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Tuesday, March 12, 2019
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Students sell Ben Shapiro tickets for as much as $200 With Tuesday’s high profile speaker event reaching admission capacity, community members resell free tickets on Facebook AMARA SHAIKH Daily News Editor
SARAH KUNKEL/Daily American Culture and Native American Studies Prof. Bethany Hughes discusses the history of redface and how it has affected our cultural climate at the Politics of Blackface Talk in North Quad Monday.
Institute for Humanities hosts conversation on impacts of blackface
Event featured discussion of impact of cultural representation and appropriation LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter
In light of the recent controversy surrounding Virg inia Gov. Ra lph Northa m’s 1984 medica l school yea rbook, in which he a nd a classmate posed in blackface a nd donned a Ku Klux Kla n robe, the Universit y of Michiga n Instit ute for the Huma nities hosted the pa nel discussion titled “The Politics of Blackface Then a nd Now: What ’s in Your Yea rbook?” Monday af ternoon in North Quad Residence Hall.
The event drew a crowd of more tha n 50, though only a ha ndf ul of st udents at tended. The event was pa rt of the High Sta kes Cult ure series hosted by the Instit ute for the Huma nities a nd U-M Huma nities Collaborator y, which brings huma nities professors together for a conversation about releva nt political issues a nd current events. Monday ’s conversation was moderated by A ngela Dilla rd, associate dea n for underg raduate education, focused prima rily on the ra mif ications of blackface
a nd the preva lence of minstrelsy throughout the 19th a nd 20th cent uries. In the ea rly 19th cent ur y, minstrel shows feat uring white actors performing da nces in black ma keup gained popula rit y. Pa nelists a lso discussed redface, or the commercialization of Native A merica n identit y, a nd yellow face, the appropriation of Asia n cult ures. Dilla rd said these conversations about blackface revea l how common expressions of overt racism a re in modern A merica n societ y. “For weeks on end, what was
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Participants discuss sustainability goal to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2025 EMMA STEIN
The University of Michigan President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality hosted its first town hall Monday night to discuss the goals and responsibilities of the commission and to share the collective ideas of community members with the commission. The commission has scheduled another town hall for April 3. The event, which was open to all students, faculty and community members, was at capacity and had a waitlist of approximately 90 people. Despite the initial interest in the forum, the auditorium had about 60 open seats during the actual event. The town hall featured
presentations from co-chairs of the commission Jennifer Haverkamp, director of the Graham Sustainability Institute, and Stephen Forrest, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, as well as an audience Q&A. In an earlier interview with The Daily, University President Mark Schlissel said he hoped the town hall would provide an opportunity for the commission to listen to concerns from Ann Arbor residents and allow community members community members to be more sympathetic toward the efforts of the University in moving toward carbon neutrality. “I’d love to understand which questions are front of mind for students,” Schlissel said. “In the f lipside, I’d love the students to see
the thoughtfulness and seriousness with which the members of the commission are taking this really important task.” Haverkamp began the event by discussing the University’s history of sustainability and its goal to reduce its carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2025. She noted, initially, carbon emissions went down by approximately 20 percent, but after the University expanded, emissions are currently only down 7.5 percent. “It led to 2025 sustainability goals, which Michigan is still operating under and working toward,” Haverkamp said. “And these were goals on landfill waste, food purchases, land-based chemicals, transportation efficiency, campus culture and, the reason we are
here today, greenhouse gases. And the greenhouse gas goal that was established through that process is to, by 2025, reduce scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 25 percent below the levels that we had in 2006.” The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard classifies scope 1 emissions as direct emissions from owned or controlled sources and scope 2 emissions as indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energ y. Forrest added the commission aims to move past these goals. He said the commission welcomes community input. However, Forrest said he wants people to know the commission has no actual power to take action.
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Dascola Barbers celebrates 80th anniversary, continuing 220 years of a family tradition Ann Arbor barbershop cultivates community, local culture next to U-M campus MICHAL RUPRECHT For the Daily
Bob Dascola and his family have been in the barbershop business for 220 years. The family barbershop, Dascola Barbers, will celebrate its 80th anniversary in April. Dascola Barbers is located near Ben & Jerry’s and Potbelly Sandwich Shop at 304 1/2 S. State St. Dascola emphasized the importance of family in his business practice. “This is a family business that we
have,” Dascola said. “It’s not just one person. It’s a whole family, and so this is what we’re celebrating in April. Eighty years of a family business in Ann Arbor.” The shop at South State isn’t the only location the family has owned. There have been a total of five different locations, including the current one. The first shop was opened by Dascola’s father in 1939. Dascola began his career in 1965 after he graduated from Detroit Greene’s Barber College. Dascola said he worked
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in his father’s barbershop throughout his education. “I can tell you growing up in the business really made a big difference in how I viewed things,” Dascola said. “One of the things that we’ve always prided ourselves on was having a family member in each one of our businesses to make sure that the people working there were doing good work, because when your name’s on the front of the building, that is your reputation out there.” Dascola said the world of hair has
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lurking in yea rbooks beca me a nationa l obsession,” Dilla rd said. “One that reminds us of issues a round blackface, race, racism a nd va rious forms of cult ural appropriation a re still alive a nd ver y present in our contempora r y la ndscape.” Ma ny pa nelists noted the tendency to dismiss incidents of blackface, redface a nd yellow face as isolated episodes that ig nore the histor y behind cult ural appropriation.
‘U’ Commission hosts town hall on carbon neutrality Daily Staff Reporter
With free student tickets for the Ben Shapiro event on Tuesday evening selling out in under two minutes on Feb. 18, some students are now selling their reserved seats for as much as $200. The event, which is hosted by the University of Michigan’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, had initially held 617 of the 1060 tickets for University students. YAF Vice Chair Kate Westa, LSA sophomore, explained while YAF does not support ticket reselling — especially at such an expensive price — the organization does not have control of what happens to tickets once they are in students’ possession. “YAF does a really good job of bringing these high profile speakers at such a low cost to us and we want to ensure that it goes for no money to the people who end up securing tickets for the event,” Westa said. “We don’t condone the reselling, especially at such high prices, but once we get rid of those tickets, it’s out of our hands. It’s unfortunate to see this happen because we want everyone to be
able to go, but that’s just the way the market works sometimes.” LSA junior Sohum Mehta wanted to see Shapiro, but was unable to get one of the free tickets. “I’m still looking, but people are charging like $150 for a ticket,” Mehta said. Numerous students are selling the tickets on University Facebook pages. Though students like Mehta were having trouble finding moderately priced tickets, LSA senior Ben Rappaport was able to buy one for $40. Rappaport wanted to attend the event to learn more about Shapiro’s beliefs, which are different from his own. “From what I heard I got it for a steal,” Rappaport wrote in a message to The Daily. “I think it’ll be good for me to hear the views of someone whom I disagree with almost everything on.” LSA junior Amar Srinivasan was one of the students selling his ticket to see Shapiro on the “University of Michigan Class of 2020” page on Facebook. He sold his ticket for $45, but reported that he saw a range of prices from $20 to $60.
changed since he first started in the business. He said his own hairstyle helped him get on the map and gain popularity. “People would walk by and say, ‘Well, look, there’s a guy with a long hair cut. He must know what he’s doing,’ which sure put me on the map and I actually put two places out of business on South U because those guys didn’t have a clue
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ALEC COHEN/Daily University President Mark Schlissel speaks with The Daily about campus issues at the Fleming Building Monday.
Schlissel talks felony disclosure policy, free speech, One University
“We are very much a confederation of three campuses,” the University president said in monthly sitdown with The Michigan Daily AMARA SHAIKH, ALEX HARRING & ATTICUS RAASCH
Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporters Each month, The Michigan Daily sits down with University President Mark Schlissel to discuss events and issues on campus. During this month’s interview, Schlissel touched on topics of One University, the Carbon Neutrality Commission, the felony disclosure policy, free speech and ethical food practices. One University The One University Campaign was created as an effort to equip the University of Michigan’s Flint and Dearborn campuses with more resources. Schlissel said while all three University campuses share the same overarching goals, they are separate campuses under one university umbrella. “We have distinct missions and distinct priorities, and we employ and serve distinct communities of people,” Schlissel said. “We’re very much a confederation of three campuses.” Members of the 1U campaign have said all three campuses operate under
one president and one board of regents. Representatives from the campaign — which is run by a coalition of students and faculty across the three campus — spoke at the most recent University Board of Regents meeting and has garnered the support of the Lecturer Employees’ Organization. Specifically, 1U is asking the University and state of Michigan to dictate more funding to the U-M Dearborn and Flint campuses and claims the University inhibits these campuses through the use of a “silo system” budget model created by University administration. Schlissel said the autonomy of each campus allows the campuses to serve their individual student populations. He noted differences in the socioeconomic and geographic diversity among the three campuses as some factors that would create different student populations and ultimately different uses of funding. “Each campus has the flexibility to serve its student community by making its own choices and priorities and policies,” Schlissel said. “Each of the campuses makes up its own budget based on how to best serve its constituency.”
