Wednesday, July 3, 2019
ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
inside
City Council appoints new A2 police chief
NEWS
Washtenaw Dairy ‘The Dairy’ celebrates 85 years with a birthday celebration
Council selects Michael Cox for position at Monday night meeting
>> SEE PAGE 3
OPINION
British politics Zack Blumberg analyzes the problem currently facing British conservatives >> SEE PAGE 4
ARTS
The National Band disappoints at Hill Auditorium, but Courtney Barnett picks up the slack with standout performance >> SEE PAGE 7
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Identity abroad
Lorna Brown reflects upon her cultural identity and ho er self-view has changed while abroad
>> SEE PAGE 9
SPORTS
Baseball The wins that shaped the Michigan baseball team’s run to the College World Series finals
>> SEE PAGE 12
INDEX Vol. CXXVIII, No. 116 © 2019 The Michigan Daily
NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION ............................... 4 ARTS...................................... 6 MiC......................................... 9 SPORTS................................ 10
michigandaily.com
MELANIE TAYLOR Summer News Editor
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Former Governor Rick Snyder was given a senior research fellowship at Harvard College’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Friday.
Former Michigan Gov. begins Harvard fellowship to backlash Activists call for termination of Rick Snyder on social media CLAIRE HAO & MELANIE TAYLOR Summer News Editors
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has been awarded a senior research fellowship at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, which operates under Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, the school announced Friday. Snyder, a University of Michigan alum, will work with students, faculty and other fellows in the school’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government to research, write and teach, according to a press release from the Kennedy School. Snyder began his fellowship on Monday despite backlash over his appointment. In the release, Taubman Center director Jeffrey Liebman wrote he is confident Snyder will bring “tremendous value” to the school. “Governor Snyder brings his significant expertise in management, public policy and
promoting civility to Harvard Kennedy School,” Liebman said. Snyder was quoted in the press release saying he was excited to spread his insight of government at the state level. “I look forward to sharing my experiences in helping take Michigan to national leadership in job creation, improved government performance, and civility,” Snyder said. The release cited Snyder’s leadership guiding Detroit through the “largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history,” as well as his support of autonomous vehicles, expansion of Michigan workforce and STEM training, investments in infrastructure and improvements to the finances and pension system. Snyder’s appointment has prompted backlash on social media by those who note his administration’s role in the Flint water crisis. Using #NoSnyderFellowship, the trending hashtag started by activist Mariame Kaba, activists on Twitter urged their followers to directly contact Liebman asking him to rescind Snyder’s fellowship. Readers were also advised to post about the issue, get Harvard alumni to support their cause and donate to Mari Copeny’s fundraising efforts for Flint.
Those engaged in the social media effort include Piper Kerman, author of the book “Orange is the New Black,” which was the basis of Netflix’s show of the same name, and Copeny, also known as “Little Miss Flint.” Abdul El-Sayed, the secondplace 2018 Michigan Democrat gubernatorial candidate, also questioned on Twitter why Snyder was awarded the fellowship. El-Sayed’s press team directed The Daily to Adam Joseph, a graduate of the Kennedy School and former communications director for El-Sayed’s gubernatorial campaign, when asked for comment. On Sunday, Joseph tweeted Snyder’s fellowship appointment was “beyond astounding” and criticized the school’s decision. El-Sayed retweeted Joseph’s sentiments. University alum Hoai An Pham said she joined Kaba’s social media organizing by posting her own email to Liebman as a template for others. Having graduated from the University in the spring, Pham is still active in her collegiate organizing communities, and said she has seen success with email templates in the past.
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Ann Arbor City Council gathered Monday evening in Larcom City Hall. The meeting, which marked the start of a new fiscal year, was met with conversations regarding nonpartisan voting practices, housing development plans and approval of a new Ann Arbor Chief of Police. Jane Lumm, I-Ward 2, introduced a resolution for the November ballot to add the option to convert local Ann Arbor elections to a nonpartisan system in which all candidates would run for two general election nominations regardless of party affiliation. “Passing this tonight is to place the question on the ballot for voters to determine, but I do think there are very strong arguments for conducting local elections on a nonpartisan basis,” Lumm said. Ann Arbor currently stands alongside Ypsilanti and Ionia as one of the state’s three cities which still participate in partisan local elections. Lumm, the only non-Democrat on the council and having previously served as a Republican, has been calling for a move away from partisan elections for almost four years. Because the city of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County as a whole is saturated with historically Democratic voters, Lumm said she believes the August primary elections are essentially the only competitive races. In November, when voter turnout is higher, Democrats often run unopposed. Rosemary Bogden, resident of Ann Arbor’s Ward 3, spoke to the council, compelling them to leave the issue to the voters. “I think this could make for a much more fair, democratic, exciting and intelligent election,” Bogden said.
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2 NEWS
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Alum discusses climate change Tim Arvan examines negotiations on and off campus KRYSTAL HUR
Daily Staff Reporter
On Sunday night, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Ann Arbor and Washtenaw Climate Reality hosted an event titled “Climate Change Negotiation and Policy at Home and Abroad” with University of Michigan alum Tim Arvan at the Ann Arbor District Library’s Westgate branch. Arvan attended the United Nations COP24 Climate Change Convention in Katowice, Poland as a Climate Blue student delegate. He started the talk by recalling his time in Katowice. He said that while he did not take part in any of Syndication the negotiations, his presence Sudoku showed the United Nations’ commitment to exhibiting
transparency in its climate negotiations. Additionally, he doscussed the challenges the United Nations’ consensus requirement in decision-making poses when navigating climate change negotiations and creating a plan that countries will follow. “There’s no way that the UN has to force a country to do a particular thing,” Arvan said. “That means that every single nation has to be on board with every single significant step that we take to solve this problem. And right off the bat, that just makes it impossible to take more than incremental steps over twenty four years.” Arvan also discussed transitions as well as common but differentiated responsibilities, and how he saw examples of people worried about the effects of the United Nations’ missions on their income.
