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Candidate surprised to see name on CSG ballot KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily Jad Elharake, Graduate Intern at the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, gives introductory remarks at the second DEI Town Hall in Couzens Hall Wednesday.
Town hall examines effects of DEI initiative on ‘U’ community
Students, staff offer input on strategic plan to increase diversity and inclusion on campus ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporter
On Wednesday night, approximately 40 students and faculty met in Couzens Residence Hall for the University of Michigan Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Town Hall. Jad Elharake, a program lead in the Health Equity & Inclusion and DEI offices, started
the event by thanking Diversity Peer Educators for acting as hosts and explaining the goal of these events. “We wanted to be very intentional in hearing your experiences as students,” Elharake said. “It’s an opportunity for you all to give your big ideas.” The University is in the middle of its five-year DEI Strategic Plan, which was
launched in October 2016. The plan was created in part as a response to student activism, specifically the #BBUM movement on Twitter and 2013 protests by the Black Student Union. The initiative promised $85 million over five years and included campus climate-related training, the creation of the re-located Trotter Multicultural Center and new recruitment strategies.
The DEI plan’s language made connections to historical social movements on campus, including Black Action Movement and debates over affirmative action in the last decade. Student activists protested the plan at a DEI keynote as part of the launch because they felt the student voice was not properly accounted for. See DEI, Page 3A
Haugh-Ewald included on executive ticket after miscommunication with committee PARNIA MAZHAR & BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporters
If a University of Michigan student looks at their online ballot for Central Student Government today, they’ll see Engineering sophomore Dylan Haugh-Ewald’s name listed as a candidate under the category of Executive Ticket. But Haugh-Ewald said he was not aware of his candidacy status until the ballot was released to University students at 12:00 am on Wednesday. Haugh-Ewald said he did originally intend on running for CSG president. He decided to attend a
meeting regarding CSG elections when he received an email from the University Electionsw Commission. Haugh-Ewald said he saw the opportunity to run for CSG president as an avenue to pursue goals he had for the University, specifically regarding open-sourcing more course material through public online platforms available to nonuniversity-enrolled students. “I see Central Student Government involvement as one avenue that could work for the goals that I want to achieve within the University and any inf luence I want to have,” HaughEwald said. See CSG, Page 3A
CSG, DPSS host town hall to address Brazilian Professors magazine concerns after active shooter scare discuss role CAMPUS LIFE
editor talks Black press Luciane Ramos Silva’s project promotes work, perspectives of artists CLAIRE HAO
Daily Staff Reporter
On Wednesday afternoon, about 15 students and faculty gathered in the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library Gallery Lab for a talk by Luciane Ramos Silva, co-editor of O Menelick 2o Ato, an editorial project in Brazil aiming to highlight Afro-Brazilian artists, thinkers and perspectives. In her talk, titled “Voices of the Black Press in Times of Social Cleavage in Contemporary Brazil,” Silva discussed racial disparities and the importance of a platform for Black creators in Brazil. Silva began by describing Brazil Design by Sherry Chen demographically, explaining Brazil faces many issues of inequality despite its racial diversity. “54 percent of Brazil’s population is Black, but it has one of the worst statistics in racial disparities in terms of education, employment, living conditions,” Silva said. “It has some of the worst statistics in terms of death of young Black men, of mass incarceration against Black men, of sexual violence against Black women, opportunities for Black students in universities, et cetera.” See PRESS , Page 3A
CAMPUS LIFE
Officers promise internal and external reviews following complaints about response MELANIE TAYLOR Daily Staff Reporter
Wednesday night, the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government and Division of Public Safety and Security collaborated to host a town hall regarding plans to improve emergency safety protocol following an active shooter scare on March 16. A small group of community members voiced concerns about accommodations for disabled students and possible improvements to the emergency alert system. CSG President Daniel Greene, Public Policy senior, said he was glad the entire University community was given a place to express their opinions regarding the events.
“We were concerned that nonstudent leaders — so the majority of campus — didn’t have the opportunity or platform to voice their concerns and ask questions,” Greene said. “We wanted to make sure that although CSG already has the connections and was able to have this kind of dialogue that other community members were able to have the same opportunity to do so.” Greene said he wanted to provide ample opportunity for all community members to engage in a dialogue about how DPSS will adjust moving forward. “Although tonight’s attendance was a bit more intimate in style, I think it was still an opportunity for the students that did show up to be able to ask the questions that
otherwise fall by the wayside,” Greene said. DPSS Executive Director Eddie Washington fielded many of the students’ questions. He reiterated multiple times his gratitude for the feedback he has received from the campus community. “You have expectations, high expectations,” Washington said. “We share the ‘leaders and the best’ philosophy, and we don’t believe we can be that if we’re not constantly looking at ways to improve.” Washington reassured the group that DPSS is putting together an “after-action briefing,” a process which requires an internal and external review of the situation and how it was handled. Washington said the briefing
requires different facets of DPSS to convene and agree, so the official document is not yet published but soon will be. “That will be transparent, and that will be something that we make available,” Washington said. This briefing will address concerns brought up by students, staff, faculty and other community members who were affected by the active shooter scare: action taken by officers on the scene, use of the emergency alert system and areas where improvement is possible or necessary. Washington said his primary takeaway from the conversations he has had with students is that DPSS needs to be “doing more than what we’re doing today.” See SCARE , Page 3A
RUCHITA IYER/Daily DPSS Executive Director Eddie Washington Jr. and DPSS Lieutenant Bryan Baker discuss improving campus emergency response systems during a town hall held in the Michigan League Wednesday evening.
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Vol. CXXVIII, No. 95 ©2019 The Michigan Daily
of women in leadership
Lecture series at Trotter looks at challenges female authority figures face STELLA HACKETT For The Daily
As part of the Trotter Distinguished Leadership Series, the Trotter Multicultural Center hosted University of Michigan Law Professor Barbara McQuade and Kathryn Dominguez, public policy and economics professor, for a discussion on Women in Leadership on Wednesday night. About a dozen students gathered in Palmer Commons for the second event of the speaker series focusing on political issues and public service. McQuade previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan after being appointed by President Barack Obama and was the first woman to hold the position. Dominguez is a published author, research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and director of the Honors Program in the Department of Economics. Moderator Arnessa Garrett, assistant business editor of the Dallas Morning News, began the discussion by asking the women about what sparked their interest in public service and what advice they would give to women interested in entering this field. See LEADERSHIP , Page 3A
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UAAO event discusses colonization United Asian American Organizations event confronts impacts of colonialism SONIA LEE
Association, the Filipino based, with the UAAO know, horrifying to me, the American Student Association Programming Chairs, LSA depiction of Asian bodies in and Burmese students on sophomores Fareah Fysudeen this film,” Fysudeen said. “And Wednesday night at the campus. and Cristina Guytingco, showing how they were just kind of used South Quad Residence Hall Yuri Established in 1988, UAAO is attendees clips from films and as a device to get to this really Kochiyama Lounge, the United an umbrella consortium whose video analyses of American films interesting psychology of this Asian American Organizations member groups include multiple representing Southeast Asians. white man.” Students viewed a YouTube (UAAO) hosted a panel on how Asian/Pacific Islander students After each clip, students got in colonialism, specifically in organizations on campus. In small groups or pairs to discuss video, “Apocalypse Now: Crash Course Film Criticism #8” Southeast Asia, has impacted the addition to acting as a liaison the impact of the films. Asian/Pacific Islander American between these groups, UAAO One clip students watched, a of “Apocalypse Now” where community. Around 50 students hopes to promote the voice of YouTube video entitled “Slaying a film analyst discussed the attended the event, titled A/PIA students on campus, the Dragon: Reloaded,” was psychological aspects of the “Effects and Representations build relationships with other about the portrayal of Asian film, as well as the use of Asian of Colonialism: SE Asia,” which people of color groups and raise and Asian-American women in characters. Public Policy graduate student Western films like “Rush Hour wasSyndication hosted in collaboration awareness on A/PIA issues. Sudoku http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ with the Vietnamese Student The event was discussion- 2,” “Memoirs of a Geisha” and Thom Pham said one part of the video he appreciated was the “Charlie’s Angels.” Guytingco said the commentator’s differentiation portrayal of Asian women in between Vietnam itself and the media continues to be one- war that occured in Vietnam. He noted Vietnam is often used as dimensional. “A lot of the depictions of an exciting background for the HARD South Asian, Asian-American stories of white people. “I liked in the video where it women is very monolithic, like we’re this one thing and we’re said American War in Vietnam, not anything else,” Guytingco because I like to say the War in said. “It’s like we’re this cool, Vietnam,” Pham said. “Some edgy, purple-streak Asian people just refer to the war itself character. So there’s not a lot as ‘Vietnam’ or even just ‘Nam’ of complexities of how Asian when it’s really a country … I think the movie really was, if women are portrayed.” The students also examined anything, not about Vietnam. “Apocalypse Now,” a film It’s about the test of war and which uses the war in Vietnam Vietnam just happened to be the as its setting and compared it background. It’s kinda bullshit.” In a larger group discussion with Vietnamese film “Cô Ba Sài Gòn” (“The Tailor”) which about the films, Business senior depicts a Vietnamese woman’s Kevin Steward highlighted attempt to learn a French style the confusion people feel in of tailoring despite her family’s countries which were colonized rejection of anything French by Western powers when it comes to keeping popular foods, post-colonization. Fysudeen, who first watched fashion and trends — which “Apocalypse Now” in high sometimes come from the school, said what disturbed her colonizer. most about the film was its use © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. FIRE puzzle by sudokusyndication.com of Asian characters to propel Read more at the story of white men. MichiganDaily.com “It was really, really, I don’t Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com! Daily Staff Reporter
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SCARE From Page 1A liaison to Student Life in the prevention and community engagement department, reassured students those improvements will continue to come from within his department. “You’ll see a lot more proactive communication through the remainder of the semester from prevention and community outreach within DPSS,” Baker said. Baker has facilitated numerous events on behalf of DPSS since the scare occurred. Last week, he spoke at a CSG meeting, a Residence Hall Association meeting and a town hall with Rackham students. Baker has also contributed to an ongoing DPSS initiative to register students for the emergency alert system. DPSS is exploring new avenues to improve their emergency communications after receiving extensive student complaints regarding the timeliness of alerts.
LEADERSHIP From Page 1A “Don’t be afraid to ask people … to ask about learning more about what they do,” McQuade said. “They will say yes far more than you think they will.” When asked about obstacles they faced in their careers, Dominguez and McQuade discussed battles with self-confidence in their abilities as women. “In many ways, it was my own kind of … nervousness about not really having particular characteristics that were needed for particular jobs that held me back more than even other people,” Dominguez said. They discussed the need for extra self-confidence, as the men around them seemed more confident in their leadership
DEI From Page 1A LSA interim dean Elizabeth Cole wrote in an email to The Daily this event, as well as the previous DEI events in the series, are opportunities for faculty to gauge student input and a chance for students to give feedback about the University and LSA-specific DEI plans. “I encourage you to attend one of these sessions,” Cole wrote. “The university is at the midway point of the campuswide five-year DEI Strategic Plan, and this is an opportunity to check in on progress. These Student Community Conversations are a chance for you to give feedback to the U-M administration that will help shape the future of the U-M and LSA DEI plans, and of our work together.” Rob Sellers, chief diversity officer and vice provost for equity and inclusion, emphasized at the event the importance of student voices and explained the reasoning for the strategic plan’s creation and continuing dialogues during his speaking portion of the meeting. Sellers said DEI plays a vital role in the success of the University, adding that it is important the University feels accessible and comfortable for all students. According to Sell-
Thursday, March 28, 2019 — 3A
LSA senior Niccolo Beltramo raised the issue of the timing of alerts at the town hall. “Specifically with regard to sort of the speed of communication from DPSS … obviously some delay is to be expected because you all had to check our the situation and validate, but 30 minutes seems like quite a long time in a potential active shooter situation,” Beltramo said. Washington explained that during an emergency, when students take to their phones to contact friends and loved ones it clogs the servers and prevents text or email alerts from being received by the student body in a timely fashion. Washington said DPSS advises students to download their app because the push notifications are more expedient than traditional alert forms. Another concern voiced at the town hall is the inability of some students with disabilities to comply with the run, hide and fight
protocol the campus community was advised to adopt. LSA senior Bradley Ebenhoeh wrote questions on this issue that were asked by his caregiver, Kinesiology sophomore Natalie Bullock. “For people with disabilities such as myself, many of us cannot run, hide or fight,” Bullock said on Ebenhoeh’s behalf. “That was easily the most terrifying part about it. It felt like my own school did not care about my safety.” Washington said DPSS has been in the process of remedying this issue by training “capable guardians” who would be able to provide assistance to all vulnerable communities in the event of emergency. This includes students with disabilities, as well as children and those hospitalized in Michigan medical facilities. The capable guardians are currently undergoing training with Baker to learn a nuanced procedure to follow during an active
shooter alert. Instead of running, hiding and fighting, they are taught to instruct, evacuate, shelter and defend. All doctors, nurses and University staff are expected to be trained under this new program. Greene said this town hall is a way to wrap up loose ends before solidifying a final, improved protocol. “We have done multiple events on multiple fronts over the past few weeks, and this is our final event,” Greene said. “Tonight was the last chance out of a whole series of events that provided students with the same opportunity and the same information to better understand what happened but also to be able to provide criticisms and provide feedback about how we can even better react in the future.” DPSS expressed they are taking student feedback into account. “We have some work to do ahead of us,” Baker said.
abilities. Especially when applying for jobs and internships, McQuade said women tend to underestimate their ability to get a position, and encouraged audience members to have more confidence in themselves. “Before women will apply for a promotion or position, they will feel like they have to meet 100 percent of all the qualifications on the list, whereas men apply for the job if they meet 25 percent of the qualifications on the list,” McQuade said. “Don’t let the fact that you don’t check all of the boxes cause you to eliminate yourself. You might bring something to the table that other applicants don’t, so don’t eliminate yourself.” LSA junior Emma Hess said in an interview with The Daily after the event that McQuade’s point resonated with her.
“That’s always how I look at internship applications,” Hess said. “I think, ‘Oh, I meet like one of these out of the seven that they have there, I’m never going to get this, I shouldn’t even apply.’ So that was like really good advice to know that I should just take the chance and express my interest in a cover letter and hope that they are willing to listen.” McQuade also spoke about workplace harassment as an obstacle that most women will have to experience. McQuade said while these situations may not always constitute the “legal definition of sexual harassment, they could be described as biased incidents.” As a woman in a male-dominated and, at times, competitive field, she discussed needing to decide ahead of time how to respond to these situations.
