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30 years of Michigan Basketball: 1989-2019 Special Edition Inside - Maize Rage Poster on Centerfold Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Friday, February 22, 2019

Regents meeting addresses renovations, One University Communtiy expresses concerns regarding food ethics, equality between campuses

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Survivors in Speak Out tell stories to empower Panhellenic Association’s 4th annual event helps with pain, healing process MADELINE MCLAUGHLIN Daily Staff Reporter

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University President Mark Schlissel speaks on post-secondary education at the regents meeting at the University of Michigan Golf Course Thursday.

ATTICUS RAASCH & ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporters

The University of Michigan Board of Regents convened for their first meeting of the semester Thursday. Prior to a sharing of public comments, the board

presented successes in research as well as several renovation proposals. To begin the meeting, University President Mark Schlissel emphasized the value of post-secondary education. Before announcing his recommendations for Arthur F. Thurnau Professorships, awarded

for outstanding contributions to undergraduate education, Schlissel cited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s goal of having 60 percent of Michigan residents obtain a post-high school education. Schlissel noted higher education is crucial for the success of the state. “The state of Michigan is made

stronger by 15 public institutions that vary in scope and mission,” Schlissel said. “We can see the benefits amongst our three University of Michigan campuses. Additionally, it is a cause for optimism that Governor Whitmer has set a goal for post-secondary educational attainment.

Posters championing selfworth adorned the walls of the Michigan League Ballroom Thursday night for the fourth annual Panhellenic Speak Out. The event, hosted by the Sexual Violence Education and Empowerment branch of the Panhellenic Peer Educators, provided a confidential space for survivors of sexual violence to share their stories. Quiet moments of contemplation swept across the room following

the powerful stories of sexual assault. Audience members were invited to share their experiences in an open, unmoderated forum. Individuals spoke for themselves and read anonymous submissions, expressing their pain and processes of healing through short stories, poems and unscripted reflections. Due to the highly sensitive and confidential nature of the event, The Daily was asked to refrain from recording or quoting speakers.

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Friends of the Ann Arbor skatepark Distracted Draft law driving to elects its first ever female president introduced GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT

be targeted in new bill

Nina Juergens hopes to increase girls’ interest in skateboarding community

Proposal endorsed by Whitmer aims to expand texting-while-driving laws

In 2007, a loose-knit group of skateboarders and skateboard enthusiasts in Ann Arbor decided it was time to create a skatepark in a city that has many other exceptional public amenities. In 2014, after a large community effort, Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark — a nonprofit public skatepark in Ann Arbor — was created. Twelve years after this initial push, the skatepark is a thriving nonprofit. And now, it’s elected its first female president, Nina Juergens, on Jan. 21. Juergens joined the

MICHAEL ZHANG Daily Staff Reporter

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorsed a bill expanding Michigan’s texting-whiledriving laws on Wednesday. The bill, HB 4198, which was introduced by state Rep. Triston Cole, R-Charlevoix, proposes to make it illegal to read emails and send messages over social media while driving. Additionally, it seeks to prevent new drivers ages 16 and 17, with either level 1 or level 2 licenses, from talking and listening to a cell phone when operating motor vehicles. In a press release, Cole touted the importance of creating safer roads by limiting distractions for drivers. “It’s time we put our cell phones away while driving— and that includes checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all the rest of it,” Cole wrote. “Social media can wait until the driving is done. Making this important change to Michigan law will keep our roads safer for everyone by eliminating potential distractions for drivers.” See DRIVING, Page 3A

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skatepark effort in 2009 to oversee branding and merchandising. She said she was optimistic about the progress of the skatepark, as the interested skate community members had transferable knowledge to contribute to the project. “I think the timing happened because we were older and knew people that could help us along the way with volunteering, advice, grant writing and legal help to form the non-profit Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark,” Juergens said. “It truly was a community effort.” After the grand opening in 2014, she helped to organize

and run a free program to teach women and girls how to skate. As the new president, she hopes these programs will continue to advance under her leadership. “Just because it’s built doesn’t mean it’s done evolving,” Juergens said. “Upon the park opening, I co-created a program along with Crystle Partington, another board member from the beginning, called All Girls Skate, with free instruction to women and girls during the summer. We provide all the equipment needed. I’d like to see more events, programs and amenities happen in the future.” Juergens also has longterm plans for the skatepark,

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State officials aim to hold companies responsible for polluting air, water ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter

Representative Yousef Rabhi and Senator Jeff Irwin reintroduced the polluter-pay bill to Michigan Legislature Thursday, Feb. 14. The new bill would hold corporations and industries responsible for polluting Michigan air and water. State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ypsilanti, introduced the bill back in 2017 to the Michigan House of Representatives and teamed up with state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Petoskey, to reintroduce the bill to both the state House and Senate this year. “What the polluter-pay law does is it re-establishes a law that we used to have in Michigan that says once a polluter makes a mess, they have to clean it up,” Rabhi said. “That’s the simplest way to put it.” Irwin and Rabhi want to return to former Michigan laws that held pollutants more responsible. Michigan law was changed under the Engler administration.

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The Ann Arbor Skatepark is located at the corner of North Maple Road and Dexter Avenue.

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including adding more infrastructure and amenities. “I’ll be meeting with the head of the Parks Department soon,” Juergens said. “I would like to see lights for winter use and things that make it comfortable to families to spend the day there, such as bathrooms, picnic tables and shelter.” Also elected at the annual meeting were Secretary Trevor Staples and Treasurer Josh Meisler. Meisler has served as the organization’s president for the past four years. Meisler said in the announcement press release that he has high hopes for the coming year with Juergens as president. See SKATE, Page 3A

to decrease pollution

INDEX

NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6

See POLLUTION, Page 3A

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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

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LSA freshman Daniel Dash on his story ““The story of Adam Steinberg: a new leader, new culture and new heights”: “I wanted to get the complete picture, and to me the complete picture means starting from square one. I think that a big part of that was looking at (Steinberg’s) previous coaching stops, especially where he won the national championship at Pepperdine. Some of the best quotes in the article come from the old Pepperdine athletics director. Dr. Watson was more than happy to talk about Steinberg. I think that by talking to as many people as possible, that helped me understand the big picture and portray it in the article.” “A lot of sports reporting looks at one game, or one aspect within a game. So to take a step back and look at it from a broader angle, and to really talk with so many people, rather than just a coach and a couple players, that made a huge difference. I think there was a lot more to explore looking at a 20 year trajectory, so when it came down to it, the scope of it made it really fun to write.”

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“

The stigma is still there around taking a class pass/fail. So, I think this is one of many projects we hope to pursue in terms of trying to reverse the narrative on this stigma around pass/fail courses.”

