2019-11-04

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Monday, November 4, 2019

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Cruising into the bye

Michigan dispatches a hapless Maryland team, 38-7, heads into the bye week brimming with confidence.

» Page 1B ADMINISTRATION

Schlissel talks 2020 debate, sexual assault climate survey U-M president answers questions regarding policy, campus security

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Students sign petition opposing Detroit Center for Innovation

Creation of document follows the University’s announcement of new facility LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter

In response to the recent announcement, the University of Michigan will work with the city of Detroit to build a $300 million Detroit Center for Innovation, University students created a petition urging the University to reconsider the facility. According to an email from University President Mark Schlissel, the education and research complex

will provide undergraduate and graduate teaching in subjects like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and technology.

The petition specifically condemns the University’s choice to build the Center on the failed site of the proposed Wayne County jail, the construction of which was halted in 2013 when the project went $91 million over its initial budget. It also criticized the University for investing in Detroit Renaissance Real Estate Fund

LEGISLATION

New bill adds to protected classes for hate crimes Gender identity, sexual orientation now included in MI state legislature ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter

A new Senate bill was introduced to the Michigan Legislature in mid-October with the goal to officially include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes under Michigan’s hate crime laws.

Currently, Michigan’s hate crime law only enforces penalties for those who intimidate individuals based on “race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.” The new bill would offer much needed protections for individuals in the LGBTQ community.

State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, served two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives before being elected as a senator. Earlier this year, he introduced a bill in the House that would expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity, especially with regard to housing and employment.

“For the last 30 plus years, members of the LGBT community have tried to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes here in Michigan,” Moss said.

LP, a firm with ties to a string of evictions in Detroit.

“Yet with this decision, the University Administration signals its priorities in Detroit do not lie with Detroiters,” the petition reads. “Surely, a genuine commitment to the city would not include investing in a company that profits off of evicting Detroiters from their homes, despite criticism from students and community members on the investment. Nor would it ignore plans from the

Detroit Justice Center to develop a restorative justice initiative on the once-failed jail site where the Innovation Center will now lie.”

The petition, which was started

by One University spokesperson and LSA junior Amytess Girgis, calls on the University to discuss future building plans with residents of Detroit and consider the needs of the city’s population.

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Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

Daily Staff Reporters

Each month, The Michigan Daily’s Administration Beat sits down with University President Mark Schlissel to discuss important questions about University policy, commitments and challenges. Topics discussed in the interview included the Detroit Center for Innovation, the 2020 presidential debate, carbon neutrality and more. This transcript has been abbreviated and reordered for reader clarity.

Detroit Center for Innovation The Michigan Daily: Recently, the University announced it will collaborate to open the Detroit Center for Innovation. While the University states this project will further the goal of fostering a collaborative relationship with Detroit, there has been some backlash. Specifically, some have

CPS teachers’ strike, wildfires in CA may impact early action applications ‘U’ grants exemptions for deadlines on an individual basis under pressing circumstances ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporter

In the past few weeks, Chicago students have dealt with the consequences of an 11-day teacher’s strike, while millions of California residents have lost power and have even been forced to evacuate their homes.These unforeseen circumstances have presented barriers for high school seniors applying to colleges, including the University of Michigan, in time for early deadlines.

When LSA sophomore Anna Nedoss was applying to colleges two years ago, she relied on her counselor in the Chicago Public School System throughout the process.

However, Chicago students like Nedoss who are applying this year were unable to contact their counselors for

11 days, as the CPS staff and teachers had been on strike through Thursday, when a contract between the city and union was agreed upon.

Classes resumed on Friday.

“When I was applying, my counselor was definitely a big resource to me,” Nedoss said.

“If you don’t have access to your counselor — the person who actually sends your info to the colleges you’re applying to — it’s not pointless, but there’s definitely barriers you just can’t get past.”

Similarly, in Southern California many schools have been closed for the past week as a result of the fires.

Engineering junior Courtney Bagnall lives near the Getty area, the location of wildfire that began early Monday morning and was only 15 percent contained by

Wednesday. Bagnall lives far enough away that her family was not required to evacuate, but close enough that her family members could see smoke through the window. As a result, the local high school was closed multiple days this week.

In addition to needing counselors to submit information on behalf of their students, teachers —who are on strike in Chicago and possibly evacuating their homes in South California — often write letters of recommendation for students. These letters are considered part of a complete application for colleges and cannot be submitted by students in most cases.

The situations high school seniors in these areas face highlight obstacles students encounter when trying

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to submit early college applications this year. Nedoss noted a lack of access to internet at home and public transportation to get to a public library like many students in Chicago. Bagnall questioned how students and faculty could submit documents online with the widespread power outages and mandated evacuations.

“I don’t know how you would deal with not having a computer and not having your counselor reading the application or simply just sending in the teacher recommendations,” Bagnall said. “I don’t know how that would happen by the deadline if class is still cancelled and the fires are still going.”

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taken to social media calling on the University to improve funding to Flint and Dearborn campuses before beginning a $300 million project, while others have referred to the University’s investment as gentrification.

What is your response to both of these criticisms?

President Mark Schlissel: These (criticisms) may be based on faulty information. So the University as a whole has over 300 projects going on in Detroit.

This is just the latest one. Most of them involve things where we’re working with the Detroit public K-12 school students. We have a new school we’re collaborating on at Marygrove, at the site of the old Marygrove College. We’ve got the Michigan Engineering Zone, a robotics program for high school students. We have a mentoring program for kids heading into medicine.

See SCHLISSEL PAGE 2A

ELECTIONS

Group files lawsuit over violation of voter rights Priorities USA alleges unnecessary rejection of numerous absentee ballots SONIA LEE

Daily Staff Reporter

Democratic group Priorities USA filed a lawsuit on Oct. 30 alleging Michigan violates voter rights when allowing absentee ballots to be thrown out if voter signatures do not match those on other documents held by election officials.

Priorities USA is a political action committee originally founded in 2011 to support the re-election of former President Barack Obama.

Their lawsuit alleges Michigan law has clerks compare voter signatures on absentee ballot applications with those on qualified state voter lists.

If the signatures do not match, the clerk must reject the absentee application.

Similarly, if the signature on an absentee ballot does not match the signature on another reference signature, the clerk must throw the vote out.

A Priorities USA statement said the signature-match law violates citizens’ right to vote and to procedural process under both the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXIX, No. 23 ©2019 The Michigan Daily

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2A — Monday, November 4, 2019

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Editorial Staff SOPHIA AFENDOULIS/Daily Ann Arbir residents attend a free screening of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood” accompanied by a livestream of a Q&A with Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Quentin Tarantino.

SCHLISSEL From Page 1A We’ve got Wolverine Pathways, the pipeline program, and we’ve got research programs in collaboration with community advocates. We’re embedded in the Mayor’s Office with the Poverty Solutions Initiative.

So, this is another of a series of projects we’re doing where we look for opportunities to fulfill the University’s mission of research and teaching in ways that have benefits to the public we serve and, in this case, in Detroit. We were invited by the city and by Steve Ross — one of our alumni donors — and by Dan Gilbert, a developer in the city, to become an anchor tenant of the project we’re conceiving of, that you read about. We’re actually not spending any money building the building at all. It’s going to be built by a series of donors and then gifted to the University. So, although it may end up costing as much as $300 million, the University won’t be paying for it. We’ll be receiving it, in effect, as a gift. And our role is to set up educational and research

MY DOG TURNED 9

programs that help drive the entrepreneurial and technology part of the Detroit economy, so that new businesses form and existing companies grow and they don’t leave Detroit and, ultimately, the economy does well enough to provide more jobs for more people.

2020 Presidential Debate TMD: The University announced it would be hosting one of the 2020 presidential debates on campus.

What precautions will the school take to help communities that may be put at risk, such as communities of color and undocumented students, given all the national attention and heightened law enforcement presence?

MS: The election will be the biggest news of the coming year, and it will affect every one of your lives without a doubt, for better or for worse … One of the things that I think is very important is that students in your generation feel a sense of ownership of our democracy, and feel not just an obligation to vote, but an excitement to vote, to really learn about the issues, to try to get past the invective and the polarized nature of debate.

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In terms of the physical safety, the event itself will be held down in the Crisler Center … so it’s away from the heart of the campus. So, our day-to-day activities of going to class, and going to labs, and going to the library, and going back and forth to the dorms will be relatively unaffected, although the city will be more crowded. I don’t think it’ll be more crowded than a football Saturday.

The safety, we’ve got a year to plan for it … It’s not just our DPSS, but it’s state police, all the national security apparatus will be here. It’ll probably be the safest place in America, physically. The issue of psychological threat and psychological harm, I recognize that it’s going to be a stressful year because the body of politics is very polarized, and there’s a lot of fear mongering as part of the debate, and we’re all subject to that. I think that it may be of more intensity because everyone is here in town, but I think it’s going to be pretty intense no matter what. We have CAPS …

Student Life will convene watching parties so that we can watch the debates together.”

Sexual Assault TMD: Recently the University released its climate survey on sexual assault. The data from the campus climate survey showed decreased reports of sexual misconduct against undergraduate women compared to the survey in 2015. First, do you believe it is fair to interpret the findings as fewer instances of misconduct against undergraduate women, or could the decrease be attributed to fear of reporting?

MS: All I can tell you is the survey was done the same exact way, asking the same questions with the same kind of incentives to answer a few years ago and then very recently. So, I don’t think it’s due to a change in comfort reporting. I think there are some people who aren’t comfortable reporting no matter what, I think there are some people that are uncomfortable making a claim of misconduct to the University and having it investigated. I think more people are probably comfortable talking or providing results in an anonymous survey. Whether that number changes over the course of years, I don’t know. But I can

tell you, even though our numbers moved in the right direction, it’s nowhere close to where we need to be. It’s still an amazing thing that such a high percentage of students, men and women, are subject to all different types of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. So, even if the frequency has gone down by a few percent, we’re nowhere close to where we need to be, and we have to double down on the things that we’re doing.

We’ve had to change the way we investigate and adjudicate sexual misconduct cases due to the order of a court of appeals, so lots of things are changing, and we’re trying to get it right. The one thing that really strikes me is that, although we’re focusing a lot of attention on this problem of misconduct at universities, it doesn’t only happen at universities, and it doesn’t only happen when you’re 20. It happens when you’re 15 sometimes or, you know, really young. So, it’s our piece of a big societal problem.

And personally, I don’t think that rules and laws can get rid of sexual misconduct. And even if we come up with a much better way to adjudicate cases, I don’t think that will eliminate sexual misconduct. It’s so common and so depressing everyday that what’s going to get rid of it is you all looking each other in the eye and saying, “We’re not going to tolerate this in our community.” Not just you, but 46,000 “yous” where you just say, “Look, this is literally ridiculous.

This will not happen in my house.”

And we don’t have enough police to sit in every party and every meeting, and stand next to every man and woman on the campus and make sure nobody puts their hands where somebody doesn’t want to go. That’s up to all of us as a community to kind of crowdsource the solution to this, to really say, “This is not tolerable; we will not let this happen.” And if 95 percent of you can say that, it will stop. And we have to figure out how to get everyone to embrace a sense of shared ownership that men and women in the classroom, in the dormitory, in the parties, wherever you are, that as a community, we are not going to let this happen.

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Exploring alternative femininity through the Asian Baby Girl ELIZABETH LE MiC Columnist

A term that gets thrown around a lot in the Asian American community is “Asian Baby Girl,” or “ABG” for short. An ABG is known to frequent raves, have bleach blonde tips, sport tattoos, date b-boys and, without hesitation, fight anyone talking smack about her.

Some people jokingly describe themselves as ABGs while others aspire to be them.

My feelings about the ABG have been complicated. I grew up in a mostly traditional Vietnamese household, where I was taught that femininity was exemplified by softness and reservation, which really meant being submissive in practice. I always held my tongue around elders (including a cousin who was only six months older than I was) because they were supposed to know best. Out of “respect” for myself and those surrounding me, I had to uphold a modest and natural appearance — I was not allowed to dye my hair or wear makeup. I never would have dreamed about doing any of the things associated with the ABG lifestyle lest my family disown me.

During my college years, however, I learned to see the ABG’s way of life not as an

antithesis to femininity but as a valid, alternative form of it. Her glam makeup defies conservative Asian beauty standards and affirms the presence of people of color in the cosmetic industry, whose products and techniques have long been created to specifically complement white women’s features. At the same time, her knowledge of American pop culture and taste for streetwear are a reminder that she grew up in the States and that this is her home too. In short, the ABG exudes a uniquely Asian American sense of femininity.