“What are you going to do when the moment comes, when this happens, because it’s going to happen,” McQuade said. “And there’s certainly some things that are absolutely intolerable and you need to stand up and call it out the way it is.” The speakers discussed the women who inspired them, speaking to the importance of speaking their minds, having integrity and remaining “calm in the face of a storm.” The discussion concluded with audience members asking for advice on career paths and law school. McQuade offered guidance on recovering from failure.
ers, the DEI plans are “living documents” that can change over time. He also noted the University has 51 different plans for different administrative units, in addition to a University-wide plan. “Instead of having a single plan, the University of Michigan has done it very differently,” Sellers said. “Those plans — and the fact that each unit has a plan — was a way for us to reinforce the idea that diversity, equity and inclusion isn’t something that simply resides in the President’s office or reside in the Chief Diversity Officer’s office, but it is a core aspect of who we are as a university.” Sellers also tied diversity to institutional success. He said DEI helps all students feel like they can reach their potential and belong at the University. Sellers said the University has made progress from when DEI was first created and is more proactive than it has been in the past in relation to diversity issues, but there is still work to be done. “It took us 200-plus years as an institution to get here and it’s not going to change completely in five years,” Sellers said. “I will tell you we’ve made a great deal of progress and … we are not the same institution that we were three years ago. I will also equally state we are not where we need to be.”
A student inquired about a report from the University of Southern California released in September that gave the University an F grade on overall racial equity among public universities. The student asked if the University has acknowledged the report and if it has prompted any changes. Specifically, the report gave the University an F in representation of Black students on campus, who make up 4.4 percent of undergraduates student population. The University received a C grade for its Black graduation rate, which is 12.1 percent lower than the overall completion rate. Sellers pointed out the part of the report focused on the graduation rate is complicated because the University’s graduation rate is higher than the national average. He said the study was important, but found its analysis simplistic because it looked at graduation rates between populations rather than compared to national averages. “We do have a problem of graduation rates as a function of ethnicity here at the University of Michigan and we are continuing to work to change that,” Sellers said. “If we would have had really, really poor graduation rates across the board, we would have gotten an A. It didn’t take into consideration that our graduation rates are so high across
the board.” Students shared ideas with present faculty members during different portions of the event. One included crowdsourcing ideas through icebreaker and writing activities and through small-group facilitation. The final event is on April 2 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in Rackham Assembly Hall. Information senior Chalse Okorom helped facilitate student discussions as a Diversity Peer Educator. She said it is important to have the events so student voices can be heard. “We’re the most populous people on campus,” Okorom said. “If faculty is making changes, then I think that this is the best way for them to get that input or those ideas instead of just coming up with it on their own.” Katrina Wade-Golden, deputy chief diversity officer, said at the conclusion of the event that the feedback from students will be considered going forward as the University prepares for the fourth year of the initiative and beyond. She thanked the students in attendance for their time and input. “Many of the items that got positioned in our original plan came through from events like this,” Wade-Golden said. “We are really happy that you shared the gift of your ideas and we will be taking those ideas under advisement as we prepare.”
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Silva noted Black people have a long history in Brazil due to the Black diaspora, the global displacement of people of African descent due to slavery between the 1500s and 1900s. According to Silva, having a space for Black culture is necessary in order for Black people to contribute to conversations about this diaspora. “What is the meaning of diaspora as a Black Brazilian, or a Black American, or Black African?” Silva said. “Art is a way to approach the struggle of Black people in Brazil, and how our experiences connect with other narratives of the Black diaspora … In an unequal society, culture is a basic need. Art is a demonstration of the possibility of society.” Silva then presented on the work of O Menelick 2o Ato. According to Silva, the independent magazine is the only printed media in Brazil specifically focused on Black culture and creators. Started in 2010, O Menelick 2o Ato publishes articles, essays, artist and activist profiles, poems, photographs and illustratrations of and by Black artists. According to Silva, more than 40,000 copies of O Menelick 2oAto have been distributed in São Paulo, its base of operations, and throughout Brazil, as well as internationally in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa. Silva explained O Menelick 2o Ato is a non-profit organization that distributes copies of the magazine for free in order to reach a wider audience. “We distribute for free, because the community that we focus on, they don’t have money to pay for a magazine,” Silva said. “We work mostly through public grants … we apply for private grants … We have a community of writers and thinkers (who) believe it is necessary to do this work. Sometimes we have to put in money ourselves.” Though print editions are more expensive than online media, Silva expressed O Menelick 2o Ato is committed to publishing in print.
CSG From Page 1A Haugh-Ewald couldn’t attend the CSG executive ticket debate on March 18 due to a scheduling conflict with an exam. “I signed up and I attended the meeting and then I couldn’t make the presidential debate because I had an exam at the same time, but that wasn’t an issue from what I understand, it wasn’t a critical part of the campaign,” Haugh-Ewald said. According to Haugh-Ewald, when the University Election Commission sent out the sample ballot on March 21, he was listed as a candidate for College of Engineering representative, rather than the CSG presidency he thought he’d signed up for. Haugh-Ewald immediately emailed the election committee once he noticed the error, but said they never responded. The Daily reached out to Law student Victoria Allen, CSG’s Election Director, for this article, but she said she was unable to comment on the incident until the conclusion of the election. The sample ballot included an area for candidates to write their campaign platform. Because at that point he assumed his position on the ballot would not be changed from Engineering representative candidate to presidential candidate, Haugh-Ewald wrote “I won’t let you down” in lieu of a longer platform. He said he was not notified his position had been changed to presidential candidate by the election committee until he noticed his name on the ballot on March 27. “My initial impression attending the first meeting was that they (the election committee) were a little disorganized and they weren’t entirely able to answer some of the questions about hard rules and campaigning,” Haugh-Ewald said. “By the time they had changed the election I was in the system, I couldn’t go in and upload any platform, and they didn’t notify me that they had changed which election I am in until I noticed today (Wednesday) that I was indeed a presidential candidate.”
“The capacity to read and understand and really learn with the page is very much different from online,” Silva said. Silva explained the name of O Menelick 2o Ato translates to “O Menelick Act 2” in English and is a tribute to O Menelick, the first Black journal in Brazil established in the 1915 which closed in the mid-1900s when it was unable to sustain production. According to Silva, this is an acknowledgement of the history of Black press in Brazil. In 2018, O Menelick 2o Ato was selected as a Prince Claus laureate, a Dutch award established in honor of Prince Claus and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to a report from the Prince Claus Funds Committee, O Menelick 2oAto was honored for its work in increasing Black representation in Brazil, among other reasons. To end her talk, Silva expressed her belief in the power of art to shape culture. “Even though Black (people) are more than 50 percent of the population, Blacks are othered in Brazil,” Silva said. “But we still fight as our elders, mostly because we believe in the power of the creative imagination … As an artist and anthropologist, it makes me comfortable to communicate that culture and art is a way to experiment and feel and develop critical perceptions about society.” Frieda Ekotto, professor of comparative literature and Afroamerican and African studies, attended the event. Ekotto said in an interview with The Daily after the event that the work of O Menelick 2o Ato is important as it serves as an archive of Black thought and expression. “This is a place where we can collect and excavate knowledge,” Ekotto said. “And that knowledge is not there. There’s a need to document this history, Black culture, Black arts … It’s extremely important that other generations will go back to the archive to see that this work is being done.”
Read more at MichiganDaily.com Haugh-Ewald said he again emailed the election committee March 27 to ask if he could add a platform late but was told he was not able to. Haugh-Ewald said this was the first time the committee responded to him since he emailed them six days before. Although his platform is not included on the ballot, if elected, Haugh-Ewald said his biggest initiative would be open-sourcing more course material to unenrolled students to make education more accessible. He discussed using certificates from learning platforms such as Coursera to help students earn their degrees. “The vast majority of courses on the platform are respectively developed, but lack any tangible coordination with existing university coursework,” HaughEwald said. “Potential actions to this end include the conversion of already digitized U-M classes into an open-source compatible syllabus, and eventually the offering of limited exams to un-enrolled students. It is critical that we as a university recognize the equivalency of certain opensource materials so as to open doors for students that would normally be unable to sacrifice the time and money to obtain a traditional degree.” Haugh-Ewald is joined on the executive ticket ballot by LSA sophomore Ben Gerstein and LSA junior Isabelle Blanchard of the Engage Michigan party, running for president and vice president respectively, and Engineering freshman Shub Argha who is running independently for president. When reached by The Daily, the candidates said they are not allowed to comment on Haugh-Ewald’s situation until the polls close tonight at 11:59 p.m. LSA junior Jacob Inosencio said he noticed Haugh-Ewald’s name on the election ballot but did not recognize his name. He said he has heard other students who believe his campaign is a joke because of the singular sentence included as his platform on the ballot. “I think people should definitely have the opportunity to have their platforms put on there,” Inosencio said. “You want to be informed about who you’re going to vote for.”
Opinion
4A — Thursday, March 28, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
KIANNA MARQUEZ | COLUMN
Interdisciplinary art is our primary method of social change Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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ETHAN KESSLER | COLUMN
M
Bad ideas and bad policies
rights advocates prioritize g un policies much more when they vote (which explains why formative majority support experience. Before for g un control handling firearms measures do not on my own, my translate to federalparents required level legislation). I complete a basic Though at odds with g un-safety class, legal consensus which culminated and the needs in a round of of a safe society, target shooting ETHAN with single-shot, KESSLER uncompromising interpretations of small-caliber rif les from the prone position. We the Second Amendment have were g uided by a certified nonetheless gained traction instructor from the National among diligent voters. Second Amendment groups Rif le Association, who instilled in us a reverence for also advance the premise the four fundamental rules of that the act of one should not g un safety: You must ensure lead to the rights of many all g uns are always loaded, being taken away. That this never let the muzzle cover sophistry is often parroted anything you are not willing to destroy, keep your finger on the trigger until your If smart gun control sights are on the target and identif y your target and what legislation actually is behind it. Thanks to this foundation, I consider myself helps reduce voilence, a responsible g un owner. It is largely because of the public safety of all this experience that I take citizens is enhanced issue with how much of the g un debate is currently framed by American political commentary, on both sides of the aisle. The recent massacre by other pro-g un activists of Muslim worshippers in does not make it any less New Zealand has once again false. Restrictions of rights invited careless and lazy and privileges are always arg umentation from Second justified by the furthering of Amendment fundamentalists some public interest, even if and prominent progressives those affected did nothing to alike. The former erroneously warrant such a policy. I do not characterize all g un control protest if I am subjected to an policies, even reasonable invasive search at the airport, ones, as the first step even though I had nothing to in the unconstitutional do with the men responsible disarmament of the American for 9/11. If smart g un control citizenry. Meanwhile, legislation actually helps the latter seem convinced reduce violence, the public that pushing ineffectual safety of all citizens — g un control policies after g un owners included — is every mass shooting is the enhanced. Another way these groups best prescription for g un violence. I’ve seen up-close tend to distract from the real how responsible g un use is concern of formulating policy instilled in a society, so I feel is by repetitively emphasizing confident in saying that these largely irrelevant aspects of g un violence. The most outlooks are wrong. As demonstrated by prominent example is mental recent commentary on the illness. Despite little to no New Zealand shooting, the supporting evidence, a high NR A and similar Second proportion of Republicans Amendment advocacy groups (and even a near-majority of relentlessly perpetuate the Democrats) believe mental myth that any g un control illness to be a key factor in measures amount to an g un violence. Attributing “evisceration” of g un rights. inadequate g un policy to In fact, the text of the health issues of individual does little Second Amendment grants perpetrators no immunity from reasonable to address g un violence restrictions on the sale, systematically, yet Second possession or use of firearms Amendment fundamentalists — just consult the majority repeatedly do so. None of this excuses liberals opinion of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in the from their own myopia and seminal Second Amendment folly when it comes to g uns, Supreme Court case of however. Progressives who District of Columbia v. Heller. wish to tackle the problem This extreme interpretation of g un violence head-on matters. While Second have increasingly committed Amendment fundamentalists to over-enthusiasm at the of level-headed do not comprise a majority expense of g un owners, g un policy is scrutiny. For one, nearly all of disproportionately swayed by leading Democratic pro-g un positions. Compared the to g un control advocates, g un candidates for the pivotal y first trip to the shooting range was a
2020 presidential election have demonstrated their support of an assault weapons ban. It’s a policy that any good Second Amendment supporter knows to be extremely complicated in its effects in improving public safety, but well-proven at tanking electoral odds. Such a ban was previously signed into law by President Bill Clinton for 10 years starting in 1994. Later that year, Republicans rode a wave of popular dissatisfaction to take the U.S. House for the first time in decades. The subsequent era of conservative congressional dominance saw the Dickey amendment passed, which dealt a huge setback to g un control by effectively freezing federal funding on g un control policy. Liberals are sadly repeating the mistake of gambling away valuable political capital for ineffective policies. What they should instead be focused on are universal background checks. Unlike an assault weapons ban, universal background checks enjoy majority support among American g un owners and would incur less political wrath. Most importantly, they would be but one step toward a more responsible distribution of g uns in America. For even though no evidence suggests that universal background checks work on their own, they would make more proven g un control measures easier to pass into law — namely, permit-to-purchase laws. Not only do such laws entail additional measures beyond background checks, they are also proven to significantly lower g un violence. Evidence is on the side of laws that reg ulate g un ownership, therefore encouraging responsibility. In a country awash with many more g uns than qualified g un owners, laws like these are muchneeded. Looking at the sheer number of g un homicides, g un suicides and accidental g un deaths in America, one can start to feel hopeless. But, somewhere between the Dickey amendments and assault weapons bans, hope appears. Those additional measures and permit-topurchase laws contribute to the responsible g un use I first encountered at my g un-safety class. And they are possible. What stands in the way are those who steer the conversation from policy to paranoia, and those who mistakenly lump together good g un control policies with bad ones. We just need to get better at tuning them out. Ethan Kessler can be reached at ethankes@umich.edu.
