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CAMPUS LIFE

Spilling the Beans

Installation of art details healing after alleged assault

Union created after discrimination claim fights for severance pay following local coffee chain closure

Experience of man who accused prof. of misconduct unveiled in SMTD Soderquiest Atrium

LEAH GRAHAM

DESIGN BY CHRISTINE JEGARL

Daily News Editor

When the baristas at Mighty Good Coffee formed a union last fall, they intended to stop their employers from discriminating against workers. Now the members of the Washtenaw Area Coffee Workers’ Association are negotiating severance pay as the owners of the local specialty coffee chain prepare to shutter all of Mighty Good’s stores across the city by the end of August. The first location to close its doors will be the Main Street location in Kerrytown, which is slated to close Friday. An April 15 letter from Timothy Ryan, an attorney representing the chain’s owners, Nic Sims and David Myers, informed employees they were being terminated. “Nic and David have concluded that they are not well suited to operate a retail operation,” the letter states. “They have found the experience to be overly stressful. It has created an unworkable burden on their relationship and their family.” On Tuesday, baristas at Mighty Good Coffee protested the termination notice, which informed some workers they would be losing their jobs in less than a week. The employees demonstrated outside of Mighty Good’s location on South University Avenue, which will close on May 5. Mandy Gallegos, a barista at Mighty

Legislation would change guidelines for disinviting controversial speakers ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter

On April 9, legislators introduced two bills into the Michigan House of Representatives that could impact free speech on college campuses. The first of the two bills, called the “Campus Free Speech Act,” could affect the number of public areas for free speech. If a demonstration or exercise goes against the four justifiable reasons to limit free speech, which are demonstrators who are deemed a public threat, other platforms for expression, assembly and distribution of literature can still occur and the campus has no free speech zones. If all of these criteria are met, public universities will have the right to intervene. Currently, the University of Michigan is not legally allowed to ban speakers who use “hate speech” from their facilities unless they pose a threat to the community. In February, the University concluded that housing staff are not allowed to remove hate speech from student doors. See BILLS , Page 3

shops and laying off all of the employees.” An initial letter informing Mighty Good of the complaint against the company was sent on April 9, according to the NLRB case docket. One source close to WACWA, who asked to remain anonymous due to ongoing negotiations with Mighty Good, said the owners’ decision to close seemed to be related to the filing of the NLRB case. “It could seem that way definitely,” they said. “That’s one of those things that you can never be certain about but you’ll pretty much always suspect.” Gallegos said the union formed in the fall to bargain for better conditions and equal treatment after a fellow barista quit over accusations of racial discrimination, adding that Myers and Sims, the company’s owners, were not happy with the workers’ decision to form a union. “We unionized because of a racial allegation against our work where one of our coworkers — a Black co-worker — was being underpaid compared to all of our white co-workers, so we unionized so we could just have opportunity and equal treatment in our workplace — better working conditions — and unfortunately, they did not like that,” Gallegos said. “They thought it

was retaliation, and we’ve been working toward our union contract for the past few months with them, with the Mighty Good owners and their lawyer.” Nya Njee was the barista who quit. She worked at Mighty Good for two years, but said she left after she discovered she was being paid less than her white coworkers. In an interview with The Daily in August, Njee said her wages did not increase while she worked at Mighty Good despite receiving complementary performance reviews. Njee said she realized something was “kind of weird” when she mentioned not getting a pay raise to her owner and manager and they looked like “deer caught in headlights.” “It just kept staying with me and it was bothering me the whole time and so when I found that my coworkers, like junior coworkers, some of whom didn’t have any coffee experience, had gotten raises before me, I was immediately like, well, that’s interesting since I’m literally the only Black woman in the whole company, and it was just unfortunately pretty obvious as soon as I heard that my junior coworkers — non-Black coworkers — were receiving raises before me,” Njee said. See COFFEE, Page 3

CLAIRE HAO & SAMMY SUSSMAN Daily Staff Reporters

An interactive audio-visual installation aiming to bring attention to opera singer Samuel Schultz’s healing after an alleged assault by School of Music, Theatre & Dance professor David Daniels was unveiled in the SMTD Soderquist Atrium this morning. The installation is comprised of three speakers playing recordings of Schultz sharing his side of the story and a rolling counter projection estimating Daniels’s pay by the University of Michigan since he was placed on administrative leave in August 2018. Schultz’s allegations of rape against Daniels and his husband Scott Waltersin 2010 broke in a New York Daily News article published in August 2018. Daniels was placed on leave from the University later that month, shortly after the allegations became public. Further reporting by The Daily uncovered multiple attempts by Daniels to solicit sex from University students on Grindr, a dating app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. The Daily also found evidence the University was made aware of sexual misconduct allegations by University students against Daniels in March 2018, though they awarded him tenure in May. In an email to The Daily, University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen wrote that Daniels is on paid leave. See SMTD, Page 3

Panel discusses artificial intelligence in Writer talks daily life at Dissonance Event Series history of Speakers analyze social implications of digital innovation on humans, society

GOVERNMENT

Bills could affect free speech on campuses

Good’s Arbor Hills store, which is set to close Aug. 31, said the workers wanted to draw attention to what was happening at the company. “We’re trying to let people know that union-busting is a real thing,” Gallegos said. “The unfortunate part in all of this is that the Arbor Hills location will still be open, and so the unionized baristas will be working there, which will be very awkward for a lot of us.” Sims and Ryan did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Multiple Mighty Good employees told The Daily the owners were not responding to any press inquiries. The letter informing employees of Mighty Good’s intention to shut down all of its stores came exactly one week after the employees’ union filed an unfair labor practices complaint against the company with the National Labor Relations Board. Gallegos said the cause of the complaint was due to the fact that Mighty Good Coffee was “short staffing their workers.” “Recently, we filed a ULP — which is an unfair labor practice — against them due to short staffing us chronically for the past few months,” Gallegas said. “And after they got that ULP they sent us an email via the lawyer saying that they were closing up all four of the

CAMPUS LIFE

MELANIE TAYLOR Daily Staff Reporter

Wednesday night, more than 100 people attended a panel discussion titled “Understanding the Social Implications of AI.” The panel, part of the Dissonance Event Series, was held in the Michigan League. Organizing Committee Member Sol Bermann, chief privacy officer and interim chief information security officer for the University of Michigan, explained Dissonance lies at the intersection of many different areas of study. “Dissonance is what I like to call a grassroots faculty and student effort to take a multi-

disciplinary approach to issues at the confluence of technology, policy, privacy, security and law,” Bermann said. Bermann said Dissonance makes an effort to incorporate perspectives from many different schools and organizations housed at the University. He listed LSA, the College of Engineering, the School of Public Health, the School of Public Policy, the Medical School and the Law School as a few of the many past participants. “As we were putting the series together, we wanted to get a range of perspectives,” Bermann said. “We didn’t just want it to be coming from a pro perspective or a con perspec-

tive. When you put the pro and con together you get a sort of clash: dissonance.” Bermann said he believes the University provides the unique capacity as a worldclass research institution to pull in-house speakers together and provide informative panels such as the panel on Artificial Intelligence. He explained Dissonance focuses on issues that relate to current events, a category in which he believes AI falls. “AI is increasingly a known commodity in your daily life, but do you even think about it anymore?” Bermann said. “Do you think about the way you’re seeing the things you see on

Amazon, or on Facebook, or on the news? Do you think about who’s presenting those things to you? Do you think about what it means to have autonomous vehicles versus having the responsibility of driving a car? Do you think about the algorithms and how transparent they are or aren’t because those algorithms, again, are influencing our daily life.” Bermann said because college-age students are on the cusp of the “digital age,” never having known a time before cell phones or the Internet, they are less likely to question the merits of AI. See AI , Page 3

KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily Information professor Kentaro Toyama speaks at the University Information and Technology Services-hosted event titled “Dissonance: Social Implications of Artificial Intelligence” at the Michigan League Wednesday evening.

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INDEX

educational integration

Ford School book talk series hosts UC Berkeley Professor Rucker Johnson ANGELINA LITTLE Daily Staff Reporter

Wednesday, Rucker C. Johnson, a ssociate professor at t he Goldma n School of Public Policy at t he Universit y of Ca lifornia , Berkeley, spoke to approximately 50 st udents about his new book, “Children of t he Drea m: Why School Integ ration Works.” The ta lk wa s held at t he Ford School of Public Policy a s a pa r t of t he Book Ta lks @ t he Ford School series. Johnson’s book, published Tuesday, advocates for school integ ration a s a policy critica l to promoting equa lit y. Public Policy Dea n Michael Ba rr int roduced Johnson, empha sizing t he releva nce of his book to current policies. “ We’re rea lly at a critica l moment in ma ny ways in our count r y ’s histor y a s policy ma kers a nd ot hers debate not only t he f ut ure of public education but rea lly t he kind of societ y we wa nt to live in,” Ba rr sa id. See EDUCATION , Page 3

NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6

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2 — Thursday, April 18, 2019

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY: By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

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Thanks to @TheBSU student activists our @UMich Trotter Multicultural Center is a new home for unity, learning, reflection & hope. It shows the potential of what we can be as a great institution & what we must do together to advance excellence, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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@UMich Michigan sophomore Chris Reischel was the Boston Marathon’s fastest runner under the age of 21 yesterday with a time of 2:39! #goblue

