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Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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statement CAMPUS LIFE
Students find ties to history of civil rights DARBY STIPE/Daily
Rackham hosts sessions comparing personal stories to legacy of MLK
LSA sophomore Ade Ijidakinro and LSA junior Shaima Abdullah lead an anti-racism teach-in at West Quad Tuesday.
MESA peer-facilitators hold teachin to oppose racism, inequality
Student-led activities generate conversation regarding systemic issues LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
A group of six students and two student-leaders from Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs convened for a peerled anti-racism teach-in Tuesday evening to discuss ways to combat racial intol-
erance and promote a more inclusive environment at the University of Michigan. The teach-in was part of a new series of workshops led by MESA aiming to engage students in conversations about inequality, social justice activism and
ANN ARBOR
Council discusses trespass ordinance Elected officials look to update city law after incident at Blake Center RACHEL LEUNG Daily Staff Reporter
Tuesday night, Ann Arbor City Council introduced an ordinance to amend city trespassing laws. The amended ordinance, which is a project of the Ann Arbor Police Department and Human Rights Commission, will require that individuals on property without lawful authority to be there receive a warning before being cited or arrested for trespassing. In addition, the new ordinance would give more control to the city, rather than the county, over trespassing cases. After the introduction of the ordinance, councilmembers and residents shared concerns about the potential abusiveness of the measure. Councilmember Julie Grand, D-Ward 3, spoke to clarify the ordinance. She addressed resident concerns about what they see as the punitive nature of the new ordinance. Grand, along with Councilmember Ali Ramlawi, D-Ward 5, serves as a liaison between the council and the Human Rights Commission. See COUNCIL, Page 3A
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personal experiences with discrimination. Tuesday’s event was the fourth teachin led by MESA this school year. LSA sophomore Adeoluwa Ijidakinro, a student leader who has worked with MESA for two years, said
the teach-in is more necessary now than in previous years because of the growing presence of hate speech and racially charged language in national discourse. See MESA, Page 3A
CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
About 50 students and faculty convened Tuesday evening in the Rackham Amphitheatre for the 2nd annual King Talks, a TED-talk style lecture. The event is part of the weeklong Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium celebration, which included a keynote lecture and more than 20 other events. The King Talks event featured four graduate student speakers who shared how their work and life experiences related to the legacy of Dr. King. Rackham student Paul Artale, organizer of the event, explained the speeches responding to the MLK
Symposium theme of “unravel” were the product of months of work starting when the speakers applied in October. During her talk, Rackham student Aunrika TuckerShabazz told the story of Takovia Allen, a 3-foot-9-inch, 50 pound, 6-year-old with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder who was subdued by three police officers and charged with battery and assault for kicking her kindergarten aide in the ankle. Tucker-Shabazz revealed Takovia’s story is not unique, as Black girls are routinely more harshly punished for the same behavior compared to white girls, and at higher rates. See MLK, Page 3A
Value the Voice storytelling event ‘U’ to up examines life experiences, identity electronic ADMINISTRATION
Participants share anecdotes about issues including political activism, mental health YIFAN YU
For The Daily
Students, alumni, faculty and staff unraveled their life stories to the Value the Voice audience Tuesday night at the Helmut Stern Auditorium at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. A joint effort between the Comprehensive Studies Program, the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, and the UMMA brought a crowd of 80 to listen to stories relating to identity. This is third Moth-style storyteller lounge event of Value the Voice series. The event, called “Value the Voice: Unravel,” consisted of stories on the call to political activism, navigating being a first year student, #BBUM’s five-year anniversary, Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision through community service, identity as a mixed person on campus, mental health issues through the You Good Fam student organization and gender identity. The storytelling event showcases a range of human experiences of marginalized peoples and their life stories. LSA freshman Monique Wheeler discussed the challenges of adapting to the campus environment as someone from an environment she described as “sheltered” because there were more Black people. She described how her initial encounter was different from what she had anticipated for college and found herself “isolated.” In the
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Black community, Wheeler was criticized for “sounding white” in high school. When she came to the University, she said she found the culture shock to be greater than she expected. Wheeler said no one would talk to her and her roommate. “Anytime anyone looked at me, I was that Black girl,” Wheeler said. Wheeler shared a poem she had written for her creative writing class. In it, she expressed her fear of being attacked at any time and said nobody would listen to her. “When my eyes meet yours, I feel the fear entangling itself … for I feel forever alienated in this
place where I’m supposed to find myself,” Wheeler said. “ ... The truth is, I have no friends here because I do not belong.” Apart from Wheeler, LSA Curriculum Coordinator Simon Rivers and Public Health senior Lloyd Lyons talked about their experiences as Black people, reminding the audience about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Angelo Bunker, a senior at Wayne State University, attended the event but said he did not find it appealed to his interests. “It wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, but I do appreciate being able to hear everyone’s stories no matter how personal they were,”
Bunker said. LSA freshman Jannet Avra commented more positively about the opportunity to learn more about the experiences of others on campus. “It definitely puts you in good feelings,” Avra said. “I’m just glad that I got to hear everyone’s stories.” LSA freshman Jordan Smith said she liked how hearing speakers’ stories fostered a connection between her and them. “Being able to relate to other people gives you a sense of community within the campus so (I) think there’s some value in that,” Smith said.
security measures
Student-employees, faculty must use Duo 2FA starting Jan. 23 ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporter
Beginning Wed., Jan. 23, all University of Michigan student-employees, faculty, staff and sponsored affiliates will be required to use Duo Two-Factor Authentication, a program which verifies one’s identity online through the use of two factors: a password and a second device, such as a smartphone or tablet. The change is an attempt to increase IT security across the University’s Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses. Though students will not be required to use the Two-Factor Authentication system, those who work for the University and do not enroll with Duo by Jan. 23 may experience delays using University services including Wolverine Access, Canvas and Box at U-M. Studentemployees may not be able to check their Google Calendar, check their email or take an online quiz or exam.
DARBY STIPE/ DAILY
LSA senior Cece speaks on her experiences as a non-traditional student who made her way into CSG during the Value the Voice event in the UMMA Tuesday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 58 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
See 2FA, Page 3A
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............5 SPORTS....................7
News
2A — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
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SK Y HIGH IN COLOR ADO
EVAN AARON/Daily I spent the long weekend skiing with my friends in Beaver Creek, Colorado - and I brought along my drone with me. The Rocky Mountains always impress me with their size and beauty, even this 360 degree panorama doesn’t do it justice.
MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
TUESDAY: By Design
WEDNESDAY: This Week in History
THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
FRIDAY: Behind the Story
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: STUDENTS SIT IN TO PROTEST RESEARCH January 23, 1991 Thirty-five students began occupying an office in the Institute for Social Research (ISR) yesterday to “expose the University’s efforts to deceive us about its role in developing genocidal weapons,” according to a statement released by the group. The occupation, scheduled to last 24 hours and organized by U of M Students Against U. S> Intervention in the Middle East (SAUSI), began at noon when the protesters
entered the Division of Research Development and Administration (DRDA) office on the second f loor of the ISR. SAUSI informed University President James Duderstadt and Ann Arbor Police late Monday night of their plans, to assure th em of their nonviolent intentions. The group did not release the time and location of the sit-in until Daniel Kohns, publicity chair and SAUSI committee member, revealed the information
at the press conference at the Cube moments after students entered the building. The aims of the sit-in include the following: To encourage the University not to aid in the prosecution of student resisters in the event of a draft. To persuade the University to redirect its resources away from research and development of “weapons of mass destruction” and to increase the accessibility
of higher education to people of color and the economically disenfranchised. To gain access to information regarding the extent of the University’s involvement in military research and development. The student occupying the building did not encounter any resistance upon entering as they settled in the spacious office of Alan Steiss, director of DRDA. Protesters said Steiss was very accomodating.
ON THE DAILY: LIST SAYS ANN ARBOR THE PLACE TO GO FOR A CUP OF JOE ELIZABETH LAWRENCE Managing News Editor
For those who require a daily fix of coffee, Ann Arbor is one of the best places to be, according to a ranking from ApartmentGuide.com. Ann Arbor made it as one of the top cities on Apartment Guide’s Top 10 Best Cities
for Coffee Lovers list. Apartment Guide credited Ann Arbor’s plethora of coffee shops in part to the University of Michigan, due to its high student enrollment and professor count. Coffee shops are a popular study destination for some, and give students a much-
needed coffee buzz to stay up late studying, according to Apartment Guide. Ann Arbor is home to 37 coffee shops. According to the graphic on Apartment Guide’s list, that’s one coffee shop per 2,825 people. These 37 coffee shops offer a variety of vibes, from more mainstream chains
like Starbucks to local favorites like Roos Roast or Comet Coffee. Though Ann Arbor is ranked as No.10 on the list, it beat out 40 other cities considered by Apartment Guide. Coffee connoisseurs: Ann Arbor coffee shops may be the place for you.
CSG discusses potential new ‘U’ student housing, new educational values Represenatives talk Board of Regents’ purchase of 24.6 acres on 5th Ave, E. Madison St. BARBARA COLLINS
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greater good, purposeful because many sophomores JACK BRANDON and ARYA NAIDU inclusion, collaborative are more interested in offManaging Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com The University of Michigan spirit, well-being and self- campus housing, building a Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Rob Mansuetti, Sam Della Fera, Central Student Government determination.” Jiang new dorm may not appeal to Trina Pal Arts Beat Editors: Verity Sturm, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, emphasized the task upperclassmen. discussed adopting a set of Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan undergraduate education force’s efforts to work with “I’m skeptical if there Counseling and Psychological values established by a ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Services to include more is a need for sophomores University task force and Senior Design Editor: Willa Hua a possible location for new clinical counselors on North to continue living with on-campus housing versus student housing at a meeting Campus. ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com Tuesday evening. Members of the Assembly making this a more apartment Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Annie Klusendorf Kevin Jiang, a former were given the opportunity style, non-dorm concept,” Assistant Photo Editors: Katelyn Mulcahy, Miles Macklin, Emma Richter, Hannah to respond to the suggested Baer said. assembly member and 2018 Siegel, Allison Engkvist Law student Kevin Deutsch alum, spoke to the Student value set. Rackham student ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA Assembly regarding a new Austin Glass suggested also explained his own Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com including “community experience with the location. value set to describe the Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors mission of the University’s expansion” as an additional MADELINE TURNER and MIRIAM FRANCISCO entire undergraduate value. Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com education program. “I think it’s worth Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Senior Copy Editors: Sadia Jiban, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer According to Jiang, the task evaluating whether or not you include something CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com about expanding our Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot, community,” Glass said. Samantha Cohen “One of the problems the NOAH TAPPEN University faces now is not Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com being representative of the Senior Video Editors: Jillian Drzinski, Aarthi Janakiraman MEDIUM state of Michigan … I think CARLY RYAN and NA’KIA CHANNEY it’s worth expanding it.” Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com The assembly later Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria discussed the University’s Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan Board of Regents’ recent Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Grace Cho, Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, Maya Mokh purchase of the former location of Fingerle CATHERINE NOUHAN and JOHN FABIAN “I live right behind Lumber. The 6.54 acres Managing Podcast Editors of land was purchased Fingerle Lumber, and not CARRINGTON TUBMAN and MADALASA CHAUDHARI on Dec. 6 for $24 million only are there train tracks Managing Social Media Editors after Fingerle Lumber there but trains come in at announced its closing three in the morning, and earlier that month. The they are very loud,” Deutsch land is located along said. “The actual streets are Fifth Ave. and south of E. not designed very well to ADRIANNA KUSMIERCZYK Creative Director Madison St. Although the handle the traffic that a dorm CAMERON COANE ZELJKO KOSPIC Board of Regents has not would bring.” Sales Manager Special Projects Manager For the location to be a announced what they plan ROBERT WAGMAN ANITA MICHAUD to do with the land, the possible place of student Marketing Consulting Manager Brand Manager the Assembly location was discussed as housing, a possible location for new discussed implementing new bus routes, creating safety student housing. The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the CSG Vice President standards regarding the train fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available tracks and the possibility of Izzy Baer mentioned © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for SNOW SZN. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com the lack of demand for marketing the dorm toward $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions student housing among athletes, as it is close to South for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. upperclassmen. She said Campus. force wants more student input in the list of values to ensure the values ref lect the beliefs of the University. “We want to first put out a set of values that we want our university to live by when it comes to undergraduate education,” Jiang said. “Second, we want to put out a set of challenges that our undergraduate population is faced with now, and third, we are trying to figure out what the various pilot programs on campus that are already living by those values are.” Values on the initiative currently being proposed include “brave exploration,
Daily Staff Reporter
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2FA From Page 1A LSA junior Yara El-Tawil worked as a research assistant at the Rogel Cancer Center and was required to download Duo TwoFactor Authentication. While El-Tawil understands the need for cybersecurity, she does not believe Duo is necessary for students like her who do not have sensitive information on their University accounts. “For me, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to have to use Duo since I have almost nothing on my account that’s in danger of identity theft or anything like that,” El-Tawil said. “But I guess since there’s been a lot of data leaks and stuff, the safest thing to do is just to go through all of it, regardless … because then you have a blanket, you can’t compromise any other accounts. But also it’s just really annoying. It makes sense, it’s just unfortunate.”
