social media also reads as deeply troubling and reflective of the hyperindividualized times in which we live. The best and most ethical ways of giving back have been debated by philosophers and religious communities for thousands of years, but most people agree charitable acts should center on those in need, not those who are giving. The central tenet of social media is for people to express their individuality: to share with the world what you are doing, to tell everyone what you are thinking about, to have everyone see you in all your beauty. If we agree the highest forms of charity revolve around unrewarded self-sacrifice, doesn’t a platform designed for self-praising seem like a really weird place “to do” charity? After perusing the #GivingTuesday website for a while, I started to wonder if #GivingTuesday saw a way for people to give back by non-monetary means. #GivingTuesday does recommend and provides truly useful tools for finding local charities at which volunteer. But #GivingTuesday also suggests people post a “#UNselfie” in which they take a selfie of them doing charitable work and attach #GivingTuesday and #UNselfie to their social media post. At every turn it appears #GivingTuesday is a charitable movement that is sustained by a matrix of self-interest. From a rough and zoomed-out perspective, it seems that our critical response to the consumer capitalism that occurs on Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to participate in a corporatelysustained social media campaign that allows us to tell our friends how much money we gave to charity. My point is not that contributing to #GivingTuesday is necessarily unethical, but rather that #GivingTuesday is the perfect yet slightly terrifying symbol of altruism in postmodern times.
Reed Rosenbacher can be reached at rrosenb@umich.edu.
AARON BAKER | COLUMN
Want less polarization? Look for a new hobby
W
e live in a country so polarized that it’s hard to imagine having a civil conversation with someone who voted differently than you did. This is a problem. Polarization, to put it simply, characterizes the trend in American politics in which Republicans and Democrats agree on less and less. A polarized political body is one that can’t compromise. Polarization is deeply concerning for any democracy. Polarization stymies policy from being legislated and thus can undermine democracy to the point of decay. The Weimar Republic, Germany’s experiment with democracy before Adolf Hitler, was undermined deeply by polarization caused by political factions that couldn’t compromise. Leading up to Hitler’s appointment as chancellor, the polarization had gotten so bad that the Reichstag, the German legislature, was unable to pass legislation. Thus, the German president relied on unilateral action through executive decrees, akin to our executive orders, which helped pave the way for Hitler’s abuses of executive power and the rise of the Third Reich. We should all be concerned by the damage polarization is doing to the efficacy and health of our democratic system. There are whole classes and entire books on the source of political polarization in America. Some say it’s the changing demographics and the approach to a majority-minority nation, which I reject as essentialist thinking that demonstrates racism. There’s nothing inherent about having a smaller white majority that means our politics will be polarized. Others say it’s social media and the news cycle, which might be true — but it’s not like we can get rid of social media or the 24/7 news cycle. Regardless of the sources of the polarization, I can think there’s one pretty straightforward way we can alleviate polarization. To lessen polarization, we should lessen political hobbyism. Political hobbyism is defined by political scientist Eitan Hersch as “a degraded form of politics that caters to the voyeurism of news junkies and the short attention span
of slacktivists.” Political hobbyism is the politics born of a 24/7 news cycle, with social media and the internet cluttering your home screen with notifications. Political hobbyists have a relationship with politics akin to sports fan with sports. Like avid sports fans, political hobbyists have an insatiable interest in politics and a strong emotional investment in politics. But this interest in politics only serves to provide immediate emotional gratification — either boiling outrage or fervent support — while killing an intent to act in any meaningful way. A political hobbyist will know all about what’s going on, tweet voraciously about politics, then call it a night. Political hobbyism creates an outrage culture that fuels the atmosphere of polarization. When politics is a sports-like hobby, people lose sight of the purpose of being politically aware in the first place. Knowledge of politics should be to serve political action. If an issue is really important to you, then you should use the knowledge you have about it to take action in whatever way you can. In a democracy, political actions should be ultimately geared toward effecting change, of which changing minds and mobilizing people is often instrumental. This could be done through voting, volunteering for political organizations, engaging in dialogues as rationally and respectfully as possible, fundraising, etc. Anything that does not serve, even indirectly, the advancement of issues you care about through legislation or the enactment of policies is not legitimate political action in my opinion. I witnessed a good example of non-hobbyist political action at a teach-in on immigration under the Trump administration. An organizer spoke about protesting a speech by an anti-immigration spokesperson held by the University’s chapter of College Republicans. The intent was to change the minds of the people in the audience, not to simply express outrage and deem the speaker and audience members terrible people. The protestors planned to wield signs with facts and images of asylum seekers to refute the speaker’s antiimmigrant arguments.