I admire the ABG for being unapologetic about herself and her interests.

Recently, after a family friend witnessed an argument between me and my father, she asked my father if he regretted having a daughter, suggesting that I had failed as one when I challenged his beliefs and reinforcing the old idea that the best way to be feminine is to be invisible.

This was a case in which a woman was upholding the patriarchy by keeping another woman (me) in line, and it made me realize that I had been doing something similar by dismissing the ABG for being a “bad woman” (and not “bad” as in attractive or amazing, but “bad” as in the opposite of good).

Now, do not misunderstand

me — I am not saying that the ABG is the perfect woman, either. I am merely trying to show that there is some merit in what the ABG represents, that she is not rebellious just for the sake of rebellion. Though the ABG has her faults (we should not go around throwing punches at the first person who speaks unfavorably about us), it is refreshing to see that a woman can defend herself and be revered for it.

Further, those characteristics traditionally associated with femininity are not inherently problematic. I do think that I am soft, for example, but I regard my softness as more of a strength than a weakness. It usually makes me empathetic and is why, in my pre-medical education, I care so much about bedside manner (i.e., I believe that doctors should be sensitive to their patients’ emotional needs). I do not have to abandon the qualities that make me who I am to appreciate alternative forms of femininity. Instead, I retain the qualities that I take pride and work to develop those that I admire in other women. True feminine power is exhibited when a woman lives her life according to her own values, and while we should praise women who are able to do so, we should also be cognizant of the social and structural forces at play.

Monday, November 4, 2019 — 3A

We need more Black mediocrity

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KAYLA THOMAS MiC Blogger

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Pan-African Pulp exhibition at the University of Michigan Museum of Arts. This part of the museum showcases art

by Meleko Mogosi, a South African painter. Now, his art was nowhere near mediocre. Each piece revealed a different layer of the nuanced topic that is the black experience. Some parts of the exhibit paid tribute to a magazine comic that shed light on the different oppressions that were common across Africa.

Another showcased the many black women who have contributed to the progression of the Pan-African movement. Seeing the history and culture of my people depicted so intricately and colorfully caused me to stand in awe. As I continued to take in my surroundings though, the tour guide pointed out one piece of the exhibit that she didn’t give the same in depth analyzation of.

This picture piece (part of which is pictured above) was, in my opinion, almost like multiple paintings in one.

One part of the picture portrayed two men wrestling while two others

watched. Though I admired the artistic skill needed to draw the detail in their muscles, the connection that these fighting men had to the larger idea of the black struggle wasn’t clear to me initially. Apparently I wasn’t the only one because someone else asked the tour guide for an interpretation. The guide responded with, “I’m not sure, I think it just represents ritual spectator sport, maybe it’s a ritual in certain parts of the continent.” Some might have been underwhelmed by this answer, but I was personally intrigued. This simplistic interpretation of this part of the painting highlighted something that is missing from mainstream visual art - black people just living their lives.

As I reflected on this, I realized that this same sentiment also translates to Black representation in media and film. In the same way in which we are regularly exposed to romantic comedies, fairytale dramas, and action movies starring other races of people, we do not get that same variety when it comes to movies with a predominantly Black cast.

Most of the recent movies that have a noticeable Black presence are stories about the struggles of being Black.

When I approached the tour

guide after the presentation was over, we talked more about the partial simplicity of this piece. We agreed that while stories about the Black experience still need to be told, it is still frustrating to only be able to see Black people on the screen when we’re “performing our race” and racial traumas for other people’s entertainment. There needs to be a balance. A balance between Black struggles and Black smiles, a reminder to everyone that we don’t always have to be a superhero to be worth the time of day. A sentiment that goes far beyond Hollywood.

In a world that still tells us that we have to be twice as good to get half as much, it would be nice if Hollywood didn’t reiterate the same message. The tour guide told me that contemporary discourse calls the need for more regular depiction of Black people as “the need for more Black mediocrity.”

Though the plethora of recent movies about people of my race overcoming struggles has immensely fueled my sense of hope, I think that we’ll never truly be at a point of holistic, all-encompassing Black representation until we are able to normalize “black mediocrity” depicted in black art.

Content warning or spoiler?

MONICA KIM MiC Columnist

You know the drill: On the first day of class, you go through some lessthan-stellar icebreaker, you try not to fall asleep as the professor reads the syllabus, you count the minutes until you can be let out early. Depending on how long the professor spends on the syllabus, you could leave ten minutes early or thirty minutes early or an hour early.

Some instructors — in my experience, two graduate students

and one tenured professor — spend extra time discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion; accessibility; Title IX; and mental health, all of which I appreciate, because have you seen the standard LS&A blurbs on these issues? They’re scant, oneparagraph descriptions that barely scratch the surface of these concerns.

Some instructors don’t bother to add the bare minimum into their syllabi at all.

And on the opposite end, you have the professors who go out of their way to tell you about why they didn’t add something onto the syllabus, namely, content or trigger warnings.

When you do it, it’s not funny SUNGMIN CHO MiC Columnist

May 4th, a Saturday. I was preparing for the dorm move out, wrapping up my first year of college. I was waiting in line in front of the community center to receive a temporary key to use over the weekend.

Residential assistants asked a white student in front of me if his room went through the final inspection. He answered, “yes, an Asian guy checked my room.” After a short awkward silence, the R A’s confirmed the inspector’s name. He asked the R A’s, “was that un-PC?” They answered, “no, we all understand what you’re saying.” Until then it was all fine, but then he added, “what if I said like slanty eyes?” The R A’s chuckled and answered, “oh, then it’d be tragic.”

What’s really tragic is the fact that I couldn’t do anything but rant about the incident over the phone to my friend.

So-called “Hipster Racism” refers to something racist done in a ‘sarcastic’ way. Its

supposed point is being a satire of racism, not racism itself. Sometimes, Asians make satires that appropriate and reverse racist remarks against Asians. However, if you are not of that identity, that context does not apply and excuse you from making such remarks. It is still racism.

Listening to his words, I felt as if all my values and possibilities were reduced to “slanty eyes.” For instance, I am an international student studying Political Science and Art, writing for the Daily and serving the Student Government. But to him, I was nothing but “slanty eyes.”

This kind of speech tends to disregard multiple layers and facets of our identity, disrespect our ambition, dream, and effort. It has been exactly a year since I came to the United States and I encountered plain racism many times. However, even if it is done in a satirical way, it is just as offensive as plain racism. Yes, I do get it, but when you do it, it’s not funny.

This happened once my freshman year in a history class and once this semester in an English class. In my history course, after the professor went on a short rant on how trigger warnings coddled students, a few people in the class argued with him, which eventually turned into a thirty-minute discussion on trigger warnings. In my English course, the professor explained he didn’t add content or trigger warnings to the syllabus because they would spoil the books we would be reading.

Of course, you can’t avoid harrowing topics that have already occurred in history or that have been

published in print forever. People respond to triggers differently, too; it could be a smell or a color, rather than the name of the subject itself, that pulls the person out of the moment and into an anxiety or panic attack, or worse.

But that doesn’t mean that content/trigger warnings shouldn’t be present in syllabi. To the argument about how they insulate students from hard-hitting topics: it isn’t like content warnings make it mandatory that students avoid the topic (although I recognize that some students will take advantage of this to just skip some readings; but

don’t we do that already anyways?).

Rather, they’re supposed to function as warnings, as the name suggests, to be aware that a particular week’s reading or lecture will touch upon an issue that could be mentally harmful for the student. If the warnings are meant for those who have already experienced the trauma at hand, then the coddling argument becomes a bit porous, since students who have undergone trauma are far from having been insulated, and have experienced something that can’t be taught in a classroom.

As for the argument about spoilers in the English classroom — the

content warning doesn’t have to go into great detail about what happens in the book. It could be as general as “this novel touches upon issues of racial and sexual violence,” which is something you might already find in a summary or book review. If you’re really concerned about spoilers over students’ mental health and wellbeing, then you could go even more general than that and say, “this novel touches upon issues that may be disturbing or triggering for some students.”

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/all gg SEAN TRAN MiC Blogger

In the midst of the 10-year anniversary of League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game by Riot Games, I find myself reflecting on the too many hours that I’ve spent on LoL alongside its other 80-million monthly players. When my cousin introduced me to the game in 2011, the champion (LoL’s name for its characters) Ahri, an overly seductive, spellcasting representation of Korea’s mythic nine-tailed fox, had just been released. She blew sparkly pink kisses as weapons, quickly became an icon for furries and e-girls everywhere, and was essentially a sex-positive woman of color, so I had to start playing as her immediately. Eight years and eight Ahri skins later, I’ve returned to occasional nights spent on League of Legends for the same reasons that I began: bonding with my friends as I developed my online literacy skills within the most toxic environment possible.

Not only was I the ripe age of eleven when I started playing LoL with my cousin and his friends, but I was also a 4-foot-something, unintimidating fairy of a boy.

Although personal information is completely hidden from other players on LoL, your in-game performance may make you a target for users to verbally harass you based on sheer assumptions about your play

style and character. Like any other competitive activity, playing LoL meant that you sometimes played not so well. When you don’t play well, you can be guaranteed that the other nine anonymous players in the game are eager to flame you with their highly inappropriate arsenal of identitybased insults, threats to report you after the game, and general offensive language that seems to be accessible to people who can’t seem to act right in real life. As I honed my skills, I became increasingly desensitized to whatever may be said in the in-game chat room, eventually learning that rather than any lack of game playing skills, many players haven’t quite leveled up their online social skills.

A year after I started playing, Riot Games introduced their Honor system with the purpose of rewarding players’ positive behavior in the form of points across three categories: Stayed Cool, Great Shotcalling, and GG <3. During a game, I don’t usually say a lot to anybody that I’m playing, save for the occasional “good job” and “thank u,” because typing will take me further out of the game as if I’m not already blasting Blackpink in my AirPods while I fled from the enemy team. It amazed me just how often that I’m honored by my teammates as a result of being nothing more than civil. The most “honorable” games that I’ve played have been when my team has cooperated with each

other without any negative judgment upon our mistakes or missed plays.

When your team is comprised of your friends, honor is second as to having fun. Trolling only becomes kinda funny once you figure out that someone is trolling… and if that someone is you.

With time, I learned how to master my champion and how to stay calm in LoL: just play. Hating the player won’t lead to them doing any better — if anything, they’ll perform even worse.

Hating the game defeats the entire purpose of playing. After all, if you’re not having fun, why are you playing?

And if you’re playing alongside a user named “Kendall Janna,” then / all gg <3

Opinion

4A — Monday, November 4, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

DIPRA DEBNATH | COLUMN

The record-time marathon is a feat of human intellect

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SONEIDA RODRIGUEZ | COLUMN

I

The power of the period

f menstruation were a mountain, I have no doubt she’d humble even the bravest climbers. For one, there’s no question she’d be abrupt.

Rather than gently rolling slopes, her inclines would be steep and unforgiving, especially to those who decided to wear white pants on the climb. The hiking path leading up the summit would be tiresome and filled with turns so tight they’d cramp any climber’s style. Throughout your weeklong climb, she’d find a way to always keep you guessing.

Whether it be through sudden landslides or unpredictable weather, the mountain would find new and creative ways to challenge climbers. Every time climbers reached a new peak, they wouldn’t be surprised if confronted by a red hot pool of lava that delays their efforts and disrupts their day. Rather than feeling empowered after tackling the rigorous challenge, those who climb the menstrual mountain would be met with shame and stigma for their act.

Ultimately, that is because unlike mountain climbing, menstruation is not viewed by society as empowering. In the last few years, the United States has seen profound breakthroughs in the fight against barriers to menstrual health. Nonprofits such as PERIOD are building a “menstrual movement.” Most recently, a Wayne State University chapter of PERIOD helped host, along with other university chapters, the University of Michigan’s first National Period Day demonstration in the Diag to call for the University to provide free menstrual products to students in an effort to combat period poverty. In short, period poverty refers to a lack of access to sanitary products and the menstrual hygiene education necessary to ensure menstrual health. Of course, inspiring conversation about menstrual health and period poverty is vital to eliminating them. However, the taboo surrounding periods themselves has made starting these conversations an uphill battle. While period poverty and barriers to menstrual health are problematic, menstruation should not be painted in the same light. Eliminating menstrual stigma will require transforming our views of periods themselves. Luckily, innovation in public health can catalyze this transformation from the mindset that periods are a problem to the mindset that periods are powerful.