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the Baby Boomer generation EDITORIAL STAFF continues to age, the number Barbara Collins & Alex Harring of patients with Alzheimer’s 65 Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com and older is expected to grow 22 percent by 2025 and raise Erin White Medicaid costs by nearly 25 Editorial Page Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com percent, according to scientists. Alzheimer’s and other types of Jorge Cazares & Akul Vijayvargiya LIAT WEINSTEIN dementia progress slowly— the Managing Sports Editors http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Read more at michigandaily.com sportseditors@michigandaily.com Daily Staff Reporter average person lives between four and eight years after receiving Julianna Morano The walls of Michigan the diagnosis — so memory loss Managing Arts Editor arts@michigandaily.com Alzheimer’s Disease Center, a centers often focus on raising a research hub and medical center patient’s quality of life through Alexandria Pompei & Natalie Stephens for those facing memory loss, are programs like Mondro’s art Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com dotted with bright watercolor therapy. Kathi Tobey, a memory paintings — “works of art,” as loss specialist at Michigan HARD Alec Cohen & Kathryn Halverson Hank Paulson, the director of the Medicine’s Silver Club Programs, Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com center and University professor said art offers those living with of neurology, calls them. These dementia an outlet for creativity Emily Stillman paintings were created by in ways words often cannot. Managing Copy Editor copydesk@michigandaily.com “(Creative art) doesn’t have patients in the center as part of a therapeutic program led by Anne boundaries,” Tobey said. “As Devak Nanua & Sam So Mondro, an associate professor memory loss increases, (people Managing MiC Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com at the School of Art & Design, who are diagnosed) can still can and the students of her Memory, be creative, they just are more Amir Basha Aging and Expressive Arts class. creative in an abstract way. So a Managing Online Editor webteam@michigandaily.com “When those people with lot of the art that gets produced dementia made those works for our folks with moderate of art, there was a feeling of memory loss, is more abstract ... It accomplishment that was doesn’t have to be done a certain The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) satisfying to them that basically way, so it offers folks this avenue is published Monday through Friday allowed them to be socially that is open-ended.” during the fall and winter terms by Mondro’s work focuses mainly interacting with the world students at the University of Michigan. around them to have a positive on the intersection of art, illness One copy is available free of charge impact themselves,” Paulson said. and disease. In 2014, Mondro to all readers. Additional copies may “And I think that is therapeutic.” began offering a course to Arts & be picked up at the Daily’s office For the past 15 years, Mondro’s Design students — an outgrowth for $2 per issue. Subscriptions for work has provided emotional of her previous community September - April are $250, and yearsupport and brain stimulation engagement course, Retaining long subscriptions are $275. University for those suffering from memory Identity: the role of creativity in affiliates are subject to a reduced loss in a state where Alzheimer’s health care — created in 2006. subscription rate. Subscriptions must © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com Disease, the most prevalent form be prepaid. of dementia, is the sixth leading Read more at michigandaily.com cause of death in the nation. As
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Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS 3
Washtenaw Dairy celebrates 85 years ‘The Dairy’ plans birthday celebration for July 4 ALYSSA MCMURTY Daily Staff Reporter
COURTESY OF MICAELA ASERCION
Fox Sports brings ‘U’ alumni to California 10 recent alumni travel to Los Angeles to experience Fox’s FIFA World Cup coverage after winning competition BARBARA COLLINS
Summer Managing News Editor
On June 17, 10 University of Michigan students and recent graduates experienced a day of Fox Sports coverage at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Los Angeles. The students, who have all since graduated, were among the winners of the Fox Sports University challenge, a competition in which students construct and propose brand campaign ideas to Fox Sports executives. At the World Cup, the group met Fox Sports’ social media team and watched their coverage during live matches. They also toured of two Fox studios in Playa Vista and Los Angeles, in addition to witnessing a live broadcasting of Fox Soccer Tonight. University alum Sierre Wolfkostin, a member of a winning team, said she enjoyed the tour, as Fox does not accommodate tour groups often. “We got to visit over 10 different teams that work
there,” Wolfkostin said. “Not only their digital content production team that were actively sending out tweets and posts live and real-time in response to the Women’s World Cup game, but also we got to see their whole TV production studio and those teams.” University alum Preston Rabban, another winning student, said his favorite experience was witnessing the action in the studio he often sees on his own TV screen. “At the end when they were doing the live show, watching the live show right in front of you and being broadcast on the TV right next to you within seconds, I thought that was the coolest part,” Rabban said. Wolfkostin said she enjoyed seeing every team at Fox work together to create the broadcast. “At the end when you got to see them doing a live sports broadcast, you realized how all of the parts added up together to cre-
ate one finished product,” Wolfkostin said. “Every little piece came in to create this production. You realize that it’s a lot more complicated than you initially think.” During the Fall 2018 semester, Fox Sports University partnered with University professor Marcus Collins’ Social Media Marketing class. Students worked in groups to create original advertising campaigns for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and MLB Jewel events such as the All-Star Game and World Series. Each group was assigned a specific brand such as Taco Bell, Coca-Cola and Verizon to market to one of the two audiences. The 13 groups ultimately proposed their campaigns to a panel of Fox Sports executives, including David Miller, senior vice president of ad sales, and Emilee Cavis, senior director of sales and marketing.
Washtenaw Dairy, a longtime staple in the Ann Arbor community, is celebrating its 85th anniversary on July 4 with a celebration featuring donuts, ice cream, live entertainment and street artist David Zinn. Washtenaw Dairy owner Mary Raab is excited for the upcoming celebration and believes these 85 years in business wouldn’t have been possible without the customers. “I think there’s something about the business — we’re calling Legen-Dairy because we think it is — that has to do with the community and the customers … and the businesses working together with us,” Raab said. Washtenaw Dairy first began its journey by selling bottled milk to its customers. According to Raab, the shop was one of 120 local dairies at its conception in 1934, and she said it may be the last local dairy store.
Though they no longer bottle their milk, the Dairy still sells a wide variety of cheeses, milk and other dairy options. “We used to do home deliveries back in the day and about half our businesses is distributing milk and dairy products,” Raab said. Washtenaw Dairy has been a family-owned business since its founding. This was one of the main reasons Zaki Shafi said he became a manager, she said. “I just moved to the area this past August and I didn’t want to work for a corporate company anymore,” Shafi said. “It’s my first opportunity to really have a sense of … crewmanship. That’s really been a privilege and a gift to me — to be in close communication with the owner of the establishment that I work for is pretty great.” Keeping the business in the family pertains to the employees too, as Raab said she has had families whose involvement with the Dairy has spanned generations.
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Washtenaw Dairy celebrates its 85th anniversary Thursday.
“We have some employees that are second-generation employees,” Raab said. “We have one business in town that we do business with three generations of that family all worked at the Dairy and now that business is a customer of ours. It really makes a big difference and I just love it when people stop by.”’ LSA freshman Jack Harris, whose his grandmother worked with the current owner, said both employees and customers are treated like family. “People who know about Washtenaw Dairy know that there’s a lot of — some people call them Old timers, we call them regulars — who come in, lots of mornings during the week, on the weekends,” Harris said. “And they’ll sit and they’ll have their donut, their coffee, they’ll read their paper. Same guys come in every day and chat.” Read more at michigandaily.com
DARBY STIPE/Daily
4 OPINION
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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ZACK BLUMBERG | COLUMN
B
ack in January, I published my first ever column for The Daily, in which I derided Brexit as an unrealizable fantasy which could never be pulled off. Unfortunately, it seems I was only half right: Brexit remains an unrealizable fantasy, but Britain appears determined to go through with it anyway. Coinciding with the Conservative Party’s membersonly vote for the country’s next prime minister, YouGov polled Conservative Party members about Brexit — the results were terrifying and confirmed that Conservative Party members are willing to sacrifice just about anything for Brexit (important note: Unlike in the United States, members of British parties are only a small cohort of paying, registered party members who vote on internal party decisions, not simply all people who vote for the party in national elections). However, the survey results don’t only demonstrate ineptitude, but a shortsightedness which could ultimately mean the end of the Conservative Party. Fundamentally, two specific questions in the YouGov survey explain the entire mindset of the Conservative Party regarding Brexit. First, Conservative Party members seem far more worried about the Brexit Party than the Labour Party. When asked which parties they thought posed a serious problem for the Conservatives, members listed the Brexit Party nearly twice as often as the Labour Party — 67 percent said the Brexit Party was a major threat, while only