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SACUA talks tri-campus relations, ‘U’ finances Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs discuesses new survey for community members, processes of appointing administrators, University financial accountability ARJUN THAKKAR For the Daily
The University of Michigan’s Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs met Monday at the Fleming Administration Building to discuss including faculty governance in University decisions and management of University finances. SACUA chair Neil Marsh, professor of chemistry, began the meeting by calling for an approval of the day’s agenda as well as the agenda for the Senate Assembly meeting on March 18. While sharing general announcements, Marsh detailed the meeting that took place over spring break between himself; SACUA Vice Chair Joy Beatty, associate professor of management studies; and University President Mark Schlissel. “We conveyed (SACUA’s) concerns over the non-participation of faculty governance,” Marsh said. “He was receptive to that and said that he would Sudoku Syndication communicate with his executive officers
to emphasize the fact that SACUA faculty government should be consulted more often.” The committee subsequently considered how to modify a survey to be presented to student and faculty. Keith Riles, professor of physics and chair of the Senate Assembly’s Administration Evaluation Committee came to the meeting to head the discussion of how to best design the survey. Riles mentioned how the survey would help monitor faculty perception of administrative functions within the University Library, the Division of Public Safety and Security and Canvas among other components. Some questions centered on changes in the University’s Standard Practice Guide dictating policy, but several others asked about Senate Assembly resolutions that had already passed, which previous surveys usually did not ask about. SACUA member Michael Atzmon, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences, suggested the survey should ask about SPG revisions
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relating to faculty-student relationships. approved for renewal without consulting The new guidelines ban relationships faculty government. MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS between students and faculty. Several “It’s now become such a snowball Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com members of SACUA expressed concern of a problem that we’re actually having Senior Sports Editors: Mark Calcagno, Jake Shames, Matthew Kennedy, Anna Marcus, Paige Voeffray, Avi Sholkoff regarding the new policy. to redo this person’s contract and redo Assistant Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Tien Le, Rian Ratnavale, Bennett Concerns come from SMTD the whole faculty consultation part a Bramson, Theo Mackie, Akul Vijayvargiya professor David Daniels arrest earlier year after,” Lippert said. “We would JACK BRANDON and ARYA NAIDU this year on charges of sexual assault like to see some minimum standards Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com and accusations from a SMTD graduate of faculty consultation, at the very least Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam student for drugging and assaulting him. anonymous consultation of the faculty.” antha Della Fera, Trina Pal Beatty described a meeting she had When Marsh noted how the Ann Arts Beat Editors: Verity Sturm, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan with Sally Churchill, vice president and Arbor campus had an official from secretary of the University, about the University Provost Martin Philbert’s ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com urgency of the survey. office responsible for communicating Senior Design Editor: Willa Hua “Sally Churchill made it extremely with faculty in re-appointing clear, as has President Schlissel and administrators, Lippert replied the ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com Provost Philbert, that the regents Dearborn and Flint campuses should Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Annie Klusendorf wanted (the revisions) in yesterday, and have the same minimum consultation Assistant Photo Editors: Katelyn Mulcahy, Miles Macklin, Emma Richter, Hannah they didn’t particularly care if there was that is present at the Ann Arbor campus. Siegel, Allison Engkvist time for debate, review, faculty input, as The committee subsequently ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA partly because of issues in the medical hosted Kevin Hegarty, the University’s Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com area and SMTD (School of Music, executive vice president and chief Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors Theatre & Dance) when they decided financial officer, to discuss financial MADELINE TURNER and MIRIAM FRANCISCO that this was sort of non-negotiable,” operations at the University. After Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com Beatty said. holding several high-level corporate http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Senior Copy Editors: Sadia Jiban, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer Beatty afterward noted that the positions, Hegarty was hired as the vice
University should have followed “the president and chief financial officer of proper process” by consulting faculty the University of Texas at Austin, his when they made the decision to enact alma mater. He worked there from 2001 the new relationship policy. Atzmon to 2015 until he was hired for his current voiced concerns with the new policy position at the University of Michigan. and its broad definitions of covered and Hegarty described how his prior romantic relationships. experience informed his position in SACUA member Deirdre Spencer, managing financial operations of the librarian for history of art, described University. her conversations with a civil rights “I was adamant when I came to the committee, noting how there was University of Texas — just as when I concern with the broad definitions’ came to the University of Michigan — restrictions on non-academic that I didn’t want to repeat what I saw in communications between faculty and corporate. It’s also one of the reasons that staff. I didn’t want to (go) back to corporate,” “You can’t even say, ‘Go Blue,’” Hegarty said. “That was a culture that Spencer said. was really driven from the top down,” he Riles noted how the Dearborn said. “CEO says do it, so you do it, and you campus was also working on a faculty just get it done … I wanted to come here survey that would differ from the and connect people to a mission, to what survey for the Ann Arbor and Flint this place really is all about.” campuses. As this is the first year After opening up for questions, Dearborn is using a faculty survey, Lippert and Beatty requested greater the campus will provide their own accountability on management of questions for the survey. finances, especially for Flint and After discussing changes to the Dearborn campuses. There was also survey, SACUA member Sarah Lippert, a focus on getting faculty government associate professor of art history, more involved in financial operations. presented the Tri-Campus Committee resolution on the process of renewing © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com administrators. She noted that one of Read more at the Tri-Campus Committee members MichiganDaily.com had a dean on their campus who was Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
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SCHLISSEL From Page 1 He also said each campus gets individual funding from the state of Michigan and sets its own tuition rates. He said the U-M Flint and Dearborn campuses’ tuition are around 80 percent of the cost of tuition for the Ann Arbor campus. Schlissel said there are different communities on each campus, and this is reflected in the faculty on the three campuses. He said Ann Arbor is part of a global market, while U-M Flint and Dearborn are focused on hands-on education for students from the areas they are located in. “It wouldn’t really be either right or good for Flint or Dearborn for me to sit here in Ann Arbor and tell them how they should spend their money and who they should be serving,” Schlissel said. “I don’t think if we had three Ann Arbors, one of which was in Flint and one of which was in Dearborn, we wouldn’t be serving the people of the state the same way or as well, as if we have one global research university and two regional campuses that are much more local in their focus.” He said he oversees the chancellors at U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn, but the campuses are ultimately different with only partially overlapping populations. Schlissel noted the University’s Ann Arbor campus is the most selective university campus in the state and the Flint and Dearborn campuses are accessible to a broad range of students within their communities. Part of this, he said, is because the Ann Arbor campus is noticeably comprised of students who come from wealthier backgrounds, while the Dearborn and Flint campuses better reflect the diversity of the state in the student populations on those campuses. He said this was one reason for the creation of the Go Blue Guarantee on the University’s Ann Arbor campus. “The demographics of the campuses are different, so they really are three very distinguishable campuses,” Schlissel said. “The socioeconomic diversity of Flint and Dearborn much more closely mirror the diversity of our state, whereas Ann Arbor is skewed much more to students from wealthier background. The reason we’ve begun the Go Blue Guarantee here is to try to improve the socioeconomic diversity of students here on this campus.” 1U listed the Go Blue Guarantee’s nonexistence at U-M Dearborn and Flint as one main campaign issues, though 42 percent of U-M Dearborn students and 39 percent of U-M Flint students are eligible for the Pell Grant,
TOWN HALL From Page 1 “There will be plenty of opportunity for the public and community to comment suggestions and priorities and so on, but you have to keep in mind that this is an advisory panel only,” Forrest said. “We make recommendations, we are not the ones who make the decisions, that is the sole purview of the Board of Regents, the president and the executive officers.” An audience member asked
APPROPRIATION From Page 1 Stephen Berrey, associate professor of American culture, said blackface appearing in yearbooks is a prime example of how this form of racism was considered “safe” or acceptable in many communities, including Northam’s medical school, relatively recently. “There’s a reason why this 1984 yearbook pops out there and then kind of disappears for however many years it’s been,” Berrey said. “It’s because, at the time, it was not a big deal in that community for these white people. And that’s important to note — if it’s in the yearbook, it means that it was safe for those white people. Which means, of course, that blackface was safe and normal all over the country well into the 1970s.” Berrey explained a blackface photograph in a yearbook does not only represent the beliefs of one or two students, but instead reflects the culture of an entire community. “If we look at that yearbook, we may think that’s Ralph Northam or maybe somebody else,” Berrey said. “It’s those two students, but it’s more than that. It’s the layout person, it’s the editor, it’s the staff, it’s the faculty, it’s the administrator, if it’s a high school it’s the school board, it’s the community. There’s a complicity. The reason why we don’t know about all of these axes is that nobody cared about them at the
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 — 3
a federal grant awarded to highachieving students with financial need. Schlissel said financial aid is a priority of all three campuses and a higher percentage of students receive financial aid at U-M Flint or Dearborn compared to students at the University’s Ann Arbor campus. Schlissel also addressed 1U’s complaints over the University’s Flint and Dearborn campuses not receiving any of the $85 million earmarked for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion over five years nor any of the $1 billion in funding for student support from the Victors for Michigan campaign. He said the three campuses have separate fundraising and budgets for these University services and act differently within the contexts of the campus. According to Schlissel, leaders from each campus have the opportunity to lobby independently for more resources to be allocated to their respective campuses and plans to continue to work with those leaders to increase funding allocations for all three campuses. Additionally, he said he would like the state to increase directto-student financial aid, meaning a student can receive a need-based scholarship directly from the state that can be taken to whichever university the student chooses to attend. “We’re lobbying together to try to grow the pot for each campus, keeping in mind each campus serves different communities and has different resources come to it,” Schlissel said. “I’m committed to working with Flint and Dearborn to grow their state allocation at the same time we work to grow the state allocation for Ann Arbor.” Carbon Commission Schlissel then addressed questions concerning student, faculty and corporate involvement in his new Commission on Carbon Neutrality. At the beginning of February, Schlissel officially announced the charge and members of his new Commission on Carbon Neutrality. The commission will define a goal and clarify the parameters for the University to achieve carbon neutrality, looking to achieve and surpass the University’s 2011 goal of a 25 percent carbon emission reduction from the 2006 standard by 2025. Noting the presence and direct involvement of students on the commission, Schlissel said the shared motivation between students and other commission members will be beneficial for the productivity of the board. “We share the same goal,” Schlissel said. “The goal is to figure out as quickly as possible how to put us on a pathway to becoming carbon neutral in
a way that’s sustainable, that allows us to continue our mission and continue to be an attractive place to come and study and to learn and to do research, and to do it in a way that serves as an example and in collaboration with the city around us, the county, the state, and to do it as a permanent rather than a short term fix.” The committee, composed of University students and faculty members, also includes two members from major energy corporations. According to Schlissel, the members were meticulously chosen for their input. “I quite purposefully asked those two major energy companies to suggest someone they thought would be helpful, and the reason why is they provide the overwhelming amount of energy throughout our state and region and to say we don’t want to hear their thoughts and learn their plans because of their emissions of greenhouse gas,” Schlissel said. “They’re not going away, they are the major suppliers of electricity for the University, the city of Ann Arbor, et cetera, so ignoring them because of past behavior, I don’t think that serves any purpose.” Schlissel also noted that the two corporations, DTE and Consumers Energy, have personal incentive to improve their sustainability practices. “Each of those companies recognizes that they are as adversely affected by global climate change as the University is,” Schlissel said. “Their business may go out of business because of it and they’re incentivized how they are going to shift from non-renewables and high carbon to low carbon sources of energy. One of them, DTE, their CEO told me our trajectory to get to 80 percent carbon free in their renewables in their portfolio over the coming decade so I would like to understand how they’re going to do this at the scale of the state of Michigan in a place where it gets to be minus 30-degree wind chill factors in the winter, so I wanted their expertise. He also noted that because the individuals from the energy industry only make up a small portion of commission, he is not too concerned about their opinions being too domineering. “The two industry folks are two members of a 16-person commission advisory so I’m not incredibly worried about the thoughtful students and the faculty and the campus leaders being overwhelmed by two people of industry.” According to Schlissel, the commission’s first town hall will be a good opportunity for pressing student issues and concerns to be recognized.