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and will be paid for by the Alumni all three campuses need to be treated and aided equally. Association. “If we, at the Ann Arbor “The new west vestibule, FINNTAN STORER which is also an addition, is campus, truly believe in our Managing Editor frstorer@michigandaily.com mission, then designed to complement the University’s GRACE KAY and ELIZABETH LAWRENCE existing architecture, improve we must provide equitable If we want our state to be Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com the energy efficiency of the support for our Dearborn amongst the most prosperous Senior News Editors: Sayali Amin, Rachel Cunningham, Remy Farkas, Leah building, and requires minimal and Flint campuses that in the nation, we have to be Graham, Amara Shaikh Assistant News Editors: Barbara Collins, Alex Harring, Danielle Pasekoff, changes to the landscape,” Lewis disproportionately represented amongst the most educated. Atticus Raasch, Ben Rosenfeld, Samantha Small, Emma Stein, Zayna Syed, Callie lower-income students, said. Our students’ businesses and the Teitelbaum, Liat Weinstein The second proposal, a $5 Michigan resident students residents deserve this opportunity JOEL DANILEWITZ and MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA million Bonisteel Boulevard water of color and first-generation to succeed.” Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com main and road reconstruction, students,” Greene said. “Our Schlissel also expressed his Senior Opinion Editors: Emily Huhman, Alexander Satola, Elias Khoury, was passed unanimously by the school’s mantra, ‘Leaders and gratitude and congratulations Nicholas Tomaino, Erin White board. A third proposal was then Best,’ shall hold throughout the to several groups and members MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS brought to and passed by the entirety of our University of around campus. Referencing Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com board to rebuild the University Michigan academic system.” the extreme cold that led to the Senior Sports Editors: Mark Calcagno, Jake Shames, Matthew Kennedy, Anna Greene reflected on the aims Laundry Building, which serves cancellation of two days of classes Marcus, Paige Voeffray, Avi Sholkoff Assistant Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Tien Le, Rian Ratnavale, Bennett patient care facilities at Michigan and highlights of CSG’s recent this January, Schlissel said he Bramson, Theo Mackie, Akul Vijayvargiya Medicine, and move it to an State of the Students report and is grateful for the work of staff JACK BRANDON and ARYA NAIDU alternative location. According said he hopes the board will members across all three U-M Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com to Kevin Hegarty, the executive consider reviewing the issue campuses in maintaining facilities Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam vice president and chief financial addressed in the document. and student safety despite harsh Della Fera, Trina Pal “The State of the Students officer of the University, the weather conditions. Arts Beat Editors: Verity Sturm, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan report is an opportunity to facility is over 50 years old. “Extreme cold creates special “It is completely outdated, highlight the accomplishments challenges for the University, and ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN worn out and requires of ongoing projects of the the staff responded,” Schlissel said. Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Senior Design Editor: Willa Hua replacement,” Hegarty said. current administration,” Greene “For instance, our buses ran their “The laundry service it provides said. “I hope the Regents and normal routes to ensure that our ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN is critical to the operation of the administrators will take the students and employees had safe Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Annie Klusendorf time to explore both forms of the Michigan Medicine hospitals.” transportation, and some buses Assistant Photo Editors: Katelyn Mulcahy, Miles Macklin, Emma Richter, Hannah President of Central Student report, as the few highlights are served as warming stations on key Siegel, Allison Engkvist Government Daniel Greene, only a fraction of policy interests campus locations. Maintenance Public Policy senior, spoke in of current Wolverines.” teams proactively inspected pipes, ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com *** front of the regents to given the monitoring for breaks and leaks Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors At meeting, 10 speakers Student Government Report. and our custodians monitored buildings for safety and assisted Congratulating new Regents Paul addressed the board during MADELINE TURNER and MIRIAM FRANCISCO Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com the public comments portion. Brown (D) and Jordan Acker (D), http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Sudoku students Syndication in numerous ways. Senior Copy Editors: Sadia Jiban, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer Greene said he looks forward to The speakers — who included I know that staff also on our working on policy points the students, faculty and community CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com new regents stressed in their members — discussed nonSenior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot, agenda related items, including election process. Samantha Cohen “I’d like to start by the One University coalition, NOAH TAPPEN congratulating Regent Acker ethical food purchasing and Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com claims of inadequate care at and Regent Brown on their EASY Senior Video Editors: Jillian Drzinski, Aarthi Janakiraman recent election victories,” Michigan Medicine. CARLY RYAN and NA’KIA CHANNEY Regent Ron Weiser (R) Greene said. “The current Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com CSG administration stands thanked all speakers at the Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria ready to collaborate on many meeting for discussing issues Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan of the platform points you both impacting the University. Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Grace Cho, Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, “I wanted, on behalf of the ran on, including addressing Maya Mokh campus affordability, board, to thank all the speakers CATHERINE NOUHAN and JOHN FABIAN with a specific focus on for taking their time to come here Managing Podcast Editors housing affordability and and share their views,” Weiser CARRINGTON TUBMAN and MADALASA CHAUDHARI food insecurity, improving said. “These are complex issues, Managing Social Media Editors equitable support across our and it’s helpful for us to hear your three campuses, and making thoughts.” One University the administration and The One University campaign regents more accessible to is a coalition of students, faculty students.” ADRIANNA KUSMIERCZYK community members Looking to discuss and Creative Director CAMERON COANE ZELJKO KOSPIC to bolstering campus issues such as even committed Sales Manager Special Projects Manager distribution of resources, food resources on the Flint and ROBERT WAGMAN ANITA MICHAUD insecurity and workers’ rights Dearborn campuses. LSA senior Marketing Consulting Manager Brand Manager and challenges surrounding Griffin St. Onge emphasized the new felony self-disclosure the University’s duty as a public policy, Greene recommended university and the importance of the regents consider making creating equity among the three The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available several endorsements to U-M campuses. © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for SPRING PLS puzzle by sudokusyndication.com address these challenges. In $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. discussing equitable resource University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. distribution, said See REGENTS, Page 3A Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at Greene sudokusyndication.com! Dearborn and Flint campuses worked diligently to support their operations as well.” Schlissel also congratulated the 2019 Sloan Research Fellows, awarded for being promising young researchers, as well as the 24 students who earned Fulbright grants, given to students to study internationally. He then introduced S. Jack Hu, vice president for research, for the annual research report. According to Hu, the University saw their highest research expenditures on record, with the largest grants coming from the federal government and industry sources. “Our 2018 research expenditures reached a total of 1.55 billion — that is a record high,” Hu said. “The federal government remains the most significant sponsor of our research. For the eighth year, U of M ranked first among all public research universities in the U.S.” Several building renovation proposals were approved by the Board of Regents. The first, presented by Chuck Lewis of Integrated Design Solutions, is an $8.9 million renovation to the Alumni Center. According to Lewis, this renovation would add over 350 square feet and update existing systems in the Alumni Center

REGENTS From Page 1

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SKATE From Page 1A

J A Z Z & B O S S A N O VA

ZACHARY GOLDSMITH/Daily Ann Arbor musician Paul VornHagen plays saxophone at the Jazz and Bossa Nova Concert at the University Hospital Thursday.

POLLUTION From Page 1A Currently, environmental policy works under risk mitigation which requires polluters to limit human exposure to pollutants rather than cleaning up the entirety of the pollution. Irwin said this has caused more complications than solved problems. To highlight this, Irwin cited the Gelman lawsuit over the contamination of an Ann Arbor water supply. “There was a company on the west side of Ann Arbor that polluted an aquifer under Ann Arbor and because the law only requires risk mitigation, the company was able to point to the fact that people living on top of that aquifer were drinking city water and because they weren’t

SPEAKOUT From Page 1A LSA junior Charlotte Hoppen, interim director of education for PPE, explained the role peer educators play in assisting victims of sexual assault both on campus and within the Ann Arbor community. “We train all the PPEs on how to respond to disclosures of sexual misconduct and sexual assault and on how to provide resources in the campus community and around the community of Ann Arbor,” Hoppen said. “We train them to provide presentations on consent, sexual misconduct, responding to disclosures and resources for all new member classes in the Panhellenic community.” Hoppen went on to discuss

REGENTS From Page 2A “Through my time organizing around affordability issues on the Ann Arbor campus, I have seen how many Michigan opportunities are still more difficult for lowincome students and students of color to access,” St. Onge said. “As Ann Arbor students are increasingly likely to come from extreme wealth, I have learned how the University’s desire to provide an uncommon education for the common man has been complicated. This is why I, and other Ann Arbor students, support the 1U campaign.” St. Onge said many Ann Arbor students struggle with affordability, meaning the struggle of Flint and Dearborn students is linked to that of students on the Ann Arbor campus. She also highlighted funding disparities among the campuses — the University runs on a budget surplus and Flint and Dearborn students graduate with more debt on average than students in Ann Arbor. Additionally, St. Onge spoke against the new University felony self-disclosure policy. The policy requires staff to report all charges and convictions of felonies within a week and has prompted discussion

actually exposed to that city water, they shouldn’t have to clean it up,” Irwin said. The aquifer was sectioned off as a prohibition zone, or an area of natural resources that is sealed off for any future use due to its contamination. Irwin said this bill is necessary for the health of Michigan residents, both present and future. “We’re talking about how much of these toxic chemicals we’re going to leave in the ground and that has a translation to the number of people in the future who are going to be hurt as a result of this decision,” Irwin said. Rabhi acknowledged this bill will not be easy to pass because the Michigan legislature is still controlled by Republicans. “I think that there are significant hurdles,” Rabhi said. “Corporate polluters still have

significant allies in the House with the Republican majority.” Sometimes lawmakers forget residents when making decisions that benefit corporations, Irwin added. “Sometimes in Lansing, I think it’s really easy to obscure the connection between the decisions we’re making to how much pollution is allowed and the very real cancers and other health problems people get as a result of these decisions,” Irwin said. In Irwin’s point of view, current laws are rewarding companies that do not spend extra expenses on practicing cleaner operations. “The additional hazard of allowing polluters to be let off the hook is that you have a whole universe of good corporate citizens out there, companies that are doing the right thing,” Irwin said. “Companies that are

spending money to make sure that their operations are more sustainable and more in line with the public interest and are protective of public health.” The Daily reached out to the University’s chapter of College Republicans, but they were unable to comment in time for publication. Katie Kelly, communications director of the University of Michigan’s chapter of College Democrats, believes this bill will help both Michigan’s environment and population. “I think the new bills introduced by Representative Rabhi and Senator Irwin are a great step forward for our community,” Kelly wrote in an email interview with The Daily. “If corporations are dumping pollutants into our environment it should be their job to clean it up… . If this bill passes, I believe it will help clean up the

why having resources like PPE is crucial to empowering women, especially within the Greek life community. “Greek life, in particular, is an at-risk group on campus,” she said. “10.3 percent of (on-campus rapes) take place in fraternity houses … so it’s especially important that we are empowering women to not only to be in safe situations and help others in need, but also to work and advocate on behalf of themselves.” Recently, the University of Michigan announced a revision to the student sexual misconduct policy, wherein students must take part in an in-person meeting between the accuser, the accused and any witnesses involved if requested to do so. The policy revision follows a recent U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, in which

public universities “must give the accused student or his agent an opportunity to cross-examine the accuser.” A student, who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, reflected on the implications the policy revision may have on students going through the process of reporting misconduct. “In the future, I don’t see this policy doing any good for survivors,” she said. “What they don’t realize is, if survivors have to sit in the same room as their perpetrator and be questioned by them, how traumatizing that can be. Reporting as a whole is traumatizing in and of itself, and seeing the person is so awful they’re trying to process something already, and seeing the person’s face can take so much away from you.” LSA freshman Cammie Dalton

discussed how events like the Speak Out can assist individuals in their healing process. “It’s really important to listen to people’s stories and emphasize that you believe people’s stories,” Dalton said. “It’s important to feel like you can come forward, because it’s such a big step of recovery.” Additionally, she discussed how the aura of acceptance and affirmation permeating the event allowed for an environment conducive to emotional healing. “Events like this are necessary because of the setting,” she said. “For people to feel comfortable, it depends on who they are around. If they get a vibe that people are going to be accepting and actually be listening — not just present — events like this will be really helpful for their recovery.”