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I
was on my way to Mason them. Combining the techniques Hall when, out of curiosity, of drawing, printmaking and I decided to stop inside mixed media processes, Gotlib’s recurring motifs in her the Samuel T. Dana artwork center around Building, home of the the subtle expressive School for Environment beauty of nature’s and Sustainability at the life cycles. There is University of Michigan. something powerful I remembered how about students having I would always walk the opportunity to past this building on display their combined my way to class and passions of art and how I would think the representation of about its layout on the KIANNA inside, wondering if it MARQUEZ the environment, one that becomes mystical was anything special since it always felt like one of and enrapturing to their viewers the University’s unique sub- as a result. Undoubtedly, this is institutions. After noticing a what the curator of this gallery man walk inside without having had noticed in students and had to provide special authorization, brought to life for that reason. I committed to my decision and followed in his direction. What I would come to realize after my experience in the Dana Building is how often we overlook an influential source of information: Art. Once inside, I looked at the map for a general atrium area that I could explore before exiting the building on the opposite side to head to class. Upon entering Ford Commons, my eye was immediately caught Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez, the by what was on the far wall: Five large paintings hanging evenly curator of the Art & Environment spaced, basking in yellow light as Gallery in the Dana Building, is a if in a showcase. One displayed renowned member of the research a black and white shape that faculty for the University’s School curled and weaved like a brain. for Environment and Sustainability. Another one displayed what With an extensive background looked like a moonlit evening as a visual artist for both local in a swamp, seemingly magical and international organizations, yet it felt tarnished. Another one she has been reaching towards showed a stack of logs that laid her objective to bridge the arts environmental sciences as though they were too damp to and burn, articulating a charcoaled yet and has been able to create the washed look. I didn’t know what beginning of an interdisciplinary to think of these. They were dark, space here at this University with but I could feel their essence of this gallery. She relishes in the beauty and emotion, using black, idea of embracing different fields gray, brown and green tones to through collaboration and sees portray themselves as the nature the gallery as an effective result of that can be seen just outside the that: “We are bringing art to our heart of this city. Looking far to school to strengthen our sense of the left, I noticed a synopsis and community and facilitate dialogue found an explanation for this among students, faculty and staff in the spirit of green-building peculiarity. The artist who created these philosophy.” The gallery has been ongoing is Helen Gotlib, a graduate student at the University’s very since February 2012 and has own School of Art and Design. featured more than two dozen She calls her work on display exhibits since then, displaying “Natural Abstractions,” a title the artwork done by local and she chose as a way to convey her national artists whose passion liking for recreating ordinary for interdisciplinary projects has objects using the exotic become evident with this gallery. visualizations that she has for The artists have expressed their
We are bringing art to our school to strengthen our sense of community
motives for contributing to this gallery coincide with AdlersteinGonzalez’s mission statement: To create discussion. These students, professionals and instructors want their artwork to be seen to make the issues they care about more apparent in daily conversations. Many of these artists care just as you and I do, only they see that the most effective change will occur through their medium. If I were them, I would say the same. Currently, I believe the University is undermining the talent and the resources we have on campus to instill the social change that our generation is working hard to create. After viewing the exhibit in the Art & Environment Gallery, I could feel the impression that the display was having on me. The professionalism combined with the emotion and the portrayal of the natural world not only made me think further about the attributed environmental issues but also allowed me to form a psychological attachment in supporting it. Even though I deeply admired its all-encompassing aura, I felt within that it could be something more. After experiencing this medium of expression that had a lasting effect on my thoughts and my concerns, it felt natural to demand that it be projected on a larger scale than it currently is. I feel that this showcase deserves a larger platform, and ultimately the University hasn’t done enough to draw its students towards this medium of expression that could change their perspectives and priorities. I believe that if this University wants to achieve true positive change in terms of implementing a sustainable lifestyle into the academic body’s infrastructure, it must begin with giving the people a reason to want this change and it must expose the interdisciplinary themes between all of the subjects it has to offer to create a far-reaching drive for collaboration.
Kianna Marquez can be reached at kmarquez@umich.edu.
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I
’m consumed with an anger that I had been lucky to never have felt before this past summer. I’m angry at my friend who went home, not questioning my slurred “I’m OK” as I stumbled over and my other friend who disappeared with her boyfriend, never saying goodbye. I’m angry that I kept drinking and that I can’t remember how I ended up in the basement with him. I’m angry that I didn’t say no. I’m angry the reason I didn’t say no was because someone had not listened to my repeated no’s the year before. I’m angry that I felt like I couldn’t move, that I kept going in and out of consciousness. I’m angry that he said “that was bad” when he was finished. I’m angry that he dressed me, sat me up, then left me in the basement without turning back. I’m angry that no one was around or answered my calls when I finally made it
As time passes
upstairs. I’m angry that he passed me sitting on the stairs to get food with a friend as I waited for a car. I’m angry that I threw up six times that night. I’m angry that I could barely sit the next day. I’m angry that I felt numb for two weeks after and I now cry myself to sleep almost every night. I’m angry that my friends don’t acknowledge what has happened to me, that they don’t check in to see if I’m alright. I’m angry that I feel like I’m being selfish, feeling that sharing my experience would be a burden on those who listen. I’m angry that I’ve never felt more alone. I’m angry that he invaded my thoughts every day this summer, even being across the globe. I’m angry that I had to change where I would normally socialize at school and that I still see him in areas of campus where I once felt safe. I’m angry that I still can’t fully express my pain in words.
I’m angry that I have to distance myself from media surrounding sexual assault and that my volunteer position in SAPAC is now too much to handle most of the time. I’m angry that I have to accept this as a part of my past. I’m angry that only time can heal this wound. I’m happy that I love and feel in control of my body once again. I’m happy that this anger is no longer constant and that I can handle it better when it reappears. I’m happy that I have proved to myself that I am stronger than I ever thought I would have to be. I’m happy that I have come to terms with this being a part of who I am. And most of all, I am proud that I do not let it define me.
This is the piece in the Survivors Speak series, which seeks to share the varied, first-person experiences of survivors of sexual assault. If you are a survivor and would like to submit to the series, please email tothedaily@michigandaily.com
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Sports
Thursday, March 28, 2019 — 5A
Olivia Karas is having fun again After collapse at end of season, Brown ready to retool defense ANNA MARCUS Daily Sports Editor
In observance of Women’s History Month, The Daily’s sports section is launching its second annual series aimed at telling the stories of female athletes, coaches and teams at the University from the perspective of the female sports writers on staff. Daily Sports Editor Anna Marcus continues the series with this story. With a hand on her hip and the other pointed towards the sky, Olivia Karas beamed. It was the last routine of the annual Flip for Chip meet on Feb. 3, and the senior gymnast had just nailed a double pike in her floor performance to give Michigan an edge over Nebraska. She struck that final pose, a staple of her floor routine, as the music shut off. The sounds of Madonna, Frank Sinatra and a touch of “High School Musical” were replaced by standing ovations in Crisler Center and a screaming women’s gymnastics team. While Karas was consumed by the embrace of her teammates at mat’s center, the board flashed 9.950 for her outing. One judge awarded her a perfect 10. Karas had performed numerous variations of the routine in practices and meets before and has executed many updated versions of it since that day. But that meet in early February sticks out to Michigan coach Bev Plocki. Olivia Karas was back, and she was having a ball. *** Putting on a show when competing is a talent that comes naturally to Karas, one that she already had a knack for when she began her Michigan gymnastics career four years ago. The outgoing and bubbly gymnast did not shy away from the spotlight her freshman season, and quickly became defined by her dramatic performances that captivated crowds. “She tells us all the time, ‘I come from a family of actors.’ ” Plocki said. “So her parents both did some acting, I think her mom even more so than her dad.” Along with theatricality running in the family, Karas’ club coach emphasized the importance of choreography before she came to Michigan. At her club gym, the Chicago native spent time focusing on presentation along with technicality, learning early on to keep her eyes up off of the floor and the beam. Equipped with these skills, Karas not only dazzled audiences in her debut season, but judges were paying attention, too. As Plocki recalls: “She was kind of an instant sensation.” Karas took the Big Ten by storm in that first year, bringing in recognition after recognition. She shocked the conference as a nine-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and a three-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week. She was named to the All-Big Ten first team and claimed Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. She finished the season ranked as the No. 2 vaulter in the nation and No. 7 on the floor exercise. The list could go on. In addition to all of Karas’ individual accomplishments, the women’s gymnastics team was, as usual, having a banner year. Michigan won the 2016 Big Ten Championship in Lincoln, Neb., and sent three gymnasts to the NCAA Championships.
For wide-eyed Karas and her classmate Emma McLean, competing in their first Big Ten Championship proved to be an experience that exceeded expectations. “My freshman year, everyone always told Emma and I that winning Big Tens was the best feeling ever,” Karas recalled. “And you watch it and you’re like ‘Yeah it looks pretty cool’ — obviously you’re winning your conference — but you don’t really get it until you experience it. “It was just one of those moments that I’ll never forget.” The 2017 season brought more success for Karas, who performed her way to a career-high vault score of 9.975 and once again earned herself a spot on the AllBig Ten first team list. Michigan collected another Big Ten Championship and was crowned the winner of its NCAA Regional. Beginning conference competition in 2018 with an electric floor performance against Ohio State, earning a top-scoring 9.950, Karas’ junior season was on track to follow a similar trajectory to her first two. But then it didn’t. During the fifth meet of the year against Maryland, in the middle of her floor routine, Karas tore her Achilles tendon. Karas’ junior season abruptly ended while performing in one of her favorite rotations. *** If it weren’t for the wheelchair and boot, it would have been hard to tell that Karas was injured at all. Though sidelined, she maintained a larger than life presence at meets, cheering and screaming louder than any other gymnast and radiating positivity as her teammates competed. Plocki remembers having to “calm down” Karas, who was sometimes jumping and cheering while wearing her boot. “(Karas) didn’t reserve any of that energy for herself,” Plocki said. “She gave every single bit of what she had to the team.” Despite the constant smile present on Karas’ face, coming to terms with her injury did not come as easily as it may have appeared. “I definitely had moments where I think I tried so hard to be a positive force for my teammates and sometimes didn’t let myself feel pain and sadness,” Karas said. “But there were some days where Emma — she knows me so well — she would be like, ‘You need to let yourself feel’ because I would try to mask the fact that I had torn my Achilles with this like ‘Everything’s fine, don’t dwell on it’ attitude, but everything wasn’t fine. “And once I came to terms with the fact that I did get hurt and I’m allowed to be upset, I think I became more authentic in how I cheered for my teammates.” For Karas, it took a little over a month to deal mentally with the pain in a productive way and to let herself lean on others for help. She found that this better attitude came along once she had increased physical mobility. Throughout the entire healing process, though, her team provided her with consistent love and support. Sometimes, small acts and a little extra effort meant the most. Be it from cooking dinners, to giving her pep talks, to carrying her from the car, the entire team chipped in to function as a support system for Karas during the injury. “It’s impossible to not lean on them as family members,” Karas said. “I don’t think they know how much they helped me. There were
days that I really did not want to be here at all, because I was like, ‘If I can’t do a floor routine, if I can’t compete, like what am I even doing,’ and they reminded me that there are so many more things than gymnastics in life.” McLean, as a roommate and best friend, particularly took on these duties, providing care for Karas. And it wasn’t always glamorous. Karas explained that McLean helped her with showering and carried her places regularly, all while McLean was still practicing and competing. For McLean, though, being there to help was second nature. The two have had a strong bond since freshman year, and when McLean had a neck injury during her first season, Karas was always there to lend a hand. “We do talk about how we’ve helped each other through our hard times,” McLean said. “I think just being there for each other at the end of each day, and helping each other smile no matter what. “And the injury, it’s how you respond to it, not necessarily the injury itself.” *** It’s safe to say Karas got her comeback campaign. She recently received two regular season All-American honors for her senior year and she tied with freshman Natalie Wojcik for the top all-around score at the Big Ten Championship last weekend. Karas has been named one of six finalists for the AAI Award — an award given to the nation’s top senior gymnast. At first, it wasn’t easy to picture herself in the place she is now. “I definitely got to the point where I would try to do something and get so mad that I couldn’t do it, but I had to remind myself that I hadn’t done it for seven months, so obviously it’s going to be hard,” Karas said. Slowly, Karas was able to build herself back up to the role of an elite competitor on the floor exercise. She had to teach herself how to enjoy the floor again, overcoming the serious mental barrier that came while performing the event that had led to her injury. She, too, will never forget how she felt after her clean double pike at the end of February’s meet against Nebraska, viewing it as a highlight of her career. And Karas takes pride in how far she has come. “Getting hurt my junior year and getting kind of a victory lap (this season) is more than I could ask for,” Karas said. In Karas’ opinion, her comeback isn’t fully complete yet. Michigan awaits its NCAA Regional, and Karas has more routines left to ace as a Wolverine. “I like to say that I’m 98 percent back,” she said, “and that the 100 will get there when it needs to.” One thing Karas will admit, though, is that in her senior season, she feels the most herself. She has found music combinations that are authentic and the most “her” and has a stronger mentality, allowing her true self to shine in competition more than it ever has before. “I came in here really wanting to be perfect in everything, and in these four years, both in life and gymnastics, I’ve realized that mistakes are part of the process, and the only way to get through it is to laugh it off and to just get over it,” Karas said. Finally allowing herself to embrace those mistakes, Karas is having the most fun.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Senior Olivia Karas tied for the all-around score in last weekend’s Big Ten Championship, with a score of 39.600.
ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer
Don Brown is passionate, of course, but he isn’t known to mince words. The defensive coordinator’s feelings on how last season ended for Michigan football — 103 points allowed in the final two games — are an obvious example. “The most disappointing experience I’ve ever been through in my entire life,” the 63-year-old said Wednesday evening. “The whole thing.” Hyperbole or not, the epic defensive breakdown marred an otherwise remarkable year for the Wolverines’ defense, which still finished second in the country in total defense. But when faced with dealing with an inscrutable, seasonending collapse, Brown said he made “a tremendous mistake.” He hopped on a plane for the recruiting trail the day after the Peach Bowl loss before circling back with his current unit, leaving almost three weeks to let his defense’s shortcomings marinate. “I come back and I’m like ‘Holy shit! We’ve still got a little hangover.’ ” Brown said. “... It just leaves doubt in your mind as a coach — ’Did I do everything that I could to prepare my guys?’ That’s all. I take that stuff personally. “Sometimes you’ve gotta do a bit of a better job. Trust me, it’s being addressed. Our guys are totally into it. I’m just excited for
the chance to redeem myself.” Getting that redemption is undoubtedly an uphill battle. That climb is exacerbated with the departures of soon-to-be NFL Draft picks Rashan Gary, Devin Bush, David Long and Chase Winovich, as well as the lost veteran presences of Tyree Kinnel, Bryan Mone and Brandon Watson. Though par for the course for spring football chatter, Brown and his players have shown little concern about replicating last year’s accomplishments and righting the wrongs. Brown listed the names of improved players through five spring practices and claimed that the defense can go 16 or 17 guys deep right now. “It’s college football,” said junior safety Josh Metellus. “It’s always next man up no matter what happens. Losing big guys like Devin Bush, Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, David Long, that’s the game of football. We have Coach Harbaugh, who does a great job recruiting, bringing in guys to step up, getting ready for a role.” A number of younger players have generated buzz early on to fill the void, including sophomore defensive back Ambry Thomas, sophomore linebacker Josh Ross, incoming freshman defensive tackle Mazi Smith and redshirt freshman Luiji Vilain, who has missed the past two seasons with knee injuries. With Bush and Kinnel gone, the defense will also need two
new captains — a role that could be filled by Metellus and junior defensive back Lavert Hill. But with fewer household names on the defense, leadership will come from more subtle places. “There’s a lot of young guys on the team, younger than the D-line actually,” said sophomore defensive end Kwity Paye on how to fill Gary and Winovich’s roles. “I have to be the guy to pull the guys aside who’s messing up in practice and say ‘Let’s work on this today, let’s work on that today.’ ” Despite working in Brown’s system for another year, the defense is also making adjustments in practice against a new-look offense. With newlyhired offensive coordinator Josh Gattis implementing a pro-spread offense, the defense is now facing an up-tempo, no-huddle style that it isn’t accustomed to seeing. In practice, the Michigan defense would operate on a 16 to 18-second timer to get into new formations, but has never faced the threat head-to-head. While the schematic alterations are minor and the team has displayed confidence in potential new starters, a change beyond fundamentals is where focus lies in hopes to reverse course for the 2019 season. For them, it’s a matter of confidence. “Everybody has a part to play, everybody does their role,” Metellus said. “… We don’t need a star, we just need to play how our defense plays.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Defensive coordinator Don Brown said the collapse last season was “the most disappointing experience” of his life.