“I’d love to understand which questions are front-of-mind for students,” Schlissel said. “In the flipside, I’d love the students to see the thoughtfulness and seriousness with which the members of the commission are taking this really important task.” Felony Self-Disclosure The University has implemented a new policy this February requiring members of the community to disclose all charges and convictions of felonies within a week of the charge or conviction. The policy applies to all faculty and staff, including student employees, volunteers and visiting scholars. According to the policy, those who do not disclose felonies will potentially face serious consequences, possibly including dismissal. While University officials have said the policy was intended to ensure campus safety, some have raised concerns with the policy. Those against the policy say it infringes on rights, unfairly targets minorities, adds to invasive hiring procedures and lacked community input. According to Schlissel, the creation of the policy is motivated by student and faculty safety, however there is a challenge to ensure the process is conducted in a fair way. “The core of the policy change is to make sure we can provide a safe environment on our campus, in our health system, in all the different things we do as possible,” Schlissel said. “I think the advocates are very correct to be concerned about the disproportionate impact of the legal system on different subpopulations in our country. I think the evidence that that happens is incredibly strong. What we have to balance is being fair to every individual employee or applicant one person at a time, with the responsibility to keeping our community safe.” Though he agreed it is a challenge to maintain fairness in the process, Schlissel said disclosing felony charges or convictions is important to ensure specific people are not a risk to certain positions on campus. “Let’s say we have somebody working in the Treasurer’s Office of the University that had been convicted or charged elsewhere with embezzlement, with stealing money, and they do the same thing here and we never asked (about the charge or conviction),” Schlissel said. “It’s not an unreasonable thing for an employer to know whether a particular job a person is doing poses a particular risk based on them having been charged or convicted of a serious crime — not a trivial crime, but a serious crime. The challenge, in a way, is how to do that in a way that isn’t unfair to people.”
While the policy requires all faculty to report these felony charges or convictions, Schlissel said the findings are not always applicable, depending on the job the individual has. “Just because you’ve been convicted of a serious crime doesn’t mean you should never work — you have to be able to support yourself,” Schlissel said. “So the idea is to do this as a confidential process where the leadership and our campus-wide human resources group looks at these self-reports and says, ‘Well, this person was arrested or convicted or a crime that has nothing to do with their job, they’re not a risk, we’re going to keep that information confidential, the supervisors are not going to know about it,’ and that person will go about their business.” Schlissel also stressed the importance of keeping track of the demographics of those impacted by the policy. “It’s a balancing act,” Schlissel said. “What we’re going to have to do prospectively is look at how the demographics works out in this program. If we were to get 100 reports a year out of our 40,000 employees of someone being convicted of a felony, we want to make sure the peoples whose jobs are being moved or changed or lost aren’t disproportionately in one identifiable group or another.” Free Speech Schlissel then moved on to discuss free speech and the upcoming visit from conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro. This is not the first time the University has dealt with issues regarding the First Amendment, as seen with last year’s potential visit from Richard Spencer and a lawsuit from Speech First. Shapiro’s visit, which will occur on Tuesday evening, will be hosted by the University’s chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom. While Shapiro has been accused of using transphobic, homophobic and anti-choice rhetoric, free tickets reserved for students sold out in less than two minutes of being released. Schlissel explained it was important for the University to allow student groups to invite the speakers they want on campus, even if the individual may have offensive rhetoric. “To be a University we have to be open to ideas, even ones that many of us may find offensive,” Schlissel said. “I don’t have to go listen to the talk, but similarly we can’t set up a way to tell a student group who they’re allowed to or who they’re not allowed to invite. Once you give away that right, someone will decide they don’t want to hear about your issue because it’s too difficult.” He also explained the University
remains neutral with issues regarding free speech because deciding what qualifies as “offensive” can be challenging. “Who would you trust to make the call about what’s offensive?” Schlissel said. “No one has figured out how to do that. So, you really have to be contentneutral. Just because someone speaks here at the University, in no way means the University as an entity is endorsing what they have to say.” However, more than issues of the First Amendment, Schlissel emphasized his responsibility is to protect students’ rights to choose whom to listen to and whom to invite on campus. “Some people say we’re protecting the First Amendment,” Schlissel said. “The First Amendment, I’m not responsible for that. I’m responsible for you. So what I’m really protecting is your right to decide who you’d like to invite and come give a talk, or your choice about who you want to listen to. Who you shouldn’t be allowed to listen to, I think we should be cautious about that.” Ethical Food Practices Lastly, Schlissel discussed ethical food practices on campus, which comes after public comments from the last Board of Regents meeting, as well as conversation in Central Student Government and Ann Arbor City Council, about the presence of fast food chain Wendy’s at the University. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, student organizers and community members were concerned about the chain’s presence on campus because of its refusal to join the Fair Food Program. While Schlissel noted that Wendy’s decided not to pursue a request to come back to the Michigan Union when it reopens, he acknowledged the importance of discussions regarding ethical food practices on campus. He explained how, a few years back, the University made an effort to look at where athletic apparel — anything with a Block ‘M’ — came from, and considered the possibility of a similar process for food on campus. “Students have proposed that we consider a similar approach to the sourcing of other things the University buys, and that’s a reason issue to look at and explore, and the same committee (President’s Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights) has been tasked at looking at this issue … and to do an analysis,” Schlissel said.
how residents can ensure the commission’s work will not be guided by interests of corporations. Haverkamp said the commission needs to take in the perspective of different stakeholders in order to have accurate representation. Forrest said because the commission does not make decisions, corporate interests are not as relevant. “There is not a lot of self-interest here,” Forrest said. “This is a volunteer board. Again, we do not make the decision. So it separates the money interest from the decision
making conference. Our job is really to distill data and to do the best we can to recommend the best path forward.” Another audience member asked how the commission is going to foster long-term solutions and keep the community updated on any progress made. Haverkamp said the commission will produce interim reports along the way that will be made public, and the committee is always open to suggestions from residents. Forrest said open communication between the commission and the
community is integral to reducing carbon emissions. “So much of the commission’s work will be communication,” Forrest said. “If we can’t engage the entire University community, that is a sign that people just don’t care. But that’s not something I believe, I think people care.” Rackham student Aaron Gladstein said he attended the event to have an accurate understanding of how the University is working to reduce its carbon footprint. He was pleased with the receptiveness of the commission.
“I like how open the commission currently is,” Gladstein said. “I thought I was coming into something, like a premade game plan, and instead this is more they are ready to listen.” LSA freshman Lena Swirczek is the co-president of the University’s chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She said she also appreciated how open the commission was to audience suggestions and how dedicated they seemed to the cause. However, she discussed how she is worried the Board of Regents will not put as much effort into reducing
the University’s carbon emissions. “I’m more confident now that the commission is actively working towards making recommendations and solutions,” Swirczek said. “My one concern is how regents are going to handle that. My biggest takeaway is that they’re going to do their best to do their research and put in the time and the effort and consult with who they need to consult so that we can move forward on this issue, but I’m just concerned that the regents will not act with the same urgency and expertise.”
time who was in these communities. There’s a complicity that is perfectly okay.” Similarly, Bethany Hughes, assistant professor of American culture and Native American Studies, said appropriation of Native American culture did not arise from offensive Halloween costumes or school mascots, but actually began as early as the Boston Tea Party in 1773. Hughes said the Americans’ choice to dress in what they believed was Native American clothing reflects the deeper history of cultural exploitation. “It was not necessarily to disguise their identity, maybe a little bit, but it was a way of taking on a persona and in some sense claiming indigeneity to America, that we are made here, and also claiming this sort of warrior, aggressive action,” Hughes said. “The history of redface doesn’t start in popular culture entertainment — it actually starts in civic and political protest as far as an American identity around redface. There is a longer history of redface in imported European entertainment and theater.” Hughes noted how the popularity of redface in contemporary American culture disregards and undermines the differences between Native American communities. “There’s this embodied knowledge of what it means to see and recognize an Indian, that then is imported directly into film and television,” Hughes said. “The markers that are identifiably Sioux … that are Oglala, that are
Lakota, all of those get imported into a generic Indian identity that then get picked up and can be utilized in film and television.” LSA freshman Caroline Reed attended the panel and said the discussion made her think more deeply about a blackface incident she experienced. “I was at a relative’s house helping them clean out some stuff and came across a photo of them in blackface, and I got nervous so I put it back in the box and didn’t say anything about it,” Reed said. “I didn’t acknowledge that I even found it, I just kind of went about my life. Obviously it’s a generational difference, but as an 18-year-old, I felt really angry at why they would even do that. I was just wondering how to address it and learn from that negative problem.” Reed said the panelists’ presentations on redface and yellowface allowed her to understand that cultural appropriation is an issue that affects many different communities in equally devastating ways. “I hear about blackface a lot, but I never really thought about the implications of redface and yellowface and how that affects other races,” Reed said. “I think that stood out to me a lot, that it’s not limited to one stereotype and extends to all kinds of different people.”
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BARBERSHOP From Page 1 about cutting long hair,” Dascola said. For more than 50 years, Dascola has continued the family tradition. But he said it may end soon. “There isn’t anybody coming behind me at this point in time,” he said. “My granddaughter was talking about becoming a hair person, but she’s still in high school, so it’s hard to say what’s going to happen at this point … you can’t make your children or grandchildren do stuff they don’t want to do and if she decides not to do that, that’s okay. That’s her choice.” Though none of his children aspire to become barbers, he said they help out at the shop in different ways. His youngest daughter used to clean his shop as a child, his oldest daughter helps out financially and his son has built him his website. Dascola said he’s proud of his kids because they find different ways to help him out. Dascola said he has had to hire outside people to help out in the shop. He added it isn’t easy to find qualified people. “Everybody has their own talents and finding people that are good with people and their skills with doing the haircutting is not the easiest thing in the world,” Dascola said. “It takes a combination of things: You have to have the right personality for this type of job … and you have to shave skills to be able to accomplish good
hair cutting because if you can’t do the good haircutting, there’s no point in doing a good haircutting at all.” Dascola is proud of his shop’s location in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan campus. “At one point in time, when we were getting close to closing the original store, somebody tried to get me to move off of the campus, and I wouldn’t leave and I said, ‘I’m not leaving downtown,’” Dascola said. “I was born and raised downtown and I’m going to continue my whole career downtown. And the reason is, I love being around the University because I need the cultural and intellectual experience from my professor friends who love to teach outside the classroom. For the last 50 years, I’ve gotten a pretty good education.” Dascola said his business has an impact on community and culture, which he said differentiates his business from others in Ann Arbor. “I would say that when people come to my place, it’s more of a cultural and intellectual experience as opposed to the sports scene and all that business,” Dascola said. “I mean, I’m okay with football and stuff. I’m a really big hockey fan, but I don’t bring sports to my business. I bring cultural and intellectual things because I’m pursuing knowledge and I want to learn as many things as I can from people because we’re always teaching each other things.” One of Dascola’s long-time
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customers and University alum Chris Kushmaul said he’s built a strong relationship with Dascola since 1993 when he first began going to his shop. “He’s far more than just a barber,” Kushmaul said. “I mean, he’s literally become a friend. He’s like a father to me. And it’s one barber visit at a time. We’ve just built a relationship.” When customers sit down to get a haircut, they face a mirror filled with pictures of his clients. Some pictures showcase customers from birth to old age. “I call it my happy mirror,” Dascola said. “Every day when I walk in there, and I turn the light on the back counter and I hang up my fanny pack, the first thing I see is all those smiling faces looking at me and so it’s like welcoming me back to work.” LSA junior Eric Donarski said he is very excited for the shop’s 80th anniversary and added he feels at home whenever he gets a haircut there. “Not only is he excellent at cutting hair, but Bob has a breadth of knowledge to keep anybody entertained and barely focused on their haircut,” Donarski wrote in an email interview. “Dascola Barbers has become a place that feels like home to me and I’m sure it will for anybody who schedules an appointment.”
