2020-01-27 by The Michigan Daily

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Monday, January 27, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Gut punch

SPORTSMONDAY

Isaiah Livers goes down in return from injury, and Michigan proceeds to lose a key game to Illinois at the tail end.

» Page 1B

Symposium at Ross features work of female entrepreneurs

2nd annual ‘Women Who Launch’ event highlights venture capitalists DELANEY DAHLSTROM Daily Staff Reporter

SOPHIA AFENDOULIS/Daily Students and faculty celebrate the new renovations of the LSA Building with a Homewarming Party at the LSA Building Friday afternoon.

‘Homewarming’ party welcomes student body to new LSA building

Around 1,200 celebrate new campus space for offices, resources and study IULIA DOBRIN

Daily Staff Reporter

In celebration of its opening earlier this month, the College of Literature, Science and the Arts building hosted the LSA Homewarming Party for LSA students Friday afternoon. The event, attended by about 1,200 students, featured Reggie the Campus Corgi, as well as free food and Michigan gear.

Some of the changes to the building included a new second floor with desks and conference rooms. The first floor has additional space for studying and student collaboration. LSA senior Cassidy Guros, sociology and women’s studies major, is in the LSA building often because it houses the Department of Sociology. Guros noted the differences between the building before and after it underwent renovations.

CAMPUS LIFE

Conference brings about dialogue on social issues South Asian students hope to create community, encourage positive change NEETI BHUTADA Daily Staff Reporter

About 200 people attended the South Asian Awareness Network’s “Electrify” conference at the Michigan League on Saturday to discuss pressing social issues, create innovative solutions and understand existing movements for social change in various South Asian communities. The SAAN conference consisted of a combination of small discussion sessions and speaker events. Many prominent figures fighting for social change in the South Asian community came to speak about their experiences with marginalized groups, immigration and solidarity movements. These speakers included journalist Tania Rashid, entrepreneur Ani Sanyal and Michigan State University psychiatry professor Farha Abbasi. LSA sophomore Saachi Mittal served as a facilitator at the SAAN conference by leading small-group discussions about various social issues, including ethnocentrism, colorism, sexual health stigma and barriers in cross-cultural marriages.

“(The change) is like night and day,” Guros said. “It makes me feel like I’m even more appreciated as a student because I have a space that’s dedicated to me and my studies.” LSA Dean Anne Curzan, whose office has been in the LSA building throughout the renovation, also attended the event, taking the opportunity to speak to students in a more informal setting. “We hope this space will be

a home base for LSA students,” Curzan said in an interview with The Daily. “When you ask students ‘Where is LSA?’ they will often say it’s kind of everywhere, which is true. We also wanted students to feel like there was a center, there was a home base for them to go, so this space is designed to be a center for some key resources for students.” See LSA, Page 2A

The second annual Women Who Launch symposium, held Friday morning in the Ross School of Business, focused on women working in venture capital who have founded their own successful companies. Women Who Launch is an organization founded at the Business School that focuses on equal gender representation and promoting an equitable environment at the University of Michigan, particularly for those who have moved into their own business fields. The symposium was comprised of several events with the second half of the day featuring four female venture capitalists. The first to speak was Natalie Fratto, vice president of firmwide strategy at Goldman Sachs. She also

‘U’ professors discuss impact of artificial intelligence in finance Community members ask about effect on employment, developing countries ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter

About 50 Ann Arbor residents and University of Michigan students gathered in the Ann Arbor District Library to learn about the future of artificial intelligence on Friday night. The talk, titled “Artificial Intelligence and Finance,” featured Engineering professors Rada Mihalcea and Michael Wellman, who discussed how AI will affect trading in the financial world. Mihalcea started the conversation by asking Wellman about his interest in AI and what

keeps him in the field. “Even in the 1980s, it was clear to me that the future of the world was going to be the future of intelligent machines,” Wellman said. “It was pretty inevitable that computers would eventually be able to do some of the things that people do, and maybe even do it better.” According to Wellman, the 2008 financial crisis demonstrates why AI is important when it comes to finance. He said AI would not repeat the same problems experienced a little more than a decade ago because algorithms can forego human error.

“We know what happens when a financial system does not work,” Wellman said. “In 2008, we experienced that when things don’t quite match up in the financial system, the whole economy goes for a tailspin. The financial crisis of 2008 — we lost trillions of dollars of productivity, even though there was no natural disaster, no resources were destroyed … it was just a miscoordination of decisions that people were making.” Wellman said many companies may have already started algorithmic trading, which is when an automated

trading system uses computer programs hardwired with a specific set of instructions to place a trade. During this process, decisions are made very quickly. “We talk about decisions being made in the blink of an eye,” Wellman said. “Well, the blink of an eye is 300 milliseconds, so computers can make dozens or hundreds of decisions back and forth in that time per trade and that is a key reason why it’s been inevitable that computers would take over a lot of activity because they can react to information so much faster than people can.” See AI, Page 2A

delivered a prominent TED Talk on the importance of adaptability in July 2019. Fratto is in the process of building the organization “Launch with GS,” Goldman Sachs’s $500 million investment strategy which aims to create success through diversity. “Through Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs aims to increase access to capital and facilitate connections for women, Blacks, Latinos and other diverse entrepreneurs and investors,” Fratto said. Fratto said founders should be able to stand out when describing their company and pitching it to others. “I think great founders have the ability to have an answer and get their talking points out no matter what the question is,” Fratto said.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

See BOEING, Page 2A DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily Professors Michael Wellman and Rada Mihalcea discuss the role of artificial intelligence in finance at Friday Night Al series in the Ann Arbor Downtown Library Friday evening.

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DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily A hip-hop dance performed at the Vietnamese Culture Show: Ignite Your Flame, presented by the Vietnamese Students Association, at the Power Center Saturday night.

LSA From Page 1A One of these resources is the Opportunity Hub, which returned back to its original location on the first f loor from the second f loor following renovations. Jessica St. George, information services coordinator at the Opportunity Hub, helped with the tabling and trivia game the Hub provided during the Homewarming Party. “I think it’s going to make a huge impact on how we serve

From Page 1A Mihalcea asked Wellman how the trading systems will be regulated and if they have any human involvement to make sure they adhere to the law. Wellman said though there are laws in place, there are no audit systems to make sure these systems are behaving in a legal manner. Therefore, he said algorithms may still be able to find loopholes. “Certainly in regulated areas, including markets or credit and lending, decisions made by algorithms are still subject

the community because we’re the central point in a public space now,” St. George said. “It’s going to be important for us to be very visible to students and also to learn more about what the students want and what they need as they come through and experience the new space.” According to Curzan, the theme of the event “Homewarming” came from this idea that the LSA building would serve as a home for the college moving forward. “We knew that we wanted the event to be fun and to feel really welcoming for all LSA students because we see

this as the new home for LSA students,” Curzan said. “We want students to feel like this is a home base for them, so we designed this to have games and comfort food and to make this feel like a homewarming party.” LSA freshman Regan Monnett attended the event to take advantage of some of these free giveaways. Monnett said she usually goes to the Shapiro Undergraduate Library to study, but after visiting the LSA building, that could change. “I definitely want to come back here when I have stuff to do, as a study space,” Monnett said. “I like the modern feel of

it.” In addition to going there to study, Curzan said she hoped students would also utilize the LSA building for collaboration, meeting friends and hanging out. “One of the messages that we want to send is that this is a college where we talk about really important issues and we challenge ourselves and we ask hard questions,” Curzan said. “We also celebrate the joy of doing this kind of work and the fact that we also play with ideas, so these themes of joy and play alongside rigor and challenge really matter to us.”

under the law,” Wellman said. “The laws are written under the presumption that people are making decisions. We lack, I’m afraid, thoughtfully designed audit systems and other regulatory ways ensuring that we really do understand how decisions are made.” For the remaining time, the audience asked Wellman questions. One individual asked what the future of AI will look like when it comes to people searching for jobs. Wellman said he believes people will still be able to find jobs in the market, though AI will play a larger part in trading in the future.

“The substrate of trading will be algorithmic and people will be involved in tweaking the strategies and coming up with new ideas and putting them in there,” Wellman said. “But it’s not going to ever revert back to mainly manual trading.” LSA sophomores Madison Caldwell and Reagan Miller are computer science majors with an interest in AI. Miller said he thought this event would help further his knowledge as he progresses in his academic career. “I haven’t been to one of these before, it’s definitely a first time,” he said. “We’re both sophomores so we’re kind of getting out there

right about now, especially since we are getting more into the upper-level classes. It’s cool to see some of the things that are going to be happening and impacting us in general.” Caldwell said she thought the event was especially interesting because it offered a real-world perspective on AI. “It was interesting to see it from a community perspective instead of just a classroom setting,” she said. “I feel like people bring different perspectives and some of the questions that people asked I would never have thought of.”

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BOEING From Page 1A According to Turpin, some of these projects are in coordination with NASA, adding the two organizations hope to have astronauts on the moon by 2024. “Now Boeing is taking a unique approach,” Turpin said. “Because we build the Space Launch System, we’re building so much capability into our rockets, and we’re taking five steps to learn (from our past f lights) so we can shorten our path … We want to be (on the moon in) about 2024.” Turpin also discussed the company’s mission of closing the global digital divide, noting the disparities between developed and developing

countries regarding their access to computing and information resources such as the internet. Turpin noted Boeing is making efforts to bring this kind of technology and other digital opportunities to countries that may need them. “It’s not just about communicating across transoceanic distances, but it’s about bringing the world together and closing the digital divide,” Turpin shared. Turpin said he feels passionate about Boeing’s humanitarian work because it helps people find water supplies and other life-saving resources. “Having a solar-powered terminal in regions where the internet has never existed has completely changed the

dynamic of the region,” Turpin said. “Things like where to find water, and other humanitarian needs, situations where you lost communication or infrastructure, natural disasters like in Puerto Rico. Whenever this happens around the world, this class of satellites is able to be repositioned to support services for those who need them.” Layla Allen, a student at Davis Aerospace Technical High School, said she enjoyed learning about the company from an actual employee who works there. “It was very informational,” Allen said. “I liked having someone from the actual company come and give us information because it made it seem more factual rather than

somebody just interpreting something straight from the internet.” Similarly, Engineering sophomore Edward Tang said he felt the lecture was insightful and gave him information about the future of a field he would like to pursue. “He definitely offered insight on the industry as an industry expert that’s been there for 20 years, challenges that you might face in a pretty homogenized engineering field such as aerospace and also pretty good insight on where the future of aerospace engineering, as a whole, is heading towards, which is the industry that I will be working in, in the next 20 years,” Tang said.

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Michigan in Color

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Monday, January 27, 2020 — 3A

Why I Joined MiC

Photo courtesy of the author CHERYN HONG Assistant MiC Editor

During my first semester writing for the Michigan Daily I noticed myself wanting to write more about my experience as a freshman of color. Because what I’ve realized the past several months is how much race seemingly plays a significant role in creating new relationships. Back home, even though my high school friends and I come from different religious, socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial

backgrounds, the extent of our differences never interfered with our capacity of connection and intimacy. The past several months I have been diminishing a large part of my identity. I began to forget certain Korean words because I didn’t want to speak my native tongue in front of my white peers. I started to eat less East Asian foods I craved because they were “too smelly” or “gross.” I detached myself from anything “oriental” because I didn’t want to become an Asian culture and heritage guide in social groups.