MESA From Page 1A “With the recent trend that is happening in America, you have this popularity of hate statements toward Latinx people, you have this popularity of hate statements toward immigrants,” Ijidakinro said. “In this time, especially with our current administration, I feel that this teach-in about anti-racism is needed now more than ever.” Ijidakinro said he and LSA junior Shaima Abdullah, another student leader within MESA, chose to focus the teach-in on contemporary racial issues in addition to the history of racism in the United States to show how past events directly impact current prejudices. “I do think that the majority of people think that the civil rights era has ended, and you think of the
LSA sophomore Joey Pongrac said he agrees. He waited until the morning of Jan. 22 to install the Two-Factor Authentication. Pongrac works at the Science Learning Center as a facilitator for organic chemistry classes and believes the system is of no value to him since he is not concerned about individuals hacking his account. “They said it makes my account more secure, but I’m not really worried about anyone hacking into my account in the first place,” Pongrac said. “It was pretty easy to install and it wasn’t a big deal. It took like five minutes. It’s what I expected, it’s just a waste of time, but it’s fine I guess.” DePriest Dockins, director of Identity and Access Management at the University, said the introduction of Two-Factor Authentication was not due to any specific instance of security breaches in the University, but rather was due to the risk having
minimal cybersecurity poses. Two-Factor Authentication was one of the easiest ways to ensure cybersecurity at the University, Dockins said. “Two-Factor Authentication, as it turns out, is one of the most straightforward things you can do to protect the University’s resources,” Dockins said. “It’s something you know — so your uniqname and password — and something you have, which is a code or your mobile device. So somebody has to have all of those things in order to get into a resource.” To turn on Two-Factor Authentication, University staff has to go to duo.it.umich.edu. Those looking to install Duo can download the Duo Mobile app onto their phone and tap the University of Michigan account to get a passcode. The next step is to select “send me a push,” which will send an authentication request to their
Martin Luther King era, but when we show students what’s occurred recently on campus to compare to the history, they’re seeing the similarities and it’s just proof that civil rights hasn’t ended,” Ijidakinro said. During the event, Abdullah and Ijidakinro led numerous activities, including filling in a timeline of racism in the U.S. and completing a worksheet on the “Four ‘I’s of opposition,” in order to generate conversation regarding one’s influence on systemic issues such as racism and inequity. The Four Is of opposition, which include institutional, ideological, interpersonal and internalized, urged students to realize change can occur through both group and individual actions. Engineering junior Bhavin Gandhi, a residential adviser for University Housing, said a lawsuit filed
against the U-M Bias Response Team in May 2018 often restricts his ability as an RA to protect his residents from hate speech in dorms. After the University responded to the lawsuit by claiming University policies do not infringe upon free speech, RAs are no longer allowed to erase slurs or racist symbols from whiteboards outside students’ rooms. During the teach-in, students reflected on how they challenge racism and inequality in their daily lives through student organizations or activism. Gandhi said his role as an RA gives him the opportunity to both challenge his innate biases and confront them by helping other students navigate life at the University. “Personally, my biases are one thing I’m trying to realize a bit more, and also educating people who I know
device. They will then unlock their phone, open the push notification and tap the green button to approve. El-Tawil said the process of downloading Duo was relatively simple, though logging in presented a problem when she was unable to access her smartphone and the seven-day verification expired. Users can check “Remember me for 7 days” so they do not have to authorize the TwoFactor Authentication each time they log on, as long as they use the same device and browser, and the browser does not block cookies. “(The program) gave you steps to follow, and so it wasn’t hard per se, it was just annoying to get used to,” El-Tawil said. “If I was logging onto something without my phone there, or if my phone was dead, it would just be a hassle to charge it if the seven-day verification was off. That was the biggest problem — was not having my phone.”
Various local eateries, owners across town offer students and residents multi-course meals at affordable prices as part of limited time deals Daily Staff Reporter
Between Jan. 13 and 18, more than 50 eateries around the cit y featured tasting menus to celebrate the 10th Ann Arbor Restaurant Week. Organized by the Main Street Area Association, the biannual event is an opportunit y for Ann Arbor locals and students to sample dishes that the cit y has to offer at a low price. Most restaurants offer lunch options for $15 with multiple courses and a $28 three course dinner menu, with roughly half the participating dinner destinations enticing customers with a twofor-one deal. Restaurants participating ranged from more expensive establishments such as Black Pearl and Pacif ic Rim to more casual spots like The Original Cottage Inn and Afternoon Delight. Adam Baru, owner and operator of three Ann Arbor establishments — Mani Osteria, Isalita and most recently, Mikette — said although Restaurant Week does not t ypically generate as much revenue at his restaurants as normal nights, it is a useful marketing tool, which helps to attract new customers and provide current eaters with more affordable options. “I’ve always looked at Restaurant Week (as) one of the biggest opportunities to market the restaurants and to expose people who don’t know about them because there are still many people who have never eaten at some of our restaurants, so it’s a g reat opportunit y for them to come in,” Baru said. “But it is also for people who do know
about it to try things that they t ypically wouldn’t because (of ) the value of the promotion.” Baru said the winter Restaurant Week is generally more successful than the event’s summer week because of the vast presence of students in the Ann Arbor communit y. “The January Restaurant Week is always the most popular and one of the reasons why is because
Paulina Vokulich, who ate at Slurping Turtle and Pacif ic Rim by Kana during the week, ag reed with Baru’s sentiments about the increased affordabilit y of dining out during Restaurant Week and said she thoroughly appreciates the event for that very reason. “It’s def initely nice for the students to go out and have a more affordable experience at a lot of
I’ve always looked at Restaurant Week (as) one of the biggest opportunities to market the restaurants and to expose people who don’t know about them because there are still many people who have never eaten at some of our restaurants.
the students are here whereas in the summer they are not often times,” Baru said. “It’s a g reat deal to be able to do this for not only people who live in town, but also this massive communit y that is the Universit y … We want to make it a prett y low barrier entry, so whether you are a student or you are a family who maybe doesn’t dine out so often.” Kinesiolog y senior
places,” Vokulich said. LSA sophomore Allison Weisenfeld is the marketing director of the U-M branch of Spoon Universit y, a college student-run food publication. Weisenfeld echoed Vokulich’s excitement regarding Restaurant Week. “I think it’s a really awesome opportunit y to get students to really go out and explore new
MLK From Page 1A
To explore the implications of this disciplinary disparity, Tucker-Shabazz compared classroom punishment to charges on a bank account, drawing the metaphor that positive behavior increases a student’s balance. “This is a hidden fee, but this is also a steep fee that young Black girls are paying for the same misconduct,” Tucker-Shabazz said. “One part of the story is that Black girls and other children are not starting at the same balance, but they’re also having deficits and withdrawals from their account more frequently than other populations and at a faster rate, and no one is talking about it.” According to Tuckerdidn’t have the best upbringing,” Gandhi said. “For example, a lot Shabazz, however, zeroof my residents who are of color tolerance policies are often didn’t know how to do the FAFSA prejudiced with “hidden for Black girls, when they were applying to col- fees” lege. That’s something I’m trying creating a ripple effect on to help a little bit more with — the their academic possibilities, things that I learned as a person of future careers and overall life outcomes. color for college management.” “(The zero-tolerance Abdullah stressed the need for policy) holds them back in students to educate themselves the short-term, in K-12,” on how their personal actions and Tucker-Shabazz said. words can oppose racism. “But they are also more “(We should be) educating our- likely to not graduate high selves, continuously reading, school or college on time whether that’s becoming more … to be unemployed or aware of our language and the underemployed more than speech we’re using and how that any other population, and impacts people, or even what orga- more likely to report mental nizations we’re a part of and how illness.” we want to continuously make Tucker-Shabazz not just personal changes in our elaborated on stereotypical lives, but structural changes too depictions of Black women as animalistic and angry, in society,” Abdullah said. using examples from
Downtown Ann Arbor businesses participate in 10th year of annual Restaurant Week engagement JULIETTE SIBLEY
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 — 3A
restaurants in Ann Arbor because a lot of time students feel like they are too busy or don’t want to go out for f inancial or education reasons, but it gives them an excuse to try new restaurants and explore the downtown area,” Vokulich said. Weisenfeld explained she dined at several Ann Arbor eateries this past Restaurant Week, including Nagomi and The Chop House where she enjoyed her inexpensive meals. “(The) Chop House was so good because obviously (it) is insanely expensive, but because each person was only $28 you were able to get steak, salad and a really fancy dessert and still got the same steakhouse experience,” Weisenfeld said. “I felt that it was a really g reat deal and it was really fun for a date night. I was able to go with my boyfriend to a nice restaurant that was fairly affordable.” Vokulich also praised Restaurant Week because of its low costs and its communal value. “It brings communit y spirit (to Ann Arbor) because it makes it more fun to go somewhere if you know there is an event going on,” Vokulich said. Baru ag reed with Vokulich, noting that participation in Restaurant Week is minimally about money and predominantly about communit y. “Our mission is to serve a wide variet y of our classic menu items and to not really worry about the fact that we may not make as much money that we normally would, because the idea is to participate in something that is truly about the communit y,” Baru said.
COUNCIL From Page 1A “It could be interpreted, and it has been by some residents, that we’re trying to make our trespass harsher, that we’re trying to make it more punitive,” Grand said. “When in fact, bringing trespass into the city’s ordinance was a result of the work of the Ann Arbor Police Department and the Human Rights Council.” Ramlawi echoed Grand’s statements and shared he initially had reservations about passing the ordinance, too. However, Ramlawi said he now believes the new ordinance will be beneficial in handling these cases. “It does not change the ordinance itself, but the policy procedures of enforcement,” Ramlawi said. “I think it expands the civil rights of folks and it does not take away more.” AAPD Interim Chief Robert Pfannes explained the need for the new ordinance came from a realization within the police department that many individuals convicted of trespassing are often repeat offenders and suffer from mental illness. He stated that, with the current trespass process mandating mailed court dates, it is difficult for the many homeless offenders to receive important documents when they don’t have a permanent address. “It’s a way for them to access resources, to not get deeper into the criminal justice system, and there’s no downside from an enforcement angle either,” Pfannes said. The proposed amendment comes about a year after a 16-year-old Black teen was arrested at Blake Transit Center for allegedly trespassing. The 2017 arrest drew severe criticism from the public for the officer’s use of force when arresting the Ann Arbor high school student and for citing the student with trespass when he claimed to be waiting for the bus. Several Ann Arbor residents also voiced concerns over pedestrian and vehicle accidents. Pedestrian safety has been a consistent topic of debate. Members of the local citizen group A2 Safe Transport attended the meeting and urged the council to make improvements to crosswalks.
children books to show these characterizations begin during girlhood. Such perceptions, TuckerShabazz claimed, lead adults to view and treat young Black girls like adults, resulting in harmful consequences. “Starting at age 5… (Black girls) are more likely than white girls to be perceived as older, as having more carnal knowledge of the body, as being more aggressive in their behavior,” TuckerShabazz said. “They’re more sexualized than any other child in the classroom … We see Black girls as nonmembers of children, and we see them as adults. So we actually punish them, as a result, as adults.” Next, Rackham student Shannon Moran discussed the link between mentorship and representation by sharing her experience as a mentor for other LGBTQ women in STEM. She then looked at research on the importance of mentorship and visibility for other underrepresented populations such as Blacks and Hispanics in STEM. In particular, Moran noted that she had no such data on mentorship in the LGBTQ community. “(Studies on LGBTQ mentorship) do not exist,” Moran said. “But I’m not about to wait around for a study that shows that LGBTQ mentorship works in STEM to start doing what I know works. I’m not an expert … but I do know how to share my experience.”
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According to Claire Duvernoy, an A2 Safe Transport member, there have been three pedestrians injured in the past three weeks at crosswalks in Ann Arbor. “We are at a crisis in perspective to pedestrian safety,” Duvernoy said. “We need to have a comprehensive review of all crosswalks in Ann Arbor.” Barbara Clark, the mother of a 17-year-old driver who critically injured a 21-year-old male University of Michigan student last week, also spoke on pedestrian safety. Clark expressed her apologies to the family of the student injured by her son and joined other residents in demanding the council devote more resources to improving crosswalks. “I’m not here to revisit the accident,” Clark said. “I’m here because I don’t want another pedestrian injured or killed, or their family to experience the devastation this family is feeling, and I don’t want another driver to experience the guilt my son feels.” Councilmember Kathy Griswold, D-Ward 2, discussed some of the pedestrian safety
I’m not here to revisit the accident. I’m here because I don’t want another pedestrian killed. concerns made during public comments and mentioned the new crosswalk guidelines that were released Tuesday. The designs were created in response to resident concerns of inconsistencies among crosswalks. “First I want to thank the staff for the crosswalk design guidelines that were just issued — that is a major improvement in crosswalk safety,” Griswold said. “I will be working with staff over the next couple of weeks, and I will be introducing a formal resolution of specific action items that will make crosswalks safer for all roadway users.”
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
THE CLIMATE ACTION MOVEMENT AT U-M | OP-ED
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
MARIA ULAYYET | COLUMN
C
What the Empowered Arab Sisterhood has done for me
ulture shock. For the first time in my life, I finally knew and felt what those two words really meant. As I walked into that lecture hall in the Chemistry Building on the first day of my freshman orientation, I felt like an alien. I desperately looked around the packed auditorium to find another person of color, to find someone even remotely like me, even if it were just in our shared feeling of being different. During the last month at home between my orientation and my move-in day, I dreaded having to go back to Ann Arbor. Everyone had made friends at orientation and was relieved to be leaving home, but I couldn’t relate. I was scared. I felt so alone during my three-day orientation. I couldn’t believe that the joy of the moment of going away to an amazing school, a moment I had been waiting for for years, had been so discreetly stolen away from me. As both the oldest child and oldest girl in my Arab immigrant family, going away for college had been out of the question until my junior year. My parents told me if I could get into a good school, I could move out for college. Seeing my hard work as a student go to waste was my greatest fear. With limited help from my school and no help from my family, I tried to fig ure out the ACT, SAT, Common Application and other college application materials. So when I got into the University during my senior year, I felt like I finally succeeded. Little did I know that the struggles for me were just now beginning.