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Opinion
4 — Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ANIK JOSHI | COLUMN
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AMBIKA SINHA | COLUMN
T
The Democrat’s dilemma
he division of the Democratic Party is inevitable given the rhetoric Democratic colleag ues use when they exchange words with each other. Whether it be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein arg uing U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal as insignificant or the disorganization behind what substantive health care reform looks like, there seems to be a lack of consensus on issues of great importance to the country. The new progressive wing of the Democratic Party that has foisted individuals such as Ocasio-Cortez into the forefront of national politics is actually hurting the Democratic Party more than it is helping it. While I would personally like to see basic legislation on climate change passed in response to our decaying planet, is the fact that there is any opposition at all within the party reason enough to stop fighting for the cause? Democrats face somewhat of an impossible dilemma: act in self-interest to keep personal popularity within the media and pursue policy that fragments the party, or act only in the interest of unif ying the party under one ideolog y. Today, it is clear that the more popular choice is the former. Nothing is sexy about following the rules. People want to see a trailblazer come in with new ideas that make change seem palpable. However, in 2019, this might come at too great a cost. In the wake of the Trump presidency, the Republican Party appears clearly split between nationalistic and institutional wings. With the 2020 election approaching, Democrats can take advantage of this split in places like Michigan to win the White House. Let’s explore how party fragmentation has manifested within matters of policy by looking at how climate change has been dealt with. While most Democrats are in favor of passing legislation to combat climate change, the Senate Democratic caucus is still not on board with the Green New Deal due to its progressive nature. The result is inconsistent policy within the party. In the house, Pelosi has proposed creating a Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. However, the committee won’t have the ability to send legislation to the House for a vote, not create it or even subpoena for hearings. While U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fl. and chair of the committee, has promised the committee
recognizes the “urgency to reduce carbon pollution,” several members, including Castor herself, have accepted altogether hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from fossil fuel companies. This select committee was created in “spirit” of the Green New Deal, but its lack of substantive power delineates from this purpose. This is further seen as U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-NJ and chair of the House Committee on Energ y and Commerce, has
People want to see a trailblazer come in with new ideas that make change seem palpable stated that policies narrowly tailored to immediate action are required, contrar y to the broad-stroked 10-year policy plans of the Green New Deal. The list of contradictions goes on. While Pallone will take one direction within his committee, Ocasio-Cortez will take another as she ser ves on the subcommittee on the Environment within the Committee of Oversight and Reform. The inconsistent policy stance is bound to create contradicting policies, or no substantive policies that address the issue at all. Prog ressives must ask themselves, if the general theme of their preferred policies are embedded within the part y, is it worth it to constantly be spearheading a more specif ic version of their plan? Inconsistent policies are evidence of fraction within the part y that will leave it v ulnerable to struggling in elections in the f uture. Modern day factionalism apparent in these issues is no longer conducive to the civic politic. Moreover, it is counterproductive to what the framers of the Constitution intended. In “Federalist 10,” James Madison wrote about the later coined theor y of the “t yranny of the majorit y” — an idea that warned that one faction would dominate the political process by overpowering all other minorit y factions. Today, I would arg ue that we must worr y about the “t yranny of the obstinate” — a notion that I ascribe to immutable political players who are able to manipulate and halt the entire democratic process. The best example
of this t yranny coming into play comes from Ralph Nader’s spoiler effect in the 2000 election. Yes, I know Nader isn’t even a Democrat. However, when it came down to it, who do you think would better represent the Green Part y’s interests? I see Al Gore in his blazer and button-up on a different ad for some climate change documentar y ever y other day. The answer is glaring. In the era of the 24-hour news cycle, the prog ressive faction has been able to pursue the opportunities that the media has presented to make viewers more extreme. The current process of the prog ressive wing however is obstinate because its interest is not centered around compromise. It has used a “my way or the highway” approach that is made possible by the extreme nature of media. It has become easy to rile people up about an issue. This division of the Democratic Part y may just cost it the election in 2020. I know it is naive to say that ever y political faction should just work into the existing coalition of the t wo-part y system cemented into American politics, but in 2019, the stakes are simply higher. My view is that prog ressives should compromise now, so that key aspects of their desired change can happen later. Our pluralist government is desig ned so that this can happen. Research has shown that among individuals who voted for Obama in 2012 as well as a thirdpart y candidate in 2016, Democratic identif ication has decreased by 35 percent. The effects of a splitting Democratic Part y could ver y well inf luence the Republican Part y’s success. Think about it this way — as the part y swings f urther to the lef t, the policies that prog ressives are proposing will eventually make it to the forefront. While I myself have views that are in line with the prog ressive faction of the part y, I believe that since Trump-era policies are so far removed from any liberal resolve, factions from the Democratic Part y must unite to secure a victor y for the preser vation of any sort of liberal agenda. Though the direness of the issues prog ressives have taken on continues to persist, the alternative is simply too g rave to imag ine. The only thing lef t to do is compromise. Ambika Sinha can be reached at ambikavs@umich.edu.
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R
Israel, the NRA and the danger of partisanship
ight now, many Republicans reflexively oppose any Democratic proposal or idea and the inverse is true as well. This is because of something called “negative partisanship.” Politico Magazine defines this as when “the parties hang together mainly out of sheer hatred of the other team, rather than a shared sense of purpose.” Through this lens, a lot of things make more sense; I’d like to use it to look at an example of negative partisanship through the National Rifle Association and how a similar phenomenon is possible with Israel. Today, the NR A is overwhelmingly associated with the Republican Party. Whether it be with immigration, President Donald Trump or many other issues, the NR A is more tied to the right than ever. In fact, the current president of the NR A is a former Reagan administration official who ran for Senate as a Republican in 1994. Moreover, most of the money the NR A spends is on Republicans and most of the candidates it endorses are Republicans. In fact, in 2016, the NR A spent 99 percent of its campaign contributions on Republicans. The strong ties to the right have seemingly paid off — it has a direct line to the president it helped put in office. However, it is worth noting that this has come at a substantial cost. In 1992 — just 26 years ago — Democrats got 37 percent of NR A funds. The NR A used to also endorse (and fund) a lot more liberal Democrats. Once upon a time, Michigan’s foremost leading light of liberalism, John Dingell, reg ularly got an A+ rating from the NR A. Today, the best-known progressives abhor the NR A and presidential candidates who used to be cozy with it have all but declared war on it. Former President Barack
Obama was no dear friend of the NR A, but he was certainly not as much of an enemy as today’s Democratic presidential candidates are. Similarly, today more than ever before, support of Israel has become a partisan issue. Traditionally, Israel enjoyed strong cross-party, cross-ideolog y support — but that has started to change. Per the Pew Research Center, “79% of Republicans say they sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians, compared with just 27% of Democrats.” Further in the poll it says that “(n)early three times as many Republicans (52%) as Democrats (18%) have favorable impressions of Israel’s leader (Benjamin Netanyahu).” This divide is bigger than it has been in years and part of the reason might stem from the strong embrace of Trump by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has welcomed Trump in a public way, going so far as to include Trump on billboards in his re-election campaign, and Trump has more than returned the embrace — one demonstration of this was moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Before this, Netanyahu had worked to streng then his ties to conservatives. At the invitation of then House Speaker John Boehner, he spoke against the Iran nuclear deal to a joint session of Congress. Netanyahu also appointed Ron Dermer, a former assistant to Republican pollster Frank Luntz, as his ambassador to the United States. Doing all of this has massively streng thened ties with the right — but this lunch wasn’t free. This is similar to the NR A because in both cases, the group chose to move right and when the NR A did so, it had a cost. It no longer had Democratic supporters in the halls of Congress and, consequently,
their favored policy positions no longer had Democratic votes. As of now, the NR A and the Democrats may as well be the Hatfields and McCoys. More of this has to do with negative partisanship more than anything else — the NR A became Republicans, Democrats don’t like Republicans, ipso facto Democrats don’t like the NR A. If Netanyahu continues his personal rightward drift, there is no reason that this could not happen for Israel as well. Already, record numbers of liberals sympathize with the Palestinians over Israel and I believe that the more support for Netanyahu is viewed as a proxy for support for Trump, the less support for both Netanyahu and Israel there will be. The NRA’s actions over the past 30 years are a good guide of how to make half the country ref lexively disagree with you because of association with other principles over which there is disagreement. If the NRA stayed about guns and never fought the culture war, they would still enjoy the broad support they once did. However, they made a choice to embrace the right. Similarly, Netanyahu going out of his way to embrace Trump (and arguably equate support for Trump with support for Israel) will lead to Israel’s favorability falling further on the left thanks to negative partisanship. This happening would be a tragedy. We depend on the Israelis and they depend on us — they have been an important ally and friend since their founding, and they will hopefully remain one in the future. However, this is not possible if Israel becomes associated with the right instead of with American national interests.
Anik Joshi can be reached at anikj@ umich.edu.
ADITHYA SANJAY | COLUMN
Are brick-and-mortar stores really just a thing of the past?
