CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, March 20, 2015
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ADMINISTRATION
Nonprofit founder tapped for deanship Aaron Dworkin to be next School of Music, Theatre & Dance dean SAN PHAM/Daily
S. Jack Hu, interim vice president of research, speaks about annual research funding at the University’s Board of Regents meeting at the Michigan Union Thursday.
‘U’ regents talk research, changes to North Campus Students highlight fossil fuels, sexual misconduct policy at March meeting By ALLANA AKHTAR and GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporters
Thursday’s University Board of Regents meeting included the approval of two North Cam-
pus renovation projects, seven honorary degree recipients and an update on the University’s research funding. Research report S. Jack Hu, interim executive vice president for research, delivered the annual research report, which showed that the University’s annual research funding fell to $1.3 billion in 2014 — a slight decrease from the record high $1.32 billion in fiscal year 2013. “Research is an important
mission of the University,” Hu said. “With research, we create new knowledge and understanding that enhance our educational process.” This past year, Hu reported, the University funded more than 3,500 graduate students and 1,100 undergraduate students for research projects. Though the total number of research contracts awarded increased by 4.1 percent, he added, the total dollar value of those contracts dropped by about 16 percent.
Local legislators seek to overturn marriage ban By ISOBEL FUTTER Daily Staff Reporter
Though Michigan’s samesex marriage ban is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, Democratic lawmakers have decided to take action on the issue through the legislature. On Thursday, a group of Democratic state representatives and senators introduced an array of bills on the issue, chief among them ones which would allow Michigan to become the 38th state to recognize same-sex marriages by both legalizing it and removing the state’s ban. State Rep. Jeremy Moss (D–Southfield) and State Sen. Rebekah Warren (D–Ann Arbor) sponsored legislation to repeal the state’s ban on samesex marriage. State Rep. Adam Zemke (D–Ann Arbor), State Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. (D–East Lansing) and State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D–Ann Arbor) sponsored concurrent legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. State Rep. Sam Singh (D– East Lansing) and State Rep. Robert Wittenberg (D–Oak Park) also sponsored legisla-
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tion on related issues, including marriage licenses and tax benefits. “It’s a whole package of bills, covering a wide variety of things like allowing same sex marriage and recognizing out of state marriages and more,” Wittenberg said. The legality of same-sex marriage in Michigan has shifted significantly over the past decade. In 2004, voters approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only applicable between a man and a woman. In 2012, Hazel Park residents April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse sued the state over the constitutionality of the amendment, leading to a protracted court battle that concluded in a district court ruling that the ban was unconstitutional. That decision was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which overturned the decision, finding the ban constitutional. Rowse and DeBoer are now appealing the case to the Supreme Court, which announced in January that it would take on the case. Oral arguments are scheduled for April 28. Roughly 300 same-sex couples in Michigan are currently legally married. The couples were married during a roughly 24-hour window between the District Court’s decision, and See MARRIAGE, Page 3
Daily Staff Reporter
At their monthly meeting Thursday, the University’s Board of Regents approved Aaron Dworkin, founder and president of the Detroit-based Sphinx Organization, as the new dean of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Dworkin will make history as the first Black dean of the school. Dworkin’s five-year term begins July 20. “I am tremendously honored to join this community comprised of leaders committed to scholarship and artistic excellence,” Dworkin said. “As we progress into an age which redefines the definitions of artistic pursuits, I am eager to bring my experiences and skillsets to bear as we nurture and empower a diverse student body to embody the best of our society in this new era.”
W H AT D O YO U S TA N D B Y ?