She, King AYOMIDE OKUNADE Senior MiC Editor

“I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background.” Zora Neale Hurston encompasses how I feel, because I was detaching myself from my race as it was the most salient trait people here noticed about me. I have never felt more Asian, Korean, yellow and ashamed. While I haven’t experienced blatant discrimination or racism, there are subtle moments of ignorance or stereotypes that I have been confronted with, which has made me feel alienated from my peers. I want a balance between whitewashing myself and restricting my social circles to people who look like me. I will go through life with a one-dimensional lens, however, the more I immerse myself with a diverse group of peers, the more empathetic, understanding and multi-dimensional my perspective will become. And in short, Michigan in Color combines my zeal for writing and allows me to express my racially charged stories freely, without sacrificing or completely taking over my identity. I’m using my position in this section to finally allow myself to revel in the fact that I am a proud Korean-American and exemplify how much of an impact my ethnicity and race has towards how I view myself. But more importantly, I’m using my position to learn from others: people who have both similar and different experiences of people of color against a sharp white background.

Photo courtesy of the author

As soon as I stepped into the harshly-lit, humid and everso-crowded Beirut airport, familiarity f looded my senses. Anxiety did as well, as it had ever since I boarded the plane from Rome. I was going to visit my extended family alone after completing a study abroad program in Greece, one I deliberately chose for its proximity to Lebanon. My sleepless eyes gazed through crowds of restless people trying to get home, scanning for a familiar face, until they finally settled on one — my cousin, ten years older than he was the last time I saw him. His eyes were the same kind ones I remembered, and they instantly filled me with relief. My cousin drove me through narrow, bumpy streets of Beirut, through the neighborhood that for so long existed only in fragmented memories in the back of my mind, coming to the forefront in the presence of certain smells, pictures or feelings: the

I want to learn myself. I want to learn my power of voice. I want to learn my heart, my trials, my confusions and my strength. I often shy from that which I need: self-love, affection, my own art, my own words and thoughts. When I say shy from, I mean avoid. When I say avoid, I mean run, or hide. I grew up in a space that encouraged this avoidance of self because that self was black. I had to force love upon myself, and cultural education came from nowhere but home. School meant being called a n***er in the hallway on my way to learn the benefits of French colonization. School meant defending my collar bone, my calves, my thighs, hips, and hair to the lacrosse players who joked that I belonged on the team. Isolation became a beautiful place, where I could craft my own curriculum and create my own assignments. Those took the shape of poems about my body, my heart, my people. They embraced the thoughts I wildly feared, and the fears I perpetually thought of. My journal and my laptop became a home and a school that was

Photo courtesy of the author

void of everything but me. For years that is what my writing has been: just me, alone. What I have realized is that it is okay to share. Maybe even necessary. Maybe refusing to share is why I am so scared of my work, or scared to claim a title as a ‘writer.’ Maybe I can inspire the way I am inspired.

Her voice was like shea butter, from African trees where healing grows Her skin was the bark, pushing through clay and stony soil and racism Her hair was the branches, carrying the fruit of Black resistance and hope Her words were the green leaves, growing against the drought of the Sahara, or the America, or the (mis)education which seeks to quench her message, the water upon the seed of MLK’s dream: That we would learn to live together and love one another.

A Tribute to Home

MAYA MOKH MiC Co-Managing Editor

GABRIJELA SKOKO Senior MiC Editor

smell of busy Michigan Avenue through the window of the car on a hot summer afternoon, a stack of shiny photographs at the bottom of my mom’s drawer in her room. Pieces buried deep in the recesses of my mind that I was never able to quite put together, but appreciated nonetheless. On the 2am drive to my grandma’s house where I would be staying, my cousin and I exchanged few words. I told him he had changed; he told me I had too. We exchanged questions of how the f light was and how we’ve been as I stared out the window and took in the sights- towering faded buildings, balconies decorated with clothes lines, little shops closed for the night. There was so much I wanted to say and ask him, but I couldn’t bring myself to formulate words. My heart was jumping with excitement and nerves- after not being here for so long, I worried about all that I had missed. So much had changed in the past decadeand I worried 12 days would not be enough time to catch up, to rekindle that sense of home that I used to feel in Lebanon. Even

worse, I worried that I would not be able to connect to my family anymore and that they would regard me as an outsider, because after all, I was. In the days to come, nothing would prepare me for the overwhelming feelings that I would experience — nostalgia most of all. Memories I forgot I even had were revived as old traditions were revisited. My short stay in Lebanon consisted of family gatherings every single day — a room full of aunts, uncles, cousins, all gathered in my grandmother’s house, eating on a spread of newspapers on the f loor. It consisted of sweltering heat and periodic power outages and motorcycles buzzing and card games until morning. I met new family members, as the passage of time had brought them into my life. So much had changed; we were no longer the uninhibited little kids we used to be, unaware and unbothered by the disconnect that is created by living worlds away. I was aware of every awkward pause, every forgotten Arabic word, every relative’s different life that I was so out of touch

with. But the unequivocal pull of family, the love that traverses time zones, oceans and decades, was still the same, and I imagine it always will be. In my Grandma’s spare bedroom, where my cousins and I were staying, there was a little wallet-sized picture of my mom as a teenager tucked into the side of the mirror. My mom, the youngest of 11 siblings, the first and only one to move to America after marriage, the one that left everything she knew and loved and risked it all at the tender age of 18. I felt her presence with me in Lebanon, in the way her siblings would talk about her, remarking about how much I resemble her both in physical features and mannerisms. I saw her eyes in my Teta’s, as she held my hand and recounted stories about my cousins and me so many years ago. I tried to imagine what she was like in her younger days, surrounded by family and her language and free from the bounds of stress that come with immigration. In all the old pictures, she’s always smiling big, looking carefree and happy. I wondered what her life could have or would have looked like had it taken a different course. I wondered who I would be had she stayed, had I grown up there with all of my cousins, had I never known the balancing and clashing of two identities as they fought tirelessly to reconcile their differences. But that reality is only a distant dream, and for now I choose to enjoy the nuances that come with who I am. I felt insanely lucky to be there, to have these roots, to belong somewhere that expects nothing of me except to keep it in my memory. I felt lucky and undeserving of the out-pour of love from all of my family members — the way they put all of their responsibilities on hold to make sure I had the best time I possibly could. The way they finished my sentences when I struggled to make a coherent thought in Arabic instead of dwelling on my mistake. To my aunts who invited me for breakfast and dinner every day, my grandma who spent hours making food she knew I

That is why I am here: to learn from others and myself. I am so honored to be welcomed by this team. I am so grateful to be offered this outlet of inspiration and culture and love. I want to thank Michigan in Color for accepting me, and for believing in my thoughts. I cannot wait to get to work.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

liked, my cousins who took off work to spend time with me. To the owner of the corner store a block from my grandma’s house who surprisingly still remembered me and whose eyes lit up when I walked in. The days went by fast, too fast. It was time to pack my bags for a final time and make the journey home, much before I was ready to say goodbye. The drive to the airport was silent and tearful, the car overf lowing with my suitcases and my cousins who insisted on coming along, and in true Arab fashion we stayed hugging in the airport much longer than

we needed to. People wonder how you can be so connected to a place you are so geographically far away from, how you can feel so strongly for people you see once every decade if you’re lucky, how you hold on to a language that seems to fall apart in your mouth. I don’t know how to describe it, other than that home never really leaves you. While I left feeling incomplete, I also felt a piece of me come back that I never even knew I missed; now I’m counting down the days until I can go back home again.

MAYA MOKH/Daily An alley outside the author’s Grandmother’s building in Beirut, Lebanon. Kids gathered and played in the lot at the end of the alley every day.

Opinion

4A — Monday, January 27, 2020

RYAN BEGININ | COLUMN

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FROM THE DAILY

Iran conflict reveals underlying foreign policy frustrations

ears-long tensions between the United States and Iran peaked three weeks ago when the U.S. assassinated the leader of Iran’s military, Major General Qassem Soleimani, in the wake of increased conf licts, including violent protests outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. The Iranian general’s death disturbed the Middle Eastern and Western world as allies scrambled to prepare for a likely counterattack. Iran responded four days later, sending a barrage of missiles at two U.S. military bases. The attack was rather minor as there were no deaths — though some soldiers were injured. The next day, Iran’s military — allegedly mistakenly — shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board.

Though the situation seems to have died down, there is still uncertainty over the future of the conf lict. Many worry the situation in Iran will become America’s next Iraq or Afghanistan, an asymmetric war with no clear end in sight. As students mostly born between 1998 and 2001, our country has been at war for longer than we can remember. The only legacy we know has been a foreign policy of escalating violence in the Middle East, a policy we as The Michigan Daily Editorial Board do not feel represents our generation’s values. President Donald Trump’s administration has been unclear as to why the assassination occurred. The Department of Defense’s justification has been ambiguous, convoluted and contradictory. Initially, sources from the Pentagon to the White House said the U.S. targeted Soleimani because he was planning an imminent attack on U.S. embassies in the Middle East. Later, Trump declared it was retribution for the killing of a U.S. contractor in an Iraqi airbase and the protest at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Conf licting accounts raise questions of how these decisions are being made. The lack of clear reasoning behind the strikes calls into question their necessity and the legitimacy of an administration that is not transparent in its decision-making process. Foreign policy decisions are supposed to be tightly vetted and challenged through research and deliberation. Staffers will usually present the president with a number of options to respond with. In this case, Trump chose the most extreme. This change in precedent is due to the startling lack of experience in the executive branch. A majority of Trump’s war cabinet has been in office for less than a year, and 88 positions in the executive branch, such as Secretary of the Navy, remained unfilled. The lack of transparency on this issue is worrying, especially to our generation, because we feel that those in charge are out of touch with what we want. The morning after the attacks, people f looded social

media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with memes and jokes about the night’s events. Nervous that this was one of the most severe escalations of violence in our conscious lives, young people initially panicked about everything from an attack on American soil to being drafted in a potential World War III, with tweets circulating like @ jadenonfirree’s viral “When you realize #WWIII is the first meme of 2020 and it might be the last.” These jokes died down over the next couple of days as Iran, understanding that a war with the U.S. is not in its best interests, stepped back from the conf lict.

It is important for Americans to keep things in perspective. Nevertheless, our generation’s confusion at the prospect of war with Iran reveals that we are unaware of the actual impact that a war would have on U.S. citizens. Discussions and demonstrations on campus against these extended military conf licts coupled with relatively little change over the past couple years justifies our concern that these situations could reasonably escalate into a larger war. Moreover, the Trump administration’s erratic approach toward Iran — they called off an airstrike in the eleventh hour last year — makes it harder for both countries to broker a peace deal and for our allies to count on our commitment to them. Given that most young Americans are physically removed from the scene of the conf lict in the Middle East, our nervous jokes and memes ref lect a detachment from the consequences of a war with Iran. We could at least take comfort in knowing that most of us would not be directly affected by such a conf lict. However, this scare was much more extreme for Iranians. They would almost surely bear the brunt of any prolonged

conf lict, just as Iraq has for theirs. An estimated 200,000 Iraqi civilians have died since the start of the Iraq War, and a war with Iran would likely also yield a great many casualties. In comparison, only 4,419 American soldiers and 13 Department of Defense civilians were killed in the Iraq War, revealing the disproportionate effects American interventionism has on foreign nations. While young people in the U.S. responded to the events through memes, the effects were much more concrete for Iranians, who had to confront the terrifying proposition of their country being bombed and attacked. It is important for Americans to keep things in perspective, and understand that the people with the most to lose in a war are not our compatriots, but rather Iranians who did not ask to be put in this situation. While the conf lict with Iran ultimately did not escalate after Soleimani’s killing, it is undeniable that it could have worsened drastically. The strike was ordered by a rogue administration acting without the knowledge or consent of the legislative branch, a move that undermines the principles at the core of the U.S.’s political system. As Americans, students and supporters of our democracy, we demand more transparency from our executive branch. Our government is elected to serve the people and should act rationally with the aim of keeping us out of unpopular, dangerous military situations. Additionally, being largely removed from the direct conf lict, University of Michigan students must work to contextualize their response to the threat of war and have more empathy for those who would have been most gravely affected by this conf lict. Lastly, if we want change in our foreign policy, we must take action to enact it. We urge students to strive for increased political engagement, especially in light of the upcoming 2020 elections. Oppose unnecessary military action against Iran, call for transparency from the executive branch and encourage awareness on U.S. military actions in the Middle East.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. 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.