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SHARE honors Holocaust victims with day-long memorial event on the Diag Students read names of victims, examine lasting impact during Israel Day

the reading of the names builds affects people and beyond that statement kind of, it puts it on ATTICUS RAASCH understanding of the lasting there are still a lot of cases people’s radar once a year and Daily Staff Reporter of genocide, unfortunately, gives pause to think.” impact of the Holocaust. LSA senior Jocelyn “We’re trying to remember happening.” Members of Students those who perished in Porter said the event is Brickman also brought up for Holocaust Awareness, the Holocaust and really intended to showcase the how many people on campus Remembrance and Education understand the impact that extent and magnitude of may not often think about gathered on the Diag it has on (people), not only the deaths and destruction the historical significance of the Holocaust, which is why Wednesday for an annual families and memories, but brought by the Holocaust. vigil, a 24-hour reading of the also daily lives,” Porter said. “The rate they usually say is having the event is important names of those who died in the “We’re trying to remind something like 600-650 names each year. “I think it’s really important Holocaust. people that even though the per hour,” Porter said. “That Sudoku Syndication SHARE president Alexa Holocaust happened, at this http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ means we usually get through because it’s something we Porter, Business junior, said point very long ago, it still all of our books and have to don’t think about in our daily start over, but that still is life or everyday,” Brickman nowhere near the number of said. “To have one full day people who actually died in dedicated to remembering the people, especially in a public the Holocaust.” LSA senior Melissa Berlin, place like this, is important a SHARE member, said the because I definitely wouldn’t HARD large number of names they have known or don’t think have to read creates the about it unless I walk by and necessity for the length of see it.” Many student volunteers, the event. “The fact that it takes 24 both those involved with and otherwise, hours to read names and SHARE we’re still not done is very participated in the reading of impactful,” Berlin said. “It the names. Porter said she is pulls together a lot of people happy to see the involvement coming together to do these of the student community. “We have a lot of people small, half-hour shifts and who literally will come by yet its still not everything.” Berlin said the event is and say ‘Wow, I’m so happy important for the many you’re doing this,’” Porter students that may not think said. “People will sometimes about the implications of the share stories that they’ve known survivors or travelled Holocaust day to day. “I think that it’s something to any of the camps or been that people don’t think to any memorials. We even about very much in their have people that will say ‘Oh, daily lives,” Berlin said. I didn’t even know you were “Especially for members in doing this, can I sit and read our community, it feels very for a couple of minutes.’” © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. salient but for the rest of the FINALS! puzzle by sudokusyndication.com community it’s just a piece Read more at of history. Sort of having it MichiganDaily.com Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com! here and having this very big

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Thursday, April 18, 2019 — 3

DISC DISTINGUISHED LECTURE BILLS From Page 1A

RUCHITA IYER/Daily Dr. Abdul El-Sayed speaks on politics, empathy, and Muslim identities at the DISC Distinguished Lecture in Weiser Hall Wednesday afternoon.

AI From Page 2 “If you’re not thinking that there’s not some inherent risk in the ‘Big Brother’ in a machine doing things to you, then we’re doing you a misservice,” Bermann said. Business freshman Ian Cooper attended the Dissonance panel to take part in the exploration Bermann fears students are missing. Cooper is enrolled in an engineering course where he has been forced to think critically about AI. He told The Daily after the event that he came across an announcement on the Happening at Michigan webpage for the Dissonance event and thought it would be a proper supplement to his classwork. “AI is basically changing the world as we know it,” Cooper said. “All of these distinguished professionals in different fields can really inform the way we think about it.” Cooper appreciated Dissonance’s attention to interdisciplinary exploration of the issue. “It seems like a lot of people are just saying AI is going to ruin the economy and automation is going to make everyone jobless,” Cooper said. “I’m wondering if maybe some of these people will have more optimistic viewpoints.” Panelist Ella Atkins, an

SMTD From Page 1 “David Daniels remains on paid leave,” Broekhuizen wrote. “How long a U-M employee stays on paid leave is determined by the individual situation in each case and when facts may develop that have an impact on an employment decision.” The installation has been approved to remain up until April 25. Titled “Pulling Strings,” it features three speaker boxes with strings dangling from them. The speakers play many overlapping recordings of Samuel Schultz reading his statement on the alleged rape, which is published on Schultz’s website. When one pulls on the strings, the other recordings fade away until only a single voice is left. In an interview with The Daily, Music, Theatre & Dance senior Fisher Diede, the creator of the installation, explained how the interactive aspect highlights the abuse of power by large institutions through the metaphor “pulling strings.” “The title of the piece, ‘Pulling Strings,’ plays off the metaphor of pulling strings in positions of power and that is represented in the piece through hanging strings that the user is invited to pull on,” Diede said. “The way pulling strings affects the audio is directly playing on a metaphor that when certain strings are pulled certain voices are quieted or eliminated.” In front of the speakers and above the entrance to McIntosh Theatre, a projection updates Daniels’ salary since being placed on paid leave. The figure

aerospace engineering professor, addressed Cooper’s concern about job loss during her presentation. From the perspective of her work with autonomous aircrafts, she has seen a reorganization of labor rather than a loss of jobs. She said there are the same amount of people being hired, but the jobs they are doing require a more advanced education and elite technology. “A lot of people are working together to solve problems that will make money for the company and hopefully benefit society,” Atkins said. “They’re just doing different jobs.” Atkins presented on the neutrality of technology, explaining it is not inherently good or bad. Atkins said technology serves the purpose of those humans who employ it, no matter whether it is constructive or regressive to society. “It’s more complicated than not liking the AI, because people have a long history of also doing some pretty good and some scary things,” Atkins said. “We expect the same thing from the AI agents … If we begin imagining all of the scary things that AI can do, maybe we forget two things. One, the scary things people can do, and the second thing is how the AI on the things like drones can help stop the scary things.” Panelist Kentaro Toya-

has reached over $114,000 as of the date of publication. Diede said the figure was calculated based on how much Daniels made in 2018. Although Diede expressed understanding of the classification of his piece as a protest, he stated the main purpose of the installation was to emphasize Schultz’s strength and healing, as well as create a space for discussion. “It’s less so focused on (Schultz’s) allegations and more so focused on his healing,” Deide said. “I think the whole intent of this piece is to share a story from a voice that has been hushed quite a bit already and I think while I don’t disagree with the idea of this being a protest piece I don’t want that to undermine the story because that’s why this installation was created: to share that story.” In an interview with The Daily, Schultz explained he did not know Diede before he reached out to Schultz about the project. According to Schultz, the installation was entirely Diede’s idea — Schultz’s only involvement in the project was recording an already released statement. Schultz said he hopes his recovery process shows that survivors can find hope after assault, as assault does not have to become one’s identity. “One of the things that I’ve had to find in my life is how to think of myself as more than someone who was gravely abused,” Schultz said. “And in finding meaning, in finding hope, in seeking kindness and empathy as guiding forces in my life, I have been on a journey of recovery that has allowed me to find beauty in life. What I

ma, professor of information, began his presentation by emphasizing the other perspective of technology being neutral and malleable by human beings. Toyama presented a graph detailing how although technology has expanded rapidly over the course of the past decade, the poverty rate in America has remained stagnant. He said technology exacerbates inequality due to the human promotion of inequality. “Technology, for the most part, amplifies other human forces,” Toyama said. Toyama said he thinks technology has also deepened the country’s political divide because it provides a platform on which the conf lict can brew. “It’s entirely up to the human beings in terms of how the technology gets used,” Toyama said. “It could be positive, it could be negative. If we’re really confident it’s always going to be positive, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t develop more technology. On the other hand, if you have some doubts about that, we should be very careful.” Toyama equated the power of AI to the danger a nuclear bomb presents to society. Toyama said AI could be even more dangerous — there are only nine countries across the world with nuclear weapons, but AI is ever-present and

hope from my statement, what I hope people takeaway is that there is an alternative to anger and bitterness as the lifelong choice in reacting to difficult circumstances.” Reflecting on the installation’s theme of the abuse of power, Schultz expressed the importance of institutions recognizing individual dignity. “Leaders of institutions have an obligation to understand reputation and making money pale in comparison to an individual’s worth in terms of the dignity of the human soul,” Schultz said. “When institutions fail to recognize the dignity of those who are not in positions of power, they do a great disservice to the world at large.” Music, Theatre & Dance Dean David Gier declined to comment on the installation, explaining he does not know the specifics of this class project. Gier redirected The Daily to Michael Gurevich, associate professor and chair of performing arts technology, for comment. Gurevich confirmed the installation is Diede’s final project for his interactive media design course. In an email to The Daily, Gurevich said he is proud of Fisher for tackling relevant student issues. “Interactive art installations act as mirrors, so I suppose these pieces are inevitable reflections of the climate these students are living in,” Gurevich wrote. “With ‘Pulling Strings,’ not only has Fisher brilliantly addressed the themes we address in the class and designed an elegant interactive system, he has also done an incredible amount of careful and diligent background work on the ethical and social

growing more ubiquitous as technology continues to progress. “There’s always going to be a cat and mouse game in terms of security versus people doing bad things online.” Toyama said. “...The law always tends to be behind the technology, and so for that reason, I think we need to have regulation in place that is actually a little conservative.” Bermann said the purpose of Dissonance is to spark thought and conversation. “When I was a child and watched cartoons like The Jetsons, they were science fictions shows,” Bermann said. “If you had told me that the world today would be full of AI and autonomous this and that, I would have thought that was the most wonderful thing ever, but it’s not been as bright and rosy a scene as the cartoons and movies depicted it to be. Instead, there are many dystopian things that are related to artificial intelligence.” Bermann said he hopes the panel event encouraged attendees to question AI, believing it is both a problem and a solution. “I don’t think any of us, particularly in the AI space, presume to know the outcomes yet, but we want to get people thinking about are we comfortable having machines making decisions on our behalf?” Bermann said.

considerations involved in creating a piece in a public space that addresses such a thorny topic. I’m proud of him for doing so.” According to Diede, the installation was conceived in February as a project for class, though it ultimately expanded beyond the scope of the class. Diede explained he went through standard bureaucratic channels to clear his installation with Music, Theatre & Dance administration. In his design, Deide said he intentionally tried to make sure there would be no reason for the installation to be taken down or denied other than its subject matter. According to Deide, he pitched his project as a piece highlighting the power of large institutions and the sometimes unjust iterations of that power without mentioning it would be about Schultz and Daniels explicitly. Deide explained that while the piece was initially approved, it was suddenly placed on hold Monday evening when administrators learned it involved Schultz’s allegations against Daniels. However, it was reapproved within three or four hours of it being placed on hold, Deide said. Deide said he has received support for the project from several faculty members and students. However, he emphasized the pressure — from the music industry, the administration or legal proceedings — that many stakeholders feel not to speak publicly about allegations against Daniels.