The Conservative Party’s grave mistake 34 percent said the Labour Party was. Second, Conservative Party members overwhelmingly believe that failing to deliver Brexit would damage the party going forward. An astonishingly large 51 percent of Conservative Party members said that if the U.K. remained in the EU, this would hurt the Conservative Party so much the party would never lead the government again. Though many of the survey results appear confusing, the two aforementioned questions provide some valuable context. Essentially, Conservative Party members believe they must push Brexit through or else their party will be ruined, and their voters, feeling betrayed, will migrate to the Brexit Party. With this in mind, some of the other poll answers make slightly more sense. In a 63-29 percent split, party members said they would be O.K. with Scotland leaving the U.K. if it meant Brexit happened, and in a 61-29 percent split, members said it was O.K. if the U.K. suffered significant economic damage from Brexit. Within the party, many members probably see those consequences as sacrifices they might have to make in order to avoid being usurped by the Brexit Party. 54 percent of party members even said they would support Brexit if it meant the Conservative Party was destroyed, likely because they believe the alternative is the party being destroyed after failing to deliver Brexit. In the short term, Conservative Party members’ paranoia over Brexit is actually somewhat justified. Since former Conservative Prime
Minister Theresa May first initiated the U.K.’s withdrawal by invoking Article 50 of the European Union Treaty in 2017, the Conservative Party’s Brexit paralysis has cost the party greatly. Discord among Conservative MPs over how Brexit should be carried out led Parliament to reject May’s proposed exit deal three times, which ultimately forced her to resign earlier this month. Throughout this bureaucratic slog, Brexit voters have grown continually more exasperated. As a result of the Conservative Party’s inability to carry out Brexit, Nigel Farage’s newly founded Brexit Party — which promised to get the U.K. out of the EU at any cost — won a plurality in the 2019 European elections, while the Conservatives finished fifth. With the defeat fresh in their minds, it is understandable that Conservative Party members see delivering Brexit as the Party’s only way forward. With that said, there are several key problems which could decimate the Conservative Party. In some ways, it may already be too late. Though the party now firmly supports Brexit, several years of dithering have hurt the party’s credibility among Brexiteers. The Conservative Party’s likely pick for prime minister, Boris Johnson, said recently the U.K. would leave the EU on Oct. 31 (the current deadline for Brexit), regardless of the consequences. This is the strong stance frustrated Brexit voters want. However, like the rest of his party, Johnson has been quite inconsistent on this issue. In the lead up to the
actual Brexit vote back in 2016, he was unusually quiet, and although he eventually supported Brexit, he said the decision was “agonizingly difficult” — hardly the outspoken response one would expect from him. Unlike Johnson, Farage has been an outspoken critic of the EU for decades: After the U.K. signed a treaty which furthered European integration in 1992, he left the Conservative Party to form the U.K. Independence Party; he then founded the Brexit Party in January. Since founding UKIP, Farage has been the face of the Eurosceptic movement. For the Conservative Party, this poses a fundamental problem: If people are really as concerned about Brexit as party members believe, why would they pick the slow-moving, flip-flopping Boris Johnson over the everconsistent Nigel Farage? Furthermore, the Conservative Party’s biggest problem is how their approach sets the party up for the future. With the Brexit Party pushing the Conservatives to the right, the party now feels it must deliver Brexit at all costs to maintain power. However, this approach, combined with Britain’s changing demographics, could destroy the party. Although the U.K. did narrowly vote to leave the EU, three key groups voted overwhelmingly to remain: urban voters, young voters and universityeducated voters. The results were particularly one-sided among voters under the age of 25 (71 percent voted remain) and voters
with a university degree (68 percent voted remain). For the Conservative Party, this will be disastrous going forward. As older voters die off, Britain’s younger generation, which is consistently more progressive, will make up a larger and larger share of the electorate. Additionally, the British population is continually becoming more educated and more urbanized, which further threatens the Conservative Party. A decade from now, with all signs pointing towards the British populace being more pro-EU than today, the Conservative Party would be remembered as the party that decided to leave the EU, at the expense of the UK’s unity and economic prosperity. Ultimately, the Conservative Party is stuck in a corner right now. If the party is too weak on Brexit, it will face attacks from the Brexit Party. However, succumbing to the Brexit Party’s pressures, as the vast majority of party members seem prepared to do, would be a terrible mistake. Though it would likely retain slightly more power in the short term, the long-term consequences of a poorly planned Brexit would be catastrophic for both the party itself and the U.K. as a whole. Unfortunately, it appears the Conservative Party has taken this shortsighted approach and decided to hedge the party’s future, along with the economic health of the entire U.K., for small gains in the present. Zack Blumberg can be reached at zblumber@umich.edu.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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OPINION 5
ANNE ELSE | COLUMN
I
Environemental action starts in the mind
n our current political climate, environmental issues typically fall along party lines. Stereotypically, liberals tend to adhere to environmentally friendly policies and climate change awareness, while conservatives do not embrace these issues in their platforms. While the politics of sustainability is definitely affecting the way people view climate change and personal habits, there is also a basis of psychological factors that can determine a person’s view and use of these methods and policies. I recently watched an episode of the critically acclaimed HBO show “Big Little Lies,” which was heavily centered around the theme of environmental consciousness. It depicted a young girl in second grade who suffered from a panic attack that stemmed from fear of climate change. She was extremely worried that the world would end after she was taught about startling environmental facts from her teacher. Her reaction to climate change was full of anxiety and fear, which could make it difficult for viewers to understand that real change is possible. This portrayal of the effects of climate change on the mind made me think about how our psychological state might affect how passionate we are about making changes. Even more, the way we are taught about these truths can affect our view of the world. If we are simply given staggering facts about the dying planet without any suggestions for how to make it better, our view of the world could become hopeless and scary. If we can look at the horrors that happen in the world through a mindset of hopefulness and willingness to change, then maybe it would be easier for everyone, no matter their political affiliation, to combat these issues together. Viewing climate change with extreme denial or fear will clearly affect one’s desire to help in healing our Earth. New research has delved into the basis of the psychology of sustainability. As we know, human behavior is what has affected the planet in the first place. Therefore, psychologists purporting changes in human behavior and psyche are what will drive motivation and participation in sus-
tainable practices and advocacy. A research project from Minnesota Pollution Control Agency presents helpful plans for sustainability based on psychological changes. They explain that a key way to increase sustainable behavior is to make it a “social default.” Humans tend to look to others for social cues and information. Thus, if leading an ecoconscious lifestyle by reducing carbon footprints and spreading eco-friendly information was the norm, sustainability would increase dramatically, which can be done by getting to know neighbors’ habits and views on the environment. This will help make positive and inclusive conversations about environmental change more common. So how can we implement these positive ideals into upcoming generations? Journalist Barbara Malt says universities should include more environmental psychology classes to educate students on the impact of human behavior. This type of hybrid class would allow students to find relatable coursework and information on how we can change our psychological outlook on our planet. She concisely explains why this subject intersection is necessary, stating, “Because human behavior is at the root of these environmental problems, science and technology alone cannot create the solutions we need ... To create solutions, there must be a belief in the need for change, the will to make and sustain change, and effective means of creating change.” This type of environmental teaching will give young adults a sense of understanding and confidence in how to make significant and positive impacts on the future of our ecosystems.; it should extend to all years of schooling and be taught in a positive and action-oriented light. (If you’re interested in this topic, University of Michigan is offering a psychology and environment cross-listed course this fall titled Behavior and Environment). Thankfully, the field of environmental psychology is growing. Their specialized research focuses on human reaction to different environmental issues and phenomena. The American Psychological Association lists a few ways that these psychologists are applying their knowledge
to the real world. They “conduct research on messages that motivate people to change their behavior, spread the word about environmental solutions, uncover why people may not adopt positive behaviors, encourage people to rethink their positions in the natural world, and help clients to live more sustainable lives.” Some people might not want to buy into the advantages of living a sustainable life and choose to ignore environmental politics and action. This viewpoint can also be explained through psychological terms that Steve Taylor, psychologist and professor at Leeds Beckett University in the U.K., suggests. The psychological explanation of why people are able to continually ignore detrimental environmental changes and not feel bothered to change is because of the presence of “egoseparateness.” This includes an overly intensified sense of independence and individuality, which allows some people to feel disparate from nature and wildlife. The results of this individualistic mindset are people do not feel responsible for their planet or the vast lands covering it. There is a lack of “duty to preserve (nature’s) harmony.” This psychological understanding of people who do not support eco-friendly endeavors makes sense to me when I examine the extremely individualistic tendencies of Western countries. America, in particular, stereotypically values individual achievements and the ability to be independently successful as our most important characteristics. This could very well be fueling the uniquely American ability to consistently ignore environmental issues. Take a few environment courses to solidify your knowledge in the subject, talk to your housemates or neighbors on their views and habits, allow for environmental love to be normal and appreciated. Understanding our own psychological barriers will help us attain sustainable mindsets that will assist our futures and our homes. For the future of our families, friends and foes, we must get past our individualistic cultural values and find ways to help environmental causes. Anne Else can be reached at aelse@umich.edu.