and an open letter calling for the policy to be rescinded. St. Onge said the policy limits the opportunities of students and faculty and reduces access to certain viewpoints and experiences. She also said this directly contradicts diversity, equity and inclusion at the University. LSA sophomore Mani Samei attended the meeting in support of UMich Behind Bars — a student group advocating against the self-disclosure policy — and One University. He said it is important students make their voices heard and presence felt. “This policy is just one more example of the University making the active decision to extend the prison system into the educational system and I think as students it’s important we show up to these things,” Samei said. “Students are taking notice and are noticing the regents are making these decisions, and it really has no place at the University.” Arifa Javed, a sociology lecturer at U-M Dearborn, said she’s given a third of her life to the University and thanked the regents for the salary increase for lecturers. However, Javed said some policies hurt her and other lecturers, and the University needs a change in the relationship between the three campuses. She specifically noted policies that inhibit her ability to receive

health care, and shared personal experiences that she says show how the University does not properly support her campus. Javed also said majors in her department have decreased, decreasing students’ opportunities. “With my 20 years of experience at Dearborn, I come before you asking for a profound but necessary change we need in the relationship of our three campuses,” Javed said. “Since we are under one president and one Board of Regents, I would request you to take my recommendations and help out the students, faculty and staff on all three campuses.” Jono Sturt, lecturer of architecture in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, said it is hard to live paycheck to paycheck and advocated for equal treatment for lecturers on all three campuses. He said the contract has positively impacted his life, his teaching and his students’ experience. Sturt thanked the regents for the recent contract, which he said allows him to set aside money for the future for the first time. However, he says there needs to be a larger conversation about lecturer treatment and the funding inequalities across the campuses. “We understand this needs to be the beginning of a much longer conversation,” Sturt said. “The University of Michigan is a public

Friday, February 22, 2019 — 3A

institution and as such, should serve the public of this state, not just those here in Ann Arbor. Our University’s faculty and learners at Flint and Dearborn deserve the same support I am so grateful to enjoy here on this campus.” Food ethics Kimberly Daley, a University staff member and alum, was one of four speakers who spoke about the University’s food decisions. Daley, who works with the Washtenaw Solidarity with Farmworkers organization, highlighted the University’s history of supporting fair worker policy and ethical purchasing policies, but said the University should continue to make ethical food choices going forward. Daley urged the University to join the Fair Food Program, a partnership ensuring humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms. She specifically noted the Wendy’s debate as a situation of having a choice between advocating for fair worker treatment or not. She said WSF will continue to advocate for these issues. “Our campus community has a history of supporting labor investments,” Daley said. “The University of Michigan also has a long commitment to ethical purchasing commitments … Expanding this work to the food system is critically important

“I am proud of the great events, community collaborations, programming and park improvements that our board of directors and volunteers have facilitated in the past few years,” Meisler said. “I look forward to more success for the best public skatepark in the Midwest under the leadership of the new president and founding board member of Friends of the Ann Arbor Skatepark, Nina Juergens.” Business junior Jordan Stanton has been skateboarding since he was 14. In Ann Arbor, he’s familiar with the skate shop scene. But he grew up in New York, where many skateparks have tried producing skate programs, specifically for girls, since he started skating seven years ago. “I have seen a

DRIVING From Page 1A Currently, Michigan law only covers the restrictions on texting while driving. Reactions to the bill have been positive from campus leaders on both sides of the political aisle. In an email interview with The Daily, Public Policy senior Katie Kelly, communications director for the University’s chapter of College Democrats, lauded the initiative for improving the safety of everyone on the roads and commended Whitmer for supporting it. “Governor Whitmer’s initiative to pass a bill for hands-free driving in Michigan will help improve the safety of everyone on the roads,” Kelly wrote. “Be it texting while driving or scrolling through social media, looking at a screen while driving drastically increases your chances of an accident.” Notably, the new bill does not restrict adult Michigan drivers from talking and listening on their phones while driving. Kelly also praised this part of the bill, framing it as a smart decision that avoids over-restricting drivers on what they are able to do while driving. “The bill still allows for cell phone use through voice operated methods so no one will miss any crucial calls while driving,” Kelly said. “This bill is meant to ensure the safety of the citizens of Michigan, and I commend Governor Whitmer for supporting it.” Likewise, Kinesiology junior Jackson Schleuning, treasurer of the University’s chapter of College Republicans, also had a very positive reaction,

because with each new corporation that joins the Fair Food Program, the farms they purchase from join this effort that has been proven time and time again to eliminate abuses.” WSF member Matthew Hoostal, Medical School research fellow, shared a report that said the University does not make ethical food decisions. Hoostal said the University should interact with the food industry the same way it interacts with the garment industry, which requires it to avoid purchasing from companies that practice unethical treatment of workers. WSF member Shane McParland added on to Hoostal’s statements and asked the University to adopt the Fair Food Program policies. McParland also mentioned the recent Ann Arbor City Council resolution to ban Wendy’s and other fast food restaurants not supportive of the Fair Food Program and said the University should look at different businesses’ policies when deciding which have space in the Michigan Union. “The Fair Food Program is worker driven, relies on workplace-specific codes of conduct, worker education, complaint mechanisms, comprehensive audits and market consequences for violators,” McParland said. “Vendors’ endorsement of labor justice

definite increase in girls skateboarding since I started seven years ago,” Stanton said. “Specifically in New York, there’s been momentum for a while, but I believe it usually takes longer for that to spread to the Midwest.” Though Juergens has many long-term goals on her agenda, she emphasized in a press release that her goal from the beginning of her involvement in the skatepark was to increase girls’ interest in skating and to allow them to feel included in the Ann Arbor skating community. “The goal from day one was to have a larger presence of girls and women skateboarding and using skateparks,” Juergens said. “We’ve run the All Girls Skate instruction free for participants since the opening of the park, and we’ve had professional skateboarders such as Samarria Brevard, Nora Vasconcellos and Jordyn Barratt come to be a part of the All Girls Skate program.” describing road safety as a shared interest for everyone. “No matter if you are a man or a woman, black or white, gay or straight, everybody uses these roads and when you make the decision to drive distracted, you are putting everybody at risk,” Schleuning said. Additionally, Schleuning also described a personal loss he experienced because of distracted driving. “When (Whitmer) initially touched on the hands-free part, one of the guests in her gallery was a family member of someone who was killed by a distracted driver and who was actually one of my best friends,” he said. “He was traveling about 50 miles an hour when he had to slow down because there was traffic coming on. The woman driving behind him did not realize that and hit him from behind, sending him across the median where a tractor-trailer hit him right on.” LSA freshman Rina McClain also expressed approval of the new bill, even casting it as somewhat of an inevitability. “I guess I would that think this would happen sooner or later just because any of the stuff online can be distracting while driving,” she said. “It doesn’t really surprise me — it makes sense that a bill is trying to be passed to expand restrictions.” McClain also commented on the impact that this bill would have on University students who drive, bringing up their frequency of phone usage. “Anyone from this generation… are so dependent on their phones,” McClain said. “If you’re addicted to your phone, then it’s going to be a problem for you, especially with social media.”

should be weighed heavily.” McParland also said WSF asked University President Mark Schlissel for a policy favoring transparency and endorsing the Fair Food Program on campus in October 2018. He said a month later Schlissel responded saying he would share their concerns with the president’s Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights. When WSF met with the committee chair that month, McParland said they were told nothing could be done without the president’s mandate and more research is needed. Rackham student Madeline Cooke shared similar concerns to Hoostal’s and McParland’s. She asked University leaders for a response and policy in support of fair treatment for food workers and to join Central Student Government and City Council in endorsing the Fair Food Program. “It is clear that students and community members care deeply about farmworker labor justice and, as a community, we want the University to take action,” Cooke said. “As the largest employer in the state of Michigan, what this institution does impacts the community.”