If you need proof that periods are powerful, then look no further than the prospect of menstrual diagnostics. It’s no secret that periods are snapshots of your greater health. I remember my own family physician insisting that having my period was good because it indicated that my body was healthy and functioning normally. A start-up called LifeStory Health has acted on this realization by exploring the diagnostic potential of menstrual blood. Anna Villarreal, CEO

and founder of LifeStory, has partnered with the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering to create tools that can “diagnose and manage diseases” from proteins in menstrual blood earlier than current methods. According to the company’s website, LifeStory Health has already concluded a “Proof of Concept study” in which it “confirmed the potential use and pathway” of using menstrual blood to detect early onset Alzheimers in individuals assigned female at birth. In the future, studying menstrual blood will break down barriers to inclusive clinical research.

Historically, “menstruators of child bearing ages” have been underrepresented in clinical trials.

However, because menstrual blood comes from this unique population, using it as a diagnostic tool will encourage clinical research to look more closely at the impact of new therapeutics on the menstruators’ bodies. It’s important to note that “not all menstruators are women;” cis-gender women, transgender and non-binary individuals have all been historically underrepresented in clinical research. Ultimately, menstruation has the power to save lives by enhancing the efficacy of diagnosis and research. One day, it could prove to be the difference between being a survivor or a victim to chronic disease.

Eliminating menstrual stigma will require transforming our view of periods themselves

Nevertheless, the power of the period is not limited to benefiting menstruators’ health.

In fact, periods can benefit entire communities and the environment. Saathi is just one example of a social enterprise that makes “eco-friendly (menstrual) hygiene products.” “Founded by graduates from MIT (U.S.), Harvard and Nirma,” Saathi has developed an innovative method of using banana fiber to create biodegradable pads.

According to Saathi’s website, the remnants of the banana trees leftover from the pad production process “can be fermented and used as an organic fertilizer” to grow crops that nourish entire communities.

Furthermore, Jayaashree Enterprises is also proving the power of periods through the development of a low-cost, sanitary napkin making machine. By training women in low-income and remote communities on how to mass produce the pads using their machines, Jayaashree Enterprises empowers them to sell the pads and become breadwinners for their families.

In addition, innovating plant-

based menstrual hygiene products can go a step further and produce electricity through anaerobic digestion, which is the process by which energy is generated through the breakdown of plant-based material under intense heat by bacteria. With the help of this technology, remnants from the production of plant-based pads, or even the discarded pads themselves, could fuel a digester and produce electricity. With the potential to nourish crops, create jobs and power communities, there is no denying the power of menstruation.

On the same note, there is also no denying that menstrual health is a critical issue. No menstruator — regardless of how they identify — should have to choose between purchasing menstrual hygiene products or putting food on the table. Devastating barriers to menstrual health, such as period poverty, deserve to be criticized.

However, periods are not the problem. Menstruation does not deserve the social stigma that surrounds it. Furthermore, we should not dismiss the fact that menstruation can be a physically painful process. I am not arguing that all menstruators should learn to fully love their periods.

I am arguing that menstruators should not learn to simply hate their periods because of how society stigmatizes them.

Luckily, there are organizations and individuals on campus and beyond working to combat barriers to menstrual health through research and grassroots organizing. However, we can’t forget the reason barriers to menstrual health remain today largely stems from the social stigma that forced many menstruators and policy makers to remain silent on the topic.

Combating this stigma will require shifting our perception of periods from a problem to one of empowerment. Menstruation holds vast potential to improve society whether through diagnostics, job creation, compost or energy. Even if none of these public health innovations were to exist, periods do not deserve to be stigmatized. At the end of the day, menstruation is a natural process — just as natural as experiencing nature on a mountain climb. As students and community members, our support for innovation in menstrual health will transform society’s perception of menstruation, but more importantly, it will normalize the discussion of menstruation.

Your support can take many forms, including joining existing menstrual health initiatives and start-ups or developing your own project. Regardless of how you show your support, every step in solidarity against menstrual stigma can help normalize this natural process. It’s time for menstruation to transcend society’s limited perspective.

Yes, I menstruate. What’s your superpower?

Soneida Rodriguez can be reached at soneida@umich.edu.

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Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

O

n Oct. 12, 2019, Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, 34, entered territory never before occupied by humankind. After one hour, 59 minutes and 40 seconds of impeccable running, Kipchoge became the first person to ever run the marathon distance of 26.2 miles in under two hours. This is a feat that marathoners worldwide have been creeping toward for as long as the marathon event has existed, but has been considered by many prior to this achievement to be impossible.

Despite the feat, some still believe that a sub-two-hour marathon is out of reach.

Kipchoge’s run will not be counted as an official world record by the International Association of Athletics Federations because it was not performed under federationapproved conditions. Kipchoge’s time was clocked at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, an event that was specifically-engineered for the Kenyan’s solo sub-twohour attempt and was not an IAAF-recognized marathon competition.

Furthermore, Kipchoge was always flocked by a team of pacers who ran at the pace necessary for the target finishing time and rotated in groups onto and off of the course.

This rotation was another deviation from IAAF protocol.

Some will point to the optimization of conditions as grounds for the feat’s illegitimacy.

The pacers themselves were led by a car that projected a laser guide onto the road, aligning the pacers to optimize aerodynamic efficiency for Kipchoge. The date was selected by meteorologists for ideal weather conditions, and Kipchoge ran on a straight and flat course wearing newlydeveloped Nike ZoomX Vaporfly NEXT% shoes, which are commercially-unavailable.

However, to think these optimized conditions undermine the accomplishment of this undertaking is to do injustice to the unique talents of our species.

The sub-two-hour marathon is a landmark example of what humans are able to do with a combination of willpower and ingenuity. Everyone involved in preparing the event knew the time wouldn’t count — what they were interested in was seeing if

the seemingly impossible could be accomplished. Getting a person to run 26.2 miles as fast as possible is a challenge akin to landing people on the moon: It requires endless practice and discipline from those who will physically undertake the task, application of science and research from experts in the field, optimization of all controllable factors and perfect environmental conditions. We all know of Neil Armstrong because he was the first person to physically set foot on the moon, but there was a large team behind the Apollo 11 mission that made America’s lunar dreams a reality.

Kipchoge is the marathon’s Neil Armstrong. As the greatest marathoner of all time, holding the official world record of 2:01:39 that was set just one year ago, there was no one more qualified to attempt the INEOS 1:59 experiment. Even if his 1:59:40.12 time does not appear in official records books, he will be remembered as the man who crossed a sacred threshold, and if there is anyone in the near future who will break 2:00 in official conditions, as of now, it is likely to be Kipchoge. However, it took a large group of dedicated people putting their heads together toward a common objective to accomplish this goal this time around.

A roadblock in improving on records in athletics is that, with every boundary pushed a little bit further, we edge closer to the unknown limits of what humans are physically capable of doing.

This is where the case of the marathon diverges from that of the moon landing. Technology improves as quickly as human minds can innovate, which is quite fast, given that manned missions to Mars could become a reality in the next couple of decades.

Humans’ physical evolution is significantly slower than this. It is unlikely that marathon runners have genetically evolved at all since 1896, when the marathon was held at the first modern Olympiad and the gold medalist ran a time of 2:58:50.

Despite this, marathon times have dropped significantly since then. If people’s physical talents are not getting any better, then there must be other factors in play with regard to dropping times. A lot of the heat directed at Kipchoge’s accomplishment

is related to the shoes he wore during the event, which some say may contain elements that have spring-like properties, though Nike states that the purpose of these elements is only to distribute forces that may be felt by the wearer. Criticizing scientific and technological advances for improved race times, however, is a fruitless endeavor. A look at the fastest official marathon times for every elite male marathoner in the world shows that the top 14 marathoners ever clocked their fastest times after 2011. There is not a single time before 2003 in the top 100.

Runners’ genetics have not evolved since 2003, but technology, training and sports science have. Shoes have become lighter and more aerodynamic, training and rest schedules have been optimized, recovery techniques have been improved upon and sleep and nutritional science is brimming with new findings. Science and technology have been used to bring out the most in how quickly human beings are able to run 26.2 miles.

This is what makes Kipchoge’s sub-two-hour marathon so exciting. The feat demonstrates that humans — with the power of what we know and what we can create — can continue to unearth potential in what we are physically able to do.

Accomplishments in modern athletics are every bit as much a product of human intellect as they are of human physiology.

Kipchoge’s achievement results from a cooperative effort between the world-class athletes who paced him, the scientists who determined the best running configurations and weather conditions for the event, the researchers who developed Kipchoge’s shoes, the trainers who planned Kipchoge’s training and the extraordinary physical gifts of Kipchoge himself.

The next step is for someone to cross the finish line of an official marathon in under two hours. As our understanding of training, recovery and footwear continues to advance, I have no doubt it will be done in the future. When it is, it will be another opportunity for us to see what we are made of.

Dipra Debnath can be reached at dipra@umich.edu.

NOAH ENTE | COLUMN

I

A time for reckoning on Turkey

n the last few weeks, there’s been an appropriate uproar in reaction to President Donald Trump’s misguided decision to withdraw American military personnel from Syria. After years of combating the Islamic State and fulfilling our promise to the Kurdish people in the region, the president engaged in the same failed duck-and-run Middle East policy that has failed in the past few years. It is a decision that has rightfully been condemned by Republicans and Democrats and should be reversed before it’s too late.

Yet, a recognition of Turkey’s newly revealed true colors has ultimately been lost amid considerations of the current state of affairs in the conflict-filled corridor of northeastern Syria.

Often considered a long-time ally of the U.S., Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were eager to cross the Syrian border and begin to sow chaos at the whim of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Amid analysis of these new facts on the ground, we must reconsider American-Turkish relations and where the two countries truly stand today.

Toward the beginning of the Cold War and with the creation of the Marshall Plan, U.S. President Harry Truman offered military and economic assistance to Turkey, as well as other countries that America saw as being at risk of falling behind the Iron Curtain. In 1952, Turkey was voted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to further protect it from Soviet interference. At the time, it appeared that once Turkey had entered NATO, it would operate as NATO states did: Turkey would support the will of the U.S. and the West in rhetoric and policy, and remain a loyal ally.

For much of the next few decades, Turkey did just that.

For instance, Turkey provided

logistical support to the U.S. in their military efforts during the Gulf War. In a region that has been among the most unstable in the world, Turkey served as a model of consistency and Western-style democracy, which a previous defense chief in Ankara once called a “universal value.”

In the last few years, however, Turkey has failed to live up to its purported code of ethics. For two years, Erdogan kept Turkey under a national state of emergency, in which the military took control of the state, and human rights abuses were rampant. Dissidents were jailed and anyone deemed hostile to Erdogan and his rule were censored, or worse, after a failed coup against the president. The state of emergency ended in July 2018, but the government has not changed its ways. A 2018 report by the U.S. State Department detailed the ongoing issues in Turkey with regard to their treatment of political dissent, and it painted a bleak picture for a country that was once seemingly a home for democratic values.

Erdogan’s totalitarian, abusive leadership has also created direct issues with the U.S. In 2016, Turkish authorities arrested American Pastor Andrew Brunson on charges of espionage and for allegedly playing a role in a failed coup in July. Just last October, Brunson was released from prison and allowed to return to the U.S. In efforts to free Brunson, Trump threatened sanctions against Turkey.

Eventually, Turkey obliged and sent Brunson home. This exchange was just one instance in which the U.S. and Turkey have been at odds in the last few years.

Erdogan often challenges the international order by saying that “the world is bigger than five,” insinuating that he should have influence equal to that of U.N. Security Council members. In

his quest to gain this influence, he has been unafraid to befriend U.S. opponents. With Turkey appearing to get closer to Iran and Russia, Ankara is once again proving that, when given the chance, it will only make life harder for U.S. officials in Syria.

The Kurds — a people whom the U.S. had relied on for military support against Islamic State fighters — are Erdogan’s main target due to his claims that they have links to opposition forces in Turkey. With the U.S. out of the picture, Erdogan’s units are preparing to carry out attacks against these American-friendly fighters.

It is time that the U.S. and the rest of NATO begin to honestly evaluate the actions of Turkey and its pivot toward embracing forces hostile to the international order. While Turkey remained an important strategic partner for some time, it is now taking advantage of its past graces and the U.S.’s goodwill. At home, Erdogan has consistently failed to govern according to the values Ankara once claimed to hold dear.