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Music and maturing

hat do we do to pass time while studying alone? The answer is almost always music. Music is more accessible and portable now than ever before, a fact made clear by the widespread use of headphones and speakers in restaurants. I can’t help but notice others walking around flaunting their AirPods or other earpieces. We have access to free music platforms through apps such as Spotify, Apple Music or Google Play Music. We have millions of choices of what we listen to regarding musicians, genre or playlists. The artists we listen to have a huge impact on our fashion, slang and decisions. As a teen immersed in pop culture, I can admit that I am heavily influenced by the artists I follow daily. Not long ago you could find me spending hundreds on GOLF le FLEUR* by Tyler, the Creator. I tune in to this artist’s music so frequently, it’s hard not to support him and try to replicate his style. Yet, he didn’t solely influence my fashion sense. I discovered over time that Tyler is the reason I’m not settling for anything less than what I deserve concerning my future. He preaches individuality and loving what you do regardless of what others think. Even if I’m interested in things others deem “lame,” I still do it with pride because I find comfort in it, such as writing as a form of therapy.

Tyler’s line in the track “FIND YOUR WINGS”, one of his most concise yet melodic songs, “Supposed to fly and take control cause you’re the pilot / You can’t swim, you’re gonna drown, the sharks are comin’” helped make me realize that I shouldn’t put myself in a place I don’t belong. This is especially relevant to my social life and academics, as I choose friends wisely and haven’t rushed myself in choosing a major. Since I discovered Tyler in high school, I promised to be who I really am, even if it strays from the status quo. For example, I don’t act “cool” to fit in – contradicting my former self. Instead, I found a group that makes me feel at home and comfortable with being my eccentric self. Tyler preaches this through not only his music, but his lifestyle. His art had an impact on my life greater than just material goods. This is not the case for all people impacted by artists, however. Specific types of music, mainly due to the lyrics, can expose impressionable youth to toxic cultures. Lyrics like those of rap artists XXXTENTACION or recently deceased Juice WRLD can popularize the abuse of drugs and alcohol. These artists can have an influence on listeners’ lives to the same, or greater, degree as parents. Song lyrics can lead an impressionable audience to believe it’s “cool” to live the way the artists live. Youth

are still developing and still capable of being manipulated and molded into what they say “inspires” them. It’s no surprise to hear lyrics containing drug references in the rap scene. For example, artists Juice WRLD and Lil Peep regularly reference drugs like Xanax, Percocet and marijuana. As consumers listen and become obsessed with these lyrics, they are more likely to experiment with drugs. Rap music is not only rising in popularity, but it is also extremely prevalent in teen culture. This means drug culture is also present and popular among the youth. The last thing we need is the youth asking themselves “If I want to be cool, then I have to smoke weed and drink liquor, right?” As rap continues to grow and the newest hits promote toxicity like substance abuse, teens will face the decision to succumb or abstain. Nowadays, the influence of musicians such as X and Juice WRLD play a pivotal role in shaping the moral character of the youth, whether it is through the power of lyrics or the overall message encapsulated in their art. Each has their own culture. Today’s teens and future generations, therefore, need to find respectable role models who can help them become who they’d like to be. Ryan Beginin can be reached at rbeginin@umich.edu.

OWEN STECCO | COLUMN

A lack of visibility perpetuated by the debates

n a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls, it’s easy for the candidates to get lost and go unnoticed by voters, so we turn to the debates. Each of the debates has brought up hot-topic issues such as healthcare, foreign policy and electability, but has left LGBTQ+ issues largely untouched. The absence of questions and substantive policy stances leaves LGBTQ+ voters underrepresented and often unacknowledged by a party they widely support. With seven Democratic debates under our belts, only one featured a question pertaining to LGBTQ+ issues. The question posed during the December debate pertained to the disproportionate killings of transgender people of color. The progressives, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., were given the opportunity to respond before the topic shifted to Afghanistan. I applaud the question, but the lack of attention regarding the health and safety of LGBTQ+ Americans across seven debates highlights a bigger issue in the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has long benefited from its diverse coalition, especially in the most recent elections with voter support from people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. NBC’s 2018 exit polling showed that 82 percent of LGBTQ+ individuals voted Democrat, second only to Black voters with 90 percent support. So why do the debates lack questions regarding the marginalized communities that propel them into office? Put simply, the Democrats are targeting and attempting to appeal to independents, and in the process taking advantage of the communities they rely on. This sense of reliability and comfort with LGBTQ+identifying individuals has manifested in the lack of attention shown on the national stage. LGBTQ+ voters have not been prioritized, let alone recognized, by candidates in past election cycles. But with burgeoning visibility and

representation in office, it’s past due for acknowledgement. Though there was a rare forum dedicated to LGBTQ+ issues back in September, it gathered less than 60,000 views on YouTube as it lacked the national attention and recognition the debates hold. The forum does not compare to the 18 million and 15 million viewers, respectively, that tuned into the first round of record-breaking debates. In addition, the town hall format of the forum did not provide candidates any time to actually debate the plans and policies they preached. The policies and stances that candidates hold on LGBTQ+ issues deserve national attention, not just niche forums.

LGBTQ+ voters have not been prioritized, let alone recognized. Most Americans do not know the policy issues that impact LGBTQ+ individuals, because it does not affect them directly. While this is somewhat understandable, the debates serve as a platform for voters to learn about different policy points and where they stand on these issues. Furthermore, Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that 80 percent of Americans wrongfully believe that there are federal employment protections in place for LGBTQ+ individuals. This lack of understanding stems from the relative invisibility that the LGBTQ+ community endures in the media, government and often our day-to-day lives. While the general LGBTQ+ population is relatively small, the issues that plag ue the community were not solved with the legalization of same-sex marriage in

2015. In fact, the issues of healthcare, homelessness and equal treatment in the workplace affect the LGBTQ+ community greater than the general population. Currently, nearly one-third of the transgender population lives in poverty, 52 percent of LGBTQ+ individuals live in a state without employment protections and 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ+identif ying. The Democratic nominee will be tasked with representing the LGBTQ+ individuals that make up their electorate. Despite the challenges facing visibility and the general conversation about LGBTQ+ issues, it is important to highlight that many of the candidates have included LGBTQ+ people in some broader responses throughout the debates. In the most recent debate, Warren closed by highlighting what the candidates did not have the chance to discuss, which included the issues plag uing the transgender community. Candidates, like Warren, should be prompted to discuss these policy issues in a structured setting, rather than in buried plans on websites and via namedropping during responses. The perpetual lack of visibility and protection for us LGBTQ+ individuals expresses to voters that our priorities are not being championed by the party we largely rely on. In an election that is crucial for the trajectory of LGBTQ+ rights in the face of Preident Donald Trump’s administration’s anti-LGBTQ + agenda, the Democratic Party must introduce LGBTQ+ policy issues to the debate stage and shine a light on one of its most reliable voting groups. This need for debate and conversation applies to all marginalized communities that feel largely underrepresented by a party that claims to champion the inclusion of all. Owen Stecco can be reached at ostecco@umich.edu.

JOIN EDITBOARD Interested in sharing your opinion on current events and University affairs? Come to our Editorial Board meetings from 7:15 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. each Monday and Wednesday in the newsroom (420 Maynard St.).

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Monday, January 27, 2020 — 5A

BOOK REVIEW

ALBUM REVIEW

Novel set amid Armenian genocide cheapens itself TATE LEFRENIER For the Daily

CAPITOL RECORDS

Halsey’s deep cuts are a letdown on new release GIGI CIULLA

Daily Arts Writer

2015’s era of bright, sideswept hair and Tumblr edginess is embodied in one famous figure: Halsey. Rising to extreme stardom with the release of her fantastical debut album, BADLANDS, she became a voice that many angsty teenagers clung to. Her music created an alternate reality, BADLANDS existing as a fake universe for teenage fans to get lost in. Her distinctive, almost warbling vocals have garnered both praise and criticism, especially since she has become more “mainstream.” In 2017, her album hopeless fountain youth channeled more of the radio-hit sound that she had avoided earlier in her career. Many fans started to lose interest, mostly since hopeless fountain youth was an album that attempted to maintain that “alternate universe” aura but didn’t have that unique sound that many attributed to Halsey. With her 2020 release, Manic, Halsey has ditched the mystical, imaginative concepts for a much more raw and grounded album. The songs sound hardly like anything you could find on her early releases. The album is chock full of ballads and deep-cuts, the majority of songs devoid of the heavily electronified instrumentals that reigned on BADLANDS. In a sense, the

album is a maturation of the singer’s first album which she wrote when she was 19. Now 25, Halsey has had more than half a decade of experience in the spotlight and the music industry in general, all of which is evident on Manic. While the subject matter and the actual sound of each individual song shows a lot of growth, the album as a whole doesn’t quite

Maniac Halsey Capitol Records

hit the mark. Unfortunately, the album falls short through its lack of unity. Songs like “Without You”, (a single obviously written for radio play) and “I HATE EVERYBODY” just seem so remarkably out of place among the songs that actually tell a story. The presence of these uber-pop, very shallow songs automatically discredits

so much of what was really well-done on the record. These types of tracks would have worked on the singer’s earlier work, as the entire feel of those albums benefited from some bouncy, easy-listening songs. Manic’s purpose, from Halsey’s own words, is meant to be a personal record, channeling the real person behind Halsey: Ashley Frangipane. While her attempts to do this are clear, the execution isn’t exactly successful. There are snippets of passion and intentful songwriting. Highlights like “Finally// beautiful stranger” and “929” show a side of her that the world hasn’t seen before — significantly more introspective than her older work, these tracks sound like Halsey’s personal confessions. Since her 2015 album, she has been in two high-profile relationships, one with rapper G-Eazy and another with Yungblud. Many of the slower songs show the real side of these relationships as well as their endings. It’s the first time Halsey seems to have dealt with these topics with a great sense of maturity. An album like this, while f lawed and a bit all over the place, bodes well for Halsey’s future career. Across her discography, her intellectual growth is evident to anyone listening. Manic may not be Halsey’s apex, but it certainly shows a big step in the right direction.