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KRYSTAL HUR | COLUMN

The parent trap: Asian edition

018 and 2019 have thus far been milestone years for Asian Americans in the entertainment industry. The 2018 smash-hit “Crazy Rich Asians” was the first Hollywood movie since “The Joy Luck Club,” released over two decades ago, to feature all Asian American leads. The movie brought in more money than any rom-com released in the last nine years. Actress Sandra Oh won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama TV Series, making her the first actress of Asian descent to win for a leading role, or win multiple Globes, in nearly 40 years. Oh also hosted the event, using her platform to jokingly call out actress Emma Stone for her largely unquestioned white-washed role as an Asian American character in “Aloha.” When Awkwafina hosted Saturday Night Live in 2018, she was the first Asian American woman to do so since Lucy Liu in 2000; Sandra Oh hosted in March of this year. Even outside of Hollywood, stars of Asian descent have risen to celebrity status in the United States. K-pop group BTS has made appearances on noteworthy shows such as Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ellen and more. They have also performed at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, as well as various other programs. They are scheduled to perform their new single “Boy with Luv” with Halsey at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. Another prominent K-pop group, BLACKPINK, appeared on Strahan and Sara, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America and recently performed at Coachella. While these trends suggest that American popular culture is becoming more welcoming toward people of color, there remains a trend among the treatment of Asian American celebrities on TV appearances that point towards an inability to see them as Asian Americans, rather than as Asians. Unlike white people or other people of color, Asian Americans, as well as people of Asian descent and of other nationalities such as Asian Canadians, are often asked about their parents. While Indian Canadians are of course subjected to a different set of social norms specific to Canada, all people of Asian descent tend to always be seen strictly as being only Asian, whether they’re Canadian, American, or of another nationality. Thus, while Americans and Canadians are the most prominent celebrities of Asian descent in American media, any person of Asian descent and of a non-Asian nationality would likely receive the same treatment were they to be thrust into the spotlight in American culture. While this may be unintentional on the parts of TV hosts, such questions are problematic because they demonstrate how public figures of Asian descent, even at the most successful they have ever been, are othered by American media. Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj recently appeared on Ellen. At one point during his interview, Ellen mentioned that his parents, Seema and Najme, were in the audience before asking Hasan, “So, when did you start in stand-up and how supportive were they?” while briefly pointing to his parents. This question was most likely preplanned between Minhaj and Ellen, especially given that his parents were in the audience and Minhaj launched into a story following the question that he’s told before on the

Deep Cuts segment of his Netflix show, Patriot Act. However, Ellen also asked actor Steven Yeun, who is also Asian American, about his parents when he appeared on the show in 2014, commenting, “So your parents — then your parents were not happy that you chose this profession.” She asked him this after clarifying that he was born in Seoul, South Korea before moving to Saskatchewan and later to Michigan. Furthermore, when Sandra Oh first appeared on the Ellen Show in in 2007, Ellen started the interview by bringing up a photo of Oh and her parents at the Emmys, telling her, “They must be so proud.” Ellen then asked more questions about when Oh’s parents immigrated to Canada, before asking, “Were they proud like right away? They were like, ‘Go and be an actress.’”

Public figures of Asian descent, even at the most successful they’ve ever been, are othered by the American media

Such interviews contrast harshly with when Ellen has spoken with celebrities not of Asian descent on her show, such as her interview with Zendaya, a Black actress. Rather than asking whether her parents supported her career, Ellen conversed with Zendaya about her relationship with her parents instead. At one point, Ellen asked, “how have you managed to stay out of the young-child-actor-going-bad thing?” Even though this would have made a natural segue to asking about Zendaya about her parents’ support (there were no such natural transitions when Ellen abruptly asked Minhaj, Yeun and Oh about their parents), she didn’t do so. In another interview with Allison Janney, a white actress, Ellen didn’t ask any questions about her parents support either, even though Janney brought them up in the interview while talking about the holidays. Ellen’s need to ask only her guests of Asian descent about their parents’ support, even when doing so doesn’t fit in with the rest of the interview, shows that there still exists a clear divide between how celebrities of Asian descent and other celebrities are perceived in American media. Unlike other stars, celebrities of Asian descent are not acknowledged as having diverse backgrounds and are instead characterized by their Asian immigrant parents. This perpetuates the misconception that all people of Asian descent are homogeneous and reminds audiences that they have immigrant roots, which in turn implies that they belong in Asia, not the United States. Thus, when Ellen asks guests like Yeun and Oh about their parents’ support, she simultaneously reduces them to props to confirm American society’s stereotypes about people of Asian descent and puts their identities into question. Even when they aren’t asked about their parents’ support or lack thereof, talk show hosts always seem to find a way to ask celebrities of Asian descent about their parents: Conan asked Yeun’s parents how they reacted to his love scenes on The Walking Dead, Jimmy Kimmel asked Asian Canadian comedian

Lilly Singh about her parents after she appeared on his show and Jimmy Fallon asked Singh about her skits where she imitates her parents, rather than her numerous other segments. Celebrities such as Yeun’s and Singh’s success in the United States is mostly unprecedented, since there have historically only been a few celebrities of Asian descent in American culture and even fewer who reach this same level of prominence. As a result, TV hosts struggle to reconcile the Asian parts of these celebrities’ identities with the American part. Because the only “Asian American story” they are familiar with is that of the immigrant, or child with immigrant parents, interviewers such as Ellen ask celebrities of Asian descent about their parents’ support, expecting them to explain that their immigrant parents were not supportive and then delve into their parents’ “immigrant story.” However, such questions also establish celebrities of Asian decent as “others,” whose roles in American society is to bolster the United States’ reputation as a country where anyone can succeed. Ellen wasn’t interested in Oh or Minhaj’s parents as actual people when she asked about them. She was interested in how they fulfill their stereotypical roles as immigrant tiger parents whose exterior eventually cracks when they see how the United States has allowed their children to succeed. Questions about parents ultimately undermine the American or Canadian part of these celebrities’ identities, and depict them as being only Asian. This explains why such questions are limited to only celebrities of Asian descent who grew up in predominantly English speaking countries. Neither members of BTS nor BLACKPINK have been asked questions about their parents in any of their interviews in the United States. This is because their otherness is already established. They are Korean, not American, and they perform K-pop, which is decidedly not an American music genre. Thus, there’s no need for TV hosts to remind themselves or their guests of the artists’ roots in Asia, or attempt to reconcile any complex parts of their identities. They also may have no idea that BLACKPINK members Rosé and Lisa are Korean-Australian and Thai respectively, since it is likely that they assume all K-pop artists are Korean. TV hosts need to stop asking celebrities of Asian descent about their parents. They need to stop expecting them to talk about their ethnicities and their own or parents’ stories as immigrants. Such stories are deeply personal, and while all of the celebrities mentioned in this article have seemed open to speaking about these topics, such questions often feel invasive and act in the same way that a huge, blaring, “You don’t belong here” sign would. There are more to these celebrities than their parents or their ethnicities, and while such parts of their story are important, they should not feel obligated to speak about their “immigrant backstories” because they are of Asian descent. There’s so much more to people of Asian descent than their ancestry, and it’s high time America recognizes that. Krystal Hur can be reached at kryshur@umich.edu.

How to battle the ebb and flow of trash

very morning, after numerous unsuccessful attempts to throw off my covers and get up, I make myself a bowl of oatmeal, discard the trash and then start my day. What happens to the fate of my waste never even crosses my mind — it is the whole concept of out of sight, out of mind. In fact, I never really consider the final destination of any of the trash I produce. Except that trash does have to go somewhere. Early into my science, technology, engineering and math education I learned the law of conservation of mass, which posits mass cannot be created nor destroyed. From food to toys, necessities to nonessentials, almost every product comes with its share of trash content. For this reason, on a typical day the average American citizen will produce 4.40 pounds of trash. Of the trash produced, 2.91 pounds is waste as the other trash contents can either be recycled or composted. Multiply that by the 327,200,000 people you have living in the United States, and you are left with 476,076 tons of trash produced daily. With my elementary knowledge of science, I can ascertain that, though my trash is out of my hands, it is not off the planet. Additionally, with my rudimentary understanding of American infrastructure, I can assume my trash ends up lining a landfill somewhere on the outskirts of my community. If you have ever been to one of these landfills, chances are you have seen the hundreds of birds that frequent the area and feast on the waste created from human consumption. Honestly, I never even thought about the implications of these birds until I read a study published by researchers at Duke University. The study shines a light on just how detrimental the birds may be to the environment. The reason why this is the case relates to a pretty juvenile concept that I learned in preschool: Everybody poops. Duke researchers estimated that over 1.4 million seagulls feed at landfills across North America, but Scott Winston, one of the lead researchers, believes “the actual population is probably greater than 5 million.” These birds

consume our trash and evidently have to poop it out somewhere. This somewhere is not just the back of our brand-new shirt, but often bodies of water like lakes and rivers near our homes. Estimates from Duke say this trash ridden fecal matter deposits an additional 240 tons of nitrogen and 39 tons of phosphorus into our local waterways every year and as mentioned, the effects are drastic. The added nutrients defecated into the lakes and rivers supplement eutrophication, which causes a dense growth of plant life, such as algae, limiting the oxygen contents needed to sustain healthy ecosystems and maintain aquatic life under the surface. This suppression of oxygen content to the life below the growth suffocates the animals and kills them as they do not have access to enough dissolved oxygen. The effects are ecologically and economically tragic as they degrade water supply and destroy aquaculture. This then means government money will be allocated to the problem, which results in financial losses. As the U.S. and global population continues to grow, these problems will likely only become exacerbated. Therefore, change is pertinent, and solutions must be found to mitigate the transportation of these excess nutrients in our water. According to the study, researchers believe the best solution is to reduce the size of landfills, cover trash more quickly or reduce the gull population. However, these solutions feel temporary and I believe for long lasting impact we have to mimic nature. What I mean is that in the real world there is no landfill. Instead, materials are consistently reused. Additionally, as species die, their nutrients are given back to the Earth and create more life. Animals live in a closed-loop: Nothing seems to enter or leave the system, everything just cycles back. This cyclical model has sustained life for billions of years, yet the modern era of humans has instituted a linear lifestyle as we take, make and dispose. Which poses the question:

How do we disrupt this cycle and fight the problem at its core? From an early age I was told taught the three R’s as a way to solve this problem. My teachers encouraged me to reduce, reuse and recycle, but this solution just doesn’t cut it. As a capitalist society fueled by materialistic gain, reducing looks great on paper, but it is not a feasible solution. Since 1950 the average home size has almost tripled, making more room for material goods and in turn moving in the opposite direction of reductions and making for an “irresponsible American dream.” In terms of reusing, for that I prompt the question, when is the last time you actually recommissioned a product instead of donating it to the dump? Additionally, we are getting better at recycling, but with China’s ban on foreign waste recyclables, used products are forming stockpiles and going to waste before they are even repurposed. Moreover, when they are repurposed, it is typically only once before they eventually end up in a landfill. This all prompts the question: What can we do to mitigate trash intake and in turn save the world? There is no simple answer or perfect solution. Humans are needy creatures who constantly take while leaving. The trash issue permeating America and beyond reminds me of a 1971 Pogo Earth Day comic strip from Walt Kelly. Porkypine says, “Ah, Pogo, the beauty of the forest primeval gets me in the heart.” Pogo responds, “It gets me in the feet, Porkypine.” Then, looking over a forest of trash Porkypine despairingly says, “It is hard walkin’ on this stuff” to which Pogo responds “Yep, son, we have met the enemy and he is us.” With no radical changes to our consumption or material habits, we will soon live in a world of trash and deal with the effects on humanity, the environment and every other facet of society imaginable. Trash does not leave the Earth — I know this from elementary school. But what if trash could never enter? Sam Sugerman can be reached at samsug@umich.edu.

CHAND RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI | COLUMN

Fighting “the Haze”

rediscovered composer Johann Sebastian Bach’s cello suites this past fall during a period with lots of work and little motivation. I needed something to focus my mind on the tasks at hand. So, I turned to Bach to aid my quest for concentration. It ultimately worked, and soon his cello suites became a powerful study tool, allowing me to spend hours on work that seemed insurmountable before. Viewing Bach as a study tool, not as sublime art, is a product of a culture that encourages us to spend much of our time in what I call Haze. Haze is marked by semi-consciousness usually for the purpose of work. It is the cousin of Flow (or being in “the zone”), a mental state characterized by clear, prolonged attention to a task. Flow arises naturally, usually when you are doing something challenging and rewarding. Haze is artificial and forced. And it’s the default mental state of our generation. Our days are spent with earbuds in, never fully listening, but always with a companion muffling any thoughts we may have. Our social media addiction serves the same purpose. Scrolling, liking, refreshing, never just sitting and thinking. Work is mind-numbingly long, fueled by tools ranging from Bach to Adderall and adheres to the glorification of the “rise and grind” mentality. We know we’re missing out on something. That’s why we practice 20 minutes of mindfulness every day — a window of clarity. But even that is labeled as “self-care,” an opportunity to “recharge” for the work ahead. How did we get here? As Anne Petersen explains in “How Millennials Became

The Burnout Generation”, millennials (defined here as mostly white, largely middle class) were raised to expect that overachievement would lead to the good life. But that promise has not been kept. No longer is a college education the ticket to a stable job, and no longer is a stable job enough. That stable job also needs to be “cool” and something you’re passionate about. So, we optimize, constantly angling for The Job, racking up resumé stuffers as we go. This culture is selfreinforcing — as more people adopt it, others are forced to adopt in order to compete, and soon we’re stuck in place, but working harder than ever before. Companies are the main beneficiaries of this race to nowhere, reaping profits from a talent pool that does more and demands less. To cope, we tell ourselves we love work, and that our work is meaningful. Companies have caught on, rebranding themselves with slogans that are versions of “making the world a better place.” Dropbox, a company that lets you upload files, says its purpose is to “unleash the world’s creative energy by designing a more enlightened way of working.” WeWork locations are monuments to hustle culture. Water coolers are branded with statements like “Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you are done,” and neon signs urge you to “Do what you love” and “Hustle harder.” It’s no coincidence that Haze is a contemporary affliction. In the age of Silicon Valley, there are no clear lines between work and play. Email and Slack ensure employees are always accessible, while technologies once reserved for social

interactions are increasingly being used to create a personal brand. We show off our fun side on Snapchat, document our travels and interests on Instagram, get political on Twitter and perfect the humble brag on LinkedIn. Maintaining this brand takes time and energy, ensuring we are constantly performing, never simply doing. This is a culture where as Anne Petersen puts it, “Everything that’s good is bad, everything that’s bad is good.” Everything that should feel good, like not working, feels bad, while everything that should feel bad, like working all the time, feels good. So hobbies have become hustles. Pursuing something you merely enjoy has become pointless, even selfish. We should rather pursue what we’re good at, monetizing it or using it to help someone else. What leisure time we do have is dedicated to screens, because they are low commitment and Haze inducing. Becoming aware of all this is comforting. It helps to explain some of my habits, making them not inevitable or intrinsic, but simply products of a common, but not inescapable environment. We can choose a different path. A path where Bach is art to be cherished, not a tool to be wielded. A path where self-reflection and Flow are the rule – not the exception. This reminds me of a quote from Mitch Albom’s memoir “Tuesdays with Morrie.” Albom’s beloved Professor Morrie advises that “you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. Create your own.” Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci can be reached at chandrn@umich.edu.

Arts

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Thrusday, April 18, 2019 — 5

BOOK REVIEW: SALLY ROONEY WEEK

SHOW REVIEW

Rooney’s ‘Mr Salary’ is more than ordinary love SARAH SALMAN Daily Arts Writer

In the short span of three years, Sally Rooney has evolved from essayist to fiction writer to “the first great millennial novelist.” Sally Rooney got a New Yorker interview in January, told The Guardian that she “do(esn’t) respond to authority very well” and has a 10-minute YouTube video on writing and Marxism. She’s a veritable cultural event, heralded for her bare prose, biting irony and slow burn of love in the time of late capitalism. Just check out what happens when you search #normalpeople on Instagram. “Normal People” drops in the States on Tuesday, Apr. 16, and The Michigan Daily Book Review is celebrating by reviewing Rooney’s fiction career, last to first. Catch “Normal People” on the 16th, “Conversations with Friends” on the 17th and “Mr Salary” on the 18th. At a slim 48 pages, Rooney’s “Mr Salary” delivers a deliciously illicit and poignant love story. This is done in a fraction of the pages of her full-length novels like “Conversation with Friends” and “Normal People.” In the story, Sukie returns home to Dublin from Boston to visit her dying father, Frank. She’s greeted at the airport by Nathan, her closest friend. Their interaction is heady with unfulfilled sexual tension. Sukie moved in with Nathan years ago after her mother died and her father lost all their savings to prescription drugs. Sukie was 19 at the time, finishing up her exams. Nathan was 34.

Due to the precarious nature of their relationship and the 15-year age gap, there was nothing sordid about their time spent living together. Nathan even jokes about their living arrangement. He says, “I’m not really getting my money’s worth, am I?” Despite this, Sukie falls deeply and irrevocably in love with Nathan. “My love for him felt so total and annihilating that it was often impossible for me to see him clearly at all,” Sukie said.

Mr Salary Sally Rooney Faber & Faber Jan. 3, 2019

He was there for her when no one else was. Now, they’re on the edge of the inevitable. As a Marxist, Rooney explores class tension through character relationships in “Conversation with Friends” and “Normal People.” The socio-economic stratification serves to magnify the power imbalance between her characters, adding another conflict to her already tensionpacked stories. Rooney doesn’t deviate from this theme in “Mr Salary,” weaving a deeply layered and complex relationship in under 50 pages. “Mr Salary” has a simple plot, but it’s Rooney’s realistic

writing and profound themes that elevate the book into a work of art. It’s not often that I find myself laughing and crying in the span of a single paragraph. It would’ve been easy for Nathan and Sukie’s relationship to fall into perversity, but it’s balanced by a fated tragedy. Their uncertain romance — will they or won’t they? — is framed with the pervasive atmosphere of death. “Nothing inside my body was trying to kill me. Death was, of course, the most ordinary thing that could happen, at some level I knew that. Still, I had stood there waiting to see the body in the river, ignoring the real living bodies all around me, as if death was more of a miracle than life was,” Sukie said. Rooney’s “Mr Salary” is dense with metaphors, picturesque scenes and passages worthy of being mounted against a living-room wall. “Mr Salary” does more than touch on the intricacies of a forbidden relationship: It adds substance to innermost thoughts of new adult living in the 21st century. It’s easy to relate to “Mr Salary” as a junior in college, worrying about my future but still tightly holding on the optimism of my childhood. Like “Conversations with Friends” and “Normal People,” Rooney leaves “Mr Salary” open-ended. There are elements of melancholy juxtaposed with sentimentality. Rooney, at just 27 years old, manages to masterfully convey these two sentiments. Weeks later, my thoughts still circulate back to this story as if Nathan and Sukie are my own friends. It’s the best short story I’ve read.