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Release Date: Thursday, March 28, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Ancient gathering place 5 Warm place to chill 11 “Waterfalls” pop trio 14 Medical breakthrough 15 Revolt 16 “That looks good!” 17 Dict. label 18 Not as nice 19 Sine __ non 20 Impressive vocal quality 22 Spew 24 Have a feeling 25 Reason for a warm eye compress 26 Race town near Windsor Castle 29 Information to process 32 “Sounds fair” 33 Berth place 36 Greek cross 37 ChapStick target 38 Partners of tails ... and what’s found in the answers to starred clues 39 Doctrine suffix 40 The Stratford, in TV’s “Newhart” 41 Pupil surrounder 42 Frost lines? 43 Flatters 45 Masculine 46 Cheats, with “off” 47 “__ always makes it better”: Anne Burrell 50 Throat dangler 52 Aboveboard 56 Solder component 57 Caviar source 59 Morsel on a shellfish platter 60 Anti-apartheid org. 61 Landfall for Noah 62 Word before and after sweet 63 Part of a snarky laugh 64 Approvals 65 Terminal info
DOWN 1 Emotional trauma consequence 2 Skin cream holder 3 Poetic spheres 4 Spray starch dispenser 5 Likely to err, eventually? 6 Hits theaters 7 Vestige 8 Spork prong 9 Finish, with “up” 10 *Italian pistols 11 *A skeptic’s wont 12 __-garou: werewolf 13 Facebook option 21 Safety feature at a trapeze school 23 Scandinavian rug 25 Seasonal visitor 26 Stage surprise 27 River with 37 bridges in Paris 28 *Quaker Oats cereal with a naval officer on the box 29 Retro phone part 30 Conference room stand 31 Tot’s ache source
33 Social customs 34 Imitates 35 Letter before sigma 38 *The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans it 42 Grand style 44 Safflower __ 45 Cut grass 47 Gets fuzzy 48 Diet for some aquarium fish
49 Paint layers 50 Arches National Park state 51 Hollywood crosser 52 “Oh dear!” 53 Ink smudge 54 Revered Tibetan 55 Farm females 58 “Blood hath been shed __ now”: Macbeth
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
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HAPPY thursday! By Timothy Schenck ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/28/19
enjoy the sudoku on page 2
Sports
6A — Thursday, March 28, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
With the end looming, Charles Matthews is running it back ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
Raiders wing Jarrett Culver on Thursday, a matchup on which the game’s result could hinge. A likely top-10 pick against someone whose chance at an NBA career will come down to guarding top-10 picks. “He can score on all three levels,” assistant coach Luke Yaklich said of Culver. “And then he passes the ball. He can get you an offensive rebound. He can score in the post. He can get you off a ball-screen with his pull-up jumper, getting to the rim. He can beat you off the ball-screen by passing it out to open shooters. Then he can
beat you off the ball-screen by getting it to the rim, to the bigs.” In short, he does damn near everything. In preparing, Matthews is even-keeled. “There’s not a lot of peaks and valleys with Charles,” Yaklich said. “He’s a mentally tough kid.” Where others watch film then rewind, then rewind again, then still don’t get it, Matthews sees things once and digests. In the run-up to a lateNovember game against North Carolina this season, the coaches were walking through
some of the Tar Heels’ concepts. They hadn’t brought up a certain baseline cross-screen yet — one of the base actions in Roy Williams’ offense. So Matthews did. When North Carolina ran it in the game? “Charles was right on top of it,” remembered walk-on forward C.J. Baird. Two seasons ago, Matthews arrived in Ann Arbor from a Kentucky program which has an ethos that juxtaposes Michigan’s in every conceivable way. Now, he is one of the culture-setters for John Beilein.
“I feel like it’s just all experience, and he has a lot of experience, coming from a really top-tier (program) that he came from, coming to another toptier,” Isaiah Livers, a sophomore forward, said. “It’s just bringing all the knowledge you learn (into watching film).” Just before, Livers had been asked about Matthews as a “leader by example,” which is usually code for, “a senior who doesn’t talk very much.” This time of year, you hear a lot about leaders by example, and the label has stuck to Matthews. The difference
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Given that this could be the last practice of Charles Matthews’ college career, he carries a remarkable air of normalcy. The redshirt junior gets on the floor and stretches his legs out, the foam roller vibrating just as always. He’s sitting next to Zavier Simpson and Isaiah Livers and then he’s shooting around with them before John Beilein starts a passing drill. The ball moves, but it doesn’t quite hum. Matthews darts towards the basket with his hands up, knowing the drill calls for the ball to go elsewhere. His facial expression is mostly the same serious look he’s carried with him for the last two seasons. He’s done this before. Shoes squeak. Just as always. It is an open secret that Matthews will go to the NBA — most of his teammates and coaches have ditched the formality of pretending — so technically speaking, every practice last week in Des Moines, Iowa, could have been his last. But this is the first where it really, truly feels that tomorrow, Michigan could lose to a team that just might be better. The Wolverines are favored by all of two points, a margin small enough that few will write about what this season could have been if it ends with a Sweet Sixteen loss to Texas Tech, the only defense ranking ahead of the Wolverines in KenPom. But Charles Matthews will wonder. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily Matthews will guard Red Redshirt junior Charles Matthews will face Texas Tech wing Jarrett Culver on Thursday, a matchup which could very well dictate the outcome of the game.
In short, (Culver) does damn near everything.
There’s not a lot of peaks and valleys with Charles.
For Brazdeikis, this is not your typical freshman THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — As the cameras swarmed to Ignas Brazdeikis, he only sank further into his element. A slew of local TV cameras shone in his face, there was a reporter from Sports Illustrated asking him questions and many more waiting for their turn. Brazdeikis, mind you, is a freshman, playing in his first NCAA Tournament. On the other side of the Honda Center, Texas Tech’s Malik Ondigo spent the afternoon talking about preparing the Red Raiders’ freshmen for their first taste of the tournament’s second weekend. This, after all, is a level of intensity that they’ve never experienced. As that same pressure is heaped on Brazdeikis, he’s the same player he’s always been. With each question, he only leaned further back into his chair, stretching his legs out into the scrum of reporters and running his fingers through his hair. When one reporter asked about Michigan’s defensive identity, he yawned in blatant disregard of the moment’s importance.
As soon as his yawn ended, the confidence returned. “I think (assistant coach Luke Yaklich) is definitely one of the best,” he told the reporter before pausing. “No, he’s definitely the best defensive coach I’ve ever had.” It’s the same confidence that endeared himself to Michigan fans back in November, when he responded to a sleepy, 56-37 win over Holy Cross by describing himself as the best free throw shooter in the world. It’s the same confidence that led him to respond to two hours of personal insults at Maryland with a flurry of flexes, before telling reporters, “I love that part of the game, that’s one of my favorite parts of the game by far.” And now, it’s the same confidence that has him ready for this moment — no mentoring necessary. Because it isn’t manufactured. It’s who Brazdeikis is, and who he’s always been. Nate Johnson, Brazdeikis’ high school coach at Orangeville
Prep, confirmed his effervescent confidence is rooted in his perceived version of reality. In Brazdeikis’ mind, Johnson said, Michigan is the best team in the country and he is one of the nation’s best players. After practices in high school, he would ask Johnson what levels pro players had scored on the drills that Orangeville ran. If the number was higher than his own scores, Brazdeikis would stay after practice until he deemed his own performances satisfactory. Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim, assistant coach Saddi Washington began to give a stock answer on the importance of not changing who you are this time of year and embracing the moment. Then, midway through his answer, a light bulb went off, as if he suddenly remembered who he was talking about. “But guys like Iggy and —,” Washington said, pausing, and failing, to rack his brain for anyone else comparable. “All of our guys, I think they really
I haven’t seen a kid like him that lives for these moments.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis noted that his self-confidence is among his favorite parts of his game.
thrive in these moments.” Amidst requisite praise for the Wolverines’ leaders, Haynes sang the same tune. “Iggy lives up for these moments,” Haynes said. “I haven’t seen a kid like him that lives for these moments. He loves the crowd, he feeds into it, whether it’s hate or love. He’s a different kind of guy.” But no matter how Brazdeikis’ approach has prepared him for this moment, there is no high school version of March Madness — certainly not in Canada. This is the reality that hit Nik Stauskas, Michigan’s Canadian guard from 2012-14 who Brazdeikis works out with over the summer, when the Wolverines made the national championship in his freshman season. Stauskas finished with zero and three points in his two Final Four games that year after averaging 11.0 during the regular season. “It’s definitely gonna be a new thing for him,” Stauskas told The Daily earlier this month. “March Madness is very unique, I don’t think there’s many things like this.” Stauskas, though, knew Brazdeikis would be ready. “I think (what stands out is) just how normal everything feels for him,” Stauskas said. “With all the success he’s having, it doesn’t feel like this is some kind of fluke for him. He truly believes this is just normal, this is what he should be doing.” Jordan Poole is one of the few who knows the March spotlight better than Stauskas. This time last year, he was the freshman thrust under its wrath after his buzzer-beater sent Michigan into the Sweet Sixteen. But when asked whether he’s given Brazdeikis any advice, Poole cocked his head back and cracked a smile. “I ain’t given him any advice,” Poole said. Because Poole, better than anybody, knows Brazdeikis doesn’t need it. “It’s just some people that’s just built for it.”
is, Matthews picks his spots to talk — halftime against Florida, in the aftermath of a disastrous loss at Penn State — and does so with maximal impact. “I don’t think he was ever one of those shy guys,” said assistant coach Saddi Washington. “I think that he was always very confident in himself and his abilities. And so when you got a kid like that who has that kind of confidence about himself, it’s an easy transition for him.” One of the core tenants of the culture Matthews has helped build is to settle for nothing less than championship-level play. After that game against North Carolina, where the Wolverines smacked the Tar Heels — holding them 30 points below their average and winning by 17 — he rejected a reporter’s assumption that Michigan played good defense. After hitting a buzzer-beater against Minnesota in January, he expressed only disappointment that the Wolverines didn’t run the Gophers out of the gym. After that loss at Penn State, he was sullen and angry and letting everybody know it. “Charles approaches every game the same way,” Yaklich said. “It’s a steady, methodical approach in how he prepares in practice, then his pregame routine to how he goes through things in pregame warmups to his coaching in media timeouts. It’s what makes Charles really, really good.” So against the Red Raiders, it’s no surprise that Matthews takes the same approach, holds the same expectation. It’s just as always, even if it’s for the last time.
I feel like it’s just all experience, and he has a lot...
MEN’S BASKETBALL
In ‘M’ and Texas Tech, top two defenses clash ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Growing up, Isaiah Livers changed the channel every time there was a hard-nosed defensive battle. After all, who wanted to watch a lot of people not scoring? But now, the sophomore forward knows that on Thursday, he will likely face one of those games when the Michigan men’s basketball team faces Texas Tech in the Sweet Sixteen. This will be the top two defensive teams in the country going at it, and Livers is as excited as anyone to be a part of it. “Now I want to see what the score is gonna be,” Livers said. “If we can hold them under their season average and they can hold us under our season average.” Livers changed his mindset on defense primarily due to assistant coach Luke Yaklich, who urged Livers to think about why he liked defense. Livers replied that he didn’t like people scoring because that’s how you lose games. Yaklich pressed other members of the team in much the same way, giving way to a culture change in the Wolverines’ program — one that loves defense. In that sense, the Red Raiders are a spitting image. Texas Tech hired coach Chris Beard from Little Rock in 2016, and Beard brought with him Mark Adams, his defensive right-hand man. Beard and Adams created much the same culture that Yaklich did, transforming the Red Raiders from a Big 12 afterthought to a national contender with a clear identity. But Texas Tech’s defensive strategy couldn’t be more different from Michigan’s. While the Wolverines run opposing players off the 3-point line, defend one-on-one and rarely foul, the Red Raiders play a “no middle” pressure defense that forces teams into baseline drives and tries for turnovers. Each has shined with its own scheme. Now, it’ll be strength vs. strength, identity vs. identity.
“There’s a hundred ways to do it right in basketball,” Yaklich said. “You can pick a hundred plays to run and it all revolves around how much you’re paying attention to that on a daily basis. … Coach Beard and his staff, like us on the defensive side of the ball, there’s certain things that we’re gonna pay attention to and stat and reward and really lock into.” At Wednesday’s practice, the Wolverines prepared to run a drill. Michigan coach John Beilein yelled out, “Perfect passing! Let’s go!” That’s how Michigan prepares for a stalwart defensive battle — by focusing on its offensive fundamentals. Perfect passing goes back to the very first practice. Go into the defender’s body. Put your outside hand all the way out so the passer can throw the ball easily. It’s something that constantly evolves, but in a game like this, it’ll matter more than ever. So with their limited practice time, the Wolverines have circled back to it. Staying disciplined. Holding onto the ball. Perfect passing. It’s the same strategy Michigan used against other pressure teams like Illinois and Northwestern. Texas Tech’s defense is a big step up from those two, but then, the Wolverines have had more time to perfect a strategy. “We just study them,” said assistant coach DeAndre Haynes. “Say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna try to score against them, you see this? Let’s do this.’ ” These kinds of games are often overlooked by the casual college basketball fan, eschewed in favor of a more glamorous matchup with a symphony of shots. But for Michigan and Texas Tech, the two most unique teams left in the tournament, both testaments to a specific type of culture change, perhaps the matchup couldn’t be more perfect. “We hang our hat on defense, they hang their hat on defense,” Haynes said. “And that’s gonna be two dogfights out there.”