Abroad, the Turkish government has ceased to be an effective and loyal ally and has proved that Turkey will only look out for its own interests.

Such a country is dangerous to have as an enemy, but it is arguably more frightening to have as an ally. If NATO members cannot count on their fellow countries to promote peace and prosperity, who can they confidently trust? It is vital that the NATO community holds Turkey and its powerhungry leader accountable and, if necessary, provide consequences for their behavior. If Ankara and Erdogan are to become bigger players in global affairs, they must play by the rules.

Noah Ente can be reached at noahente@umich.edu.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Monday, November 4, 2019 — 5A

TV REVIEW

WORLD MUSIC COLUMN

‘Morning Show’ highlights On the chicness of Dutranc the reach of present scars SAYAN GHOSH

Daily World Music Columnist

SOPHIA YOON Daily Arts Writer

In the modern movement of “wokeness,” it’s easy to forget all the issues and movements phasing in and out of social media. If you already forgot about the #MeToo movement, it found its way back into relevancy in “The Morning Show.” News anchorman Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell, “Welcome to Marwen”) gets fired from popular news show “The Morning Show” for sexual misconduct, and he has to learn to deal with his tarnished reputation while the cast and crew are left to pick up the pieces. He leaves behind his co-star of 15 years in Alex Levy (Jennifer Aniston, “Murder Mystery”) to take on the responsibilities of hosting the show, as the network threatens to replace her with someone newer and fresher. The show dives deep into the broader implications of these issues and smoothy diverts becoming preachy and selfrighteous.

The way the show portrays the cold, bureaucratic side of the news industry is the most entertaining aspect of the show. It’s often a backdrop against the very human consequences that sexual misconduct cases cause, but nonetheless revealing in how disgustingly frigid and unsympathetic industry can be. The network executive, Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette”), is clearly unfazed by Kessler’s incident and speaks in terms of show ratings and how the network can spin the incident in their favor. Against Aniston’s hardhitting and soulful performance, Crudup performs an almost opposite performance, perfectly embodying the robotic, heartless businessman he portrays. They resonate off each other as two sides of the same coin — both willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to achieve their goals, but emotionally affected by Kessler’s crime in different ways.

Aniston and Ellison weren’t the only ones who stood out in a cast of Hollywood icons. Reese Witherspoon (“Big Little Lies”), who plays field journalist Bradley Jackson, proves herself yet again as one of the most versatile actresses of our generation in a scene where she melts down while

reporting for a protest. Apart from the money grab, there’s a reason why producers try to string along as many stars as they can, and this series certainly proved that these stars have something more than good publicity to offer.

“The Morning Show” also gets into the longevity of sexual misconduct cases, and how they don’t just disappear after the news cycle forgets about it. Alex Levy grapples with being left in the dark about the issue for so long, then immediately having to address it in public. She is constantly addressed in terms of the incident, asked if she’s okay and slowly being phased out by the network as they try to find another female face for the show. At the same time, Kessler, fueled by his own ego, wonders if he should set out to prove his self-proclaimed innocence as he continuously screams, “I didn’t rape anybody” and “they liked it.” He broods around his house and stews in his own anger as the truth about the details of his sexual misconduct case is slowly revealed to us.

The perspective of the perpetrator and the periphery is one we are hardly given when it comes to sexual misconduct cases, and “The Morning Show” goes into realistic depth with it. It shows us exactly how far-reaching these issues can get, particularly in the entertainment industry where everything is easily publicized. For one of the first shows of the new Apple TV+ streaming service, it does an impressive job, which isn’t all that surprising given the amount of stars attached. If they pump out some juicy content adjacent to this, Apple could have the potential to play ball in the big leagues and make the company an even bigger empire than it already is.

The Morning Show Pilot Apple TV+ Streaming Now

While his musical career (especially outside the Francophone world) has largely been overshadowed by that of his brilliant wife Françoise Hardy, Jacques Dutronc’s pair of self-titled albums released in the 1960s hold up unexpectedly well decades later. Elements of the garage rock coming out of the U.S. during his teenage years are abound, these aspects mixing with the sounds and attitudes of yé-yé, the loose, bubbly st yle of French pop which orig inated years earlier.

Another crucial part of the song writing on the two self-titled albums (released in 1966 and 1968) were the lyrics. Jacques Lanzmann — a renaissance man novelist, journalist and song writer who at the time when he met Dutronc was the editor of the raunchy men’s magazine Lui — helped infuse Dutronc’s already suave sound with a distinctly French sense of sarcasm and aloofness. With Lanzmann’s help, Dutronc’s music gained a propensit y to ridicule ever y thing and ever yone popular at the time.

One of the early and most enduring hits of this partnership was the 1966 single “Et moi, et moi, et moi” (“And I, and I, and I”), a simple garage rock track with a heav y dose of cynicism in its lyrics. He sings, “Cinquante millions de vietnamiens \ Et moi, et moi, et moi \ Le dimanche à la \ chasse au lapin \ Avec mon fusil, je suis le roi \J’y pense et puis j’oublie C’est la vie, c’est la vie” (“Fift y million Vietnamese \ and me, and me, and me \ hunting rabbits on Sundays \ with my rif le, I am the king \ I think of it and then I forget it \ That’s life, that’s life”). Along with this reference to the Vietnam war, Dutronc refers to the plight of hundreds of millions around the world while contrasting them with the pett y worries of his self ish Frenchman and his headaches and his “habits and tics in his little goose feather bed.”

The cover of the 1968 self-titled features Dutronc suited up, snarling off-camera

with a cigar sandwiched between his teeth.

It is a f itting emblem to the t ype of chic he represented as well as the music contained within the album. While off icially titled Jacques Dutronc, it is perhaps even more known as “Il est cinq heures” after both its as well as Dutronc as a whole’s biggest hit “Il est cinq heures, Paris s’éveille” (“It’s f ive o’clock, Paris awakens”). Considered by many to be one of the best French-lang uage singles ever released, it paints a portrait of Paris in the early morning hours, an idea that has been explored heavily by countless artists, musicians and writers throughout the decade. In a fashion reminiscent of the poet Baudelaire, he looks into the less postcard-worthy scenes, describing, “Les stripteaseuses sont rhabillées \ Les traversins sont écrasés \ Les amoureux sont fatig ués” (“The strippers are dressed again, the bolsters are crushed, the lovers are tired”) and calling the famous ParisMontparnasse station “nothing more than a carcass.”

Similarly, Dutronc satirizes the hippie lifest yle of the time in “Hippie Hippie Hourrah,” declaring, “J’aime les f leurs et la fumée \ Je ne suis plus un revolté \ Les Beatniks c’est dépassé \ Maintenant le monde il faut l’aimer” (“I love the f lowers and smoke \ I’m not a rebel anymore \ The beatniks are passé \ Now we must love the world”). Dutronc’s voice is highly Dylanesque (with slightly better melodic talents) and pairs well with these t ype of more straightforward garage rockers, but also shines in more earnest pieces such as “Les rois de la réforme,” an anti-war track in which he converses with Monsieurs Calvin (John Calvin), Luther (Martin Luther), Luthin and Calvaire about g iving up the uniform.

As Jeremy Allen of The Guardian notes, Dutronc’s “cigar-chomping visage is the true embodiment of French pop at its most chic.” While he continued to release music as he transitioned his career into acting, none of them reached the heights that his f irst two did with their (rather rare) combination of witt y cynicism and youthful energ y.

ALBUM REVIEW

Ye’s Christian album: Two takes on ‘JESUS IS KING’ JIM WILSON

Daily Arts Writer

DYLAN YONO Daily Arts Writer

Jesus is King is here, and it is … something.

It’s hard to put into words. We had been waiting for almost a year for Kanye to finally release Yandhi — his leak-prone, nowunreleased album — when it was suddenly replaced by Jesus is King in late August. The hype for Yandhi was palpable. Based on the leaks, Yandhi was set to be a mixture between the menagerielike beats of the ever-polarizing The Life of Pablo and the cracked-out lyricism of the oft-reviled Ye, but with even zanier production and feature credits. Instead of Metro Boomin and Kid Cudi, we would have gotten Ronny J and XXXTentacion. However, Jesus is King is unlike anything we’ve heard from Kanye.

Kanye has toyed with the idea of gospel music before, most recently on The Life of Pablo, but on his most recent release, he attempts to take a full plunge.

He forgoes all cursing, replacing it with near-comical amounts of non-stop Jesus talk. It’s often hard to tell if he means what he says. Sometimes, it’s earnest.

On “Closed on Sunday,” he prays to God to give him the strength to protect and preserve his family and himself from the devil, rapping, “I pray to God that He’ll strengthen my hand / They will think twice steppin’ on my land … Try me and you will see I ain’t playin’ / Now back up off my family, move your hands.”

Sure, he puts a little hip-hop twist on it, but it’s mostly like gospel music. Earlier though, on the same song, Kanye sings, presumably to his wife, “Closed on Sunday, you my Chick-Fil-A / You my number one, with the lemonade.” Now this is a little strange: He’s comparing his wife to Chick-Fil-A and states that she’s “closed on Sunday” and then goes on to say that she’s the only one for him by comparing her to the famous number one meal (with the lemonade) from the fast-food chain. This head-scratching f lip-f lopping trend between sanctity and absurdity continues throughout the album.

The production, on the other hand, is mostly enjoyable, but as the omnipresent beatsmith Kenny Beats said, “I feel like the 808s on Jesus is King could have used some premarital sex.” Not only is that hilarious, but it’s also true. The production sounds great, even excellent at times, but it’s missing something — a certain oomph. With production credits from new schoolers like Pi’erre Bourne and FNZ and legends like Timbaland and West himself, it’d be reasonable to expect some earth-rattling bass and mindaltering samples, but they never come, lest we forget that this is a gospel album.

Jesus is King does have a few great moments among the bizarre and disappointing. Clipse join forces for the first time in six years on “Use This Gospel,” Kenny G lays down a bitchin’ saxophone solo also on the same song, Kanye returns to the aggression and intensity of old on “Follow God,” Pi’erre Bourne busts out a pair of speaker-busting synth lines and drops his signature tags not once, but twice on “On God.” Sadly, the great moments are few and far between and are weighed down by questionable decisions, and unfortunately, that does not make for a good album.

— Jim Wilson, Daily Arts Writer Kanye went through all the effort of cutting out cursing on Jesus Is King, so I figure it’s only right that I do the same. And on that note: Holy crap, the album actually came, and it feels legendary. Kanye West is in a special class of fabled musical figures — somewhere between Kendrick Lamar and Frank Ocean — whose mere hint of new music makes tidal waves within the

sea that is the hip-hop community. The holy water is finally raining down.

Jesus Is King is not a rap album with religious inf luence — this is straight-up Christian music. There are elements of electronic and soul in addition to contemporary gospel, but what strings it all together is Christianity, not hip hop. Of course, this makes it a little less palatable for the not-so-Christian. And as Christian as it is, there is still less Christ and more Kanye (to nobody’s surprise). It’s certainly not a gospel album by anyone’s definition other than Kanye’s. But I’ll get there.

Religious or not, there’s no denying that this album opens with ferocity. Kanye really nailed the “King” part of Jesus Is King, because the Sunday Service choir is at its swankiest on

JESUS IS KING Kanye West Def Jam Recordings

“Every Hour,” and the roaring thunderclap percussion of “Selah” invokes a glorious sense of a higher power.

And that’s about where the quality in this album ends for the most part. There are some other high points — “Follow God” features a classic kickin’ Kanye beat, and “On God” has that Graduation-esque-gonnaslap-in-the-stadium type of effervescence. But both songs clock in at about two minutes, a twisted tease of what could have been. The only other cool thing is “Use This Gospel,” which reunites Pusha T and No Malice of Clipse for the first time in God knows how long (OK, six years, but that’s an eternity in popular music now). Four minutes of music that feels like “the old Kanye” and a collective 16 bars from Clipse are not enough to celebrate.

So where does this album fail? Does Christianity mess with Kanye’s creative ju-ju?

Definitely not — from “Jesus Walks” to “Ultralight Beam,” God has been the backbone of some of Kanye’s greatest and most inspired music. But nothing on Jesus Is King feels

particularly great or inspired. By the time I got to “God Is,” I felt alienated by the subject matter: It’s less gospel and more unchecked ego, something I should have realized on “Selah” when he started comparing his public persecution to that of Jesus and Noah. I do admire Kanye’s gruff and breathy singing on the track, though. It feels very performative, like a pastor belting at a sermon.