“The Gimmicks” is set against the backdrop of the Armenian genocide; it follows the journey of two inseparable friends — brothers, really — who embark on two wildly different paths. One brother, the reclusive and, frankly, onedimensional Ruben, is obsessed with righting the wrongs of the Turkish denial of the genocide, and joins the guerilla-terrorist organization The Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA). The other brother, the massive, unibrowed and personable Avo, leaves for America to try to help Ruben before he recognizes his toxicity, deciding then to pursue a short professional wrestling career to try to get back to his teenage sweetheart, Mina, in Armenia. However, the central plot revolves around what happens between the years that Avo leaves for America in the late ‘70s and the 1989 search that Avo’s former wrestling manager, Terry Krill, embarks on a journey to find Avo after losing contact with him in 1980. It soon becomes apparent that no one has heard anything of Avo’s whereabouts for years, and the novel’s focus is to fill in the intervening years of Avo’s life, slowly unraveling the truth of what happened, why he left and where he is now. Using this framework, McCormick crafts alluring characters, paints a heartwrenchingly vivid portrait of the scars that history can leave and questions the different ways we can express our national identities. The passages dealing with these elements and ideas exemplify “The Gimmicks” at its most powerful. McCormick deftly establishes Avo as a sympathetic character, and by placing him at the center of an unresolved history, McCormick gives the reader the fearful anticipation and curiosity that Krill and others searching for Avo feel. The book gradually unravels the enigma surrounding a character that the reader becomes emotionally invested in, and adds excitement to the prospect of the tendrils of time frames stretching to meet each other, and thus fill in the missing history. The truth seems painfully just out of reach,

which endears the reader to the characters all the more so. In contrast to Avo, Ruben and his juxtaposition against his brother sow unease in the reader, as the truth unravels and the reader can be no more than a passive spectator to the self-destructive vortex of Ruben’s personality and radicalism. He reminds the reader of a family member who is always just out of reach, slowly drifting away and hopelessly sabotaging the lives of those in close proximity. All you can do is watch and shake your head. To this capacity, Ruben is an effective plot device. But while the book bills Ruben as a main character in its blurb, Ruben ends up being relegated to the sidelines as a sinister and abstract force that the reader might end up loathing. As effectively as McCormick uses

The Gimmicks Chris McCormick Harper Jan. 7, 2020

Ruben as a source of conflict and disruption, what results is an unlikeable caricature. Later in the novel, when McCormick attempts to provide insight into Ruben’s state of mind, it is too late: His role as a toxic influence was solidified early on, and whatever kinship Avo ever felt toward Ruben becomes more elusive and confusing to the reader. In spite of Ruben, though, McCormick is still able to deliver a somber and poignant characterfocused narrative. However, he mismanages the plot resolutions, and the unfulfilling conclusions bogged this novel down. The resolution to Avo’s story arc in particular undercut the entire narrative that led up to it, mostly because there was an absence of a resolution. The reader is

A (shitty) surprise from Eminem: His new album DYLAN YONO Daily Arts Writer

The year is 2020 and Eminem is still hell-bent on retroactively tainting his musical legacy with garbage records. The last couple years have seen tasteless lyrics tinged in homophobia and sexism, immature lashouts against detractors and unrelenting negativity directed at other rappers and celebrities. On his newest record, surprise released on Jan. 17, the legendary best-selling rapper is once again victimizing himself line after unnecessarily edgy line. And predictably so. Music To be Murdered By is far more tolerable than his offensively unlistenable 2017 record Revival. Most of the instrumentation is a lot more palatable. “You Gon’ Learn” is the highlight with its jittery percussion and wavering, pitched background vocals. “Lock It Up” sounds kind of like a 14-year-old’s first trap beat cooked up on a pirated copy of FL Studio, and it’s almost endearing. Royce Da 5’9” is featured on three tracks, which means three guaranteed breaths of fresh air in which I don’t have to listen to Eminem whining. When it comes down to it though, most of the usual

modern era Marshall Mathers missteps are in full effect. I did a little chuckle and sigh when I saw Ed Sheeran and Skylar Grey on the tracklist — oh, Eminem, will you ever learn? — But I could not stop laughing through album opener “Premonition - Intro.” If someone asked me what would

Music to be Murdered By Eminem Shady/Aftermath/ Interscope Records

be the absolute worst way to open a hypothetical Eminem surprise album, I would have replied with, “An intro track where he complains about his ratings and attacks his critics.” Lo and behold. Wasting features on mediocre tracks is a violation of the hip-

hop honor code, and Eminem is in f lagrant transgression of the law. How does he sleep at night after putting hip-hop legends like Black Thought and Q-Tip on a beat as ear-grating as “Yah Yah”? I’m disappointed that Busta Rhymes’s iconic ’96 single “Woo Hah!! Got You All In Check” will now forever be associated with the awfully executed vocal sample on “Yah Yah.” But that’s not his worst offense on the tracklist. Eminem’s greatest crime was somehow convincing millions of people that the speedyquick-rappity-rap bullshit from the last minute of “Godzilla” is remotely enjoyable. How it has 50 million listens on Spotify is beyond me — syllables per second will never be a meaningful metric in assessing the quality of a song. It’s a shame because the beat has contagious concert energy and the late Juice WRLD’s hook is heat. It would be playlistable as hell if Vince Staples was rapping over it instead. Corny writing is a plague that puts the album on its deathbed. I don’t know where the idea came from that good writing is equivalent to squeezing multiple meanings into a shitty metaphor. Hip hop would be a pitiful sport if double entendres won trophies. I think when Eminem says “I’m coming after you like the letter V,” he wants

presented the fundamental facts and narrative of what happened in those missing years, but McCormick doesn’t explore what these truths actually mean, and, more importantly, why the reader should even care. Ultimately the novel ended where it began, with all of the damage, harm and conflict that was revealed over the course of the novel never being addressed, or redressed, for that matter. The journey to reaching the truth is rendered cheap, and becomes a trivial exercise in curiosity; especially telling are the conclusions reached by those trying to find Avo. For an entire book’s worth of earnest searching and uprooting of characters, the truth doesn’t end up having any significant impact, and one begins to wonder why such an effort was made to skirt around the solution to begin with, aside for the sake of narrative power. The plot ends up feeling unfinished, and the lack of satisfying closure renders the 400 pages of buildup moot. Terry Krill, whom the reader is supposed to project themselves onto as an outside party looking for answers, ends up in the same place as the reader, but somehow with even less of a resolution. While this can be an effective strategy to accentuate a story’s poignancy and bittersweetness, Krill seems content without the resolution that he spent a long and emotionally draining investigative process trying to find; this does not sit well with the reader. With such a powerful buildup, “The Gimmicks” conclusion was incredibly confusing on an emotional level. This distress I felt raised interesting questions, though. Should a book that meditates on the Armenian Genocide, extremism, obsession and history-denial have a fulfilling or satisfying ending? More importantly, isn’t the frustration and futility of the novel’s resolution emblematic of how we can do nothing to undo the atrocities of the past, aside from continuing forward? I will continue to wrestle with those questions, and as I do, though I am ultimately dissatisfied with the novel, I continue to ponder the relationships we have with history, and if “The Gimmicks” can provide insight into the nature of those relationships.

ALBUM REVIEW

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

my mind to be blown when I realize he could be referring to the order of the letters “U” and “V” in the alphabet or the titular character from “V For Vendetta.” To me, that’s the rap game equivalent of sending your Tinder match a poem where the first letter of each line spells out “SEND NUDES.” This “multiple interpretations” writing style is stale throughout the entire album, save for one creative application on the track “Darkness.” The pointof-view imperceptibly shifts between Eminem’s own inner hysteria before a concert, and the perspective of Las Vegas massacre shooter Stephen Paddock. The crestfallen piano melody is a perfectly moody backdrop that lets Eminem’s narrative take the spotlight, and the hook is Eminem’s best in years. Even the “Hello darkness, my old friend”

sample — lifted from Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” — makes for a pretty smooth motif, despite the line being memed to death thanks to Arrested Development. The track is the closest thing to a success Eminem has on the whole record, but it’s not quite there. It’s just too unsettling and off-kilter. The long-winded parallel between a nervous Eminem and a mass murderer of very recent memory leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and the audio clips of a mass shooting are discomforting even in the context of the song. The music video may end with a call to action for gun control, but the rest of the song doesn’t add up to that message. Music To Be Murdered By doubles down on Eminem’s decade-long commitment to making bad music. His childish insistence that he’s

“murdering” people with his “killer” lyrics is down-right pathetic. In a cringe-inducing Instagram post, Eminem writes to his critics, “These bars are only meant for the sharpest knives in the drawer … For the rest of you, please listen more closely next time.” Apparently if you don’t like Eminem’s new music, then this album was a big fat roast, and if you couldn’t tell that you just got #destroyed, then you’re too dumb and you just didn’t get it. His obsession with getting positive critical response to his music is at odds with his persistent wailing that his critics are unwoke and unintelligent. Don’t even get me started on Ebro’s embarrassing tweet comparing Eminem’s supposed lack of respect to being Black. Please just kill me already, because Music To Be Murdered By doesn’t live up to its title.

Arts

6A — Monday, January 27, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

TV REVIEW

UMS show depicts paths to radicalization online NATALIE KASTNER Daily Arts Writer

NETFLIX

More self-indulgence from Paltrow with ‘Goop Lab’ ANYA SOLLER Daily Arts Writer

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle/ skin-care/health product brand Goop has long been the target of jokes skewering its willful inaccessibility (see: jade egg lawsuit, shockingly overpriced products and most recently, this candle debacle). The newest Goop project, a six-episode docuseries on Netf lix continues the company’s failed attempts to induct consumers into the carefully manicured, pseudospiritual brand of capitalism. “The Goop Lab” follows the titular brand’s employees jet-setting across the globe to try the latest in alternative medicines and treatments. Intercut with footage of these firsthand experiences, Paltrow and Goop’s Chief Content Officer, Elise Loehnen, interview hand-selected experts on each episode’s main theme. Testimonials of nonGoop affiliated people also attempt to lend credibility to the methods using their personal accounts of unbridled success. Topics range from the psychotherapeutic benefits

of magic mushrooms to the quest to bring female pleasure into the mainstream to the healing power of cold water and breathing. That last one was particularly Goop-y. Apparently, snowga — the practice of doing yoga in the snow while wearing only a swimsuit — might be the next trend to sweep the nation.

The Goop Lab Season 1, Ep. 1-3 Netflix Now Streaming

On the surface, “The Goop Lab” doesn’t seem to have bad intentions. A genuine interest in bringing unconventional yet helpful treatment techniques into Western medicine is not inherently negative. Unfortunately, for Goop, authenticity does not appear to be a pressing concern. Goop

itself does not advertise any of its own products or directly attempt to profit from selling the show’s featured methods to consumers. However, the underlying assumption that Goop is in any way affiliated with the success of alternative medicine calls the program’s integrity into question. While Goop definitely pats itself on the back for showcasing how open-minded it is as a company, ironically, the emphasis on showing Goop employees trying hallucinogenic mushroom tea or taking part in genital showand-tell sessions become part of what makes “The Goop Lab” questionable. In order to show how effective these ‘East-meets-West’ treatments are, the interviewees must speak at length about personal traumas or obstacles they hope the techniques can help them overcome. By equating complete recovery of mental and physical illnesses to practices not entirely accepted by modern science, “The Goop Lab” uses these testimonials as rhetorical devices rather than truly sensitive issues.