FILM REVIEW

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Estevez does not hit the mark with ‘The Public’ JULIANNA MORANO Daily Arts Writer

I wish I would have taken a look at the poster for “The Public” before I decided to see it. If you haven’t seen the poster, try to recall “Love Actually’”s, swap in “The Public”’s cast, substitute a book stack for ribbon and you’ve got it. Can you see it? I hope so. This poster telegraphs all due warnings about the shortcomings of this film: It has more characters than it knows what to do with, it thinks passing references to the

power of literature suffice and Emilio Estevez (“The Breakfast Club”) is in the middle of the confusion. “The Public” has Estevez written all over it. He wrote, directed and starred in this confused tale of a librarian at the Cincinnati Public Library who, in an out-of-character move, takes a stand and occupies the library with its homeless patrons who have no other place to stay for the excruciating winter night. Unfortunately, Estevez strikes out on all three counts, and the movie that could have

been a timely statement about the continued importance of activism and civil disobedience, of refusing to remain silent in the face of governmental neglect, is a dud. First, Estevez’s direction leads us nowhere compelling. At best, it’s as disorienting as his overwhelming number of characters and subplots. At worst, it’s laughable. Take, for example, his montages: He randomly inserts two in which people make various idiosyncratic requests at the library help desk, set to a nondescript, upbeat score that

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Patty Griffin brings her inimitable soul to The Ark CLARA SCOTT Senior Arts Editor

Patty Griffin is an unsung hero for blues, folk and soul music in the modern age. She’s run the gamut of every possible genre, picking up influences from jazz to classic folk and even, as she laughed at The Ark on Friday, characters like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Griffin is a tiny woman, her size countered by a cloud of strawberry blonde curls and a loud guffaw between songs. But the biggest thing about her, is, of course, her voice. Last Friday night, Ann Arbor’s beloved folk venue sold out completely, audiences rushing to see Griffin in the intimate space of Main Street’s listening room. The songwriter has played at the Michigan Theater several times, but her appearance at The Ark marked a special opportunity for fans to join her in closer quarters, no more than 50 feet from the stage at the farthest seats. Opening for Griffin was Lucy Wainwright Roche, a fantastic songwriter in her own right and part of the famous Wainwright and Roche lineages of music. Wainwright Roche’s smooth voice and hilarious banter with the audience prepared them for a night of laughter and good music, and that they got. As Wainwright Roche left the stage, all seated within the wooden walls of the venue buzzed in anticipation. It was a full house, saturated with excited new fans and longtime patrons of Griffin alike. Though the venue was filled

with silver-haired listeners, there was also a surprising number of young members of the audience, a fact that proves Griffin’s universal appeal. She can do no wrong when it comes to live performance, given that her songs are often centered on the things we all have in common; grief, struggle, love. Through her raspy, soulful voice, Griffin has established a solid niche in the songwriting community, one that extends from her own projects into those of the Dixie Chicks and

In her eyes throughout the night, the audience was well aware of a fire beneath the surface of Griffin’s petite frame, boiling out in her inimitable soul.

sounds like it might have been borrowed from iMovie. His direction is nothing compared to his script, however. The dialogue is awkwardly expository, painfully stilted and often guilty of sapping even important, culturally relevant conversations of all their poignance. Then comes his acting. Simply put, Estevez cannot bear the weight of this story. He delivers the stilted lines he wrote without any notable charisma. Librarians, notoriously underappreciated and mistaken for being uncool, are owed an apology, because Estevez convinces us of nothing but his uncoolness. Worse than that, his lack of charisma is contagious. It grieves me to say that even commanding “Wire” alumnus Michael K. Williams’s star dulls in scenes with Estevez. Same goes for Jenna Malone. The only one who seems immune to Estevez’s dullness is Taylor Schilling (“Orange Is the New Black”); her character, however, is written inexplicably into a relationship with Estevez’s character, so I suppose she falls victim to him in another way.

several other artists. Griffin took the stage in a long black dress, her wild hair illuminated by the yellow stage lights in a sort of halo. She was joined by only a guitarist and drummer (who also played bass), incredible musicians in their own right. They both played piano during the performance at different times, handing guitars and tambourines across the stage in order to build Griffin’s clear voice

To top it all off, the film, overextended by its multiplicity of characters and incongruous subplots, ends up creating more ambiguities than anything else, many of which are just as troubling as they are puzzling. The most troubling of these ambiguities was Estevez’s treatment of mental illness. In a film like

The Public Universal Pictures Michigan Theater

“The Public,” too confusing to be dark or pessimistic, comic relief was not a necessity, yet Estevez wove it in, often at the

into a woven landscape of sound. Just the three of them created an ambience that was equal parts intimate and perfectly produced. It seemed as if every wavering note in Griffin’s singing was put there on purpose, adding to the air of raw intensity that each of her songs evokes. She didn’t hit every high pitch, didn’t flip her voice around in acrobatics as most modern pop artists do, but in that restraint was Griffin’s power. By holding back at the right moments, the singer laid down a foundation of suspense that always broke at the right times, letting the floodgates open with sound at the right point during a bridge or chorus. You could say that Griffin’s performance was careful in these ways, but it would be a lie. In her eyes throughout the night, the audience was well aware of a fire beneath the surface of Griffin’s petite frame, boiling out in her inimitable soul. No matter which song she sang, some from her new self-titled tenth album and some old favorites, this intensity laid comfortable underneath her voice. It’s the thing that strings all of her music together, despite the variety of genres and styles she chooses to adopt. In The Ark that night, this fire warmed the room easily, making each person sitting there feel a part of something bigger. If you have never listened to Griffin, it is a spiritual experience in the most simple of ways: She sings for the world, for all of us and none of us at the same time. Hearing someone’s soul come out of their mouth in beautiful harmony is an incredible thing to witness. And that is the thing Griffin is best at.

expense of homeless library patrons with mental illnesses. In fact, Che “Rhymefest” Smith’s character, Big George, operated exclusively as the butt of insensitive jokes about his delusion that his eyes having laser beams that kill people upon eye contact. The ambiguity surfaces when Estevez’s character gives George his glasses, claiming it will impede the laser beams. Does Estevez want to check off another box on his Christ figure checklist (feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and returning sight to the blind)? Does that make him an ally, after having manipulated George throughout the film, for humor’s sake or otherwise? Does Estevez even know what he wants? I’m still wondering. For a challenging, complex debate about forms of activism, tune in to “On the Basis of Sex.” For a rallying cry in favor of civil disobedience and a blunt exposé of false allyship, watch (or read) “The Hate U Give.” Watch any number of films I’m missing, but don’t bother with “The Public.”

Arts

6 — Thursday, April 18, 2019

DAILY COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

M-agination Film Festival is not that imaginative BEN VASSAR

Daily Arts Writer

Last Thursday evening I went out to the Michigan Theater with some friends to see the 19th annual M-agination film festival. After some quick hellos, we all took our seats and waited on the films to start. Having been aware of the production of several of these projects throughout the year, I was excited to see the results. The first short film that came on was a James Bond parody entitled “Icebreaker,” written and directed by LSA junior and Daily Arts Writer Ian Harris and Engineering senior Charles Rivkin. The plot comprised of an evil genius business-frat dude trying to rid the world of icebreakers because he never knew what to say for his fun fact. The film relied heavily on poking fun at Greek life and privilege, among other University of Michigan memes. It would have marked a nice, light-hearted note to begin the festival on if many of the films to follow didn’t fall victim to the same trite nature. Another short entitled “Cut Throat,” written and directed by LSA freshman Macy Goller, detailed the life of a chef who had never used a knife, only to discover that her finger, which she chopped off, was the secret ingredient to the ziti recipe her father had been looking for his whole life. Although it was clear from the start it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, it was an attempt at exaggeratedly corny humor that could have been done by middle schoolers.

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Its nonsensical plot wasn’t compensated for by likability or humor. Before I continue, I’ll make this clear: I’m in full support of M-agination’s mission. Giving students the equipment, advice and platform to realize an idea they never would have gotten to convey otherwise is an important aim. Plenty of us have ideas for films, scenes, lyrics or drawings in our iPhone’s notes that will never pan out. M-agination provides the opportunity for these seeds to blossom. On Thursday night, though, I saw few f lowers. The films mostly all shouted, “We were just having fun making this!” While they were intended for a wider audience, they only seemed to land for those in the audience who had participated in their making. I’m not putting down groups of friends who were just having fun doing something creative, but that shouldn’t have been the only objective here. I know these were all shorts, but you should be able to say a lot more in a five minute short than you ever could in a five minute speech. A picture is worth a thousand words, so what’s a film worth with the added temporal dimensions of speech, music and an everchanging picture? A select few films followed the English class’s golden rule: “Show, don’t tell.” One film that attempted to do so was “Detour,” written by Stamps sophomore Shira Baron and LSA sophomore Elizabeth Wilson. In it, two friends go on a road trip in which they run out of gas and are forced to take a detour to a gas station. This inconclusive

plot serves as a metaphor for the lead character’s search for her sexuality, as all she knows for certain is that she’s not straight. Another film that marked a slight improvement in the festival’s second half over the first was “What If?” written and directed by LSA sophomore Sophie Underwood. In it, a girl’s inner monologue plays a third character on a first date, constantly posing pessimistic “what if…?” questions until the girl finally asks herself, “so what if...?” and gains some self belief. Although the date itself isn’t convincing, the film’s message was more important than most. Maybe the only film that kept me immersed throughout was “What is and What Should Never Be,” written and directed by LSA juniors Andrew Hullman and Colin Farmer. A band performs in a house of secret Carly Rae Jepsen admirers in an effort for one of the housemates to impress an indie girl. The clash that ensues between artsy boys and basic boys and “high” and “low” art is well-shot and paced, avoiding dwelling on moments of bad acting, scripting or set design that kept me constantly aware of the production of the other films. Given that M-agination cuts most scripts it receives, these films probably lost their effectiveness at other points in the process. While having fun usually brings out the best in us, this kind of creativity was regrettably nowhere to be found on Thursday night. Ironically enough, the films at the M-agination Film Festival largely lacked imagination.