Design by Sherry Chen
b-side
2B — Thursday, March 28, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
B-SIDE: NEW MEDIA
B-SIDE: TV
I’M POPPY RECORDS
The thoughtless, thrilling When ‘The Hills’ admitted world of musician Poppy it was smoke and mirrors MTV
BEN VASSAR
Daily Arts Writer
MAITREYI ANATHARAMAN Daily Arts Writer
“The Hills” is coming back this year. MTV is reviving its classic reality show about the lives of Los Angeles’s nouveau riche and calling it “The Hills: New Beginnings.” Most of the original cast is returning, except for the few who managed to find upstanding, respectable jobs cultivating lifestyle brands and Instagramming pinkish-beige things with gold accents. In their place, MTV is tossing in some new faces — Mischa Barton (hmm) and Pamela Anderson’s son (HMMM) — in the hopes that they’re pretty and blonde enough that we’ll forget they weren’t there the first time around. It’s just as well, because those four years of “The Hills” were a bit of a blur anyway. If there was anything to be learned from the show, it was just how boring your life was in comparison to the ones these women lived. They worked in impossibly chic offices, got bottle service at the swankiest clubs and they all had gorgeous, terrible boyfriends. They walked away from lifelong friendships for their gorgeous, terrible boyfriends. They ruined precious $30 Guerlain Cils D’Enfer mascara crying over their gorgeous, terrible boyfriends. They turned down once-in-a-lifetime summer jobs at French Vogue to spend more time with their gorgeous, terrible boyfriends. God, they were so young and dumb and strange, but hey, it worked. Then one day, when it seemed like everyone on the show was one or two vodka tonics at S Bar from committing a violent crime, “The
Hills” ended. Kristin Cavallari, the show’s villain-turned-protagonist, decided she was going to move to Europe (no country in particular, just Europe) and everybody said their clumsy, prickly onscreen goodbyes. In the final scene, Kristin heads out to meet her ride to the airport. Who is waiting for her but her star-crossed flame Brody Jenner (yes, he is gorgeous and yes, he is also terrible). They stare at each other longingly, banter about what might have been, and Kristin slips into a town car and speeds away. Cue a clip montage of all the good times they have had together, set to a stripped-down version of Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” Cut back to a teary-eyed Brody, watching Kristin’s car disappear into the distance. It has the makings of a perfectly anodyne television finale until something strange happens. The trees and Hollywood sign behind Brody move, and the camera pulls back to reveal that the scene took place on a soundstage. It had all been fake! In that moment, “Unwritten” felt almost taunting. Here was this song about the unpredictable nature of life, about the winding, inchoate paths we take. And all the while, “The Hills” was, as a matter of fact, totally and completely written. For six seasons we had laughed about how contrived the show’s squabbles were, how unlikely their professional successes were and how vapid everybody seemed. And the whole time, “The Hills” had been in on the joke. (Or more distressingly, the joke had been on us.) A doting, enthralled audience was — as Ja Rule put it — hustled, scammed, bamboozled,
hoodwinked and led astray. The illusion continued to shatter. At first, the producers suggested that the ending was an openended question of sorts, meant to provoke thought about what was real and what was fake. In the years since, though, the cast has mostly stopped pretending anything was real. Kristin and Audrina Patridge revealed that a big fight between them had never happened. Whitney Port said she didn’t actually take that Paris internship Lauren had turned down. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag admitted that the reason their neighbor’s son was always over at their house was because it was his house — his family’s house was easier to film in than the couple’s home in the Palisades (so yes, the birthday party they threw for little Enzo was all the conjuring of some bored producer). I have devoted maybe a third of my waking moments (and quite possibly a sizeable portion of my sleeping moments) to contemplating this scene. Was it mean? Ridiculous? A cop out? Quietly brilliant? Loudly stupid? The answer, I think, is yes. Nobody watched “The Hills” for vérité. It’s an unspoken truth that reality TV is more or less a misnomer, but part of the thrill of reality television is knowing that someone is taking it seriously because they have stakes in the illusion. That’s what makes MTV’s choice baffling — and admirable. It was tantamount to admitting that they didn’t really care about any of it. And they especially didn’t care about us. “Yeah, we’re fake,” the finale said. “What’s it to you?” It doesn’t get more real than that.
Poppy’s YouTube videos feel like “Twin Peaks”’s famous Red Room scenes. Her contrived speech, often dubbed over surreal electronic soundscapes, serves to critique cliché, fake and overstated online social interactions. Though some give her less credit than this, her rise to fame nonetheless demonstrates how much we continue to encourage artificiality and naiveté in women. Poppy’s childish and wideeyed appearance and behavior is a large part of her initial appeal. Listening to her mesmerizingly high-pitched, monotone voice forces you to stay. And to click on the next video. And the next. She constantly holds over our head the promise of finding out where she came from and who she is while never revealing more. And you can’t “find” her identity with a quick Google search either. She was born Moriah Rose Pereira in Boston, and moved to Nashville as a child before moving to LA to start her career. When asked where she’s from, she simply replies, “I came from the internet.” Many of her videos are nothing more than her listing things. In one she lists historical figures. In another she lists things she likes. In another she lists some phrases she’s found on the internet: “Young girl makes crazy video on Youtube, what happens next
you won’t believe your eyes!” “Thank you so much for all of your support.” “I wish I could explain to you how happy I am.”
And, when she’s not robotically regurgitating information she’s found online, she’ll make an off-kilter comment that makes us wonder if there’s something more to her (or if she’s okay?): “If it’s on the internet it’s ~reaaal~. Do you believe in the internet?” “Am I a girl?” “This planet makes sense to me.” So where does she come from? Where is she coming from with these videos? The only hint we’re ever given is a plug for her creative director, Titanic Sinclair. Sinclair has videos of himself doing much the same thing as Poppy on his YouTube channel, but his videos only garner a fraction of Poppy’s video’s views. This suggests Poppy’s appearance is a pivotal part of her persona. Why her? Well, her petite, doll-like qualities and unassuming expression all play into disturbingly idealized notions of the female figure — all notions that have come to be fully integrated into our construction of actual robots. Gendering robots has existed long before we could make any functional beings of the sort (“I’ll be your freak-a-zoid, come on and wind me up”) — but now we
can. In recent years in Japan, all sorts of efforts have been made in integrating robots into society. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has backed all sorts of efforts to have humanoids become integral parts of society, from automated housewives to policemen. While there are perks to making robots our pals, much of the gendering that’s already happening is highly problematic. It directly follows Japanese anime’s fetishization of youth and large-breasted, slim waisted women. It also reinforces gender roles not just in the workplace, but also in the very way we expect people to talk and behave according to their respective gender. Considering these things, Poppy seems to be asking us, “Am I the girl you want?” Her speech is reminiscent both of the uninspiring Instagram captions of today and of the idealized voices of the humanoids of tomorrow. It’s disappointing but not surprising that this artificiality doesn’t hold up for Titanic Sinclair. Do you really think the it-girls of Instagram got famous off their wit? At this rate, we’ll one day have automated Barbie dolls sweeping our floors. Whether you believe Poppy is actually critiquing these ideals or basking in her newfound popularity (which she always knew she could have cause she’s pretty!), she certainly makes us think about what we value in identity, and, more importantly, just how much of this needs to be carried over to our future robots.
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: ‘WHO DO YOU LOVE’
B-SIDE: TV
Laugh tracks, yada yada SAMANTHA DELLA FERA Senior Arts Editor
Imagine you’re standing in a room with your friends. One of you makes an offhand comment, maybe a quick joke. Suddenly, you hear echoes of laughter. It’s not yours, it’s not your friends’. It doesn’t stop. It gets louder, it continues, it happens again. Slowly it drives you into madness, until all you can hear is the shadows of ghostly laughter ringing in your ears. This may sound like a nightmare, and to many (myself included), it is. But this isn’t the topic of the next Jordan Peele hit or a Hitchcock classic. No, this is the horrible reality of so many sitcoms and so-called comedies, a vehicle of pure torture: The laugh track. The laugh track was first used in the “Hank McCune Show” in 1950, and it has plagued the TV-watching public ever since. First developed by CBS sound engineer Charley Douglass to “sweeten” audience laughter, the laugh track was initially used as a way to amplify natural audience laughter and polish it for a more unified sound. Now, the faux chortles are generally called upon to make drab, overhyped shows that employ misogynist tropes and unoriginal storylines appear funny. And yes, I am talking to you “The Big Bang Theory.” Laugh tracks have become so ingrained in popular television that one may not even realize the
effect it has on the show they are watching. Tuning in on the laugh track is like shattering the glass on a friend’s annoying habit: Once you notice it, there’s no going back. Take a look at what happens when the artificial laughter is removed from an episode. Without cues on what is and isn’t supposed to be a joke, all that’s left is an awkward and unsettling dialogue that feels as pitiful as looking into the living room window of a bachelor pad in Fort Wayne. So why are these tracks so hated? General consensus points towards an annoyance at the induced chuckles, but studies show they still work. Some of the most beloved comedies have used laugh tracks, including “Seinfeld,” a show even a canned-laughter-hater like myself cannot help but enjoy. The success of laugh tracks relies on psychology and a bit of insecurity. In an interview with NBC, Dartmouth psychology professor Bill Kelley claimed “We’re much more likely to laugh at something funny in the presence of other people.” You hear that sheeple!? We’re all so obsessed with being accepted and included that we need others to decide when we should and should not laugh. To that I say: No more. Some of the best comedies of the past and current decade are void of a laugh track. “30 Rock,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Office,” “Veep” — the list goes on and on. Comedy has found its home in the
mundane and the absurd, not the slapstick and the obvious. Why are the previously mentioned shows so popular? Why do they cause uproarious laughter without falsified cues? Because laugh tracks aren’t real life. They are an artificial corporate method that makes a TV show feel like a TV show. Yes, shows like “The Office” or “Curb” often implement some slapstick methods, but their humor comes in the fact that everyone can see their own lives in these characters, if not amplified versions. Everyone has seen outrageous antics in their place of work or ridiculed the way the government is run. We’ve all wondered what goes on behind the scenes of our favorite TV shows or poked fun at the bureaucracy. We’re already laughing — we don’t need sound engineers to tell us why. Imagine if there were inserted gasps at every plot twist in “Westworld,” or inputted screams at every gunshot in “The Sopranos.” It would be a world of absolute entertainment chaos. Those who favor the laugh track will scorn this take, and lament why everyone can’t just enjoy what they want to. That is fine, everyone has different tastes, but I would like to add one more thing. Due to Charley Douglass’s monopoly on the laugh track, most of the soundbytes used today are the same ones used in the mid to late 20th century. Most of the laughs you hear today are coming from people who are now dead. Perhaps mortality is really the greatest joke of them all.
SONY MUSIC
The Chainsmokers’s new video for their single “Who Do You Love” featuring 5 Seconds of Summer presents a Battle of the Bands competition between the two groups as they belt out the song while trying to outperform each other. Each band takes turns wowing the crowd, with wild tricks such as f laming instruments and crowd surfing to draw their attention. The two bands released the song back in Feb. and have surprised audiences with their unpredictable collaboration. The single’s musical style seems to incorporate a good balance of the sound fans have come to love from both groups. With a catchy chorus and simple acoustic riffs, there’s no
doubt this tune was intended to be a heartbreak anthem for their young audience. Although the video doesn’t focus on the song’s lyrics about dying relationships,
Who Do You Love The Chainsmokers ft. 5 Seconds of Summer Sony Music
it does give us a taste of the youthful wildness and passion many artists try to hone in on. Set in a garage with a crowd dancing and singing along, you can feel the video’s subjects’ excitement
in being young and declaring that through music. The Chainsmokers and 5 Seconds of Summer have given us yet another heartache singalong young people will be dancing to for the next few months. While the moves the bands shows off are a little cheesy, the absurdity of their performances gives off the humorous notion that maybe we shouldn’t take things so seriously. Watching the two groups be so carefree and goofy makes you want to grab a bunch of friends, turn the music up and sing away the sorrows of young heartbreak.