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The internet is a vast place. Not only are there fun memes and puppy videos to grace our feeds every morning, there is the entire dark web, too. I don’t know much about the latter — I am a theater major who vehemently resents social media, instant messaging and ad-polluted shopping sites. Veering off the beaten path has never been on my radar, but playwright Javaad Alipoor is an encyclopedia of knowledge on how the internet is undermining democracy and instantaneously reshaping the world. The central storyline in Alipoor’s new play, “The Believers Are But Brothers,” follows two Muslim men residing in different parts of England and their experience of getting recruited by ISIS. I’ve found that trying to explain the complexities of their recruitment gives away the show and is far better depicted by Alipoor, so my best bet is just to implore you to go see it at the Arthur Miller Theater. The show dumped a ton of information related to the world of the dark web on the viewer without slowing down to hold anyone’s hand, so it’s no surprise that “The Believers are but Brothers” was rewarded with the largest retention of people for any Q&A I have seen at my four years at the University. While I sat in the theater, I could not shake the feeling that what Alipoor was doing was dangerous. He spoke so much truth about ISIS’ successful recruitment of young Muslims in the Western world while simultaneously depicting a

young, white supremacist who never leaves his computer screen. In doing so, he allowed the audience to realize how much damage comes from each side. Spoiler: both do an astounding amount of rallying for their respective causes online. Therefore, as Alipoor dished out fact after fact in a state that swung red in the last election, I was frightened that maybe someone who did not agree with him could be inspired to protest or even incite violence. Maybe that’s part of the show. If we are constantly attached to these devices and mediums of communication that have the potential to ensue such violence and hate, what is the difference? According to this show, the alt-right is far more advanced in digital manipulation that prompts the banding together of white supremacy groups,online hate speech and controlling elections. The left is far behind in the advancement of that sort of asset, if you can call it that. During the Q&A, American culture professor Lisa Nakamura said she believes the left underestimates the value of spectacle online that the altright has come to master. I don’t think we are supposed to be overstimulated this much. There is a part in the show near the end where Alipoor is playing Call of Duty while the whole rest of the stage is lit up in all sorts of media for a couple of minutes. I couldn’t help thinking about how monstrous it all is. Scenes jumped between direct address to the audience, Skype, Youtube and even WhatsApp. In each medium, the audience acted as an avid participant. At the beginning, Alipoor shared memes with us that any person under 30 would recognize like Pepe the Frog or

Doge. By the conclusion of the play, however, these memes were boiled down to the basic ideologies that fuel the world’s most violent groups, like white supremacists and ISIS. Memes to terrorism is a big jump, I know. I still have a plethora of questions that I want answered, but just like going down the internet rabbit hole, finding answers leads to more questions. Alipoor’s play feels a bit like going down the internet rabbit hole. At times, this made it hard to follow what train of thought he was going down. The panel afterwards was led by Alipoor, Nakamura (known for her gender videogame class) and Alexandra Stern (author of “Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the AltRight is warping the American Imagination”) and School of Information professor Clifford Lampe. All four had fascinating insights into how the internet is shaping humanity. When asked if we are just looking too closely at the internet by blaming it for the evils of the world, the panel acknowledged the sentiment, but Alipoor restated that there are worlds being destroyed because of the technology. “There is a way that we as humans, for better or for worse, are able to communicate that we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of yet,”Alipoor said. It’s exciting and frightening to think of what happens past the internet. We have the history of mankind at our fingertips, the ability to overthrow governments or create blackweb armies that can be just a few clicks away, so what happens next? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go scroll through Facebook to shake off all this internet anxiety.

SUDOKU

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Release Date: Monday, January 27, 2020

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

ACROSS 1 Tibetan monks 6 Rise up against authority 11 U.S. interstate, e.g. 14 Grind, as teeth 15 Amazon Echo Dot’s voice service 16 West end? 17 *Mystery/soap (1956-’84) that ultimately dropped “The” from its title 19 Pilot-licensing org. 20 “Grrr!” is one 21 Understood by a select few 23 Garden shed tool 24 Smidge 26 Give in 27 Light-circling insects 29 Send out 32 “Got it” 33 Start, as of symptoms 34 John Brown’s eulogist Stephen Vincent __ 36 “If only __ listened” 37 *One of the four Seven Sisters magazines that are still in print 40 H.S. equivalency test 43 Hopscotch 44 Sonnet line quintet 48 Chrysler Building architect William Van ___ 50 Campus official 51 Longest river in France 52 As found 54 Cartoon frame 56 Prefix with gender 57 Christmas saint 60 Quarterfinalists’ count 62 Suffix with alp 63 *Televised panelist shown from the shoulders up 66 Opposite of oui 67 Under-the-roof room 68 Prefix for sun 69 Clock-setting std. 70 Sierra __, Africa 71 Prom attendees

DOWN 1 Tee size: Abbr. 2 “... et cetera” 3 Fridge stickers 4 On the briny 5 *Infielder typically between second and third 6 Campaigned 7 Nobelist Wiesel 8 Pleads 9 Urged strongly 10 Barista’s creation 11 Browser update button 12 New employee 13 Passed, as a bill 18 Miami’s st. 22 Yale student 23 Med. care plan 25 Campaign face-off 28 Use an axe on 30 High-IQ group 31 Simpatico (like Justin Timberlake’s band?) 35 Rear warning lamp, and what can go with the end of each answer to a starred clue

38 Soften, as one’s voice level 39 Ex-NBA star Ming 40 Opposite of losing, weightwise 41 Weatherchanging currents 42 Climber’s downward journey 45 “Glee” star Lea __

46 Great __: London’s island 47 French possessive 49 Medical research org. 53 Bottom line 55 Dusk, in poetry 58 Choral part 59 Organ that may itch 61 Indian butter 64 __ cream soda 65 Spanish two

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SportsMonday Monday, January 27, 2020 The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com

ILLINOIS 64 | MICHIGAN 62

Isaiah Livers and the fate of the Michigan men’s basketball team JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Editor Isaiah Livers shouldn’t have been in the game. In fact, for over half of it, he wasn’t. But despite suffering another injury in the second half, the Michigan men’s basketball team knew who it needed on the floor. The Wolverines were down by two points to Illinois with half a second and one chance, maybe, to pry a victory away from the Illini (15-5 overall, 7-2 Big Ten). A victory they desperately needed for both their record and confidence. After all, this was supposed to be the one. Livers was back. After initially suffering a groin injury on Dec. 21 against Presbyterian, Livers missed six games and the remaining Wolverines lost four of those. Simply put, they were in freefall, and Livers was to be the massive inflatable mattress to catch their fall. But freshman wing Franz Wagner fumbled the pass. The clock drained out allowing the red LED lights to flash and obnoxious buzzer to sound and signal another bruising loss for Michigan (11-8, 2-6), 64-62. Frustrated, saddened and perhaps a bit defeated, sophomore guard David DeJulius then sauntered over to Livers and spoke a few words to him that were rattling around his mind all game. “Thank you,” DeJulius said to Livers. “We appreciate you. We’re gonna have your back because we know you’re gonna have ours.” To the fans, Livers’ injury perhaps just represents a b ro ke n sea-

son. To the team, his injury represents a broken spirit. Livers is a core component of this basketball team and is often pegged as perpetually placing the team’s needs and desires before his own. After all, Livers is the guy who asked coach Juwan Howard to come back into the game to make the last-second inbounds pass after reinjuring his groin. He just wants to win. Perhaps that’s what got DeJulius so emotional. “It just took the air out of us,” DeJulius said, holding back tears. “When you know got somebody who care about the game, and he’s a better person than he is a basketball player, to see him go down again is unfortunate.” The circumstances of Livers’ second injury make sense the more you think about it. Did the injury occur during a freak instance where Livers was away from the action? Of course not. Early in the second half, Livers caught the ball in transition and rose for a monstrous dunk. The noise level grew in anticipation of the ferocious slam, but it never came. Livers was fouled by Illinois guard Da’Monte Williams and landed awkwardly. Running away from the basket, Livers

grabbed his left groin area to an audible groan from the crowd. The savior was bruised. It didn’t help that Livers was also playing great basketball. Aside from just being this amorphous force that could come back and resuscitate a struggling offense, Livers entered the game and played valuable minutes, ending the game with a team-leading plus-minus rating of three. While Livers — along with the rest of the team — started the first half a bit slow, he really showed what he brings to the program in the second. The junior secured his fifth rebound early, shoring up defense in the post and bringing energy to the boards. Then, with 17 minutes left to play, he caught the ball from senior guard Zavier Simpson, elevated and buried a 3-pointer to thunder-

ous applause from Crisler Center. He would finish with seven points and five boards. The forward was back, and he was cooking. The shot was a momentum play, giving Michigan its first lead since early in the first half. Then, disaster struck. “When he went down, all of us were in tears for the guy,” DeJulius said. “We know how bad he wants to be out there for his brothers. That was tough for us to see that and then go out there and compete still.” Now with Livers’ timetable for return unclear, the rest of the team has to stare down the monumental task of winning basketball game without No. 2. A task they’ve faced — and failed atww — before. On top of that, they have to elevate their teammate who’s undoubtedly frustrated with his situation. “Because you worry about how he doin mentally,” DeJulius said. “If we take a loss without him, that’s it, but I just want my brother to be in a position where he’s happy and in a comfortable place,

and I know he’s in a dark place right now, and it’s just our job to pick him up.” With the support of his teammates and coaching staff, Livers will undoubtedly make as speedy a recovery as possible, hoping that the team doesn’t continue to bleed out while he’s gone. Because if they do, the next time the name Isaiah Livers is announced to roaring applause at Crisler Center, the games might start to matter less and less.

Olivia Cell / Daily | Design by Jack Silberman

SportsMonday

2B — January 27, 2020

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Emoni experience M aybe some who pulled up to the Lincoln High School parking lot that night knew what they were getting into, but I sure did not. I was there — like most — to see Emoni Bates. Bates is the top prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, according to, well, everyone. Most recruiting analysts, including MAX ESPN’s Paul MARCOVITCH Biancardi, tab Bates as the best prep player in the nation, regardless of class. As a freshman, Bates averaged over 28 points and 10 rebounds and led Lincoln to the State Title. His face subsequently plastered Sports Illustrated with the headline “Magic, Michael, LeBron, … Emoni?” He was 15 at the time. In August, an ESPN article compiling the opinions of over a dozen prep basketball experts ranked Bates, now 15, tied for the third best prospect since LeBron — behind Kevin Durant and Greg Oden, and tied with Derrick Rose. The article quotes an anonymous scout: “He has a chance to be ahead of LeBron (James). I’ve never seen a better freshman.” I had not parked myself on those rigid bleachers with any intention to be an arbiter of his legitimacy. That ship has long sailed. I just wanted to see it. And yet, perhaps cynically, my default expectation was disappointment. In this Hoop Mixtape-ified era, when every highlight video is edited and flawlessly quaffed to only display the good, hype can be a dangerous drug. There’s a reason LeBron remains the only player of this ilk to truly live up

to the hype; it’s really hard. Then, as anyone with any mild interest in the sport must do, I watched him play basketball. I watched him rise from 25-plus feet; I watched him drive the lane, knifing through four flailing help defenders; I watched him slam alley-oops and toss no-look passes; I watched him handle the ball with dizzying speed and yoyolike control. And let me tell you: There’s not an ounce of hyperbole in these anonymous quotes and over-filtered Overtime videos. His shot is aesthetically the closest thing anyone’s ever come to recreating that of Durant. In warmups, he widens his stride, loads his lanky arms and shoots with a silky smooth release. Few even bother to touch rim. Bates — at 6-foot9 — can get that same shot with the same motion off over anyone. But then the game starts, and the true wonders of his game begin to come to life. Off the tip, Bates grabs the ball, sprints down the court with haste, shakes his defender with a few crossovers and takes a long 3-pointer. It clanks rim. Instead of sulking or relaxing on defense, he keeps that maniacal energy all game. There are no questions about his “motor” or concerns that he “drifts” or other euphemisms to express disinterest. He is here. And he wants to snatch your soul. He first hits one 3-pointer. Then another. Then he rises for an alley-oop dunk and unleashes a scream upon landing. Every trip down the court is a minievent. Will he dribble straight into a pull-up? Will he try to make his defender fall? Will he

put his head down and get to the rim? Then, as he dances around the arc, controlling his defender’s ankles like a puppeteer, Bates steps back and drains another three. I can’t help but stand up. It was like a churchgoer compelled from his seat, not by free will, but by the spiritual force of some divine entity. He had 19 points after the first quarter. Nobody seemed surprised. Everyone (opposing players and fans aside) was rollicking in joy. It was purely human, instinctive shock. A 16-year-old simply should not be that good at basketball. He goes on to score 40 points of his team’s 67. You get the feeling he could’ve scored all 67 if he wanted. Rumors, as they do, are flying about Bates’ future. Some have entertained the possibility that he reclassifies to the 2021 class to presumably play at Michigan State for a year. The thinking, simply, is that it’s unimaginable this kid will want to play four years of high school basketball. It’s easy to see why. It’s also an open secret that when they negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the NBA will end the “one-anddone” rule, perhaps in time for Bates to turn professional right away. The future may be uncertain. But the present is undeniable. If you, like me, are late to the party: The next great basketball player just happens to live in Ypsilanti. Go see him play.