SINGLE REVIEW: ‘CHOPSTIX (FT. TRAVIS SCOTT)’

Musing about Pulitzers SAMMY SUSSMAN

Daily Community Culture Columnist

On Apr. 16, 2018, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. was named the winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music. This seemingly momentous choice sent shockwaves throughout the music world. Up until 2018, the Pulitzer Prize for Music had been restricted to classical music. Though the prize is intended for a “distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the (previous) year,” it had previously been awarded exclusively to contemporary classical music composers and the occasional jazz composer. To many, it was the height of American “art music” — a guaranteed teaching position at a highpaying university and a publishing deal with a major sheet music publisher. Some would even argue that it has traditionally been restricted to the more well-established areas of contemporary classical music, all but avoiding Minimalism until the late 1990s. It had only been awarded to three jazz composers prior to 2018, and never any composers of other “popular” forms of music. But many assumed that the 2018 prize spoke to a new era of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Reactions around the music world varied, from the pride of the larger public for the newfound diversity of the prize to the fears of the contemporary classical music community at the loss of an important prize. The reactions to the 2018 prize were divided, some in the contemporary classical music world mourning the (presumed) loss of this important prize while the larger American public applauded the diversification of this notoriously insular award. And even within the contemporary classical music world, reactions to this decision were largely divided along generational lines, with many young composers (such as the year’s other finalists) celebrating Lamar’s win even as older generations feared the loss of this important award. Personally, while I feared the effects that the loss of this award might have on contemporary classical music as a whole, I was also excited to see a prominent award confidently embrace other genres besides classical music. It spoke to the rapid integration of rap and hip-hop into the larger American cultural lexicon and the dissolving barriers between genres. For the first time since the rise of the professional orchestra, it seemed

as though the hierarchical boundary between “art music” and “popular music” had no effect on the jury as they considered the recipient of the award. This was not the first instance that the Pulitzer Prize had gone to a significant work of hip hop — that distinction belonged to LinManuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” the winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. But in this instance, Lamar’s DAMN. was considered alongside Michael Gilbertson’s string quartet “Quartet,” and Ted Hearne’s fivemovement cantata “Sound from the Bench.” His work of hip hop was considered against these two works of traditionally notated contemporary classical music and found to be the most musically compelling work of the year. Nearly everyone seemed to assume that this marked a new era of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Few seemed to think that the award could possibly return to the realm of contemporary classical music after this bold decision by the jury. But on Monday, the 2019 prize was was awarded to Ellen Reid for “p r i s m,” a “bold new operatic work that uses sophisticated vocal writing and striking instrumental timbres to confront difficult subject matter: the effects of sexual and emotional abuse.” The other two finalists were also works of art music: James Romig’s solo piano work “Still” and Andrew Norman’s orchestral work “Sustain.” Given the response that last year’s prize warranted, I assumed that this choice would be met with significant media attention. The award, after all, had been criticized last year for never having previously ventured outside of contemporary classical music. And yet few outside the contemporary classical music world seem to care about this year’s prize. The coverage of this award in The New York Times is most telling in this regard. They ran an article on Apr. 11th about the 2018 award and the contemporary classical music community that was “upended” by this decision. But on Monday, when the award was announced, it warranted little more than a short feature in the classical music section of the paper. The more that I have thought about this decision by the prize to return to contemporary classical music, the less that I have understood it. I had taken the previous year’s award to be indicative of where the award would move in the future. I assumed that the prize would continue to judge between all different types of music, not merely works of contemporary classical music.

Classifieds

The 2018 award, however, now seems a strange anomaly — a brief interruption, if you will — from the award’s consistent commitment to contemporary classical music. And in both the classical music world and the larger music-consuming public, this seems incredibly unsatisfactory. In the classical music community, the decision to award Lamar the award sapped some of its careermaking power. It seems to no longer connote instantaneous academic success, and many have shifted their focus in this regard towards other American classical music awards. And among the larger public, the reversion back to contemporary classical music undercuts much of the musical diversity that many took from Lamar’s win. Statements about the unexpected diversification of the “art music” and the collapse of musical hierarchy from 2018 seem cheap and disingenuous after the jury reinforced this hierarchy in 2019. Last night, I texted a friend of mine for her thoughts. She’s a music major but she doesn’t study composition — while she was aware of Lamar’s win in 2018 she was unaware of this year’s winner. When I texted her that Ellen Reid had won for “p r i s m,” she responded with something that caught me totally off guard. “A WOMAN,” she wrote. While my friend was happy to see that the prize was awarded to a woman, the potential significance of this had not yet occurred to me. This award, after all, has already been awarded to seven other women. Though it was groundbreaking when Ellen Taaffe Zwilich won the prize in 1983, the past ten years have seen unexpected gender parity: five female recipients and five male recipients. And though I may struggle to understand the jury’s decision to once again consider purely contemporary classical music for this award, I remain encouraged by gender parity that my friend identified. Classical music, after all, has proven notoriously resistant to widespread diversification efforts. And in my personal struggle to come to grips with Lamar’s win, I had lost touch with the bigger picture. I had become so focused on the cultural implications of Lamar’s win that I failed to see the Pulitzer for what it is: a $15,000 prize awarded annually by a few randomly selected composers and performers. And in the greater music world, it matters little. It is the inclusion of new works to this homogeneous classical music canon, I now realize, that must be celebrated, whether they be works of hip-hop or works by female composers.

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Release Date: Thursday, April 18, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

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TOP DAWG ENTERTAINMENT

First came a couple of ear-grating early demos featuring Kendrick Lamar that leaked last September. Then a delay from the slated April 4th release in light of Nipsey Hussle’s unfortunate passing. Finally, ScHoolboy Q’s “CHopstix,” featuring Travis Scott, dropped last Monday. The final version is easier on the ears than the leaks, but it’s already a candidate for 2019’s most disappointing singe. With a producer as talented as DJ Dahi chopping up the beats (pun intended), a good track is almost guaranteed. But this beat is shockingly stale — a catchy sample is all it has going for it. It lacks the wacky creative drumwork staple to a Dahi beat (see Drake’s “Worst Behavior” or Logic’s “Never Enough”). In the current hip-hop landscape where just about every artist has top-notch production behind them, a lackluster beat murders all replayability.

Then there’s the case of the Travis Scott effect. When Scott sings a hook or verse for a song, it suddenly turns into a Travis Scott song, and the original artist becomes a guest on their own track. The rapper has taken many highprofile victims: 2 Chainz on

‘CHopstix (ft. Travis Scott)’ ScHoolboy Q TopDawg Entertainment

“4 AM,” Drake on “Portland” and Lil Wayne on “Let It Fly,” to name a few. It doesn’t have to do with the quality of a song — all of the aforementioned tracks are certified slappers. But the Travis Scott effect isn’t just in full swing on “CHopstix” — the hook is

boring and sounds like a filler track that didn’t make the cut for Astroworld. Lyrically there is nothing to say. ScHoolboy Q compares a girl’s legs to chopsticks. That’s it. No classic Q fire, no classic Q grit. Chopsticks are cool to use for a metaphor, but in the historical context of the West’s weird fetishization of Asian women as exotic, the comparison to a girl’s legs is vaguely off-putting. It’d probably slide as one line, but as the basis for the song, it’s a bit off-kilter. After the absolute banger that was last month’s “Numb Numb Juice,” ScHoolboy Q set the bar high for his next single. All the momentum was in his hands. But “CHopstix” is Q dropping the baton. There’s no telling now if his upcoming album CrasH Talk will be golden or garbage. — Dylan Yono, Daily Arts Writer

ACROSS 1 Onetime capital of the Mughal Empire 5 Pop star 9 Idea, at times 14 Apparently are 15 Bering Sea port 16 Center for Auto Safety co-founder 17 Part of the supreme Hindu trinity 18 Penny pincher 20 Trooper’s outfit? 22 Moan and groan 23 Knot used to take up slack 26 Garden nuisance 30 Prof.’s helpers 31 Overly 32 Fill with affection 34 Relax completely 37 Like lambs and rams 38 Amorphous sci-fi beings, and a hint to what’s hidden in the four other longest answers 41 Pizzeria allure 42 Refreshers 43 Snapper? 45 Chinese restaurant general 46 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones music genre 49 One logging on 50 Prankster’s weapon 54 Miniseries based on a Haley novel 56 Sucked (in) 57 Project wrap-up 62 Voice quality 63 Old saw 64 Throw off 65 Poetic black 66 Ins and outs, with “the” 67 Like yellow bananas 68 Slight damage DOWN 1 Give a hand 2 “Memoirs of a __”: Arthur Golden novel

3 Musical shows 4 Floor 5 Business mag 6 Self-critical cry 7 Seamaster watchmaker 8 Come to know 9 Clouseau’s rank, briefly 10 Rock the boat 11 Periodontist’s org. 12 Come down with 13 Long starter, once 19 Toll road 21 Passing muster 24 Footprint maker 25 Raise on a pole 27 Many an oil-rich ruler 28 Many ages 29 Death Row Records co-founder, familiarly 33 “You’re way over the line” 34 Tantrum while playing Xbox

35 Old conductance unit 36 Ice cream buys 38 Mmes., in Madrid 39 House-shaped browser button 40 School group 41 Puncture prefix 44 Each 46 Disco light 47 Passionate about 48 Passionate

51 Upper regions of space 52 “Likewise” 53 Blabbed about, in a way 55 World Cup cheers 57 Go __: succeed 58 Rite answer? 59 Short snooze 60 Bit of a draft? 61 Côte d’Azur saison

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Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Thursday, April 18, 2019 — 7

A disappointing season, and a plan fulfilled

avier Simpson started with a cliché. “It was tremendous,” the junior guard said. “I’m blessed to be a part of the season. A winning season. Definitely extremely glad I was ETHAN able to be in SEARS the position to help my team. Next year, hopefully we can make more noise. Get more success for the University, get more success for next year, winning some championships.” A little more than two weeks removed from a season-ending 63-44 loss to Texas Tech in the Sweet Sixteen, that’s the answer Simpson is supposed to give. The season, of course, was great. The Wolverines won over 30 games, set a program record with a 17-0 start and made it to the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend. Simpson, though, isn’t one to settle. Do you feel like you guys hit your expectation for what you should’ve done? He nearly cut off the question. “No.” What is that expectation? “To win championships.” There are few things that paint the picture of the program John Beilein has constructed better than the scene on Wednesday afternoon. Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole sat at round tables, dodging questions about their NBA fates to which, if internet rumors (and in the case of Brazdeikis, his own words to ESPN) are to be believed, they already

know the answers. Across the room, Charles Matthews laughed with his teammates, having avoided this ritual by announcing earlier in the day that he would keep his name in the draft. Michigan didn’t meet expectations this year, and it will likely see a good amount of attrition during the offseason. But when 30 wins and the Sweet Sixteen is considered a disappointment, when attrition comes with players leaving for the NBA, when the NCAA Tournament is still an expectation in a rebuilding year — that means the program is exactly where it wants to be. Beilein remembers the first time he made a Sweet Sixteen here, back in 2013. One of the Detroit papers, he’s not sure which, ran a big, celebratory headline. It had been 19 years since the Wolverines made it that far. In the six years since, they’ve done so four times. And made the national title game twice. During his tenure, Beilein has gotten nine guys drafted. It’s now a reason people come to Michigan. “Growing up, you want to play in the NBA. That’s your entire goal,” Poole said. “Being able to see guys coming through Michigan, make it into the NBA and the record that they have, it’s just — it’s a record that’s just like, it’s crazy. I don’t know how you wouldn’t be able to look at it.” Poole, age 19, does not remember watching Michigan basketball before it was anything but this. He remembers Trey Burke’s shot, when he was in eighth grade. He doesn’t remember Tommy Amaker. He doesn’t remember NCAA sanctions or

There’s a whole bunch of stuff that we’re not gonna change.