As a first-generation American, first-generation college student and an ArabMuslim woman, I quickly realized that, as I sank into my seat in the corner of that auditorium in the Chemistry Building, the odds weren’t really in my favor. Who could I relate to here? Who would I be friends with? Who was I going to study with? Who was I going to spend the alleged “best years” of my life with? Enter Epsilon Alpha Sigma — better known as the
As Arab women, our presence of simply being at the University of Michigan is stigmatized Empowered Arab Sisterhood — the first and only nationally recognized predominantlyArab sorority. Nearly a year and a half later, with my 14 sisters by my side, I can finally say the University has become my second home. I never pegged myself for the sisterhood type, let alone a “sorority girl,” but now I can’t imagine my college life any other way. EAS was the space I never knew I needed, but in reality, I was drowning without it. As Arab women, many of us the daughters of immigrants, our presence of simply being at the University of Michigan is stigmatized. For me, a lot of Arab women from my hometown
either didn’t go to college or went to local schools. Going away was almost always out of the question. Simply being at Michigan felt groundbreaking to me. But simply being here isn’t enough. As minorities, we’re always playing catch up. We can get the good grades and the test scores, but we lack the key component: the network. One of EAS’s many purposes is to fill this gap. By bringing together the most ambitious and passionate Arab women leaders on campus, it is creating a network of young female professionals. Rather than a toxic culture of women constantly tearing each other down and competing with one another, EAS serves to provide a breath of fresh air of women lifting each other up and helping each other reach their academic and professional goals. We want to break the stigma against Arab women in leadership roles. Throughout my life as an Arab woman, I’ve never truly felt like I fit in with white people and drifted to other communities of color. And while I find solace in our conjoined alienation and marginalization, there still remained a gap. As more Arab women are reaching college and our communities continue to grow, it is especially pertinent to provide these spaces like EAS so that we no longer have to feel lost and alone. Through EAS, we’re going to beat the odds that have always been stacked against us. Maria Ulayyet can be reached at mulayyet@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. CHANDLER COUZENS | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT COUZCHA@UMICH.EDU
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We need an effective carbon neutrality commission
It’s not that global warming is like a world war. It is a world war. And we are losing.” So claims renowned climate scholar Bill McKibben in his latest piece urging our leaders (and the public they serve) to devote the attention and resources demanded by the world’s scientists and military strategists to the greatest threat we have ever faced. Despite the University of Michigan’s intimate involvement in producing the very science behind McKibben’s appeal, the University’s climate efforts have remained painfully weak, with substantive action stymied by committees formed with little guidance and no structural accountability. In 2015, University President Mark Schlissel’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Committee released its report detailing how to achieve the meager University emissions reduction goals made in 2011, with numerous additional actions to take in the pursuit of carbon neutrality. In the four years since, progress has been seemingly non-existent. The administration has failed to undertake even the simplest recommendations to ones that better account for greenhouse gas emissions. As is often the case, this failure is not due to the passionate and well-meaning individuals who volunteered their time and effort to produce the report, but rather seemingly due to a lack of top-level prioritization and a bureaucratic framework that rendered the committee impotent. More recently, another committee, the Blue Ribbon Panel, has been accused of being unrepresentative and ineffectual due to having a vague charge and limited power — suggesting a more systematic failure in how committees are being structured. For this reason, it should be no surprise that Schlissel’s announcement in October to “put U-M on a trajectory toward carbon neutrality” was met with skepticism, as the only real commitment made was to create yet another commission “tasked with developing U-M’s plan.” Indeed, there is no
indication that the new Presidential Carbon Neutrality Commission will not suffer from the exact same structural flaws that doomed the GHG Reduction Committee and waste precious time in the fight against climate change. So what would make for an effective PCNC? Firstly, the commission needs a clear mandate to develop a climate action plan in order to achieve an explicit goal: a target date of 2035 for carbon neutrality. Without a commitment to a specific goal from the highest levels, committees spend time exploring irrelevant possibilities, and risk having hardwrung recommendations be ignored — wasting time we cannot afford to lose. As McKibben notes, “In this war we’re in — the war that physics is fighting hard, and that we aren’t — winning slowly is the same as losing.” We know the emissions targets we need to hit, and from the resolutions passed unanimously by Central Student Government, Rackham Student Government, the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs and others, we know that the U-M community is united in its support of committing the significant resources necessary to achieve them. Secondly, we must be assured that our leaders understand the task before us and that the considerable time taken to chart a path to a sustainable future will not be wasted because those at the top balk at the ambition it requires. Transparency of this entire process is therefore critical to sustain public trust and engagement and to hold the administration accountable to the plan developed by the commission. Attaining this level of accountability and transparency requires built-in structures mandating a publicly available review and assessment of each recommendation the commission produces. Thirdly, the commission must have representatives from across the diverse spectrum of the U-M community and include members specializing in environmental justice. We commend the administration for its swift solicitation of public
input for the commission, but true representation only comes from a seat at the table. Finally, we can capitalize on the efforts of others to implement standards of transparency and facilitate the flow of information between the University and other institutions. A straightforward and powerful way to do this would be to sign the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, which would take advantage of the framework and resources already developed and employed by others in the pursuit of carbon neutrality. Rather than wasting precious time reinventing the wheel, the PCNC could learn from the experience of hundreds of other institutions, and easily share the efforts undertaken at the University so as to amplify our impact and join a growing community of institutions working to rapidly adapt to an uncertain future. These reasonable and specific steps provide the foundation needed to achieve the difficult but necessary goal of carbon neutrality in a scientifically well-founded and fiscally responsible manner. Furthermore, by having a strong vision and adhering to the principles of transparency and accountability described herein, the University will serve as a model institution in the fight for a sustainable future, providing the framework for other institutions to follow. We are eager to work together to ensure the University is part of the Leaders and the Best in the fight for a sustainable future.
The Climate Action Movement is a coalition of University stakeholders (students, faculty, staff and community members) working to enact sustainability policy that reflects the values of the broader U-M community, with a focus on the commitment to, and attainment of, carbon neutrality. This letter is adapted from a longer, open letter sent to University President Mark Schlissel in October 2018.
AMANDA ZHANG | COLUMN
T
Coming to terms with my own sexism
he pressure of choosing past advancements should not a good partner for overshadow the ones that have class projects is all too still yet to come. Modern day familiar to us college feminism faces a students. But even uniquely difficult worse than having path ahead. Our to choose is getting foremothers have stuck with the largely battled incompetent kid your and defeated the Graduate Student flagrantly obvious Instructor randomly injustices toward assigned to you. This women, but now it scenario became all is our responsibility too familiar to me defeat those AMANDA to last semester in my injustices that are not ZHANG physics lab when, so glaring — the ones every Thursday morning, I that hide in our subconscious and would walk to my classroom in manifest without notice. Randall Laboratory and sit next It is a common but destructive to a complete stranger. belief that because these forms of I wish I could say my mind sexism are so subtle, they are less raced with thoughts like, “I important. But in fact, it is these wonder if this one is smart” or “I hidden biases that hold women hope this one knows what he or back, even when the tangible she’s doing,” but the fact of the matter is my mind would already be two steps ahead by the time my partners even uttered a word. My assumptions were pretty binary. For guys, it was, “Thank God, he seems smart,” and for girls, it was, “Looks like I’m on my own this week.” The longer I thought about my physics lab, the more I realized that this was far from an isolated instance. I say this as a selfproclaimed feminist: I am sexist. But how could I not be? By age 6, metrics like access to health care society had already ingrained in and education have significantly me that my gender wasn’t cut out leveled out. The University’s own for the big leagues. I was raised Ross School of Business Class of to hail names like Albert Einstein 2020 master’s students currently and Isaac Newton, to gawk at consists of 43 percent women. CEOs like Steve Jobs and Bill While shooting for an eventual Gates. As I grew older, I learned 50-50 gender ratio should that seats for women at male- undeniably be a major focus for dominated tables were limited business schools, we cannot and competition with my own forget that these advancements gender was the only viable path in higher education are meant to to success. reap greater rewards in later life. By the time my 19-yearWomen are 15 percent less old self reached physics lab at likely to earn promotions than the University of Michigan, their male counterparts. And to the logical side of my mind make things even more disturbing, that staunchly supported the when the prevalence of females advancement of my fellow women grows in a certain industry, was no match for those disgusting wages for those jobs tend to see a but subtle implicit biases that had decrease, even when factors like been festering in my mind for required education and relative years. difficulty are accounted for. It is certainly important to This is not an issue of merit. Our acknowledge that women have society subconsciously values made massive strides toward male labor more than female gender equality, but these labor, and when industries see an
It is time we shift the conversation regarding all barriers to female advancement
influx of females, those jobs are subsequently perceived as less difficult and less valuable. When we talk about programs that seek to advance women and minorities in the workplace and academia, we almost exclusively debate them as policies that give an upper hand to the disadvantaged and the less qualified. We debate these programs as if the inferiority of women is a given, and that the sexism of institutions is not. It is time we shift the conversation, not just regarding these programs, but regarding all barriers to female advancement. Our history textbooks love to teach in terms of major milestones. The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in federally supported education programs and Roe v. Wade upheld a woman’s legal right to an abortion. But when it comes to eliminating the sexism that makes me feel relief upon getting a male lab partner but irritation upon a getting a female one, our future textbooks may never find a onesentence landmark moment. Our generation may never be able to entirely shed our sexist tendencies, but we can take action to minimize them. We all need to make a greater effort to simply recognize and acknowledge these instances when they happen. Everyone can be, and often is, sexist — not just men or women or conservatives or liberals, but everyone — and we, as a society, must come to terms with that if we really want to achieve equality of opportunity. I have spent my entire life staring at celebrations of successful men, and I am sexist as a result of this. We need to allow women their fair share of successes. Furthermore, we need to invite women to share the stage with men who are already in the limelight. Otherwise, our sons and daughters will grow up no differently. Amanda Zhang can be reached at amanzhan@umich.edu.
Arts
5A — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
DAILY ENTERTAINMENT COLUMN
TV REVIEW
Trilogies: Is 2019 the end? When I started this column in the fall of 2017, I pitched it to the then-managing arts editors as “The Neverending Column on the Neverending Story”: an entertainment and media column centered around the complete sequelfication of mass media and the idea that in the current marketplace, any story that is profitable will never see its end. Over the past year and a half I’ve branched out a bit into other topics as well, but this notion of stories without end has continued to fascinate me, for if a story doesn’t have an ending, can it even really be called a story? Since the days of first-grade writing, we are taught that everything we write must have a beginning, middle and an end. Take one away and you lose that structure. Lose that structure and you risk losing the story. I have the spent many words in this column bemoaning this phenomenon, decrying Hollywood’s increased to desire to squeeze every last drop it can out of an idea, until the idea has become little more than a bad parody of itself. And yet in 2019, as the decade draws to a close, it appears that three of the biggest entertainment products of the last decade may end as well: Marvel’s “Avengers,” Disney’s new “Star Wars” trilogy and of course HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” Each of these properties will spend most of the year marketing their next installment as the final chapter of their respective series. In all three cases, this will be misleading at best and an outright lie at worst. Let’s take each one individually, starting with “Avengers: Endgame.” Last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War” was marketed as though it was “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II” when really it was “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.” “Endgames”’s marketing looks to be a little less misleading since the film (due to be released on April 26) will presumably wrap up the cliffhanger from the last movie and is ostensibly a capstone to the overall Thanos arc that began with 2012’s “The Avengers.” But the claim that the film will be an “ending” in any sense is somewhat debatable. Part of it definitely depends on what the actual storyline of the film consists of, which may or may not be the deaths of a handful of beloved characters (such as Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man or Chris Evans’ Captain America). But because the “half-theuniverse-disappears” gimmick
that concluded “Infinity War” has already been somewhat undercut by the trailer for “Spider Man: Far From Home” — showing Spidey back in action (you can’t keep a good spider down for long) — it’s hard to see how much impact “Endgame” will have on the wider MCU. Will there really be no more “Avengers” movies? We know there’s going to be more Black Panther, more Doctor Strange
IAN HARRIS and more Spider-Man. Even Loki, who was last seen being impaled by Thanos with a sharp tool, will return for a streaming series on Disney+ next fall. On the face of it, “Star Wars” may be coming to a more conclusive ending than the MCU. Unlike the sprawling Marvel saga, Lucasfilm has not announced any more films after the release of “Episode IX” next Christmas. But if anyone out there actually believes that there won’t be, then they clearly haven’t been paying attention. Back in 2012, Disney bought Lucasfilm to the tune of 4 billion dollars, so they’re not about to pack up and call it a day after one trilogy. How successful “Star Wars” will continue to be, though, beyond the sequel trilogy remains to be seen. Last year’s Han Solo prequel did not fare well at the box office, and it’s an open question whether or not audiences will continue to flock to “Star Wars” movies that don’t feature legacy characters like Luke, Han and Leia. “Solo” seemingly proved that recasting such characters may not be advisable either, and it’s anyone’s guess what direction the franchise will go in. At one point in time, Lucasfilm had announced a trilogy from “Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson as well as a new trilogy with the “Game of Thrones” showrunners at the helm, but since those announcements over a year ago, nothing more has been said about those plans. Regardless, it
seems improbable that “Episode IX” will be the last “Star Wars” movie, and depending on how well it does, don’t be surprised if episodes X, XI and XII aren’t closer than we think. As for “Game of Thrones” — the last water cooler show, king of television, heir to Tolkein and protector of the HBO realm — the final set of six episodes premieres in April and then the world of Westeros will be left behind. That is, until the release of one of the five different spin-off series that HBO has been developing. The first of these, tentatively titled “The Long Night,” already has a cast and crew lined up, and could be ready as soon as summer 2020. Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin still claims to be working on the next book in the “Song of Ice and Fire” series upon which the show is based. Like Star Wars, I’m skeptical of the prospects of a “Thrones” spin-off. Will audiences really care about a very similar story with a bunch of characters they don’t know anything about? Is the ancient history of Westeros really that interesting? If Martin’s recent tome “Fire and Blood” is anything to go by, the answer may be no. No matter how it all shakes out, it seems perfectly plausible that come 2020, all three of these blockbuster franchises will be past their glory days. If the 2010s have been defined by superheroes and dragons, by legacy sequels and the return of decades-old series, what will the entertainment landscape of the next decade look like? It’s hard to say. Always in motion, the future is. When Walt Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, the same year “The Avengers” came out, they couldn’t have known how strong brands like Netflix and Hulu would become, or how important streaming would be to the overall entertainment landscape. “Game of Thrones” has been HBO’s biggest show since it premiered in 2011 and it’s hard to imagine what the network will be like without its flagship program going forward. In a way all three of these brands will face the same problem when the dust settles and “the end” has come and gone. What is “Star Wars” without a Skywalker? Can the Marvel Universe still soar without Robert Downey Jr. at the helm? And will there ever be a show like “Game of Thrones” again? There’s no way to know. For now, though, fans and executives can just sit back over the next year and enjoy the final lap.