It’s too bad that not even the production can make up for the album’s failings. Ever since The Life of Pablo, Kanye has embraced a minimalist production style that’s all about giving the music room to breathe. This style isn’t necessarily bad — it worked on Pablo, then again (to a lesser degree) on Ye, and other artists are doing it better (see Billie Eilish’s latest) — but it’s not working for Kanye in 2019. Instrumentally, tracks like “Closed On Sunday,” “Everything We Need” and “Hands On” are profoundly uninteresting. “Water” breaks from this trend, and is kinda cool in a surrealist way, but it goes nowhere. It just makes me want to listen to Kendrick Lamar’s far more interesting “For Sale? - Interlude.”

It doesn’t have to be this way. I won’t debate that the writing is genuinely awful on this project — “Closed on Sunday” is a bigger lyrical embarrassment than last year’s “Lift Yourself.” It doesn’t sound good even if you care about Kanye; if anything, that makes it worse. This is writing that sounds good only if you are Kanye. But he does have a history of winning over listeners even when his writing is alienating. The real patrician music snobs will acknowledge that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is Kanye’s greatest album for it’s overproduced opulence, despite the writing being condemned as “only good if you care about Kanye.” So if people who can’t resonate with the lyricism on Fantasy in a genre that is all about lyricism can still laud it as one of the greatest albums of all time, then there’s no reason Jesus Is King couldn’t achieve the same. But even if the production was creative and unique and exciting for any longer than two minutes, I’m still certain that I wouldn’t want to hear Kanye say the word “Jesus” ever again.

— Dylan Yono, Daily Arts Writer

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Arts

6A — November 4, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK

A deep dive into Ann Arbor’s Halloweekend fashion Theatre party What better place to get pictures of Halloween costumes than from people who dress up in costume for a living?

SMTD & Business junior Nate Pierstorff took us back in time with his Virgil costume from the iconic 2008 Disney Channel original movie “Minutemen.”

“In 2017, my freshman year, the university installed this new statue by the CCTC bus stop called ‘portal to a new’ something, and it looks like the portal that they come out of,” Pierstorff said. “And I was just like, ‘You know, they gave me a portal, I’m giving them ‘Minutemen.’’ Pierstorff said he did a full photoshoot in the portal.

He was so dedicated to bit that even his phone background was the movie cover.

Residential Ann Arbor Nostalgia sets in when seeing children prancing around in their costumes, buckets full of candy swinging. You can’t help but smile.

Seven-year-old Conner dressed as a member of the SWAT team. When asked why he chose his costume he responded cooley, “because I like it.”

Love the decisiveness, Conner.

While Avery, who is five and a half years old, opted for a softer look, as she sported her Elsa costume from “Frozen.”

in her scariest monster voice, why she had chosen her costume, she firmly responded, “Because Marcel Marceau.” Seems as good a reason as anything.

Nolan chose to dress up as Scream “Because (he) watched the movie,” while Sean went for the hockey-player look “because he likes to play hockey.” It’s a very bold choice to dress up as yourself, and we applaud that.

Hazel and Fiona, both 10 years old, strutted out in their best zombie bride costumes.

“We wanted to be something zombie, and we wanted to be matching costumes,” Hazel explained.

10-year-old Amelia went for a costume that would please both her and her mother.

“I’m a ’70s hippie girl. My mom rejected all my other costumes, and I really liked this costume,” she explained.

— Reporting by Claire Meingast, Daily Staff Photographer, and Isabelle Hasslund, Daily Community Culture Editor Lutherween The Luther Co-op throws an iconic annual Halloween party, so we decided to crash it.

School of Music, Theatre & Dance junior Archie Magnus and Literature, Science & Arts junior Julia Silverman were sporting one of the best couple’s costumes at Lutherween. A party widely regarded as one of the biggest Halloween parties in Ann Arbor, Lutherween pulls in an expected attendance of over a thousand people. Julia was decked out in magician attire and Archie (to quote them directly) was a “sexy bunny.” The inspiration for this costume was derived from a lot of internet searching.

“We felt a little discouraged until we found our way here. This was the simplest and most budget-worthy costume,” said Magnus. “And funny!

It’s funny and good!” said Silverman. “Yeah, we’re pretty funny people,” agreed Magnus.

“If you count the trip we took to party city, it took us an hour to put this all together,” Magnus said. Besides, of course, for Silverman’s shoes. To which she eagerly cheered before departing “Wait, but my shoes are from Chicago — Chicago!”

During her final semester in the School of Social Work, graduate student Emily Piellusch decided that now was as good a time as any to go all out for Halloween.

“I’m a deathly/skeletory type of showgirl. I know skeletory isn’t a word, by the way,” Piellusch said. She got the idea from looking at an Instagram page from Brooklyn Club “Haus of Yes.” She had been picking up the various costume pieces for a couple of weeks until she “finally did all the crafting this afternoon in about an hour and a half.” This was a pretty fantastic costume for an hour and a halfs worth of work, if you ask me.

Congratulations Emily, you’re killing it.

LSA senior Leah Hardy and Engineering junior Jacob Todd were also

CLAIRE MEINGAST/DAILY

KEEMYA ESMAEL/DAILY

COURTESY OF DANA PIERANGELI

“I like Elsa! She makes ice sometimes!” she exclaimed. She cannot wait for the new Frozen movie to come out in theatres.

Five-and-a-half-year-old Abe had opted to mesh two of his favorite things together into one costume. “I chose my costume because I like Pokemon a lot ... and also vampires,” Abe explained.

Asher, who is four years old, dressed up as one of my favorite animals, a gecko. He chose this animal “because (he) like(s) the golden (shine on his costume).” A fashion icon in the making.

When we asked seven-year-old Matilda, who first introduced herself

sporting an adorable couple’s costume.

“We wanted a couple’s costume and we have a cat, so we figured Team Rocket would be perfect for us,” Hardy said. “It was her idea,” Todd added.

When I asked Todd if he liked Hardy’s idea he said, “I mean yeah, I was excited about it, I’m just not a very good planner. This is our first couple’s costume. Last year we went to Halloween together, but we weren’t coordinated.” I asked them how long they had been together and Hardy said, “A year yesterday!” Daily photographer Keemya and I exploded in congratulations before sending them on their way.

LSA senior Miranda Schaffer was wearing full Britney Spears attire.

She looked as though she had walked straight out of the iconic “Oops!... I Did It Again” music video.

When asked what inspired this years Britney Spears costume, she said: “Last year’s Britney Spears costume! Last year’s Britney look was ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ Britney, and this look is ‘Oops!... I Did It Again’ Britney. Get it?” She thought of the idea for this costume 364 days ago when she “enjoyed being Britney so much.” She felt like it was her “true calling.”

Schaffer ordered the red jumpsuit on Amazon two months ago because she “went to the Halloween store and some buffoon tried to pawn me off red leggings and a red t-shirt and say that was good enough to be Britney Spears and I said ‘No, no, no!’ So I went on Amazon and ordered it that night. A beautiful metallic jumpsuit.”

LSA senior Melissa Newman chose to be Lord Farquad from the movie “Shrek” for Halloween this year.

“I’m obsessed with Shrek. Obsessed. Last year I was Shrek for Halloween.

I think it is the best movie on the planet.” According to Newman, her Lord Farquad look had gotten a great deal of positive reactions that evening.

“People can immediately tell who I am. I entirely self-made this costume, so I am pretty happy anyone is able to tell what it is.” It took her about four hours to make the costume, yet she had been thinking about it since last year’s Lutherween. She was quite excited that her love of Shrek lived to see another year.

— Alix Curnow, Daily Arts Writer

Rubinstein was in head-to-toe black and red, with a little red cape, fluffy tutu and even sexy knee socks.

“My costume was very, very last minute — I did a quick makeup look in 20 minutes and just put ears on and a tail,” Tom said. “I also had a boa to add a little sparkle which I thought made my costume super cute — thanks Rex!” This year, Tom has embraced the Halloween spirit.

“I actually used to hate Halloween because I felt there was pressure as a girl to look a certain way,” Tom said. “But in the past couple years, I’ve begun looking forward to Halloween because it’s time I get to spend with my friends and wear silly costumes like my wolf costume.”

SMTD junior Ryan Moore lives for Halloween. Throughout Halloweekend, he progressed through Lady Gaga’s iconic looks from the Met Gala.

“I was purely inspired by my love of Lady Gaga,” Moore said. “I also am a huge fan of the camp aesthetic so when I saw her look for the Camp Gala I knew immediately it was something I needed replicate somehow.”

Moore took Halloween costumes to the next level. Splurging on a custom-made wig from Wigs by Vanity, it’s now his prized possession.

“I googled looking for a pink satin slip dress, which is a lot more difficult to find than I thought it would be so I settled for a dress that was close enough. I like that it had a slit in it because it allowed for people to see my eight-inch heels!” Moore said.

He continued, “I looked on Amazon for black oversized sunglasses, a necklace and an old fashion brick phone — I thought the blow up version was really campy.”

As a theatre fanatic and a costume designer, Halloween is Moore’s wonderland.

“Halloween is my favorite holiday,” Moore said. “I love dressing up all year round and the week of Halloween is the one week of the year that I can dress in costume and it’s considered normal, and everyone else is in costume too. I love the creativity that Halloween inspires.”

— Dana Pierangeli, Daily Arts Writer

KEEMYA ESMAEL/DAILY

COURTESY OF DANA PIERANGELI

ALIX CURNOW Daily Arts Writer

ISABELLE HASSLUND Daily Arts Writer

DANA PIERANGELI Daily Arts Writer

Halloween is one of the biggest and most festive holidays in Ann Arbor. One of the coolest parts of Halloween by far are the costumes — whether they’re made last minute or whether they‘ve been in the works for an entire year. We went out during Halloween festivities to document the goriest, cutest and most interesting costumes.

CLAIRE MEINGAST/DAILY

Release Date: Monday, November 4, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Meh 5 Rubs out a mistake 11 Four times daily, in an Rx 14 Isaac’s eldest son 15 “Scooby-Doo” friend of Velma, Fred and Shaggy 16 Former EgyptSyria confed.

17 Market report detail 19 Texter’s “I think” 20 Genetic messengers 21 Give, as a citation 23 Southwestern native that rhymes with 53-Down 26 Breakfast grain 28 Word on an octagonal sign 29 Plentiful amount 31 Bank takebacks, briefly 32 Home run stat 33 “That’s gross!”

34 12th Jewish month 35 Wows 38 Examine for flaws 41 Scissors unit 42 Single 43 French friend 44 Harsh-smelling 46 Babe __ Zaharias, multisport athlete with two Olympic golds (1932) and 10 LPGA major championships 49 Not good at all 50 Yale student 51 Davis of “A League of Their Own” 52 Beauty contest 55 Cornfield bird 57 Say “Oopsie,” say 58 2:15 p.m., e.g.

63 __ rule: usually 64 Part of 16-Across 65 “All good here” 66 Sleep acronym 67 Requiring help 68 Canadian gas

DOWN 1 Follow-up film: Abbr.

2 Sch. in Columbus 3 __ Paulo 4 Beat in a meet 5 Icelandic literary work 6 Drake musical numbers 7 Mo. with showers 8 Certain Muslim 9 SASEs, e.g.

10 Observes 11 “Shh!” 12 “Me, also” 13 Hangs limply 18 City west of Tulsa 22 Exhaust 23 Three feet 24 Swedish pop band 25 “The $64,000 Question,” e.g.

27 German gripe 30 Heifetz’s teacher 31 Mr. Hyde creator’s monogram 34 Fed. power dept.

36 The Congo, formerly

37 Thing on top of things 38 One charged with a crime 39 “Follow me!”

40 Funny Fey 42 Frying liquid 44 Materialize 45 Needing smoothing 46 Keep in custody 47 “Young Frankenstein” helper

48 Collectible doll, and a phonetic hint to four long puzzle answers 53 Here, in Spanish 54 Ex-Georgia senator Sam 56 Comedian Foxx 59 66, notably: Abbr.

60 Morning hrs.

61 “Help!” at sea 62 Boxing ref’s decision

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Matt Skoczen (c)2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

COURTESY OF DANA PIERANGELI

“I like dropping in to different costumes. Like a little DIY masterclass that we give to people.”

LSA sophomore Kaitlyn Tom and LSA freshman Rex Rubinstein put a fun spin on their classic costume. Their original idea to dress up as bears with “Directed by James Harbaugh” written on their chests as an ode to their participation in MUSKET’S “Bare: A Pop Opera” (November 22nd-24th) fell through. But they found the next best thing: the Big Bad Wolf and (sexy) Little Red Riding Hood.