6 ARTS
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
BOOKS NOTEBOOK
DESIGN BY KATHRYN HALVERSON
A once-teen’s ode to Green ASIF BECHER Daily Arts Writer
“You can never publish my love,” Rogue Wave chants, in the song that the title of this series riffs on. Maybe that’s true, and we can never quite account for our love on paper or in print, but we sure can try. That’s what this series is devoted to: publishing our love. Us, the Arts section of The Michigan Daily, talking about artists, some of the people we love the most. Perhaps these are futile approximations of love for the poet who told us we deserve to be heard, the director who changed the way we see the world, the singer we see as an old friend. But who ever said futile can’t still be beautiful? In John Green’s 2012 novel “The Fault in Our Stars,” protagonist Hazel Grace Lancaster thinks to herself: “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book. And then there are books like ‘An Imperial Affliction,’ which you can’t tell people about, books so special and rare and yours that advertising your affection feels like betrayal.” Like Hazel Grace with “An Imperial Affliction,” John Green’s work feels intensely personal to me. It’s evangelical-zeal-inducing and formative in every sense of the word, not only emotionally or intellectually,
but also in terms of real relationships Green’s work has impacted my life. I’m pretty sure I can credit his YouTube channel, “Vlogbrothers,” as the catalyst for one of my very closest friendships from high school. He’s inspired, frustrated and taught me endlessly. I think I would have turned out a lot differently if his books had never been in my life, for better or for worse. Let’s go back to the start. John Green, for the three people still uninitiated, is the massively famous author of young adult books like “Looking for Alaska,” “The Fault in Our Stars,” “Paper Towns” and many more. He’s also one of the original YouTube stars, beginning with “Vlogbrothers” in 2007, which he shares with his brother Hank. His online success has since expanded to developing and hosting the educational series “Crash Course,” as well as several popular podcasts. John Green has been a public figure for almost two decades now, but I found him about 7 years ago. My big sister Eden pressed a library copy of “Looking for Alaska” into my hands and told me, “This book is really important, you should read it.” Eden had just graduated high school and I was a few weeks away from starting my freshman year, so it felt less like a recommendation and more like an induction. Welcome to adolescence, the book seemed to tell me. Good luck. It caught hold almost immediately. There’s something raw and exposed about “Looking for Alaska”, nearly
intrusive in how intimate reading it feels. It tells the story of 15-year-old Miles Halter as he attends boarding school in Alabama and encounters his first friendships, first teenage hijinks, first love, first tragedy. “Looking For Alaska” centers on the relationship between Miles and the mysterious Alaska, a troubled teenage girl who seems equally interested in soaking in as much joy and excitement as she can as she is in destroying herself. The book is split into two parts, simply titled “Before” and “After,” but throughout both sections, Alaska as a character never quite makes sense. One minute, she’s warm and thrilling, the next she’s withdrawn and acerbic. We see her in fragments, never learn her full backstory and very rarely hear what she actually wants and needs from her life. As a result, she never feels quite like a real person, which is a point on which a lot of critics have taken issue with the novel. But to me, that’s always felt exactly right, because the way we see her is decidedly a product of Miles’ perceptions and imaginations. From their very first moments together, Miles is too busy marveling at the shape of her lips to listen to the words she’s actually saying. Alaska dies horrifically midway through the book, leaving Miles and the rest of the friends around her to muddle through trying to understand why. (Spoiler: They never do. Prediction: They never will.) No matter how many times I read it, the book leaves me with a sort of
hollow feeling in my stomach. Not only because of the precision with which love, obsession, grief and trauma are rendered by Green’s prose, but because “Looking For Alaska,” and really all his work, always immediately rips me back to who I was when I first read it. Each character in his novels is unique and specific, and yet I can’t help but think of my group of friends in high school and see each of them in the Colonel, Takumi, Miles and Alaska. I start remembering some of the awful things that happened when we were 15, our version of the “Before” and “After,” and the hollow feeling in my gut expands, twists into hurt. When I’m thinking about why this is, why Green’s work hits me so hard, I like to imagine he treats memory as if it’s a coin. Flip it to one face and you get nostalgia; flip it to the other and you get a darker, mournful side. Green’s writing registers emotionally like a series of those coin tosses, equal parts regretful and wistful. Sometimes he writes stories like a rosy memory of a better time, and it’s only because of how sharply and precisely he renders those memories that he can use them like a weapon. In Green’s hands, something joyful like a first love, or a happy road trip between friends, can take a sharp turn into tragedy and heartbreak as quickly as it does in real life. The sweet side of the coin has flipped without the reader even realizing, and it leaves you breathless. If “Looking for Alaska” were the only book Green had ever written, I’d probably still count him as one of the most important authors in my life, but Green has written six books. Even though I don’t think he’s ever been quite as raw as “Alaska,” that sense of longing permeates through all of his books. Even the cringier parts of his books resonate — I find that actually, their imperfection is exactly what makes them feel so real to me. Green has gained a bit of a reputation in recent years for tending toward the overwrought. He uses a lot of extended metaphors and often gives his characters long soliloquies about the meaning of life. He (like many other YA authors) also likes picking a classic piece of literature to weave admittedly pretty heavy-handedly throughout his novels as a motif. But none of that has ever bothered me, mostly because none of it ever registers as false or insincere, but rather an earnest expression of the story he’s trying to tell and the way his teenage characters feel. Teenagers tend to get a little overwrought sometimes. They mix their metaphors. They latch really hard onto classic literature they at times don’t fully understand. Some-
times I read the emails my friends and I would send each other in high school and I cringe so hard I actually feel my soul exit my body for a minute because it’s so eager to distance itself from the kind of pretentious buffoon who would write that shit. But John Green never attempts any kind of distance between 16-year-old buffoonery and the narrative writ large — instead, he leans into it. He captures so accurately the way everything feels epic and cinematic, almost embarrassingly so, when you’re that age. When I was in high school, a fight with a friend was absolutely apocalyptic, while a drive with the windows down meant we had just been crowned queens of our hometown streets. It didn’t just feel that way; it was that way in my eyes. Green knows that, he gets it and most importantly, he respects it. Green also crucially understands that a lot of the things that happen to teenagers aren’t small and overblown. Teenagers deal with heartbreak, death, grief, betrayal and awful pain the same exact way everyone else does. I went through some really real shit in high school. My friends did too, often way worse. Sometimes we were there for each other and sometimes we weren’t. Sometimes we hurt each other. Sometimes we fundamentally misimagined each other. Through every moment, though, I had a reference to understand what was happening to me, because I had John Green’s books. I knew I was never alone. It’s like Miles says in “Looking for Alaska”: “It always shocked me when I realized that I wasn’t the only person in the world who thought and felt such strange and awful things.” Green’s books often finish on an open-ended note, with his protagonists pondering all the life they have left to live and accepting the ambiguity of whatever conflict they’ve been struggling with. As a teenager, that was always the one part I wasn’t fully able to relate to. I didn’t know how to zoom out, so to speak, to see anything beyond my very singular experience and think about possibility as something more than an abstract concept. I think I’m a little better at that now. Maybe it’s time, maybe it’s growing up, maybe it’s years of training kicking in after so much time spent reading John Green books about kids exploring all the possibilities in their futures. But either way, I can contemplate that a little better now. Not fully or perfectly, mind you, but I’m at least starting to wrap my head around how young I actually am and how many choices I have.
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Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CONCERT REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
Barnett outdoes National at Hill MIRIAM FRANCISCO Daily Arts Writer
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
‘Yesterday’ lacks originality JULIANNA MORANO
Summer Managing Arts Editor
Have you ever wondered what would happen if a select assortment of pop culture phenomena ceased to exist, only for a handful of people to remember them and have to figure out what to do with that memory? I haven’t either, but “Yesterday” builds a premise around that hyperspecific conflict, specifically as it pertains to The Beatles and the lone, previously unsuccessful musician who remembers them, Jack Malik (Himesh Patel, “EastEnders”). It was a calculated risk — reportedly, 10 million dollars’ worth — to bank an entire film on such a particular dilemma. Why not another band? Better yet, why not pose the same question of another historical phenomenon: something of graver consequence, like a war? But it’s not my place to postulate about what they could have done; I’m assessing what they did. While they ran with their initial risk, the makers of “Yesterday” played it safe otherwise, and left us with a harmless but perfunctory romantic comedy. Humor has the potential to make laughable concepts appear intelligent. Shows like “Seinfeld” got away with it for years. Such an application of humor is vital for a film like “Yesterday,” to get us past the peculiarity, if not absurdity, of its scenario. In the movie, however, the humor was hit or miss, depending partly on who you are. Just as some of the jokes on the original “Office” bewilder fans of the American adaption, “Yesterday”’s British brand of humor may not reso-
ARTS 7
nate with the Yankees in the crowd who aren’t bloody interested in the BBC. It relied heavily on situational comedy and deadpan delivery, both of which Patel had the perfect, nonplussed face for. Regardless of who you are, however, the bulk of “Yesterday”’s humor will feel like it’s missing something, and that’s self-deprecation. It’s what made Ed Sheeran’s (“Bridget Jones’s Baby”) cameo so surprisingly hilarious with all the jokes about “ginger rap” and subpar lyricism he had to dodge, and Kate McKinnon’s (“The Spy Who Dumped Me”) brutally honest assessments of record executives’ intentions wickedly funny.