He has a chance to be ahead of LeBron.

Marcovitch can be reached at maxmarco@umich.edu or on Twitter @Max_Marcovitch.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Three good things: Honoring Chip

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

The Michigan women’s gymnastics team honored Chip Hills during its meet on Friday night against Rutgers.

ABBIE TELGENHOF Daily Sports Writer

Three good things. It’s the motto Chip Hills used while he was living through pancreatic cancer. It’s the motto he wrote so much about in his letter to the Michigan women’s gymnastics team. It’s the motto the team has come to live by. Chip Hills was the dad of former Michigan gymnast Cailee Hills. In 2015, the Wolverines began the Flip for Chip meet. A way to honor Chip and his love for Michigan gymnastics, but also to remind people that sometimes it’s about more than just gymnastics. “I think it’s just awesome to come out here and just know that our gymnastics can reach so many different people,” freshman Sierra Brooks said. “And there’s always bigger things going on in people’s lives than what it seems like.” Three good things was Chip’s motto not only through his cancer treatment, but also throughout life. It was customary for the Hillsfamily to sit down at dinner and each say three good things that happened in their day. And the motto extended far beyond the Hill’s family dinner table. “Honestly, it’s just something that we say in the gym all the time, and it can apply to so many different circumstances,” Brooks said. “It just tells us to put our struggles in perspective and get

through the hard things even when it doesn’t seem like it. “ While there were mutliple positives resulting from the Wolverines’ Friday night meet against Rutgers, 197.300 to 192.950, the Daily breaks down three that stood out. Sophomore Natalie Wojcik’s beam routine The crowd in Crisler Center erupted as Natalie Wojcik flipped off the beam, sticking the landing of her dismount. She posted a score of 9.950, the highest of the night. Wojcik was the NCAA Champion on beam last year, and despite a bit of a slower start this year, she broke through the wall on Friday. “She really came out tonight and showed what she’s capable of doing,” Michigan coach Bev Plocki said. “Hopefully, this will give her more confidence to continue to perform at this level.” Freshman Sierra Brooks’ allaround performance Despite her young age, Brooks has continued to dominate each event, at every meet. Last week, she was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week. On Friday night, she continued to put that stellar reputation to the test. She competed all-around — which is a feat in itself for a freshman. Staying consistent through all four events, she posted scores all above 9.800, with a 9.900 on beam. “Overall I’m pretty happy with

my performance,” Brooks said. “It just comes down to fixing the small things, working on things for the future, but cohesively I’m just pretty happy with how I did.” Team competition As the Wolverines continue the high-level competition they’re known for, it could be hard to improve, but Michigan showed it was possible on Friday night by increasing their team score by six-tenths of a point from their recent meet against Illinois. Such improvement is due to their focus to detail. “I think this meet went really well,” said Wojcik. “We’ve been working on improving things week to week and I think we’re starting to really get there.” On Thursday, the day before the meet, the Wolverines’ entire focus was on detail. In a floor drill they call shoot-out, the focus was on making eye contact with the audience during a floor routine. For Michigan its about more than the skills, its about the performance, the show and the crowd. This fine attention to detail continues to add to the Wolverines’ point total. And part of focusing on the audience means remembering people like Chip. In an opening video, the Wolverines highlighted the importance of Friday’s meet. “This time we compete to honor someone. ... This time we flip for Chip.”

The Scarlet W Michigan blows by Rutgers, 71-57, in first game since Kayla Robbins’ ACL tear BRENDAN ROOSE Daily Sports Writer

The expectations for the Wolverines entering Sunday’s game against Rutgers weren’t all that high. The Michigan women’s basketball team (13-6 overall, 4-4 Big Ten) had lost three of its last four contests, and Sunday was its first full game without senior forward Kayla Robbins, who tore her ACL a week prior. Even more, it was going up against a Rutgers team (15-4, 5-3) that sat just outside the top 25. Yet the Wolverines seemed unfazed — even without Robbins. They hit tough shots. They forced turnovers. And they dealt the Scarlet Knights their fourth loss, burying them, 71-57. “We know and understand that nobody is gonna be Kayla Robbins. Nobody in the country can be Kayla Robbins,” sophomore forward Naz Hillmon said. “We’re not gonna try to be. But somebody needs to take on the little things she did. One person can get a couple more rebounds, get a couple more points, get a couple more steals.” From the start, the Wolverines’ offense did just that, captained by senior guard Akienreh Johnson. She notched seven points and two rebounds in the first quarter alone, leading Michigan to a 20-13 lead entering the second quarter. Johnson finished the first half with 15 points and three rebounds. On the other end, Rutgers’ offense was a disaster. A backcourt violation just three seconds after the opening tip set the tone for the Scarlet Knights, who turned the ball over an astounding 15 times in the first half alone. On top of Rutgers’ sloppy play, a good chunk of its turnovers came thanks to a new-look 2-3 zone from the Wolverines defense. Featuring

a three-big lineup — with Hillmon, junior forward Hailey Brown and freshman center Izabel Varejão all down low — the zone caught the Scarlet Knights by surprise and forced them into errors. “We wanted to get the ball out of their ball handlers’ hands, something that a lot of teams do to us,” Hillmon said. “We wanted to make them as uncomfortable as possible and make other people make decisions. Their two ball handlers create a lot for themselves as well as others. We were really just trying to make somebody else take the shots and handle the ball the way that teams try to pressure us into doing.” Visibly frustrated, Rutgers’ defense committed a large number of fouls and opened the door for more Wolverines to step up. Sophomore guard Amy Dilk did just that, sinking all five of her first-half free throws. She remained consistent on offense throughout the game, dishing the ball to her teammates for a respectable five assists. As the game wore on, the Scarlet Knights buried their own comeback hopes with repeated errors. Though they cleaned up the turnovers — they committed just two in the second half — they couldn’t make any of the shots needed to make a comeback, shooting a poor 36.1 percent in the second half. They were even worse on free throws, going an abysmal 5-for-13 from the line in the second half. Meanwhile, Michigan’s offense continued to roll. Spurred by her electric first half, Johnson added another nine points on a perfect 4-of4 shooting in the second half. She finished with 11 rebounds and a career-high 24 points —

the first double-double of her career. Hillmon also notched a double-double, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds. “I think (Johnson) played her heart out,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I thought she had energy to the ball, I thought she had a motor to the ball, she was everywhere. I didn’t realize how much she scored offensively but I knew she rebounded the heck out of the ball. She’s kind of letting the game come to her, she’s not pressing, and she’s really playing with a lot of confidence right now.” The Wolverines entered this game with a lot of question marks. They had already been struggling against quality teams before Robbins’ injury. The season isn’t over, and questions still remain. But Michigan showed on Sunday that, despite its recent struggles, it can still compete with the Big Ten’s best teams — even without Kayla Robbins.

I think (Johnson) played her heart out.

KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer

When senior forward Kayla Robbins went down with a seasonending ACL injury last week, it was clear who the Michigan women’s basketball team needed to step up — Akienreh Johnson. The senior guard came into the season expected to be what Robbins was — the scoring compliment to sophomore forward Naz Hillmon, the player that opened up the inside for Hillmon and, when Hillmon had an off night, the leader that carried the Wolverines to a victory. In Sunday’s 71-57 victory over Rutgers, Johnson was all of those things for Michigan and more. She scored a career-high 24 points with 11 rebounds, her first ever double-double. No matter what the Scarlet Knights tried, she breezed through their defense. “You don’t have to run a play for her, but she’s going to go get the offensive rebound or she’s going to make the right read, the right cut, the right slash to get the ball,” Hillmon said. “Like (Johnson) said, the ball finds energy, and I think (Johnson) does a really good job of that and I think coach (Kim Barnes Arico) knows that. That’s why she

puts her on the opposite side, so she can slash, she can cut.” Even after a couple of missed layups under the rim to start the game, Johnson nailed the team’s first field goal after slipping through the defense and catching an inbound pass, immediately going up for the shot. It was the start of a big night for Johnson, giving her the confidence and energy to continue to make those slashes and cuts Robbins normally would. “I just get the ball and like I said with my steals, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds and once I get those, I start feeling my shots,” Johnson said. “We didn’t really change anything for me, but I think my teammates started to look for me more that I started scoring more.” Atop the 3-point arc late in the first quarter, Johnson stared down a defense that left her alone. She made a motion towards the basket as if to shoot, and, when the defense didn’t move, she accepted their dare. “In practice, I’ve been working a lot on my outside threat and slashing in the midpoint and working on my threes,” Johnson said. “So when I caught the ball, nobody came to me, and I gave

EMMA MATI/Daily

Senior guard Akienreh Johnson scored a career-high 24 points on Sunday as Michigan picked up a win over Rutgers.

them a second, nobody came to me again. I was like well, any basketball player in the world will shoot this shot, and if I miss it (Hillmon) and (junior forward Hailey Brown) are down there to get the rebounds, so I just shot it and it went in.” That 3-pointer set the stage for a very different look in the third quarter, when Rutgers’ defense was suffocating, and it seemed like maybe, just maybe, the game wasn’t over. Barely getting the ball out of the corner, three quick passes traveled the entire front court in a fraction of a second, where Johnson waited. The result, a quick 3-pointer, showed the Scarlet Knights the game was, in fact, over. And, in the first quarter, Johnson turned the tables in a completely different way. The game was still tight and neither team had hit its stride offensively, and Johnson sparked a huge momentum boost for the Wolverines. After junior forward Hailey Brown hit a three to take their first lead of the game, Rutgers came down looking for an answer. Johnson, though, had other ideas. Intercepting a pass and running down the court on a fast break, side-by-side with sophomore guard Amy Dilk, Johnson fed Dilk in behind the defense, who fought through contact for the layup and an and-one. Déjà vu struck Rutgers ten minutes later when Johnson did the exact same thing — only this time, she took the layup and the and-one herself. Her defense fed her offense, again. “I think a couple years ago, when she first came back (from injury), she was able to defend, and then she came back and she was moving without the ball so exceptionally well,” Barnes Arico said. “Then she was rebounding. Then she was scoring. “Now as a senior, I think she has put all of those things together, and has been really healthy and playing with a lot of confidence, and her mental part of the game has been at the highest level it’s ever been.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SportsMonday

January 27, 2020 — 3B

A different perspective for volunteer assistant coach Matt Hunwick TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

When the second intermission at the Great Lakes Invitational ended, the coaches walked across the ice and to their places behind the bench. But there was something different about the sight of them, gripping along the glass as they trotted. There was a new face, or at least a new face in that role and that place. Matt Hunwick, a former Michigan hockey captain who was hired as a volunteer assistant specializing in defensemen this year, came out alongside the regular coaching lineup. It was the first time all year he had coached from behind the bench. Normally, Wolverine coaches Kris Mayotte, Bill Muckalt and Mel Pearson occupied that space, while he would watch from the press box level — floors above. But at Little Caesars Arena, for one period, he stood behind the players. And he didn’t like it. Or at least, that’s what he initially thought after his first experience there. “I thought I preferred being up top versus that first experience,” Hunwick said Saturday, after a 4-1 exhibition loss for Michigan. “But tonight, I really did enjoy being on the bench. I think it was good. I liked, you know, that I can talk to players and kind of read the game from a different perspective being close.” Up top, it was easier for him to see systematic things — like forechecks, opposing game plans, different faceoffs. Sitting behind the bench offers an angle where those aspects are hard to see. Players standing up — impeding a coach’s vision. Bending over necks to watch a play. Up top he could see it all. Down on the bench, however, his perspective changes — in more ways than just vision. He now had a direct line of communication, a read for a