11/04/19

11/04/19

Alexis Rankin & Miles Macklin / Daily

Design by Jack Silberman

Michigan JUMPS OUT TO EARLY LEAD, CRUISES TO WIN AT MARYLAND MAX MARCOVITCH Managing Sports Editor

COLLEGE PARK — It took all of 11 seconds.

That’s how much time elapsed while freshman Giles Jackson fielded the opening kickoff on Saturday, offered one juke, burst past the kicker’s diving grasp and into the end zone. If there was any doubt about whether the Michigan football team (7-2 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) would take care of a hapless Maryland squad; any doubt the Wolverines could re-focus after last week’s big win; any doubt that there could be such a thing as an easy road win in the Big Ten — it was all squashed.

In 11 seconds.

“We always try to start the game off fast, and that was a great emphasis coming into this game on the road,” said senior quarterback Shea Patterson. “It was cool to see

him take off and kind of set the tone for the game.”

Jackson set the tone and nailed the coffin in one fell swoop.

Michigan continued the final 3,049 seconds down the same path of inevitability, taking care of the Terrapins (3-6, 1-5), 38-7, winning with as much ease as it has all year.

Despite the comfort of the scoreboard, the Wolverines’ offense sputtered out of the gate. A week after piling up 300-plus rushing yards and 45 points against Notre Dame, the offense mustered just 49 yards on its first three drives, with the lone score coming via field position that started in Terrapins territory.

But it didn’t take long for Michigan’s offense to get the gears turning again, aided by a fake punt in the middle of the second quarter, in which Michael Barrett scampered for 14 yards off a direct snap.

“We’ve practiced it now for several weeks,” said Michigan coach Jim

Harbaugh, of the decision to fake the punt. “I was waiting for a fourthand-1, fourth-and-2 type of situation on our own side. And it was there, so we took advantage of the work that we had put in.”

Jackson set the tone and nailed the coffin in one fell swoop.

From there, it took all of three plays — a 51-yard bomb to junior receiver Nico Collins, an incomplete pass, then an eight-yard rush from freshman Zach Charbonnet — to extend the lead to 21-0 and firmly

bury the Terrapins.

In reality, though, everything beyond the opening kickoff served as a glorified scrimmage.

Maryland’s offense offered brief glimpses of competence early, marching into the red zone twice, only to leave each time empty-handed.

The first time, an interception from senior safety Josh Metellus halted the progress. The second came via a missed field goal. The Terrapins failed to score on offense — their lone points coming via a kick return touchdown deep into garbage time.

Junior tight end Nick Eubanks capped off a 12-play, 60-yard drive in the third quarter with his second touchdown grab of the year. Junior running back Hassan Haskins found the same destiny mere minutes later.

After its slow start, the offense still finished with 331 yards — a near even split between passing (176) and rushing (155).

“I thought (offensive coordinator

Josh Gattis) called a really good game today,” Harbaugh said. “It was a good mix of the running game.

The downfield throws were there, the RPOs were there and we made some plays off of that. ... I thought, keep building, keep improving, but I feel like it’s going in the ascending direction.”

The Wolverines will stride into a bye week now at its peak, having rattled off two wins by a combined 62 points. A limping Michigan State group now beckons, and this Michigan team — suddenly rife with confidence — tastes blood in the water.

“We thinking about Michigan State right now,” Metellus said.

“We thinking about both of them (Michigan State and Ohio State) right now, honestly. That’s something, being a Michigan Man, you’re always thinking about.

“That game-planning starts later today.”

INSIDE SPORTSMONDAY

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN: FOUR WEEKS TO MAKE A SEASON SEE PAGE 2B HOCKEY COVERAGE SEE PAGE 3B

SportsMonday

2B — November 4, 2019

C

OLLEGE PARK — There is nothing about Saturday’s Michigan football game that, when the season ends, will qualify as particularly memorable.

A two-loss Wolverines played a ETHAN Maryland SEARS team that likely won’t qualify for a bowl. Michigan won, 38-7, in a game it was supposed to win by something like that score. The outcome was never in doubt. A healthy percentage of the fans in College Park wore maize and blue, and then went home happy.

Really, the only way this could have qualified as memorable would be if the Wolverines had lost.

Michigan is out of contention for the College Football Playoff and the Big Ten. If you read this paper, or any other outlet covering the Wolverines, you’ve read about 50 variants of that sentence in the last two weeks. There are four weeks left in the regular season and one way to make the season, unequivocally, a success. Josh Uche laid it out pretty well.

“We thinking about Michigan State right now,” the senior linebacker said after Saturday’s game. “We thinking about both of them (Michigan State and Ohio State) right now, honestly. That’s something, being a Michigan Man, you always thinking about.

“That game-planning starts later today.”

It’s pretty easy at this point.

Win those two games and the narrative around this program shifts. No longer is Jim Harbaugh the coach who can’t beat his rivals. No longer is Michigan the program that can’t get over the hump. No longer is

Four weeks to make the season

anyone going into 2020 with apprehension.

Lose both — or go one-fortwo — and it’s the same thing as ever.

These will always be the games that define success for the program.

Last year, when Michigan went to East Lansing and beat Michigan State, 21-7, Harbaugh teared up in the locker room.

That’s how much it meant to him.

Now imagine what it would mean to win both rivalry games.

Michigan will be prohibitive favorites against the Spartans, a program currently in disarray. Mark Dantonio’s team has scored 17 points in its last three games and holds a 4-4 record.

Rumors have abounded about Dantonio’s job status. The Wolverines’ defense is one of the best in the country.

The math works itself out pretty well.

As much as this matchup has a tendency to go haywire, Michigan may have a chance to put a nail in Dantonio’s coffin. It’s hard to imagine the Wolverines won’t be eager to take it, especially coming off a bye.

“This week, we just gotta get ready, take care of our bodies,” said junior wideout Nico Collins. “We got off and we just

get ready for Michigan State the following week.”

Ohio State is a tougher ask, and it’ll come after a road trip to Indiana that doubles as a trap game. That doesn’t make it impossible to win. Nor does it diminish its importance.

Even though the Buckeyes haven’t taken the step back people envisioned under new coach Ryan Day, that opportunity is still there.

Two years ago in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines pushed them to the brink despite a notable talent gap in one of the best

That gameplanning (for MSU) starts later today.

Daily Sports Editor

COLLEGE PARK — The official attendance at Maryland Stadium was 40,071 fans, but the eye test seemed to contradict that. Opposite the press box, the stands were full of maize and blue. This was the Terrapins’ homecoming, but few of their own fans showed up.

And honestly, who could blame them? The Nationals’ World Series parade was at the same time, 30 minutes down the Beltway. Few Maryland fans thought their team would beat Michigan, even before the Terrapins lost five of their last six six coming into Saturday.

For the Wolverines, this game was just a stopgap before Michigan State and Ohio State.

It seemed destined to be another boring, easy, road win for Michigan, and save a few special-teams plays that kept it just interesting enough, that’s exactly what it was.

The Daily breaks down the good, the bad and the ugly from the Wolverines’ 38-7 win: The good Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet scored two touchdowns to bring his season total to 11, a program record for touchdowns by a true freshman.

The offense looked effective in both the running and passing game, and Michigan ran a balanced attack that had been missing earlier in the season, with 155 yards on the ground and 176 in the air. While the offense didn’t seem quite as dominant as it did against Notre Dame, the Wolverines did have a few highlight-reel plays — a 51-yard catch by Nico Collins, a 39-yard run by Tru Wilson and a 29-yard reception by Sean McKeon.

Most of all, the offense avoided any big mistakes.

Michigan didn’t turn the ball over for a second straight game, and did not fumble once for the first time all season.

coaching performances of the Harbaugh era.

There’s no reason that can’t happen again. And there’s no reason Michigan — which has gotten better as the season has gone on, particularly over the last 10 quarters — can’t finish the job this time.

Impossible as that seemed in late September, when Josh Gattis’ offense was on the brink of implosion, the Wolverines have turned things around.

The offense has found an identity, mixing in Harbaugh and offensive line coach Ed Warinner’s plays with Gattis’ looks. Senior quarterback Shea Patterson is healthy after struggling through the early part of the season. The 31 points the Wolverines’ offense

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

The Michigan football team can make its season a success by beating Michigan State and Ohio State, its biggest rivals, in the last four weeks of the year.

The good, the bad and the ugly: Maryland ARIA GERSON

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Both senior quarterback Shea Patterson and redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey — who relieved Patterson late in the third quarter — avoided a sack.

“I think collectively, as a group, we’re playing at our highest level,” Patterson said. “ ... As a group right now, we’re kind of hitting our stride.”

It was a similar sentiment to the one Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh offered up after a 10-3 win over Iowa. But this time, the statement was fully believable.

Don Brown’s unit offered more of the same, as the defense pitched a shutout (Maryland’s lone touchdown came on special teams) and finished with eight tackles for loss, four sacks and an interception.

Special teams also had three plus plays. Freshman wide receiver Giles Jackson returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Mike Barrett ran his second successful fake punt of the season and Devin Gil partially blocked a punt in the second quarter.

The bad With any blowout like this, any bad is necessarily nitpicky. But there were still several little things that the

Wolverines should continue to work on going forward.

While the defensive numbers look stellar, that unit struggled on two straight drives spanning the first and second quarters. Ultimately, they were bailed out both times — first, when senior safety Josh Metellus intercepted a pass at Michigan’s nine-yard line and then when the Terrapins drove to the Wolverines’ 11 before a tackle for loss, sack and missed field goal.

But against better teams like the Buckeyes, Michigan can’t sit around and wait for the opponent to shoot itself in the foot. Especially so early in the game, a top team would be well-equipped to take advantage of such miscues.

The offense also had a few drives that stalled, going three-and-out twice — and it would’ve been three times if not for the aforementioned fake punt — in drives that coincided with the defensive lapses early in the game. Had the Wolverines not been up 14-0 at the time, those miscues could’ve caused a lot more trouble.

The ugly Special teams giveth, special teams taketh away.

After a nice chunk pass

to McKeon put Michigan on Maryland’s 19-yard line with six seconds left in the first half, sophomore Jake Moody trotted out to attempt the field goal. He missed for the third time in the past five games. Redshirt junior Quinn Nordin, who was held out of the last two games with an undisclosed injury, handled kicking duties for the rest of the game.

While Moody’s miss opened a window to relitigate the results of the offseason kicking competition — in which Harbaugh determined the two kickers would split time — Nordin’s kick on Saturday was his first made field goal of the season in four attempts.

In another special-teams miscue, the Wolverines allowed Terrapins returner Javon Leake to take a kickoff for a touchdown of his own in the third quarter.

But when your only ugly moments come on a few special teams mishaps, that means your performance was pretty damn solid. Michigan didn’t light the world on fire Saturday, but it didn’t really need to.

Once the Wolverines took the lead on the opening kickoff, it felt like Maryland never really had a chance.

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet scored two touchdowns Saturday in Michigan’s 38-7 win over Maryland.

scored against the Terrapins felt almost lazy a week after they dropped 45 on Notre Dame.

“I think collectively as a group, we’re playing at our highest level,” Patterson said.

“There was a couple threeand-outs on the offensive side of the ball, and we kind of want to stay away from that to put our defense in better positions.

But as a group right now, we’re kind of hitting our stride.”

As for the defense, it ranks third in SP+, with few lingering questions. It’s par for the course under Don Brown.

That could all fall apart when things get real, especially against Ohio State. Last year, the Wolverines came into Columbus and looked unprepared with a Playoff berth on the line.

If that happens this year, it won’t be viewed as the same kind of disaster, because this Michigan team will be playing only for itself. The season will be a relative footnote. Everyone’s eyes will turn towards 2020.

But if Michigan can pull it off? If it can beat Michigan State and Ohio State twice in three weeks, notch Harbaugh’s first win against the Buckeyes and polish off a 10-win season that looked dead to rights after three games?

Well, then, who cares about the Playoff, or the Big Ten? Who cares about what Harbaugh hasn’t done or what the program hasn’t been? This season is the best of the Harbaugh era anyway.

That’s the chance in front of the Wolverines right now.

Our memory of this season will depend on whether they take it.

Sears can be reached at searseth@umich.edu or on Twitter @ethan_sears.

Michigan encouraged by split with IU, Iowa JACK WHITTEN Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan men’s swim and dive team was thrown into the deep end this past Saturday.

