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1U meeting establishes structure for new coalition Representatives discuss leadership, objectives at second campaign meeting BEN ROSENFELD Daily Staff Reporter

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Canary Mission blacklists faculty, students for pro-Palestine views Website collects information on activists, accuses them of anti-Semitism ZAYNA SYED

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Student activists joke it’s the new Tinder. With the heavily detailed profiles, including pictures taken from Facebook, information on their family and details about their education, Canary Mission provides paragraphslong biographies about fellow activists — data that simply cannot be found on Tinder. But instead of a dating app, it’s a site some students and professors feel could derail careers and aspirations. Canary Mission is an anonymous blacklist created in April 2015 that

publishes political dossiers on student activists, professors and organizations. The website reads, “IF YOU’RE RACIST, THE WORLD SHOULD KNOW,” claiming to document “people and groups that promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses.” There are more than 2,000 people listed on Canary Mission’s website. When asked for comment on how the website chooses who to place on the blacklist, Canary Mission referred The Michigan Daily to its ethics policy without additional comment. However, the site has been

criticized for using “McCarthyesque” tactics to silence freedom of speech, with opponents saying it’s designed to deter its subjects from advocating for Palestine. Associate Professor Samer Ali, director of the Center for Middle East and North African Studies and the Islamophobia Working Group, researches scapegoating and stigma. He called Canary Mission an example of both of these. “It’s a complete surveillance operation,” Ali said. “You’re going to feel like you’re being watched, targeted. The explicit purpose of Canary Mission is to make it difficult

for people to graduate and find jobs, internships or apply for funding because any employer who googles them, some of what they’ll find are these blacklists.” While Canary Mission states its focus lies calling out student activists, it also profiles notorious anti-Semites, such as Richard Spencer. Activists express frustration that Canary Mission groups them with neo-Nazis like Spencer. Public Policy junior Arwa Gayar is profiled on Canary Mission and said the website’s decision to group her with staunch anti-Semites underscores its problems. See CANARY, Page 2

On Thursday afternoon, representatives from the recently formed One University Campaign met for their second coalition meeting at the University of Michigan’s Flint campus, discussing a number of resolutions regarding the future leadership and objectives of the campaign. A satellite conference was held on the University’s Dearborn campus, and in Ann Arbor at the Lecturers’ Employee Organization and Graduate Employees Organization offices. The One University Campaign, which was founded last semester, aims to promote equity, specifically in funding and opportunities provided to students, between the University’s campuses. Both the lecturers’ and graduate students’ unions have taken an active role in promoting the University’s policies of

diversity, equity and inclusion across the three campuses. LEO President Ian Robinson, a member of the 1U campaign, explained promoting the campaign’s goals would serve to increase equity of funding and student opportunities between Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint. “You can make a really big difference in Flint and Dearborn, in terms of amount of money there is available per student, with transfers from Ann Arbor or from Lansing that look pretty small by comparison to the overall budget we have here in Ann Arbor,” Robinson said. Robinson also emphasized negotiations with the Board of Regents and administration have been difficult — despite the Ann Arbor campus’s endowment and revenue from tuition, many University leaders are reluctant to reallocate funds to Dearborn or Flint. See 1U, Page 3

2018 Noble Prize Laureate discusses Wellness Policy talk Zone in the laser physics, high-intensity optics examines CAMPUS LIFE

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Founder of University’s Center for Ultrafast Optical Science shares research

CAPS to build mental health center on North Campus to improve access

On Thursday afternoon at Rackham Graduate School, Gérard Mourou, 2018 Nobel Prize laureate in physics and founder of the University of Michigan Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, discussed his research on laser physics. Mourou and fellow Nobel Prize laureate Donna Strickland, who was unable to attend the event, each won a quarter of the

NOAH FISHER For The Daily

Counseling and Psychological Services is opening a Wellness Zone on North Campus in Pierpont Commons, giving students a space to decompress from the stress of school work. In the wellness zone, students will be able to enjoy a multitude of activities with the goal of self-care. This will be the only Wellness Zone open to undergraduates this year, as the original Wellness Zone in the Michigan Union has been closed for the building’s renovation. A Wellness Zone specifically for graduate students opened in Munger residence hall in November. Christine Asidao, associate director of community engagement and outreach at CAPS, emphasized the importance of the wellness zone being extremely accessible to students. “I think one of the messages we want to make sure students really hear is that self-care and well-being is really accessible,” Asidao said. “This is a space that they can go over there, swipe their card, get into the space and be able to just choose things that will help them do better.” See WELLNESS, Page 3

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prize for their work on chirped pulse amplification. Arthur Ashkin, developer of optical tweezers, will claim the remaining half of the prize. Engineering Dean Alec Gallimore kicked off the event, titled “Passion for Extreme Light,” by acknowledging Mourou’s accomplishments and work at the University. Mourou holds the title of professor emeritus in electrical engineering and computer science, having taught at the University for

16 years before retiring in 2004. Gallimore also noted some of the innovations that have emerged from CUOS, which he said will soon be renamed the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science. CUOS is the birthplace of IntraLASIK eye surgery and houses the world’s most intense laser, HERCULES. “During his time at Michigan, he founded the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, where he served as director for more

than 14 years,” Gallimore said. “Since its beginning, more than 250 graduate students have produced roughly 170 patents, five startup companies and over 5,000 scientific publications, the safer, bladeless version of LASIK eye surgery was developed, and HERCULES, the world’s most intense laser, was born.”

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Panelists at “911, What is your prejudice?” event look at call-driven policing ALYSSA MCMURTRY

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Nobel Laureate and engineering professor Gérard Mourou speaks at a lecture and celebration in Rackham Auditorium Thursday afternoon.

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Thursday afternoon, the Ford School of Public Policy hosted a policy talk about racial bias and calldriven policing titled “911, What is your prejudice?” The event featured panelists who shared their thoughts on the topic and answered questions from the audience. David Thacher, associate professor of public policy, hosted the panel and asked the panelists to spend 10 minutes answering what authorities should do when dealing with racially-biased calls. Panelist Jessica Gillooly, Public Policy doctoral candidate, began by sharing her experiences working with the 911 operators’ office in Washtenaw County. She told the audience the struggle of having to discern the legitimacy of a suspicious-person call, sharing a story of a woman who called the police on another woman at the park. “About a year into working as a 911 call taker, I took a call on a late fall afternoon from a woman in a park,” Gillooly said. “She was calling on a Black woman who was standing near a grill, quote ‘maybe cooking drugs.’ See PREJUDICE, Page 3

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LSA sophomore Emma Stein on her story “SMTD event talks sexual misconduct in the performing arts”: “SMTD has had two professors within this academic school year that have been charged or convicted of sexual assault. So I think it was really important for the University to do this [event]. But the student I interviewed found that they didn’t do a good enough job providing actual solutions. They were talking about it, but there was no next step with what they were going to do to actually prevent this.”