It’s not that you shouldn’t use heated language or speak passionately, even angrily, or that you shouldn’t tweet about politics. But you should draw a line where you think you could no longer convince a person to agree with you. Getting mad at someone for thinking something you find offensive is understandable. But if you get apoplectic, the conversation has been supplanted by a shouting match, and that person will never agree with you. Nothing is stopping the spread of ideological polarization when people don’t care about achieving compromise through dialogues and rational exchanges. Remembering that compromise is an indispensable modality of democracy could check ideologues and the theatrics of political hobbyists that further polarizes our politics. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche thought history needed to be used only to help the living act in the present. A student who studied history excessively would have no will to take action, because they would spend all of their time and energy reconstructing and studying the past. The proper use of history is to inspire novel pursuits in the present and future. Political hobbyists, which all of us are to some degree, should consider adopting this advice to their relationship to politics. Interest in politics should primarily be about readying yourself to act in accordance with your beliefs and interests, of which changing minds is often paramount to achieve in our democratic system. Growth is a facet of all human experience. Were you the same person, with the same views, three years ago? I definitely wasn’t. Keep this in mind when talking to people who disagree with you. Just because they don’t agree with you now doesn’t mean they won’t ever change their mind. If we reframe how we think about politics to be rooted in taking action, we can take an important step to alleviating the polarization that is tearing our country apart.
Aaron Baker can be reached at aaronbak@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, December 7, 2018 — 5
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
The most underrated and overlooked artists of 2018
THREE QUARTER
DERO ARCADE
Steve Lacy is the mastered amateur SSION mixes pop, punk and funk DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer
As we grow up and toss out the old tools that crafted our talents, we forget the elegance and potential that built our skills. We look at the amateur as no different from a child on training wheels, someone incapable of mastery without the more efficient gadgets built specifically for the job. It’s almost as though our accomplishments are just as much our tools as they are our work. But what if we master the art of the amateur? Bring revolutionary creations to fruition with the same gizmos that manufactured less flashy prototypes? Does that make it less valid, less worthy of recognition? Steve Lacy has built his career from the one app even amateur musicians eschew: Garageband. Growing up in Compton, Cali., he never expected himself to produce the track “Pride” for native Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize winning DAMN.. “Here I was just creating music — I had no idea what for. It was just — it felt right,” he says of some demos he produced on his iPhone. But all that “iPhone stuff” scored him major gigs, from operating as co-executive producer and guitarist for the band The Internet to collaborating with J. Cole. He often jokes about getting all the glory before the age of 20: “So this is the ‘Curse’ demo that would go on to lead me into a Grammy nomination in high school for an album I couldn’t tour — because I was in high school,” he says of his accomplishments in his TED talk. Lacy has accomplished more in 20 years than many musicians do in a lifetime, bringing an underground, overlooked sound into the mainstream with critical acclaim. The thing is, you probably didn’t even notice. Heck, this might even be your first time hearing
his name. But I’m sure — no, I’m positive — you’ve heard his music before. I speak from experience. I discovered Steve Lacy after listening to Kali Uchis’s “Just a Stranger,” his voice distinct against her high-pitched crooning. Uchis’s album Isolation soundtracked much of 2018 for me, its tones and energies hazy but emotive enough to fit any situation. But something about that song with Lacy in particular stuck out to me: It wasn’t afraid to be funky and bold. As Uchis and Lacy faintly sang “dollar bills” on loop in the background, it felt as though their voices moved sonically from one headphone to the other like a pendulum. The bass was sticky and gave the song an earthier element against the psychedelic production. But it was the attention to detail and nuance that really got me. I’m still not over the effects with the line: “She’s a hurricane / Feel the earth shake,” Uchis’s voice echoic against a moment of silence before a crash reanimates the beat with the word “shake.” The lyrics and music worked in parallel to one another. When I looked up to see who exactly this Steve Lacy was, I realized he was not only the track’s mastermind producer, but that I’ve heard his music before. He was there the dozen or so times I listened to DAMN.. Goldlink’s At what Cost impressed me enough for “Crew” and “Some Girl” to earn honorable slots in my playlists; Lacy produced the latter. He even co-produced and sung in my all-time favorite song off Tyler, The Creator’s Flower Boy, “911 / Mr. Lonely”; I was thoroughly convinced those vocals belonged to Frank Ocean, despite the crediting of both. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Lacy simply has a magic of marrying his own distinct style of production with that of the artists he’s working with. Few collaborators, if any, devote that level of care. It’s easy to excuse Steve Lacy’s
talent as a behind-the-scenes appeal, an artistry not made for fame. After all, producers like Pharrell and Calvin Harris brought their names to our attention through producing and singing their own songs. However, Lacy has done the same and hasn’t received the same recognition. His 2017 EP Steve Lacy’s Demo was developed on his lonesome and received widespread critical acclaim. It was notable for its sophistication despite the suggestions of his age, a cohesive, elegant telling of young love in lo-fi, funk and soul. The second and third tracks off the EP, “RYD” and “DARK RED,” best display this. Their union in a singular music video embody the shifty nature of a teenage relationship, how tremulously it clings to a sense of certainty in inexperience. The swagger of his suggestive, hazy crooning in a laundromat fizzles to him asking his girlfriend: “If she was hungry does she want any food?” This waning confidence in “RYD” effortlessly flows into the brisk insecurity of “DARK RED” as Lacy ponders, trapped in a truck, “Something bad is ‘bout to happen to me / I don’t know what, but I feel it coming.” The duality and fluidity of the subject is all encompassing, down to the video’s night and day settings. But it never feels forced, never dignified — Lacy’s appeal is subtle, obvious without trying too hard to be profound. Steve Lacy epitomizes the spirit of a true artist in his capacity to work against his limitations, regardless of whether this is his inexperience or restriction to an iPhone. His music explores the multifaceted hallmarks of youth in unwavering detail, unafraid of expressing the anxiety and dejection that ensues. Despite a lack in recognition, his nearly ubiquitous influence on modern music indicates he is certain for the impact he strives for.