STYLE EVENT REVIEW
For the EnspiRED MARGARET SHERIDAN Daily Style Editor
Entering the Taubman Biomedical Science Research building, I was unsure how the sterile space of a medical building could cater to the creativity of a fashion show on Jan. 19th. But my preconceived misconceptions were disproved, shattered by the energetic and extremely successful runway show put on by EnspiRED Runway, a fashion and charity student organization at the University of Michigan. EnspiRED has evolved into the student-led force behind a yearly fashion show that donates all proceeds to a selected charity. Said Public Relations chair Skylar Wilkes, “This is a great opportunity for students to showcase their talents through art, fashion and design and really put on a show that benefits the community and exposes them to things that they don’t otherwise have access to during their time at Michigan.” And showcase they did. The title of the show was Allure and included six energetic and dynamic scenes, each showcasing a collection inspired by different artistic visions: youth innovators and go-getters, the hues of the Earth, the Vitruvian Man, Gianni Versace, the broken column and Kehinde Wiley. Each
collection had its own distinct style manifested through both the clothing and the models. Creativity saturated the event, from the pre-show that included dance, spoken word and musical pieces, to the closing collection, The Red Scene, which allowed members of EnspiRED to show their own inspiration for looks they styled themselves. In addition to the fashion and art, attendees were reminded of the main purpose of the event: giving back. This year all proceeds from the show were donated to Ozone House, a community based nonprofit organization that helps young people in Washtenaw County through housing and support programs, teaching essential life skills, improving relationships and enhancing their self image. “It’s bigger than just fashion and arts, helping people is our top priority and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” said EnspiRED president Vivian Obia. The show concluded with an extremely powerful spoken word piece by two volunteers from Ozone House, as well as closing regards from EnspiRED’s talented Executive Board. The ability to combine the arts and charity is no small feat, yet EnspiRED executed this balance flawlessly and will continue to stylishly empower and help those beyond Michigan’s campus through fashion.
THE CW
“Roswell” is not very good MAXWELL SCHWARZ For the Daily
On a hot summer day in 1947, a rancher noticed some kind of wreckage on a homestead outside Roswell, New Mexico. Then the Army came. And so the theories of extraterrestrials emerged. The mystery of this small New Mexico town has captivated us for seventy years now. If The CW’s new teensoap would have you believe, the key to this small-town mystery is that Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason, “Grey’s Anatomy”) is having some very close encounters with Roswell’s undercover alien/sheriff’s deputy. After a decade, Liz returns to her hometown, where her dad runs the Crashdown Café. The Ortechos have become outcasts after Liz’s sister killed two local girls while driving under the influence. This reputation inspires random, unseen vigilantes to go after Liz — shooting up a diner late at night and killing her. Liz’s crush from high school, Max (Nathan Parsons, “The Originals”), now a deputy, resurrects her with his alien powers by touching her wound, making very uncomfortable faces and spraying her down with ketchup. It’s the meet-cute Hollywood has been too afraid to give you. Liz is certain she was shot, though — the clue being a bullet wound — and sets out to figure what Max is hiding. “Roswell” is an impressive feat of mediocrity. The narrative is elementary. If you’re afraid you won’t understand the underscored
complexities of this interracial, extraterrestrial love affair, fear not. All the characters announce exactly who they are and what is happening. We are told with effective bluntness that Liz’s arrival coincides with the 10-year anniversary of her sister’s accident. Along with archetypal characters, the show also boasts many complex characters. Characters like alien-sheriff Max, who says “I stay here because I like it” one minute, and
“Roswell, New Mexico” Pilot The CW Tuesdays @ 9 p.m.
“I want to leave” the next, because who cares about genuine motivation or character? This inconsistency makes him dynamic and brooding. Rest assured, this show requires absolutely zero brain power to understand. If the possibility of potential political undertones also intimidates you, don’t worry. As much as the show tries to be politically-relevant, it never fails to fumble. Any political jabs flounder and serve only to distract from plot inconsistencies. When political commentary is made, no one
reacts or seems to care, making any attempt to be subversive benign. This show is perfect for fans of NPR. Not because of its reliability and impressive journalistic reputation, of course, but because the characters deliver every line without inflection or emotion, like static or keeping the fan on while you sleep, making “Roswell” the perfect show for easy-listening. At the same time, the show knows it needs a little spice. Flashbacks provide this through fuzzy, sunset-lit images that tell us nothing about the characters or plot. These enhance the mystery by being completely useless. The show also doesn’t assume its viewers are dumb, or that it even has viewers. “Roswell” doesn’t insult them with complex plot devices, explanations or even coherency. Alien sheriff Max drinks nail polish remover to rejuvenate his alien powers — no explanation required. The show distinguishes itself for having not one, but two secret hideouts: an alien nest and a secret military base. Both of these are completely out in the open where anyone could find them, but no one does, because the show does not need to explain logical fallacies. If you’re pursuing a thrilling, methodical series with well-executed twists and dramatic shocks, if you seek consistent character development, acting that extends beyond one stagnant facial expression per character, and convenient plot devices that only briefly matter, don’t even bother with “Roswell, New Mexico.” You wouldn’t grasp its understated complexity and brutal simplicity. I know I didn’t.
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Isakov on 42nd folk fest
RYAN COX
Daily Arts Writer
Music is a really broad art form. There are so many different elements that come into play when we traditionally think of what makes up music: lyrics, melodies, chord progressions, arrangement. The list could be endless. The greatest challenge for artists is not only finding a way to perfect each of these elements, but also finding a way to skillfully mix these elements into their works. I think when an artist is able to do this, they’re able to transcend genres in a way that allows their work to be viewed purely as art. When I was introduced to Gregory Alan Isakov the summer before college, I was very much not in a “folk phase” of my life. I was listening to a lot of emo and pop-punk (as an angsty freshman does) and couldn’t be bothered with genres like folk that my parents had brought me up with. However, one summer night, right before I was about to leave the home I’d grown up in, I put on Isakov’s album This Empty Northern Hemisphere and found myself more immersed in the music than I had been in a while. Isakov’s voice struck me in a way that not many voices have been able to. This week, Isakov will be heading to Ann Arbor as a headliner for the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on Fri., Jan. 25th. Mostly known for folk music, the South Africa-born singer-songwriter also spends half of the year tending to his farm in Colorado, something that not every musician can claim. Although it’s Isakov’s first time at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival, it’s not his first time playing in Ann Arbor. “I’ve always really loved Ann Arbor,” Isakov stated in an interview with The Daily. “I had a good friend that worked in the farmer’s market, and I loved it.
The first time we were there we played (at) the Michigan Theater, and we’ve also played (at) The Ark a few times.” Isakov is no stranger when it comes to folk festivals, or festivals in general. His group has also played at Bonnaroo and the Newport Folk Festival, both unique in their own right. “We’ve played a lot of festivals throughout our time touring, and I’ve always found them a little bit challenging.
42nd Ann Arbor Folk Festival Friday, Jan. 25th & Saturday, Jan. 26th Doors @ 6 p.m. Hill Auditorium $42-$60 single night, $75-$110 series
Our music is so intimate, and our subtleties are sort of our strong suit, and it’s kind of hard to do that when you’re playing next to a porta potty at 1:00 PM.” Isakov said.“When I was a kid, going to a festival seemed so sweet because I got to see all my favorite bands in one day. But then you start playing them and you realize, especially at the giant ones, that you’re not seeing every band, you’re seeing every band kinda stressed out
with no sound check.” But the singer-songwriter doesn’t feel this way about every festival. “I’ve always wanted to play the Ann Arbor Folk Fest,” Isakov stated. “I love playing theaters and venues inside. It’s much more intimate.” This event is also special for Isakov because he doesn’t get a chance to play as many festivals anymore. During the summers, he works full time on his farm in Colorado, leaving little time to tour and attend festivals, making this opportunity that much more of a treat for him. “When I record something, I kind of think about one person listening to it, like you’re having a conversation with one person, like you’re there in their ‘89 Toyota pickup truck,” Isakov explained. “And when you’re in front of a crowd … That’s a different medium so you can get away with different things.” But although recording and performing are two totally separate activities for Isakov, he appreciates the spontaneity that comes with live shows, saying that he loves how live shows can be “different every night.” Folk is a genre that can be inherently intimate, and Isakov recognizes this, both when recording and when performing. “When I was in high school I was in a metal band … and when I was playing in bands like that, I would always come home and write songs that were really quiet, and I don’t know why that is. And I would go, ‘OK, what kind of music is this? This isn’t metal, this isn’t rock … it’s not what I want to play but it’s just … happening,” Isakov said. Gregory Alan Isakov is one of the strongest voices in modern folk today, and continues to grow with each album. Isakov will be performing at the first night of the Ann Arbor Folk Festival this Friday night, Jan. 25th, along with Brandi Carlile and a whole slew of other talented artists.
6A — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Future made magic, again JIM WILSON PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Remembering Mary Oliver MIRIAM FRANCISCO Daily Arts Writer
The day Mary Oliver died, I read a piece in The Atlantic about existential therapy. “It was a bit like coming across a line in a poem or a quote in a book that you relate to on an eerily intimate level — something of your most personal experience mirrored back to you, and you realize all at once that someone else has had the very same thought,” writes Faith Hill of her first existential therapy session. “Suddenly and certainly, if only for that moment, you are a little less alone.” Like an existential therapist, Mary Oliver was a guide to the emotional landscape of life, someone who saw the ways that all internal opposites — loneliness and companionship, thrill and mourning, love and apathy — share an intimate inner boundary. Oliver was never afraid to write about difficult subjects; fear and death are constant companions to her narrators. The frank familiarity with which she approached life makes her poetry a relief to read. Like many of her readers, I feel I knew Oliver and that she, in some way, knew me. To have one’s emotions cataloged by a stranger is one of poetry’s most shocking pleasures, and I’ve never been rewarded in this way more frequently than while reading Oliver’s work. As a poet of the natural world, reading Mary Oliver feels particularly urgent in 2019. Over the past year, it has become clear that the worst-case scenario for climate change is upon us. When it snowed for the first time a few days ago, magical and unusually late for
Michigan, I was almost relieved when my boots soaked through. In our rapidly shifting world, thinking about nature on Oliver’s terms is both a comfort and call to action. If she had been walking with me through the snow, I might have told her about the rabbits I used to see on the lawn in early fall. She would have wondered aloud about their contentedness, their warm home. Mary Oliver noticed, and out of that noticing grew a commitment to the details that populate life. There are many things to be admired about the way Oliver committed her observations to the page. Her poetry was unpretentious and clean, messy when the circumstances demand it. Meaty and delicate. I appreciate the way she went inside intuition, asking us to be within ourselves and outside our limitations at once. Her poetry feels uniquely true; to read Mary Oliver is to be seen. In March of 1986 she published one of my favorite poems, “Every Morning.” She writes: “A craziness we so far have no name for— / all this I read in the papers, / in the sunlight, / I read with my cold, sharp eyes.” “A craziness we so far have no name for”: This could describe the past year perfectly. Oliver is not an overtly political poet, but her poems suggest a philosophy of respect that implies a theory of everything, including politics: Be kind and present. Be cognizant of the ripples engendered by your actions, intentions and emotions. In “Wild Geese,” she writes: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, / the world offers itself to your imagination, / calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting— / over and over announcing your place / in the family of things.”
In “Invitation,” speaking of goldfinches, Oliver writes: “It could mean something. / It could mean everything. / It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote, / You must change your life.” We were assigned Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet” for my journalism class last week. I like to think about Mary Oliver reading Rilke at home in Provincetown or Manhattan or Florida, surrounded by her books and her partner, the late photographer Mary Malone Cook. I like to split the screen: She’s on one side reading Rilke at her kitchen table, and I’m on the other side, reading at a desk way up on the fifth floor of Hatcher, where the windows face the gray expanse of State Street. We both think about devotion. Like any good therapist, Oliver never answers our questions directly. Instead, her poetry entrusts us with the materials that accomodate an understanding of why our uncertainties cannot always be resolved. Oliver has left us with a body of work that endures. She was lucky: She could say what she needed to about the world. We are lucky: We get to read it. “There are so many stories, / more beautiful than answers,” Oliver writes in “Snake.” What remains of Mary Oliver’s life are not answers but stories: hers and our own, and the understanding that the distinction between the two is decidedly unstable. I was thinking about Oliver three days ago as I walked through the Law Quad on my way home. The lights of the library were burning orange strips into the dark sky. I wanted her to tell this night back to me, distilled. She would have been amazed.
For the Daily
Imagine a funhouse at a local fair or festival, the kind with a maze of mirrors, undulating floors, a steep, enormous slide, mirrors that stretch and squish viewers, air jets meant to startle patrons and a tunnel of love. Now, take that funhouse, drop it in the world of Atlanta’s rap superstars and let Future create the soundtrack. The WIZRD is exactly how that would sound. On his seventh album, Future has once again transformed himself. As one of rap’s foremost stars with an image to maintain, he made the decision to try something new. He set out to craft a collection of songs that will warp, distort and reimagine the sound of Atlanta trap music. With help from a team of stalwart producers and up-and-comers, Future has done just that. The rapper displays a newfound hunger on The WIZRD. He showcases his dexterity over off-kilter beats from the likes of Tay Keith and 808 Mafia’s Southside and TM88. Amidst the chaos, his voice rings out loud and clear as he twists his words around the rumble of the 808s and the spark of the keys and samples.