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I would admit, they could have shock. I couldn’t really believe that I University assets that activists say CANARY phrased them better, especially with was put on it. I was like, ‘Oh, so this harm Palestinians, such as Boeing From Page 1 posting on social media, but they is what it feels like to be targeted.’” and Hewlett-Packard. While the were taken out of context in a way Canary Mission’s ethics proposal passed CSG, the University to paint them in a new, more anti- policy states the blacklist profiles Board of Regents rejected the “What Canary does is it puts Semitic light.” anyone who falls under the State measure in December 2017. normal people with staunch antiIn the fall of 2016, Lena, a Department’s definition of anti“Here on campus, in particular, Semites,” Gayar said. “Are you really recent alum who asked to go by a Semitism; disrupts Jewish or pro- University of Michigan students going to compare me — just asking pseudonym to protect her safety and Israel speakers or events; or uses and faculty have been singled out for Palestinian human rights to be privacy, was blacklisted on Canary language or speech that demonizes because the University is one of a recognized — to a Nazi who hates me Mission. Lena, who is Palestinian Jews, Israel or supporters of Israel. very few number of universities also? Like, what is happening here? American, visited her family in the Ali said the effects of being where student government has That kind of just speaks to the fallacy West Bank during the summer of placed on Canary Mission remain passed resolutions asking the of it.” 2015 and said she was struck by the relatively unknown as few studies University to divest,” Ali said. LSA junior Nesma Daoud violence she witnessed there. exist on the blacklist, and faculty Before CSG representatives voted conducts research for Ali. Her work, “To have four soldiers in front and several students have said the on the resolution at hand, they had which has yet to be published, focuses of me with guns fully loaded, blacklist is not widely known or to decide if the upcoming vote would on scapegoating and includes a case questioning my family, interrogating highly regarded. be secret — representatives’ votes study investigating those within us, that was scary, but to my family However, Ali said that does not on CSG resolutions are typically the University system targeted by that was normal,” Lena said. “While matter. According to Ali, Canary public information. Those in favor Canary Mission. Palestinian people and while my Mission’s job is simply to create of the secret ballot noted the risk of “When you google one of these family are happy with their lives, doubt. being put on blacklists like Canary people’s names, one of the first links it just seems like they’re constantly “The only thing that needs to Mission. that comes up is Canary Mission, battling the occupation and the happen for Canary Mission to work However, following the vote, which basically frames you almost effects of the occupation within is for an employer to doubt,” Ali said. some representatives who voted for as a terrorist,” Daoud said. “To be their lives. That makes me think, “They’ll go with the candidate with the secret ballot discovered they completely fair and completely well, I live in the United States and I less questions to answer. That’s all had been placed on the blacklist, transparent, through my research have a lot of freedom that they don’t that needs to happen for Canary according to student sources. I’ve found they have a lot of alt-right have.” Mission to work. It’s a matter of LSA junior Reem Al-Khatib was people, they have a lot of people that After witnessing the challenges spooking the employer.” placed on Canary Mission three are racist. But they are clumping her family faced, Lena decided to There have been instances months into her freshman year at together student-activists who are become more active in advocating of government agencies using the University after appearing in strictly anti-Zionist with people who for Palestinian rights on campus. information procured from the a pro-Palestine video where she are very obviously anti-Semitic.” Lena said she was targeted despite blacklist. According to Haaretz, stated her Palestinian identity Daoud said Canary Mission takes being cautious and ensuring her a left-wing Israeli newspaper, and her support for #UMDivest, a social media content and distorts it to name was not publicly associated the Israeli government has used proposal to divest University assets negatively portray activists. with Palestinian activism. data from Canary Mission to ban from certain companies that “are “They’ll take quotes out of “It’s like they went out of their activists from entering Israel. The involved in human rights violations context,” Daoud said. “A lot of these way to find this stuff and to post Intercept reported there have been against the Palestinian people Sudoku Syndication quotes [from student activists, this stuff and to really target me as a http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ at least two instances of FBI officials according to international law.” professors and organizations], even student,” Lena said. “I was kind of in questioning students about pro“I’m a Palestinian freshman,” Palestinian views, referencing Al-Khatib said in the video. “I information from Canary support #UMDivest, because as a Mission. Palestinian living in the diaspora, it Daoud said the University is my duty to stand up for those who appears to be targeted more cannot speak for themselves.” than other universities, due According to Al-Khatib and HARD to the presence of active another person featured in the video, Social Justice for Palestine despite the fact that a dozen people organizations, according to the appeared in the video, some speaking research she has completed for longer than Al-Khatib, she was thus far. She estimates just the only one who was blacklisted below 70 people associated initially (many of those who spoke with the University are listed in the video were blacklisted later for on Canary Mission. other pro-Palestine work). “What I’ve noticed in my Several students said the blacklist research is that there are a targets Palestinians first, although couple of universities that you it claims to target anyone who could call hotspots, where promotes hate of Israel or Jews, there’s more student activism,” including Jewish activists. Daoud said. “So the University “I was pretty irrelevant,” of Houston, Tufts (University), Al-Khatib said. “I wasn’t doing George Washington University, anything crazy on campus. The the University of Michigan, most crazy thing I did was doing even Stanford. Those that video, and because I said I was universities have more active Palestinian, I was the only one that SJPs.” got targeted from that video.” Ali also attributed this Nadine Jawad, a recent alum over-representation in part to and former vice president of the University’s most recent Central Student Government, divestment campaign, when said that Palestinian voices are © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. YOU CAN DO IT! puzzle by sudokusyndication.com CSG voted in November often disfranchised, which adds 2017 to create a committee importance to the role of an ally. to investigate divesting from See CANARY, Page 3

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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 free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.

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P U B L I C TA L K O N C O N T E M P O R A R Y A R T

PREJUDICE From Page 1

KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily Director and CEO of Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Phil Tinari, speaks on the history of contemporary art in China over the past three decades at the University of Michigan Museum of Art Thursday evening.

CANARY From Page 2 “I think it’s a really important point to note that, oftentimes, Palestinians are so silenced in this narrative that it’s up to allies to support this struggle for justice and freedom of speech,” Jawad said. “But that isn’t to say they don’t have agency. Palestinian people definitely speak for themselves, they’ve been advocating for themselves, for selfsufficiency for decades. I’m not saying they don’t have the agency or clout to do so, what I’m saying though is that in U.S. institutions specifically, Palestinian voices are often wiped out and not given equal weight in conversation, or they’re oftentimes just ignored purposefully, intentionally, for political reasons.” Al-Khatib said the function of the blacklist is especially detrimental since many of those targeted have parents who immigrated to the U.S. in order for their children to receive a better education and increased opportunity. “Education is really important to us because, in my case, the reason my parents came is so that I could get a better education and I could thrive with the resources in America, following the American Dream,” Al-Khatib said. “Canary Mission threatens that for us. I think that’s a very real fear that first-generation Americans have. It’s the most important thing for us to achieve our education. So a lot of people are immediately turned off. They’re like, ‘It’s better to stay quiet, not make a sound, make it through

WELLNESS From Page 1 Among the principal objectives of the wellness zone is to help students conquer Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression caused by the decrease of sunlight in the wintertime. To conquer SAD, CAPS is installing two light therapy machines so students can get their daily dose of vitamin D. “Seasonal Affective Disorder is a big thing, we live in the Midwest and don’t get to see a lot of sun so it does affect our mood, and so we will have two

1U From Page 1 “Right now they’re the kind of people who came up with, and are now defending, the policies that come in the way of equity,” Robinson said. “The current view in Ann Arbor is that each of our three campuses should have watertight compartments across the three campuses so that resources can’t really be transferred back and forth.” During the coalition meeting Thursday, attendees began to set out a coalition platform, delineating the objectives of the 1U

my education,’ because we don’t have the privilege of being able to express our political opinions without having any consequences that affect not only us, but our families.” The blacklist does not exempt Jewish activists from its ranks. Jewish Voice for Peace, a group that “seeks an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem,” appears on Canary Mission. Mondoweiss, a foreign policy blog founded by a former New York Observer columnist who is Jewish, also appears on the blacklist, along with a number of individual Jewish activists. LSA senior Ali Rosenblatt was a representative on CSG during the divestment campaign. Although Rosenblatt, who is Jewish, did not support the resolution nor the secret ballot, she condemns Canary Mission and said it stifles dialogue. Rosenblatt said her peers who were opposed to divestment were also against the blacklist. She stressed the two opinions should not be conflated with each other. “It’s a cyber-bullying website,” Rosenblatt said. “It chills dialogue on campus. Because of the website, I’ve had more trouble having conversations with people on the other side of this issue. People are scared to talk to me because I’m Jewish, and what I’ve heard is because I’m Jewish, some wrongfully presume I must support it and I must be contributing to the website, which is so not the case. It’s unfortunate that this happens. I don’t blame people for being afraid, but that’s why I oppose it. It instills

fear, and I don’t agree with that.” While the list of representatives who voted for the secret ballot is shown in a video online, many activists said Canary Mission draws on material not readily available online, or material that may be private. Jawad said it was unknown how Canary Mission finds this information. “Nobody knows — that’s up for speculation,” Jawad said. “If you look on Canary Mission’s website, it takes submissions, so the submissions must come from students or people that are watching the live streams. I wouldn’t venture to say that it is other U of M students — I don’t think that it is. I think it could be anybody. You never know who’s on the internet looking at you, and everything is public and live-streamed so it could literally be anybody.” Rosenblatt agreed and said she would be surprised if students contributed tips to the blacklist. “I think what’s a misunderstanding on this campus is that some people think that it’s a Michigan issue, so they think it must be Michigan students contributing to it,” Rosenblatt said. “This is a national issue, it’s a national website. I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody on campus contributes to it. As far as the (secret ballot) votes go, because The Daily live streams it, pretty much anybody on campus or off campus could find out who voted, and the CSG records are public.” Al-Khatib does believe certain individuals at the University may contribute to Canary Mission. However, she noted Hillel, an

opponent of #UMDivest movement, has spoken out against the blacklist. “There’s definitely an inside source,” Al-Khatib said. “They know things that are super, super specific to our campus that no one stalking you on Facebook could know. They definitely get tipped off. Like for example, when divestment came out, in 2017 last year, we turned it in for readings just for CSG to approve, and a lot of that information got leaked and was put on Canary before it became public about co-authors and stuff like that. And that was private information. Only CSG and us could look at it, so it makes you wonder how is this information getting leaked and who’s letting it. And I know the opposition for divestment was Hillel, Hillel was leading the campaign, but they’ve spoken out about it and reached out to us about it, so I’m not saying it’s them. I think it’s individuals on this campus that are trying to degrade our cause. And they know how to target us.” Current Hillel chair Leor Rosen, LSA junior, wrote in an email she disapproved of Canary Mission and its methods. “Many students at Hillel, including myself, strongly oppose the intimidation tactics of Canary Mission and have spoken out against it in the past,” Rosen wrote. “The website prevents constructive dialogue and is counterproductive to efforts to oppose BDS. I want our campus to be a space where students can engage in productive discourse without fear of being targeted.” Zoha Khalili is a staff attorney

for Palestine Legal, an advocacy group that provides legal service and advice for pro-Palestine activists. The group has also been targeted by Canary Mission. Khalili said Palestine Legal has not filed any lawsuits against Canary Mission and she knows of no other law firms who have taken legal action against the blacklist’s website either. Khalili said defamation lawsuits are difficult to win because of the courts’ strong defense of freedom of speech. “Generally we are reviewing their profiles for inaccuracies,” Khalili said. “Canary Mission often will put out vague statements that make it harder for people to take action against them when you’re defaming them. Defamation is when you’re putting out false information about someone and that causes them harm, which is something that Canary Mission engages in routinely. But because our system of government is focused more on creating the broadest area possible for free speech, it is a bit hard to litigate defamation cases.” However, Khalili said Palestine Legal did offer students advice on when it is appropriate to report Canary Mission’s social media account. In October, Canary Mission’s Twitter account was, in fact, deactivated for two weeks for violating the website’s terms of use. It was later reinstated following appeals from supporters of the blacklist.