Yesterday Universal Pictures Michigan Theater
Curiously, “Yesterday” relegated this kind of humor to the sidelines, when its absurd, world-without-Beatles, butterfly-effect-be-damned main storyline needed it most. We can’t be expected to take you seriously if you’re not self-aware enough to laugh at your quirks. An exercise in self-deprecation: If I were in Jack’s place, one of the few remaining keepers of The Beatles’s music, I’m afraid whatever musical genius John, Paul, George and Ringo offered the world would be lost. That’s not what screenwriter Richard Curtis (“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”) had in store for Jack, however, and this element of the film
makes a bold, albeit probably inadvertent, comment on musical genius. By allocating Jack the same proportion of success The Beatles enjoyed from their work, the film implies songs are habitable rather than the product of unique genius, a nice jolt to the Western conception of creativity. There’s a clumsiness to even this maneuver, however, as the remakes of Beatles’s hits are touristy, forgettable covers at best, and, on top of the musical mediocrity, no one in the movie ever pauses to interrogate what, if anything, makes Beatles lyrics timeless. That is another one of the film’s biggest faults: With classic cinematic mistrust of audience’s intelligence, it either brushes over or hastens to answer all of the questions it raises. The one original question it stammers out, it hastens to answer in no uncertain terms for us. Jack’s ethical dilemma, as to whether he should pass off another’s work as his own? Solved. The romantic void Jack must cope with as his fame accelerates exponentially? Filled. Don’t you know, his best friend Ellie (Lily James, “Baby Driver”) has been in love with him all his life, and her confession suddenly flips a switch for him. Yes, “Yesterday”: The clumsy comedy comes with clumsy love story on the side. Not what you ordered? Once again, me neither. “Yesterday” does very little harm, but also little notable good, taking few risks, aside from building a movie around a world where the Beatles didn’t record their own songs. You’re probably better off queuing up Abbey Road and asking yourself what your life would be like without those songs, than seeing this film’s minimally inventive take on that question.
On June 25, Courtney Barnett opened for The National at Hill Auditorium. Hill is a big venue, and people were still filing in when Barnett took the stage. She began with “Avant Gardener,” a song whose title is so endearingly clever that I wish I’d thought of it myself. I’ll say now that I wasn’t a huge fan of Barnett before hearing her live. Something about her speak-singing felt overly stylized, and her lyrics seemed too crammed with Dylanesque forced rhymes. Live, she was a whole new ball of wax. Barnett is smaller than I expected, pixie-like, with a long mullet that made me fantasize about getting the same haircut. She sort of looks like Shailene Woodley. Either way, she came across as both intimidatingly cool and familiar, like someone you’d strike up a conversation with at a co-op party. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was so incredible about Barnett’s performance. Her voice isn’t lovely, exactly; she mostly yells or speaks along with the music. She’s an exceptional guitar player, but that alone doesn’t explain it. I think it’s her enthusiasm, the unapologetic excitement with which she performs. Her whole set had the energy of that scene in “Back to the Future” where Michael J. Fox plays Johnny B. Goode. She hopped around the stage, her feet constantly shuff ling and moving. As she sang, Barnett dipped her guitar into a neverending series of maneuvers, as if she were the professional partner in a “Dancing with the Stars” tango and her guitar was the celebrity. At one point she leaned forward, left leg rising behind her like a figure skater, as if she’d become Tonya Harding on season 26 of “Dancing with the Stars.” My point is that Barnett was completely mesmerizing. The only person she even remotely reminds me of is
a young Melissa Etheridge, who I’ve never seen live but whose early concert videos show the same kind of physicality. Barnett’s head-banging was no less thrilling. The National came onstage a few minutes after Barnett’s giddy farewell (“Thank you!” in a ripper Australian accent). Anyway: The National. The large screens on each side of the stage f lashed pixelated videos as they set up, which reminded me of those old ads about movie piracy in which illegally downloading a movie is compared to stealing purses and televisions. Unfortunately, The National’s performance was as ineffective as those warnings. They began with “You Had Your Soul With You” from their most recent album, I Am Easy to Find. It sounded good in a tight, controlled way — the opposite of Barnett’s freewheeling, experimental sound. The next few songs were also from I Am Easy to Find: “Quiet Light,” “The Pull of You,” “Hey Rosey.” They all sounded overproduced to the point of f latness, and the instruments were so loud that I could barely hear frontman Matt Berninger’s voice. I could decipher a few words thanks to Berninger’s habit of acting out the lyrics in a series of jerky motions that looked uncannily similar to the five movements from “The OA.” Once, Berninger walked out along a side aisle and pinned an uncomfortable-looking audience member up against the wall, plucking the man’s baseball cap from his head and singing plaintively to him. The guy laughed nervously and darted away as soon as Berninger moved on. This episode, like so many in the show, was both indulgent and bizarre. I don’t quite know why Berninger’s physical exhortations were so irritating, but maybe the raw, unassuming quality of Barnett’s performance primed me with a low tolerance for theatrics.
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8 NEWS
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Summer festival implements zero-waste goal Annual event brings food and performances throughout Ann Arbor with new sustainability initiative GABI GIGANTE
Daily Staff Reporter
The annual Ann Arbor Summer Festival, which started June 14 and ends July 7 with a different set of events each day from Tuesday through Sunday every week, has
made a commitment to become a zero-waste event within the next few years, as advertised on the festival website. This year’s goal is to ensure 75 percent of the event’s waste is either composted or recycled, with three-stream waste receptacles throughout the event
Classifieds
and extra volunteers to guarantee they achieve this goal. Praveena Ramaswami, an employee of Toyota, which has been a sponsor for 11 years, said this initiative has tremendous benefits for the community. “This year we have challenged
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
Release Date: Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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the festival to go zero-waste in the next five years,” Ramaswami said. “I love that this festival is not only a place where people of the community can get together of all ages ... but they can also learn how they impact their environment.” Ann Arbor resident Edward Qyu said he was glad to see companies taking part in the festival’s zerowaste iniative. “I think this is super important,” Qyu said. “I think companies need to take more initiative than only individuals at the household level.” Anjali Balani was also pleased by the festival’s zero-waste initiative. “I really like it. I was really impressed by it,” Balani said. “Whenever I go to throw away something there is always someone telling me ‘put this here, put that there,’ because it’s always really difficult to know if I should compost something or not.” Brian McClemens, the frontof-house manager for Top of the Park, the mainstage events housed in front of Rackham Graduate School, said performances are a huge part of the festival’s attraction. “I think it’s a combination of the amazing number of acts that we bring and the variety of the acts,” McClemens said. “Also,
that in our 36th year we are such a tradition, that it has passed on from family to family and generation to generation, so that Top of the Park and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival has become how we celebrate the opening of the summer.” Ann Arbor resident Ach Adhveryu said he enjoys returning to the festival every year because it attracts his entire family with kid-friendly events. “This is one of my favorite summer things to do in Ann Arbor,” Adhveryu said. “I come here every year with my family. Kids love it — they run around, hang out, have good food and listen to music.” To reduce the amount of plastic bottle usage, the festival implemented water stations this year. A Festival Footprint Learning Center had its own booth within the festival to inform attendees of what they can do to reduce their footprint. Some of the performances are held in the Power Center and Hill Auditorium and require a purchased ticket. Ohio resident Dave Steenrod said having events that are both free and have a cost give attendees a variety of options.
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07/03/19
Question: What goes great with your morning coffee?