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK

‘Magical Negro’ empowers On loving your art form VERITY STURM

Daily Book Review Editor

I have a Morgan Parker poem tacked above my bed. Last February I nailed a copy of “Let Me Handle My Business, Damn,” from Parker’s killer 2017 debut “There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé,” to my wall, where it has remained to this day, again finding me/you/us swimming in winter’s brine. Morgan Parker is a poet of the powerful area between awareness and authority, a writer who will recompose the details around her, brilliantly, until she finds enough space to thrive. In “Let Me Handle My Business, Damn,” our speaker is “in the tub holding down / that on-sale Bordeaux pretending / to be well adjusted,” keeping it together while keeping it real, a gritty and generous situational awareness that casually grounds the declaration that comes next: “I am on that real / jazz shit sometimes I run the streets / sometimes they run me.” It finds raw glamour and rhythm without loftiness or idealism, and that’s exactly where its power lies. Parker is able to generate command out of nearly any detail, granting phrases like “bad drugs bad wine mu shu pork” an emboldening, mantric sound before you even realize what the words are. This is tenacity: Morgan Parker can wring purpose and power from anything, rendering creativity and resilience one and the same. And she knows she’s got it — in a recent print interview, Poets & Writers asked Parker “You are a literary superhero — what is your name, your superpower, your kryptonite?” Her response: “Morgan Parker; Morgan Parker.” In “Magical Negro,” her second collection of poems and third published work, Parker derives her superpower from the cultural legacy of Blackness and Black womanhood. The collection

maintains the sensory creativity of “There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé,” but complicates it with historical and sociocultural texture. In an interview with Lumina, Parker explains that her previous collection “felt very full in terms of references and colors and places and people and songs,” whereas “(“Magical Negro”) felt full as in, like, a heavy book.” Full and heavy it is. There are anthems in “Magical Negro,” but there are also histories, indictments and tributes. These poems are about pain, but they refuse to wallow — in fact, they use pain, picking it up and holding it in different contextual lights to illustrate what Publishers Weekly calls “a culture and community where irreplicable nuances are created in spite of, not because of, pain and trauma.” “Magical Negro” crackles with the power of identity. In “When a Man I Love Jerks Off in My Bed Next to Me and Falls Asleep,” our speaker relays that “When I walk into the world and know / I am a black girl, I understand / I am a costume. I know the rules. / I like the pain because it makes me.” These poems locate a community’s tenacity of in spite of its trauma, an everyday superhero recomposition of pain into power through deadpan-statements like “There’s no way a black woman / killed herself, because everyone knows we can withstand / inhuman amounts of pain” in “A Brief History of the Present,” a poem that ends with our speaker describing “tectonic plates clicking / like a jaw, and — stubbornly, like history — my mouth / becoming their mouth speaking who I am.” “Magical Negro” moves back and forth across time and form to galvanize this power. In one volume, Parker remixes the Confiteor into a satire of Brooklynite millennial culture (“Here is the bright young food co-op. / Here is the steeple.”),

writes a tribute to Zora Neale Hurston (one of an excellent many to come out this month), and describes what it’s like to date White dudes named Matt (“Matt smokes unfiltered Pall Malls because Kurt / Vonnegut did.”). The February poem in this collection is “What I Am,” an anthem inspired by Terrance Hayes that finds the electricity in the everyday, in “waiting in line at Walgreens / for my pills and texting / a white man I hope will fuck me,” and in recognizing that “I play / my tarot only at night, my eyes fall, / I get mean, I fall in love, I deny this.” The collection ends on a powerful reimagining of “It was summer now and the colored people came out into the sunshine, full blown with flowers,” an iconic line from Gertrude Stein’s “Three Lives.” But in “Magical Negro,” the procession is far from flowers and sunshine. It’s “descend(ing) from the boat two by two,” it’s “The gap in James Baldwin’s teeth speak(ing) to the gap in Malcolm X’s teeth,” it’s “Frederick Douglass’s side part kiss(ing) Nikki Giovanni’s Thug Life tattoo.” It’s a choir: “The choir loses its way. The choir never returns home. The choir sings funeral instead of wedding, singe funeral instead of allegedly, sings funeral instead of help, sings Black instead of grace, sings Black as knucklebone, mercy, junebug, sea air. It is time for war.”

‘Magical Negro’ Morgan Parker Tin House Feb. 5, 2019

JENNA BARLAGE Daily Arts Writer

A few months ago, a friend sent me a quote by Sandra Cisneros: “I’m married to my writing, and he can be brutal but he never strays.” Writing was my first love. When my friend sent me this, though, I hadn’t written anything in months. Every time I sat down to write, there seemed to be a block. It was visceral — I could feel it in my chest. It was something close to anxiety, a deep-rooted resistance to sit down and write. I’d met this friend two summers ago at a writing workshop in New York City. I was still writing for fun then, unrestrained by the “right format” or “right structure” or “right way to say the thing you’re trying desperately to say, and you finally say it, but no, that’s the wrong way to say it. Change it.” She was writing for fun, too, but she also took herself seriously — something I didn’t do. I didn’t want to take myself seriously. I didn’t want to think about writing for publication or finding an agent or fighting to the death for an internship at the New Yorker. I loved writing, probably more than anything. I thought I was good at it. I had my style and my way of saying things and, generally, people liked it. My writing was creative and unrestrained. It came naturally to me. One day I’d publish a book and it’d do really well, but for the present, I’d just keep calling myself a writer until I became a real writer, and everything

would fall into place. I learned how to write for publication at the aforementioned workshop, and that’s where everything fell apart. I became consumed with readability, with concise sentences, with perfecting punctuation and structure and f low, with am I saying too much here? Writing became agonizing. A cycle had arisen. I couldn’t type a sentence without immediately erasing it, typing it again, erasing it again. I was obsessed with the “right” way to write. When I

enough. After many repetitions, this thought had become something of a mantra. My pieces for the workshop classes were half-hearted, and I’d sweat before I sent them to my classmates. I was falling out of love with writing — in fact, I hated it. On Sunday, I revisited journals that I keep on a bookshelf in my apartment but never touch. I re-read my uninhibited writing from months and years ago. I remembered, for the first time in a long time, how much writing means to me, how much of my identity and my head and my heart that it holds. I fell back in love with the thing I’d loved first. So I sat down and wrote like I hadn’t written in a very long time. There were no rules. The notion of being in love with your art form resonates across genres. Falling out of love with your art form resonates, too. Many of my artist friends have dropped out of art school, many of my musician friends out of music school. When your art form becomes too restricted, too serious, too taught, you fall out of love with it. When you remember that your art form is you – that there are no rules, that there is nothing to be taught beyond what you can teach yourself through art – you fall back in love. And it’s beautiful. It takes a lot to remind myself that I can still be married to my writing, but he doesn’t have to be brutal. And he’ll never stray.

The notion of being in love with your art form resonates across genres. Falling out of love with your art form resonates, too.

finished a piece, I’d ask myself: Would Harper’s or the New Yorker or the New York Times publish this? And if the answer was no (which it always was) I’d erase everything and start over again. This was exhausting. My perfectionism took hold of my creativity — I couldn’t even journal anymore. I can’t remember when I stopped writing completely, but I did. My friend is currently working on her creative writing thesis at Emory. She’s writing a collection of personal essays — our mutual favorite genre. I think of this often. I was inexplicably envious of her at first. I miss writing. I wish I could do that. But I can’t. It won’t be good

Arts

6 — Friday, February 22, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

Apolitical art as inherently political: A trip to UMMA JENNA BARLAGE Daily Arts Writer

SHOUT! STUDIOS

‘Tito’ truly frightened me JULIANNA MORANO Daily Arts Writer

When I babysat young children over the summer, I often gave them connectthe-dots workbooks. These activities take more forethought and precision than you might expect. Neglect or misappropriate connections between the dots, and by the time you’re finished and inspect the big picture, you have no idea what you’re looking at. Now, the two- and five-year-old whom I babysat often impressed me with their efforts to connect the dots and sometimes their accuracy as well. Unfortunately, the endeavor becomes less impressive the older you get, so I cannot let the trio of adult men (Gustavo Steinberg, “End of the Line,” Gabriel Bitar, “Cidade Cinza” and Andre Catoto, “Say I am Only Seventeen”) who directed “Tito and the Birds” off the hook. In the opening sequence of their animated children’s film “Tito and the Birds,” they outline an ambitious, disparate set of dots to connect. First and most conventionally, given the genre, they establish the titular young character Tito’s (Pedro Henrique) family dynamics: an inventor father named Rufus (Matheus Nachtergaele, “City of God”) who Tito idolizes, and an overprotective mother Rosa (Denise Fraga, “Norma”). Then, of course, come the birds. The first invention of Rufus’s we see is a machine intended to interpret the language of birds, for, as Rufus impresses upon his son, birds have been watching out for mankind from the beginning. This machine also sets the story in motion one night when it malfunctions and injures Tito, and an indignant Rosa sends Rufus packing. A third point raised in “Tito,” perhaps more compelling than any other, is that of the role the media plays in fearmongering, articulated through Alaor Souza (Matheus Solano, “Amor

á Vida”), a sensationalist TV personality who dominates characters’ screens throughout the film that ensues. Family, fearmongering, birds. Birds save family from fearmongering? Maybe. These dots are tentatively linked in the opening sequence, but the connections become stretched and overwrought in due time, as well as undermined when they drop the ball on other points that arise along the way (the most notable example of

‘Tito and the Birds’ Shout! Studios State Theatre

which are class distinctions in the film, which are only ever addressed haphazardly). Most disappointing of all, this antifearmongering film scared me, on several counts. The first count: they misrepresent fear. There is a fine line between exaggerating the visual dimension of concepts to appeal to children and oversimplifying complexities to make them more digestible for a particular audience. “Tito” consistently teeters on the brink of the latter. Intending to represent the debilitating, divisive effects of paranoia on society, the makers of “Tito and the Birds” render fear as an epidemic, highly contagious and with ghastly bodily consequences. In the process, they confound physical

disability and psychological states in a troubling way. People with disabilities do not have a choice in the matter; consumers of media and the disciples of media pundits who abuse their platforms, on the other hand, do. This misleading message about disabilities may effectively scare children out of succumbing to fearmongering, but it’s at the expense of an oftmisrepresented population. On the topic of scaring kids away from fear, there lies the second count: the visuals themselves. At first enticing for their novelty (a likely descendent of “Loving Vincent,” comprised largely of oil paintings in motion), the imagery in “Tito and the Birds” becomes overly saturated with the fear the protagonists of the film try to resist. I doubt the intended audience of children will have the same resolve as Tito when confronted with disturbing graphics, such as the Jabba the Hutt-esque, reverse metamorphosis those afflicted with the fear “outbreak” undergo. The third count is all about the birds, for “Tito and the Birds” is a well-disguised but problematic portrayal of man’s relationship with the environment. “Tito” teems with modern technology; it would seem Rufus’s admonition to once more listen to the birds would beseech respect for nature in spite of the industrialized, digitized world. Unfortunately, in “Tito,” the birds get nothing in return for their wisdom. We might never get past exploitative model of our relationship with nature if we do not even have the gall to imagine a mutual relationship in a children’s film. If I were still babysitting, we’d skip “Tito.” We would keep working on connecting the dots, and maybe we’d form an image of a bird. But maybe then we’d add a few dots and draw ourselves. Imagine what it would look like to have genuine respect for the natural world.