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FROM THE DAILY

Calling for action on the Catholic Church

n Sunday, Pope Francis concluded an unprecedented global summit addressing the widespread issue of clerical sex abuse in the Catholic Church. The Church has been at the center of a massive scandal involving sexual misconduct, implicating members of the Church from local priests to the highest-ranking cardinals. It has also become clear that clerical sex abuse was something of an open secret among members of the clerg y, creating a culture of cover-ups and protection of offending priests. Though Pope Francis delivered strong words against perpetrators of abuse in his closing remarks, declaring an “all-out battle”against sexual predators, many were left unsatisfied by what seemed to be a speech devoid of tangible solutions. A s a n editoria l boa rd, we express our solida rit y w it h v ictims of clerica l abuse a nd urge serious ra mif ications a nd judicia l impositions on members of t he Cat holic Church on bot h loca l a nd nationa l levels, so a s to encourage t r ue cha nge w it hin t he instit ution. Pope Fra ncis w ill soon issue a document mot u proprio — a rescript initiated a nd issued by t he pope of his ow n accord a nd apa r t f rom t he adv ice of ot hers, a s def ined by Merria m Webster — which shows his commit ment to of fering some concrete proposa ls. But how rea listic is it to believe t hat t he sa me instit ution t hat sponsored t his abuse w ill now root it out? Def rocking priests who engage in sexua l abuse should have been a consistent policy of t he Cat holic Church. Instead, we know t hat t he opposite occurred. In t he United States, t he 2002 Boston Globe investigation of clerg y sex abuse in t he Roma n Cat holic A rchdiocese of Boston revea led a va st net work of cover-ups a nd instit utiona lized sexua l abuse. The face of public relations for t he Cat holic Church follow ing t hat sca nda l, Theodore McCa rrick, wa s recent ly def rocked f rom his position a s a U. S. Ca rdina l af ter he wa s found to have solicited sex during confession a nd sexua lly abused bot h minors a nd adults. About one-t hird of liv ing U. S. bishops have been accused of ig noring ca ses of sexua l misconduct in t heir dioceses, while at lea st 15 bishops a re t hemselves accused of commit ting sexua l abuse. Sexua l abuse by t he Cat holic Church is a public safet y t hreat to U. S. citizens, a nd since t he Church ha s proved unable to police itself, it is now t he

t urn of leg islators to step in a nd protect t he A merica n people. A merica n Cat holics represent over one-f if t h of t he population, a nd our governing bodies need to do a bet ter job of defending t he rights of v ictims a s well a s ta king a st ronger role in prosecuting t hose involved. Instead of prov iding a clea r a nd actionable response pla n to abuse w it hin t he church, Pope Fra ncis ha s only of fered “ref lection points” to drive t he conversation surrounding t he issue. Since t he Cat holic Church ha s show n a n inabilit y to police itself, we at The Da ily believe t hat ta ng ible policy cha nges, a s well a s some cooperation bet ween t he Cat holic Church a nd state governments, a re t he only pat h for wa rd to help protect A merica ns f rom what should be described a s a serious da nger to Cat holic A merica ns. The issue of clerica l sex abuse is a deeply ing ra ined problem w it hin t he Church a nd ha s no simple solution. It is dif f icult to overcome t he immense w rong s of t he Cat holic Church w it hout ta king its va st power a nd instit utiona l inf luence into consideration, while still acknowledg ing its role in relig ious a nd cult ura l practice. A s a n Editoria l Boa rd, we recog nize t hese factors a nd aga in empha size t he impor ta nce of cha nges in policy a nd judicia l relations bet ween t he state a nd Church in order to protect Cat holic A merica ns. Through t his acknowledgement, we propose severa l a mendments t hat ca n be utilized to ma ke t he Church a safer instit ution. Almost as deplorable as the abuse itself is the web of cover-ups among church off icials, and encourag ing reporting to outside entities is a way for victims to have

an objective, legal voice. Allotting social workers or representatives to ser ve as a resource for members of the Church can ensure that victims are being heard and represented to the f ull extent of the law, while simultaneously holding abusers accountable for their crimes. Furthermore, in the hopes of increasing reporting, we urge the U.S. government to get involved leg islatively by extending the statutes of limitations for these crimes. Reporting crimes — especially sex abuse — is a tr ying process, and allowing victims more time to process their trauma and choose a course of action will g ive more victims the abilit y to report, while re-emphasizing the fact that abusers of any era need to face severe ramif ications. We also implore Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to increase judicial action in regards to clerical abuse. This is already a part of her platform, and we encourage it to be taken seriously and extended across the countr y. The Catholic Church’s lack of willing ness to selfreg ulate in the af termath of these crimes is indicative of a threat to the safet y of Catholic Americans across the nation, and symbolic condemnations are not enough to overcome this long-standing problem. The absence of tang ible policy change is inexcusable and underscores the Church’s position as an institution that cares little about the victims it has lef t in its path. The number of allegations and scandals has reached a point where we can no longer expect them to hold their own leaders accountable, and we therefore must urge our own policymakers and attorney generals to enforce g reater action to protect the public from clerical sex abuse.

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hile it’s nearly impossible to imagine now, Venezuela was one of the wealthiest nations in the world until the 1990s. With a healthy democracy and burgeoning middle class, Venezuela was poised to remain prosperous for generations to come. Following the rise of socialism in Venezuela, however, that all changed. The people of Venezuela are now forced to endure unimaginable suffering due to a socioeconomic collapse brought about by failed socialist policies. Shockingly, the type of big government that has caused so much needless suffering in Venezuela is now popular in the United States. We must learn from Venezuela and reject socialist policies that breed human misery. When I use the word socialism, I mean the wholesale government takeover of the economy. That is, out-ofcontrol government spending, socialized medicine, price controls and the like. I feel the need to define socialism because the word means a lot of different things to different people. In our discourse today, there is much disagreement over who or what qualifies as socialist and for that reason, I think it is necessary to define the term. Before the onset of socialism, Venezuela was a true economic powerhouse. In the 1960s and 1970s, the country produced 10 percent of the world’s crude oil and maintained a GDP per capita approaching that of the United States. At the same time, Venezuela could boast a democratic government. Elections occurred at regular five-year intervals and were contested peacefully by political parties committed to democracy and sensible economics. While the country persisted for some time after, the seeds of the inevitable decline of this thriving socioeconomic system were sown with the nationalization of the Venezuelan oil industry. Former Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez argued that more government control over the oil industry would benefit the people instead of greedy industrialists. In 1976, he created a state oil monopoly called Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and banned foreign companies from the Venezuelan oil market. When a global oil glut hit the industry in the mid1980s, the Venezuelan state proved unable to cope with the market change. Within 10 years of nationalization, Venezuelan oil production fell by roughly 50 percent to less than two million barrels a day. Instead of embracing market reforms, the people

of Venezuela turned to even more extreme government intervention to turn around the economy. In 1998, Venezuela elected self-proclaimed Marxist Hugo Chávez as president of Venezuela. After he was elected in a landslide, Chávez promised cheering supporters, “Venezuela’s resurrection is underway and nothing and nobody can stop it.” Unfortunately, the socialist policies implemented by Chávez proved devastating to Venezuela’s economy and society. Chávez instituted aggressive policies to redistribute wealth from select industries and individuals to his working-class constituency. For example, Chávez nationalized the Banco de Venezuela, or Bank of Venezuela, and the nation’s largest telecommunications company, CANTV. To cope with rising inflation resulting from nationalization, Chávez implemented price controls on a wide array of basic necessities. By the time Nicolás Maduro was elected president following Chávez’s 2013 death, Venezuela’s economy was in full free-fall. By over-inserting the government into the economy, Venezuela’s socialist leaders have brought about the disintegration of the country’s economy and society. Venezuela has been brought to its knees by poverty, corruption and hunger. The Venezuelan economy has halved in size over the past five years and inflation has reached above 2 million percent annually. The Venezuelan people are enduring unimaginable suffering as a result of this crisis. Due to food shortages, the average Venezuelan lost 24 pounds in body weight during 2017 alone. With an 85 percent shortage of medicine, Venezuela’s entire healthcare system is at risk of total collapse. More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country, desperately searching for a better life. Venezuelans are no longer willing to sit idly by while their great country is ravaged by manmade disaster. Being faced with resounding defeat at the ballot box, Maduro jailed potential opponents and threatened others in the run up to the May 2018 election. Following this fraudulent election, Maduro is using state security services to hang onto power in spite of his people’s wishes. Make no mistake, Maduro has morphed into a full-blown dictator willing to watch his people suffer so he can hang onto political power. The world must support the Venezuelan people in their quest to liberate themselves from the scourge of despotism. I’m

confident that the Venezuelans will emerge victorious in their quest for the restoration of prosperity and individual liberty. While the Venezuelans struggle to free themselves from a socialist system, an increasing number of Americans are fighting for one here. In fact, a 2018 Gallup poll found that 57 percent of Democrats view socialism positively while 45 percent of those aged 18 to 29 favor socialism over capitalism. Illustrating this trend of increased support for socialism, leading 2020 presidential contender Bernie Sanders openly identifies as a “Democratic Socialist.” Sanders has pledged to “... create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy.” While we all can support an economy that works for everyone, the socialist policies creeping into the mainstream of our society would do anything but. Replacing human innovation with a big government proves destructive to any society. A plethora of such destructive socialist policies is currently finding burgeoning support among the American electorate. For example, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has introduced the Green New Deal. This initiative would rob the American people of consumer choice, raise taxes and lead to countless job losses. As further evidence of this trend, a significant number of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders such as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have come out in support of the elimination of private health insurance in favor of government control. Unfortunately, the Venezuelans know this kind of state takeover all too well. Campaigning under the guise of equality, socialist leaders there robbed the country of its prosperity and democracy while enriching themselves. Socialism is destructive wherever it’s implemented due to its desire to repress individual liberty in favor of absolute power for the state. However, the human spirit always triumphs. There’s no socialist system strong enough to quash our innate desire to be free from the constraints of absolute government control. The American people must reject socialism so that we never face the same terrible plight as our Venezuelan neighbors.