That’s not an overstatement.

Nor is it just a bad pun.

In the team’s first scored meet in over a month, the No. 6 Wolverines (3-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) were pitted against No. 5 Indiana (4-0, 2-0) and No. 23 Iowa (2-2, 0-2) in Bloomington. While Michigan came away from the meeting with a split decision – besting the Hawkeyes, 218-82, but falling to the Hoosiers, 165-135 – the stiff competition and hostile environment served as a barometer for the team’s growth and informed the unit on areas of improvement.

The Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center is notoriously packed with Hoosier fans. Being the away team at such a site, according to Michigan coach Mike Bottom, can have negative psychological effects mid-race, which can undermine months of work.

“People have the tendency to lose their focus against that type of support,” Bottom said, citing the importance of his athletes continuing to “... (do) what they want in spite of the distractions.”

The Wolverines did just that, starting the competition off with an upset win. Bottom called that victory in the 200-yard individual medley relay a real surprise.

Michigan’s quartet finished almost a second in front of the rest of

the field. Senior Miles Smalcho and junior Luiz Gustavo Borges engineered a second-half comeback with low splits in the butterfly and freestyle, respectively.

The following events saw Michigan and Indiana trading victories with consistency. Junior Ricardo Vargas won both the 1,000 and 500-yard freestyle events by a handful of seconds each. Smalcho followed up his heroics in the opening relay with a pair of wins in the individual butterfly categories.

“Indiana has been winning Big Tens for the last three years, so they’re the team to beat,” Bottom said. “(We knew) we would have to swim up to win the meet and we swam up.”

The Hoosiers pulled away in the latter half of the meet, spurred by their dominance in the freestyle and backstroke sprints. Indiana’s Mory Gould took control on the diving board, winning both the 1-meter and 3-meter performances handily.

Saturday’s final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, iced the Hoosier’s jurisdiction of the meet and showcased their depth.

Michigan’s quartet hit the pad seven seconds off the lead after being thoroughly out-stroked by two Indiana foursomes.

Despite coming up short, Bottom was impressed and heartened by the Wolverines’ performance.

“We’re really encouraged because they had all the advantage,” Bottom said, “... hometown officials, hometown fans.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan coach Mike Bottom said that Indiana’s road environment is tough.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SportsMonday

November 4, 2019 — 3B

‘M’ falls to OSU, 2-1, capping sweep Momentum swing dooms weekend MOLLY SHEA

BAILEY JOHNSON

COLUMBUS — With a little over a minute remaining in Will Lockwood’s penalty for slashing, junior forward Dakota Raabe skated the puck into the offensive zone.

He brought the puck up along the boards, but then he lost control of it. A few seconds later, the referee blew his whistle — Raabe was headed to the box for hooking and Michigan (3-4-1 overall, 0-20-0 Big Ten) was headed for a minute-long five-on-three penalty kill against No. 13 Ohio State (6-1-1 overall, 2-0-0-0 Big Ten).

In the final moments of Lockwood’s penalty, Buckeyes forward Tanner Laczynski brought the puck across the blueline.

Standing unmarked at the top of the left faceoff circle, forward Michael Gildon waited for a pass. Before the puck even arrived, Gildon was setting up for a one-time slapshot.

He beat sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann glove side, just under the crossbar.

In an instant, the Wolverines trailed the Buckeyes, 1-0, halfway through the second period. Though Gildon’s goal wasn’t what resulted in the eventual 2-1 loss Michigan suffered on Saturday night, its play through that stretch of the period offered no aid.

“I didn’t get a good look at it,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson of the call against Raabe. “I don’t know if it’s a penalty or not, but to put you two men down when you’re 200 feet from your net, I don’t know. We can’t even put ourselves in a position to take a penalty like that.”

The untimely penalties combined with poor puck management resulted in an offensive lull for the Wolverines.

They tallied just four shots on net compared to the Buckeyes’ 13 in the second period. Bad puck bounces resulted in turnovers in the Michigan defensive zone and scoring chances for Ohio State.

When the Wolverines did manage

COLUMBUS — All Jack Summers could do was stand there and watch Ohio State celebrate.

Seconds earlier, the sophomore defenseman received the puck at the blueline and tried to pass it back in to keep Michigan in the offensive zone as they looked for a go-ahead goal. But Summers whiffed on the pass, and that half-second with a loose puck was all defenseman Grant Gabriele needed to take the puck for himself.

Gabriele flew through the neutral zone as Summers desperately gave chase. A shot from the left faceoff circle went off sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann’s pad as he came high in the crease to challenge Gabriele, which left forward Tate Singleton a wide-open net.

Singleton’s wrister found the back of the net, and Mann never had a chance. Summers was a step behind Singleton, catching up to the play just a moment too late.

As the crowd at the Schottenstein Center rose to its feet, Summers turned to watch Singleton and his teammates celebrate the game-winner. He dropped his head into his hands, and his defeated body language said it all.

Not even two minutes after freshman defenseman Cam York tied the game on a highlight-reel wraparound, the Wolverines’ chance at a come-from-behind win was all but gone. It took Michigan 56 minutes to get its first tally of the night, and everyone in the building sensed that the 91 remaining seconds were too few for another comeback. “(The momentum swing is) brutal,” York said. “To work hard all game to get that one and then to give it up like that, it’s just not good. It’s frustrating for sure.”

The Buckeyes’ defense stifled the Wolverines throughout the game on Saturday. A four-shot second period left Michigan in a

Daily Sports Writer

Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Junior forward Dakota Raabe took a costly penalty on Saturday.

to clear the puck, the Buckeyes quickly regained possession and Michigan was back to playing defense.

“We’re not playing 60 total minutes of hockey,” said freshman forward Johnny Beecher. “And I think that definitely showed tonight, especially in that second period. We need to dial it in, and we need to take care of pucks.

We’re just giving up way too many opportunities in the neutral zone.

We just need to get pucks deep and get it on net.”

Headed into the third and looking to put its poor performance in the second put behind it, Michigan searched for a tying goal.

There were plenty of offensive looks and opportunities, but the Wolverines failed to capitalize on them.

As more minutes ticked from the clock, the Wolverines’ urgency increased. With just over four minutes left in the game, Raabe connected with freshman defenseman Cam York as York made a push into the offensive zone.

When the puck found York’s stick just outside the right faceoff circle, he drove towards the net.

York carried the puck behind the goal, and in one seamless motion completed a textbook wraparound to score the tying goal — and the first of his career.

“He had one in the first period,” Pearson said, “where he circled the net like that. We talked (about) if he has the opportunity to get around,

just the way their coverage is, you can come in on that backdoor. Good for Cam. He’s a heck of a hockey player and he’s gonna have many more.”

Riding their newfound wave of momentum, the Wolverines continued their offensive push into the closing minutes of the game.

Sophomore defenseman Jack Summers settled the puck off the boards at the edge of the offensive zone. Desperate to keep the play alive, Summer attempted to pass the puck — but his stick didn’t make contact with it.

Ohio State defenseman Grant Gabriele reached out for the puck, pushed it between Summers’ legs and took off on an odd-manrush down the ice. Gabriele fired a shot at Mann, who deflected it wide and right, to the stick of Tate Singleton. In a fluid motion, he slid the puck past Mann’s outstretched pad and the Buckeyes retook the lead, 2-1. In the waning moments of the game, the Wolverines’ attempts with an extra attacker didn’t yield an equalizer.

When the final buzzer rang, Michigan had been swept by its biggest rival to open the Big Ten schedule.

“The game never comes down to one play or an opportunity,” Pearson said. “I referenced the Ronnie Bell catch against Penn State. It doesn’t come to that. It’s, again, another tough bounce, another tough break, but we gotta pick each other up.”

1-0 hole after giving up a powerplay goal, and it took the majority of the third period before the Wolverines found twine.

In the moments after York’s tying goal, it looked like Michigan was going to find a way to come back and win.

Two shifts later, freshman forward Eric Ciccolini picked up a loose puck in the defensive zone and brought it into the attacking zone. He passed the puck to fifthyear forward Jacob Hayhurst who was crashing down on goaltender Tommy Nappier, but the pass went just past Hayhurst and Ohio State got going the other way.

“I liked after we tied the game,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson.

“I thought, I really did, that we were going to win this game. We had the momentum and even the next shift, we’re in their zone...”

Senior defenseman Griffin Luce got down the ice to break up a scoring chance for forward Austin Pooley, and the game settled down for a few moments.

Then the pendulum swung back the other way, and within seconds, the Buckeyes netted the game-winning goal. It was the final blow of the weekend for a team that struggled to create

chances and maintain possession of the puck — both of which came back to haunt them on the last goal.

All the momentum from York’s goal was taken out of the Wolverines with one whiff on a pass and a rebound that went out to just the right spot for Singleton to send it home.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said senior forward Will Lockwood. “You know, I think we worked really hard. It’s a big play from Yorkie, he really stepped up and made a huge play to tie it up and bounces like that are just going to happen. And you can’t always get the bounce your way and unfortunately, it went their way and ended the game there.”

After the game, Pearson was quick to point out that the game never should’ve come down to that one play off Summers. A mistake by any one player almost never decides a game, and Lockwood, the Wolverines’ captain, wanted to make sure Summers knew that.

“I just told him to forget about it,” Lockwood said. “No one on our team is going to point fingers.

If someone points fingers, they’re on the wrong team. That’s not what we do here.”

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Sophomore defenseman Jack Summers committed a key turnover Saturday.

On a roll

Buoyed by freshmen, Michigan dominates Maryland in opening round of Big Ten Tournament, setting up Rutgers clash AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan women’s soccer team pounded on the door right from the initial whistle Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, dominating Maryland in time of possession and shots on goal for the entirety of the match.

But for the first 35 minutes, the scoreboard didn’t reflect that.

Every time the Wolverines got remotely close to putting the ball in the back of the net, Terrapins goalkeeper Erin Seppi was ready — making her backline look good for Michigan’s first five shots on goal. But with the Wolverines consistently pushing the ball into the final third of the pitch, Maryland was bound to break.

With 9:31 left in the first half, forward Jayde Reviere manned a three-on-two counterattack.

Striking a curving cross from midfield over the head of two Maryland defenders, the freshman caught sophomore midfielder Meredith Haakenson in stride, who just had Seppi to beat.

Haakenson sent a hard-hit ground ball right into Seppi’s hands, but the goaltender was unable to reel it in, setting up freshman forward Danielle Wolfe for an easy follow — tacking on the first goal in a 3-0 victory for No. 3 seed Michigan (13-4-1 overall, 8-2-1 Big Ten) over the sixth-seeded Terrapins (9-7-3, 5-5-1).

“I usually play on the right side with Meredith, so I know her movement fairly well,” Reviere said. “My thing is I love to cut inside so being on the left side, I think the coaches knew that I had a little more freedom to be able to kind of mix up the opponents mind. “(Haakenson) was able to take a beautiful touch, able to take a shot on goal. It didn’t obviously result in a goal for her, but it did for (Wolfe) and at the end of the day, a goal is a goal.”

A near lock for the NCAA

Tournament, the Wolverines kicked off the postseason in style. Amassing a total of 21 shots and 13 shots on goal, they didn’t let up their intensity in the second half.

Ten minutes in, Sarah Stratigakis, the newly-crowned Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, found herself against two defenders in the box. As a result, Haakenson, the team’s leading goal-scorer, was left wide open for a clean through pass from Stratigakis. This time, Haakenson beat the goalkeeper and Michigan’s score doubled, giving it a comfortable cushion for the rest of the game.

Forward Emma Cooper scored the first goal of her junior year campaign as well.

The shutout wasn’t the only testament toward the Wolverines’ suffocating defense. Even more revealing was that Maryland didn’t

have any shots on goal and six shots total, showing that the midfielders played their part in limiting the Terrapins from breaking into the final third of the field.

“Just really happy with the clean sheet,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Klein. “We’ve had a lot of good results over the last couple of games, but just haven’t been able to get a clean sheet, so I think that today was really good for our team’s confidence moving forward.”

Michigan will have to overcome a much greater challenge next weekend in the semifinal round, traveling to New Jersey to play tournament host and No. 2 seed Rutgers, who defeated the Wolverines, 1-0, on Oct. 24.

But, with a chip on its shoulder and consistency on both sides of the ball, this team could be a tough out.