MAX KUANG/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein has created a culture of consistent winning, leading to high expectations every year regardless of player experience and talent.

tournament droughts. When Beilein got here, the kindest thing you could say about Michigan’s basketball reputation was that it didn’t have one, and really, you could say a lot worse than that. “Growing up in Indiana, I knew the Fab Five and, obviously, knew like (Robert) Tractor Traylor and those guys,” Zack Novak, a Michigan guard from 2008-12, said in a phone interview last week. “And then there was kind of a big gap for a while.” Novak was part of Beilein’s second recruiting class in Ann Arbor. He came in after a 10-22

season in which the Wolverines finished ninth in the Big Ten, and Beilein recruited him to play in a two-guard offense and a 1-3-1 defense. “You bring in me, Stu (Douglass) and Ben Cronin,” Novak said. “So expectations — I do not believe that anybody realistically expected us to get to the NCAA Tournament that year.” Michigan did break its tournament drought that year, and a decade later, outside a locker room in Anaheim with disappointment cascading, Novak was standing there in maize and blue gear, talking of just how much things have changed, a walking

But style of play and things like that is always changing.

beacon of perspective. Back then, nobody on the Wolverines’ roster had been to the Tournament. Now, freshmen come in with the expectation of not just playing in March, but getting far. And in more than a few cases, getting to the NBA after that. Beilein got Michigan back there with a two-guard offense and a zone defense. Now, under a coach caricatured as stubborn and unyielding, Michigan competes for titles with a ball-screen offense and a manto-man defense that KenPom ranked second in the country last season. “There’s a whole bunch of stuff that we’re not gonna change, and that’s probably the hardest thing,” Beilein said. “But it’s the things that are basic to winning basketball games. Having high character kids. Having

kids that fit Michigan. Trying to get skilled players who all can shoot as much as you can. And kids that just would fit right in and want to be here. Right? “That’s never gonna change. But style of play and things like that is always changing.” When Beilein recruited a decade ago, he talked of getting back to the Tournament. But there was another layer on top. “He was very firm that Michigan should be a premier program,” Novak said, “and we needed to build the foundation to get back to where it should be.” When a season like this one can be considered disappointing, that’s exactly where Michigan is. Sears can be reached at searseth@umich.edu, or on Twitter at @ethan_sears.

It’s time for Jeter to make the leap ‘M’ defeats Bowling Green, 10-5 MAX MARCOVITCH

AIDAN WOUTAS

Managing Sports Editor

With Donovan Jeter, it’s never been a question of talent. Jeter came to Michigan a lauded four-star defensive lineman recruit from Beaver Falls, Pa. He had offers aplenty — Notre Dame, Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, you name it. Like any other high-end Division-I talent, he’d never sat on the bench or had to wait his turn, and maybe that was all part of the problem. “We’re going to be crazy when we get there,” Jeter, smirking, told a reporter from 247Sports during his senior year of high school. “We’re going to need that first year to get settled in, but that sophomore year, we’re going to be crazy out there.” Since then, hardly anything has gone as planned. Jeter promptly tore his meniscus in the latter part of his freshman fall camp. He missed the entire season, and that sophomore season he intended to be “crazy” became, ostensibly, his freshman season. The learning curve was steep. Playing time was minimal. Now Jeter, with three career tackles to his name, will enter fall camp as one of the most important players on the Wolverines’ defense — fairly or otherwise — facing a season that will make or break his trajectory, on a team that desperately needs the former. “After not playing for a year — coming out of high school, I get injured and not playing for a year — then I come and basically just sat the bench,” Jeter said after Saturday’s Spring Game. “I’m not used to that, so I couldn’t just sit there and be OK with ‘Ah, I can be a backup.’ Nah, I got to try to be the best player I can be.” Jeter has spent this spring doing his best to follow through on that commitment. He’s focused on honing his technique, trying to incrementally improve each day, slowly ascending toward the player he wants to be. Michigan coach Jim

Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Redshirt sophomore Donovan Jeter is key for Michigan’s interior defensive line.

Harbaugh said he “appears hellbent on being the starting defensive tackle.” “Donovan Jeter is really special,” added senior defensive end Josh Uche. “I’ve known it. Me and him, we’ve gone through stuff. We’ll talk to each other, pick each other up and he’s just special, man. He’s picked it up so much this spring and I’m so proud of him. I can’t wait til you guys see what he’s done this spring.” For a team that lost Lawrence Marshall, Bryan Mone and Aubrey Solomon along the interior, there’s little alternative at the moment. Senior Michael Dwumfour remains sidelined for an undisclosed amount of time with an injury. On the razor-thin depth chart, Jeter and senior Carlo Kemp pack the bulk of experience, with true freshman Mazi Smith and converted fullback Ben Mason being relied upon behind them. Jeter will get his opportunity, whether he’s ready or not. When Jeter speaks, he does so with firm conviction. It’s clear he carries the bumps and bruises of the last two years with him, and that they’ve calloused into determination. There’s a clear understanding that he knows this is the year for him. “I think it’s a mindset. I just changed my mindset,” he said. “I told myself, ‘I’m going to be dominant and I’m going to be

physical.’ “I’ve always had power, I’ve always been strong. I’m still working on a lot of things, every day I’d tell myself, ‘I’ve got to get better at something.’ Whether it’s my hands, or my feet, or how I play a certain block, or how I read the back, there’s certain things I had to do.” Spring hype tends to generate as a result of surprise, necessity or some combination of the two. Real competition is the only thing that will unveil where Jeter falls along that spectrum; whether his hype was simply borne of a necessity for interior defensive linemen or whether this is truly his breakthrough moment. “Yeah, I’m ready to be a bigtime player,” Jeter said. “I’ve been working like it. I have to fine-tune some things still. Like I said earlier, there are still so many things I want to work in my game. I think I have what I need to. Now it’s about putting the work in and really just executing and really tweaking those little things.” Four months out, he is controlling what he can — mentally, technically and intellectually. The rest, he believes, will take care of itself. Because with Donovan Jeter, it’s never been a question of talent.

I’ve always had power. I’ve always been strong.

As the rain began to fall and the weather grew colder, Michigan’s bats got hotter. Despite some fielding difficulties which created an early deficit, the Michigan baseball team pulled itself together in the second half of the game Wednesday evening to best Bowling Green State, 10-5. After a disappointing weekend in Columbus which saw the Wolverines lose two of their three games against Ohio State, Wednesday’s win kicked off a seven-game homestand that offers a chance to regroup while there is still time left in the season. In the early innings, Bowling Green leveraged repeated misses from the Wolverines in the outfield to get on base. Base hit after base hit from the Falcons sent Michigan’s outfield scrambling and notched Bowling Green an early lead. A two-run homer from senior infielder Jimmy Kerr in the second inning put Michigan in front, 2-1. A number of clutch plays ensured Bowling Green couldn’t gain too much of a foothold. “They kept it a tight game early,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “But I thought we at least had some huge defensive plays early in the game to prevent additional runs from being scored and falling further behind.” The sixth inning finally brought success and saw the Wolverines start to pull away after they suffered three scoreless innings, during which Bowling Green took a 3-2 lead. With the bases loaded and still no outs, sophomore shortstop Jack Blomgren started the scoring with a double to leftcenter field that sent seniors Blake Nelson and Miles Lewis home to regain the lead. A sacrifice fly from senior infielder Matthew Schmidt, who started Wednesday for the first time, subsequently sent Kerr home to bring the score to 5-3. The Falcons were stumped in drawing many outs. Michigan fully rotated through its lineup and got only one out in the process.

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Senior Jimmy Kerr hit a two-run home run in Michigan’s win on Wednesday.

Two more runs from Blomgren and sophomore catcher Harrison Salter came before the end of the inning, making it 7-3. “The sixth inning was the difference tonight,” Bakich said “With five of those at-bats going to two strikes, the guys were battling.” Bowling Green’s difficulty in stopping Michigan’s batters became a theme as it eventually cycled through a total of nine pitchers by the end of the game. But its offense had an answer. Redshirt junior left-hander Benjamin Keizer tried to pitch the Wolverines out of a jam after Bowling Green loaded its bases in the top of the seventh. Michigan managed to preserve its lead but conceded another two runs to the Falcons. Another foreboding inning was brought to an end by a fielder’s choice to second.

Michigan seemed poised to deliver another set of runs as it stepped up to the plate, but lightning was soon spotted over the Big House and the game was delayed for over an hour until the storm passed. An hour of sitting in the locker room seemed to put no damper on the Wolverines’ offensive momentum, as they put up a threerun seventh inning highlighted by a soaring double through the gap from sophomore designated hitter Jordan Nwogu. “To come out after the delay and put up a three-spot was huge,” Bakich said. “It was big time insurance because Bowling Green doesn’t quit.” The pitching and defense seemed reinvigorated after its break as well and kept Bowling Green scoreless through the end of the game. Over five hours later, the Wolverines walked away with a 10-5 win.