Dylan Berger can be reached at dylberge@umich.edu.

EMILY CONSIDINE | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT EMCONSID@UMICH.EDU

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Friday, March 1, 2019 — 5

ALBUM REVIEW

COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK

Lily & Madeleine’s dreamy folk-pop on their stunning release, ‘Canterbury Girls’ LAURA DZUBAY Daily Arts Wrtier

DISNEY CHANNEL

Facing your demons, who look a lot like Troy Bolton DANA PIERANGELI Daily Arts Wrtier

They were doing “High School Musical,” of all things. Of course I would come back to support my sister and my old theatre department, but “High School Musical?” The movie is iconic and an essential part of my childhood. The stage musical is an awkward embarrassment to theatre and Troy Bolton himself. So the fact that it was the show I was returning to my worst nightmare to see somehow made an already unfortunate occasion worse. I have done theatre pretty much all my life, to the point where it pretty much is my life (yes, I’m one of those kids). I love theatre, it’s my passion. But my experience with high school theatre often made me forget that love and lose my passion. Throughout my four years of high school, I had a lot of damaging experiences that really impacted me, even to this day. All those memories came flooding back as I filed into the alumni row of the auditorium I knew so well. Since leaving my high school theatre behind, a lot has changed in my life. I was a lead in a summer show at a respected community theatre, I started school at the University, I made great friends and new memories. Not only had my life changed, but I changed. I was no longer that little high school girl who was damaged by disloyal friends and hateful directors. So why did I still feel so small being put back in that environment? The problem was, I didn’t feel like I had overcome my past yet. My demons from high school were still haunting me. I had

applied to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance but hadn’t heard back yet; I hadn’t been able to do a show. I didn’t feel like I was any more successful in theatre than when I was shoved into chorus parts and berated by directors. I still heard the taunts ringing in my ear. I still felt like I wasn’t good enough.

Since leaving my high school theatre behind, a lot has changed in my life

Luckily enough, I did end up where I wanted to be. At the time I went back, I had no idea all the good things in store. I didn’t know that two days after seeing the show, I would get cast in my first college show. I didn’t know that four days after seeing the show, I would be accepted into the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Bachelor of Theatre Arts program. I didn’t have that knowledge of success shielding

me from the insecurities I felt when I was back where success seemed impossible. The thing is, sometimes you have to face your demons without knowledge of your current successes shielding you from your past failures. I had to find that strength in myself, not what I had accomplished or how far I’d gotten since leaving high school behind. Instead of allowing not only my high school experience to be ruined, but also my posthigh school experience. I tried to remember the little things that made me happy there and all the happy emotions I felt being back. I still loved theatre. I still was immensely proud of all my kids up onstage. I still hugged my sister and congratulated my friends. Of course, I avoided my old director like the plague and practically sprinted to the other side of the lobby when I saw my ex-best-friend — that pain isn’t leaving anytime soon. But I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying the — albeit questionable show — and I certainly didn’t let it haunt me when I returned to school Sunday afternoon. Sitting in the alumni row of my old high school auditorium, seeing my past up on the stage in front of me, I realized that I will never be able to forget my experiences in that theatre program. Maybe I hadn’t completely overcome my past. Maybe I wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to be. Maybe I would never get to either of those points. But I could take comfort in knowing how far I’ve come, and that I’ll never be back where I was again. I found the strength in myself to face my demons, and they were a lot less scary when they looked like Troy Bolton.

The opening track on the new Lily & Madeleine record, Canterbury Girls, is called “Self Care” — a reference, surely, to the lately revitalized cultural priority of self care. But Indiana sisters Lily and Madeleine Jurkiewicz are a package deal, and even a song that nominally seems to look inward ultimately functions as a dialogue between them. The lines from the chorus — “I’m sure you don’t understand / Who the hell I think I am / Your beautiful eyes are sad and scared / But I can’t make myself care” — hint at a relationship of tough love and honest conversation, making it a strong characterization of what is to come from the rest of the album. Canterbury Girls marks the fifth full-length album for Lily & Madeleine, who first attracted listeners with the melodic, complementary synchrony of their voices and harmonies featured in homemade high school YouTube videos. Their ouevre is one marked by a careful consistency, primarily working in the realm of folk pop and constantly making use of the natural ways in which their soft vocals join one another and intertwine. This newest addition is named after Canterbury Park

in Indianapolis, where the sisters would sometimes go to play while growing up. While the sisters have relocated to New York City, it’s clear from their sound that they still hold the roots of their music very close to heart. Canterbury Girls finds them continuing to

Canterbury Girls Lily & Madeleine New West Records Cost

make use of their trademark hypnotic harmonies, while also diving deeper into the popinformed atmosphere that has distinguished Keep It Together and some of their other recent releases. Nowhere do they abandon the sounds of the Midwest entirely, but they do explore more geographically on tracks like “Pachinko Song,” which tracks Lily on a journey through Tokyo: “I ran through Tokyo hoping to find the place / Where only I could be, but I never found it / But I never found it.” “Soaked in sunshine, don’t know where to be,” the Jurkiewicz sisters sing on the titular track, “Canterbury Girls.” Yet the album itself, as a whole, feels like it exists in a somewhat more liminal space

— hinted at by the album cover, which depicts the two of them, inclined toward each other and toward us, standing in front of a vast lake under a haze of purplish clouds. Purples, oranges and yellows converge on this cover in the visages of Lily and Madeleine, evoking a soft space that could be either a sunrise or a sunset, depending on your interpretation. In a musical sense, the explorations and preoccupations of the album do indeed maneuver around the edges of a liminal softness. Songs like “Bruises,” “Circles” and “Analog Love” dip into a reflective and at times melancholy sensibility. On the other hand, “Supernatural Sadness,” “Pachinko Song” and “Can’t Help the Way I Feel” are all somewhat jauntier melodies that feel like they’ve drawn inspiration from the fringe pop hits of earlier ages. Canterbury Girls delves into melancholy, love, sadness and sisterhood. It’s a trim ten songs, some of which are more pop-inspired and seem to beckon reawakening and rejuvenation, while others feel more like dreamy incantations or even sore laments. Lily and Madeleine sound as magical together as ever, and even though they haven’t forged paths into remarkably new territory, they do continue to deliver quality songs that strike a fine balance between peace and despair, beauty and pain, harmony and solitude.

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

‘The Exonerated’ exposes injustices of justice system SAMMY SUSSMAN Daily Arts Writer

Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s “The Exonerated” is dedicated to “the exonerated” and “those who are still waiting.” The piece follows six wrongfully convicted prisoners from the time of their arrest until the time of their release. This past weekend, it was presented in the Arthur Miller Theater by the Department of Musical Theatre under the direction of Geoff Packard, LSA Lecturer of Drama. Rather than following one story through to its conclusion, the work constantly fluctuates between different stories. The play starts soon after each prisoner’s arrest for a crime they did not commit. Though the audience may not see the connections between each prisoner at first, the police’s conduct soon makes this connection clear; in every instance, some mix of racism, police bias and faulty prosecutorial practices lead the inmates to be wrongfully convicted. From the beginning, the play was held together by the simple beauty of its production. The set was simple: three black boxes organized in steps and twelve black, armless desk chairs. The lighting was similarly elegant and minimal: purple lights highlighting the concrete wall in the back of theater, frequent blackouts and spotlights accompanying the changes in scene. Between scenes, the cast would hum and wordlessly sing brief melodic passages, accompanied by simple recordings of a guitar at some points and a piano at others. While melodically and harmonically simple, these brief interludes did much to punctuate

the otherwise heavy subject matter. As the School of Music, Theatre & Dance had advised, the production contained multiple instances of strong language. In one instance in particular, a prisoner’s false arrest and conviction is accompanied by clear racial bias on the part of the police — they are depicted using the n-word casually and repeatedly to refer to this prisoner. While this callous use of the n-word was perhaps realistic, it was hard to palette. This set the tone for the next half hour of the play, as it moved between various failures of the criminal justice system. One prisoner was convicted on questionable forensic evidence, another on the false testimony of a murderer who immediately reached a plea deal with the police. And in every instance, these prisoners’ lives were torn apart as they were convicted of a crime that they did not commit. From there, the play focused on their collective experiences in prison, some more pleasant than others. The play also began to focus on the death penalty and the morality of the prisoners being put on death row. “Why do we do that?” one prisoner asked. In one particularly jarring instance, as a prisoner on stage spoke about execution by electric chair, the lights over the audience flashed bright white three times. All around me, audience members muttered in fright and surprise — lighting designer Emily Miu more than succeeded in shocking her audience, assuming this was her goal.