DOMINO RECORDING COMPANY
Middle Kids don’t take the easy route CLARA SCOTT Daily Arts Writer
Middle Kids make the kind of indie rock that will always have a place in the genre: It’s bright, poignant and has a sense of grit that lies hidden underneath brilliant harmonies until the right moment comes. With the 2018 release of Lost Friends,
their first studio LP, the Australian band cemented themselves in the industry with their strengths on full display. Made up of recentlymarried couple Hannah Joy (vocals, piano) and Tim Fitz (guitar), with drummer Harry Day, Middle Kids take the basics of indie rock to new heights. While the group is still relatively unknown, they have found surprising fans in
those who have discovered them, including legendary pop musician Elton John. His support of their single “Edge of Town” resulted in the first burst of buzz around their debut album. The group’s first release, a 2017 self-titled EP, introduced them to the music scene on a high note. A few of the songs from that original collection were re-worked for the album,
DOMINIC POLSINELLI Senior Arts Editor
It is frankly absurd how little known SSION’s (pronounced: “shun”) name is. With the release of his third studio album O earlier this year, SSION (also known as Cody Critcheloe) cemented himself as one of the most innovative pop artists of our generation. Featuring a mix of punk, pop, funk and electronic music, his work provides unprecedented variety in comparison to 2018’s other releases. SSION is truly the jack-of-alltrades in the music world, not only producing insanely catchy hooks and arrangements but also creating visual components
to accompany his work and the work of others (see: Robyn). An artist who is constantly at work, SSION has already released ones for “Comeback,” “At Least The Sky Is Blue” and “Inherit.” In this sense, O is an album that feels modern without forgetting its roots in rock ‘n’ roll, marrying the visual nature of the 21st century with the necessity of the album’s punk atmosphere. SSION’s greatest strength lies in his prolific collaboration. Indierock titan Ariel Pink is featured on the tender “At Least The Sky Is Blue,” while Devendra Banhart contributes to “Free Lunch (Break).” SSION was even able to pull an appearance from pop’s avoidant queen Sky Ferreira, who appears on standout “1980-99,” which happened to be her first
new material in the long years following her release of Night Time, My Time. Yet, it is the unapologetic queer representation in his art that is most important. Other album standout “Marc and Me” takes us on a fictional evening spent with none other than Marc Jacobs, and SSION has historically presented his queer identity in his previous work. It’s undoubtedly critical for art to support minority representation in today’s world, providing confidence and comfort where it has been typically absent; SSION is an artist of necessity, not just for his multi-faceted, entirely unique arrangements, but also for the positive representation of queer culture he so masterfully conveys.
THESIS AND INSTINCT
Emily Wells has the call of a siren In Ancient Greek mythology, creatures known as sirens were said to have lured sailors to their watery deaths with their enchanting, ethereal voices. These sirens now seem distant, residing merely within the fantastical tales from antiquity. It wasn’t until I heard the surreal, hypnotizing serenade of Emily Wells that I understood how those poor sailors could throw their lives away for a voice. Wells is an artist like no other. Her music is so singular, it can only be loosely contained within the usual wheel of characterizations: a
mix of R&B and haunting ballads, electronic ambiance balanced with classical orchestration of whining strings and hypnotic drum beats, surreal synth lines, soft touches of jazz. Her songs recall a hundred different names and a hundred different genres. In fact, the first time her voice drifted into my previously-empty existence, I immediately thought of Amy Winehouse’s modern-jazz ballads and arresting vocals. But within the next moment, I had decided Winehouse was no longer a sufficient comparison. By the end of that fateful introduction in “Mama’s Gonna Give You Love,” I was drawing blanks trying articulate what it means to let
Wells draw you into her dreamlike embrace. Even now, I fear this attempt to capture her essence falls painfully short of the reality of the experience she painstakingly crafts. A siren: The comparison seems more fitting with every passing moment. Wells often appears to be a mythical, haunting creature who belongs more in some divine, alternate reality than among the lackluster mortal-plane the rest of us inhabit. Emily Wells is a name deserving of “household status” — but just as she has ruthlessly captured my heart, I almost hesitate to raise her from obscurity. Once you hear Wells’s crooning, there is no escaping her siren’s call.