GOVERNMENT
Democratic caucus introduces bills to legalize same-sex marriage in state
Hu said the decrease in funding is due in part to the decline in federal support, which decreased 4.5 percent this year. To help curb decreasing federal sponsorship, the University has looked to other avenues to find funding, including to industries and foundations. Hu noted that nonfederal source funding was up 6.25 percent this year — a total of $124.4 million. North campus renovations The regents approved two See REGENTS, Page 3
By ALLANA AKHTAR
Dworkin was also appointed a tenured professor in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Widely regarded as one of the foremost violinists, he is also known as one of the foremost leaders of the performing arts in the world. During the course of his career, he has gained awards including the National Governors Association 2005 Distinguished Service to State Government Award, Harvard University’s Vosgerchian Teaching Award and BET’s History Makers in the Making Award. President Barack Obama selected Dworkin as his first presidential appointment to the National Council on the Arts. He is also a MacArthur Fellow and a member of the Royal Philharmonic Society in London. Recognizing the lack of minorities in the field of classical music, Dworkin created the Sphinx Organization to help reflect the diversity of orchestras in the nation. The Detroit-based organization is a national nonprofit that provides K-12 performing arts education and mentorship opportunities for minorities and students in underserved communities. It currently reaches 20,000 See DEAN, Page 3
ICE HOCKEY
Wolverines advance in Big Ten Tournament Michigan defeats Wisconsin to keep postseason hopes alive and well By JASON RUBINSTEIN Daily Sports Editor ANDREW COHEN/Daily
LSA senior Marli Siegel, the communications director of MUSIC Matters, participates in a community building event promoging SpringFest in the Diag on Thursday.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Student orgs. ask for more collaboration with CSG As election approaches, partnerships seen as area for growth By TANAZ AHMED Daily Staff Reporter
With elections for the next academic year’s Central Student Government less than a week away, The Michigan Daily spoke to a several student organizations on campus about their relationship with the body and the initiatives
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they would like CSG to focus on in the 2015-2016 school year. CSG currently has a Student Organization Outreach commission. The CSG website states the purpose of the commission is to meet with at least 10 student organizations per week. The commission is also tasked with creating monthly reports on student groups’ needs and suggestions on how to address those needs. The University’s South Asian American Network, Hillel and the Panhellenic Association responded to the Daily, and all listed increas-
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ing active collaboration with student organizations as one of their top priorities for the student assembly. Black Student Union declined to comment. The Michigan Daily was unable to reach SAPAC and MSA for comment. SAAN programming director Fatema Chamak, a Public Policy junior, said she felt it can be difficult to receive support from CSG. She said she would like to see CSG reach out to student organizations like SAAN, instead of placing the burden of reaching out on the organizations. See CSG, Page 3
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DETROIT — The Michigan hockey team lives to fight another day. Entering Thursday’s game against Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten Tour1 WISCONSIN 5 MICHIGAN nament, the Wolverines were faced with a do-or-die situation. And fortunately for Michigan, it prevailed against the Badgers for the fifth time this season, 5-1. The Wolverines struck first, when senior forward Zach Hyman put home a puck that had just rung off the iron. Freshman forward Dylan Larkin started the play, firing the puck toward the net before the puck ricocheted off of a Wisconsin player’s skate to Hyman, who put it home. Hyman’s tally was his 20th of the year, and the senior became the first Michigan hockey player to score 20 or more goals in a season since Louie Caporusso did the same in 2009-10. More notably, Hyman’s goal marked his 50th point of the season — the first Wolverine to accomplish such a feat since nowSee TOURNAMENT, Page 3A
NEWS...........................2 OPINION.......................4 ARTS............................5
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MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Campus Voices
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
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LEFT University alum Kyra Gaunt, associate lecturer at Baruch College, speaks at “Expanding the Diversity Conversation: Art, Consciousness, and Social Justice” at the Dental Building on Thursday. (Zach Moore/Daily) RIGHT Hans Hansen performs with the iMPACT Youth Percussion Ensemble at Rackham Auditorium on Thursday. (Zach Moore/Daily)
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Pedestrian in critical condition BY AMABEL KAROUB
Police are invesitgating a car crash from Wednesday morning which left a pedestrian in the hospital in critical condition. Charges have not yet been pressed.