T
he year 2018 was arguably of 4,000 new store openings. one of the strongest Nevertheless, Statista reports for e-commerce, with that there was a net decrease “sales in the first of 400 department quarter (soaring) 16.4 stores during that percent from a year same year. ago to a new record These of $123.7 billion,” as contradictory trends reported by the United are indicative of some States Department underlying truths. It of Commerce. While seems fairly evident some of the more that traditional retail “online-averse” retail is fairly outdated. stores such as gas and brands that ADITHYA Iconic car dealerships seem have relied on a SANJAY protected from this conservative strategy digital threat, the rest seem to be were attacked head-on by the in full combat with e-commerce. e-commerce upstarts and have And evidently, they’re losing. The lost too much blood in the ensuing threat of imminent bankruptcy onslaught. At the same time, other facing stores such as Sears and more adaptive retail giants have JCPenney are perhaps telling of a recognized this change in trends new era in American commerce. and have slowly transformed With an impending store the industry to a point where bankruptcy doomsday expected technology meets the personal by most all of Wall Street, we touch of a salesperson. must wonder whether brick-andPart of this is due to the mortar retail has truly reached fact that some retail sectors are its end. simply refusing to be taken over The truth is quite a conflicting by e-commerce. As previously one. While traditionally brick- mentioned, commodities such and-mortar retail companies as gas and groceries have fought have begun to set aside more back fairly strongly, as customers investments for their online stores, have reiterated the need for the exact opposite is happening person-to-person interaction among the e-commerce giants. with such items. Rather, the Amazon’s decision to invest in strongest players in the market Whole Foods was especially have shown the ability to adapt indicative of this. Even against the to these changes by providing growth of online grocery in big- strong, interactive online name brands such as Kroger and platforms that offer a level of Walmart, Amazon seems bent physical and digital connectivity on the future prospects of estate- that was otherwise absent from based grocery, poising itself to the industry a decade ago. open its own grocery stores (aside And this might just be the from its ownership of Whole golden approach to this problem. Foods) around the U.S. It doesn’t The reinforcement of the personal end there. The e-commerce giant customer experience is the key has plans to expand its retail to winning the retail game. As bookstore, as well as its new we see continued strides in the 4-Star Store. technology behind artificial And they might be onto intelligence, it becomes more and something. Seemingly countering more important to value “soft the trend toward e-commerce, skills” over more technical skills. it turns out that brick-and- While some stores will still try mortar still make up 90 percent to fully depend on e-commerce, of all retail sales. In fact, in 2017, we are seeing that in many cases, America’s more successful retail people still enjoy the social brands reported a net increase experience of going out to the
mall and other physical stores. What’s perhaps more interesting is the fact that 70 percent of shoppers want malls to combine the shopping experience with entertainment activities. Malls are actively transforming to emphasize community gathering places, event spaces and galleries over the traditional department stores and food courts. That said, what about more traditional retail stores such as Walmart and Target? These “hypermarkets” have little semblance to scaled malls, making it difficult to create “social gathering” places. That’s not to say that these stores don’t have a future, however. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon notes that the key to making chore-like activities like grocery shopping more attractive lies in integration of artificial intelligence with stores and e-commerce to most efficiently elevate customer experiences. Systems likes in-store pickup offer cheaper and, in some cases, more accessible options for purchasing items, and the experience stands to be strengthened by upcoming technologies such as smart shopping carts and in-store drone assistance. Also somewhat interesting is the idea of the cashless store, pioneered by Amazon, that allows for customers to buy products online at a brickand-mortar shop. While this idea has faced some resistance by lawmakers, it’s indicative of the future trends that are overtaking retail. Ultimately, in this case, we must not fall into the trap of believing the brick and mortar naysayers. We are on the brink of a major transformation in the retail scene that will inevitably change the face of the consumer shopping experience. So buckle up and get ready — physical retail is here to stay.
Adithya Sanjay can be reached at asanjay@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 — 5
MUSIC REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
DEF JAM
2 Chainz is versatile and scattered on new album DYLAN YONO Daily Arts Writer
I remember watching an MTV special on 2 Chainz around 2012, where I was surprised to learn the dope-slinging trap rapper graduated high school as the salutatorian and landed a scholarship to play basketball. And yet, in the end he chose hip hop, recording hits like “I’m Different” and “Birthday Song” and becoming one of the most desired features in the industry ($100K for a verse). All those past collaborations would come back around for this album with a superstar list of guests: Marsha Ambrosius, Young Thug, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Ariana Grande, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Wayne, E-40, Chance the Rapper and Kodak Black. The title Rap or Go to the League is both a nod to 2 Chainz’s own past choice and a reference to the widely-held belief of young people trapped in the hood — the only way out is to rap or go to “the league.” Right from the beginning, 2 Chainz makes it clear that this is not a trap album. On the soulful “Forgiven,” he laments the dangerous decisions he made as a kid and mourns the loss of his friends’ children who died too young. However, the introspective tone of the album is quick to fall apart. By the time “Whip” starts playing, the personal, from-the-soul theme is out the window, both sonically and lyrically.
2 Chainz attempts to occupy just about every lane of hip hop at once on this record: a west-coast style DJ Mustard track (“2 Dollar Bill”), a modern Southern sound on his collaborations with Young Thug and Travis Scott (“High Top Versace” and “Whip”), and even a borderline pop-rap record with Ariana Grande (“Rule the World”). Quite frankly, this album is all over the place. That’s not to say 2 Chainz has never dabbled in most of these subgenres before, but one sound that was completely new was the MF Doom-esque song “Threat 2 Society.” Packed with complex rhymes over a soul
heat that it almost saves the song. Chance the Rapper’s gives a mellow-cool verse on “I’m Not Crazy, Life Is” that almost offsets the disappointing Kodak Black verse on the same track. But no artist came through harder than Kendrick Lamar did on “Momma I Hit a Lick,” a unique and ominous Pharrellproduced track. A collaboration in the truest sense of the word, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar seamlessly share the hook and bleed into each other’s verses. For each high point, however, there is a low. The only time 2 Chainz tries to address the idea that there are more paths out of the hood than rap and basketball is on the outro to “NCAA” — otherwise, nothing ties this record together outside the first few songs. “High Top Versace” and “Whip” are decent, but sound like Young Thug and Travis Scott b-sides. The last track, “Sam,” could have been cut and the album would’ve been better off for it. Rap or Go to the League is paradoxical, an unremarkable album filled with super high peaks. 2 Chainz flexes a near unmatchable level of versatility, but lacks any consistency in sound or message. The record itself may not be worth listening to again in a few months time, but tracks like “Threat 2 Society” or “Momma I Hit a Lick” will make permanent homes in Spotify listeners’ playlists.
Rap or Go to the League 2 Chainz Def Jam Recordings
sample-based beat, 2 Chainz proves he can go toe-to-toe with lyrically-gifted artists like Earl Sweatshirt. Based on this song, a Madlib-produced 2 Chainz album (in the vein of Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Piñata) might be a match made in heaven. Despite all the bigname features on this album, “Threat 2 Society,” a solo track, might be one of the best songs. Don’t get it twisted — just about all the collaborators came through on this album despite its weak points. “2 Dollar Bill” has an annoying hook, but Lil Wayne and E-40 bring so much
A24
‘Climax’ exploits sound and sight with panache ELISE GODFRYD Daily Arts Writer
“Climax,” Gasper Noé’s latest film venture, is designed to push its audience over the edge. Everything about it, from the plot to the music to the cinematography, is beyond disturbing. And I absolutely loved it. The film tells the supposedly true story of a group of dancers in ’90s France that undergoes a night of sex, violence and chaos as a result of drinking LSD-laced sangria. Because the perpetrator of this drugging isn’t revealed until the final shot of the film, the audience is just as lost and confused as the dancers are. While the premise of “Climax” alone has the potential to be presented in an absurdist or even comedic light, Noé takes the exact opposite route. He makes it dark, repulsive and deeply depressing. “Climax” is one of the most immersive movie experiences I’ve ever had, mainly due to Noé’s masterful command of the technical aspects of filmmaking. As the night progresses and the drugs begin to take effect, the camerawork
faces a gradual decline in clarity and precision. As the dancers become sloppy in their judgement and cognition, the camera becomes sloppy as well, shaking and going in and out of focus at random moments. While we as an audience are never able to fully grasp what the dancers are experiencing, the movements of the camera do an excellent job of mimicking it. The sounds in the movie also function
Climax State Theatre A24
to immerse viewers in the world of “Climax.” At certain points in the film, the bass of the music was so loud that I could feel my heart adjusting to pump along with it. Just as the dancers lost control of their bodies, I felt I was losing control over mine, albeit in an admittedly much less severe manner.
The film continues to disturb its viewers through its plot on a deep, psychological level. “Climax” purposely seeks to confront and exploit our most innately human repulsions and fears. The film tackles topics like incest and self-harm, and even threatens the lives of a child and a pregnant woman. “Climax” clearly understands the things that scare us not only in general, but on an evolutionary, primal level, and it takes no issue in exploiting them to the absolute extreme. I’m not sure if I’ll ever see “Climax” again. I’m not sure if I even want to. But I’m certainly glad I saw it, if only for the fact that I’ve never seen anything like it, and probably never will again. Many will say that “Climax” goes too far in all respects, and I wouldn’t disagree with them. But there’s something to be said about a movie that can conjure up such extreme reactions from its audience, even if said reactions arise out of shock and disgust. “Climax” is a prime example of what film as a medium is capable of: Harnessing the power of sight and sound to make us feel something, no matter how unpleasant it may be. And that, I think, is something to be celebrated.
COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
Runyonland’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ astounds ALIX CURNOW Daily Arts Writer
Stephen Sondheim’s most underrated musical “Merrily We Roll Along” took the stage of the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre the weekend before Spring Break. Ann Arbor’s newest professional theatrical company, Runyonland Productions (founded by School of Music, Theatre and Dance senior Thomas Laub), headed this ambitious project. “Merrily We Roll Along,” a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim, is based on a play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The musical follows the journey of Franklin Shepard (SMTD senior Liam Allen), a world renowned Broadway composer who abandoned his friends and collaborators for the commercialized lifestyle of Hollywood. The musical starts at the height of his Hollywood career and works its way backwards in time, showing snapshots of Shepard’s most important relationships — with
his then wife Beth (SMTD senior Emilie Kouatchou), his major collaborators lyricist Charley (SMTD junior Wilson Plonk) and writer Mary (SMTD sophomore Erica Ito). In past experiences with this show, I have left feeling rather saddened by the life of Franklin Shepard. However, under the direction of SMTD senior Megumi Nakamura, I left Runyonland Production’s version of “Merrily” feeling rather, well, merry. Nakamura’s message in her director’s note at the beginning of the program that “the idea that no matter where we are in our lives and no matter the mistakes we have made, it is never too late to take responsibility for your choices and move forward with positivity, love, and hope” shines through tremendously in her take on this musical. The actors’ portrayal of these classically tragic characters helped a great deal in bringing Nakamura’s optimistic perspective on “Merrily” to life. In particular, Ito’s portrayal of Mary had a glimmer of hope that I have yet to see brought to life in many actresses take
on this famous role. Ito brought a sense of spunk and ambition to the character, giving Mary, a character that can easily be portrayed one dimensionally, a sense of emotional resonance and depth. In addition to being a captivating actor, Ito’s musical talents also shined through during her performance, particularly in her song closing Act One, “Now You Know.”
most exciting on the stage. The night I went to see “Merrily,” Wilson Plonk (Charley) was unable to perform vocally due to illness. While Plonk physically took to the stage, the vocals behind Charley’s lines and songs were delivered backstage by Runyonland producer Thomas Laub. Due to Plonk’s commitment and Laub’s
The actors’ portrayal of these classically tragic characters helped a great deal in bringing Nakamura’s optimistic perspective on ‘‘Merrily” to life.