and the band’s growth is clear even over only a year’s time. If anything, Middle Kids have an innate talent for skillful variety, something that keeps the listener engaged and the musicians constantly on their game. While all of their music carries the same f lavor of classic indie rock and similar instrumentation across the board, the band manages to imbue each of their songs with a different tilt and feeling, connecting their discography while also making sure no two lines sound exactly the same. The dynamics of the band lend themselves clearly and effectively to their music, as the closeness between Joy and Fitz allows the songwriters to tackle difficult and complex
issues as a team, assessing their own issues through profound lyrics and anthemic ballads. This is all but obvious in songs like “Don’t Be Hiding,” a tune that meshes its unique and catchy melody with words that pack a serious punch. “You don’t have to sell it I am sold,” Joy sings, “So give me all your garbage and gold.” Many of Middle Kids’s songs hold similarly powerful meaning, each one offering three to five minutes of escape and immersion to anyone who cares to listen. That care for emotional detail and poetry is supported by the group’s collective experience in music as professionally trained instrumentalists — Joy is a
classical pianist, Fitz plays a myriad of instruments and Day studied jazz at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Their experience with classical music may seem unconnected to their current pursuits in the world of indie rock, but to the trained ear, it’s plain to see why their songs work so well. The band doesn’t take the easy route melodically, a trait that enhances their work’s streamof-consciousness assessments of life with fascinating musical twists and turns. Their songs range from stadium-ready atmospheric rock to quiet piano musings and cover everything in between with an ease that feels like they always existed, pulled from the air by the band’s expert hands.
MADELEINE GANNON Daily Arts Writer
Arts
6 — Friday, December 7, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
More underrated and overlooked artists of 2018 Paul Kelly is a master of the love song JONAH MENDELSON Daily Arts Writer
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Euceph bends the boundaries of bassoon MIKE WATKINS Daily Arts Writer
What is a bassoon? Is it that weird monkey with the pink butt? Is it that big rocket launcher-ish thing? If you perchance think a bassoon is either of these things, you are sadly mistaken — a bassoon is neither a baboon nor a bazooka. To most people, the bassoon is a big ol’ woodwind instrument that typically handles bass and tenor notes in orchestral music; however, to Euceph, both a School of Music, Theatre & Dance student and a severely underappreciated independent artist, the instrument is much more. With the release of his first EP Dirty Laundry in November of this year, Euceph introduced an unprecedented idea: a
combination of the bassoon and downtempo house music. Downtempo house has become increasingly popular recently as a softer, more tasteful take on EDM. The genre relies on deep, smooth and rich notes that evoke energy without the typical electronic aggression of house music — surprisingly the perfect opportunity for a breathy, reedbased instrument like a bassoon to excel. Dirty Laundry is both melodically pleasant and rhythmically sound, striking a delicate balance between beauty, groove and intensity that will tickle your ears from start to finish. The project’s most promising track “Pinkhat” features a bassline with a unique timbre, due to its bassoonbased structure, that I can’t imagine it will avoid a Spotifycurated playlist for much longer.
Throughout the six-track EP, Euceph lifts the bassoon to its modern potential, shedding its orchestral credentials and taking advantage of its unique sound that has been virtually unheard of in popular music. Ironically, however, this total embrace of the bassoon might keep Euceph in the underground longer than necessary. Virtually every musical aspect of the EP, from the basslines to the melodies and everything in between, is recorded on bassoon. While interesting, the instrumental monotony shifts from exciting to uninteresting pretty quickly. To ensure that he lands a spot on that Spotifycurated playlist, Euceph should combine diverse musical elements with his bassoon riffs to achieve a sound that will keep more demanding listeners on board.
Paul Kelly is an interesting case. Acclaimed as a folkrock artist in Australia, he is not particularly well-known outside its borders. Perhaps his obscurity has to do with his work having a distinctively Australian tinge to it, but the fact remains that he is an elite and consistent songwriter who doesn’t really get the recognition he deserves. His popularity peaked in the late ’80s and ’90s, but more recently, at the tender age of 63, Paul Kelly released his 24th studio album, Nature, on Oct. 12, 2018. Kelly’s sense of melody and harmonic structure is masterful, his arrangements mature and subtle. He rejects the fashionable irony that pervades modern art in favor of thoroughly-uncool sincerity and optimism, and through said sincerity he has created something deeply human and democratic with Nature. The love song is one of the easiest types to write, but it is one of the most difficult to
write well. Paul Kelly manages to succeed in accomplishing the latter on “With The One I Love,” the best song on the album and one of the best songs of the year. “Bound to Follow” is another highlight, a slow burn based on the lyrical theme of following after a mysterious love who is eternally beyond reach. A female vocalist takes over the chorus; the actual words she is singing are indecipherable, evoking the sense of Kelly chasing after the woman he dreams of. As one might guess from the title, nature is a theme that runs through this album. Much as nature contains both beauty and menace, enlightenment and the void, the first half of the album is composed of harmonies mingled with snarling, baleful licks on songs like “A Bastard Like Me.” The second half is relatively languid and balmy, both lyrically and instrumentally. “Seagulls in Seattle,” for example, opens with the lines “I was walking by the water / My heart full aching sore / The seagulls of Seattle / Wheeled above the shore” over a finger-picked acoustic guitar, swelling steel pedal guitar
mimicking the movement of the birds. Love and nature are one and the same, holy and paramount to Kelly’s ontology. Throughout Nature, Kelly interpolates several famous poems for his lyrics, such as “Death Shall Have No Dominion,” by Dylan Thomas, and “Mushrooms,” by Sylvia Plath. Counterintuitively, the inclusion of others’ lyrics makes Nature even more personal, as though Kelly is reharmonizing and reciting to you the works of others that have had an impact upon him. Thomas’s poem in particular sounds as though it was destined to be used in this manner, its themes of life, death, love and nature brought to life by Kelly’s keen understanding of the rhetorical effect of harmony. There is nothing performative or conceited about Nature; instead, there is a sense that Kelly’s creation is inspired by nothing more and nothing less than his desire for self-expression. It feels like a dusty record in a bin that you found in the back of a shop, a forgotten work of art that is all the more beautiful for having been forgotten.