Vietnam dispute
Film screening “Weaving WHAT: Chinese director Humanities” Hao Wu will lead a discussion following a screening of his documentary that details China’s first partnership with Broaduway, its revival of the musical “Fame.” WHO: Confucius Institute WHEN: Today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Theater
WHAT: Pierre Landry of the University of Pittsburgh will speak about land dispute resolutions in Vietnam. WHO: Center of Southeast Asian Studies WHEN: Today at 1 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building
“Idealization Musicology and subjectivism” lecture
THE WIRE
Students thank alumni donors
WHAT: Associate Prof. Dale Dorsey of the University of Kansas’ Department of Philosophy will explore what he argues is the heart of the concept of subjectivism: idealization, but not in the normal definition. WHO: Department of Philosophy WHEN: Today from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall
BY CARLY NOAH
Students participated in the annual “Hail Yeah!” campuswide philanthropy event to show gratitude for alumni donors that donated $50 or less to the University. Students could sign postcards were set up in the Union, the Diag and North Campus.
WHAT: Kofi Agawu of Princeton University will explore the complexities of African music, including rhythmi, meter, beats, periodcity, reciprocal patterns and dance. WHO: Center for World Performance Studies WHEN: Today from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. WHERE: 506 Burton Tower
WHAT: Anastasia Salter will present about the computer platform Twine, on which creators can develop text-driven games that explore deep societal issues. WHO: Digital Currents WHEN: Today at 2 p.m. WHERE: North Quad
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
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ISIS claimed that two of its members, Abu Zakariya al-Tunisi and Saber Khachnaoui, were responsible for an attack on a Tunisian museum on Wednesday, a shooting spree that killed at least 19 and wounded 20, CNN reported.
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The Michigan hockey team beat Wisconsin in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, 5-1, moving on to face Michigan State at 8 p.m. WHAT: Tenor Gran Wilson, Friday at Joe Louis Arena. who has been performing for >>FOR MORE, READ SPORTS PG. 8 four decades, will perform a guest recital. The recital is free. New Jersey Governor WHO: School of Music, Chris Christie (R) Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 3 p.m. has been accused of WHERE: Walgreen Drama misusing his authority to Center—Stamps Auditorium punish Jersey City Mayor Please report any Steven Fulop (D), for not error in the Daily supporting Christie’s to corrections@ re-election bid in 2013, The michigandaily.com. Wall Street Journal reported.
Guest recital
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
‘U’ research shows in-car Architecture school set to alcohol tests prevent crashes launch Master Class program Devices can check for intoxication before allowing vehicle to start
if the driver is under a certain blood alcohol content, or through the steering wheel using a transdermal approach that reads BAC through the skin. They are currently only mandated for use by repeated driving under the influence offenders, and do not allow the car to turn on if the driver’s blood alcohol level is over a specific percentage. The study concluded that with the devices, the United States could avoid 85 percent of alcoholrelated motor vehicle crash deaths over the 15-year period, meaning over 59,000 deaths and 1.25 million non-fatal injuries. Dr. Patrick Carter, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, led the research, and Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, professor of Emergency Medicine and Public Health, and Jonathan Rupp, Carol Flannagan and Ray Bingham of the TRI, co-authored the report. Carter said he pursued this angle of research because drunk
New effort to promote real-world experiences for students
driving is a pressing health issue. “It’s important to note that alcohol-involved motor vehicle crashes are a significant public health problem,” he said. “This would be one way of preventing a drinking driver from getting behind the wheel and causing By NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT non-fatal and fatal injuries.” By SAMIHA MATIN Daily Staff Reporter The researchers used data from Daily Staff Reporter two data sets, Fatality Analysis The combination of drinking Reporting System and the The Taubman College and driving could soon be a thing National Automotive Sampling of Architecture and Urban of the past. System’s General Estimates Planning is launching a new University researchers System, covering 2006 to 2010. type of class in the Fall 2015 from the Injury Center and FARS calculates fatalities from semester to provide students the Transportation Research every motor vehicle crash in the and professors a more immersive Institute published a study country, while NASS calculates learning environment. Thursday exploring the potential a probability sample to create a Called Master Classes, these effects of alcohol ignition interlock national ranking of crashes. new environments will consist devices if they were installed in Models extrapolated from of short professional and skillevery newly purchased vehicle in this data over a 15-year period based training workshops the United States over a 15-year allowed researchers to reach their focused on addressing period. conclusions about the