— Kaitlyn Fox, For The Daily
b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTIST
Thursday, March 28 2019 — 3B
B-SIDE: FILM
IN
PROFILE
EMMA CHANG Senior Arts Editor
Despite their legality (or lack thereof), fake IDs are ubiquitous across college campuses. Responsible RAs warn against the commodity, citing the harsh consequences of owning one: “Up to one-year of incarceration, a fine of $2000, or both,” according to the Barone Defense Firm. Posters line the walls of freshman dorms informing students that selling a fake ID is a punishable felony that could lead to $10,000 in fines or up to 5 years of jail time, or both. And yet, the fake ID market still persists. Fake IDs are an art form born out of necessity, and their muse? Senator Frank R. Lautenberg from New Jersey. In an act meant to combat drunk driving in the United States in 1984, Lautenberg raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. The Prohibition Era showed us laws that take away a person’s access to alcohol won’t necessarily deter them from getting it anyways, so it makes sense that Lautenberg’s bill only served to create the fake ID market. There are genuine concerns regarding this rise in false identification, but underage college students just trying to have a good time maybe shouldn’t have been this country’s first priority. The art of creating a fake ID is an elusive one — as the popularity of the false ID grew, so did state precautions. IDs may have everything from a fun bear outline when a light is shined on it to a fun “tricolor image of a bridge on the front that appears and disappears when viewed from different from different angles.” These characteristics are meant to make an ID harder to copy, and they do, but some see these simply as obstacles to overcome on their way to a night on the town. With the rise of the internet, it’s not surprising that most students get their IDs from an online retailer. These sites, though, tend to rely on a business-minded student that act as middle-men, campus ID ambassadors if you will. These students are the key to the market — they gather the customers, their details and, just like a true artist, aren’t always proud of their final product. In an email interview with The Daily, one anonymous student discussed the difficulties of getting an ID photo just right: “a white background ... no shadow showing behind the person.” Forget being able to take high quality Instagram
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ALEXIS RANKIN / DAILY
photos or LinkedIn headshots, the value of a photographer lies in their ability to make a subject look fresh out of the DMV. Personally, this student “was not proud of the way (their fake ID) turned out, just because (they) feel that the picture was taken too far away.” Just because the photo has strict guidelines doesn’t mean artists lose all semblance of creativity. This same student mentioned the fun behind being from a different state or being able to make “your new address to be a mansion or even a local McDonald’s.” Imagine that — for all Schlissel does to fight the drinking culture at the University, someone could have picked his address to deceive a bouncer or a clerk at the local liquor store. Inspiration can come from anywhere, too. Some people skip the “different state” thing altogether and go international, toting Irish or Chinese IDs that go unquestioned. But our source stressed that the only way to truly test your ID’s legitimacy (other than risk getting caught at a bar) “is to hold it side-by-side with a real ID from that state.” That begs the question, though: Is a real (expired) ID of someone who looks like you better than a fake ID of you? The answer depends on your preferences. Just like some people prefer a Rococo era painting to that of a darker Renaissance piece, some like the comfort of knowing their ID is real rather than carrying around something totally fake. According to our source, one detail to keep in mind is the fact that “if the ID has another person’s name on it, but a picture of you, it is identity fraud” — a legal line that most people aren’t trying to cross when they make their fake ID. Just like the stone or clay matters in sculpture, materials matter in the art of making
fake IDs. Most state IDs use some kind of PVC plastic or a “synthetic paper material” called Teslin. Teslin is useful in its tear resistance and waterproof qualities. That said, it also a very easily accessible material, making it an ideal material for most fake IDs. One problem a counterfeiter may run into with Teslin, though, is the legibility of the inkjet printing, a simple problem that can be detrimental if not properly handled. Even still, some state IDs are made out of polycarbonate and will break in half upon enduring the infamous “bend test.” Our source even said others may even go so far as to steal a DMV ID machine, taking out some of the fun of figuring out what exactly goes into making an ID, but producing a high-quality ID nonetheless. Aside from ordering a fake ID, there are numerous places where someone could learn how to make an ID themselves. One site, King of Fakes, offers a tutorial on how to DIY a fake ID — all you need is a printer, some photoshop skills and a template to follow for the ID. It seems simple, but like most DIY projects, it’s probably best left to the professionals. And despite improved technology, like 3D printing, our source isn’t any more optimistic about the future of the DIY ID. To them, new technology “can’t make fake IDs more believable, because your ID is either real or fake.” While it may seem a daunting task to make your own ID, no one ever became a renowned artist by being scared. The art of the fake ID is an untapped source of inspiration. If Billy McFarland was able to copy his debit card magnetic strip onto a piece of steel, successfully making your own fake ID is probably not too crazy of a dream — just an illegal one.
B-SIDE: MUSIC
CHELSEA LAUREN / WIREIMAGE
Cleansing unoriginal sin: Ghostwriting in hip-hop DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer
Summer 2018 reignited a seven-year-old beef between Pusha T and Drake, one that never has nor will be merciful to Drake. “The Story of Adidon” is the obvious apex to this chapter, with the revelation of Drake’s decision to unveil his son’s existence only to promote his Adidas line coming as a low move. The publication and media attention understandably
proved to overshadow other revelations of Drake’s sleazy character. But throughout the whole saga, Pusha T echoes the same information that set the rap community on fire in 2015: Drake makes extensive use of ghost writers. Perhaps it’s just not all that shocking anymore — we’ve all heard that joke about “The Weeknd writing half of Drake’s best album.” But it was a different story when Meek Mill first spilled the beans on Twitter four years ago. This isn’t to say that Drake is the only person with a ghost
writer. Some of the biggest artists in the industry, from Frank Ocean, to rap legend JayZ, got their start ghostwriting for other artists. The market’s full of them. But it only ever seems to be called out when a rapper — not a pop artist, not a country singer, not a rock star — is faking it. Why all the intense scrutiny? The thing with rap is it’s nothing without its f lows. Whereas the lyrical content of a pop song or country ballad can be overlooked for its production and musical stylings, rap’s all
What is ‘Ratatoing’? The scary world of Pixar rips STEPHEN SATARINO Daily Film Editor
It’s surprisingly difficult to go back and re-establish a perspective of animation and children’s entertainment prePixar. In his great TED Talk, Pixar animator Andrew Stanton (the second animator the company ever hired) talks about the expectations of the princessmeets-prince adventure they had to fight against when pitching their first film. Stanton’s team rejected the pre-destined love, sing-along formula that had propelled “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” to the top when they began work on “Toy Story,” approaching the film with their own set of criteria: No songs, no “I want” moments, no happy village and no love story. “Toy Story” has become a watershed work both technically and for the genre as a whole. The film changed the way studios thought about what could be made, marketed and sold to the youngest slice of the box-office pie (and the parents dragged along with it). The massive success Pixar enjoyed post “Toy Story” paved the way for a new type of film to emerge — the Pixar imitator. Ignoring the other actual successful animation studios that have followed in Pixar’s wake (the Dreamworkses of the world), it’s much more fun to look at the other end of the spectrum, to shine a light on the crust scraped up from the bottom of the barrel. The picture for this article includes the box-art for a horrible knockoff of Pixar’s “Up,” almost unbelievably called, “What’s Up:
about the message it conveys. The production is important, certainly, but it follows the cues of the words and story of the rapper. Unlike other song lyrics, those of a rap song are generally more meticulously composed into bars with a lot of wit and creative conventions tying them together. It’s more about being smart than it is making people dance. Take these lyrics by Pusha T for example (you know, while we’re on the topic of ghost writing and Drake): “The game’s fucked up / N***a’s beats is bangin’, n***a, ya hooks did it / The lyric pennin’ equal the Trumps winnin’ / The bigger question is how the Russians did it / It was written like Nas, but it came from Quentin.” The lyrics are deft, chock full of imagery, rhymes, metaphors and wordplay. Yet it’s still captivating and memorable, despite lacking the same catchy quotables you’d expect from a different genre’s chorus. There’s more at stake when you cheat in the rap game; you claim more than you’re capable of. That being said, more importantly, the lyrics tell a story. Rap prides itself on the element of “realness,” the capacity to speak to specific
Balloon to the Rescue!” Ignoring the terrible attempt to fit the only recognizable word — Up — into their title, “What’s Up” represents a class of films that exist basically only to confuse or deceive people into watching them. The companies behind these monstrosities prey on all the poor-old, aloof-and-unassuming grandparents looking for birthday gifts in the Walmart bargain bin — as far as they know, they’re supporting the animation studio that has owned the Oscar category for the past two decades. Within this class of terrible knockoffs, sometimes the movie on the disk isn’t even the same as the one on the packaging. It’s stupidly common for one of these knockoffs to ship a disk that isn’t at all related to the one on the cover. In a (pretty great) video by the YouTube channel “I Hate Everything” titled “The (NOT DISNEY) Collection,” the host revealed that two of the knockoffs he bought off Amazon, one called “Braver” and the other “Tangled Up,” were just rips of basic cable TV programming from the ’90s. The movie that was supposed to be “Braver” turned out to be a cartoon made-for-TV-movie about a Christmas princess. And even if you dodge the predatoryass bullet of a complete scam, like those named above, there’s a very non-zero chance that the DVD you just purchased is a renamed, reskinned and reimported foreign language animated film given a new, Pixar-ish title. See “Ratatoing.” The actual movie content in each of these punishment packages is just god-awful, but it’s also kind of fun. For a buck a piece, you can own dozens of awful,
experiences and people in extensive detail. Rap, more than any other genre, also faces unfair critique and judgement before it’s even listened to, many music listeners are quick
good-for-nothing knockoffs that probably aren’t even bad enough to finish. But I get why people are so morbidly-curious to try these out. Names like “Chop-Kick Panda” and “A Cars Life” sound like terrible, groan-inducing jokes, so the fact that they’re “real” movies just begs you to give them a watch. It’s interesting to see how the movie-internet rallies around this sort of cinema dredge. There’s a whole host of YouTube channels, blogs and podcasts dedicated to covering the worst of the worst of the worst when it comes to movies. Something is enticing about watching gruesome, catastrophic failures. Watching a bad movie that means well is often times much more painful than watching an alleyway dumpster fire of a movie with no redeeming qualities. This is probably similar to that deep psychological thing where we can’t not watch tragedies unfold. It’s a fight or flight thing — adrenaline pumping, we have to keep watching to make sure the bad movie doesn’t kill us. It’s not unlikely that it’s us who are keeping these movies in circulation, not the video aisle grandpas. While we laugh at the mismatched mouth movements of the overdub, the production companies laugh their way to the bank. (I mean, it must cost like, a day and a half of work to crank one of these out, right?) But, you know, whatever. Keep ‘em coming. They’re grating and grossly exploitative, but I don’t know if I have a better recommendation if you just want to sit and laugh with some friends. One or two tip-toes into cinema masochism never hurt.
such a pivotal part of the rap community. It comes from a history where a large majority of the people who listened to it and took it seriously were the people who experienced the stories it told. Because rap started with the Black community, the majority white, middle-class American crowd did not consider it a serious music genre. The genre is often reduced to harmful and negative stereotypes of drug dealing, philandering and bravado without much consideration for how these topics might fit into a song with much deeper meaning to it. This considered, faking your art is blasphemous not only because you’re lying, but because you steal someone else’s experience and personality by doing so. You de-legitimize a genre that demands it be taken seriously despite the critique of a judgemental, racist world. Kendrick Lamar puts it simply: “I called myself the best rapper. I cannot call myself the best rapper if I have a ghostwriter.” In a rap game where the true test comes in honing your skills and not falling victim to the expectations of other people, legitimacy is what gets you respect.
Rap prides itself on the element of “realness,” the capacity to speak to specific experiences and people in extensive detail. Rap, more than any other genre, also faces unfair critique and judgment before it’s even listened to, and many music listeners are quick to excuse it as meaningless
to excuse it as meaningless by virtue of their superficial understanding of it — they can’t fathom rap beyond the “gangsta rap” trope. And perhaps that’s why the urge to protect the genre is
b-side
4B —Thursday, March 28, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
baked.buzzed.bored.
B-SIDE: BOOK REVIEW
in this series, three daily arts writers in varying states of mind visit the same place and write about their experiences. this week’s destination:
‘I Wanna Marry Harry ’ ALEC COHEN /. DAILY
Real books, fake books and the space in between MIRIAM FRANCISCO Daily Arts Wrtier
In 1942, a radio station director named George Goodwin published a set of three inch by five inch cards. The front of each card was printed with the most basic musical information about a song — lyrics, notes — and the back had text about the song’s authors, publishers and copyright holders. Goodwin called this collection the Tune-Dex, and it would change music forever. Goodwin’s Tune-Dex was based off the card catalogue system, an apparatus that was for many years the basis of every library’s organizational structure. In 1942, Goodwin placed a fullpage advertisement in “Variety,” calling his creation the “First and Only Permanent Living Index of Popular Music.” Tune-Dex was one of the first subscription services, delivering new cards to those who had applied for “charter subscription.” In the days before the internet, musicians had to contact publishers for sheet music. The whole process was laborintensive and expensive, and it didn’t really serve the needs of people who wanted to learn new, popular music. TuneDex was intended for professional musicians who needed to pick up songs very quickly and didn’t have time to contact the copyright holders. Radio stations and lounge owners were also interested in keeping up with the latest hits, but it wouldn’t have made sense for them to order sheet music either. Somehow, Goodwin convinced publishers to let him copy and sell abbreviated versions of their music. When Goodwin died in 1965, the Tune-Dex monopoly — which was largely a one-man operation — came to an end. But Goodwin’s idea had caught on, and musicians (and other interested parties) were no longer willing to buy hundreds of pages of loose-leaf sheet music from publishing companies. Beginning in the 1940s, cocktail lounges were springing up everywhere, a mix between a bar, a dance hall and a restaurant where you could drink and hang out while listening to live music. The musicians who played at these places were often asked by patrons to play current hits, a feat which was much easier if they had Tune-Dex cards for the songs. Musicians wanted something convenient and cheap to help them navigate the f lexibility they were now expected to have. Tune-Dex cards were easier to carry around than sheet
music and helped musicians keep up with the latest songs, but the cards could easily be lost, so when Goodwin died, the Tune-Dex concept was altered slightly. Abbreviated songs were formatted as “fake books,” a way for musicians to keep track of tunes they had heard once or twice, but didn’t know well enough to play without some foundational direction. Music publishing companies didn’t create these fake books, so musicians were forced to go underground. This is how the bootleg fake book industry was born; out of necessity, not maliciousness,
a living are also the ones that can prevent them from gaining experience and an audience. Fake books are an example of a phenomenon that can be found anywhere copyrighted content gets too expensive or burdensome. Just as musicians found a way around the expensive establishment methods of music distribution, students are exploring different channels of acquiring textbooks. I know this seems like a leap, but stay with me. In recent years, textbooks have become so expensive that many students simply cannot afford them; Vox reported an 88 percent increase in prices from 2006 to 2016. There are a few reasons behind this. Textbooks now often come with singleuse access codes for online materials, and the lack of competition (five companies own 80 percent of the market) means publishers don’t need to worry about students buying a cheaper version of their product. The strategies that textbook publishers are using to make their products more affordable are not cutting it. Cengage, for example, offers subscription services, so that students can have online access to a number of textbooks for one price — but that option can be nearly $180 per semester, with a firm access expiration date and no possibility for reselling. In response, students have found a solution that takes a similar approach as fake books: open access textbooks. Free the Textbook is a non-profit working to help students and professors create a new culture around textbooks. They ask professors to consider the cost of textbooks when assigning material, stop requiring students to buy access to quizzes and homework and collaborate with librarians and scholars to create high-quality, open source textbooks. Like fake books, the open access movement is about fixing an issue that publishing companies have so far been unable to address adequately. While it’s important to compensate authors, the current textbook system prioritizes corporate profit over students’ education. Luckily, students and their professors are finding new, innovative ways to make knowledge more accessible. Open access textbooks are the fake books of higher education, a way to democratize an industry by providing students with knowledge in a way that is both accessible and affordable.