FILM REVIEW
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
grapples with his understanding of who he is in the new family hierarchy. “Mirai” is a moving film about individual hardships and the
STUDIO CHIZU
‘Mirai’ portrays family dynamics with thought EMMA CHANG Daily Arts Writer
In “Mirai,” a Japanese toddler, Kun, (Jaden Waldman “Pinkalicious”) has his life turned upside down by his new sister, Mirai (Victoria Grace, “47 Ronin”). Mirai is the catalyst for Mamoru Hosoda’s newest film, an intriguing survey of what it means to be a family, how individual histories becomes part of a collective story and what that means for the youngest members just learning to appreciate the world. “Mirai” challenges familial gender roles — instead of Kun’s mom (Rebecca Hall, “Professor Martson and the Wonder Women”) staying home to take care of the family, it is his dad (John Cho, “Searching”) who struggles to balance his job as a freelance architect with his responsibilities as a father. The movie highlights the pressures of being new parents and uses the relationship between Kun’s parents as a way to single out fathers who only talk about how much they do in the house, rather than actually doing it. This also sets the stage for a satisfying character arc for Kun’s father: He eventually becomes more concerned with actually raising his kids than
with whether or not the whole neighborhood knows what he’s doing. The importance of family is a recurring theme that we see in a lot of films — particularly in children’s films. But the fact that it’s animated doesn’t, or at least shouldn’t, automatically relegate “Mirai” to the
“Mirai” (dubbed version) Studio Chizu State Theater children’s movie genre. Often, in the United States, we forget that animated films can be more than just physical comedy and jokes — they can be sharply satirical or introspective and just as much of a “film” as any movie with actual, physical actors. Even though, in recent years, films like “Zootopia” have tried to grapple with difficult topics like racism, the animated film industry in the United States is still heavily saturated with children’s movies whose underlying complexities are barely there or overtly comedic, and sometimes careless, “adult” animations. “Mirai,” however, delivers a very clear message about family in a sophisticated way — something that’s often
missing in the ones coming from studios like Disney. “Mirai” strips away the layer of humor characteristic of Western animations and, instead, takes animation to a place where the story can truly grow. Films like “Mirai” also serve as a reminder of the artistry necessary to develop any film, let alone an animated one. Lighting and camera direction are just two of the aspects of a scene that directors have to contend with or, in the case of an animated film, have to draw. The actual drawings in “Mirai” are simple when compared to movies like “Incredibles 2” or “Monsters, Inc.” But it’s this simplicity that allows “Mirai” to depict detailed emotions and develop a relationship with its audience. The animation is more of a plot device in “Mirai” than it is simply a genre. Though the beginning of the film is very onedimensional, towards the end, as Kun’s character matures, so does the level of animation. The Tokyo train station Kun finds himself in looks like a very real train station, but the characters still remain cartoons. Even within these drawings, though, the strangers at the station are dark shadows of adults while Kun maintains his bright colors, emphasizing the tension that has been building as Kun
collective story they create in a family history. Its exploration of sibling relationships and the strain raising children can have on parents is a captivating
Classifieds
and raw understanding of the messiness that’s integral to a family. But, in the words of Kun’s mom, everything is better when it’s messy.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
Release Date: Friday, December 7, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 City in which much of “Moonlight” is set 6 Lively display of stamps? 14 Long range 15 Valuable collectible 16 Art class model, say? 18 Singer Jones 19 Ashes not caused by fire 20 Notable times 22 Genesis twin 23 Volcanic rock 25 Homeowner’s extreme reaction to a hailstorm? 30 Calculating 31 Lot unit 32 Sucker of sorts 34 Ancient Roman’s suggestion to a sweat-drenched pal? 41 Wise guys, maybe 42 Hotel worker 43 Asian holiday 46 Where sick con victims seek help? 50 Went from 50 to 40 52 “Put __ on it!” 53 Bust size? 54 Flynn of film 56 Attorney’s org. 59 Stand-up invited to a holiday meal? 63 “It’s my duty” 64 Really irk 65 Cutting tool for making joints 66 Works on a batter DOWN 1 It’s often rigged 2 Fascinated by 3 Biblical exile 4 Came across 5 “Can this be true?” 6 Clear, as a schedule slot