The lead single, “Crushed Up,” is a prime example. Future is at his best on this track, turning the braggadocio to the max as he ponders his lavish lifestyle. Now, if not for the production from Wheezy, this track would be standard Future fare. This is by no means a bad thing, but the production on this song, and the album as a whole for that matter, is where Future begins to experiment. Never has he rapped over a beat this strange. As the beat’s sample rides, its keys are stretched to their limit, sounding more like a wail than a synth blast. This continues throughout the entire album. Every beat sounds as if it came straight from a carnival, and Future, fully embodying his “wizard” title, is nothing short of magical as he flows over each of them. As with most of his releases, Future is more focused on the vibe of each track than the lyrics. However, between the slick talk and the boasts, he still finds time to throw some sentimentality into his lyrics. On the album opener “Never Stop,” Future’s delivery is somber and subdued, and the lyrics parallel this. “Never Stop” is Future reflecting on his entire career up to the release of The WIZRD, covering the ground between his rise to fame and his recent kicking of
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MLK Day lifts every voice DANA PIERANGELI For the Daily
On the morning of Jan. 21st, a friend and I embarked on a frigid trek to the Burton Memorial Tower for some of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day campus events. Both of us being music lovers, we decided that the event, “Centering Black Composers: Music To Unravel The Classical Canon” would be a perfect way to celebrate this historic day. For a girl from a primarily conservative, primarily white suburb of Grand Rapids, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not widely celebrated at my school. I was excited to finally have the opportunity to see a celebration in remembrance of such an important man. We climbed the steps of the bell tower, searching for the concert room or at least a couple of instruments. When we made it to the top, we saw nothing but the bells and a few people blocking the entrance to a tiny room. We stood outside gazing up at the bells for an entire song before realizing that this was the performance: The music of the bells. Inside the tiny blocked room sat Professor Tiffany Ng, University carillonist and assistant professor of the carillon. Pounding the wooden batons in the formation of a piano keyboard, she put her entire body into the songs. She has been playing since 2001, mastering the art when she was a freshman at Yale University.
Working with Dr. Yvette Janine Jackson, who arranged a carillon version of “Freedom Is A Constant Struggle,” and paying homage to Jessie Montgomery, the first Black woman to publish music for the carillon, Professor Ng’s tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. rang out over all of the University campus. The recital was brief but beautiful. It consisted of seven songs, all composed by Black artists. Ng preceded each song with short anecdotes about the composers, the original performers and the significance of the songs, juxtaposing the beautiful melodies to the harsh realities in which they were created. She began the concert with “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song that is often referred to as the “Black National Anthem,” written by James Weldon Johnson and put to music by John Rosamond Johnson in 1899. She then performed songs written by Black women and composers of Motown and Soul. The penultimate song was “A Change Is Gonna Come,” which was written by Sam Cooke in 1964. She told us he never performed his original lyrics because they were too heartbreaking. Her rendition was no less moving, even without the words. She concluded with Aretha Franklin’s famous “Respect” in reverence of the recently deceased legendary soul singer. All of the events the University hosted for Martin Luther King Jr. Day were incredibly impactful. But combining the arts with such
an important message brought an entirely new beautiful meaning to the what the day stands for. The arts are how we express ourselves, all the pain and the hardship, all the joy and triumph of our lives. Highlighting this poignant music born out of the immense struggle of the Black community is essential to giving them the recognition they deserve. I will never be able to truly understand what Martin Luther King Jr. and his people had to go through in his lifetime or the fights they had to endure. But I do understand music, and through it I can catch a glimpse into the lives of these people that suffered so much to get where they are. Music has always been an essential part of the civil rights movement. At the heart of every march, there is always a chant, always a song to keep morale up and keep the fight going. From gospel hymns to modern Motown songs, music has made a significant difference in the lives of those fighting. Often times, the arts act as a means of dissent, as much as they are casually enjoyed. So many talented artists channel their feelings about injustice and discrimination into their work, which makes it all the more powerful. That is exactly what all the Black artists who composed the songs performed in the bell tower did. “Don’t let anyone tell you the arts can’t make a difference,” Professor Ng told her audience. “Representation matters.”
his lean habit. Introspective cuts like this and “Krazy but True” blended with hard hitters like “Call the Coroner” allow Future to showcase just how multifaceted a rapper he is. Given all the highlights Future provides listeners, he occasionally strays from the path and makes some poor decisions. Primarily, the album is far too long. Clocking in at over one hour with 20 tracks, The WIZRD overstays its welcome at times. If five to seven of the weaker tracks like “First Off” featuring Travis Scott and “Talk Shit like a Preacher,” whose sounds are beyond played out at this point, were cut, the album would benefit greatly. Songs like these are not bad, but they bring nothing new to the table. Their beats are fairly pedestrian and the lyrics and flow are typical of Atlanta trap. They are so glaringly normal that they hold The WIZRD back from being near the top of Future’s discography. Nonethless, The WIZRD feels like a return to form for Future, who just recently released a lackluster collaborative album with Juice WRLD. If anything, this album proves that Future, even at this stage of his career, has more than enough gas left in the tank.
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Soft ball 5 Berkshire Hathaway headquarters city 10 Greenish-yellow pear 14 Mine, in Montréal 15 Chicano rock band Los __ 16 “Enchanted” girl in a 2004 film 17 Hors d’oeuvre cracker 18 Lose tautness 19 Logician’s error, maybe 20 2011 Steve Carell romcom 23 Slangy affirmative 24 Light beam 25 Poseidon’s realm 28 Lav, in Bath 30 Zero in 31 Federal bldgs. with mailboxes 34 Rickety abode 38 Diva’s time to shine 39 Savings plan inits. 40 Fair-haired sci-fi race 41 “Stop whining!” 46 Chinese menu surname 47 Put away 48 Pine-__: cleaning brand 49 Old Nintendo game console: Abbr. 50 UFO pilots, supposedly 51 Nintendo game console 53 Neither 20-, 34nor 41-Across has any 62 Similar in nature 63 Online biz 64 Compete for the America’s Cup 65 Fish catchers 66 Art class subjects 67 Stubborn sort 68 Aussie greeting 69 Part of LED 70 Marked for deletion DOWN 1 DEA operative 2 House of Saud bigwig
3 Duty roster 4 Like soda pop 5 Part of a comfort simile 6 Mad Magazine cartoonist Drucker 7 Leigh Hunt’s “__ Ben Adhem” 8 Earring style 9 “Take two __ and call me ... ” 10 Kind of dancer 11 Breakfast spread 12 Balkan native 13 Superman accessory 21 Holler 22 Beaver creations 25 Town, in Germany 26 Irish banknotes 27 Protein-building acid 29 Poet with dedication? 30 Military plane acronym 31 McCain’s running mate 32 “__, all ye faithful ... ” 33 Decides not to attend
35 Baseball club 36 Tulsa sch. named for an evangelist 37 Use an axe on 42 Test version 43 London area that includes Canary Wharf 44 “Is there another way?” 45 Landed 50 Itty
52 Answer at the door 53 Pealed 54 Scratched (out) 55 Pocket bread 56 Small decorative case 57 Carpentry groove 58 Wasn’t honest 59 French waters 60 Stir up 61 Malamute’s burden
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
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Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Swimmers find home away from home with ‘M’ MOLLY SHEA
Daily Sports Writer
Before the start of its senior day meet, the No. 2 Michigan women’s swimming and diving team lined up on the deck for the playing of the national anthem. But the Star Spangled Banner wasn’t the only anthem played. Michigan played the Chinese, Japanese and Yemeni national anthems and hung flags for each country off the edge of the diving platforms in honor of its international teammates. Four years ago, Yirong Bi and Siobhán Haughey arrived in Ann Arbor, traveling more than 7,000 miles from their homes in Hangzhou, China and Hong Kong, respectively. Saturday’s meet was the last time Bi, Haughey and their five senior teammates would swim in Canham Natatorium for the Wolverines. “To hear my national anthem, in this amazing house is very different for me,” Bi said. “The last time I heard my national anthem was at the Asian Games where I won a gold medal. But this I think means more to me because I’ve treated this place as home for the past four years.” In their final home meet against No. 22 Ohio State,
Haughey swam in four events, and Bi swam in three. Haughey won all her events—the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle, the 200-yard individual medley and the 400-yard freestyle relay. Bi came in first in the 500-yard freestyle by an impressive margin of three-and-a-half seconds. She finished second in the 100-yard freestyle and was a member of the third place 400-yard freestyle relay B team. “That’s a good senior class with those kinds of wins,” said Michigan coach Mike Bottom. Both swimmers have an impressive list of achievements. Haughey appeared in the 2016 Rio Olympics for Hong Kong and earned a 13th-place finish in the 200-meter freestyle. Bi won gold in the 800 and 400-meter freestyle events at the 2014 Asian Games. Both are three-time All-Big Ten first team and have numerous CSCAA All-American honors. Swimming accomplishments aside, the Michigan program holds a very special meaning to both athletes. “I think it’s very hard to sum up what the team means to me,” Haughey said. “I’m just very grateful to be on this team. When I first came here we were still a team that was building … Last
CAMERON HUNT/Daily
Senior Yirong Bi came to Michigan four years ago from Hangzhou, China.
year we were fourth in the nation … I’m so grateful to be a part of it.” For Bi, the team gave her a sense of belonging. Her most memorable experience traces back to the 2016 Big Ten Championships, where she swam the first leg of the 800-yard freestyle for the Wolverines. “I was a freshman coming from China, I didn’t really have a lot of friends,” Bi recalled. “I was so excited about my first Big Tens (Big Ten Championships), it was here. In the 800-free relay I went first, and I was so nervous and so excited I forgot to breathe the first 25 meters.” The relay team, which Haughey was also a part of, went on to win first place by a margin of over two seconds. Bi swims in it every year for Michigan, and the team has won the relay all three years. “I didn’t do well for my part, I felt guilty … my teammates came to me saying, ‘It’s fine you did a good job,’” Bi said. “That’s the first time I felt like, ‘Yeah, I’m actually in the team now, I’m not just swimming for myself, my teammates have my back.’” This moment not only gave Bi comradeship with her teammates—it provided comedy. “It’s become a joke with the team and that’s good because everyone laughs about it now,” Bi said. With their days of swimming meets in Canham Natatorium behind them, Bi and Haughey still have the Big Ten and NCAA Championships to look forward to and the lifelong bond with their teammates. “(I’ll miss) just spending a lot of time with my teammates,” Haughey said. “It’s nice just to be surrounded with positive and happy people who are as motivated as you are … I’ve made a lot of friends that will become my life-long friends. I’ve just learned so much here.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 — 7A
Taking ownership of penalty kill JORGE CAZARES Daily Sports Wrter
Some players thrive with their backs against the wall. Few moments throughout a hockey game better reveal who those players are than on the penalty kill. The Michigan hockey team may have found a pair of skaters who fit that mold. With the loss of sophomore forward Josh Norris, who would frequently be on the man-disadvantage, the success of the penalty-killing duo of freshman forward Garrett Van Wyhe and sophomore forward Dakota Raabe is increasingly important. Last season, Van Wyhe was killing penalties for the Fargo Force. Van Wyhe, who had a plus-minus rating of 19 for the Force last season, was a big part of that penalty kill. That team went on to win the 2018 Clark Cup — the prize jewel of the USHL. The six-foot-two, 200-pound frame of the defensive-minded freshman forward at times seems as though it is gliding faster than it should. Raabe, the skater who is usually paired with him on the penalty kill, is fast and defensive-minded, much like Van Wyhe. But with regards to physical appearance, the two could not be more different. They are like foils to one another in that aspect: Raabe stands at fivefoot-nine and is thirty pounds lighter than Van Wyhe. And yet, despite the physical differences, the mentality hardly differs. “It starts on the faceoff,” Van Wyhe said about the mindset on the penalty kill. “That’s the first battle. Then it’s one-onone battles from there.” Like a craftsman describing his work, he continued.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Garrett Van Wyhe and Dakota Raabe are key contributors to the penalty kill.
“So, if you get that faceoff, there’s an automatic 20 seconds killed getting it all the way down the ice and resetting and doing it again. But other than that just kind of, if you see an opportunity to jump, you jump it, and then getting in the way of shots is a little kind of abstract — the thought process. You don’t really want to get in front of the flying puck when it’s going that fast.” One guy who has a propensity for getting his body in front of a shot is Raabe. “He’s blocking shots, last year he didn’t block many shots,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson about the sophomore. “He’s sticking his nose in there this year. He’s grown. He’s matured. He’s a much better player.” And though not clearly represented by the numbers, sophomore forward Dakota Raabe has made a leap this season. That may be best demonstrated by the level of trust Michigan coach Mel Pearson is showing in Raabe. He has featured prominently on penalty kills alongside Van Wyhe and, along with freshman forward Nolan Moyle, has been a part of perhaps the Wolverines’ most consistent
line as of late. Pearson expressed a sense of pride with the interest that the linemates have shown on the penalty kill. “I think that’s when you really start to see your penalty kill improve, when your players start to take ownership,” Pearson said. “When they start to get more involved. They almost become coaches when in your meetings they say, ‘Hey, what about this?’ or ‘Maybe we can try this instead of that,’ then you know the players are involved. Then, you know they’ve got some skin in the game.” Currently, Michigan ranks a middling fourth among Big Ten teams with a 79.3 penalty-kill percentage. It is a figure that will have to improve throughout the remainder of the season if the Wolverines hope to make a postseason appearance. For now, though, it seems as though Michigan may be on the right track. “I think we finally just started clicking within,” Raabe said. “We just kind of sacrificed more, made (the penalty kill) kind of a priority in a way. And we’ve been having success for it and hopefully keep that going in the future.”