Just as musicians found a way aroudn the expensive establishment methods of music distribution, students are exploring different channels of acquiring textbooks. I know this sounds like a leap, but stay with me.
and in response to the changes in audience demand and performance styles that were recognized by musicians, but not copyright holders. This is a moderately interesting (if technical) anecdote in the recent history of the music industry. It’s also a useful example of how publishing and copyright companies have difficulty keeping up with cultural and technological changes. The story of fake books is about both publishing and music, about the ways that words are protected by the law and how artists find ways to say the things they want to anyway. Copyright and art has a very complicated history. Copyright law protects artists and creators, but it also limits the consumers of their work, meaning that the same channels through which an artist can make
Some call me a stoner with too much free time to watch television. I call myself a cultural anthropologist who, with the assistance of THC, has the ability to consistently (sniff out?) the top tier of pop culture. The next throwback on my queue was a little ditty called “I Wanna Marry ‘Harry,’” originally broadcasted on none other than FOX, the Rupert Murdoch owned-network responsible for such greats as “My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss” and “Mr. Personality.” Entering into this show in a post-Meghan Markle world, I was a bit critical. How would this make my Lord and Savior/part-time Queen of the Blacks™, the Duchess of Sussex look? Is this their meeting story? Then, I realized that this show was not only American-produced, but also was made years ago, and I looked in the mirror and felt like a reallll dipshit. So, here we are at the beginning of the show. The show started off on a strong foot by hiring a man who isn’t even British, but from Papua New Guinea. His accent was great. Apparently, the FAKE Prince Harry they hired has a “93% face match” to the actual Windsor. Nope, you read that correctly. The FOX Network used fake science as a justification for a mediocre doppelganger. His name is Matt Hicks, and if you’re wondering if he seemed stable enough to participate in this pseudo-social experiment and not experience an immense power trip, he most certainly is not. This particular quality in Matt — the gradual formation of the belief that he truly is Prince Harry — comprises the bulk of the reason why the meat of the show became unwatchable for me. Or, at least unwatchable without wincing because I was locked into that baby for a good three ‘sodes. The biggest question I ran into was whether or not the women (read: Charlotte Russe managers turned “actresses”) actually knew that this guy was a nobody, or if some of them actually lived in the delusion that the royal family would actually participate in a reality show wherein the women wear jean cutoffs as formal wear. Legally, they dodged the whole “identity fraud” thing by only referring to Matt as “sir.” So, if you think about it, there was a lot of leeway for the women to actually believe that this really was Prince Harry, so much so that the entire B-arc of the show was centered around the few daring women inside the house that began to question — weeks in — if this all seemed a bit too good to be true.
Man, this show is really boring. It’s not even bad in the fun way, it’s just a huge drag. The premise is as ridiculous as it sounds — a “Bachelor” type show with the man in question being a “lookalike” of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Twelve vapid stereotypicallyAmerican women vie for his affection over the course of several weeks. At first they are not told that the man is Prince Harry, it is merely suggested that it may be. Later, they are told that he is, in fact, royalty. Aside from being stupid, the concept is pretty creepy as well, the deception being a stone’s throw away from wearing a mask of human skin a la Ed Gein. Most reality television requires some suspension of disbelief, but this is insane. There is a less-than-zero percent chance that these women did not figure out that that this bland rock-kicker was not in the line of succession to the British throne. It’s not like they didn’t have clues — aside from the important fact that he doesn’t resemble Prince Harry in the slightest, his accent isn’t correct, he suffered from an acute case of flop sweat and his “security detail” was wearing sunglasses that look like they came from the clearance rack at Bass Pro Shops. I had hoped that getting drunk would make it more enjoyable, but alcohol was no match for the fucking awfulness of this show. It did, however, help me identify what the intended purpose of this trainwreck was — performative cruelty, designed to make you laugh at the vapidness and greed of the contestants. I can see how this could be a funny concept, even if it is mean-spirited, but it just wasn’t. The contestants weren’t interesting enough, the “prince” was bland and the drama wasn’t that dramatic.
I dabble in dating shows. Bachelor in Paradise is fantastic. However, I dabble less in the Royal Family, and this is apparently true for the average American, hence the mere existence of “I Wanna Marry ‘Harry.’” This obscene show works as follows: A bunch of women who share the acute, American awareness of the celebrity of the Royal Family, their knowledge fueled by tabloids depicting Prince Harry’s Las Vegas buttox scandal and the Queen’s hats, are taken to an English estate to be the victims of a seriously creepy ruse in which an “Environmental Consultant” pretends to be Prince Harry in the hopes that one woman (or many — this guy was horny as shit) will fall in love with him and remain in love with him when he finally reveals his true identity as an “Environmental Consultant.” That was a mouthful, and it’s almost impossible to believe that such a ludacris show actually aired on FOX before it was pulled after four episodes. Now, I could easily deride the show, but I’m not going to do that. The show is supposed to be derided. Instead, I’d like to interpret it charitably. I’ve really never seen anything like “I Wanna Marry ‘Harry.’” It poses quite an interesting interplay between fantasy and reality, something akin to a reality TV-regular TV hybrid. Kingsley, fake Harry’s butler, is literally acting, granted very poorly, like a royal butler for the entire show, even when interacting with fake Harry. The same goes for all of the other service members that are meant to create the illusion of royalty — it’s like the Walmart version of the Walmart version of Downton Abbey. On the other hand, the show is riddled with typical reality TV tropes: mean girls, random shouting, the sense that the entire episode is one big trailer and surgically repaired audio clips that sound like Siri explaining why the girl who gets to stay in the master bedroom with fake Harry is actually a bitch. So in one foul swoop, you get people playing a part alongside people that are supposedly
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
b-side
B-SIDE SECONDARY
ALEC COHEN / DAILY
Pop culture fetches a high price for Greek life merch DYLAN YONO Daily Arts Writer
You can’t step foot on campus without seeing at least one person clad in Greek life apparel inspired by pop culture. Hoodies in the vein of Travis Scott’s Astroworld merchandise, but with “Alphaworld” instead. Bape-inspired T-shirts that say “A BATHING AEPI.” Sometimes Greek Letter Organization (GLO) apparel is so smoothly designed that at a glance, you can’t tell it’s not the original — what I thought was a Champion reverse weave hoodie actually said “Delta” on the left-chest logo. The branded nature of Greek life shouldn’t come as any surprise: The University of Michigan might be the world’s most heavily-branded school, and fittingly, its student body is very brand-conscious in their choice of apparel. Part of me detected a nefarious capitalist invasion on our identities pervading campus. I’m reminded of the fashion world’s favorite Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. In it Calvin wishes his shirt had a logo on it — “It says to the world, ‘My identity is so wrapped up in what I buy that I paid the company to advertise its products!’” At first, I thought brandinspired GLO apparel was the fucked-up final form of this phenomenon. I myself am a Greek life outsider, and I initially saw people whose personas were conflated with companies to the point that they couldn’t make
the choice between representing their Greek org or their cultured (read: wealthy) taste for expensive brands. There exists a widely-held belief that Greek life is full of silver-spoon white people with no perspective on reality — something that quickly falls apart when you meet someone in Greek life and find out that they’re real people — but nonetheless, it exists. Seeing students with a Greek letter Supreme box logo imitation feeds into that image. I say at first because I’ve checked my ego since then. Really,
with a T-shirt that had the van from the deluxe edition cover of Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City photoshopped in front of their fraternity house. There I saw the potential in these pop culture parodies. For every shitty Supreme bogo knockoff, there was a brilliant parody. I sometimes even wish I was in a fraternity as the apparel chair, so I could come up with something clever for my brothers to wear. Has anybody made a Greek life hoodie with the Quaker Oats logo yet?
Every organization then has its own guidelines for what designs can be used. And of course, those organizations collect royalties on every design with their letters on it.
I’m no exception to the rule: I too live for clothing brands. There are some companies I adore because they are minimally branded — Uniqlo comes to mind — but I love having Nikes on my feet. It’s a sad day for me if the waistband of my underwear doesn’t have “Tommy Hilfiger” wrapped around it. Not only that, but some of these designs are actually super clever. My older brother, a devout Sigma Pi at Grand Valley State University, once came home for the summer
But the question is: How are these t-shirts born? Where does GLO apparel come from? That’s what this B-Side’s curious editor asked, smelling a vast conspiracy underneath all this merchandise mimicry. Her request for an interview with Underground Printing turned up short; according to them, the company managing licensing for GLO apparel — more on that later — has strict guidelines and “Generally speaking, they do not allow
B-SIDE: STYLE
ISTOCK
The money is in the fake: Profitability of knockoffs PRIYDARSHINI GOUTHI Daily Arts Writer
The fashion knockoff industry has been in business for possibly as long as the fashion industry itself. It is common knowledge that products created by highend designers like Gucci and Chanel are the dreams of many, only to be afforded by few. Thereby, the fashion knockoff industry has now become the one-stop solution for the masses.
I say “industry” because the magnitude of businesses working in the field of making copycat products — namely bags, belts and even apparel — is astonishing, to say the least. Furthermore, this industry is now morphing into an economy that shows no signs of slowing down, especially as the desire for exclusive products is becoming increasingly ubiquitous thanks to social media and the rise of influencers. The famed interlocking Gucci belt has
become adorned by so many Instagram stars that it no longer stands out against Yeezys and other trademark streetwear goods, which now dominate the social sphere. Some argue the copycat economy is founded on the basis of a crime: theft of design. This is true to a certain extent. Many believe that it, like any business, is simply fulfilling an existing gap in the market, matching the supply to the great demand and capitalizing on a lucrative
Thursday, March 28, 2019 — 5B
(those) imitations and parodies.” But that couldn’t be the end of it, could it? The case went cold, and I was prepared to do a deep-dive on Greek imitations based on my own speculation and suspicion. Frantically I texted my older brother, begging him to tell me where the hell those clothes came from. Then a friend of a friend of a friend led us to Greek Dressing. At last, we found it: An apparel company that seemed to specialize in just the kind of merchandise on which I’m writing about now. Tuesday afternoon, I caught up with the brains behind the operation. LSA senior Everest Guerra laid the groundwork for Greek Dressing in the early part of his college career. “Freshman, sophomore year, I noticed my fraternity was making a lot of apparel,” Guerra said. “Like a lot a lot of apparel. Like $30,000 a year in apparel.” That may sound like a stretch, but some napkin mathematics told me that number was very realistic. For bigger fraternities, with 150 or more brothers each dropping $200 or more on clothing over a year, that $30,000 number is right in sight. Now multiply that $200 figure times 4,200 students involved in Greek life. The University of Michigan alone has a multi-hundred-thousand-dollar per year Greek apparel industry. That’s a lot of design work, a lot of transactions, a lot of logistics. That’s where companies like Greek Dressing come in. Guerra saw those complications in his own fraternity’s apparel production. “The designs weren’t that cool … the process for ordering was really hard … there just wasn’t a really good system for it. And I kinda saw an opportunity to improve on the system we had.” Greek Dressing was born to solve those problems. The process is simple: Fraternities and sororities bring their ideas for apparel to their campus representative. An in-house design team renders a proof, and through an online feedback platform, the campus reps go back and forth with their client until a final design is produced. A private web store is constructed for the client where their members can purchase the clothes themselves. Then the garments are produced (usually by a local printer in Detroit) and fulfilled by Greek Dressing. When I first read the local printer’s response to my editor’s interview request saying that Greek apparel imitating popular brands were not allowed, an image was conjured in my mind of GLOs working to produce clothing in the dark so that their rip-offs could survive in the light. But as it turns out, a sophisticated system
underlies their production. A quick peek at the Greek Dressing lookbook shows that pop culture references play a big part in their design philosophy. Guerra explained that they incorporate those references into their designs to set them apart from
other companies doing a similar thing (as it turns out, there are many). Some orgs know exactly what they want, but others go through a sometimes lengthy design process. “One of our clients is going to Toronto for a formal, and they just asked us to come up with a couple different designs,” Guerra said. “I think we’re on like design eight now. We got to eight, we selected one, which is really awesome. But for us it was like, OK, what’s important to Toronto? Drake is obviously a staple of Toronto, the Toronto Raptors are a pretty staple team, the Leafs, or anything like that. So we’ll think of pop culture references and try to build those into a lot of our garments.” On the legal side, Guerra mentioned the same licensing company that the local printer did: Affinity Licensing, the governing body of all GLO trademarks. To produce Greek apparel, first a vendor needs to get licensed with Affinity, but it’s not a blanket license. A separate license is needed for each individual organization. It can be difficult for a small company. There are up-front costs associated with obtaining a single license. Every organization then has its own guidelines for what designs can be used. And of course, those organizations collect royalties on every design with their letters on it. Whenever Guerra’s team makes a design, it goes through Affinity, who give it an approval or denial.
This makes it a little easier on companies like Greek Dressing when it comes to the use of pop culture and existing brands. It’s a sort of legal grey area. I imagine their brand-based designs fall under fair use as a parody, or something similar. Whatever the technicalities are, the licensing company will give the thumbs up or thumbs down on each design. “We made a cool Chance the Rapper tee and they were totally fine with it,” Guerra said. “But then we made an Off-White tee, and they were like, ‘No, you can’t use that brand.’” As his artists have become more and more familiar with what is and isn’t allowed, they’ve been able to anticipate when a design won’t get approved so they can advise clients to pick something different. Designing apparel based on what’s trending is a tricky game because of how quickly things go in and out of fashion. “A Drake reference, that might work last month because Drake just dropped a new song, (but) it’s not gonna work in six months because that pop culture reference is played out, there’s going to be a million people who’ve already done it,” Guerra said. “We did an Astroworld one, and then we saw similar stuff coming out around the same time, so it’s hard to know sometimes who was first,” he added. Interestingly, Guerra noted patterns among different orgs for what kind of references they like to use. “I’ve done enough University of Michigan organizations that I kind of know this organization is gonna be into more of the hip-hop pop culture references, this ones gonna be more into sports pop culture references, and this one just wants some crazy artwork, they don’t want any pop culture references,” he explained. The conversation proved eye-opening: The underbelly of brand-based Greek life apparel was no conspiracy after all. Like all things Greek life, everything is written, set in stone under welldocumented procedure. As for the designs themselves, they are the medium for a creative race, a rush among fraternities and sororities to come up with the trendiest, coolest and cleverest design. Services like Greek Dressing have found a comfortable place in that race. Is there a conversation to be had about “the American way to express individuality”? Maybe, maybe. But Greek life apparel is not necessarily the “final form” of that thinking like I once imagined it. It’s another avenue upon which “the American way” manifests itself, but it’s a cool one, if I say so myself. Greek life has turned pop culture references into a new, distinctly American form of creativity.