This was perhaps my favorite number of the evening. Ito’s combined acting chops and musical talents allowed her performance to be among the
impeccable timing, I often forgot the character of Charley was being dubbed over at all. This is a true testament to the amount of professionalism
behind each of these actors, as well as Runyonland Productions as a whole. Another vocal talent worthy of mention was Kouatchou. All of Kouatchou’s vocals were spot on — she was perfectly cast for her role. The musical talents of the entire cast and orchestra were one of the driving forces of this production. At times when the blocking got a bit muddy and the dialogue was not well supported, the story was always clearly delivered through the music. The orchestra and the ensemble complimented one another well, remaining in harmonious balance through the production. Musically, there was not a weak member of the entire orchestra and cast. However, while everything was technically there, there were times when the emotion behind the songs was lacking. While the technicalities of the music are difficult to get right in Sondheim, the tragically beautiful stories behind the songs in “Merrily” are even harder to relay to an audience. This production of Merrily had emotional resonance for most
of the songs, but some of them were lacking in depth. Yet the moments shared between Allen, Plonk and Ito seemed to make up for it. The chemistry between the three actors clearly showed each time Allen, Plonk and Ito were on stage with one another. The relationships of these characters are tragically f lawed and intensely intricate. The actors’ portrayal of these relationships allowed it to be easy for the audience to root for a seemingly hard-to-rootfor friendship. This caused the last scene of the show, in which the three are together for the first time, to be particularly heartwarming. When going to the theatre, I can always tell that I’ve seen a worthwhile production if I’ve left the experience feeling changed for the better. I left “Merrily We Roll Along” with a tune in my head and hope in my heart, which is something not everyone finds on their average Friday evening. I look forward to Runyonland Productions’ future shows, especially if they are anything like “Merrily We Roll Along.”
Arts
6 — Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
NEW MEDIA NOTEBOOK
AMAZON PRIME VIDEO
‘The Widow’ is a thriller with hardly any thrills SAYAN GHOSH
Daily New Media Editor
In an age where captivating, thrilling TV has somehow become dime a dozen, “The Widow” offers little of note to make it stand out in this crowded field. “The Widow” features legendary actress Kate Beckinsale (“Farming”) making her debut as a lead for a TV series, but is let down by pretty much everything. Beckinsale plays Georgia, a widow who lost her husband in a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a few years ago. However, while catching an off-hand news update at a hospital after a minor injury, she notices someone who looks suspiciously like her presumed-dead husband. A little too suspiciously like her presumed-dead husband. Intrigued, she travels off to the Congo to investigate further, becoming entangled in a web of individuals including the husband of the accused bomber who bought the plane down. Other characters are brought in and out, mostly to explain the plane crash mystery (even Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”) is roped in as pretty much just a guy with an epic voice). “The Widow” frequently
switches back and forth in time, and while that in and of itself isn’t necessarily distracting, the writers don’t quite pull off the timeline shifts well enough to prevent the multitude of storylines from blurring together. Moreover, the pacing and storytelling suffers, going much slower than it could have gone. Entire sequences could have been stitched together instead of constantly switching back and
storylines. Moreover, the DRC is little more than an exotic prop, with annoyingly paternalistic undertones permeating several scenes. A few characters are given a semblance of a backstory. Some even give some social commentary about their country’s history and the havoc colonialism has wreaked on it. However, in a cruel twist of irony just like real life, their words are largely ignored in favor of the “main story.” Tension is never really built in a meaningful way until the end of each episode. But given the continuous manner in which many viewers of the show will watch it, even those cliff-hangers aren’t all that satisfying. The writers bury and stomp any semblance of “show not tell,” with exposition taking up too many scenes. Georgia’s relationship with her husband is as generic Hallmark show as you can get, and her massive quest is never given more than a superficial raison-d’être. All in all, the question I kept asking myself throughout the first few episodes was “why…..?” Why should I care about these characters? Why aren’t the people of the country the show is set in given any depth? Why am I watching this?
NINTENDO
Gamer girl: ‘Pokémon’ taught me about myself CASSANDRA MANSUETTI Senior Arts Editor
I often joke when I’m going through a rough patch that upcoming Nintendo releases are the only thing keeping me going. Yeah sure — there’s plenty of music, movies and life, I guess, that make the daily slog worth it, but what if I Episodes One through Four never got to play “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”? That was the Amazon Prime Video light at the end of the tunnel that was last fall semester, much like the wait for “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” kept me grounded senior year of high school. If forth, creating a disorienting effect. a new “Animal Crossing” or Beckinsale and most of the cast “Kirby” game is announced, I deliver at minimum satisfactory whisper to myself, “goddamn performances. Even the dialogue it, they’ve done it again.” The isn’t terrible, but the storytelling next handful of months or even is what detracts from all of it. Even years will have the promise of a couple episodes in, viewers are (insert new Nintendo game) unlikely to develop an emotional forever tucked away in the attachment to any of the characters, back of my mind. It’s the carrot even those with more intriguing on a never-extending stick. So when “Pokémon Sword” and “Pokémon Shield” were announced a few weeks ago, Call: #734-418-4115 I swore silently Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com under my breath. The nondescript release date of Late 2019 can’t Release Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2019 come soon enough. And despite my doubts about Game Freak making Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis a main series 47 Pablo’s parting 33 Really anger DOWN ACROSS “Pokémon” game 48 Thriller writer 34 Appraisal amts. 1 Rascals 1 “We burger as STUDENT SUMMER STORAGE Daniel 36 Professional 2 Laugh-a-minute good as we for a home video Closest to campus, Indoor, Clean, 50 Minos’ charges 3 __ and for all pancake” chain game console, the Safe. Reserve now at annarborstor‑ kingdom 37 PlayStation 4 Critters hunted 5 Ring-shaped reef proverbial hype 51 “Raw” pigment age.com or (734) 663‑0690 maker in a 2016 mobile 10 www code train has left the 53 Applications 39 “__ Boy”: Irish app 14 The “M” of MSG station. I have 54 Heap song 5 Ancient Mexican 15 Greek played by 56 Singer Turner 43 Narrow window 6 Hot spiced drink made it abundantly Anthony Quinn 57 Port on many 45 Mississippi and 7 “__ y Plata”: 16 Badly damaged clear to my friends TVs Missouri Montana motto Asian sea and Twitter that I 46 “It’s __!”: nursery 58 Start of a flower 8 Wall St. deals 17 *Wall-hidden would die for that 61 Family man cry 9 Small songbird sliding portal monkey. 10 McDaniel of 19 Food truck snack ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: “Gone With the During our 20 Prepared Wind” spring break road (oneself), as for a 11 *Fixture on a difficult task trip my girlfriend ceiling rail 21 Planned with little and I spent a good 12 Papier-__ detail 13 Frank __ Wright chunk of time 23 Thanksgiving Day 18 Panache discussing “Sword” Parade sponsor 22 Movie critic and “Shield” 25 Pedaled in a Roger speculations and triathlon 24 Broad-brimmed 26 Trowel wielder theories. In the beach bonnets 29 Remove the rind 26 Cry from a crib excitement of the from 27 Just barely announcement, 32 Letter-routing 28 *Google Maps I even bought abbr. option “Pokémon Ultra 33 “The Bathers” 30 American-born Sun” to play on painter Jordanian queen 35 Suppositions 31 Name of 12 the trip to scratch 38 Feb. follower popes the itch. I haven’t 03/12/19 39 *Serve, as stew gotten that far, but 40 Old Prizm maker something about 41 Sports drink suffix starting a new 42 Wedding venues 43 Back in the day game makes me 44 Writer fall in love with Hemingway the series all over 46 Like craft shows again. The debate 47 Sean who played over which starter a hobbit to choose was as 49 Reef explorer’s gear back-and-forth 52 Split, as the loot as it was when 55 Oyster season, I booted up my so they say first “Pokémon” 59 “Would __ to game more than you?” a decade ago. My 60 Together, and a hint to both parts Safari app is now of the answers to overpopulated starred clues with Bulbapedia 62 Above tabs about the 63 Gladden Alola region. 64 “My treat” But what makes 65 Wood cutters 66 Meal with matzo “Pokémon” the 67 “Downton Abbey” By Gary Larson Nintendo series 03/12/19 employee ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC dearest to my
The Widow
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heart, more so than sprawling odyssey of a “Zelda” game or the platforming precision of a “Mario” game? For years I had just accepted video games as a man’s realm, to be played and enjoyed and talked about at recess fields by boys and boys only. The rare girl who played video games was essentially one of the boys. When my parents gave my sister and me a Wii for Christmas, I was the one who spent hours glued to the thing, my sister only occasionally stopping by for a round of dog frisbee on “Wii Sports Resort.” Yes, this notion of gendering activities is extremely backwards, and I resent myself for buying into it for so many years, but this is what I grew up thinking. Video games were a boy’s space. So why did I always feel an unexplained connection with female video game characters? Why did I always pick Rosalina, Toadette or the pink Shy Guy in “Mario Kart”? The easy explanation to which I chalked it down was one offered by a YouTuber I used to watch: He reasoned to his group of friends that he created a female character in “Grand Theft Auto V Online” because he would rather look at a girl than a dude for the truckload of hours he would pour into the game. Sound enough reasoning for 13-yearold me, who still subscribed to the gender binary and had never met a queer person in her life! Still, even then this explanation was not comforting. Even though I always chose or created a female player character when I was given the option, I would never want to be seen playing that game because I was afraid someone would make fun of me or ask why I was playing as a girl. It’s a bit sad to think now, but this virtual shame was perhaps the first manifestation of my transgender identity. And that’s why I found such refuge in “Pokémon.” Each of the core games was made for handhelds (the Game Boy Advance, for example) and offered me my own private little adventure, not displayed to my family on the living room TV, only shown to those I wanted to show — pocket monsters on my pocket console. My first “Pokémon” generation was the fourth, and oh, was it vital. “Diamond,” I sing my song of love to thee. There’s a common phrase found in the openings of all the earlier “Pokémon” games which is essentially the character select screen: “Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?” The girl in “Diamond” is canonically named Dawn, whose f lowing scarf and pink aesthetic I immediately found the perfect projection of my inward self. I’d still get teased whenever I battled or traded with my school friends and they saw a pixelated girl pop up on their DS screen, but from “Diamond” onward I always responded “Girl” to the given generation’s Professor when they asked. And while “Pokémon” isn’t explicitly a queer friendly game, it has never condemned