Looking back on winding career, Taylor Rooks connects the dots ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer
As a five-star recruit back in high school, Taylor Rooks had many colleges to choose from to continue her basketball career. She wanted a school where she could excel — both academically and on the court — and narrowed her decision down to three schools: Stanford, Harvard and Michigan. Still, a tough decision loomed. “I committed very late,” Rooks said. “I didn’t know where I wanted to go, because I felt like all the schools pretty much equally would prepare me for what I wanted to do in life, because they’re all the best schools in the country.” After much thought, the twotime New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year committed to the Cardinal. Little did she know she’d end up attending all three. *** Now on the Michigan women’s basketball team — and as graduate student in the Ross School of Business — Rooks reflects on the past and puts things into perspective. “I had no idea from the beginning. I thought I was gonna go to Stanford, graduate after
four years and go on with my life,” Rooks said. “And as my path has shown me, it is the exact opposite. I got to go to all three corners of the country. But I’m very grateful that I’ve had that opportunity.” During her freshman year, Rooks went to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with Stanford. After the season, though, she decided to change paths. Despite her success in high school, Rooks wasn’t aiming for the WNBA after her college career ended. Rather, she dreamt of a future beyond basketball — a career in finance. “I’d have to credit that to kind of how my parents raised me, but also how I kind of changed throughout high school,” Rooks said of her career plans. “If you asked me when I was 10 years old what I wanted to do, I would say I wanted to play in the WNBA, no questions asked. … My parents always told me to think a lot farther ahead.” Rooks remembers the experience that sparked her interest in finance. While thinking about potential careers back in high school, her father suggested that she consider finance. He helped her shadow a wealth management expert. Upon seeing the trading floor, Rooks made up
her mind. Summer internships are important for acquiring jobs in finance. With the Cardinal, though, Rooks’ summers were tied up due to athletic demands. She decided to transfer to the Crimson, as she knew Harvard would give her summers off. That decision paid dividends. The summer after her sophomore year — which she sat out due to transfer rules — Rooks interned at Northwestern Mutual in Boston as a financial representative. After junior year, she interned in New York City with Credit Suisse, receiving a full-time offer by the end of the summer. Rooks made her way to the court, too. Her versatility helped her play multiple roles, and from junior to senior year, she just about doubled both her minutes and points per game. Senior year, she shot 47.7 percent from the floor while notching 12.5 points a contest. “The weather was a little worse than Stanford,” Rooks mentioned about transferring. “ … Academically, it was pretty much the same — even like here at Ross. It’s all been about the same; I mean, it’s very challenging, and it’s a lot of demands.”
Meeting those demands has not been an issue. Rooks mentioned her high school — Gill St. Bernard’s School — was among the top in the state of New Jersey and that it prepared her academically. “I even felt some of my classes there were harder than the classes I took in college,” Rooks said. Rooks seems to have mastered the student-athlete balance. To stay on top of things, she makes use of her free time and avoids procrastination. “Procrastination is the absolute worst thing,” Rooks said. “ … But at the same time, on our off days, I’ll make sure most of that day I’m off — mentally and physically — just so I’m not always going, going, going.” Near the end of her last season at Harvard, Rooks realized she wasn’t ready to give up basketball. So, she decided to use her final year of eligibility, and she knew exactly where to go. “Given that I already went to Stanford and Harvard,” Rooks said, “the other school in my top three was Michigan, and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s it.’ ” After connecting with the Wolverines, she joined the Master of Management program and committed to the team, even
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Fifth-year senior Taylor Rooks accepted a job in finance after graduation.
without taking a further visit. Rooks believes business school nicely complements the economics degree she received at Harvard. She also got her job offer extended and will join Credit Suisse after graduating. Since she’s only at Michigan for one year, Rooks hopes to share the wisdom she has gained through her unique past with her younger teammates. She relies on bringing
positive energy to make her impact. And it seems she has been successful. *** In the midst of Rooks’ chat with the Daily, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico interrupts. “Thank god for her personality and what she brings to our team,” Barnes Arico said. “ … She’s a rockstar.”
Sports
8A — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
At the buzzer Charles Matthews nails floater as time expires to stave off late upset bid from Minnesota ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
Michigan stood on the cusp of disaster, and Ignas Brazdeikis started a drive. When he finished it, things hadn’t gotten much better — a layup attempt falling short, the game still tied, a double-digit lead still blown, overtime still waiting with two seconds to go. Amid the ensuing scramble, the ball found its way to Charles Matthews. The redshirt junior hung in the air, releasing a desperate floater. As the buzzer sounded, it somehow found nylon, and after a lengthy review, it somehow stood. “I know Iggy. That’s my little brother,” a subdued Matthews said after the game. “He’s like a bull in the china shop when he’s going to the rim. So he ain’t looking to kick out. So I just said, ‘You know what, he might miss this one, let me try to just go get the rebound.’ And thank god I was in the right position for it. “Gotta know your teammates. Know your personnel.” This was as close to a catastrophe as you could have gotten. But thanks to Matthews’ buzzer-beater, No. 5 Michigan (18-1 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) left Crisler Center with a 59-57 win over Minnesota (14-5, 4-4) on Tuesday, narrowly avoiding a second-straight loss. Thirty seconds before Matthews ended the game, the Gophers’ Gabe Kalscheur tied it with a 3-pointer. Minutes earlier, the Wolverines held a double-digit lead. And, even after Minnesota cut a 10-point lead to six with 2:22 to go, it sent sophomore guard Jordan Poole to the free-throw line with a chance to put any
worry to rest. He proceeded to to grow a officials corrected themselves. ARIA GERSON MINNESOTA 57 miss two free throws, setting the lot,” said Call stands. Michigan wins. MICHIGAN 59 Daily Sports Writer Michigan stage for a near-collapse. Before that, the Wolverines “Usually, we all have a saying,” coach John Minnesota was one second had gone four minutes and 51 Matthews said. “We usually Beilein. “13-point lead late, and away from taking the No. 5 team seconds without scoring as come out to the game looking, how many times do you see that in the country to overtime on its Minnesota whittled away at a we be like, ‘Alright, let’s run ‘em happen at Michigan where we 10-point deficit. As Michigan had home court. out the gym.’ And we usually put let it go like that? Continue to Then, a shot. A buzzer. empty possession after empty our foot on their neck and touch teach these guys what it takes to Pandemonium. And a wait. possession, the Golden Gophers it to the floor. But this game, they win games like that because that A long, excruciating wait found their guys, chipping at could’ve went the other way. made some big shots.” for the Golden Gophers as the what had seemed like a safe lead “I mean, that wouldn’t have After a poor offensive officials looked at every frame until suddenly, the game was tied. showing on Saturday, things been a devastating loss, but of redshirt junior wing Charles “I think it was more of just weren’t much better on Tuesday, you’re up by that amount and Matthews’ midrange jumper as catching them off guard,” said as the Wolverines shot just 3-of- we don’t make foul shots and we Minnesota forward Jordan time expired. 22 from deep and 33.9 percent also don’t execute on offense, we For four minutes, Minnesota’s Murphy. “And making sure that from the field. Brazdeikis and don’t share the ball the way we fate hung in the balance. we were getting baskets and junior center Jon Teske, who need to share it, you can get beat. “We thought we was going buckets when we could and finished with 18 and 15 points, Defensive transition, everybody to overtime,” said Minnesota making sure we stayed composed respectively, were relied upon to watching, those are tough things forward Eric Curry. “ … down the stretch.” carry the load, as no other player for us.” It wasn’t as tough a task as it Everybody thought we was going A few minutes later, Beilein had more than seven. to overtime.” may have seemed — the Golden And still, earlier on in the was asked if he expected more The decision came, and the Gophers, after all, led for the second half, the game seemed all growth after the Wolverines referee originally signaled no first 25 minutes of the game. but over. basket. Boos rained down on the Shots weren’t falling for the suffered their first loss. After Minnesota took a floor as the Golden Gophers had, Wolverines, and Minnesota “I was,” he said. “I’d be lying three-point lead into halftime, if I said I’m not disappointed.” briefly, a gasp of life. Until the disrupted them enough inside Brazdeikis broke to keep them out of his slump, from getting too keying a run that comfortable. saw him score When the eight of his 18 shooting once points on the day. again went cold, The Wolverines the Golden proceeded to take Gophers took their first lead of advantage. the game, 39-37, With 31 seconds on a running left in the game, sky-hook from Minnesota passed sophomore guard the ball around Zavier Simpson. the perimeter, That lead desperate for would grow as a good look for high as 13 points three. Finally, it with under 10 was guard Gabe minutes to go — Kalscheur — a and Michigan freshman who seemed on its had never been in way to a relaxing a situation this big home win. — who took it. NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily Far from it. The Golden “We’ve gotSophomores Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers combined for just 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting in Tuesday’s win. Gophers had all
the momentum. The shot seemed destined to go in, and it did. The game was tied. “Gabe obviously is a very professional type of guy,” Murphy said. “Keeps his composure, keeps very poised, so definitely a really good shooter.” Michigan’s first attempt at the win was from freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis, who tried a layup under the basket. Curry got the block. This wasn’t the first time Curry was in a similar situation. Two years ago, Minnesota was facing Indiana, down one with just three seconds left. Curry, as a freshman, tipped a rebound right to a teammate, who hit a jumper for the win. Curry knew what the Golden Gophers had to do — get the rebound, finish the possession. Instead, Matthews got the ball, and the rest was history. “We’re not gonna put anything on the refs,” Curry said. “ … We should’ve got the rebound, finished the possession, we always preached it all year long. Finish the possession.” As those four excruciating minutes passed, with the refs reviewing every angle of a sloweddown Matthews releasing the ball, all Minnesota could do was stand and wait and hope. A few milliseconds made the difference between what could have been one of the Golden Gophers’ biggest performances in years and just another game that ended in heartbreak. When Minnesota coach Richard Pitino was asked if he thought the call was correct, he couldn’t bear to deal with the what-ifs. Instead, he offered up eight words. “Doesn’t matter. It was close. It doesn’t matter.”
Despite inefficiency, Brazdeikis provides spark with aggression JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Editor
Ignas Brazdeikis stood in front of reporters last Friday with Michigan’s showdown against Wisconsin looming. Holding an undefeated, 17-0 record and a No. 2 national ranking, the Wolverines were riding high, and so was Brazdeikis. Nothing out of the ordinary, though — if one thing defines the freshman forward besides scoring in bunches, it’s an exuberant self-confidence and air of swagger. A win over the Badgers had the potential to push Michigan to No. 1 overall, its first such ranking in five years. So it’s understandable that Friday’s conversation eventually turned to then-No. 1 Duke and its own star freshman forward, Zion Williamson. How would the Wolverines fare against the Blue Devils? Would Brazdeikis guard Williamson? What do you think he said? “I would love to play Duke. … They’ve got that No. 1 team, that No. 1 hype, and we feel like we’re definitely better than them. We’re just looking forward to playing every single team, and we’re not scared of no competition. … I would love to guard Zion. I’ll guard anyone.” Less than 24 hours later, Brazdeikis and his teammates quietly slumped away while Wisconsin fans stormed the f loor of Kohl Center, fresh off a 64-54 upset that knocked Michigan from the ranks of the unbeaten. The loss was a gutpunch, and probably even more so for Brazdeikis, who was averaging 15.6 points per game coming in — for the first time in his college career, he was held scoreless. Then Brazdeikis missed his first seven shots on Tuesday against Minnesota. The narrative looked to be in full force — the Wolverines and their swaggering youngster humbled at last; the freshman finally figured out. Maybe Brazdeikis was an ordinary rookie after all.
Not to his teammates. “I told him to stay aggressive,” said redshirt junior guard Charles Matthews. “I told him, I kinda went through the same thing last year, where you might not be as productive as you once was. I just told him stay aggressive at all costs, I believe in you, keep going.” Added junior center Jon Teske: “He’s a great player. Shooters gonna shoot, and he’s going to do that. He’s going to get to the paint, he’s going to attack.” With 1:45 before halftime, Brazdeikis spun past a defender and banked home his first basket since Jan. 13. He added a left-handed layup a minute later, giving him momentum into intermission. “I was just like, thank goodness I got something to go for me,” Brazdeikis said. “I’m obviously not going to lose confidence in myself, that’s definitely something that’s not going to happen with me. But my teammates just trusting me and the coaches trusting me to keep going, keep playing — that’s the only reason why I could do this.” “This” was Brazdeikis nearly single-handedly putting the Wolverines in control of the game with eight points in the span of three minutes. Two minutes into the second, he knocked down a 3-pointer to cut a seven-point deficit to four. After a defensive stop on the next possession, he grabbed the rebound, rushed up the court and turned a head of steam into an and-one layup. Brazdeikis yelled and f lexed his arms as Teske gave him an enthusiastic chest-bump. Back was his signature celebration. Back was the intensity and the fire that defines his game. Back when Michigan needed it most. “He’s not a guy that carries a lot of baggage around with
him,” said Wolverines coach John Beilein. “ … He’s pretty good at moving on to the next play. He was the only one that was making plays at times this game.” It was that kind of night for Michigan. It shot just 34 percent from the field and 3-of22 from outside. Brazdeikis put up an 18-point and 11-rebound double-double, but on an ugly 4-of-18 line. Still, he never stopped attacking, resulting in a 9-for-11 showing from the foul line. And so it was Brazdeikis who
“Shooters gonna shoot, and he’s going to do that.”
the Wolverines put their trust in to ice the game. On their last possession, he caught the ball at the top of the key. Off a Jordan Poole screen, Golden Gopher defenders Gabe Kalscheur and Jordan Murphy both hedged on Brazdeikis as he powered to the hoop. “It shows that Coach (Beilein) has confidence in him and so do we,” Teske said. “You know he’s going to make the right play. He drove and he had a good look at the basket.” Brazdeikis’ layup was
blocked, but that’s beside the point. “We were trying to get Iggy isolated and get something in the lane so we had enough time to get an offensive rebound, don’t rush a 3,” Beilein said. “(Brazdeikis is a) great foul shooter and guy that could finish at the rim, you don’t want to settle in that situation.” Added Brazdeikis: “It means the world to me. I’m not going to shy away from moments like that, that’s just not who I am.” None of this is to sugarcoat
“I’m not going to shy away from moments like that...”
a 4-for-18 shooting night. After the loss to Wisconsin, Beilein noted that the Badgers were able to slow Brazdeikis by putting 6-foot-10 Ethan Happ on him and flustering him with length. It’s clear that after 19 games, teams are beginning to develop adequate scouting reports on Brazdeikis, and Michigan will need him to adapt to them to continue his same level of success. But even though Tuesday was far, far from Ignas Brazdeikis’ finest performance, it was one of his most defining. Any player can have an offnight, and Brazdeikis is hardly immune. But the confidence that sets apart the most elite scorers; the confidence that Brazdeikis has in droves? It’s not going anywhere.