Between scenes, the cast would hum and wordlessly sing brief melodic passages, accompanied by simple recordings of a guitar at some points and a piano at others

As the play moved past these false convictions and lengthy imprisonments, however, it began to lose steam. The exoneration prior to execution of every prisoner (save one prisoner’s husband), for example, felt a little unrealistic. Up until this point, the play had succeeded in its suspension of disbelief. But the sudden change from extremely dark subject matter to inspiring legal challenges made me question the plot, particularly the selection of these six specific cases and the degree to which they are representative of the larger American criminal justice system. The play’s depiction of women, furthermore, was lacking. Most of the women were wives of wrongfully convicted prisoners; throughout the play, they existed on stage solely through the wrongful convictions of their husbands. The play featured one female prisoner, a woman convicted of murder and sentenced to death row along with her husband. Though she made it out of prison, her husband was executed. And in the end, she framed the remainder of her life largely through her husband’s wrongful execution and the time that she had lost with him. The women in the play lacked autonomy — a feature of the mid-20thcentury setting of the play that nevertheless felt like a slight moral failing. On the whole, the play was a poignant reminder of the pressure that many police forces feel to arrest a suspect for violent crimes, and thus the frequent wrongful convictions that permeate the criminal justice system. It was a dark, serious narrative that was troubling and hard to watch at times. And yet I left convinced of the failures of our criminal justice system and committed to working to fix this problem. It was something that I will not soon forget – something that I will no doubt be thinking about for a long time.

In one particularly jarring instance, as a prisoner on stage spoke about execution by electric chair, the lights over the audience flashed bright white three times

Arts

6 — Friday, March 1, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

NEW MEDIA

‘Bangkok Wakes’ is muddy Lacing up for our debut in the Ann Arbor Marathon EMILY YANG

Daily Arts Wrtier

About a year before the publication of his first novel, “Bangkok Wakes To Rain,” Pitchaya Sudbanthad published a listicle cataloging a handful of “place-based novels.” He writes: “When writers get asked how their novel came to them, some might answer that a character spoke first or a sentence sounded to them, and for others, like me, we require an arrival of a place, or rather, our arrival to one.” “Bangkok” seems to be an attempt to stage such an arrival for the reader. The novel’s nearly 400 pages aim to capture the titular city in a panorama from 19th-century Siam to a speculative future of climate catastrophe. His approach to this dizzying task is like that of a collage — Sudbanthad writes that he “(let) my mind wander in the city where I was born and (heard) the city tell me stories,” and accordingly, “Bangkok” takes the form of a collection of stories in and around Bangkok. As a possible anchor point, we get a recurrent Garcia Márquez-esque house somewhere in the city, which most of the characters are connected to in some way. Despite this confluence of the vast and the specific, Sudbanthad generally leaves allegory just out of view. His characters do not necessarily symbolize anything, even if they are representative of certain kinds of citizens of the city at different times and places. The central characters of the story are Sammy, who moved away from the city when he was young, and later returns to sell his parents’ house; Nee and Nok, two sisters who grow up in Bangkok together before Nok leaves for Japan and Nee gets involved in the student protests of the ’70s; and Mai and Pig, two millennials who are around for the city’s reclamation by the sea in the 2020s. The novel intersperses episodes of the main characters with one-off anecdotes and wide panoramic shots, all intended, presumably, to capture another aspect of the city — to make the image more complete. There’s even a section told from the point of view of the birds in the marshy area surrounding the city.

This is all a lot to take in, and despite the elaborate schemes Sudbanthad uses to connect the disparate threads of the novel, it still feels like we are essentially dealing with a collection of unrelated stories. This is fine, but it would help if the stories themselves had more interest beyond simply commenting on each other. The individual story arcs have the quality of fading in and out without accomplishing much: Sammy drifts from place to place, Nee and Nok argue and eventually make up, Pig and Mai drift apart. The plots frequently have a backdrop of social unrest, but after 1976, nothing disastrous really happens, or indeed

‘Bangkok Wakes to Rain’ Pitchaya Sudbanthad Riverhead Books Feb. 29, 2019

feels like it can happen. Even when the rising seas completely swallow the old city, we are reassured that there’s life after it, and that it’s just as boring as before: Mai and Pig live suspiciously like Nee and Nok did. More generally, what’s so striking about the idea of a “placebased novel” is that it is essentially founded on a contradiction. If the point of a novel (of the kind with speaking and thinking characters) is a sense of location, of place, the characters are mostly important for their ability to illuminate the place, even as we see them on the page as thinking, speaking humans rather than symbols. Accordingly, Sudbanthad’s characters feel like the novel’s weakest link. In Sammy’s case, one could be forgiven for being unenthusiastic about the Global South edition of the Salingerite anti-hero, who wanders around stewing in his disaffection with nearly everything. He is passiveaggressive toward his family, he treats women badly, he feels a guilt far vaguer than seems situationally appropriate — it’s familiar and a little ugly. Nee and Nok are the novel’s most successful characters, but they seem a little plain, slotted into roles

Classifieds

and tasked with playing them out. The two sisters are both defined by their memories. In Nee’s case, she relives her traumatic experiences in the student protests as similar events happen in 1992, but is otherwise mostly just dutiful to her job as a manager for the condo building and swim instructor. Nok starts a Thai restaurant in Japan, a balm for the homesickness of Thai students. Nee and Nok are conduits for memory, which is, for Sudbanthad, a force like gravity: unidirectional, rather linear, inescapable. And there are some characters who are somewhere in between having full roles and just sort of being representative of a time or a place. A 19th century minister gets some of Sudbanthad’s best prose, but his role in the story is never clarified; he just seems to be there to inform us that Bangkok had a past. The strangest of his characters (and despite this, definitely one of the book’s larger catastrophes) is Clyde, the jazz pianist copy-pasted from New York to Bangkok in the mid to late 20th century. Clyde feels like the muzak version of a jazz musician written by someone who engages with the history of American popular music out of the corner of his eye — there’s no real history or engagement with any of the musical movements Clyde would have known of or lived through, an omission that feels profoundly wrong in a genre of music so heavily focused on lineage and influence. (Later in the novel Sudbanthad makes up a series of absurd jazz musicians that makes me think he hasn’t ventured very far into the back catalog.) Clyde also gets some of the novel’s most puckered, florid writing: “When he had much of the crowd swaying and nodding their heads at the table, he knew the irrepressible moment had arrived. He’d call them out to the floor and out they’d tumble, tugged from their seats by a hand they might only hold for that night. Folks sure went wild, given the permission of a mess.” It’s impossible to know what Sudbanthad wants his readers to get from this strange man. He is just there, much like everything else in this novel is just there, left for the reader to draw any possible conclusions from it.

Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

Release Date: Friday, March 1, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

FOR RENT

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 College Park Big Ten athlete 5 Smarten (up) 10 Cutlass, e.g. 14 Big name in the cookie aisle 15 “Rebel Without a Cause” actor 16 Castle 17 Addition at the palace? 19 Dot on a globe, perhaps 20 Surprising and sometimes annoying success 21 Felicity’s “Desperate Housewives” role 23 Somme summer 24 Pringles alternative 26 Trap fluff 27 “__ about time!” 28 Reason for road service 32 Disreputable 35 “All in the Family” spinoff 36 Dallas NBAer 37 Church service 38 Zany 39 Ballet move 40 Weapon in some action flicks 41 Potsdam “please” 42 Social gathering 43 Rip verbally 45 Fall back 46 Acknowledge 47 Woodwind musician’s piece 49 CPR pro 52 Gasses up 55 University of Wyoming city 57 PC addresses 58 Mole in the cat food factory? 60 Down 61 Egbert __, aptly named W.C. Fields character 62 Countertop material 63 Alluring 64 Youngster of an awkward age 65 Bullring bravos

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33 Sunset obscurer 34 Change in China? 35 Actor LeBlanc 38 It includes reds 39 Lively dance 41 Small meal 42 Sierra __ 44 Mixed martial artist Ronda 45 Heavy 48 Beethoven dedicatee

49 Inbox message 50 Prepare, as garlic 51 __ Pete: hot sauce brand 52 Massages 53 Creator of Perry and Della 54 Winter coat 56 Magazine contents 59 Go after, in a way