7 Fabric with a glint 8 Some dadaist works 9 Brooks with lines 10 Green prefix 11 British poet Alfred 12 ’80s-’90s Olds models 13 Score early in the set, maybe 17 Bird crop 21 Muddy enclosure 22 Delightful places 23 Stuttgart suds 24 Bank holding: Abbr. 25 WWII female 26 Gigi : je :: Greta : __ 27 Org. with frequent firings 28 See 57-Down 29 Fresh, to Franz 33 Like a rainforest 35 Show awe 36 Quaint “Yikes!” 37 Equivalent of OTOH 38 Photographer Goldin
39 Sundial marking 40 Health org. with HQ in Atlanta 43 “Naughty!” 44 Draw out 45 Queen’s “Somebody __” 47 Peter of Peter, Paul & Mary 48 Lump of earth 49 Easter display 51 Many suffragists 54 Young newts
55 “The Godfather” composer Nino 56 Opposition member 57 With 28-Down, persevere despite hardship 58 Liberal follower? 60 “Can __ forward when my heart is here?”: Romeo 61 Fool 62 D.C. ballplayer
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, December 7, 2018 — 7
Poole credits improvement to work with student manager we get stops and he gets a little upset about that, but usually he comes back and he scores on us.” And as they worked together more and more on the court, they also got closer off it — their favorite pastime is playing Call of Duty: Zombies. Their friendship allowed Poole and Jensen to come up with creative drills tailored to the other, but more importantly, it developed a sense of trust between the two that wouldn’t be present with a coach. “We’re both able to be honest with each other,” Jensen said. “And I think that’s important in a relationship like this. … A lot of people in his position probably wouldn’t listen to a manager, but him, it’s just different. I’m able to critique him and he accepts that.” Now, if Poole’s shot is off during a game, Jensen knows he can tap Poole on the shoulder and give a simple message: Fix it. Poole almost certainly will.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
Jordan Poole once said he never missed three times in a row. But five minutes into the Michigan men’s basketball game against North Carolina on Nov. 28, he fired from beyond the arc, and the shot clanged out. It was the sophomore guard’s third consecutive misfire. Two minutes later, Poole subbed out of the game. On the sideline, he found junior Andrew Jensen — a student manager on the team. Jensen reminded him to keep his guide hand straight. At halftime, Jensen watched closely as Poole went through warmups, reminding him each time to watch his guide hand and keep his follow-through locked in. Then he advised Poole to just keep shooting. The adjustments worked. In the second half, Poole hit four threes and scored 15 points. ***
*** Student managers have a unique role in mentoring players. Like coaches, they see every practice, then watch and rewatch every game. They can pick out intricacies in a player’s habits — like Poole’s crooked guide hand. But unlike a coach, managers are often friends with the players off the court, adding an extra layer of depth to their relationship. That’s the case with Jensen and Poole. The day they met was a simple case of being in the right place at the right time. But it’s grown into more than that. “I needed a manager to work out when I first got here last year, coming in before my freshman year,” Poole said. “And he just happened to be in the gym. I introduced myself, he said he was Andrew and … we just always started to work out.” Jensen was only there for a few days during the summer, but
ANNIE KLUS/Daily
Sophomore guard Jordan Poole finished Wednesday’s game with 5-for-8 shooting against the Tar Heels after missing his first three consecutive shots.
when the school year started up, Poole stuck with him. And this past summer, they took their relationship to a new level. They worked out together 2-3 times a day, working on Poole’s areas of inconsistency, such as shooting and ballhandling. “I was going through a spurt over the summer where I just really couldn’t make a shot,” Poole said. “ … We work out all the time so he really looks at how I shoot or how I dribble and he was like, ‘Yo, J, I think we need to get your handle tighter
back, or start to get it tighter again.’ “And I looked at it and it was just something I kinda was overlooking at the time, but then when I really started to sit down and analyze I was like, ‘For sure, yeah, we definitely need to … start working on my ballhandling,’ and we’ve been doing that and we’ve been dedicated ever since.” Jensen noticed that Poole often didn’t keep his head up or go at full speed during ballhandling drills. While shooting,
“We’re both able to be honest with each other.”