The early ’70s are often romanticized — good vibes, groovy music and sociopolitical activism. It can simultaneously be said that the early ’70s were a time of heightened anxiety. These years came in the wake of JFK’s assassination, the Vietnam War, the Manson murders, the Civil Rights Movement and the beginnings of the Beatles’s something like desolate “hippy” era. The UMMA’s exhibition “Abstraction, Color, and Politics in the Early 1970s” captures the unnerving vibe of the era through four large-scale works by American artists contemporary to the time: Helen Frankenthaler, Louise Nevelson, Sam Gilliam and Al Loving. The former are Jewish women, the latter Black men. The emphasis of the gallery tour was heavily placed on public evaluation of art in the ’70s. Whether art was considered “good art” to critics and viewers depended on its ability to help advance social movements. The emphasis of social value was placed on feminism and civil rights in the case of these artists, given the politics of the era and the artists’ identities. Activism was difficult to navigate in the context of abstract art on the premise of its abstraction — their work didn’t mean the

same thing to any one person. In turn, these artists received mass criticism because their art was “not political enough.” Al Loving’s response to this criticism was perhaps the most jarring part of the talk. Loving was the first African American artist to have his own, one-person exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City less than

The emphasis of the gallery tour was heavily placed on public evaluation of art in the ’70s.

a year after he moved there. He was immediately hailed in the white, upper-class art scene and became popular among buyers and patrons. He’d risen to fame. At a certain point, however, Loving began to lose touch with his work. The demand was so high that he began hiring assistants to paint for him, and he consequently slipped away from self-expression in his art. Loving was simultaneously criticized by Black critics and activists of the time, who claimed that his art was far removed from Black activism and the Civil Rights Movement. They further criticized Loving for not using his momentous career to support and further

GORDON PARKS/THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

FILM REVIEW

Release Date: Friday, February 22, 2019

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

ACROSS 1 Information desk sign 6 Sits in a cellar, say 10 Chuckleheads 14 Yuletide name 15 Philanthropist Wallace 16 Grammy-winning rapper 17 Totally rad electric guitar performance? 19 Short copy? 20 Upper bod muscle 21 Poor Richard, really 22 Brusque 23 Emergency bucket on Dior’s boat? 27 Nonbeliever 29 Shoreline flood protection 30 Caper film event 31 Actor Danson 32 Dessert chain with Cotton Candy Freeze 36 Travel guide 37 Jib made of clothing labels? 41 SE state 42 “When all __ fails ... ” 44 “Let ‘er __!” 45 Zac of “Baywatch” 47 Error 49 Master piece? 51 Where to find more beach toys? 55 Expunge 56 Mahershala of “True Detective” 57 IMAX purchase 59 X-ray, Yankee, __ 60 Impressive New York zoo peacock display? 64 Phone button abbr. 65 X-ray units 66 Starbucks size 67 Double __ Oreos 68 “If you don’t mind?” 69 In other words, in Caesar’s words DOWN 1 “Crikey!” 2 Berth place 3 Healthy snack

4 Puts a cover on, as a bed 5 Jargon suffix 6 Astros’ MLB division 7 Really big 8 “The House With a Clock in Its Walls” director Roth 9 “On the Road” narrator 10 Secondary wager 11 Integra maker 12 “For every generation” soft drink 13 1943 penny metal 18 Hitting stat 22 Paramount Network, once 24 “Norma Rae” director 25 Writer’s block breakthrough 26 German wheels 27 Words of lament 28 Marsh duck 31 Cough syrup meas. 33 Actress who plays Kimmy Schmidt’s landlady

the Movement, given his identity as a Black American artist. Loving was devastated by this criticism, so much so that he destroyed most of his work. The women artists, Frankenthaler and Nevelson, had to consider vastly different political expectations in their art. Women artists were expected to both avoid and embody femininity in their work. They were expected to find a space between feminist and feminine — they were not to be too much of one or the other. Delicacy in female art was criticized, but so was violence. This was considered dangerous in abstraction, given its room for interpretation. As a result, both Frankenthaler and Nevelson resisted politics altogether in their work. However, Frankenthaler’s Sunset Corner is reminiscent of a menstrual painting, but the viewer can make of that what they will. The gallery talk ultimately distilled common narratives around the ’70s and around the general politicization of art, making a statement about what it means to navigate being an artist of an oppressed demographic in a time of political strife and upheaval. The talk gave necessary background on these artists that otherwise couldn’t be inferred from the exhibit alone, making their work more profound, even today.

34 Allied group 35 Jerk 38 “Sunday Night Baseball” analyst, familiarly 39 One often taking a bow 40 Helen of Troy’s mother 43 Try to find oneself? 46 Made moth moves 48 Half and half

49 House speaker after Ryan 50 Neat as __ 51 Amazon founder 52 Blow one’s stack 53 Ivy in Conn. 54 Resistant to cold, as plants 58 Small songbirds 60 Parka sleeve 61 “Listen, ewe!” 62 Income tax Amendment 63 Hammered

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

02/22/19

‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ isn’t, actually ELISE GODFRYD For the Daily

Some movies have the distinct ability to be forgotten as soon as the end credits start rolling. “Isn’t It Romantic?” is one of them. I remember laughing a couple of times and cringing many more, but, for the most part, I remember feeling nothing. I think that’s the best way to describe this film: nothing, a pit of nothingness. And no amount of uncomfortable musical sequences and flashy colors can remedy that. “Isn’t It Romantic?” desperately tries to be both a satire and a comedy, but because it fails to effectively be either, it hardly leaves an impact. As a lifelong lover of romantic comedies, I was actually quite excited to see the film. Based on its marketing, it seemed that the movie was appealing to people just like me — people who adore the genre and would surely recognize its many references to iconic rom-coms of days gone by. While the movie is certainly aware of its predecessors and actively references them, the references are nowhere near as funny or original as the movie wants them to be. On a strictly nostalgic level, “Isn’t It Romantic?” disappoints. The premise of “Isn’t It Romantic?” is anything but groundbreaking. Other romantic comedy satires like “Not Another Teen Movie” and “They Came Together,” while also pretty bad, do exactly what “Isn’t It Romantic?” tries to do, but often in much more entertaining and original ways. On top of that, the movie treats its audience as if it isn’t already aware of the countless tropes that plague the genre. The vast majority of rom-com enthusiasts are already well aware of the common cliches (the gay best

friend, the mandatory makeover scene, for example). The movie refuses to acknowledge the fact that most rom-com lovers don’t watch romcoms for their intellectual and artistic merits; rather, rom-coms serve as a source of escapism from the mundanity of daily life. A character in the movie actually makes this exact point early on, but it’s immediately glossed over. “Isn’t It Romantic?” condescends its audience by making the obvious tropes it points out appear newly discovered.

‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ Warner Bros. Pictures Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX

Nevertheless, the movie isn’t completely ineffective, mainly due to its surprisingly wonderful lead performances. This is the most human, most authentic Rebel Wilson (“How To Be Single”) I’ve seen yet. She isn’t defined by her size, as she seems to be in virtually every other film of comparable popularity. “Isn’t It Romantic?” presents Wilson as a fully human being, a woman whose size is a part of her, but not all of her. She’s funny and relatable and real. Her primary love interest, Adam DeVine (“When We First Met”), also does a great job.

DeVine, like Wilson, is another victim of typecasting. And while “Isn’t It Romantic?” plays off of DeVine’s signature brand of comedy, it gives him much more to work with. Not only is he funny and a bit eccentric, he’s also introspective, thoughtful and romantic. Although Wilson and DeVine are more widely known as on-screen lovers in the “Pitch Perfect” franchise, their relationship in “Isn’t It Romantic?” is significantly improved. While their characters in “Pitch Perfect” seem to be coupled together solely because they’re the oddballs of their respective acapella groups, their coupling in this movie actually makes sense. They have palpable chemistry and the personalities of the characters mesh naturally. Their time together on-screen is pretty enjoyable to watch; the problem is that there’s simply not enough of it. Instead, the movie chooses to focus on what it deems to be much more important: endless montages and utterly meaningless dance sequences. “Isn’t It Romantic?” fails in nearly all respects. It’s not original enough to be a worthwhile satire, and it’s not romantic enough to be on par with the rom-coms it’s mocking. The performances of Wilson and DeVine are simply not enough to save it. I sincerely hope this movie isn’t the one to usher in a new era of romantic comedies. However, if it is, the genre will have become yet another victim to the modern age of nostalgiaobsessed entertainment. In order to recover from this before it’s too late, it’s crucial that filmmakers strive to work against everything this movie stands for and create movies that respect the foundations of the genre while still adding onto the canon in exciting and innovative ways.