the legions of queer fans whose experience with “Pokémon” is whatever they make of it. It didn’t matter if it was Hoenn or Unova; every NPC would always refer to me as my chosen name (Emily initially made the rounds) and gender me correctly. Hell, that’s better than the real world — their batting average is way lower than “Pokémon”’s perfect record. It wasn’t until the sixth generation of “Pokémon” that I started to realize my constant choosing of female protagonists was more than an aesthetic decision. With “Pokémon Y” Game Freak introduced player customization, and I was ecstatic. My character could actually wear multiple cute dresses as opposed to the real me who could only dream when online window shopping. “Y” was also the first time I tapped C-a-s-s-i-e into the touch screen keyboard. With these two aspects however, my shame playing as a girl grew even greater. I constantly played the game with my 3DS gripped tight close to my chest. It’s a bit of a coincidence too that the sixth generation had two of the most explicit references to trans identity. Well, not references exactly, more coincidences really, but the beauty of “Pokémon” is that I can believe them to be references and not immediately be told I’m wrong. And plus, at least some one at Game Freak has to be down for the cause. First, we have Sylveon, a Fairy-type evolution of first generation pokémon Eevee, whose colors match the colors of the trans f lag to the T, and has become the icon for trans gamers across the globe to trojan horse their transness through phone wallpapers and Redbubble stickers. And second, how could we forget the benevolent Beauty Nova, a female NPC trainer with a bit of dialogue mentioning she was a “Black Belt” (a hulking Karate expert class of trainer) “a mere half year ago.” Beauty Nova’s dialogue opened itself to debate, with some fans insisting it was just a mistranslation from the original Japanese. Personally, I’ll have whatever estrogen she’s having. I’ll say it again: “Pokémon” is what you make of it. For me, not only is each “Pokémon” game an incredible journey where I lovingly watch these weird little creatures evolve into a super effective Elite Four-squashing squad, but it was the first space where I could truly be myself without obstruction. In the Photos app on my phone there is an album called “fairy type trash” full of selfies and trans memes, inspired by our trans icons Sylveon and Gen VII starter Popplio (I mean, just look at her evolutionary line). The album primarily exists as a timeline to visualize my own progress, my own evolution, but instead of Exp. Points and Rare Candies all it takes is a little bit of hormones and a lot of confident, unapologetic pride in the girl I truly am.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, March 12, 2019 — 7
Wolverines knock off No. 2 UCLA Mixed bag for ‘M’ relief pitching but go 1-2 at Dodgertown Classic AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI Daily Sports Writer
KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer
After four hours of action, the No. 16 Michigan baseball team (9-4) was looking to stay alive in the bottom of the tenth inning on Sunday at Dodger Stadium. Freshman right-hander Willie Weiss had given up a basesloaded walk to put Oklahoma State up, 3-2, in the top of the inning, and it was now up to the bottom of the Wolverines’ order to keep the game alive. All three batters struck out swinging. “(Weiss) had the one tough inning, a couple of hits fall, you don’t get a couple of calls and end up with some walks, that happens,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “It was just magnified because it was the tenth inning, but I thought the numbers didn’t tell the whole story because he made some gutsy pitches in some huge spots.” The extra-inning loss proved to exemplify Michigan’s performance over the weekend. An impressive outing by the starting pitchers — all three gave up just two earned runs — and error-free defense kept the Wolverines in the games despite a struggling offense scoring two runs on Saturday and one run on Sunday, dropping two of three games to USC and Oklahoma State while beating No. 2 UCLA. “We certainly had opportunities to execute on this trip that we didn’t get done,” Bakich said. “Whether it was getting bunts down or moving runners over, and those are the things that need repetition. Those are the things that we haven’t been able to do in training. We need to work on those areas, we had a lot of outs on the bases from this trip, whether it be caught stealing or pick-offs. Those are very costly mistakes against
really good teams.” This past weekend’s competition was against some of their toughest competition this year and proved to be a big test for Michigan early in the season. With four runs in the first inning, the Wolverines got off to a quick start on Friday against the Bruins and never looked back on their way to a 7-5 upset victory. Saturday, though, Michigan’s offense stagnated. Scoring one unearned run in the sixth inning, the Wolverines fell to USC, 4-1. Sunday, the offense scored just two runs against the Cowboys, both batted in by sophomore outfielder Jordan Nwogu, who had a great individual performance with an RBI single and a solo home run in the 10-inning loss. “Players are just out of their routine,” Bakich said. “They just aren’t getting the drill work in they normally get. The hitters aren’t hitting off the tee and getting their cage routine in. It’s just you show up to the games, you do batting practice and you get as much as you can in those opportunities.” After the weekend series, just two players have a batting average over .300, and the team went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the two losses this weekend. Junior left-hander Tommy Henry gained his fourth win of the season against the Bruins, even though he gave up his first runs of the year. The other weekend starters had similar performances, keeping the Wolverines in the game. Junior right-hander Karl Kauffmann allowed just two runs against
USC on Saturday and sophomore right-hander Jeff Criswell also gave up two runs to the Cowboys, striking out 12. “We’ve been very fortunate to get the starting pitching we’ve gotten from Tommy Henry, Karl Kauffmann and Jeff Criswell,” Bakich said. “They’ve been workhorses thus far, especially Tommy and Karl.” Having won one of their last five, Michigan has work to do. “It was a let down against USC and it was a let down (Sunday),” Bakich said. “The only thing you can do when it feels like there’s a let down is learn from it, grow from it, get better from it. So that’s what we want to do. We want to find ways to keep improving as the season keeps going.”
You do batting practice and you get as much as you can.
On Saturday, the No. 16 Michigan baseball team was locked into a defensive battle with Southern California. Through seven innings, junior right-hander Karl Kauffman allowed two runs while the Wolverines faced a one-run deficit. But in the next inning, relief pitchers sophomore lefthander Angelo Smith and junior right-hander Jack Weisenburger allowed two runs adding to the deficit. In the bottom of the eighth, Smith walked the first batter, Chase Bushor, on four consecutive pitches. Bushor then advanced to second base after a wild pitch. Four pitches later, Matthew Acosta singled up the middle, sending Bushor to third. At this moment, Michigan coach Erik Bakich saw fit to make another change, and Smith was replaced by Weisenburger. Weisenberger was unable to stop the bleeding as the Trojans would score two additional runs off a sacrifice fly and another
single to put the game to bed, 4-1. “The relievers, it’s just who we feel good about in that situation against the opposing hitters that are coming up that have the best chance to put a zero up and get quick outs for us,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “And most of the time, it’s like any baseball game. You feel good about it going in, but sometimes, you don’t always get the call, or a guy bloops one in or a pitch isn’t executed or whatever happens happens.” In a 3-2 loss to Oklahoma State on Sunday, Bakich got the call right as the relievers gave up just a single run. Michigan’s traditional pillars of the program have been their defense and their pitching. Thus far this season, their hitting has been a pleasant surprise. But, at the Dodgertown Classic, the relief pitching was a mixed bag and the bats fell flat. The Wolverines have lost four out of their last five on the West Coast, and the increased competition is a good measuring stick for Michigan against warmer-climate teams with
CARTER FOX/Daily
Junior right-hander Jack Weisenburger and Michigan’s other relievers had an up and down weekend in California.
more repetitions under their belt. The relief pitching was solid Friday against UCLA with the exception of an outfield mistake that led to runs. Freshman righthander Willie Weiss came in for junior left-hander Tommy Henry in the bottom of the seventh and was looking to close out the game up 6-2. Weiss got two outs, but had the bases were loaded before a misplayed ball in the outfield led to a basesclearing triple for the Bruins. But this didn’t faze Weiss as he bounced back with consecutive 1-2-3 innings to close out the win. “The relief pitching we got on Friday from Willie Weiss was really good,” Bakich said. “He got three outs and we dropped a pop-up in foul territory and as kinda what happens when you give good teams extra chances, they make you pay for it. Then the guy hit the bases-clearing triple but he actually (went through) that particular inning unscathed. “I thought a huge moment in that game was where he showed some pretty good poise for a freshman after giving up three runs and having a really tough inning to come back pitch the eighth and the ninth scoreless. Put up zeros against an excellent UCLA team, maybe the best team in the country, so the relief pitching was good there.” Relief pitching is a delicate mechanism, and the season is still in its infancy. But this facet of baseball can make or break teams, and a questionable bullpen is not an issue a team wants to have when competing for championships. “We have some guys that need to mechanically iron out a few things,” Bakich said, “Haven’t gotten off to a great start but, you know, it’s early and there is plenty of season left and plenty of growth opportunities left for everyone, position players and pitchers alike.”
Breaking down Michigan’s key players from the 2018-19 campaign Mercy. “I think she just does a tremendous job of bringing it each and every single day. I think it’s definitely a difference-maker in our program’s success, so it’s great to have her.” Hallie Thome Coming into the season, Thome was expected to be the offensive leader of the team. And while a nagging back injury may have caused the senior center to have lackluster performances at Penn State and Michigan State, she put together a season to remember. Averaging 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, Thome earned First Team AllBig Ten honors — selected by the Big Ten coaches — for the third consecutive season. Along the way, Thome recorded her 2,000th career point and positioned herself in second place on the Michigan all-time leading scorers list. “2,000 points is a lot of points,” Barnes Arico said on WTKA on Feb. 19. “It means from the minute she stepped on campus, she has made an immediate impact on our program. She’s been such a special player for us. A 6-foot-5 kid that can really do anything. “I mean she has such great soft hands, able to catch any pass you throw up, finishes well around the rim, ability to offensively rebound the ball and just has a great touch and a great feel for the game.” Nicole Munger Seen as the leader of the Wolverines, Munger saved her best for her final season at Michigan. Earning Third Team All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career, the senior averaged 9.9 points per game, good for third on the team, and shot the second-highest
three-point percentage on the team (.345) despite taking nearly 40 percent of the team’s threepoint attempts (168). But what Munger brought to the table this season went well beyond the stat sheet. Take the Wolverines’ Feb. 14 matchup with Indiana. With 30 seconds on the clock and a fivepoint lead, Munger took a charge — despite having four fouls — to give the ball back to Michigan and seal the game. Or how about on Jan. 24, also against the Hoosiers? Munger went flying into the band trying to save a loose ball, walking away with a giant bruise on her leg from diving into a tuba. Munger provided an endless supply of these high-intensity moments throughout the season, and that’s what Barnes Arico loves the most about her senior co-captain. “(Munger’s) just a special kid,” Barnes Arico said. “I think she’s been the heart and soul of our team since the minute she walked on campus. … She’s a tremendous basketball player but she’s even a better person.” With only the NCAA Tournament remaining, Dilk, Hillmon, Thome and Munger hope to lead Michigan past the first weekend for the first time in program history. Luckily for them, they’ll have help from sophomore guard Deja Church, sophomore forward Hailey Brown, junior guard Akienreh Johnson and junior forward Kayla Robbins who have all had clutch performances throughout the season. But now the burden is on Michigan’s four stars to continue their strong regular seasons into March and deliver.