devices. current problems in modern The devices, currently in The study also found that architectural design. During Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ development by the federal the 21-29 age group is the most the workshops, which focus government, can either operate vulnerable to drinking and on experiential learning and as a Breathalyzer that determines driving, and the addition of these completing experimental devices would prevent nearly projects, students will have 480,000 deaths and injuries the chance to work with both specifically within that age group. national and international “(The 21-29 age group) is really architects. EASY the hardest age group to intervene The classes will be funded with,” Carter said. “They’re through the University’s Third recently legal drinkers and they Century Initiative, which aims often get behind the wheel after to engage students in innovative drinking, but they’re the hardest educational experiences that to intervene.” extend beyond the classroom. Ignition interlock devices Ellie Abrons, Adam Fure typically cost around $400, and Andrew Holder, assistant but according to Carter, the professors at Taubman College, group’s models estimate that said they founded the project the United States would recoup to bring more relevance to the the upfront cost of the devices traditional studio classes used in savings within three years of in architecture. implementation. “The studio classes are Rupp, the TRI research very intensive, where a small associate professor, said the group of students work with research and the devices would go a single faculty member to a long way toward solving driver cultivate their own ideas into safety issues. how designs should work in a “People have been trying to building,” Holder said. “They implement safety systems in project their private visions vehicles for 50 years, and there’s about what a building should still people who are killed in like into their work. However, crashes, so addressing one major they fail to engage with © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com SUDOKU OVER EASY. portion of that, being able to contemporary issues of social reduce that, is going to have a huge See DRIVING, Page 3 Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
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and political significance.” Instead of replacing the conventional methods used in studio classes, Master Classes will continue using the techniques of intensive studies that professors have found most successful. Additionally, Master Classes will provide numerous opportunities for students to learn from experts with different perspectives. A greater number of students will participate at the workshops, which will be styled in the format of a hackathon to increase competition and teamwork between students. “Instead of students individually engaging in a project, they will now be able to work with the master practitioners to tackle issues of social significance,” he said. Holder also highlighted the efficiency of Master Classes compared to studio classes. In studio classes, students work on a single building design over the course of an entire semester or academic year. With a Master Class, the course’s key component is a three-day intensive workshop designed to embody the competitive spirit of a hack-a-thon. During the workshops, students work with visiting experts to work on a design project related to the professional’s own work. Holder said he hoped that the Master Classes would be eventually implemented in various other fields, particularly in science and medicine, which require laboratory work. “We think that the way architects work and think about problems can be applicable to such fields,” Holder said. “For now, we want the Master Classes to keep on changing and getting bigger so that we can soon incorporate these methods into other fields.” The classes will also focus
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on giving students first-hand experiences, drawing from infrastructure present around campus, Ann Arbor and Detroit. Holder said he hopes by working on real, local projects, students will better see the impact of design. “Architecture is a very social aspect,” Holder said. “Everyone is affected by it. And that’s exactly what Master Classes hope to do.” Holder said interacting with these local issues will also provide students the chance to interact with bigger architectural ideas as well. “Master Classes will bring the community and the large scale issues into the University institution,” he said. “Students can then address them as academic problems as well.” Taubman student Dustin Murphy said in an e-mail interview he is excited about the new classes, as they will provide him with numerous opportunities to work outside the studio and gain valuable experiences in the field. “The workshops will provide me with new spaces to explore my place in architectural discipline,” Murphy said. “I will able to try new things that are outside of my typical design sensibilities and discover new methods of working.” Murphy also said he hopes the workshops reach a large number of students. “The workshops encourage an interdisciplinary approach to architecture and require critical thinking that actively engages the discourse,” Murphy said. “Students should utilize this great opportunity and engage with the discipline at the level provided by the workshops. In that way, they will be able to consider their place in architecture, as well as the role of architects in the world at large.”