The sixth inning was the difference tonight.

Sports

8 — Thursday, April 18, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

From Fleet Feet to Michigan: The Fenty family and a culture of exercise

COURTESY OF THE FENTY FAMILY

The Fenty family values an active lifestyle as participating in sports runs in the family, starting with Phil Fenty (right), who opened Fleet Feet, the nation’s premier running store, in Washington D.C. and is the grandfather of Michigan’s Andrew Fenty.

AVI SHOLKOFF Daily Sports Editor

Phil Fenty runs. He bikes. He swims. Fenty runs ultramarathons — 100-mile races that can take nearly 24 hours to compete. “What’s even more crazy is that he did them twice,” said Andrew Fenty, his grandson. “And to qualify for that event you have to run numerous 50 mile events.” Phil Fenty runs Ironman races, even the Ironman World Championship — the most grueling of triathlon competitions. He races in all these competitions as a septuagenarian. “He does everything,” Andrew said. Adrian Fenty, Phil’s son and Andrew’s father, runs every morning often at 5 a.m. Shawn Fenty, Adrian’s brother and Phil’s son owns Fleet Feet in Washington D.C., arguably the nation’s premier running store. He outfits hundreds of runners who travel to his store in search of the ideal fit for a long run, much like the ultramarathons Phil competes in. And Andrew? Andrew plays tennis. The freshman anchors the Michigan men’s tennis team, finishing with 22 singles and 18 doubles wins — both the highest totals on the Wolverines this season. Fenty and his twin brother Matthew had a lot of energy as young children. Adrian, the boys’ father and the mayor of Washington D.C., decided to introduce sports as a way to channel this enthusiasm into something constructive. Then, from a friend who went to high school with Adrian and lived nearby, Adrian found tennis and signed the boys up. When they were three or four years old, he took his children to a tennis academy owned by his friend. “He would let them hit even when they weren’t ready for it,” Adrian said via a phone interview. “So by the time they were four, they actually could hit pretty well and do practices. “They played a lot of other sports for a while, but tennis was always the sport and by the time they were 12, it was the only sport.” And as Andrew would eventually learn, tennis became his sport. Just like track for his father, marathoning for his grandfather and cycling for his uncle. The passion for athletics and fitness began with Phil, when he was in his thirties and wanted to keep up with his sons and lose weight, according to Adrian. So,

Phil decided to take up running. It was inexpensive and required minimal equipment, just a pair of running shoes. But as he continued to pursue it, running became more than just a means to lose weight. Running slowly became Phil’s passion, a method of solace. “I just enjoyed running,” Phil said. “It was something that appealed to me and came naturally to me. I had an affinity to it. It quieted my mind. When you’re running you’re just with yourself, a meditative type of adventure.” Though it certainly provided benefits for his health, Phil also greatly appreciated the familial attitude that came from running. It was a sport that Phil, his wife and two sons could do together and separately. And, Phil believes that it led Shawn to pursue cycling and Adrian to pursue soccer. But rather than just maintain this affinity as a casual hobby, or a way to keep his family connected, Phil turned his passion into a business. Phil had experience working in retail and had received significant experience as an employee for Sears Roebuck. Opening his own store was something he envisioned doing, and combining his passion for exercise with his retail experience made it an easy decision. Then, he met the founder of Fleet Feet. “She lived in California, and had 18 stores in California,” Phil remembers. “Coincidentally, at the same time she was interested in opening stores outside of California, and Washington D.C. was a good spot because we had a great base of runners and things going on in D.C. And so she granted my wife (Jeannette) and I a franchise, and we opened it and so my dream came true and it worked out very well.” Phil is being modest. 35 years later, Fleet Feet is the premier running shop in the Washington D.C. area and remains a family business. What began as a store owned by Phil and his wife is now currently managed by Phil’s son, Shawn with many members of the family working there. It began as a store focused on triathletes but now, it focuses on a specific niche — intense runners. When Andrew was asked about his experiences with Fleet Feet, he smiled and remembers working at a store with his cousins and uncles. As a young child, he would be with the employees at a nearby park, spending time with them on their breaks.

“I remember as a young kid, my father would just leave me (at the store),” Andrew said. “Recently, I worked there as a salesman, which was weird, because I grew up there my whole life. “It’s a rite of passage, everyone goes through there.” Added Phil: “Andrew and his brother Matthew, they’re twins, they spent days in the store when they were still in baby carriers. They’ve been at the store since they were born, as have all the children. It’s been a great family environment.” Working at Fleet Feet is seemingly only one of many “rites of passage” for the Fenty family. Another is finding your sport. But, it was up to each member of the family to find their own athletic niche. Phil never sought to steer his children or his grandchildren to any specific sport. “Shawn and (Adrian) are both athletes in their own disciplines,” Phil Fenty said. “It was never pressure to be a runner, (it was) to find the sport that works for you and put in a good effort. “Tennis was their thing. I didn’t try to influence anybody in the family to do what I did. They found the sports that worked for them.” Phil, though, still recognizes the benefits that running provided for Andrew at a young age. He believes that endurance is crucial to success in tennis and that those with running backgrounds have a significant advantage. Andrew certainly recognizes the effect that such training provided. About five years ago on Christmas, Andrew began doing a track workout with his father. Even in that first workout, Andrew kept pace with a father who avidly runs triathlons and marathons, Adrian noticed his son’s speed and potential. By the next year, Adrian acknowledges that his son had bested him. And for Andrew, these workouts and lessons from his father and grandfather have paid dividends on the court. It has given him perspective on his up-and-coming tennis career. “(My grandfather) still works out four hours a day,” Andrew said. “He goes to the gym as much as me. He doesn’t stop. It’s motivation, but it’s just amazing to see that, he’s kinda like my father in a way, never stopping. I don’t think he knows what it feels like to not work out. “It means the world, to have the grandfather like that, pushing me in a way.” Andrew’s father too, provided

a path for his son to succeed. Adrian Fenty had a similar journey to intense distance running as Phil. After graduating from Oberlin and competing on the track team for two years, Adrian took a break from the sport for most of his twenties. It wasn’t until his thirties — as happened with his father — that Adrian returned to the sport. Running, in the words of Adrian appears “in his blood” and he couldn’t stay away. But for Adrian, it’s not just a way to stay in shape or keep his heart rate up. He genuinely — which, as Adrian acknowledges, is perhaps a bit peculiar for many to understand — loves running. “Even if there was a way to magically make myself permanently in good shape without running, I still would want to run,” Adrian said. “I enjoy it that much. I would definitely miss it if I didn’t do it regularly.” Adrian remained true to his word. As the mayor of Washington D.C. for four years from 2007-2011, he would wake up in the early mornings before work and run. He credits endurance as a valuable tool not only for running, but for various facets of life. “If you are good at endurance sports, you can wear down the competition,” Adrian said. “That’s the theory and the hope. Whatever the competition happens to be. Whether it’s in business, politics, academics or sport. Hopefully you’ll outlast everybody.” Adrian never wanted his twin sons to participate in track and field, believing it to be a “burnout sport.” He did though, hope the two would find the same sport and stick with it. Tennis happened to be that sport. They could play

— and enjoyed — football and basketball but by the time Andrew and his brother Matthew were eight years old, they could succeed at tennis together. And as with Phil Fenty and his sons, tennis became a family affair for Adrian and his twin sons and daughter Aerin, born in 2008. It became a sport that the five of them enjoyed and relished both playing and watching. For Andrew, that led him to compete for Michigan. *** No one ever pushed Andrew to play tennis. “Tennis was always my thing,” he said. While his father and grandfather would passionately run miles on end, Andrew was drawn to the tennis court, specifically the hard court. He loves the speed of the game of the tennis and, on hard courts, the speed of the ball. But Andrew recognizes the power that running so often as a child provided him. He understands the benefits it gave him to succeed in tennis. It also put the sport in perspective for him, something tangible that he reflects on during matches. “It shows me that whatever I do, playing tennis for three or four hours going side to side, is nothing,” Andrew said. “It’s nothing at all. What these guys do is just run. The only way to get better at running, is running. It’s more mental than anything. “When I’m out there, I think I can do this, I do it all the time. I can run longer, I can run faster. That’s what I tell myself.” He has succeeded. He leads the Michigan tennis team in victories this season and is expected to lead the Wolverines this weekend when they begin the Big Ten Tournament. Fleet Feet too, provided

invaluable lessons for Andrew. According to Phil, the right tennis shoe is crucial to success and it is vital to take care of one’s feet in tennis when the player moves from side-to-side for multiple hours. His grandfather also taught him the importance of the mental aspect in tennis. The role of working with his teammates and coaches to achieve their best goal. Most significantly though, the Fenty family fostered a goal of exercise and sport. They honed it with the establishment of the Washington D.C. Fleet Feet in 1984. Each member has spent time as a sales associate or in other capacities working at the store. Phil Fenty honed it through running miles and miles and fitting the customers of his store with the proper footwear. And, serving as counsel to his sons and grandchildren in their sporting exploits. Adrian Fenty honed it through his morning runs, his desire to run no matter where he is or what he’s doing. All that matters is that he has his shorts, shirt and watch. And finally, Andrew Fenty took the lessons of all those in his family. He took the lessons from Fleet Feet, morning runs with his father and conversations with his grandfather to succeed as a freshman for Michigan tennis. Being an athlete is simply in his blood. “In our family generally, everybody’s an athlete,” Phil said. “Male and female. Young and old. All of us. Everybody runs, bikes and swims. It’s our family’s activity. When we travel, when we go anywhere, we make sure we have facilities where we can exercise. “It’s always been in our DNA to exercise.”

MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/Daily

Freshman Andrew Fenty chose tennis, unlike his father and grandfather, and has found himself at the collegiate level.