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis fought through shooting struggles on Tuesday night, compiling 18 points and 11 rebounds in the 59-57 win over Minnesota.
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | JA N UA RY 2 3 , 2019
On Connie Converse, considering the lilies
ILLUSTRATION BY BREE ANDRUZZI
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019 // The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | JA N UA RY 2 3 , 2019
Managing Statement Editor Andrea Pérez Balderrama Deputy Editors Matthew Harmon Shannon Ors
The feminist disease D
Designers Liz Bigham Kate Glad Copy Editors Miriam Francisco Madeline Turner
Photo Editor Annie Klusendorf Editor in Chief Maya Goldman Managing Editor Finntan Storer
BY ANDIE HOROWITZ, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
ear Friends and Family,
In our current political climate, everybody is more than aware the world is being ravaged by none other than a deadly, vicious virus: angry, annoying feminists. These women are demanding equal rights, rioting on the streets, speaking out against abuse from their male counterparts and drilling for an end to gender discrimination. Demanding respect — as if they deserve that. As if they’ve earned it. I have always considered myself to be clean of the illness they call “feminism,” with my life devoted to actively trying to avoid the contagion. To me, those afflicted represented the lowest level of society — the self-proclaimed victims who do nothing but complain. Feminism is a disease that leeches onto women’s souls — making its victims utterly undesirable to the men who are forced to listen to their constant nagging. It’s an instant repellent. For research purposes, I reached out to Chloe Findling, a well-known victim of feminism for an interview. The interview itself had to be conducted over the phone, as I could not risk catching the disease myself. Findling, a freshman at Scripps College, was diagnosed with Class-A feminism, or, the scientific term Feminista Fatalis, when she just a vulnerable, unsure 14-year-old. When describing her mind state prior to her exposure, Chloe explained, “When I came to high school, I had a really hard time with boys because I was insecure and I thought I could mold an identity for myself that was not like ‘most girls’ — which made me secretly malicious.” When asking what she meant by this, Findling described an urge to manipulate her female friends at the benefit of the men she desperately craved the approval of. This helpless mind state was the perfect storm for the feminist plague to pry into Chloe’s mental stability. The warning signs were subtle — at first, she had no way to identify the sickness infiltrating her wellbeing. Instead, she only started noticing symptoms when the feminism had already secured its power over her central nervous system. Her brain started identifying what she referred to as “inherent sexism,” a myth fabricated by feminists to validate their so-called “victimhood.” Once Findling recognized this, she felt the uncontrollable urge to spread her disgusting feminist germs to other innocent members of society. She marketed her contagion as “empowerment,” using the mantra, “Empowered women empower women” to draw more victims in. She discussed her experience of coming to terms with the illness taking hold of her body, saying, “I found comfort in myself and in my gender, in my personality, in my beliefs, in everything I stood for. I became who I really am, and now I use my gender as something that empowers me, instead of letting it push me to be something I’m not.” The feeling Chloe described is one very common of those affected by the painful disease. Doctors describe the process of contracting feminism as a gradual rewiring of the brain, causing symptoms such confidence and determination to arise from the illness’ destruction. As
a direct result of this, many victims find themselves in a warped mental state, motivated to bring down the socalled “patriarchy.” While Chloe painted her exposure to feminism and its side effects as liberating, I knew her lies were just a side effect of the plague. I stopped listening to her speak after less than two minutes of the interview — her statements were so foreign to me that it sounded as if she was speaking in tongues. Everyone knows feminism manipulates the mind — halting all ability to conduct rational thought. As second class, inferior citizens, a woman could never truly feel comfortable in her own skin. Even the thought of that sounded absurd. My discussion with Chloe served as a symbol of the feminist deceit, so I stayed as far away from her as possible. I refused to fall victim to the disease. But I have been plagued. I tried to keep my health as long as possible. I took all of the safety precautions necessary. I scrubbed my floor daily on my hands and knees, rubbing extra hard to make sure no feminist bacteria grew. I shaved morning and night to make sure I was not mistaken for an armpit-haired feminist killjoy. I rallied for candidates who wanted to take away women’s reproductive rights. I gave up the 28 cents I should have received myself to far more deserving male coworkers. I even wore face masks in public so that feminist air wouldn’t penetrate my healthy skin. But therein lies my fatal mistake. I did not wear my face masks in the comfort of my own home. How was I supposed to know that a victim of feminism was in front of my eyes this entire time? My mom never discussed her illness — it all happened so quickly. To be honest, I’m not even sure she was aware of how ill she was until the encounter. Feminism is a clever disease. It affects all of its victims differently, causing some to have more external symptoms than others. My mother’s sickness was internalized, making it much more difficult for people, including myself, to identify her suffering. Because of the illness’ artifice, I innocently brought up my encounter with Chloe to her, thinking she would rally behind me in my investigation of the most reckless of our time. But I was wrong. Her mouth opened, and out poured pungent, powerful stenches of rationale. She preached, “Women deserve equal rights, end of story. Right now, society seems pretty messed up, and I really hope our future brings a brighter, more equal atmosphere for women in all spheres of influence.” I was shocked. I was confused. I started to cry. When I went to wipe the stream of endless tears from my face, I made a traumatizing realization: I was not wearing my face mask. I was plagued. The feminist disease hit me harder than any illness I had ever experienced. I had become a walking parasite. I felt the chemicals rewire my brain, and suddenly my thoughts told me it was okay to believe in equality. Like Chloe, I was soon able to identify the sexism with-
in society, and I wanted a change. I was not inferior to any man. I could be whomever I wanted to be. It no longer felt like my brain was being hijacked by invasive mutation. With each symptom becoming more powerful, feminism became a crucial part of my identity. I later found out the feminist disease runs in my family, though scientists have yet to prove it is hereditary. My grandma too is a feminist, demanding equal pay to her male counterparts as she continuously exceeded their performance in the workplace. Hearing this before would have caused me to disown her, but now that I am sick, I am incredibly proud of her efforts. It’s funny — my illness makes me feel strong rather than feeble. I guess that’s just a paradox left for scientists to figure out. I’m sorry if I’m hurting anyone by announcing this to the world. I just couldn’t mask my disease anymore. Although I may be ostracized from society, condemned by the patriarchy, and exiled to a life of liberation, I felt as if you all deserved to know. I do warn you, though, the mutation is very powerful, and it’s coming whether you like it or not. Those affected, including myself, expect resistance. Nevertheless, the feminist disease will persist. After all, the illness has grown an immunity to opposition. Sincerely, An ill-bodied, parasitic, toxic feminist (aka Andie Horowitz)
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINE JEGARL
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 // The Statement
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New Year’s knight BY SHANNON ORS, DEPUTY STATEMENT EDITOR
“Perhaps this was the feeling people seek to experience when the clock strikes midnight.”
All of the 2018 milk was gone. The dairy aisle had already moved on to the promise of a new year. There would never be another gallon of milk on the shelf expiring in 2018. I felt a fizzy sentimentality bubbling inside of me. Perhaps this was the feeling people seek to experience when the clock strikes midnight. Standing before the milk and all of its oat, soy, almond and skim siblings, I decided I was going to wholeheartedly embrace New Year’s Eve this year. My family was headed to the beach to escape overcast Midwest skies and the hazy disorientation that accompanies the week between Christmas and New Year’s. A perfect opportunity to give New Year’s Eve a second chance. The night arrived and I donned my gauzy linen pants with an airy top. My mom told me I looked like Annie Hall if she was going to the beach. Diane Keaton is a legend, so I took her words as a compliment. Despite the fact we had been on vacation for nearly a week, my Irish complexion was barely sun kissed — I preferred to camp out under the beach umbrella. The thought of being kissed at midnight briefly wandered across my mind, before I realized my expectations were a construct of watching far too many romantic comedies. The spontaneity of my New Year’s Eve rested upon the resort’s banquet seating chart. As someone who has only ever attended one wedding and drools over Anna Wintour’s Met Gala seating chart, I was thrilled by the prospect of ILLUSTRATION BY SHERRY CHEN indulging in conversation with total strangers. Maybe I would meet my y blasé attitude toward New own Cary Grant. Year’s Eve was challenged while I found my seat and eagerly waited for my standing in the dairy aisle of the dashing “An Affair to Remember” moment. grocery store. Before that moment, I have never been The hostesses swam through the tables one to indulge in the holiday branded with guiding families to their seats. My eagersequin dresses, champagne flutes and a ness resembled the novelty of watching pasdrunken chorus counting down to another sengers file onboard an airplane as you cross year of obligations. The occasion never quite your fingers for an amiable person to fill the seemed to fulfill “An Affair to Remember’s” empty window seat next to you. A family moved through the crowd and promise of finding romance atop the Empire paused at our table. I looked up, ready to State Building. Yet, the disillusionment accompanied lock eyes with the person who would prove with New Year’s Eve unexpectedly returned to me the glamour of New Year’s Eve is not to my mind last December. As my mother’s reserved for Deborah Kerr. Yet, my leading daughter, I was raised to always check the man was not a handsome Brit. As fate would item’s expiration date while grocery shop- reveal, I was seated across from a 12-yearping. In accordance with her principle, I old boy. His name was Daniel. Last name stretched my arm into the cooler scanning unknown. We were both seated at the end for the freshest gallon of milk, only to realize the entire shelf was stamped with the of the table, awkwardly too far away to be included in the “adult” conversation that imminence of 2019.
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our parents were already engaging in. I found myself staring at the buffet fixings on my plate. Lobster Imperial. Sushi. Lasagna. Hummus. It looked like Epcot had spewed all over my plate. I should add this experience was made even more bizarre by the theme of the banquet: medieval renaissance. Waiters donned knight costumes and the call of bugle horns bellowed throughout the hall. So there we sat, Daniel nibbling on his kosher chips and salsa with the muted dialogue of his mother explaining the stress of bar mitzvah season on the Upper West Side floating in the background. I figured I would introduce myself since our eight-year age difference seemingly burdened me with the responsibility to lead the conversation. I would characterize the discourse that ensued as more of an interview. I would ask questions and he would respond. I asked him what he did for fun and soon learned he enjoyed playing chess. I harkened back to my limited exposure to the game as an elementary school student during recess — Daniel was quick to correct me that he is a competitive chess player. The rest of dinner conversation was checkered with Daniel explaining the lifestyle of a burgeoning chess champion. He outlined his rigorous practice schedule with both a private chess coach and online portal only accessible to ranked players. He described his plans to travel to Norway to compete against chess grandmasters in a tournament. I learned about the governing bodies of the chess world — both domestically and internationally. He revealed tournament scandals, like the time a player flipped the entire chess board over in frustration midgame. He noted the disputed rules of chess and how computers have made gameplay more vulnerable to cheating. And thanks to our conversation, I now know the best chess players are from Turkey and Scandinavia, but the United States holds its own alright. This conversation lasted until Daniel cleared his plate and left to go play pool. I say this nonchalantly, because by the end of our conversation on strategy games, I would not have expected anything less from the boy I had just met. I soon excused myself, too, bid farewell to my parents and schlepped off to my hotel room well before midnight. There I found myself lying on the bed watching Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen head into the fourth hour of their New Year’s Eve broadcast. As “Auld Lang Syne” began to hum from the televised streets of Times Square to my hotel room, I realized while I would likely never see Daniel again, he was certainly an acquaintance I would not forget. Maybe New Year’s Eve isn’t about finding love. Maybe instead it is a night that glimmers with the hope of witnessing something unforgettable.
4B
Wednesday, January 23, 2019 // The Statement
On Connie Converse, WORDS BY MATT HARMON, STATEMENT DEPUTY EDITOR
I
f I have two things to thank for introducing me to the heavenly spirit that is Connie Converse, they are Spotify’s Discover Weekly algorithm and The New Yorker. Last summer, deciding to throw caution and typical career paths to the wind, I packed my bags and flew to Dehradun, India. There I worked for Ankuri, a women’s rights non-profit that teaches high school English. In a foreign country, hundreds of miles from friends, family and any modicum of Midwestern security, I craved a sense of familiarity. Before class on a balmy Monday in August, I let my eyes scan my laptop case,
relishing the elements of home my laptop stickers attempt to encapsulate — stickers from my friend’s clothing line, a tantalizing pizza restaurant on Vernor Highway in Detroit (if there’s one thing India lacks, it’s good pizza), The Michigan Daily. I open my laptop, immediately throw earbuds in and open Spotify. As I’m wont to do, I fall back on music as a coping mechanism for change. By diving into Spotify’s Discover Weekly playlist — a personalized mix of music based on user listening habits — I feel like I’m better prepared to embrace new challenges and experiences in the same manner I would embrace new genres and sounds. With it being a Monday, my new playlist is ready for consumption and I am starving.
I hit shuffle to wet my appetite. A few songs roll by — one sadboi moaning into a compression-soaked microphone, one B-side by a Canadian alt group, one ’90s Queen of Rap wringing out syllables like a wet towel. Then, I hear a muffled male voice some 20 or so feet away from the microphone: “Well she has one that she hasn’t sung yet.” Another voice inquires: “Have you?” Then the real subject, the one behind the mic, the object of this persistent questioning, pushes back on the previous two: “Well I’d rather not try that, actually. I haven’t tried it enough more toto do it well.”