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REGENTS From Page 1 North Campus construction proposals. One included schematic designs for the North Campus Grove project, and granted the University authorization to award construction contracts for the renovation. The existing North Campus lawn, which spans four acres and serves as the main outdoor gathering space on North Campus, will be improved to facilitate more opportunities for outdoor events, activities and displays. University Planner Sue Gott said the project is essential in improving the North Campus atmosphere. “As you know, this is a really sacred and iconic space for North Campus located in the heart of the core,” Gott said at the meeting. The renovations will create an informal amphitheater and add a new central plaza to the lawn, as well as walkways, seating, trees and improved lighting, water and electrical infrastructure. In addition, Gott said the plan calls for a new sand volleyball court, built for both formal and informal recreation use, Wi-Fi, energy efficient lighting and a stormwater management system, which will absorb water that later moves into the Huron River. The board approved the Grove project at their meeting last April; with Thursday’s approval, the design phase will move forward. Gifts and College of Engineering resources will fund the project. The second item approved was a $13 million renovation of the North Campus Recreation Building, originally built in 1976. The project will add 18,000 square feet to the existing space — making room for a new gymnasium, spaces for cardio and group exercise and a new entry to the building. In addition, the existing racquetball courts, restrooms and locker rooms will be updated, along with electrical, heating and plumbing system upgrades. The project’s design, which has been contracted to Integrated Design Solutions in association with RDG Planning and Design, will begin immediately. The renovation is part of a larger initiative to improve the University’s unions and recreational sports facilities. In April 2013, the regents approved a $65-per-term student fee for facility renewal. The student fee, which was administered to fund renovations of the University’s unions and recreational sports facilities, will fund the NCRB renovation.
TOURNAMENT From Page 1 professional hockey player Carl Hagelin, who notched 50 points in 2009-10. “I don’t think you can overestimate how important he’s been, especially in terms of goal scoring,” said junior forward Andrew Copp. Jumping out to a quick lead is something Berenson has preached to his team all season, but it consistently failed to do so. So the Michigan coach put an even bigger emphasis on starting quickly this week, knowing that if his squad reverted back to its bad habits, there wouldn’t be another chance at redemption. And right on cue, Michigan (138-0-0 Big Ten, 21-14-0-0 overall) took control of the game from the get-go, creating the majority of the game’s scoring opportunities, while also limiting the Badgers (4-26-5-2, 2-16-3-2) to just five shots on goal in the first frame. “They’re an unbelievable team,”
DRIVING From Page 2 societal benefit,” Rupp said. For the plan to be feasible, Carter said the devices must become more advanced. “There’s potential if the technology advances far enough that the device is seamless to the driver experience,” he said. “It may not be that the first way to go for this is to mandate, it might be that maybe it’s a condition for getting a discount on your car insurance and it’s a voluntary
Honorary degree recipient The regents approved seven honorary degree recipients for the Spring 2015 Commencement, including Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig. The duo will be this year’s commencement speakers, and are the co-founders of Zingerman’s Community of Business. Zingerman’s Community of Businesses includes eight separate businesses, employs over 600 people and receives annual sales of close to $50 million. Saginaw and Weinzweig founded Zingerman’s Delicatessen in 1982 with a $20,000 bank loan. President Barack Obama famously visited the deli last year and touted the company’s commitment to responsible wages and benefits for employees. “Zingerman’s is a business that treats its workers well, and rewards honest work with honest wages,” Obama told University students in a speech advocating higher federal minimum wage last spring. “And that’s worth celebrating.” Former U.S. House Rep. John Dingell will also receive an honorary degree. Dingell is the longest-serving member of the House in history. During his tenure, he supported civil rights and progressive policies, voting for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Affordable Care Act, and chairing the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. In November 2014, Dingell earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award a U.S. citizen can win. His wife, Debbie Dingell, succeeded him when he retired from his post in January of this year. Other honorary degree recipients include award-winning journalist Robin Wright, author and economist Robert Shiller and Tadataka Yamada, former chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. “The seven individuals submitted for approval are remarkable in their achievements and impacts on our society,” University President Mark Schlissel said at the meeting.