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Friday, February 22, 2019— 7A

For Black History Month, a legacy Grant Gabriele returns to Ann Arbor AIDAN WOUTAS

TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

For players slipping and sliding on the icy sidewalk outside Ray Fisher Stadium while leaving practice on Wednesday, the words “Branch Rickey Classroom” on the stadium wall might have been easy to miss. But inside the classroom — whose walls are adorned with murals documenting Rickey’s contributions to baseball — the team has learned extensively about his legacy. Rickey is best known for integrating Major League Baseball with the signing of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and the invention of the farm team system. His four years spent coaching Michigan’s baseball team from 1910 to 1913 are often forgotten. “I don’t know if there’s a better pioneer for our game,” said current Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “So to have him on our wall and as the namesake for our classroom, to know that he coached here from 1910 to 1913 and went on to make such an impact in the game, is just a major source of pride and inspiration for our players and for me.” Rickey’s frustration with racial prejudice was evident from early in his career. While coaching at his alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan University, Rickey was disgusted to find out that the South Bend, Ind. hotel the team was staying in that night was refusing AfricanAmerican player Charles Thomas a room. Rickey quickly arranged a cot for Thomas to sleep on in his own room. In his time with the Wolverines — during part of which he balanced his coaching duties with a full law school courseload — he continued to harbor a commitment to equality that would be on display throughout his long career. With February being Black History Month, Michigan baseball’s legacy in equality is especially prominent in the team’s mind. And Rickey is only part of the

Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Michigan coach Erik Bakich is committed to diversity in recruiting.

story. Long before Rickey signed Jackie Robinson and helped break Major League Baseball’s modernera color barrier, Michigan alumnus Moses Fleetwood Walker became one of the first AfricanAmerican professional baseball players in 1884 upon signing with the American Association’s Toledo Blue Stockings. Walker attended Michigan Law School from 1881 to 1882 and played in the Wolverines’ 1882 season, leading the once-beleaguered squad to a 10-3 record with his strong hitting and catching. His brother, Weldy Wilberforce Walker, who played at Michigan in the 1883 and 1884 seasons, eventually joined him in Toledo. “The team was very interested to learn about the Walker brothers,” Bakich said. “That they were among the first African-Americans to play baseball makes them stand out in Michigan’s history.” After Moses Walker left the Blue Stockings in 1889, the league’s directors agreed to no longer offer contracts to Black players. No players of color would again play in the major leagues until Robinson’s signing in 1947. 106 years after Branch Rickey left Ann Arbor, Bakich tries his best to live up to his legacy. “You know, the first year I was here, there were no minority players on our team,” Bakich said. “Maybe this is just a personal philosophy or preference, but I just feel that at this school, especially given its legacy, our roster should

look like the United States of America.” That approach has been reflected in the dedicated effort made by Bakich since his arrival in 2013 to recruit from diverse backgrounds. Michigan’s team today is far more diverse than it was seven years ago with six African-American players “There are so many outstanding players of color often hidden in poor communities who just aren’t able to play on those expensive travel teams or make their rounds on the summer circuit,” Bakich said. “So when you can find those guys and target those guys and have kids from all backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses. … I think it’s a win not only for them and their families but also for our program and for everyone on our team, which is why we recruit the way we do.” Rickey graduated from the University’s law school with highest honors and would often use his legal knowledge — a rarity among MLB managers — to his and his teams’ advantage. Upon leaving Ann Arbor in 1913, he recommended the stadium’s current namesake, Ray Fisher, to replace him. At the time, The Daily bid him a fond farewell: “(Rickey) leaves with a sterling record behind him, and a host of friends to remember him. ... Above all he taught clean ball, gentlemanly tactics, and clean living. “... A gentleman, a true sportsman, and a man, he will long be remembered by those who love and help Michigan athletics.”

player. “It’s funny how our routes kinda ended being the same with USA and Big Ten college,” Gabriele said. Merrill had raved about the amount of fun he had over those two years, but Gabriele spent only one year there before moving forward to different United States Hockey League teams, with brief stints at Omaha, Chicago and Muskegon. His year with the U18, however, wasn’t wasted. He ended the season with four goals and twelve assists for sixteen total points. But in the midst of the season was a muchanticipated matchup. An exhibition game doesn’t mean much. It doesn’t count in terms of standings. Both teams hold out players. But for many, like Gabriele, playing Michigan was always circled on their calendars. “It’s always seems like some USA guys end up going to Michigan because of the location,” Gabriele said. “So it’s always a big matchup because of the kids going there, and the kids on the team.” Michigan had five USNTDP alums on roster at the time, some of whom had been in the program as recent as the year before. The game itself wasn’t a pretty picture for USNTDP. Losing 7-4, the team snapped a two-year win streak against the Wolverines in its worst loss against Michigan in over a decade.

Eventually, Gabriele left the program. But despite the experiences in juniors leading him toward Michigan, he gravitated toward Ohio State — a sentiment he often shared with Merrill. “I was still in juniors so I always told him I was a fan of Ohio State,” Gabriele said. “And he would always kind of gave me a little crap about it because he was going to Michigan.” During his stay with the Waterloo Blackhawks, he made up his mind. Having previously committed to Western Michigan, Gabriele decided the Buckeyes were the best course of action for his dream to be in the National Hockey League. A “no-brainer” decision for him, Gabriele committed to Ohio State, believing it was the best chance to make his dreams a reality. He didn’t see any action his freshman year but worked himself into the rotation his current sophomore year. Just like before, to him, the Michigan matchup — this weekend — meant a little more. “The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry in hockey has been pretty intense,” Gabriele said. “So when we see that on the schedule, it always gets people going. It’s just kind of a big game people look for and a fun one. Just a lot of intensity and the tension between the two teams are pretty crazy.” And again, just like before, he made sure a certain date on his calendar was circled.

In his USA Hockey National Team Development Program days, Grant Gabriele was emphatically circling the date of his most-anticipated game — the team’s exhibition match against Michigan. Now a Division 1 athlete, little has changed, except a higher level and a bigger stage. The Ohio State defenseman grew up in Brighton, Mich. with a dream. At age 17, he was set to be a full-time player for the USNTDP after a brief stint on the Under-17 team as a parttime reserve. He had hoped to be more involved with the Under-18 team, and when he received the call-up, it was a moment of fulfillment. Settling in Ann Arbor, the city where the team played in before moving to Plymouth in 2015, he stepped on grounds that he had been involved with his entire life. When Gabriele was nine, he welcomed a new kid on the block. It was Jon Merrill, who went on to play three years for the Wolverines and currently plays for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. But at the time, for Gabriele, he was just his friend. Despite the five-year age gap, the two would hang out, even before Gabriele found out Merrill was a hockey player Around the time he moved to Brighton, Merrill became the youngest player to commit to an NCAA hockey team. It was none other than the school the two had grown around: Michigan. Two years later, Merrill took the next step in his progression as a player and moved to Ann Arbor to be part of the USNTDP, paving a path for Gabriele to follow. When Gabriele got his call up, it was Merrill that he went to for advice, asking about the experience and how to ALEC COHEN/Daily approach being a full-time Grant Gabriele played for the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor.

Seven straight! Wolverines top Scarlet Knights, 86-76, for their seventh-straight win, further boosting NCAA Tournament chances CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer

When Akienreh Johnson lobbed a pass from the corner into a double-teamed Hallie Thome midway through the fourth quarter, it looked like a turnover waiting to happen. Instead, Thome plucked it out mid-air and finished the contested layup. A pass that would’ve resulted in a failed possession earlier in the season instead resulted in two points. The bad luck and late-game struggles that had plagued the Michigan women’s basketball team (19-9 overall, 10-6 Big Ten) at the beginning of Big Ten play, were nowhere to be seen during their 88-76 victory over Rutgers (18-8 overall, 10-5) on Thursday night. Johnson catalyzed Michigan early. Within the span of a minute, the junior guard had converted an offensive putback on one end, dove to the floor to win a jump-ball and then blocked a Scarlet Knight’s jumper. On top of their early lead, midway through the first quarter, the Wolverines also welcomed freshman point guard Amy Dilk back from a knee-injury which had sidelined her for the past three games. Michigan looked much more organized offensively with Dilk back at the helm. “It’s awesome to have her back,” said freshman forward Naz Hillmon. “It mostly just the point of her getting her confidence back and getting back into the flow of things. Even though we’ve been winning, we definitely wanted her back on the court because she’s such a great floor general.” Despite the Wolverines’ energetic start, Rutgers hung tough. On a number of occasions, the Scarlet Knights were able to break the Michigan’s full-court press and find an open shooter. For every

layup a Wolverine converted, a Scarlet Knight would respond with one of their own. After a back-and-forth ten minutes, Michigan held a onepoint advantage. The opening minutes of the second quarter were characterized by frequent game stoppages. A loose-ball foul here, a shooting foul there. Even with the discontinuity, the Wolverines were able to open up an eight-point lead. In the midst of a sloppy possession, the ball found its way into the hands of senior guard Nicole Munger, who nailed her second three-pointer of the game from the top of the key. Soon after, Deja Church punctuated a Michigan fast-break with a skillful euro-step layup. “I think we’ve gotten good on finding the open people and finding the offensive lanes,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “Deja and Akienreh have done a great job of finding the lanes and being able to penetrate through that. Akienreh did a great job of that tonight. But we want to take advantage of matchups at all times.” Similar to the first quarter though, Rutgers wouldn’t go away. Charise Wilson cut the deficit to just two points heading into the break after capitalizing on a slow defensive rotation from the Wolverines and hitting a three from the wing. The seesawing nature of the game continued into the second half. Following a threaded bounce pass from Church to Hillmon for an easy layup, the Scarlet Knights’ Stasha Carey converted a reverse layup off a precise no-look dish from her driving teammate. The Wolverines answered right back though. Again off an assist from Church, Hillmon finished a floater through traffic for an and-one opportunity. Michigan re-established its’ eight-point advantage when