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03/01/19

VERITY STURM

one marathon a year from the age of 33, and completed all 62 miles of the Hokkaido JOHN DECKER Daily Arts Runner ultramarathon in 1996. Will Ferrell has three full marathons under his belt, and P. Diddy finished the New The annual Probility York in 2003 “in sunglasses, Marathon returns to Ann his hair in a closely cropped Arbor on March 24th, and Mohawk and an ‘I Heart New organizers are hoping for York’ breathing strip across a large turnout. The race’s his nose.” first event, held in 2012, If P. Diddy can attracted runners do 26.2, we can do from 44 different seven. Welcome states and raised the Daily Arts thousands for Runners: Emma nonprofits and Chang, John Ann Arbor Public Decker, Shima Schools. This year, Probility Ann Arbor Marathon Sadaghiyani and Packard Health, Verity Sturm. As Cancer Support 7:30 a.m. a unit, we boast Community, Ele’s Mar. 24, 2019 a spectrum of Place and North relationships with Star Reach will Michigan Stadium running, ranging be receiving the $116 from “cross profits from the country in middle marathon, with school” to “5ks on attendees given treadmills” and the chance to “half marathon donate more upon into Canada.” registration. The And to be honest, race program we haven’t been is run by Epic training (have you Races, which has raised a total of $205,000 for full marathon among teams seen the ice?). But hey, the charities since 2015, all while of two-four. That harrowing internet says we can get the providing the opportunity for 26.2 has been smashed into deed done in four, three, even new and experienced runners the far more approachable two weeks. So stop asking me alike to join the local events. numbers of 6.05 and 7.05 (two about it. All irony aside, there’s This year’s course begins legs of each). And you know, at Michigan Stadium and when you can run three miles something alluring about passes through the Hill you can run four, and when passing the baton across neighborhood, around the you can run four you can that historic distance across Forest Hill Cemetery, through grossly round up to seven. the city in which we seem Gallup Park and the Arb (and And then, suddenly, you’re to weather a marathon of the feared hill which runs piecing together a marathon experiences day in and day through it) before finishing team from the largest group out (and with our coworkers, back at Michigan Stadium. of people you see most to boot). Register here if you want to run alongside us and Runners can choose to run frequently: Daily Arts. Although Arts has a rip on “Green Book,” stay a 5K, 10K or full marathon. The race had also deviated reputation for not, like, doing tuned for our training video from the standard marathon anything except talk about dropping the week of 3/18 or policy in proudly overseeing highbrow music and movies, watch us do the damn thing a zero waste policy and a running is in our brand. on Sunday, March 24th at standardized results system, Haruki Murakami has run 7:30 a.m. a move which has helped to attract the thousands of attendees in previous years. Hotel information, route maps, registration and race results can all be found on the Epic Races website, linked here. Epic Races is also adding a new event this year: the relay. Runners have been invited to split the distance of the

Daily Arts Runner

DAILY GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN

For my mom, with love I’ve been thinking a lot about mothers lately. Last week was a whirlwind of sadness and celebration, as the sudden death of one of my good friends’s mother fell within days of my own mom’s birthday. I cried, I laughed, I talked to my mom for hours on the phone. It’s times like this that remind me how much she means to me, how much a mother can mean in general. During this era of pseudo-adulthood I find myself in at college, I realize more and more every day how much she has prepared me for whatever life might throw in my way. Sure, it might not be easy to get through, but if there’s anything I’ve taken to heart from her, it’s that I’ll get through eventually. I love her more than any other person ever to walk this earth here are some things that I have learned from her that I think about every single day. Thanks, mom. There is beauty in literally everything around you. My friends would vouch that I have taken this to heart, that I’m one sappy girl when it comes to anything beautiful. I cry at everything: sad things, happy things, beautiful things, funny things. I think the key to really capturing happiness in your life is to understand this fact. It’s not something my mom has ever said verbatim to me, but I’ve learned from watching her that there is a kernel of joy hidden inside everything we see on the day to day. When it snows and looks like powdered sugar falling in the night here, I think of my mom she has literally yelled at my siblings and I to “LOOK AT BEAUTY!” on a regular basis for most of my life. Sunsets, flowers, fields on the way to our cottage up north, it’s all beautiful to her. Through

CLARA SCOTT this, she taught me how to find that kernel of beauty even in the darker times we all go through: There’s always something waiting to surprise you. Tell the people you love that you love them. This one is pretty obvious to me, but I realize now how important it truly is. I tell my friends I love them constantly, almost to an annoying extent. That’s something I’ve learned from my mother. In her opinion, if you feel it, why wouldn’t you share that with someone? Knowing the amount of love in my life, all I can do is share it with those around me. It’s three words, a short declaration that can make all the difference to whoever it’s said to. The fear of awkwardness or rejection is much less daunting when you understand that an immediate response doesn’t really matter in the long run instead, it’s the thought behind it that stays with those involved. Don’t be afraid to say what you feel. If there’s anything that this week taught me, it’s that things can change quicker than you think is humanly possible. That’s something my mom has always embraced, telling my siblings and I everything she feels for us at any given moment. She calls us “chickens,” which I’ve always found hilarious. Sometimes I’ll be sitting at home and hear her through the wall: “I’m so

glad you’re home, chickens!” It’s kind of a drastic example, but those expressions of love and happiness have rubbed off on me. What’s the use of keeping something great or important inside your head? Everything’s better when people are on the same page. Don’t hide from yourself by hiding your thoughts from those who are lucky enough to hear them. It doesn’t need to be dire, maybe just a reminder that you care, or that you saw something funny on the way to work. If something makes you happy or sad or possesses you to share it at all, you never know how much it can brighten another person’s day. The best skill a person can have is the ability to laugh at life. My mother is one of the funniest people I know, and it’s not just because she has a wicked wit she really knows how to laugh at life, whether it’s good, bad, or even somewhere in between. At its base elements, life is hilarious. Understanding that can make any moment full of dread or sadness just that little bit better so it’s easier to handle. I have a considerably darker sense of humor than she does, but I think a lot of it came from this lesson that she has taught me. It’s a lot less difficult to get through hard times when you can find the humor in your situation, or even in yourself. In my opinion, this is the most important thing I’ve learned from my mom. Being a person in this crazy world is hard, you might as well be able to see how ridiculous it is. We’re all just here trying to have a good life, but the thing that binds us is how insane the path may seem to get there. Laugh a little more, and I promise it will make that journey a smoother one. It might even rub off on your own children one day.

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Friday, March 1, 2019 — 7

Wolverines focused on regular Freshmen to play key role season finale against Wisconsin TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer

Prior to this season, senior guard Nicole Munger and senior center Hallie Thome pondered expectations for what was to come. “Nicole said at the end of the summer, ‘Coach, I think we have an opportunity to be Big Ten champs next year,’ ” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “And her and Hallie debated that and wavered that and went back and forth on that and they came to common ground that that’s gonna be our message for our team this season, and that’s gonna be our goal for our team this season. And they’ve kind of stuck with that.” The Big Ten Tournament tips off in less than a week, but for now, the Michigan women’s basketball team (10-7 Big Ten, 19-10 overall) is putting those aspirations on standby. The final regular-season matchup — Sunday afternoon against Wisconsin (4-13, 13-16) — garners more attention. “My focus is on Wisconsin,” Barnes Arico said. “We have a Big Ten tournament? When’s that?” Though she was clearly joking, there’s truth underlying Barnes Arico’s comment. The two teams will meet for their second time this season. The Wolverines won the first outing, 76-70, in Madison at the start of the month. They’ll look to replicate that result at Crisler this weekend. Michigan started out slowly in that game, but solid performances by freshman forward Naz Hillmon and freshman guard Amy Dilk helped the team prevail. Hillmon led the team with 20 points and eight rebounds, shooting 8-of-

KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily

Naz Hillmon scored 20 points in the last game against Wisconsin.

9 from the field. Dilk helped generate much of that scoring, finishing with eight assists. The roommates could potentially lead the team again. Hillmon has been top-notch recently. Since the previous meeting, she has averaged 16.3 points a night. In the past two games against Michigan State and Rutgers, she dropped 27 and 21 points, respectively. “Naz has just been tremendous,” Barnes Arico said on Inside Michigan Basketball Radio Show. “And every now and again, she’ll have a freshmanlike moment, but it doesn’t really last for too long. She’s just been a special player.” Dilk suffered a right knee injury against Nebraska — immediately after facing the Badgers. She sat out the next three games before playing 16 minutes against the Scarlet Knights. And she tallied 29 minutes last Sunday against the Spartans. “I think she’s getting close to 100 percent and we’re gonna need her down this tail stretch here,” Barnes Arico said. The Wolverines are coming off a loss at Michigan State that snapped their sevengame win streak. Turnovers

and fouls contributed to their downfall. Michigan lost the ball 25 times and gave the Spartans 27 free throw attempts — of which they made 23. With no midweek contest this week, the Wolverines have had time to fine-tune. “We haven’t had a bye week all season,” Barnes Arico said on Tuesday. “So it’s great for us to work on things that Michigan needs to get better at and some of the things that we haven’t been successful at in the next couple days.” Forwards Marsha Howard and Imani Lewis are Wisconsin’s top scorers, both averaging double digits. That said, the Badgers have struggled throughout the season with just two road wins. They’ve lost four of six since last playing Michigan and sit at second-tolast in the conference standings. The Wolverines appear to be the clear favorite and should soon be able to take on their bigger desires. “It’s just another opportunity for our team to go out there and show what we’ve been working on and how great we can be,” Munger said. “ … One more game and then we can focus on (the Big Ten Tournament).”

Catch a wave: Baseball looks to capitalize on trip to California KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer

While the students of the University of Michigan head off to rest their weary brains during Spring Break, the No. 17 Michigan baseball team (6-0) is going to work in sunny California. “That sounds like baseball heaven to me,” said head coach Erik Bakich. “Eight games in ten days, we are fired up for that.” On this trip, the Wolverines will face four teams currently with a winning record in addition to a talented Southern California team looking to prove itself. Michigan kicks off its Spring Break on Friday with a threegame series against Cal StateNorthridge (5-4), which is coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 3 UCLA — a game in which they gave up a one-run lead in the seventh inning. Looking to avenge the loss, the Matadors will be eager to take down a ranked Michigan team trying to extend its unbeaten run as long

as possible. After Cal State-Northridge, the Wolverines will enjoy a day off before playing Long Beach State and University of California-Irvine on back-toback days where the real test starts for its pitchers. Star juniors left-hander Tommy Henry and right-hander Karl Kauffmann will have to keep the heat on after just four days of rest. The Dirtbags, currently 0-7, will try to improve on a poor start to the season, but they will be coming off one day of rest from their series at Ole Miss. The Anteaters, conversely, will be coming off of five days of rest and eager to play their first ranked team of the season. What Michigan is looking forward to most comes on the final weekend of Spring Break, when it will be playing against No. 19 Oklahoma State inside of Dodgers Stadium. “I’m really excited about the Dodgertown classic and to get the opportunity to play in Dodgers Stadium,” said Bakich.