(Munger’s) just a special kid. ... She’s been the heart and soul.
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Senior shooting guard Nicole Munger has been a leader for the Wolverines this season, along with averaging 9.9 points per game shooting 34.5 percent from three.
BENNETT BRAMSON Daily Sports Writer
Two-thirds of the ways through the season, the Michigan women’s basketball team looked doomed for mediocrity. But the Wolverines completely turned things around, winning nine of their final 11 games. Starting with a Feb. 1 victory over No. 10 Iowa, Michigan powered its way through the Big Ten to secure fourth place in the conference standings — its second-best finish in Kim Barnes Arico’s seven-year tenure as coach. Guided by their star co-captain seniors, guard Nicole Munger and center Hallie Thome, and a pair of standout freshmen in guard Amy Dilk and forward Naz Hillmon, the Wolverines are now on the cusp of their second-straight NCAA
Tournament berth. The Daily breaks down the seasons these four players put together. Amy Dilk Possibly no freshman in the country came into the season with larger shoes to fill than Dilk. Slotted into the point guard position from day one, Dilk had to replace Michigan’s all-time leading scorer, Katelynn Flaherty. While Dilk may not have been the Wolverines’ most consistent player, no game proved her worth more than Michigan’s Nov. 25 affair with Washington. In just her sixth collegiate game, Dilk registered a stat line of 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in an 80-73 victory. Oftentimes throughout the season, Dilk struggled to consistently score. But Barnes
She had the ball in her hands, especially under pressure.
Arico overlooked her struggles and realized the importance of having Dilk on the court. When Dilk was out with a knee injury for three games, Barnes Arico noticed a difference in her team and a slight increase in sloppy play. “Amy was probably averaging about 35 minutes a game and she had the ball in her hands, especially under pressure,” Barnes Arico said after a Feb. 14 win over Indiana in which her team committed 20 turnovers. “A lot of decision making came through her.” Barnes Arico has consistently praised Dilk’s high basketball IQ and said she would not have preferred anyone else run the point position this season. Naz Hillmon Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, Big Ten media selection for Freshman of the Year, Big Ten
All-Freshman Team and First Team All-Big Ten. These are the accolades that Hillmon can claim with the regular season now in the books. Despite not starting a game, Hillmon led the Wolverines in field goal percentage (.626), points per game (13.2), rebounds per game (6.9) and tied for second on the team in steals (31). She has dazzled in competition all season. In her first four games, the freshman forward shot an absurd 26-for31 while scoring more than 20 points in two of those games. Since then, it has been much of the same for Hillmon, whose motor leads the Wolverines’ press defense. “(Hillmon’s) energy is contagious,” Barnes Arico said after Hillmon’s 22 points and eight rebounds against Detroit-
(Freshman Naz Hillmon’s) energy is contagious.
She has made an immediate impact on our program.
Sports
8 — Tuesday, March 12, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Similar mistakes cost Wolverines Canfield’s bat catches fire out West DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein and his team lost to Michigan State under similar circumstances as two weeks ago.
JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Editor
Michigan could not stop Cassius Winston. Again. Michigan State stymied the Wolverines’ ball-screen game. Again. Michigan blew a second-half lead. Again. The difference between Feb. 24 in Ann Arbor — a 77-70 Wolverine loss — and three days ago in East Lansing? Saturday was not only for bragging rights but for a conference championship. Michigan lost to Michigan State, 75-63, and came away with neither. The reasons why either had roots stemming from the team’s first meeting or were taken directly from the game two weeks ago. First up: Winston — the newly-minted Big Ten Player of the Year — who scored 27 points and eight assists in the first meeting while playing from tip-off to final buzzer. Postgame Saturday, sophomore forward Isaiah Livers was asked what the Wolverines’ biggest takeaway from two weeks prior was. He sighed and gave a no-doubter of an answer. “Can’t let Cassius take us across the court on a ballscreen,” Livers said. “He did it again and again and again in the second half, and we had no answer for the run.” Michigan looked to have an answer early on. Instead of hedging ball-screens — sending junior center Jon Teske with Winston on the perimeter to push him away from the basket, which the Wolverines had done in the first meeting — they switched them, taking away many of the easy assists to a wide-open roll man that Winston tallied in February. Junior Zavier Simpson,
meanwhile, was his normally rugged defensive self once again. When Winston and Simpson went at it, Michigan’s point guard usually won the battle. Winston shot just 1-for5 with seven points in the first half. But ultimately, Winston was too good and too much. As the Wolverines bricked their lead away, Winston — just as he had done two weeks ago — slithered around defenders and got to the rim with ease in the second half. His 23 points and seven assists led both categories. If there’s one person who could have stopped Winston, or at least prevented him from taking total control of the game, that man was lined up across from him in a blue jersey. Simpson couldn’t, for the second time in a row. There’s no shame in that, but Simpson — who, according to freshman David DeJulius, told his team that Winston’s performance was his fault — certainly felt differently. “We couldn’t stop him from turning the corner,” said assistant coach DeAndre Haynes. “He turned the corner at will, anytime he wanted to.” The Wolverines had no more luck scoring off their own ball-screens. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo’s stroke of genius in the first matchup was switching every screen and cut off Simpson’s dribble penetration, forcing one-onone situations. With one of its offensive staples neutralized, Michigan fell apart. Coming into Saturday, the Wolverines were optimistic that this time would be different. They were merely caught off-guard by the Spartans’ adjustments, and with time to make their own, they would put the shoe on the other foot. Michigan was prepared to attack mismatches
(Winston) did it again and again and again in the second half.
I thought we had a really good plan in the first half.
— such as finding Teske down low after a guard switched onto him — and show discipline on isolations. The Wolverines did neither. Simpson missed 10 of 13 shots, including many at the rim. Teske took just five shots — the same as in February — and Michigan stopped trying to feed him. The Wolverines’ 15 points in the last 14 minutes mirrored their slump of nine points in 15 minutes in the second half of the first game. “I thought we had a really good plan the first half,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “The second half, kids just aren’t used to (Michigan State’s defense). … Just things we gotta learn.” Much credit belongs to Michigan State, especially Xavier Tillman. The sophomore forward showed the athleticism to shut down guards on the perimeter and the explosiveness to lock down the paint when the guards got that far, finishing with five blocked shots. Tillman was a matchup nightmare the Wolverines couldn’t wake up from. Against players like Winston and Tillman, there’s only so much a team can do. But whatever Michigan had the chance to do, it was unable to — and the product was a result earned in a painstakingly familiar way. “We weren’t poised when we needed to,” Beilein said. “We needed to be poised at that time and we weren’t. We didn’t show.” The regular season is over now. By the time of their first game in the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines will have had five days to recover and gear up for a new phase of their campaign. They’re also likely to receive reinforcements, as redshirt junior wing Charles Matthews appears close to returning from an ankle injury for the postseason, where Michigan has historically hit its highest gear. But if the Wolverines revert to their old tendencies like they did Saturday, if they can’t learn from their mistakes and apply those lessons in time, they’ll have a tough time finding that level.
The weather may have been hot, but Faith Canfield came out scorching. As a Southern California native, the senior second baseman is used to the heat. Temperatures hovered around the mid-70s when the No. 25 Michigan softball team battled against some of the nation’s top competition at last week’s Judi Garman Classic and Arizona State Invitational, but no source of heat was more intense than Canfield’s bat. The flip of the calendar brought about some muchneeded success for Canfield, who came into the month with a .283 batting average — a figure well below her lofty standard. Canfield posted respective batting averages of .398 and .391 in her sophomore and junior seasons en route to earning All-America honors in each campaign. On Feb. 19, Michigan coach Carol Hutchins told The Daily that she wanted to see Canfield “take this team by the horns.” Despite games against No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Arizona, and No. 9 Louisiana State, the Wolverines limped into this month without a signature win. Much of their shortcomings paralleled Canfield’s efforts to rediscover the swing that placed her among the nation’s best infielders. After 14 starts, she entered this month with just three multi-hit games, four RBIs and zero extra-base hits. But when the new month rolled around, Canfield took a firm grasp of those horns. Canfield sparked Michigan’s success at the Judi Garman Classic on March 1, driving in a pair of runs with a go-ahead single in the sixth inning against previously-unbeaten No. 2 UCLA, which propelled the Wolverines to a 3-1 upset victory. The win gave the
team an energy boost, while Canfield’s big hit had the exact same effect on a personal level. Two days later, Canfield reached base in two of her three at-bats in Michigan’s 4-2 victory over No. 5 Washington. Her confidence at the plate gave way to success on the basepath, as she scored a run and swiped a bag in the team’s second upset in as many games. Later that afternoon, Canfield delivered once again. This time, the Wolverines were deadlocked in a scoreless tie against California StateNorthridge in the final inning when she stepped up to the plate. With junior outfielder Haley Hoogenraad standing on second base, Canfield laced a double into right field. When the dust settled, her walk-off heroics lifted the Wolverines to an unbeaten weekend after a 7-8 start. “(Canfield) is doing her part,” Hutchins said. “She’s gone above and beyond this past weekend and I’m hoping it can inspire us and give us some confidence.” When the team made its way south of Canfield’s home state, her hot streak continued at the Arizona State Invitational. She reached base safely in four of Michigan’s five games — including a pair of three-hit efforts in the last two contests of the weekend — highlighted by a power surge against New
Mexico State. Canfield recorded a pair of doubles and launched her first long ball of the season in the Wolverines’ 3-0 victory over the Aggies. Between the two tournaments, Canfield posted 13 hits in 29 at-bats — good for an average of .448 — while driving in six runs and striking out just twice. Less than two weeks after sitting on a .283 batting average, her clip has ballooned to .347. Though her success on the field has helped the Wolverines add tallies to their win column, it was Canfield’s continued work ethic through a cold February that struck the most meaningful chord to her teammates. “It’s been great looking to (Canfield),” said freshman outfielder Lexie Blair. “She’s one of our team captains and you really just she that drive in her when she plays, and I know she has her moments when she’s struggling a little bit. Before I even came here, I grew up watching her over her years in Michigan, finally seeing her as a senior, seeing her doing her thing, being consistent as she is, the past couple weekends have been amazing and I really look up to her, and so do many other people.” If Michigan is to sustain any success, Canfield can’t afford to loosen her grip on the team’s horns.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior second baseman Faith Canfield has seen renewed success in March.
THE ORREN C. MOHLER PRIZE LECTURE AND RECEPTION
Cosmic Collisions
> Reveal Einstein’s Gravitational-Wave Universe <
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Reception 2:00 pm Forum Hall Palmer Commons
Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy Northwestern University
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Wednesday March 13, 2019 Dr. Vicky Kalogera
Southfield, Michigan
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