business opportunity. Business and morals have often conflicted with one another, and this is no exception. Time and time again, critics have cried out against the rather unknown masterminds pulling the strings of the knockoff industry, and lawsuits have been filed, but to no avail. The fact of the matter is that this economy operates more like a complex web spread across the world, far too flawless in their working to be rooted out. While exclusive brands charging thousands of dollars rightfully call those in the business of copying wrong, Coco Chanel herself very frankly admitted that knockoffs were simply the “ransom of success.” The economic impact is similar to a pendulum — it could swing either way. Often, when knockoffs are easily available, genuine customers are naturally less willing to shell out large sums of money when they find others enjoying the same sense of exclusiveness at a much lower cost. This possibly leads to lower brand loyalty, since loyalty is a subjective aspect, closely related to the availability of alternatives. However, not all designs can be replicated, and definitely not all imitations are of similar quality to the original. There might be a few extremely well-made knockoffs that are almost impossible to distinguish from the genuine product, unless you were to examine its every intricacy: from the lining, to the material, to the type of stitch used. Moreover, some designs are products of the brand monopolizing on its superior finish, production technique and detail-oriented
work, making them simply too difficult to copy. For example, replicas of the Balenciaga city bag often struggle to find similar high-quality leather quality with the right amount of shine. What’s even more important than simply discussing the nuances of replication is the realization that the fashion knockoff industry is not limited to simply making knockoffs. It also includes some very popular and commonplace brands, all lumped under the category of fast fashion. While you can guess what these brands are, I am referring to common favourites, like Zara and H&M, who are indeed infamous for churning out designs similar to those seen on the runway in shockingly little time. These brands work on the basis of microseasons and are able to rehaul their entire lines to match Fashion Week designs in as much or even less time it takes for the exclusive fashion houses to bring their collections from the ramp to their window displays. These brands are well-oiled machines with a clear system in place. The inclusion of these large, global companies into the copycat economy exponentially increases the size of the industry and not only normalizes a part of it, but even legalizes it. However, these multinational corporations are not without their own set of troubles. The rise of fast fashion in the past decade has completely transformed how this age-old system works. Demand has skyrocketed because many consumers have come to rely on clothing from these cheap and easy brands, as they unknowingly
become involved in this unspoken side of the knockoff industry. In today’s age, the knockoff industry continues to grow with the introduction of online shopping and the fact that replication isn’t simply limited to high-end designers anymore. Companies based in China, like SheIn, are known for ripping off designs from more common stores and selling them for dirtcheap. They seem too be to good to be true, and they often are, thanks to their mediocre quality material and large-scale production. What is even more amusing about this business of knockoffs is that it’s not a one way street. Often times, large companies, the likes of which include Old Navy and Anthropologie, have been accused of profiteering by copying the work of individual designers. This stream of interaction is received more with anger, because the masses seem to feel wronged in knowing that companies to which they shell out their own hard-earned money are profiting by stealing another artist’s work. The last piece of this puzzle is the legal aspect: I was surprised to find that much of the replication that occurs is legal, since small-scale designers often do not trademark their graphics or images. Furthermore, there have even been cases of designer fashion houses copying work, including Saint Laurent, Gucci and Off-White just to name a few. This just goes to show that this industry is not restricted by the type of product, or the imminence of the brand involved, but functions only according to one thing — the bottom line.
It’s a sad day for me if the waistband of my underwear doesn’t have “Tommy Hilfiger” wrapped around it.
Arts
6B — Thursday, March 28, 2019
B-SIDE LEAD
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
if it is allowed to leave. Is art only real if it fits the (ethnocentric) narrative?
JOSEPH FRALEY/ DAILY
Unnecessary antitheses: Perspectives on ‘realness’ JULIANNA MORANO Daily Arts Writer
I read Monica Youn’s “Stealing the Scream,” a poem narrativizing the theft of Edvard Munch’s famous Expressionist painting, and, without hesitation, I rooted for the thief. How could I not? In the third stanza, Youn scoffs at the museum security, outwitted by the thief, only for the walls of the museum itself to join in: “the guards rushing in — too late! — greeted only / by the gap-toothed smirk of the museum walls.” By the next, Youn paints the picture of a misunderstood vigilante-prophet. A rogue Moses? “Someone has the answers, someone who, grasping the frame, / saw his sun-red face reflected in that familiar boiling sky,” Youn concludes. Then, I second-guessed myself. Cheering on art theft would certainly make me an enemy of museums, which, on the contrary, I have always cherished and respected. I wondered: Was I also making myself an enemy of art? At the same time, I don’t think Youn’s ultimate aim is for her readers to weigh the ethics of art theft. Rather, Youn seems to be posing a more reasonable, worthwhile challenge, and that is to interrogate assumptions about the proper place for a work of art. She dares us to ask ourselves: where does art live? Where can art live? Is it always ideal to keep art cooped up inside? What does art gain and lose when it flies the coop? And I think the underlying question here is: Is it an artwork’s place in a museum that gives it meaning — that makes it real? I spoke to three women with backgrounds in museum work and studies, and I asked them the same question, though perhaps not in so many words. They had some things to say about the traditional, fixed conceptions of what makes a work of art real. They had much more to say about possible alternatives. Is art only real if it’s inside of a museum? Jillian Reese, community program manager at the Detroit Institute of Arts, respectfully disagrees with that question. She’s uniquely poised to make such a call, as a figure in the museum world at once invested in the DIA itself and the external communities with which it engages.
One of the most successful programs Reese has helped bring to multiple communities in Southeast Michigan is Inside|Out, in which the DIA exports reproductions of original artworks housed inside the museum and installs these reproductions in various outdoor venues of Detroit’s surrounding communities. “There are things that an art museum can’t do,” she began, then chuckled and corrected herself, “I shouldn’t say can’t. There are things that museums don’t do that community collections can do.” Reese identified one chief advantage of this transportation of reproductions beyond the walls of the museum: “We’re meeting people where they’re at … they don’t have to come down to 5200 Woodward Avenue to see the art.” In addition, rather than de-contextualizing art, Inside|Out re-contextualizes art in new, open air environs. “When you remove these images from their context in the gallery, and you put it in unfamiliar space, it adds this sort of whimsy. It’s fun and funny and irreverent for a Van Gogh to be in a park where it can get rained on,” and Reese laughed as she continued, “pooped on by a bird, all that sort of stuff.” On a more serious note, she addressed the osmotic meaning-making that this recontextualization enacts, arguing that it “allows people to have a chance to really notice it and to look at it a little deeper. It starts to inspire you in thinking about your environment in a different way.” Along a similar vein, Inside|Out proceeds from a teaching methodology that the DIA espouses called “visual thinking strategies,” which prize the role art appreciators play in constructing the meaning of a work of art. “You bring something to an artwork,” Reese stressed. “How you read the artwork is influenced by that.” In turn, she said, “We really try to use Inside|Out pieces and images that will spark that sort of explanation.” In this way, Inside|Out provides an opportunity for individuals to make a personal connection with artwork that a gallery in a museum may not, our eyes tempted by the explanatory labels that seem to accompany every artwork. The authenticity of these Inside|Out reproductions notwithstanding, is that connection anything but real? Would anyone dare call those processes of meaning-making
inauthentic? The progressive gestures of Inside|Out have not proceeded without resistance. “I think that the people who had the the largest pushback against it was our curatorial staff,” Reese explained. “Librarians, registrars, programmers, educators in the art museums saw this as a democratization of art: access to the arts for more people,” in Reese’s experience, whereas “A lot of curators thought, well, why would they come to the museum if they could just Google the image to see it on your screen,” carrying
Dr. Lisa Young, a lecturer in the archaeology and anthropology departments at the University of Michigan, challenges that assumption in a course she teaches called “Frauds and Fantastic Claims in Archeology.” For part of the course, Young covers the history of the Michigan Relics: a group of tablets found in central Michigan and falsely attributed to pre-Columbian visitors to the Americas due to the imitation cuneiform inscribed in them. When teaching this story of how several political, religious and economic elites made absurd attempts to pass off these fraudulent artifacts as evidence of untold Old World influences on Native American civilizations, Young stresses what is at stake when those with the power to declare what is real and what is fake wield their power irresponsibly. Specifically, the purported existence of these tablets were weaponized in favor of what Young identified as “the myth of the mound builders: (That) these mounds could not have been built by Native Americans,” referring to the monumental landforms left behind by Native American tribes in Midwestern states. Young went on to explain the political reverberations of such denials of authenticity to Native American civilizational achievement: “You can see how that can really start to become a narrative, which it did, to deny native people their traditional homelands.” In fact, she pointed out that Andrew Jackson invoked the Michigan Relics “in a speech to Congress in 1830 to justify why Native Americans should
Perhaps all this concentrated thought and talk has made me sentimental, but I want art that becomes real when I have a relationship with it.
a similar attitude toward physical reproductions. Reese’s response? Increasing access to the arts, whether in the form of digitization or material reproduction and exportation via programs like Inside|Out, does not make the museum obsolete. “There’s enough space for both,” she argued, adding that “anyone who has gone to a museum knows there’s a big difference” between the originals housed in the DIA and their reproductions on the internet and in Inside|Out installations. “There’s no comparison. They serve two different purposes.” Yet these two forms of participation are not mutually exclusive, either, and Reese has the research to back it up. “With Inside|Out, we have evidence that, in every community that we install in, during and after the installation, for about a year, we see a spike in attendance at the museum.” Laughing, she elaborated, “People look at (an Inside|Out installation) and say, ‘Maybe the DIA isn’t as stuffy as I thought it was.’” Rather than sapping the authenticity of art, Reese’s program attests to the amplification of an artwork’s meaning once it moves beyond its walls, to the multiplication of the authentic experiences with art. In many ways, art becomes more real
be removed off their traditional homelands and shipped out to Oklahoma.” Because they were not allowed to lay claim to real art — “Because they’re just in the way.” Of course, in the case of the Michigan Relics, we’re talking about archaeological objects, but as Young herself warned, there are various parallels outside of
the archaeological sphere. In the discussion section of her class, students examine knockoffs of brand names. The resonance of this archaeological conflict over the facts with contemporary trends of political debate and “fake news” are addressed. It makes you rethink the weight of the accusation of fraudulence, even when levied against a work of art. It reminds you: There is an artist behind that work of art that you’re disenfranchising. Is art only real if it’s the “original”? (Resisting the ethnocentric narrative, part two). Dr. Natsu Oyobe is a curator of Asian art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. As a curator, she falls into the camp that the DIA’s Jillian Reese identified as the staunchest defenders of art’s rightful place being inside the museum. Oyobe has a distinct, refreshing take on what counts as “real” and “fake” in the world of fine art. “Copying is a really important sort of training and mastering,” followed by interpretation and the creation of “something of your own,” in the East Asian tradition, Oyobe explained. She added that in response to nineteenth century Western influences, “the idea of copying really is tarnished in a way. Because of that Western idea (that the original has the) only true authenticity. That’s something that also embedded into the minds of Asians as well.” Oyobe will confront these conflicting notions of authenticity in an upcoming UMMA exhibition she is curating. Called “Copying and Creativity in East Asia,” Oyobe’s exhibition will showcase art that prizes imitation, like that of the Chinese and Japanese literati painters. “The way they create their own work is to first copy brushstrokes of the masters who came before them,” Oyobe explained. “You have to have knowledge. If you paint this way, that really refers to this painter in the fifteenth century.” Through her exhibition, which will open Aug. 17, 2019 in the Taubman I Gallery at the UMMA, Oyobe seeks to “argue against that kind of binary,” which arbitrarily sets imitations at odds with originals. Does art become real when we build a relationship with it? I’m circling back to Youn, and I’m taking some of Oyobe’s wisdom with me. Both women have refreshingly radical conceptions of what makes art real, though they approach it from two very different
SINGLE REVIEW: ‘UNEMPLOYED’
RACHEL STERN / NOISEY
Tierra Whack is a multifaceted rapper and R&B artist. Her many hues are established not only by her bright-colored, evocative style, but also by her ability to take on multiple personas across her creative work. Inspired originally by the immersive worlds of Dr. Seuss, Whack established her ability to take on different personalities with her debut album Whack World, released in 2018. The album consists of fifteen tracks, each only one minute in length. It’s considered both an auditory and visual project, as it’s paired with a 15 minute music video that visualizes its scenes entirely. Whack’s most recent single, “Unemployed,” epitomizes her keen sense of blending visual art with DEB JACQUES / C&G NEWSPAPERS
angles. I think their unexpected harmony is where the answer to my initial inquiry may lie, the answer to my question of whether believing art should exist outside of a museum makes you an enemy of art. Youn says, “The policemen … stand whispering/in the galleries: ‘ … but what does it all mean?’ / Someone has the answers, someone who, grasping the frame, / saw his sun-red face reflected in that familiar boiling sky.” Oyobe said, “Sometimes the donor or collector who owns objects comes to us and says they want to donate these pieces, or they have these art objects but they don’t know anything about this.” And they ask Oyobe, “Would you tell me what this is?” She told me she often screens these inquiries and often has to be the one to disappoint them. “But I always say that, if you like this reproduction,” she added, “I think that really becomes authentic to that person.” She said, “If you love that piece,” then that inscribes the work with authenticity all the same. And I say: The answer to my opening question is no. No, none of us are in enmity with art. Museums provide a beautiful home for artwork. They pay homage to the complexity of art, the individuality and collectivity of art objects. The DIA, UMMA and numerous other museums are on the front lines of affirming the value and meaning of art. But they are not keepers of that meaning and they are not what makes art real. We make art real. Think about it: Could it exist without you? Without your eyes upon it? Without your body in front of it? Receiving its message, interfering with it, making it dynamic and communicative and rich and resonant? That is why I want osmotic art. I want art that can be rained upon. I want art that subverts the norms. Perhaps all this concentrated thought and talk has made me sentimental, but I want art that becomes real when I have a relationship with it, the way a child wants a toy that becomes real once they love it. I want to be someone who “has the answers,” to see my own face reflected in a work of art. And I don’t want to have to steal art in order to experience that. I don’t want to be told my experience with a work of art is fake. I want people like Jillian Reese, Lisa Young and Natsu Oyobe at the helm, expanding our notion of what makes a work of art real. I want to escape the unnecessary antitheses set up between what’s “real” and what’s “reproduced,” and I want to focus instead on the reality of the meanings we construct when we take it all in. Don’t you?
her sound — the vividlycolored, couch-potato cover art serves as a manifestation of her enemies who can’t match her clout. Whack disses challengers with her characteristic satire and eccentric style, perfectly weaving the connotations of
Unemployed Tierra Whack Interscope
her cover art through each lyric: “You’re overweight, you ate a soda (Yo) / I’m super sober, you doin’ coke (Yo) / Coca-Cola (Yo, yo).” Building on the success of her debut, Whack continues to establish herself as the
queen of idiosyncratic formatting. Since Feb. 19, she has released five singles — one per week — that all fall under the umbrella of what she titles #WhackHistoryMonth. With “Unemployed,” Whack continues to trailblaze a path for unconventional rap and the creative expression of women in the contemporary rap space. Her recent merch design, which is a play on her last name, encompasses her approach quite perfectly: Weird Hype And Creative Kids. Whack is on the comeup, and she’s changing the norms for female rappers. Sit back, and watch Tierra Whack take her throne.
— Samantha Cantie, Daily Arts Writer