Devilishly, another far away female voice proposes a solution to the singer’s apprehension: “Why don’t you just sing it and we won’t record it?” However, I know she’s lying. Otherwise the conversation wouldn’t be in my headphones, funneling into my brain. Mischievous, to say the least. Unbeknownst to her, the musician acquiesces and begins to perform. She clears her throat. A bass note is plucked. Then the first beat of a four beat bar is heard on an acoustic guitar. As a guitarist myself who has plenty of songs he can’t remember, the action is familiar. She’s getting herself started, firing the engine in hopes of heading somewhere. She then interrupts herself for a special announcement: “This has a biblical text.” And what comes next could have been handed down to Moses by what my grandma believes to be an old, white-haired, white guy in the sky. The guitar intro screams ’60s folk recordings, probably an old Martin acoustic guitar rendition of an early 20th century folk song. I remember growing up, two or three years old in the townhouse on Starr Road, building cities using Thomas the Tank Engine tracks, Legos and alphabet blocks and listening to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan on my dad’s turntable. Being inculcated with the ’60s folk
considering the lilies ART BY BREE ANDRUZZI, CONTRIBUTING ARTIST revival at a very young age, I automatically thought this must be from that era of musicians, gleaming whatever they can from Harry Smith ’s Anthology of American Folk Music. But as the song winds up, the guitar becomes more intricate. In addition, the voice is beyond anything I’ve ever heard before. It is gentle and soothing like the chime of a wind-up snow globe, yet there’s a fire burning underneath, an urgency to her tone and lyrics that beg the listener to lean in. A minute in, the song kicks into high gear, with elaborate picking patterns, a faster tempo and that voice jumping all over the scales, pontificating on the demure lifestyle of flowers in the valley. I’m spellbound. I close my Google Doc and immediately pine to know who this elusive folk icon is. Maybe it’s a modern-day contemporary of Joan Baez, distorting the recording to sound lofi and InDiE. The song is “I Have Considered the Lilies” from the album How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse. The name alone casts me back to middle school, where I began my trend of always wearing high top Converse sneakers, despite their lack of an arch that made my feet ache constantly. A quick Google search shows Converse to be a folk musician — my musical era guess was correct— but from earlier than Baez, Dylan
and the ’60s folk revival in general. In using one of my 10 precious, free monthly articles to find out more, the essay “Connie Converse’s Time Has Come” by music historian Howard Fishman in The New Yorker paints her as a leading pioneer in the singer-songwriter movement of the late ’50s. However, few knew who she was until the late 2000s. This confuses me. How can a musician be a pioneer without garnering a certain amount of fame? However, the article quickly informs me Converse walked into obscurity, quitting music in 1961, so the likes of Dylan, Baez and more could run.
There are so many stories of fans wanting to find their idols who don’t want to be found. Luckily, if it was the early ’60s and I was obsessed with Converse as I am now, I wouldn’t have to look very far to meet her. After leaving New York in ’61, Converse moved to Ann Arbor. rucial to telling Converse’s story is the acknowledgement that she was a remarkably talented learner — adapting and achieving mastery in anything she set her mind to. Hers is also a story of what-ifs. As someone encountering her story some 50 years later, I read every crossroad Converse
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encountered like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. I want to tell her, “Just stick it out, the folk revival is around the corner! Don’t leave New York just yet!” But history doesn’t afford those privileges. Born Elizabeth Eaton Converse in 1924, she grew up in Laconia, N.H. and excelled in nearly every field of academic study, eventually earning the title of valedictorian of her high school class. With a full-ride scholarship to Mount Holyoke College, a private women’s liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, Converse seemed destined to thrive in higher education. See CONNIE, Page 6B
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019 // The Statement
featuring recordings of Converse that have yet to see the light of day. If all goes according to Dzula’s plan, the LP set would include “her home recordings … other demos and oddities … Gene Deitch’s own recordings” and more. ed up with no one wanting to publish her music, Converse arrived at the University of Michigan, found her brother and set out to make a name for herself in academia. Just as she had done in New York, Converse made her way into an exclusive echelon of people with very little prior knowledge or expertise. In New York, it was the beatniks and music scene. In Ann Arbor, she had to acclimate to an academic environment. In a typical Converse fashion, she exceeded anyone’s expectations of her. During the late ’50s and early ’60s, many women were relegated to the role of secretary in male-dominated business environments. While Converse acquiesced to this job at first, her aspirations and talents quickly grew out of the position. With very little know-how in the field of political science — one of her brother’s areas of expertise — Converse became a writer and, eventually, the managing editor at the University of Michigan’s Journal of Conflict Resolution in 1963. Five years after she became managing editor, she published a retrospective piece in the journal, analyzing the common themes of articles published during her tenure and positing her suggestions for the future of the journal. In her introduction, Converse’s eloquent and smart prose gives off the air of someone who has been steeped in political science for years. “A member of the JCR editorial board recently suggested that the journal’s subtitle be changed from ‘a quarterly for research related to war and peace’ to ‘a quarterly for research related to revolution and world development,’ ” Converse wrote. “The suggestion reflects a shift in salience, over the past decade, from the H-bomb to the war in Vietnam. My own proposal for a new subtitle at this point might be ‘a quarterly for research related to the war of all against all and the truce of some with some.’ ” However, her jobs on campus and her activism eventually wore Converse’s creative and mental spirits down. She reportedly stopped writing music not long after she arrived in Ann Arbor. According to Howard Fishman’s New Yorker
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From Page 5B “In 2004 when she was played on ‘Spinning on Air,’ that was her first exposure to radio and I just still consider myself very lucky to have heard it, and I was very moved by it, and it just felt like very important music,” Dzula said. “I remember thinking at the time that, ‘Well this is such amazing music, any day now someone’s going to release the album,’ and that just didn’t happen.” Four years after Dzula first heard Converse’s recordings, he “summoned the courage” to contact Deitch with the proposal of releasing his recordings. Deitch directed Dzula to Converse’s brother, Phil Converse, a prominent professor of political science and sociology at the University of Michigan and the owner of Converse’s estate. With help from Deitch and Phil, Dzula compiled a series of recordings and founded Squirrel Thing Records for the purpose of releasing the album How Sad, How Lovely in 2009. In the interview, he said her musical style is unlike what was coming out of New York during the time and that poignant original material, despite many folk singers covering older standards, helps her connect with a modern audience. “I think it’s very easy for people to see themselves in her, in her story and in her music,” Dzula said. “I think that just has to do with the quality and depth of ideas that she puts forth as a songwriter. If you think about the ’50s being sort of
this glossy commercialized era, there’s something a bit darker, a bit more honest about her music and I think that’s interesting and I think that’s in some sense what people respond to.” Dzula’s words resonate with me wholeheartedly. Beyond her guitar technique, which, as a guitarist, are enough to keep me enraptured, Converse’s lyrics are poetry. Her songs grapple with universal concepts with poignant, succinct accuracy. The track “How Sad, How Lovely,” which begins with the line “How sad, how lovely / how short, how sweet / to see that sunset / at the end of the street,” casts me back to my childhood, learning the purpose of a wake at my first funeral — my grandfather’s. Though a somber occasion with tears flowing continuously, loved ones attempted to focus on the joy my grandpa brought into this world instead of dwelling on the sadness of his absence. Converse understood this outlook on life and summarized it perfectly. A sunset doesn’t last for long but it’s lovely while it’s around. While Dzula may not have the same specific memory association, I would be hard pressed to believe he doesn’t see truth in this line. Despite this apparent connection to her modern fan base, one album of archival recordings does not appease a fan base hungry for more. However, this may soon change. Dzula is currently in talks with Converse’s estate to publish a 5 LP box set
essay, she began drinking and smoking heavily. Then, in 1974, while her brother and his family were on summer vacation, she packed up her things and penned a few letters to family and friends, begging them to “let me go. Let me be if I can. Let me not be if I can’t … Human society fascinates me and awes me and fills me with grief and joy; I just can’t find my place to plug into it.” After sending the letters, she drove off once again, leaving Ann Arbor behind. This time, no one knew where she was heading. Her final what-if. Her brother assumed she committed suicide. Knowing his sister, he thought Converse probably didn’t want to be found if she was still alive and he respected that decision. To this day, no one knows if Connie Converse is alive or dead. oward Fishman’s story of discovering Converse’s album on Squirrel Thing is similar to mine and Dzula’s — all three of us being immediately enraptured upon listening. He first heard her song “Talkin’ Like You” at a party in 2010 and was thrown into a state of utter euphoria by her bluesy finger-picking, her clearas-day voice and the simple fact that nothing sounds like it, no matter how many comparisons you draw. “I find her work to be completely original and astoundingly unique,” Fishman said. “I think it’s very original in a timeless way.” Like the best calls to action, Fishman wanted to know more about Converse than what was on the Squirrel Thing website. He immediately tracked down her living family members, including Converse’s brother, and began to piece together her story. A musician himself, Fishman recorded an album of his own performances based on manuscripts of her later piano and voice compositions. He is also currently in the process of writing a book about her life. His most measurable creative endeavor, in his effort to keep Converse’s legacy alive, has been his play “A Star Has Burnt My Eye,” which debuted at the Public Theater in New York City. The current draft takes the form of a non-fiction dramatic concert, with Fishman narrating her story and utilizing pictures and artwork as well as excerpts from her personal letters and live per-
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formances. “The only reason behind my writing the play in the first place was to get the word out about her music and the fact that I believe she deserves much greater recognition than what she had,” Fishman said. “The piece evolved from concerts I was doing of her music with my band and then telling her story inbetween the songs and that grew into the play.” Similar to Dzula, Fishman admires her ability to accomplish anything she desired, whether it was writing music or editing a political science journal. “She took seriously everything she did and did a lot of different things in her life,” Fishman said. “I think that she was fully committed to every endeavor that she set her mind to and I have no doubt that the work that she was doing for the journal was exemplary. I’m sure it was above and beyond what anyone expected her to do.” While the drama and intrigue of her disappearance makes for great TV or film, Fishman said he believes her music should be front and center when discussing Converse. “It’s sad, but I think that the fact that she disappeared is not the most interesting thing about her story or about her, and I think that it can take away from attention to the music, which is what I feel is her greatest legacy,” Fishman said. “I think she just has that kind of magnetic pull and it pulled me in and it just hasn’t let go yet.” hroughout her life, Converse displayed a sense of passion that transcends a common desire for fame. She excelled in her academic studies, developed a musical style all her own while being completely self-taught, wrote beautifully haunting lyrics on the momentary joys of life, became the managing editor of a prominent political science journal with little experience and didn’t let people’s impressions of her stand between her and her goals. Beyond how passionate she was about every path she went down, even more impressive is her astounding courage. Before I left for India last summer, I thought every day about why it was a mistake. What if I cost myself a valuable internship at home? What if my entire life is based on this moment and I choose the wrong path? What if I fail? Despite a story filled to the brim with what-ifs, Converse knew what she wanted out of life and had the courage to leave everything behind to accomplish it. She left Mount Holyoke for New York, she left New York for Ann Arbor and finally she
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left Ann Arbor for an unknown destination and did so with unwavering confidence and determination. Converse helped me become self-assured in my decision and make the best of my experience abroad by dedicating myself to my work, no matter what what-ifs come after. Ultimately, what I can’t shake about Converse’s legacy, beyond her tragic yet inspiring story, is how her music inspires others to create something new and beautiful. Dzula founded an entire record company to publish Converse’s music and make people understand how brilliant she was. Fishman performed concerts of her music, is working on a book about her life and wrote an entire play just to tell the world about Connie Converse and why she deserves recognition and respect. Though I consider myself a musician and playwright, I’ve always been a piss-poor drawer. I couldn’t color inside the lines if you paid me (and my Kindergarten teacher tried to). But after listening to “I Have Considered the Lilies” multiple times over, a powerful force came over me — one endowed with confidence and a creative spirit. I reached for the nearest pen and a sketchbook that had been gathering dust on my shelf; its pages stuck together a bit. I googled one of the few photos of Converse’s performance on CBS’s “Morning Show,” the segment that many assumed would rocket her to stardom and found one that piqued my interest — her expression intent and her fingers resting gingerly on the neck of the guitar. I spent an hour and a half that day, outlining her face with its sharp cheekbones, her hair, poised and sculpted to her standards, and her guitar resting between her arms. While the sketch certainly isn’t ending up in the MoMA anytime soon, Converse’s music, like it did to Dzula and Fishman, gave me the same passion and courage she had to step out of my comfort zone and create. Thank you, Connie Converse, for considering the lilies when the whole world was “all against all.”
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ILLUSTRATION BY MATT HARMON
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Wednesday, January 23, 2019 // The Statement
Andrew Rogers, a staff organist at the Michigan Theater, first became interested in the organ at a chapel at one of his spiritual retreats before coming to the Michigan Theater. “I started to enjoy some of the sounds of the organ but then I got interested in wanting to learn how to play,” Rogers said. “Music was always in the background. I worked for a travel agency and I had (a) church job and music got squeezed in between everything else. I quit the travel agency so I could do more programs … So now it was my opportunity to make a living out of music rather than just a hobby. I was able to come down here and start playing before films and occasionally travel doing silent films.” During these silent films accompaniments, Rogers acts a live score — choosing how to incorporate his music into the film and acting almost as a director. “For instance, in Hitchcock’s ‘The Lodger’, there’s a girl in the film and you’re not sure if she’s safe around the lodger or not, so I can really choose musically, when I will let the audience know she’s safe,” Rogers said. “Every time I do a film (it’s) a little different because the way I incorporate the melodies will change each time.” While Rogers does spend his time accompanying silent films, his job at the Michigan Theater gives him the rare opportunity to play on one of 40 organs in the country that are still in their original home. “Other (organs) have fallen into disuse, (been) removed, split up for parts to go into other organs or moved into different locations like schools or churches,” Rogers said. “It’s really the interest and foresight of the theater that have kept it up. So whatever I say about the organ or my role here it’s really the theater that backs the organ and keeps it running.”
VISUAL S TAT E M E N T:
More than Movies at the Michigan Theater BY ASHA LEWIS