“Just hearing from the guys that are on the team in 2017, it was one of those life memories that you make, getting to play in Dodgers Stadium. So I’m excited for the kids that they get to experience that and play in Dodgers Stadium.” Over the three-game stretch the Wolverines will play the Bruins and Trojans at their home fields before the finale against the Cowboys. The toughest stretch of games for Michigan in the early season, these three matchups will prove how good the undefeated Wolverines really are before they come back to play in Ann Arbor for the first time all season. Bakich, though, is not looking past the early week matchups. “Everyone that we play out on the West Coast are perennial powers, from Cal StateNorthridge to Long Beach to Irvine to UCLA, USC, Oklahoma State,” Bakich said. “From that standpoint we’re going to be really tested in those eight games over the 10-day period.”

CARTER FOX/Daily

The Michigan baseball team will play eight games in 10 days over break, including one at Dodger Stadium.

The growth in Michigan’s freshmen has been evident. Even as of last weekend, Moyle broke out for three goals against Ohio State, scoring back-toback goals to win Friday’s game for the Wolverines. Van Wyhe connected with Moyle for both of those goals, highlighting the chemistry the two built on throughout the season. Blankenburg broke open the scoring for Michigan on Saturday, and Summers stepped up to the plate after Luke Martin went down. The upcoming weekend will be the final regular season series for both teams. Having come off a nail-biting series split against the Buckeyes, Michigan failed to secure home ice for the Big Ten Tournament. Instead, the Wolverines will need three points out of the series against the Badgers to get home ice. “Well, I thought (last) weekend was intense when we

played Ohio State,” Pearson said. “And I think it’s going to go up another level because of the implications. I mean, they still have a chance for home ice and we’re battling for that. So everyone’s still, there’s still something on the line for everybody.” The Wolverines haven’t seen too many high-stakes situations in the season, but Pearson believes that the team can rise to the occasion. “It can put pressure on you, but it can also excite you,” Pearson said. “And I hope it does the latter, I hope the guys are excited about that. We’ve been pretty good on the road this year. We’ve yet to be swept on the road, we’ve found a way to win and get points, every weekend we’ve played this year, and I expect the same out of this group. I know they’ll be ready to play, they’re anxious to get back at Yost, but we just need to play Friday’s game.”

Per man, as Mel Pearson likes to think, Wisconsin is the most talented team in the Big Ten. The Michigan hockey coach points to the Badgers’ speed and skating ability when explaining why they’re so dangerous. But with their talent, it begs the question as to why they are sitting one point from the bottom of the conference. “They’re very young,” Pearson said. “And they’re starting to mature. They’ve been in most games. They’ve had a couple recently that have gotten away from them, but they’re a scary team.” One notable characteristic Wisconsin shares with the Wolverines is youth. The Badgers roster nine freshmen and seven sophomores, many of whom are major contributors to the team. Michigan, similarly, has 10 freshmen and six sophomores. In the previous series in November, it was Wisconsin’s freshmen who made the difference, scoring all three of its goals in the series. Despite the impact, their inexperience showed as well, committing late-game penalties that jeopardized the result of the match. This weekend, Pearson expects an entirely different team — for both sides. “I think we’ve grown a lot,” Pearson said. “I think we matured a lot since then, and the freshmen have grown a lot as you can see by Nolan Moyle’s play, Garrett Van Wyhe, and Nick Blankenburg and Jack Summers, and you go down the list, those guys have really taken steps. “And I think Wisconsin too, some of their freshmen are ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily no longer freshmen. They’re Michigan coach Mel Pearson was highly complimentary of Wisconsin’s potential. playing like upperclassmen.”

Michigan trying to overcome struggles with mental game

ALEC COHEN/Daily

The Michigan softball team continues to point to “mental issues” to explain a sluggish 6-8 start to the season.

LILY FRIEDMAN Daily Spors Writer

Michigan softball is unranked. It hasn’t defeated a ranked team, it’s yet to dominate an entire tournament and it’s lost more games than it’s won. The Wolverines have hit a total of two runs in four games against ranked opponents and scored three runs or fewer in over half of their games. Last weekend, Michigan left the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, LA with three losses in five games, and it wasn’t happy. The team let up seven runs in one contest against an unranked Stanford team, complicating the pitching staff’s previously perceived reliability. The Wolverines left the third week of the season as coach Carol Hutchins’ first losing team this far into a season in 35 years. After a start like that, how could they be happy? Michigan is in uncharted

territory, and it’s time to own up to it. After weeks of “mental lapses,” “lack of focus” and other mental problems plaguing the Wolverines — as players have said — it’s worth looking at why the team can’t seem to click mentally. If the problem really lies in lack of focus, then why can’t Michigan get on its game? When they do, they blow by teams, play tough against ranked opponents and perform well offensively and defensively against difficult schedules. So why is mental acuity so hard for the Wolverines to find, and how will they live up to the potential we’ve seen in bits and pieces of games? Players weren’t made available this week to answer those questions. We’ve seen the chemistry in short stints. Michigan trounced South Florida and Illinois State in the USF Opening Weekend Invitational, held No. 9 Louisiana State to a close 1-2

loss last weekend and carries over much of the talent from last year in its upperclassmen. We know how the Wolverines are capable of playing, and they know it too, as players have said several times. But something isn’t clicking with the softball team, and we’ve seen it so far this season. Last weekend, sophomore left-hander Meghan Beaubien said she didn’t have the right mindset or clear head to throw well, and that she corrected that mindset for her no-hitter in the California State-Northridge game. Beaubien threw one of her best games of the season that day. But the problem lies in the fact that she, and many of her teammates, can’t emulate those performances every game. We all know that Michigan softball hasn’t had the start it wants, and we all know that something is wrong, so now it’s up to the Wolverines to let us know why.

Sports

8 — Friday, March 1, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Senior Night laugher Wolverines dominate wire-to-wire, beat Nebraska, 82-53

Michigan bounces back after rivalry loss to the Spartans

ARIA GERSON

JACOB SHAMES

Daily Sports Writer

Daily Sports Editor

Somehow, Isaiah Livers caught the pass, legs in the air, teetering on the edge of the court. His pink shoes barely landed in bounds as he lobbed the ball to Jordan Poole. The possession started with junior center Jon Teske rebounding his missed layup, then getting down on the floor, fighting for a loose ball and shoveling it to junior guard Zavier Simpson. It ended with Poole catching the ball at halfcourt and finding Teske, wide open on the perimeter for three — his second triple in the first five minutes. It was that kind of night for the Michigan men’s basketball team (25-4 overall, 14-4 Big Ten), who got off to a quick start and never relented, winning 82-53 over Nebraska (15-14, 5-13) in the final home game of the season. “We jumped on them right away,” Teske said. “I wasn’t expecting to win by 30 (but) we played well, got on them early, which helps. Offensively, defensively, we really got on them tonight.” Shots were falling no matter who was on the court. With redshirt junior wing Charles Matthews out with an ankle injury, others — including sophomore forward Isaiah Livers, freshman guard David DeJulius and freshman forward Colin Castleton — were forced to contribute, and that they did. Matthews’ absence proved to be no problem. Livers, who got the start in his place, started

Ignas Brazdeikis hit the floor and 12,707 hearts stopped. The freshman forward lay on his back, clutching his left knee in pain, and all of Michigan’s worst fears seemed to be coming to fruition. On Wednesday, the Wolverines found out Charles Matthews wouldn’t be able to suit up for his own Senior Night with a right ankle injury. Now, their leading scorer was down on the ground after a collison under the basket just 13 seconds before halftime. A trainer helped him up, and Brazdeikis gingerly made his way to the bench under his own power. When he took the floor to start the second half, Crisler Center exhaled. By the time he hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game, Michigan led by 24 with seven minutes remaining, and the harrowing moment at the end of the first half was a forgotten footnote in the Wolverines’ 82-53 win over Nebraska on Thursday. “I sprinted over and I was like, ‘Please no, please no, please no,’” said sophomore forward Isaiah Livers. “He said he was alright, he probably just tweaked it a little bit. … You see his playing, he hit four threes, so he was playing very well after that.” And so was everyone else wearing a maize jersey. Michigan scored its most points since Dec. 8. It shot 56 percent from the field and 55 percent from three. It recorded 19 assists on its 30 made baskets. Brazdeikis, Livers, junior center Jon Teske and freshman forward Colin Castleton all scored in double-figures. It was the Wolverines’ most dominant performance in weeks, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. “Great bounce-back for our guys after the other day,” said

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Freshman center Colin Castleton scored a career-high 11 points on Thursday.

off the game by rattling in a contested trey. He finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first career doubledouble. “Charles, he does a lot of great things,” Livers said. “I tried to replace him as best as I could, trying to grab 50-50 balls, just knock open shots and go dunk on other people’s heads. … But without Charles, nothing’s really gonna change. The ball’s still gonna move, shots are still gonna go in. We’re still gonna be Michigan.” Seconds after subbing in, meanwhile, Castleton — whose last points were in December — slipped in a layup. When he scored his final points on a jumper with 1:24 left in the second half, cementing his 11-point breakout game, he exited to a standing ovation. After Nebraska cut the lead to 17 by forcing a three-and-a-half minute field goal drought, Teske responded by sinking another 3-pointer. Two possessions later, Simpson grabbed a

But without Charles, nothing’s really gonna change.

rebound and tossed a half-court pass to Poole. Poole threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk, skidding across the floor before calmly sinking the and-one. But Teske was the real star of the show. He was a matchup nightmare for Nebraska, driving to the basket at will and drawing fouls when he couldn’t hit a shot for a career-high 22 points. After he completed the doubledouble with his 10th rebound, Teske hit a layup on the ensuing possession for the cherry on top, then subbed out for the final time, giving the freshmen and walk-ons a go at it. “Jon did not take a three in practice the last two days,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “ … All of a sudden he just grabs it and shoots it in and does it again, so I think that set the stage. It seems this is part of the mental edge, it seems on Senior Nights, this happens all the time. There’s just this, all of a sudden, we’re playing, and maybe we’re playing more relaxed as well.” After the game was over and Senior Night festivities done, the Wolverines stood in the Maize Rage section, singing the fight song in front of their home crowd for the final time this season. They were nothing but smiles.