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Volunteer assistant coach Matt Hunwick sat behind Michigan’s bench on Saturday, a familiar perspective to when he played for the Wolverines from 2003-07.

game similar to a player’s — a view he was used to. It was a better feel for him. *** With Muckalt and Mayotte traveling for recruiting, Pearson turned to Hunwick to fill their spots on the bench against the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP). It wasn’t the first time Pearson turned to Hunwick with a role in mind. At the end of summer, after it became clear that a neck injury would keep Hunwick from playing in the NHL this season, Pearson brought up the idea of coming back to Michigan. Hunwick had done it many times before, in the summertime, just looking to work out or skate around. He loved his time in Ann Arbor and liked to stay around the program. But this time, Pearson proposed, he should come back

as a coach. “I never really envisioned anything in a formal capacity,” Hunwick said. But Pearson offered, and he considered. When Mayotte was hired as the penalty kill and goaltender specialist mid-August, Steve Shield’s volunteer role as a goaltending coach become repetitive. So the team phased him into a player development role, leaving the volunteer role vacant. Pearson wanted someone who could coach defensemen. Had Hunwick’s neck injury allowed him to play the 2019-2020 season in the NHL, Pearson would have had to find another defensemen to fill that role. “It was kind of hinged on my ability to play this season and if I was going to go back to Buffalo.” Hunwick said. “And

unfortunately (or) fortunately, however we want to look at it, my neck didn’t get better. So I’m here. “This is a great kind of transition, out of playing but still, you know, still involved in the game daily and on the ice, just not quite as intense as it was maybe a year ago. Hunwick was only a few months removed from being a professional player with the possibility of returning to the ice — the Buffalo Sabers had placed him on injured reserve. He was 12 years removed from being a Michigan player — a four-year skater who captained the team his senior year. And he was 16 years removed from being a USNTDP player — a drafted prospect excited to face the Wolverines. While he had never coached formally, former Michigan coach

Red Berenson asked him to be an instructor at his summer camps multiple times — in addition to having helped out at USA and USNTDP hockey schools. Through his experiences on all levels, and his recency of playing, he had a perspective of the game the other players or coaches might not have — the players especially. “I certainly (am able to relate to them),” Hunwick said. “There’s a million things going on with kids that move away from home for the first time. So knowing that experience and having lived it, I think it helps me kind of relate and understand what they’re going through. “Some stuff, you know, I’ve had a good idea of and maybe even the coaches haven’t had exposure to it just because the NHL game the pro game has changed. So just being able to

bring those here to these guys.” His players will ask him all sorts of questions. Sometimes about the speed and style of the game at the next level. Sometimes about specifics in a game. And it’s easier to answer when he’s right behind them, standing by their side during a match. “They’ll ask specific questions, different plays, how you want to do stuff,” Hunwick said. “And if I see stuff, I try and point it out right away.” Coaching has been an aspect of hockey that Hunwick found to be a joy. “I was excited just to be able to come back and give back,” he said. And he’s given plenty back. Sharing his knowledge and experience with the players and watching them grow has been the biggest thing for him. The steady improvement in whatever area he could help in has been fun for him to watch. *** He’s pondered if he wants to continue the experience or not. Regardless, he thought learning the ins-and-outs of the job were necessary to do so — therefore experiencing every aspect. He wants to make an informed decision, and coaching would require getting behind the bench at some point, so he used Saturday’s USNTDP game as an opportunity to do so. From up top, things seem easier. “You guys probably think you can go out there and do it,” Hunwick said. “It looks simple. But speed picks up as you get close to the game and being on the bench and being able to handle the bench, the pairs, and making sure your guys do all the things, that’s what it’s all about.” So he took his place next to Pearson, with a different but familiar perspective. “That’s what I did for all the years growing up, just a couple feet behind where I used to sit.”

Wolverines fall, 4-1, to USNTDP in exhibition Close wins propel ‘M’ to national tourney bid MEN’S TENNIS

ROHAN KUMAR Daily Sports Writer

Staying focused in a competition that has no stakes is often difficult. It’s hard to hold yourself accountable from start to finish when you know there will be no repercussions. And Saturday night at Yost Ice Arena, that seemed to be a key factor as a previously redhot Michigan hockey team fell, 4-1, in an exhibition against the U.S. National Team Development Program (NTDP) U18 team. “I think from start to finish we didn’t play how we need to,” freshman forward Johnny Beecher said. “We came out pretty slow, I don’t think the guys were into the game as much as we needed to be. To be honest, it looked like we did two months ago. It’s unacceptable, we need a good week of practice this week to get ready for Ohio State.” It was a game in which both sides played effortlessly. Only that one side made things look easy while the other didn’t fully commit. The contest counted for points in the USHL — the league the NTDP plays in — while it meant nothing to the Wolverines. For Michigan, that turned out to be a recipe for disaster. That disparity in motivation is something volunteer assistant coach Matt Hunwick can relate to. Hunwick played for the NTDP and before a four-year playing career at Michigan, so he has been on both sides of an affair like tonight. Such a track record forms a unique perspective. “As a player at USA, you are so excited to play in that game against Michigan, against any college team really,” Hunwick said. “And then you get to Michigan, that’s a little bit different because you’ve already done it. You’re on the other side. Maybe the juice isn’t quite as much as it would be for the USA kids, but you can see how much scale and speed, and how hard they played.” The NTDP got called for interference less than three minutes into the game, giving the Wolverines’ power play an opportunity to display the growth it has made throughout this season.

But instead, quite the opposite happened for Michigan (10-11-3 overall). Soon after the ensuing faceoff, freshman defenseman Cam York lost possession in the offensive zone, and that turnover proved to be deadly. Forward Thomas Bordeleau immediately skated diagonally across the ice, while forward Landon Slaggert joined the rush. Sophomore defenseman Nick Blankenburg tried to stop the twoon-one, but came up short. At the last second, Bordeleau sent the puck to Slaggert who then sent it through sophomore goaltender Strauss Mann from the right side for the first goal of the night. Such a play was uncharacteristic of the defense, which has yet to give up a shorthanded goal in a normal game. The remainder of that opening power play was unsuccessful for the Wolverines. “They were ready to play and we weren’t,” senior forward Nick Pastujov said. “I think that was apparent from the start. Giving up a shorthanded goal and then just the flow of the game, we obviously weren’t as invested and they were. Showed up in the score.” Michigan’s defense struggled to steal the puck early on. The NTDP maintained possession well in the opening period and moved it around quickly. The effort did damage to the Wolverines. “Their team’s good,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “Credit to them, they worked hard, they played hard. I saw them Monday, they were really good. So much so that my wife said, ‘They pass the puck a lot better than your team,’ and they did tonight for the most part. Good team. “Good lesson for our team. Real good lesson on preparation and how you can never underestimate or take a night off unless you want to get beat. Doesn’t matter who you play.” Midway through the first period, forward Ty Smilanic dove near the boards to pass the puck to defenseman Tyler Kleven who then took a shot from the blue line. Forward Hunter Strand got into the crease to help channel the puck into the net, and thus Michigan

AIDAN WOUTAS Daily Sports Writer

KELSEY PEASE/Daily

Forward Johnny Beecher called Saturday’s loss to the NTDP a wake-up call.

found itself down two goals early. For the second frame, senior goaltender Hayden Lavigne entered the game in place of Mann. Just like in the first period, the Wolverines got another power play in the opening minutes of the second. This time, Michigan made better use of the man advantage than the first attempt and actually created scoring opportunities. Regardless, the offense came up empty handed once again. For Pearson, the lackluster performance was emblematic of a poor week of preparation. “We didn’t lose this game,” Pearson said. “We lost starting Monday. We were not very good in practice all week, so bad to the point I told them to stay away from the rink on Friday, so we didn’t practice yesterday. We were just mentally, physically — not everybody, but a majority of the guys, you could tell — you have a feel in practice of the intensity, the attention to detail, the focus, the work ethic, the compete, the execution, we were sloppy.” One of the Wolverines’ key scoring chances of the game came while the second period was still fresh. The puck had been jammed up near the NTDP’s goal post but Michigan ultimately got

the better angle, and soon after, redshirt sophomore forward Emil Öhrwall found the puck at the crease with nobody between him and goaltender Drew Commesso. Öhrwall immediately took the shot, but Commesso moved just in time to prevent the buzzer from sounding. With just over nine minutes to go in the game, the NTDP regained possession of the puck in their defensive zone and went rushing down the ice. Soon, forward Luke Tuch rifled the puck past Lavigne. And in the final few minutes of the game, the Wolverines deficit widened when forward Smilanic found the back of the net one final time for his side. In the last sixty seconds, Beecher fired a shot from the slot to finally get his team on the board. But it was too little, too late, and nobody needs to explain that to the freshman. “I think this was a wake up call,” Beecher said of the loss. “Like coach said in the locker room, we almost needed this. It was a little slap in the face to us, nobody wants to go out and get beat by high school kids. We know that what we just did was wrong, and I’m sure the guys will be battling all week and trying to get better.”

It was getting late in Champaign as Michigan’s last match against Ole Miss went to a third-set tiebreaker. With the teams tied at three, the Wolverines’ bid to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship hung in the balance. A lightning-fast serve and mistakes from the Rebels’ Finn Reynolds helped propel freshman Ondrej Styler, and with him the Michigan men’s tennis team (4-1), to a 4-3 victory Saturday night. Michigan’s 2-0 weekend at the ITA Kickoff — also featuring a similarly close 4-3 victory over Texas Tech on Friday — earned them a bid to next month’s tournament in Madison. “For a freshman to play under that pressure, knowing going to the national tournament was on the line, was incredible,” Michigan coach Adam Steinberg said. “In 30 years I don’t think I’ve ever seen that, with it tied up three-all like we had.” Friday’s match against the Red Raiders also ended dramatically, with senior Nick Beaty and Texas Tech’s Francisco Vittar set to break the 3-3 tie going into the final singles match. Beaty, who remains undefeated in singles play so far, prevailed on the match point in the third set after initially trailing. Beaty’s performance in singles play, alongside undefeated junior Mattias Siimar, was an important factor in the Wolverines’ weekend success. On Saturday, the pair’s respective matches gave Michigan an early 3-0 lead before Ole Miss beat

sophomores Andrew Fenty and Ryan Fu to narrow the margin. “(Beaty and Siimar) are our two lefties and they’ve been playing great tennis,” Steinberg said. “For them to get us on the board like that, get us three quickly was very important and it took a lot of pressure off the other guys.” Michigan, as it did last weekend against Washington and Oregon, showcased its ability to fight for the doubles point in both of the weekend’s matches. The duo of juniors Harrison Brown and Kristofer Siimar alongside senior Connor Johnston and Styler were dominant over the Red Raiders and the Rebels to secure the point. “We all play for each other and it really shows in the doubles,” Steinberg said. “You know, it’s just one set and it’s tense but that’s when we shine. “We’re not going to achieve our goals without that doubles point; some think it’s just one point but when you play these really good teams, it comes down to that one point like it did this weekend.” Despite their successes under Steinberg’s coaching, the Wolverines before now failed to reach his objective of qualifying for the ITA tournament. After consistent success in the spring season, he views it as the natural next step. “It’s a huge moment for our program,” Steinberg said. “It’s something we’d really set as a goal, to check that box. To play in that tournament is special and how they did it was pretty incredible, so it was a lot of fun to see their faces afterwards in the locker room. They deserve it and have competed incredibly in the past few weeks.”