Answer: By Debbie Ellerin ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
07/03/19
michigandaily.com
The Ann Arbor Summer Festival is held Tuesday to Sunday every week until July 7.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN IN COLOR 9
Black Paris LORNA BROWN
MiC Assistant Editor
“Paris, Je t’aime” I’m gonna be honest, this sentiment did not really stick with me after I finished my study abroad. It’s not that I hate the city or I have anything against my experience there after three weeks, but I think my perspective of one of the most well-known cities in the world has certainly developed into something that has allowed me to read between the lines of what is presented and what actually is. I would instead, change this sentiment to “Paris, Je tu connais” — Paris I know you. A group of black students from the University of Michigan go to Paris for three weeks, spread out amongst the city in different arrondissements, or districts, and explore the food, art and culture in their free time. I was elated when I got the email with “Congratulations” plastered across my phone screen saying I had received the once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Paris for almost a month to learn about black culture. After almost six years of studying French, I wanted to immerse myself in the culture. More than anything else, I was finally able to speak the language that was once limited to me in a classroom setting. The excitement and nervousness building up to living in France was expected, and it was not until I landed in the country that reality hit. Blackness amongst a community of black people is not exactly universal. I know, this is not something that makes much sense at first, but let me explain. Paris, although known as one of the biggest places for art and culture under the eye of Eurocentricness, is also the home to many black people. Some are first generation French whose only cultural ties are those from their parents and their homes in Africa. Others came to Paris for the opportunities in Europe, and some are generations removed from their roots — much like here in America. The biggest difference, however, is “Blackness” is not something that is not something that is shared (across the Atlantic/in other countries). When I walk across campus or sit in a class, I can be assured that I and the only black person
in a space will acknowledge each other. Not because we know each other or even because we had seen each other around before. It is simply because we understand that, although we may not actually know each other’s names, there is something that ties us together, and that is being black in a white world. Head nods, greetings and even a wave are all things that I can rely on when I run into another black person in America, because we have come to understand that there is unity in our shared but also different experiences. This, however, is not the same in France. As the story goes, a group of students from our trip to Paris went to explore the day before class started and ran across a group of black, Parisian kids on their way home after school. One person in our group nodded their head in acknowledgement and the kid he made eye contact with him shook his head in bewilderment and said, “Je connais tu?” — I know you? This same incident repeated itself over and over again until we brought it up in class. Little did we know that France does not acknowledge race. Under the motto of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” is the agreement of unity. A unity that sees everyone as equal under every law, and this includes identity. However, this unity comes with the price that differences amongst people are not to be acknowledged. This includes race, religion or wealth. While wealth makes sense due to the roots of the French Revolution, the idea of not acknowledging race or religion was something that shocked me. Much of my identity is rooted in my blackness, as it is for many other people, and the idea of not being able to discuss this amongst other people was alarming. It goes without saying that, although race is not acknowledged in France, racism most definitely exists. Racism existed through the black, male security guards planted at almost every store with the intent to “intimidate” customers or the black women who I saw nannying white children as they pushed strollers around the neighborhood and on the metro station. As the only black professor who studies blackness in France, Pap Ndiaye puts it — many of the Black people we saw working as nannies or security guards had received the same degrees to those of the white store owners or families they work
Courtesy of Lorna Brown
for, but were refused high-ranking jobs based on the color of their skin . That sounds similar to the same job discrimination that many black people face in the United States. With the exception that there is nothing that can be legally prosecuted in court based off discrimination of race. This fact hit especially close to home when I was followed around a clothing store by a black man who had seen me as a potentially “risky customer.” I was angry at the fact that he was put into a position that only allowed other people to profit off of his “image” of being intimidating and even angrier he assumed I was going to steal clothing. It was only after the fact that I realized that him following me around a store played into a societal standard he was trained to follow in order to keep his job. A job he had to take because France requires people to send in their photo ID’s when applying for jobs, which means discrimination can take place at any level of the job market. So, I replaced my initial anger with a sadness that acknowledged the repeated incidents that took place during my time in Paris were above me — a result of a system that does not acknowledge racial inequity saturated within the financial well-being of the black people who live in Paris. This visible racial divide did not end in clothing stores or on metro stops, but followed us into muse-
ums. During our second week, we watched the Carter’s “Apesh*t” video and followed it with a tour of the Louvre to discuss of blackness in the space as well as the significance of the music video. Our tour guide who specialized in giving “black tours”, a particularly “new and profitable” attraction for her business was outwardly dismissive and condescending to our group. Challenging our knowledge of art by asking us if we even knew who Michelangelo was disappointing to say the least, especially when it was followed by the outward objectification of black bodies by referring to “curly hair and strong physiques” as the only acknowledgement of their existence besides telling us they were slaves at one point in time. No other information was offered about the existence of blackness in the Louvre about who Jacob was in the Raft of the Medusa or the origin of the black sculptures in the museum. The four to five black people we were shown had no name, no origin and no story because she did not know them. For a tour that was named “Black Images at the Louvre,” we were given very few details and left feeling like we were being used as a way for the woman to profit off us. I do not want to paint my experience as bad, because there were things that made the trip amazing for me, because it was outside of the public eye of what
is deemed as an “attraction” in Paris. Although blackness is not recognized officially in Paris, I definitely cannot deny there were things I experienced there I absolutely loved. I loved the way people carried their baguettes around with them after they got off work -- a sense of national pride. France is a country that loves its bread, so much so that they have laws that place limits on the price of baguettes in the country. I loved that the streets were windy and filled with history. The blue signs held their names and were filled with cars that were a little too close to the sidewalk. I loved the way the Eiffel Tower sparkled at the tick of every hour for fifteen minutes in a way that lit up the sky while I shared a blanket with my friends at night. I loved the hidden things I found when I ventured outside of tourist attractions, like the park I found that had a hidden cave, and the carnival I found hidden behind the cover of trees. I loved that the McDonald’s tasted better than the ones here in the U.S. and served hotcakes with Nutella on the side. I loved that I got to visit Disney World Paris, whose lines were short, and where I took pictures with Pooh Bear near the castle.
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10 SPORTS
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A tale of two seasons: Michigan baseball’s turning point KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer
It was a turbulent season for the Michigan baseball team. The Wolverines started 8-0, and then a troublesome California trip brought them back to the ground with back-toback losses. They had a hand on the regular season Big Ten title and lost their hold in the final two weeks. And when they had a 13-game win streak, they were swept by Texas Tech — a series that was their biggest test of the season. On May 22nd, it looked like their season was over — a disappointment. In big series, Michigan faltered against teams it was better against, limping toward Sunday wins to avoid being swept behind first team all-Big Ten pitcher Jeff Criswell. There was no chance the NCAA tournament selection
committee would choose a defeated Wolverine side that had lost six of eight. On May 23rd, Michigan was born again. It made an underdog run to the National Championship series, proving doubters wrong until June 25th. There’s no way to look back at the Wolverines’ season in any way other than two splits: before and after May 23rd. Before, it was similar to 2018: packed full of talent, but a team that fell victim to momentum. This year Michigan had the most players awarded honors by the Big Ten — three first team, one second team, four third team and one All-Freshman selection. Sophomore designed hitter Jordan Nwogu went on a streak of 20 games averaging a near .500 on-base percentage. Criswell had a sub-0.50 earned-run average for the first half of the Big Ten season. The Wolverines were good, but when it mattered most
they had lost all momentum. And then with what could have been their last pitch of their season in the Big Ten Tournament, Nwogu saved it with a double. It gave Michigan momentum, but even more importantly it gave them a belief they could overcome setbacks. A ninth inning collapse, extra innings mistakes — it didn’t matter because this team had figured out something it took them two years to learn: it was good. It could win. Jimmy Kerr hit seven of his 15 home runs in the 16 games since May 23rd. Jack Blomgren played through a broken finger. Christan Bullock finally got a starting spot, producing for the bottom half of the lineup. A tale of two seasons, Michigan’s team 153 managed to show its true self in just a month, finishing as the third best team in Wolverine baseball history.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore designed hitter Jordan Nwogu had a breakout season as a sophomore
Lack of pitching depth comes back to haunt Wolverines ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
OMAHA, Neb. – Pitching had been an issue for this Michigan team all season. Its No. 1 and No. 2 starters, juniors Karl Kauffmann and Tommy Henry, have always been clear – and clearly good. The rest of the pitching staff had been something of a question mark. At the beginning of the season, the biggest question was who would fill the role of the No. 3 starter with sophomore lefthander Ben Dragani out for the season with an injury. Sophomore right-hander Jeff Criswell stepped nicely into that role, converting from a bullpen pitcher to a starter with marked success. “You can see his growth; you can see his improvement,” Michigan coach Erik Bakich said of Criswell in March. “It’s been very impressive, and we’ve certainly needed it. Having a guy like Jeff on Sunday gives us a great chance to win or sweep every series that we play.” From then on, the biggest question about this Michigan pitching staff had been its bullpen. As the season progressed, it became clearer and clearer that it
lacked consistency and, to some extent, effectiveness. For a while, it looked as if Bakich had found a solution to that, scraping out wins on offense and taking advantage of the College World Series’ structure to alternate between starting Kauffmann and Henry. Criswell, in the meantime, came out of the bullpen for extended relief. “We felt like he would better serve our team finishing the game off,” Bakich said. “It just kind of got to a point where we said: This really is a no-brainer. We need Jeff at the back end of the game.” But in the College World Series final, a best-of-three affair, that strategy finally caught up to Bakich. Game one went according to plan, with Henry tossing 8.1 strong innings. But Tuesday brought game two, and with it, trouble. Kauffmann, having pitched against Texas Tech on Friday, could not pitch again on such short rest. This left Bakich in a dilemma: should he pitch Criswell and have him unavailable for a potential game three, or should he use the pitchby-committee strategy and have both Kauffmann and Criswell for the final game?