ARTHUR POTTER For The Daily

Late in a first half that had yielded open chances but no goals for the Michigan women’s soccer team, a pair of freshmen blew the game open for the Wolverines. Right back Jayde Riviere sent a cross from near midfield that caught the Maryland defense off guard and set Michigan up with a scoring opportunity.

Fellow freshman, forward Dani Wolfe, finished off the play, out-racing Maryland’s center back down the pitch and tapping the ball in off a deflection.

“The goalkeeper shifted,” Wolfe said. “And it was just a little hard work to outrun the second center back to finish that for us.”

It was this play and others made by the two freshmen that helped give Michigan a convincing 3-0 victory over the Terrapins on Sunday and a berth into the semi-finals of the Big Ten Tournament.

“They’re continuing to grow and continuing to get better within our group,” said Michigan coach Jennifer Klein.

“I think you see the confidence, I think they’re really getting to know the expectations for them as players.”

They’re continuing to grow ... within our group.

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Freshman forward Dani Wolfe scored a tap-in goal as Michigan beat Maryland, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

Wolfe has continued to impress after a stellar freshman regular season, where she earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team. She also tallied an assist in the match after coming off the bench.

“This is such a great group of girls who work so hard,” Wolfe said. “So, I just match that when I come onto the field and just work as hard as I can. As a freshman coming in, you just make the impact you can.”

Wolfe nearly scored later in the game as well, when she just barely struck wide off a pinpoint pass from Riviere — a connection that reflects the bond that the two have formed off the field, as well.

“Dani and I are very close friends outside of this environment.” Riviere said. “...

She’s like a sister to me and I think that kind of helps with the chemistry on the field. We go to the field and get some repetition together, so I think it just shows in the game.”

Riviere, for her part, played a multi-faceted role in Michigan’s gameplan. Her contributions from right back did not end up in the box-score statistics, but she managed to impact the game in all three areas of the pitch. Riviere has handled her demanding role well this season, and found herself on the Big Ten All-Freshman team with Wolfe.

“As a fullback at Michigan, the demands are that you’re an end-to-end player,” Riviere said. “You should be able to get in attack and be able to get back and defend.”

As the season has gone on, these two talented freshmen have forged a strong bond and helped each other to grow.

Their progress this season has proven invaluable to the Wolverines, and will be a boon for Michigan as it continues its postseason run.

“They’re confident, they’re relaxed,” Klein said. “And I think they’re having fun, which I think you can see when they’re on the field.”

SportsMonday

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

November 4, 2019 — 4B

Metellus at the center of shutdown

Special teams lift Wolverines in win

performance ETHAN SEARS

ARIA GERSON

Managing Sports Editor

Daily Sports Editor

COLLEGE PARK — After the ball had found Josh Metellus and landed in his hands like a soft pop-up, after he had gotten up from the pile and turned toward the sideline and after Maryland’s hope of doing something had been extinguished as much as mathematically possible in the first quarter of a football game, he let everyone know it.

He hopped around, hands clapping together, then one going to a money sign. He high-fived Brad Hawkins, then swaggered back to the bench with a helmet-tap from Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.

There was never much of a reason for the Wolverines to be anything but confident on Saturday. They came into College Park to a stadium filled with mostly their own fans and whipped the Terrapins, 38-7. Their defense was rarely tested, and that has as much to do with the simple fact that Maryland doesn’t have the talent to compete with Michigan than it does with anything else.

But as far as assessing that talent — for the season at large, and for this game — Metellus stands at the center of it all.

The senior safety finished Saturday with nine tackles, eight of them solo and two of them for loss. The Terrapins managed to string together three drives with a chance of ending in points all day, and one of them ended in that Metellus interception. “(Metellus) is one of the captains,” said senior linebacker Josh Uche. “We need that. We needed that out of him.

“It just gives the whole defense confidence.”

In a Michigan football ecosystem where the defense is rarely questioned, and in a Don Brown defense where pressure is the lynchpin of everything, it’s easy to forget the importance of a safety — a position that often exists to be the band-aid on everyone else’s mistakes.

On Saturday, it couldn’t have been more evident. In the run game, Metellus is often the “spill” player, meaning his job is to cover the edge as Michigan’s interior defenders force the running back that way. On a quarterback run Saturday, Maryland quarterback Lance Legendre was only looking at defensive end Kwity Paye.

As he tried to get the edge, there was Metellus with what Harbaugh called “a statement kind of tackle.”

It wasn’t the only one of those plays Metellus made in the run game.

Another came later in the third quarter, after Anthony McFarland hit a hole hard for a first down, with what looked like space in front of him.

“And then Josh got from point A to point B and made the tackle that, it stopped (McFarland),” Harbaugh said. “Turned him back to his goal line. ... And to have a safety come up and make that kind of play, that’s a statement in the game. That was really impressive.”

Metellus’ growth through four seasons is well-chronicled. He stayed at Michigan for his senior season when he could have gone pro and likely been drafted, choosing to instead improve his NFL draft stock and finish out his college career as a captain.

It would have been easy for him to shut down after the Wolverines got blasted in Wisconsin, and easier still to do that after a second loss at Penn State ended their College Football Playoff hopes, and all but eliminated them from Big Ten title contention.

Instead, there he was on Saturday, f lying around the field in a game that was both meaningless and all but predetermined.

“I feel like we’ve been showing up every week since that Wisconsin game,” Metellus said afterward, seated next to Harbaugh in a cramped media room. “Everybody on this team been doing what they’ve been trusted to do. And I feel like the confidence is real high, but I feel like we still got that one play mentality to keep us pushing throughout the rest of these games.”

That mentality — and keeping it through the season— has as much to do with Metellus, the senior leader on this defense, as anything else.

“That loss hurt,” Metellus said, thinking back to the Wisconsin game.

“And we came in and next Monday, we knew we had to get the job done.

“And we knew how.”

COLLEGE PARK — Giles Jackson had scored a touchdown before, back in September. But that one didn’t feel right.

Jackson ran the wrong route then, and though he caught the pass anyway — in the fourth quarter of a 52-0 blowout of Rutgers — the score was somewhat meaningless.

On Saturday, Jackson scored his second touchdown of the season in a 38-7 win over Maryland. This time, he did everything right.

He fielded the opening kickoff, darting around defenders, sprinting down the sideline and coasting into the end zone.

His teammates egged him on along the sideline, pointing and saying, “He about to take it to the crib,” according to junior wide receiver Nico Collins.

“I saw a little crease on the inside,” Jackson said. “Then, I thought I was getting close, I tried to go back out, then (redshirt junior linebacker Devin Gil) made the huge block and I cut back inside and just started running. As soon as he made that block, (I knew I was gonna score), cause I wasn’t letting the kicker tackle me. I would’ve been sick.”

Michigan has historically struggled on the road, even against lackluster opposition, even when the stadium is half-empty and full of its own fans.

There’s only so much you can do to prepare, but after the early-season debacle at Wisconsin, the Wolverines have especially emphasized one thing: starting fast.

And nothing says a team that came ready to play like putting up seven points before a single second ran off the game clock.

“That was a big emphasis coming into this game on the road,” said senior quarterback Shea Patterson. “... Kickoff kinda set the tone for the game.”

Though Michigan went up 14-0 after two offensive drives, it nearly fell victim to its other constant road woe: fading down the stretch and letting the other team back in. The Wolverines went threeand-out on their next two drives as the Terrapins found the red zone each time — and could have made it a close game if not for an interception and a missed field goal.

But just as it seemed the Wolverines were about to have their third consecutive drive without a first down, special teams came through again.

Facing fourth-and-1 from its own 27, Michigan brought out the punt team — but instead of snapping the ball to redshirt junior punter Will Hart, the Wolverines instead gave it to redshirt freshman Michael Barrett, who pushed for the first down, then dragged his tacklers 13 more yards.

On the next play, Patterson completed a 51-yard bomb to Collins to set up firstand-goal, a situation that easily led to another touchdown.

“It was fourth-and-1,” Collins said.

“So it was kind of like a, ‘Hopefully they fake it,’ and they did. When we all came back on the field, Shea trusted us and the playcall and took a shot and I came down with it.”

The fake punt was a call Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has been perfecting for weeks. A good trick play requires three things: versatile players, the right game situation and an element of surprise.

Barrett, an athletic high school quarterback turned linebacker turned special teams fiend, was the perfect man for the job, and he’d already converted a fake punt this season against Army.

Harbaugh wanted to run the play on a fourth-and-short in his own territory — check. And of course, no one expects a fake punt from a team up two scores in the second quarter.

“We thought we could get it,” Harbaugh said. “ … We took advantage of the work that we put in and I thought it was a good time to call it and it helped us win this game. The look and the element of surprise, and the way we practiced it made us confident that we’d execute.”

The play injected a dose of confidence into a team that seemed to be caught snoozing. The Wovlerines scored a touchdown three plays later. The Terrapins never threatened again.

Bad road team or not, Michigan was clearly the better team, and it likely would’ve won the game no matter what.

But with two early special teams plays, the Wolverines left no doubt who owned Maryland Stadium. Without them, an easy win would’ve looked a lot less dominant.

“We needed that, that fake punt,” said senior linebacker Josh Uche. “We needed that pretty badly. That kinda killed their momentum.”

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Freshman wide receiver Giles Jackson returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to start the game against Maryland.

Turtle snapped Defensive pressure propels Michigan past Maryland THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Editor

COLLEGE PARK — Jim Harbaugh is not one to disclose his gameplan, even after a win.

But whatever he envisioned for Saturday’s trip to 3-5 Maryland, giving up a pair of six-minute drives into the red zone before halftime wasn’t it.

Neither ultimately ended with points, thanks to a missed field goal and a Josh Metellus interception, but for 20 minutes, the Terrapins drove down the field with relative ease. It wasn’t the same explosiveness that they showed when they scored 142 points in the first two games of the season, but when you come in expecting a blowout, two long drives is enough to raise an eyebrow or two.

Michigan’s response? Two first downs and 25 yards allowed on the next six drives, buoyed by the constant defensive pressure that led the Wolverines to 38-7 win.

“The pressures, really (were the difference),” Harbaugh said. “I think that led to just about every three-and-out that I can think of, was we were making (Maryland quarterback) Josh Jackson throw it quick, throw it away or get a sack and put him in a long yardage situation.”

The pressure, though, didn’t only come after the slow start.

It took all of three snaps for Josh Uche to find himself in Maryland’s backfield, swarming Jackson and forcing a punt. Two drives later, his second sack pushed the Terrapins

out of the red zone, precipitating their missed field goal. “(Defensive coordinator Don) Brown’s just done a great job just trying to get me in as much as possible, utilize the things I’m good at, and just try to build some things around me, stuff like that,” Uche said. “For the system I’m in, he’s just trying to get me on the field as much as possible.”

Added Harbaugh: “He’s on a mission when he’s in pass rush, you just see it. And that was — the way our guys are getting to the quarterback, that was big today.”

Those sacks, as well as Metellus’

The pressures, really (were the difference). I think that led to just about every three-and-out. interception — a product of pressure from fifth-year senior defensive end Michael Danna — kept Maryland off the scoreboard when at least three points felt like an inevitability. In a heavily maizeand-blue Maryland Stadium, they kept fingernails out of mouths and maintained the pervasive sense that Saturday afternoon was a mere stepping stone to more important

games.

Still, it wasn’t what the Wolverines wanted, with every run play seemingly going for four yards and paving the way for a pair of chunk passing plays off play action.

Led by Metellus’ two tackles for losses, neither of those trends lasted long. The drive after Maryland’s missed field goal, he burst into the backfield, forcing running back Anthony McFarland into a three-yard loss.

Two plays later, the Terrapins punted for the first time in more than a quarter.

“To have a safety come up and make that kind of play, that’s a statement in the game,” Harbaugh said. “That was really impressive.”

For the rest of the game, that ability to break into Maryland’s backfield was the overwhelming trend, whether it was Metellus, sophomore linebacker Cam McGrone or sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson doing it. As a result, Jackson spent his return from an ankle injury f leeing a consistent slew of pass rushers, unable to find any sort of groove on a day where he finished 9-for-20 with 97 yards and an interception.

And at the end of the day, Michigan had its second-straight near-shutout, with Maryland’s only points coming on a kick-return touchdown.

Last week, against Notre Dame, it came thanks to the Wolverines’ speed that prevented the Fighting Irish from executing its gameplan.

This week? Just ask Harbaugh.

“The pressures were key all day.”

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Senior linebacker Josh Uche registered two sacks in Saturday’s dominant 38-7 win, part of the Wolverines’ dominant pass rush.