It’s something we’d really set as a goal, to check that box.

SportsMonday

4B — January 27, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Missed free throws doom ‘M’ late

‘M’ falls, 6462, to Illinois CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer

Ayo Dosunmu called game. Despite being hounded by Zavier Simpson, the Illinois guard, with ice in his veins, rose up over Michigan’s shorter senior point guard and drained the go-ahead jumper from the elbow with just 0.5 seconds on the clock. “That last play was guarded as well as you could possibly guard it,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “It was a really good player making a really hard shot. The one thing Ayo has at 6-foot-5 is the ability to get it over smaller guards so we just chose him to let it go.” Just moments earlier, a much-needed victory over the Fighting Illini was within the Wolverines’ reach. But, after missing five consecutive free throws, the Michigan men’s basketball team (11-8 overall, 2-6 Big Ten) provided Illinois (15-5, 7-2) with the only lifeline it needed, ultimately losing its fourth straight game, 64-62, and suffering a blow with junior forward Isaiah Livers leaving the game with another injury. Spurred on by the return of Livers, who had missed six straight games with a groin injury, the Wolverines got off to a hot start — something they’ve failed to do of late. Illinois’ offense wouldn’t be contained for long. Its backcourt — one of the best in the conference — of Trent Frazier and Ayo Dosunmu led the way, killing the Wolverines with their outside shooting. Frazier knocked down two deep 3-pointers to quell Michigan’s energy, while Dosunmu’s mid-range game and slashing drives to the bucket were equally potent. The pair, which combined for 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting in the first half, launched the Illini into an eight-point lead by the 7:58 mark of the first half. Poor shooting plagued the Wolverines during that stretch, and Michigan went scoreless over a four-minute stretch. With their momentum interrupted and their backs against the wall, Michigan’s veterans responded. Teske, Livers and Simpson sprung to life late in the half, getting to the basket at every opportunity. In classic Simpson fashion, after lulling his defender to sleep at the top of the key, he bulldozed his way into the paint on multiple occasions, either drawing a foul or finishing the layup. Simpson polished off the first half with nine points in the final three minutes. And yet, despite the Wolverines’ best efforts, Illinois had an answer on the other end and entered the locker room up 34-30. Michigan exploded out of the locker room. After Cockburn, who was scoreless in the first twenty, converted a layup over Teske, Simpson and the Wolverines’ offense went to work. Orchestrating the offense to perfection, Simpson found Livers on the wing for a wide-open three. Freshman forward Franz Wagner also chipped in with two and-one layups. Michigan’s positive spurt to open the half was promptly halted five minutes in when Illinois’ Da’Monte Williams fouled Livers hard on a dunk attempt. The junior landed awkwardly, seemingly re-injuring his groin. After hitting both free-throws, he limped back to the bench and a hush fell over the Wolverine faithful. “Unfortunately for Isaiah, he went out with his injury,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said, noting Livers is day-to-day. “We pray that he comes back healthy. His effort out there today was great. The energy from the crowd just shows how much he’s a huge part of this team’s success.” Over the next few minutes, the Illini capitalized on the vapid atmosphere. As was the case all afternoon, Dosunmu proved to be Michigan’s kryptonite defensively. On consecutive possessions, Dosunmu pulled up from beyond the arc and hit a stepback jumper from the wing. “(Dosunmu) has been playing some good basketball these last few games,” Howard said. “He’s a very crafty player and does a really good job getting to his left hand and finishing in traffic. He’s also really good at getting to his pull-up jumper.” And, as was the case all afternoon, the Wolverines fought back. They were able to get stops defensively, forcing Cockburn to take some tough shots in the paint. Michigan regained the lead when Teske drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 6:35 remaining. For every basket Dosunmu added to his final total of 27 points, the Wolverines collectively responded. Sophomore guard David DeJulius even gave Michigan a slender, two-point advantage after hitting a contested three from 30-feet. From there, though, things unraveled for the Wolverines. Despite holding Cockburn to just five points and three rebounds, containing Trent Frazier in the second-half, outrebounding the Illini and committing just two turnovers, Michigan let the game slip when it could least afford to. “We tried everything. I don’t think anybody can tell us that we didn’t play hard today,” Wagner said. “It just didn’t happen again. Free throws and a couple defensive lapses cost us. It’s tough.”

ABBY SNYDER

Daily Sports Writer

OLIVIA CELL/Daily

Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu scored the game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left over Zavier Simpson, giving his team a decisive two-point lead.

A-oh no

Inside Ayo Dosunmu’s game-winner DANIEL DASH

Daily Sports Writer

Brad Underwood’s conference with his assistants was short. With 24 seconds left in a tie game against the Michigan men’s basketball team, the Illinois coach and his staff huddled just a few feet from the Fighting Illini bench during a timeout. His players looked on as the staff devised a final play call. “It wasn’t a very long discussion amongst the coaches,” Underwood said. “… We just chose to let (sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu) go.” The call was simple. Underwood isolated Dosunmu — his best scorer — at the top of the key. No screens, off-ball motion or gimmicks of any kind. He wanted Dosunmu to have as much space as possible. Straight one-on-one basketball. Dosunmu’s only instruction was to begin his drive with six seconds left on the clock. On the Wolverines’ side, senior point guard Zavier Simpson was tasked with stopping him. The very player who’s been lauded time and time again for his perimeter defense. The name that’s become synonymous with a pitbull mentality and relentless determination. It was Big Ten basketball at its finest. The intensity in the moment, the implications of the outcome and, most importantly, the sheer will to win. Dosunmu began inching closer when the clock struck six seconds, as Underwood directed. He drove left, planted his right foot at the free throw line and stopped on a dime. But when he tried to get a shot off, Simpson was in his face. He looked up and saw two seconds

showing on the backboard clock. He brought his left foot across his body to create space, but it didn’t do much. And with barely enough room to breathe, the 6-foot-5 Dosunmu elevated over the 6-foot-0 Simpson and rattled home a game-winning jump shot to push No. 21 Illinois past Michigan, 64-62. “It’s what great players do,” Underwood said. “That last play was guarded as well as you could possibly guard it, and there was just a really good player making a really hard shot.” The Fighting Illini knew exactly

It’s what great players do. That last play was guarded as well as you could possibly guard. what they wanted to do with the last possession. The Wolverines, on the other hand, did not. When a reporter asked Michigan coach Juwan Howard if he expected Dosunmu to be isolated, Howard began his answer before the reporter could finish the question. “No I did not, I did not expect that at all,” Howard said. “I expected some type of wrinkle or high ball screen.” That wrinkle never came. Instead, Dosunmu delivered his 26th and 27th points of the afternoon. With it, he became the fourth opposing player to set a new

career-high against the Wolverines this season, joining Iowa’s Luka Garza, Purdue’s Trevion Williams and Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu. “(Dosunmu) does a really good job of getting to his right hand and finishing in traffic,” Howard said. “He’s also good with the pull-up jumper. They run some ball screens with him, and he’s very crafty in using the ball screen. It just so happened today — every player has it in sports — sometimes, you’re going to have a great night. He had a great night.” Added sophomore guard David DeJulius: “(Dosunmu) is a long guard, very crafty. He can shoot the ball off the dribble, off the set shot, able to get in the lane and create for himself and his teammates. He’s a really good player. He has a lot of options to his game and it’s hard to stop.” It wasn’t a matter of Dosunmu catching fire at certain points. Michigan didn’t have an answer at any point in the game, as he scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting. He entered Saturday shooting 28.6% from beyond the arc before sinking two of his three 3-point attempts against the Wolverines. “Basketball is about a rhythm thing,” DeJulius said. “They put a lot of confidence in him and put the ball in his hands the whole game and we kind of let him find a groove early. He just went with that because he had his juices flowing from the start.” By the end of the game, Dosunmu’s rhythm was at its peak. It was only fitting for him to deliver the dagger. “When you have a close game like that,” DeJulius said, “you leave it up for grabs to let anyone get the game.” Dosunmu got the game.

OLIVIA CELL/Daily

Freshman forward Franz Wagner missed two key free throws down the stretch of Michigan’s 64-62 loss to Illinois on Saturday.

Step up to the line. Give high-fives to the guys lining up on the paint. Stretch out an arm or a quad. Catch the ball from the ref. Take a dribble, maybe two. Maybe practice a shooting motion. A buzzing crowd at the Crisler Center claps once, then goes silent, the air teeming with their anticipation. Visualize it: that perfect arc; net, net, net. One more dribble. The ball goes up, and for a few tense seconds, everything on the court — everything in the arena — narrows in on nylon and iron and glass. The shot doesn’t fall. And moments later, someone in orange puts up a game-winning prayer, and this time it does fall, and it’s over. And there, in that moment as the clock winds down to zero and a collective gasp escapes the once-exuberant crowd, is defeat, yet again, taken cruelly from the jaws of a desperatelyneeded victory. In the final minutes of Michigan’s heartbreaking 64-62 loss to No. 21 Illinois at home on Saturday, the Wolverines missed five straight free throws in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the game. Five. Five missed opportunities. Five opportunities that could have, maybe should have, changed the outcome of a game Michigan could not afford to lose. Five opportunities to snap a threegame losing streak. Five opportunities to defend home court in a conference where it’s imperative to do so. And not one of them went in. “Yeah, it’s really tough right now,” freshman wing Franz Wagner said, visibly upset, after the game. “But the way our culture works is that we just stick together. We come closer together and we’ll figure it out. I like the way we fought throughout the whole game. Just gotta reward ourselves at the end.” Michigan led, 62-60, with two and a half minutes left in regulation. It was awarded three free throws after gaining that lead — free throws that, if made, would’ve made it a twopossession game. That, if made, just might have moved Saturday’s loss into the win column. At this point in the season, those are not chances that the Wolverines can afford to give up. And the team knew it. “It hurts. It hurts everyone,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “It’s just unfortunate for us, because we didn’t do a good job of making our free throws. “You come in after a game like this, when you lose it, and you see nothing but red eyes. And you know that heads are down. Everyone’s been crying. It’s awful. And it hurts you as a coach. Because I feel like I let them down. “That’s the worst feeling ever.” Michigan now sits at 11-8 overall, and a disheartening 2-6 in conference play, putting it tied with Ohio State for 10th in the Big Ten. It is far from where they pictured themselves at the beginning of the season, and even farther from where everyone saw them after their stunning run in the Bahamas two months ago. More importantly, though, it is far from where this team could be, if just a few of those opportunities had shaken out differently. March is closer than the Bahamas now. And if Michigan wants to make the NCAA Tournament — something that’s seeming more and more questionable these last few weeks — they need to start winning games like these. At 11-8, with six conference losses, the Wolverines don’t exactly have a sterling tournament resume. The emotion — the disappointment — that is inextricably linked to the realization that Michigan is not playing as well as it can is clear in the players’ faces. It was palpable in Wagner’s voice as he choked up talking about how the game slipped out of his hands to a crowd of reporters surrounding him. It’s probably not unrelated to the team’s struggles as of late. For a team — and a coach — that has preached confidence from the start, it is growing ever harder to believe, and that lack of self-assuredness has been hurting them in games lately — games they need to be winning if they want to stick around for March. “I’m not gonna lie, it’s really hard for me to stand up here right now,” Wagner said. “It’s my two free throws. Yeah, it’s really hard. That’s how basketball works, though. Obviously, you gotta be ready for those type of moments.”