Bakich chose the latter, starting freshman right-hander Isaiah Paige and using five other pitchers in relief in what became a 4-1 game two loss. It was a bold strategy as it meant that everything would ride on game three. And when Kauffmann threw a solid first two innings Wednesday, it looked like it might pay off. But when he, on short rest, allowed three runs in the bottom of the third, and a walk to lead off the bottom of the fourth, Bakich sat him for Criswell, who went on to allow three more runs of his own. But Bakich had no choice other than to leave Criswell in. His bullpen was depleted from game two. Criswell settled down to an extent after the fourth, throwing two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth before allowing one run in the bottom of the seventh as well as the eighth. “Unfortunately, we issued a few too many free passes, especially with two outs, and then they capitalized and got the big two-out hit,” Bakich said. “Unfortunately, you give a team like that and an offense like that free passes, they’ll make you pay. And they made us pay.” The damage was done. The
Commodores had taken a lead and expanded it into a chasm. They would never surrender it. Here, in game three of the College World Series finals, the Wolverines had to face the truth — their pitching staff lacked the depth it needed. The seeds of a stronger and deeper pitching staff have been planted in players like Dragani, Paige, and sophomore southpaw Angelo Smith. And there’s plenty
of evidence that Bakich and pitching coach Chris Fetter will be able to shape them into a unit that can bring the Wolverines back to Omaha. But for now, Michigan’s pitchers were outmatched by a dangerous Vanderbilt lineup and an opposing pitching staff much deeper than its own. And if Bakich wants to cultivate a program that can get back to the biggest stage, it’s an issue he needs to fix.
ZACHARY GOLDSMITH/Daily
Junior left-hander Tommy Henry was consistent throughout the Wolverines’ run.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS 11
As Howard’s tenure takes shape, confidence remains strong THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Editor
Amid the excitement of Juwan Howard’s introductory press conference, there was an undeniable uncertainty ringing though Crisler Center. Neither Howard nor his players could speak to his on-court strategy and when asked about recruiting, Howard’s response was: “I haven’t just pinpointed exactly like, I’m going after the five-star, one-anddones or I’m going to recruit threestar kids.” That uncertainty has persisted. Howard made his first 2020 offer to five-star guard Joshua Christopher, seemingly signaling a change from John Beilein’s methodical recruiting. But then, barely 24 hours later, his second offer came — to Jabri AbdurRahim, a four-star forward also offered by Beilein. The point is, no one knows exactly what Howard will bring to Michigan, on or off the court. And yet, within the program, the refrain is that none of that matters — at least not yet. Outside the program, those who have interacted with Howard maintain the same stance. “Number one, I know he’s well respected in the NBA, and has really grinded it in coaching the last few years,” one high-major head coach told The Daily. ”I actually watched his press conference, cause above all, I’m just a fan of college basketball. I thought the emotion and passion he had at his press conference spoke for itself. So I’m a huge fan and I’m really
pulling for him. I think it’s a great hire.” Among the calming assurances regarding Howard’s inexperience is his reputation in the NBA, where he followed a 20-year playing career with six years as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat. Over the past two offseasons, Howard’s reputation landed him six head-coaching interviews. But why then, if Howard is so respected and if his future success is treated as a certainty, have none of those six teams extended a headcoaching offer? For at least one team — the Cleveland Cavaliers, where Howard interviewed last month — the answer is clear: they found their man. His name is John Beilein. The similarities between the two, though, are more than meets the surface. “You talk to Juwan and you talk to (Beilein), obviously they’re different people, but I think they have very similar values,” Mike Gansey, the Cavaliers’ assistant general manager, told The Daily. “They’re not overly — they don’t scream and yell, they’re not super aggressive. They’re more laid back, positive kind of guys.” Then, he paused, perhaps providing some insight into why Cleveland ultimately settled on Beilein. “Obviously, coach Beilein is an excellent Xs and Os guy. And Juwan, we don’t know yet.” That difference will eventually be critical. And at some point, Howard will have to figure out those Xs and
Os. But for the six NBA teams who interviewed him, the signs pointed to that happening. For Gansey and the Cavaliers, the biggest was six years’ experience working under Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley. That, along with endorsements from those who had worked with Howard, landed him an interview with Cleveland. From there, his personality took over. “When you sit with him for six, seven hours, you know he’s a really good person, you can just feel it,” Gansey said “You hear it from everyone else and you see it, but until you really sit down and talk to him, then you really feel it — he’s all that. There’s not a bad bone in his body and he’s positive, he works. “It’s just the Xs and Os and just getting used to being a head coach that I think will take a little bit of time. But he’ll figure it out.” As for the never-been-a-headcoach stigma, Gansey is careful to note that Howard has coached in the summer league, giving him live-game head-coaching experience that he didn’t have as an assistant. Recruiting, though, is something Howard didn’t have to deal with in the NBA, and it showed in his uncertainty at last week’s press conference. The common rebuttal has been the well-circulated story of Howard recruiting the rest of the Fab Five as the group’s first commit, which ignores that strategic aspect of constructing a recruiting class — a hurdle that Howard has already encountered. Andy Borman, a well-
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard will begin his first season as coach
known AAU coach whose players have been recruited by former NBA stars-turned-coaches such as Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin, emphasized the importance of Howard hiring experienced assistants to smoothen that transition. Less than a week after Borman spoke with The Daily, Howard hired Phil Martelli, the longtime Saint Joseph’s coach and definition of a home run hire if your top criteria is experience. And then there’s the name. “I think it’s the name Juwan Howard, I think it’s the name Fab Five, I think it’s also the name Michigan,” Borman said. “He’s a big name, talking about a school that checks so many boxes.” Howard, though, left Michigan in 1994. His best NBA season was 1996. Cristopher was born in 2001, AbdurRahim in 2002. So the natural question follows,
does Juwan Howard’s name matter to recruits? Borman scoffs, pauses and answers. “It’s not like they’re recruiting in the 80s. Right now, with social media, with the internet, with YouTube. I turned on the TV (after the hire) and everything I see about Juwan Howard is him when he was a college player and when he was a pro. So even though his days as a player predate these kids, it’s not like they don’t have access to it. “… He obviously has a pro background and I think that is so relevant to kids nowadays. Because what do they aspire to be? They aspire to be pros.” The questions — whether they’re about recruiting or Xs and Os — are constant. And as Howard’s answers begin to take shape, so is the confidence in him. Additional reporting by Ethan Sears
Manuel presents fiscal year numbers, highlights athletic achievements JORGE CAZARES
Summer Managing Sports Editor
The University announced its projected budget for the athletic department at the end of June. It projects a balanced budget for the 2020 fiscal year — which began July 1 — after finishing with a $1 million surplus in the 2019 fiscal year. Last year’s surplus is a result of $190.7 million in operating revenues against $189.7 million in operating expenses. The projection for fiscal year 2020 is based on $196.3 million in revenues and expenses. The 2019 operating surplus of $1 million fell short of its budgeted amount of $2.5 million. The
discrepancy is due to “higher-than budgeted transfers to the deferred maintenance fund,” according to a release from associate athletic director Kurt Svoboda. In his presentation to the Board of Regents on June 20, athletic director Warde Manuel shared several projections for the new fiscal year. Among them are a $3.1 million increase in spectator admissions revenues, an increase of $2.8 million in conference distributions due to an increase in conference television revenues and an increase in salaries, wages and benefits by $2.9 million. Along with information regarding the fiscal year budget, Manuel highlighted achievements by the athletic department, on