Dilk stripped the ball from her opposite number and threw it ahead to junior forward Kayla Robbins, who finished at the rim. Rutgers did everything it could to come back in the fourth quarter, but the Wolverines held firm. Hillmon — who finished with a team-high 21 points — was a big reason why. She was an immovable object on the block down the stretch, with every touch under the basket leading to two points. “I keep telling her teammates ‘Just get Naz the ball!’ ” Barnes Arico said. “She’s just special. She has a knack for scoring the basketball with such a quick move and an explosive release. She can get her shot off against anyone. We did a great job of finding her in the second half.” Michigan’s seventh straight victory was cemented a few minutes later when Johnson converted a floater from the baseline and Thome scored another layup through contact. “We just have to keep sticking to one game at a time,” Munger said. “We’re having fun right and on the court we’re always smiling.”

ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer

With under three minutes remaining, senior guard Nicole Munger received the ball following an inbounds play. The Michigan women’s basketball team (10-6 Big Ten, 19-9 overall) led Rutgers (10-5, 18-8) by six points, but the Scarlet Knights immediately brought the fullcourt press on Munger. It didn’t matter. Munger created enough space for herself to send a pass to junior guard Akienreh Johnson near the right sideline at half-court. Johnson then connected with sophomore guard Deja Church who capitalized with a layup. By no means was that play a major momentum-shifter, but it exemplified why the Wolverines won their seventh in a row on Thursday night: they are balanced and willing to share the ball. “It’s not one person on this team that you can key on and stop,” Munger said. “And that’s what makes it a really dangerous team.” At no point during that play did Michigan hesitate; the players

stayed calm and trusted each other enough to make critical passes. “I think that everyone’s stepping up,” Munger said. “Everybody is just making plays and we’re playing around each other. No one’s trying to force anything, and I think that’s the strength of our team because we’ll make extra passes and shots are falling.” A quick glance at Thursday’s stats shows the balance of this squad. Freshman forward Naz Hillmon led her team in scoring with 21 points, but Munger, senior center Hallie Thome and Church hit double figures too. And junior forward Kayla Robbins and sophomore forward Hailey Brown also played key roles. Having a balanced team is not always rosy. Without a main scorer, teams often don’t know who to fall back on in crunch time. The Wolverines though, are managing just fine. “Anybody on any given night can give you 20, and I think that’s what’s so special about our team,” Hillmon said. “ … When you have five players on the floor

KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily

Junior guard Akienreh Johnson catalyzed Michigan’s offense early in its win over Rutgers on Thursday night.

who can score, who can pass, who can do those little things it’s really hard to stop, really hard to guard. And we know that from playing against teams who have five players on the floor who can score in any way.” Against Rutgers, multiple players proved crucial at different moments. For instance with the game still close and the shot clock winding down in the third, Brown calmly drained a triple from the right wing to give her team a spark. Later in the third period, the Scarlet Knights hit a 3-pointer to cut Michigan’s lead to four. But then Munger responded with a triple from the left corner to keep her team ahead. About a minute later, freshman guard Amy Dilk — in her first game back from a knee injury — reached out near the top of the key to intercept a pass and generate fast-break points for her team. And the Wolverines’ post play was solid, too, led by Hillmon and Thome. “If you get the ball inside to Hallie Thome or Naz Hillmon, that’s probably a 70-percent chance that that ball is going in,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. During the last few weeks, Michigan watched film of a game from last season against Illinois. That team, centered around Katelynn Flaherty, was much different. Munger takes note of this. “We’re so much more versatile this year,” Munger said. “ … We make the extra passes and everyone’s a threat to knock down shots. That’s just really, really, really tough to guard as a defense, cause usually you have one or two really good defenders.” The Wolverines’ balancedattack is helping them hit their stride during this important stretch of the season. If it continues, it could help them realize their post-season aspirations.

Sports

8A — Friday, February 22, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Minnesota down, Michigan State to go

Wolverines’ identity manifests as they top Golden Gophers, 69-60, in last game before facing the Spartans JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Editor

MINNEAPOLIS — Williams Arena is as much airplane hangar as basketball arena. The home of the Minnesota men’s basketball team is capable of producing noise belying its cavernous interior, and its raised court and double-decker stands harken back to the vintage days of the sport. Opened in 1928, Williams is college basketball’s sixtholdest arena and one of its most unique. When stacked up to modern venues and their amenities, it doesn’t seem all that sexy, but it’s steeped in history and proudly displays all of its 91 years. It is what it’s always been. On Thursday night, Michigan went to Minneapolis and beat the host Golden Gophers, 69-60, moving to 13-3 in Big Ten play and 24-3 overall. The Wolverines, too, were who they’ve always been. Specifically, that means an offense that occasionally struggles to score, but a defense that usually turns one half of the court into a 2,350-squarefoot torture chamber. It’s not always aesthetically appealing basketball, but it’s gotten Michigan to No. 7 in the nation. The Wolverines are perfectly content with that. “I think that they understand that (defense) is the one consistent thing we can have every day,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. That doesn’t mean the Wolverines won’t lunge at the chance for an offensive explosion, however — and at early on, against the Big Ten’s second-least efficient defense, it looked like the fuse was lit. Michigan nailed three 3-pointers in the game’s first eight minutes, shooting to a 17-6 lead during which every starter got on the scoreboard.

It got ugly fast. Minnesota big men Jordan Murphy and Daniel Oturu were two of the main reasons. Murphy, a 6-foot-8 bowling ball, gobbled up five offensive rebounds and 10 total in the first half. Oturu had 10 of his own, as well as 10 points for a double-double by halftime. Meanwhile, the Golden Gophers (7-9, 17-10) held the Wolverines to just 11 points from 11:57 until intermission. Eight of Minnesota’s 18 firsthalf points came from secondchance opportunities, as it went to the locker room down just 10 despite shooting a putrid 22 percent from the floor. “Eventually our shots were gonna fall, so we gotta keep shooting,” said junior center Jon Teske. “We have all the trust in the world with all our teammates to knock down shots, and coaches give us trust to go shoot the ball.” Michigan opened the floodgates after the break. Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis scored seven points in fewer than two minutes, and Teske swished a three to quickly push the lead to 18, necessitating a timeout by Golden Gopher coach Richard Pitino. The Wolverines were unable to pull away, however. After a 3-pointer by sophomore forward Isaiah Livers made the score 50-29, they hit just three shots over seven minutes. An Oturu dunk off of a steal put Minnesota within 11 points with 4:47 to play, bringing the venerable arena to its feet. But Teske answered Oturu with two straight 3-pointers, firing an imaginary bow-andarrow as he backpedaled down the court. The arrows proved to be fatal. “We feel like everything’s going right and we’re playing really good defense,” said sophomore guard Jordan Poole. “We don’t really worry about

the shots because we know how good we are of a shooting team.” The second half was much closer to the breakout Michigan craved, as it hit eight 3-pointers on 57 percent shooting with Poole (21 points) and Teske (17) led the way. “We made shots. It’s that simple,” Beilein said. “This is something that I would love to figure it out — why Jordan Poole can have the same shots and they don’t go in, Teske, they don’t go in … We just gotta continue to try to get good shots, and obviously, the better the shot, the more chance it’s gonna go in. I think that was pretty good today, our shot selection.” Still, there was plenty of ugliness. Poole missed three free throws in the final minute, failing to completely slam the door shut. Instead, after the Golden Gophers turned the ball over, the Wolverines dribbled out the clock. It wasn’t head-turning by any stretch, but Michigan did what it’s always done, and ended up getting the job done for its biggest conference road win.