News Dishell also spoke about further developing a student honor code, and discussed securing discounted football season ticket prices for students who qualify for financial aid. His main point, though, was to reflect upon the University’s mental health resources. “I’d like to apologize for misstating an argument I have made to this board in the past,” he said. “Previously, I had stated that there is nothing else that more Michigan students participate in than Michigan football … I now know, upon reflection and looking at data, that the single thing that affects most students, that most students go through on a day-to-day basis, is their mental well-being.” Dishell said 36 percent of students at the University have had some form of mental health counseling in the last year, and added that 21 percent still do currently. He said that the second leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 24 is suicide. “The frightening thing about this statistic is that over 15,000 of our students have sought help in the past year,” he said. “That means they are even more affected by mental health and depression day in and day out. I am one of these students. I battle with depression every day of my life … today I am winning that battle. I was able to get help, and I still do. I would not be here before you today if I hadn’t.” Dishell asked the board to examine the University’s resources, including Counseling and Psychological Services and the Depression Center, to further examine ways to fight mental health stigma.
Central Student Government report CSG President Bobby Dishell, a Public Policy senior, gave his monthly summary of CSG affairs to the regents. He explained that, after talking with University administrators, changing the Fall 2015 academic calendar so classes would end prior to Dec. 23 is not a possibility. This issue was highly contested last month, when a student group called Crush the Calendar created a petition that amassed thousands of votes in support of rescheduling classes so students wouldn’t need to travel home on Christmas Eve.
Speakers discuss divestment from fossil fuels, sexual misconduct During the meeting’s public comments section, LSA senior Katelyn Maddock, a student representative from the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, asked the board to encourage faculty to include the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy in course syllabi. Maddock said including the policy in syllabi would educate students about the sexual misconduct resources available on campus and engage faculty in the discussion about sexual assault. “We have an incredible need for language like this on campus,” Maddock said, citing the high number of sexual assaults reported on campus last year. In 2014, the University had the second highest total number of reported sexual assaults on college campuses. Citing the University’s responsibility to combat climate change, Scott Bloomberg, a third-year
said Wisconsin netminder Joel Rumpel. “But our guys battled hard. If a few bounces went our way and not theirs, it would have been a closer game, but I give them a lot of credit. They’re a very talented team.” The Wolverines wasted no time starting where they left off in the second frame. Senior defenseman Andrew Sinelli found twine for the first time this season, throwing what looked liked a pass toward Rumpel before the puck deflected off a Badger defenseman’s stick and into the net. The goal was certainly uncharacteristic for the Wisconsin senior, who Michigan coach Red Berenson called “one of the best goalies in college hockey” earlier this week. And it didn’t take long for the Wolverines to continue to make Rumpel look like just an average goalie. With just over 15 minutes remaining in the second frame, freshman defenseman Cutler Martin fired a shot from the slot that Hyman redirected for his second goal of the game.
Berenson opted to start junior goalie Steve Racine, continuing the revolving door that is the Michigan goaltending situation. Sophomore Zach Nagelvoort started the last two games for Michigan before losing the starting job Thursday. Berenson looked smart after the game, as Racine — who looked comfortable playing in Joe Louis Arena earlier this season during the Great Lakes Invitational — looked like a bona fide starter, making 28 saves. “It’s been back and forth all year between Steve Racine and Zach Nagelvoort,” Berenson said. “And I think Nagelvoort won a big game for us in East Lansing last week and then we lost the home game. I can’t tell you he lost it. But I just felt that Racine had probably the best part of his season at the GLI. “And he came in and he gave us a life against Michigan Tech and then against Michigan State in the championship game. So I thought we would start with him. But we’re not through the weekend yet. But it’s a good start for Steve and a good start for our team.”
action, or parents putting it in their teenagers’ vehicles.” Public acceptability and technological advancement appear to be the two biggest obstacles to overcome, according to the researchers. Rupp said the technology has the potential to become more socially acceptable than predicted. “There have been a lot of surveys about how socially acceptable the costs are, and I believe in one survey 40 percent of people said they’d want an alcohol interlock device in their car if it were under $500,” he said.