and off the field. Included was a record 372 student-athletes named Academic All-Big Ten Conference. Seniors Siobhán Haughey from the women’s swimming and diving team and Robbie Mertz from the Michigan soccer team were recipients of the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The Wolverines also had 47 student-athletes earn All-Big Ten first team honors and 10 athletes earn first-team All-America honors. From a departmental standpoint, Michigan received eight NCAA Public Recognition Awards — a result of ranking among the top-10 percent in the Academic Progress Rate report. It also finished in the top 10 in the Directors’ Cup standings in 13 sports. The
Directors’ Cup is an award given by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics,
based on points allocated for teams’ results in various NCAAsponsored championships.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Athletic director Warde Manuel presented before the Board of Regents on June 20
12 SPORTS
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The one out that doomed Michigan’s championship dream TIEN LE
Daily Sports Editor
The selection show was projected on a screen for all gathered around to see. Upon seeing their school name put into a bracket slot, the Michigan baseball players erupted in a cheer. Some jumped to their feet in joy while others looked around for recipients to their high-fives, because the Wolverines were one of the last four teams into the NCAA Tournament after a turbulent end to their season jeopardized their spot. Though a long shot, it was a chance for a shot at the title, and a chance was all they needed. Twelve games later, one of the last teams in was poised to be the “last one out.” But that title eluded them after a meltdown in game three of the College World Series finals. And it all originated from the gamechanging third inning. That’s not to say Michigan would have won if it had given up zero runs at the bottom of the third, but with a 1-1 game at that point, the team was
one out from keeping it that way. In a game where the Wolverines could only muster two runs, the third inning collapse defined the game. By the end of it, all of the smiles and jubilance from the Wolverines’ dugout were traded for grim looks and sighs. “I just think that Vanderbilt got 5 two-out RBIs tonight,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “We’ve been doing that all postseason and they did that tonight.” Karl Kauffman had pitched two innings. Despite allowing a home run in the second inning, the junior right-hander looked steady on the mound. He started the third as he had finished the second — with a strikeout. A groundout to third base all but reaffirmed that Kauffman had recollected himself after allowing the dinger. Then it came — the breakdown.
Three pitches outside, one pitch too low; Kauffman dealt a 4-0 walk. A single down the middle off an 0-2 count escalated the situation. A strike would have ended it, shutting down the threat. Instead, the Wolverines put a runner in scoring position, prolonging the chance for the Commodores to take the lead. And after two more walks, they did. “We issued a couple too many free passes,” Bakich said, “especially with two outs, and then they capitalized and got the big two out hit.” Kauffman walked Vanderbilt’s Philip Clarke to load the bases, sparking three teammates to trot down the warning track. It was time to heat up the bullpen. A second walk ended the stalemate. The Commodores were in control and now led, 2-1, only for the very next pitch thrown to be hit down the
We issued a couple too many free passes ...
ZACHARY GOLDSMITH/Daily
Junior right-hander Karl Kauffmann started game three of the CWS championship
middle and widen the gap, 4-1. A prompt visit from sophomore catcher Joe Donovan and a popout in the next at-bat stopped the bleeding. But the damage was done. It boiled down to one out. They were one out from ending the
third inning threat, one out from keeping Vanderbilt from taking the lead, one out from potentially being the last one out — the College World Series champions. “They just played better than us tonight,” Bakich said. “That’s why they’re the champs.”
Looking back at the historic wins that shaped the Wolverines’ run ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
Behind every deep tournament run are the wins that shaped the team. It was no different for the Michigan baseball team’s historic – and, at times, improbable – run. They don’t tell this team’s whole story. Nothing could. But they’re a good place to start. The Daily takes a look back of some of this season’s defining wins. March 8 – Michigan 7, No. 2 UCLA 5 There’s a lot of talk in sports about “statement wins.” That’s what this was. In a tough road environment against then-No. 2 UCLA, which spent most of the season as the best team in the country, junior left-hander Tommy Henry struck out ten over six innings of two-run baseball. Michigan scored four runs in the first inning, tacking on two in the third and one more in the eighth for insurance. This was the win that showed a flash of what this team could become, what they would become: a national contender. In the face
and on the home turf of arguably the toughest competition the Wolverines faced all season, Michigan dominated the game. They never trailed. It wasn’t the last time the two teams met this season either. May 23 – Michigan 5, Illinois 4 One strike away. Team 153 was one strike away from an early end to its season, one strike away from not making a postseason appearance at all, one strike away from this magical run. Luckily, sophomore designated hitter Jordan Nwogu had other ideas. Michigan was down, 4-3, to Illinois in the bottom of the ninth inning. A loss to Ohio State the day before meant that falling to the Fighting Illini would send the Wolverines home for good. Nwogu stepped up to the plate with two on and two out. With Michigan’s season on the line, he launched a two-run double to left center, and the Wolverines walked off with a 5-4 victory. It was exactly the catalyst they needed. Since that win, the Wolverines have been hot. But
it’s more than that. That was the win that introduced them to what Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin called their “playing personality”: free and loose, having fun, and playing to win – not just playing not to lose. “We saw the end of our season right in front of us,” said senior first baseman Jimmy Kerr during the College World Series. “That kind of made the whole team appreciate every single game that we’ve had together since then. And that’s kind of the bigger picture. It’s not that we’re playing in a Regional, Super Regional, College World Series championship; it’s just that we get another game with each other.” June 9 – Michigan 4, No. 1 UCLA 2 UCLA’s lineup was the best in the country. No one had been able to stop them all season. Michigan had as good as lost the game already. Instead, the Wolverines pulled out a 4-2 victory to head to the College World Series. Henry, sick with the flu and pneumonia, and still recovering
from the biceps tendonitis that rendered him inconsistent throughout much of the second half of the season, pitched seven innings of two run-baseball — containing a Bruins batting order that seemed practically unstoppable. Sound familiar? The first time Michigan played UCLA, it was just a flash of the team they could be. Three months later, they had gone even further. June 15 – Michigan 5, Texas Tech 3 The first time Michigan and Texas Tech met, it was proof of how far the Wolverines still had to go to be an Omaha contender. They were swept and outscored 29-10 over three games. Three months later, the Wolverines were an entirely different team — their bats hot, their pitchers cool and their defense firing on all cylinders. The Red Raiders provided the perfect litmus test: had Michigan really learned from its mistakes, and could it really compete at the highest stage in collegiate baseball? The answer to both questions
was an emphatic yes. The Wolverines got off to a quick start as a sacrifice fly from junior right fielder Jordan Brewer scored Nwogu in the top of the first. They tacked on three more in the third as Kerr launched a two-RBI triple down the right field line and scored on a single from senior third baseman Blake Nelson. Texas Tech made it close, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third and adding another in the bottom of the sixth, but Michigan was unshaken. They added a run in the top of the seventh when sophomore center fielder Jesse Franklin scored on an error for insurance, then cruised to a 5-3 victory on the backs of solid pitching from junior right-hander Karl Kauffmann (7 innings, 8 hits, 3 runs) and sophomore righthander Jeff Criswell (two solid innings of one-hit relief ). The Wolverines had made a statement: they were more than just a Cinderella team, and their run amounted to more than just luck. Michigan, at long last, was a national contender again.