‘M’ faces Minnesota in speed battle TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
Fast, skilled and newly helmed — Minnesota has all the tools to be great, though its 4-6-2 record might show otherwise. The Michigan hockey team (6-6-3 overall, 2-3-3 Big Ten) faces off against the Golden Gophers on Friday and Saturday in what Michigan coach Mel Pearson thinks is a crucial time of the year. There’s no doubt the start of the season, with a .500 record, is not the direction the team had envisioned. So with the last stretch of the first half being a home series right before the holiday break, the Wolverines view it as a good point to turn things around and use the mid-season end as a gateway to positive momentum. “Absolutely, we’re still looking for a weekend that’s gonna turn things around,” said senior forward Brendan Warren. “We all know what we have to do, we all have to get on the same page, and I think this would be a good weekend for that and hopefully we can get some crucial points for the Big Ten and get us some confidence and get us on a roll going into Christmas.” The confidence boost isn’t a given, though. Despite a subpar start, Minnesota is noted to be one of the fastest teams in the conference, and in Pearson’s eyes, the quickest in the country. Put
simply, the Golden Gophers know how to skate. “They’ve always been one of the quickest teams in the country so they like to use their speed,” Pearson said. “Obviously, they’re in a transition with a new coach but that’s the biggest thing. We have to make sure we’re slowing them down.” Slowing them down will be key, because first-year Minnesota coach Bob Motzko has implemented a style of play that best utilizes the team’s strengths. With speed obviously at their advantage, the Golden Gophers force a run-and-gun style on the ice, which causes both teams to constantly go up and down the rink. It’s a style not unlike Michigan’s own. Also noted for their speed, the Wolverines often run the ice to try to get the upper hand in a fastpaced battle. A slower pace could prove detrimental to Michigan, who equally relies on its speed to win games. “We’re not a team that wants to play slow,” said senior defenseman Joseph Cecconi after a shootout loss to Michigan State. “We have too much speed in the front and the backend to play slow. To counter that, we just have to play fast. We tried to play fast. I thought we played fast, but we could play faster and stronger.” The key for the Wolverines, however, is not to just play to its strengths, but to take away the
Golden Gopher’s chances. Giving them less breathing room in the lanes creates turnovers that a fast team will often commit in the heat of action. “We have to take their time and space away,” Pearson said. “We have to get a good start. We have not had great starts. We have had good starts. We’ve gotten the lead, but we have to sustain that. “So I think the other thing is playing with the lead and trying to minimize the penalties too. We have to play a disciplined game, because they have a great power play because of their skill level. To me, they have the most skilled team in our league, players one through 27.” To Michigan, the players try to approach it like any other game. The difference is that it is at home, a place that’s crucial in earning the Big Ten points needed to move up the standings. “We got to start taking advantage of being at home,” Pearson said. “We can’t change what’s happened the last few weeks where we have a huge save, and then think of what we can do in points we need to get at some point in the Big Ten. They’re going to be tough every weekend, it just looks that way, so we need to take advantage of being at home. We’ve played well; we’ve played well. I want to emphasize that we have played well, we just haven’t finished and get those points we need.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson and the Wolverines will host Minnesota for a two-game series in Ann Arbor this weekend.
he had a tendency to release his off hand, which made the ball go left. Poole got frustrated when shots frequently bounced to the left and Jensen told him exactly what was wrong. Poole listened. That trust didn’t come right away. At first, Poole was overconfident. Jensen still remembers how, that first summer, Poole would say that he never missed three times in a row and other, similar declarations. With that overconfidence came an original hesitance about Jensen’s skill.
But when he underestimated Jensen and it knocked him down a peg, it fueled Poole’s competitiveness and drive to improve. “Me and another manager, Zach, we guarded him a lot, so he was able to work on his one-on-one skills,” Jensen said. “And I think that he didn’t think we were actually capable defenders because we were managers, but we both played in high school so I think he was a little bit surprised by us. So we always give it to him when
“I’m able to critique him and he accepts that.”
In recent weeks, Michigan coach John Beilein has praised Poole’s improvement on ballhandling. In that game against the Tar Heels, Poole had four assists but no turnovers. And after missing those first three shots, he finished 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. On Saturday, he followed it up with a 5-for5 performance on 3-pointers against Purdue. It’s a process, and Poole won’t have perfect shooting or ballhandling overnight. But when asked about his improvements, he’s quick to note he didn’t do it alone. “It’s definitely been something that I’ve been ... amping up over the summer but especially these past couple weeks,” Poole said on Friday. “It’s (because of ) a manager on the team that I’m good friends with. His name’s Andrew.”
Sports
8 — Friday, December 7, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines roll against LIU Brooklyn in 83-38 win TEDDY GUTKIN Daily Sports Writer
There’s no place like home. In front of its fans at Crisler Center for the first time since Nov. 19, the Michigan women’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak, steamrolling LIU Brooklyn (0-8) in an 83-38 victory. From the opening tip, the Wolverines (6-3) suffocated the Blackbirds, scoring at will inside the paint and starting the game on a 23-0 run. In addition to their imposing offensive frame, the defense proved just as competent, notching seven steals in the first quarter alone. While they were held in check for the most part on their five-game road trip, Michigan’s star bigs — freshman Naz Hillmon and senior Hallie Thome — each produced, as Thome scored 11 points, with 10 in the first half. Hillmon notched 24 and dominated the first frame with a 14-point performance that also saw her snag three offensive rebounds. “We call her Naz-Zilla,” Thome joked after the game. “She is one of a kind.” The game can, in essence, be summed up by four plays that took place midway through the first frame. With the score at 9-0 with just over six minutes to go, Hillmon checked in for Thome and
promptly scored a layup off of an offensive rebound on her first possession. On the Wolverines’ next trip down the f loor, sophomore guard Deja Church followed up a missed triple by senior forward Nicole Munger to score an easy layup of her own.