THEO MACKIE

Daily Sports Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — Last Tuesday, Michigan’s season met a flummoxing low point in its loss to last-place Penn State — a result that left many in a futile search for answers. Charles Matthews, though, had no problems pinning an explanation to the loss. “Sense of urgency, lack of focus right there,” the redshirt junior said at the time. “Simple as that.” So after the loss, Matthews and junior guard Zavier Simpson, the team’s unquestioned leaders, imparted their wisdom on the rest of the Wolverines’ young roster. “We just gotta be extremely locked in and come out to play every night,” said sophomore Jordan Poole, relaying their message. “Take the exact same approach. It can be hard if you go and play a team that doesn’t have that many wins in the league or you beat a team already earlier in the year.” Thursday night, faced with an opponent who both all those boxes, the Wolverines did exactly

that, beating Minnesota, 69-60. In the entirety of Michigan’s 31-game schedule, there may have been no easier game to overlook than its trip to Minneapolis. For months, the season has built to a crescendo of the Wolverines’ weekend showdown with Michigan State. The two schools have resided at the top of the conference standings all season, ranking in the nationwide top-10 together, bound on a collision course that will meet its destination over the next two weeks — in Ann Arbor on Sunday and then 13 days later in East Lansing. So when Michigan’s offense came out flat against the Golden Gophers, hitting just 11-of-31 shots before halftime, it would have been easy to concede that this wasn’t its day and move on to bigger things. Simpson and Matthews, though, wouldn’t let that happen. “They stay on us,” Poole said. “They know that the game can change at any point in time and runs happen so we gotta stay locked in 24/7. Being able to have figures like that who’ve been in

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior guard Zavier Simpson has been an internal leader for Michigan, imparting his wisdom on a young roster.

situations like this before is huge.” Led by its two leaders — who finished with five of its six steals — the Wolverines’ defense paved the way for a dominating win that could have been anything but, considering the offensive struggles. If Michigan’s first-half offense was ugly, Minnesota’s teetered on unwatchable. When the officials came back onto the court minutes after the halftime buzzer to rule that Daniel Oturu’s putback had beat the clock, it sent the Williams Arena crowd into a frenzy — out of reprieve as much as joy. After all, the points merely decided which pitiful point total the Golden Gophers would enter the break with, 16 or 18. “With the guys that we have defensively right now, I think that they understand that this is the one consistent thing we can have every day,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. At the heart of it? “If you listened to our walkthroughs, you would hear Zavier and Charles talking to people about what’s next and what we can do and giving alternatives to things,” Beilein said. “They’re coaching that defense just as much as our coaching staff is.” And when the Wolverines’ offense got back on track in the second half — hitting eight of its 14 threes — they raced out to a 20-point lead that consigned the early struggles to history. That same offensive spurt, though, also came against Penn State, when Michigan scored 20 points in the first eight minutes of the half to cut its deficit to five. The problem then was that a 16-point deficit proved insurmountable. On the back of a renewed focus, that wasn’t an issue this time around. Or — for a simpler answer — just ask assistant coach Luke Yaklich, who strode into Poole’s postgame scrum, coughed and offered up one word before moving on: “Defense.”

Is it personal for Cassius Winston? Colin Castleton proves he belongs ETHAN SEARS

JACOB SHAMES

Managing Sports Editor

EAST LANSING — As the scrum of reporters slowly started to dissipate, Cassius Winston sat in front of his locker in a white tank-top, eyes forward and engaged. Winston knew all too well that focus around this state will soon shift to himself and his counterpart in Ann Arbor, Zavier Simpson. “We’re the leaders of our teams,” Winston said. “Both make our teams go.” Inarguably, this is true. With shooting guard Josh Langford, and now center Nick Ward, gone, Winston’s importance has only been amplified for the Spartans. Early in Tuesday’s game against Rutgers, Winston drove the lane, tossing up a floater that Rutgers forward Myles Johnson blocked. Winston forced a smile, turned to run back on defense and smacked his hands together, the clap echoing through the Breslin Center. As Winston struggled through the first half, shooting 3-for-9 from the field, Michigan State struggled, taking a seven-point deficit into the locker room. After re-emerging from the tunnel, the opposite held true. Winston owned the game and owned a building whose mind was already on the weekend. With the Spartans holding a one-point lead and the game teetering, Winston again drove the lane and again found a floater. This one went, and wearing a muchwider smile, Winston again ran back down the floor, dapping up Michigan State guard Kyle Ahrens as he passed by. In the second half, he scored 19 points, spearheading a comeback in what turned into a routine 71-60 win. He assisted six baskets. He played all 20 minutes, and when he asked to come out, Tom Izzo refused. That, Izzo explained, is simply

Daily Sports Editor

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Cassius Winston will face off against Zavier Simpson on Sunday.

what Michigan State needs from Cassius Winston right now. “Man,” Izzo said, “I’m asking him to do everything except this press conference right now. And somehow, I’m gonna convince him that that’s a privilege, not a problem.” Across the state, Simpson spent the last year molding Michigan to his persona, instilling a defense-first culture that took the Wolverines to the Final Four last year and has gotten them to a 23-3 record and the No. 7 ranking thus far this season. “His leadership right now is as good as anybody we’ve ever had,” said Michigan coach John Beilein after last Saturday’s 65-52 win over Maryland. During the timeouts, Beilein let the players talk among themselves to figure things out. Simpson grabbed the whiteboard. “He’s got that ‘it’ that you need to lead a team,” Beilein said, “and the team respects him.” The story of Zavier Simpson and Cassius Winston has, in the past, focused around Zavier Simpson. On Sunday, when the Spartans and Wolverines meet, tied atop the Big Ten standings, it will be about Cassius Winston. The backstory between the two has been well played out. Izzo and John Beilein both recruited Winston as their

We’re the leaders of our teams. ... Make our teams go.

top priority at point guard in the class of 2016. Beilein told Simpson he was interested, but only as a backup plan, should Winston fall through. Winston chose Michigan State. Simpson ended up at Michigan and knows how to hold a grudge. In the regular season last year, the Wolverines came up to East Lansing unranked and upset a top-five team, with Simpson holding Winston to 11 points and 4 turnovers. Then, on Mar. 2, after the Spartans beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament and with Michigan yet to play its game against Nebraska, Winston told reporters he wanted a rematch. He got one, but to little difference, scored 11 points, and again, he struggled in a loss. These are the two levels on which Winston must operate Sunday. He must outplay Simpson because otherwise, the Spartans have little chance of winning. He must outplay Simpson because otherwise, he will be 0-3 against a player whom both schools recruited as a contingency — and in a lot of ways, that record will come precisely because of that fact. This matchup is personal, at least on one side. On the other? “Yeah, definitely,” Winston said. “Like I said, Michigan game. It’s always gonna be personal.” Personal with Simpson, specifically? “Uhh — I wouldn’t think about specifically. It would just — it comes with the game. You know what I’m saying?” Thing is, Zavier Simpson might not.

MINNEAPOLIS — Jordan Poole didn’t want to talk to the media. Here was the sophomore guard, after having scored a game-high 22 points and five 3-pointers, refusing the honor usually reserved for a performance of that caliber. There was someone who he felt deserved it more. “All y’all gotta ask him KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily a question,” Poole said, gesturing at Colin Castleton. Freshman center Colin Castleton got in the rotation with Brandon Johns out. “I’m not answering nobody’s big time. In his four minutes, the play’s actual impact. questions ‘til you ask him.” “It gives you confidence Castleton isn’t Ignas he missed his lone shot, Brazdeikis, a contender for grabbed one rebound and when teammates give me high Big Ten Freshman of the Year. committed a personal foul. But fives and stuff,” Castleton He isn’t Brandon Johns or for a freshman trying to make said. “It’s a little play, but in David DeJulius, both of whom his way in college basketball, my eyes it’s a really big play have shown the physicality to events such as that are imbued because I barely get minutes. hold their own at this level. with importance, magnified in So when it happens, it gives me confidence and shows that The forward from Daytona their memorability. “Just, it’s go time, basically,” they care.” Beach, Fla. is a string-beanAs Castleton spoke to like 6-foot-11 and 210 pounds, a Castleton said. “Give the effort moments after frame that has chained him to and get ready to play. That’s reporters, the scout team all season. He really it. Just do everything I Beilein said that he “won’t hesitate” to put him in got taught to do.” won’t turn 19 until May. Castleton’s length and similar situations in the Feb. 1 at Iowa was Castleton’s first meaningful appearance wingspan had a tangible effect future, assistant coach Saddi Washington of the season. He got in for on the Golden snuck behind three minutes at the end of Gophers’ him and jovially the first half, an appearance muscular grabbed his attack. precipitated by extreme foul inside shoulders. trouble. It was Michigan coach With 4:16 left Teske then the first John Beilein breaking the glass in walked past half, he moved in case of an emergency. and delivered a Castleton’s first action his feet and congratulatory since then, which came seven stayed vertical minutes into the Wolverines’ while guarding slap to Curry, 69-60 win over Minnesota, was Eric Castleton’s still prompted by extenuating who holds a back. Poole and circimstances. Johns, whose two-year stood feet away gotten spot duty backing up 30-pound advantage on him. with his phone in his hands, junior Jon Teske at center, With nowhere to go, Curry grinning as he recorded the caught the f lu earlier this week shuff led his feet, and the scene. and was unable to practice referee blew his whistle. Four scoreless minutes There’s nothing sexy about couldn’t quite tell what four at all, per Beilein. Castleton “auditioned” for Johns’ a travel. Most of the time, minutes in the bowels of vacated minutes with redshirt the defender doesn’t even Williams Arena could. sophomore Austin Davis and get credit for it. But this was Colin Castleton still has a different. won. long way to go, but on Thursday This wasn’t playing on the night, he showed he was hardly “I’ve been ready all year,” he said. “I just work hard scout team in an empty gym — out of place. every day in practice because this was a forced turnover on “He’s got a great personality, you never know when your the road in the Big Ten. The team loves him,” Beilein said. enthusiastic reaction Castleton “So it was a shot for him to opportunity will come.” This opportunity wasn’t a received from his teammates just go in there and I think he beyond-any-doubt statement was as much a recognition of affected some shots. He did a that Castleton is ready for the the moment’s significance as good job.”

It’s a little play, but in my eyes, it’s a really big play.