Michigan coach John Beilein. “It was great that we turned it around, coaching staff turned it around.” The “other day,” of course, was the Wolverines’ 77-70 loss to Michigan State, in which it blew a six-point lead with 15 minutes remaining. With or without Matthews, Michigan needed a response in the worst way. “We had a bad taste in our mouths,” Teske said. “We wanted to come out defensively, just shut them down and offensively, knock down open shots.” The Wolverines did that from the start. Livers, who replaced Matthews in the starting lineup, nailed his first three just two minutes into the game. Teske — who didn’t attempt a three in practice the last two days, per Beilein — hit from the left wing on the next trip down the court, and Michigan was up, 8-2, and off and running. When a team loses a rivalry game in the fashion the Wolverines did Sunday, bouncing back is the obvious storyline. That kind of mental response is intangible. What isn’t, though, was Michigan’s extreme height advantage over the Cornhuskers, who play only one player taller than 6-foot-8. Teske (22 points and 10 rebounds) and Castleton (11 points in nine minutes) stand 7-foot-1 and 6-foot11, respectively. Nebraska didn’t have an answer, as the Wolverines had no trouble in finding their big men down low — and occasionally, on the perimeter, where Teske hit all three of his 3-pointers. “We knew if we go harder off the screen that they were gonna switch,” Livers said. “So when we see that you got a 7-footer and a 6-foot-10 guy with long arms, they know how to keep the ball above their head, that’s an easy assist and easy bucket. It

was great to see that they were playing big today instead of just playing small.” That performance was quietly engineered by Michigan’s backcourt. Nothing junior Zavier Simpson or sophomore Jordan Poole did was electrifying — save for Poole’s out-of-nowhere tomahawk dunk in the second half. But in a way, that was the point. Simpson and Poole’s job was simple: find the open man — usually a big man — and keep the ball moving. With just six shot attempts, but 15 assists combined between them, they did just that. “They didn’t have to shoot the ball to make us win,” Beilein said. “The ball moved. Yesterday in practice, we could see the ball move. Didn’t stick like it has in some games. That’s how you score 80 points.” As for the mental response? “Maybe we’re playing more relaxed as well,” Beilein said. “After we got beat the other day, I think people just say, ‘OK, we learned a great lesson, let’s just go out there and take the next right shot and don’t worry about it. Don’t press to try and show anything, just make the next right play.’ ” It’s been a theme this year, according to players and coaches — Michigan plays its best basketball when it plays freely and without tension. And as the Cornhuskers were reminded, the Wolverines are quite good when they play their best basketball. “If they’re gonna play for a conference championship, you can’t lose at home,” said Nebraska coach Tim Miles. “Certainly can’t lose at home to a 10th place team. … I think that just (Michigan) making shots early deflated our guys some. But hey, this is not a league where you can feel sorry for yourself.” After Sunday’s loss, the Wolverines didn’t.

Position review: Special teams From Will Hart to Jake Moody to Donovan Peoples-Jones and more, Michigan brings back much of its special teams ARIA GERSON

Daily Sports Writer

With the Michigan football team’s 2018 regular season in the books, The Daily looks back at the performance of each unit this year and peers ahead to the future in 2019. In this edition: special teams. Michigan’s special teams unit came into the year a largely raw bunch that had seen its ups and downs the year before. But from the time sophomore defensive back Ambry Thomas returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the season opener against Notre Dame, it also f lashed its unique potential. The group’s contribution went mostly unseen, but it was quietly one of the Wolverines’ biggest strengths. Whether through clutch kicking, long punts or electric returns, the special teams helped keep Michigan in some games and turned others into blowouts. Junior punter Will Hart was a revelation. After spending last season backing up thenfreshman Brad Robbins, Hart stepped into the spotlight after Robbins missed the entire season with an injury. He punted for an average of 49.98 yards with a long of 65, while totaling 19 punts of at least 50 yards. That earned him the Big Ten Punter of the Year award and a first-team All-Big Ten nod. While the other positions were more unsettled, many contributors stepped up, especially on the return unit. Sophomore safety Brad Hawkins and freshman wide receiver Ronnie Bell both contributed, and Bell ripped off a 53-yard kick return in the Peach Bowl that showcased his future potential as a return man. HIGH POINT: Michigan’s offense had stalled — again. Jake Moody came to bail it out — again. It was late in the fourth

quarter and Indiana — a team that had no business sticking with the Wolverines this long — had just scored a touchdown to cut Michigan’s lead to eight. With the game down to one score, the Wolverines needed a safety net, and when they faced fourth down again, Moody got the call. His 29-yard attempt sailed straight through. The kick was his sixth field goal on the day. Not only was it a program record, it was Moody’s first game placekicking. Previously, Moody had stuck to kickoff duties, but with Michigan’s normal kicker, redshirt sophomore Quinn Nordin, out with an illness, it was Moody’s turn to step up. The Wolverines won the game, 31-20, largely thanks to Moody’s contributions. Moody’s breakout game also provided some muchneeded stability to the kicking corps. Nordin has a strong leg, but was prone to misses from easy distances. Due to his performance against the Hoosiers, Moody started the remaining two games of the season and hit four of his five attempts, including a 48-yarder against Florida in the Peach Bowl. LOW POINT: At halftime against Wisconsin, there was frustration. Michigan had thoroughly outplayed the Badgers to that point, but led by just six. Against a team like Wisconsin, it seemed like the Wolverines’ trouble finishing drives could come back to bite them. The slim lead was partially thanks to one of Nordin’s bad days. After missing a field goal in the first quarter, he missed another just before halftime, squandered a pair of promising drives. Nordin’s misses ultimately didn’t come back to bite Michigan as it pulled away in the second half to win, 38-13, but they showed the potential dangers that could come with

an inconsistent kicker — part of the reason Moody eventually took over the starting role. Against the Hoosiers, the kicking unit bailed out its offense when not much was working. Against the Badgers, the offense was there to bail out its kickers at their low point. THE FUTURE: The Wolverines’ special teams in 2018 were largely populated by fresh faces. Of the main contributors, only Hart was an upperclassman, and he still has one more year of eligibility. That bodes well for the future, as more development from its young players will bolster an already strong unit. That’s particularly true of the returners. Sophomore receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones at punt return and the committee of Thomas, Hawkins and Bell at

kick return certainly f lashed potential. Peoples-Jones scored an electric touchdown against Nebraska, employing his signature spin move to take a punt to the house. Facing an 18-point deficit late in the second quarter against Notre Dame, Thomas scored a kickreturn touchdown to give Michigan hope of a comeback. But with it, its inexperience showed as well. Against Ohio State, Thomas caught a kick that was about to sail over his head and out of bounds, significantly hurting the Wolverines’ field position in a critical moment. Both he and Peoples-Jones occasionally made mental mistakes that spurred questions over whether their roles would be better filled by someone else. The extra year of experience

will help combat those slipups, and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s willingness to try others at punt and kick return will give other speedy young players, like Bell, a chance to emerge. Meanwhile, Peoples-Jones’ spin move and Thomas’ blazing speed give the group large upside despite inconsistency. Should Nordin and Moody both remain with the team, Nordin’s range could complement Moody’s consistency. Moody’s only missed field goal on the year was from 52 yards — a distance Nordin has shown he can hit. Moody will likely handle regular kicking duties in the future, but Nordin could come in to try long attempts and give the Wolverines a higher ceiling. Meanwhile, after cementing

his status as one of the top punters in the nation, Hart has one year left to build on his success. Big Ten games have a reputation for being defensive battles where field position is key. Against Michigan State — a game in which offense was hard to come by — Hart punted eight times for an average of 45.8 yards, including a 65-yarder. Michigan will likely have more such games in the future, and Hart has shown that he can put his team in a good position to win by making opposing offenses work that much harder. Overall, the special teams had unsung success for the Wolverines this season, and the unit’s youth and emergence of new stars bode well for another year of helping Michigan win behind the scenes.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Freshman kicker Jake Moody made four of his five kicks against Florida in the Peach Bowl after taking the kicker’s job from Quinn Nordin during the season.