Two plays later, Hillmon outmuscled Brooklyn defenders inside and scored a layup right off the inbound pass to stretch the lead to 15-0. With 2:16 left in the quarter, Hillmon notched another putback to make the score 21-0 — a score line usually reserved
for Saturday afternoons in Ann Arbor. “Whenever I come in I just try to bring a lot of energ y and intensity,” Hillmon said. It was a dominant performance that was muchneeded for Michigan. After multiple road games against
ranked opponents where the Wolverines finished 2-3, they were pushing for a dominant win. Against the Blackbirds, they got just that. “Being back home and getting this win means a lot to us,” Hillmon said. Perhaps one of the most
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Freshman center Naz Hillmon scored 14 points and notched three offensive rebounds in the first half of Thursday’s 83-38 win over LIU Brooklyn at Crisler Center.
important takeaways from the win was that Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico had the opportunity to get extended looks at some of her freshmen who do not normally see the f loor, such as guards Ariel Young and Danielle Rauch. Even against a lackluster Brooklyn squad, getting game experience is always a huge plus for a team, especially one with so many young players waiting in the wings. “It’s important any time they can get those minutes,” Barnes Arico said. Michigan shot well from the field, making 43.6 percent of its field goals and 70 percent of its free throws. However, its 3-point shooting remained an issue, with the team combining to make just one of its 16 attempts. “That is not the strength of our team this year,” Barnes Arico said. “It’s definitely an area where we need to improve and continue to work and hopefully that improves throughout the course of the season.” While the Blackbird offense began to wake up in the second half, the margin that the Wolverines had created in the first half provided a large enough cushion, and they were able to take their foot off the gas and cruise to a comfortable, well-earned win after a tough road stretch.
Lopsided win against LIU Brooklyn still serves a purpose ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
Thursday night at Crisler Center, the Michigan women’s basketball team dismantled LIU Brooklyn, 83-38. As expected, the game was never close. The Wolverines (6-3) started the contest on a 23-0 run and held the Blackbirds (0-8) to just one point in the first quarter. From the start, it was apparent the two programs were of totally different calibers. Top to bottom, Michigan had the advantage. This was the case in the Wolverines’ first three matchups of the season; they pummeled Mount St. Mary’s, Western Michigan and
Detroit Mercy. This is often the case during non-conference play, when schools that simply lack the resources and expertise to get topranked players face Michigan. Coaches love to talk about taking it one game at a time, no matter what. And this makes sense, because for the most part, anything can happen. But some things usually don’t happen. For instance, the Wolverines smothered LIU Brooklyn, 86-49, a year ago, so even if they won’t say it explicitly, they came into Thursday’s game with a good inclination they would win. Many times early in the season, that is just how it is. So, how does a team prepare for
these uncontested contests? Michigan made sure to incorporate some scouting reports on the Blackbirds into its gameplan, but the team primarily focused on the bigger picture. In particular, the Wolverines could have concentrated on exploiting the height advantage as much as possible, however that strategy won’t work against more physical conference opponents. So instead, Michigan worked on a style of play that will be more suitable down the road. “That’s what it has to be at this point,” said senior center Hallie Thome after the game. “We know that if the opponent isn’t gonna — I don’t wanna be rude — if the
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Senior center Hallie Thome scored 10 first-half points in the Wolverines’ win over the Blackbirds on Thursday night.
opponent isn’t the best, then we still gotta do the things that are gonna help us in the long run. So whether that’s covering back for transition defense, getting offensive rebounds, boxing out and doing all that stuff, the most important part is getting ready for Big Ten season.” When playing a lesser opponent, teams sometimes start to lower expectations, which can be detrimental. Thursday’s game offered an opportunity to practice avoiding this. To motivate themselves, the Wolverines entered the game with a goal of getting 10 stickers. A sticker is awarded for
each charge taken or loose ball forced on defense. “That kind of keeps you locked in on defense,” Thome said. Despite this incentive, Thome mentioned the defense could have done a better job of sustaining the intensity. Following the single point allowed in the opening frame, Michigan gave up 18 points in the second quarter. “In the beginning we set the tone,” Thome said. “But then we realized and started playing to our opponent — which is something we cannot do at all ‘cause a very good team, they’re gonna take advantage and then come back.”
Before the matchup against LIU Brooklyn, the Wolverines were on a tough stretch where they lost three out of four games. This win helped them head back in the right direction. “I think for us — coming off the stretch that we had — we needed to get our confidence back,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “And we needed to go against an opponent. It didn’t matter who it was. We needed to find our way to playing Michigan basketball again.” So while these lopsided games may not seem like much on the surface, they can still be useful; there are still lessons to be learned.