law student and member of the Divest and Invest Campaign, was one of three to speak on behalf of the organization. Bloomberg touted a resolution that Divest and Invest members co-authored with CSG representatives, which calls for a committee to investigate the University’s potential for divesting from oil and coal companies. He said the resolution indicated campus-wide support for the mission of Divest and Invest, and said the campaign’s success was at the very least grounds for a one-on-one private meeting with either the Board of Regents or Schlissel. “I think we’ve earned enough to be able to meet with you all as a group and I think that’s what we’d like as a next step,” Bloomberg said. “From what I understand you meet behind closed doors at least once a month before the meeting and I think we’d really like to be invited to that or be invited to give a prolonged speech here.” Members of BAMN, a group that advocates for affirmative action, integration and immigrant rights, also spoke at the meeting BAMN’s demands include calls for on-site admission programs and the “10-percent plan,” which has been adopted in Texas. Under this plan, the top 10 percent of every in-state high school graduating class is guaranteed admission to any of the state’s public institutions. LSA freshman Sandhya Medapuram — who is running to serve as a CSG representative for BAMN’s political branch, Defend Affirmative Action Party — said the organization would shut down another regents meeting if the group’s demands for were not met. “BAMN and our representatives with CSG under the Defend Affirmative Action party, shut down the Regents meeting last semester over a discussion about on-site admissions in Detroit and we will do it again if our demands aren’t met,” Medapuram said. She added that BAMN hopes to adjust the University’s admissions processes to increase minority enrollment. “The way the University approaches admissions is indubitably racist and that’s what we’re targeting,” Medapuram said. “A campus that admits a larger (number of ) minority students will lead to a better representation of the state of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Detroit and the American society itself.”
Daily News Editor Michael Sugerman contributed reporting.
Wisconsin got on the board midway through the third period when the puck found its way through a massive net scramble, breathing life into the Badgers. Quickly after, Wisconsin had a 5-on-3 opportunity but came up empty, shifting the momentum back to Michigan. Just two minutes after, Larkin — the Big Ten Freshman of the Year — found the back of the net after skating coast-to-coast and beat Rumpel. Junior forward Justin Selman capped the game’s scoring, beating Rumpel on his stick side and sealing Michigan’s berth into a secondround matchup against Michigan State on Friday. “There have been some games in the past where we think we should’ve beaten (Michigan State),” Copp said. “It’s do or die.” Added Hyman: “Playing State, and what happened with us last week, we still have that bitter taste in our mouth. We’re going to be ready to play tomorrow. There’s no bigger game than that. We’re going to get up for that.”
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Friday, March 20, 2015 — 3
MARRIAGE From Page 1 a stay of the decision requested by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R). The legality of these marriages was reaffirmed in a court ruling Feb. 4. In a press release Thursday, the first of these couples to marry, Glenna DeJong and Marsha Caspar, said they believed the legislation would help their community. “We’re members of a small, exclusive club of same-sex couples who were able to marry during a brief window on March 22, 2014, but we don’t want to be,” DeJong said. “We want to be members of an inclusive club that welcomes any same-sex couple who wishes to marry.” Though the Supreme Court will be ruling on same-sex legislation, Irwin, a co-sponsor of one of the bills, said he believes that Michigan should get a head start in changing legislation toward being same-sex marriage friendly. “We’re calling for marriage equality, it’s something that is long overdue in the state of Michigan,” Irwin said. “We’re hopeful that the Supreme Court will rule in favor of marriage equality which would certainly help in Michigan — it can’t come quick enough.” The proposed package of legislation consists of the legalization of same-sex marriage and several other bills to address a variety of policy issues, including whether adoption agencies can bar same-sex couples. If successful, the bill will ban adoption agencies from discrimination based on religious beliefs and will open the doors to many same-sex couples who are interested in adopting. “I think that if there is a vetted, qualified adult that is willing to raise a child, then we shouldn’t have any obstacles for them to be able to raise the child here,” Wittenberg said. “We have a lot of kids in the foster care system here, and we want to make sure that they’re
CSG From Page 1 “Seeing that we’ve fostered a relationship for a years now, it would be helpful if the relationship was more communicative on both sides,” Chamak said. Business junior Alex Adler, the chair of Hillel’s governing board, said he would like CSG to work on facilitating connections amongst student leaders from different organizations. He proposed creating a leadership program, or combining pre-existing leadership development workshops. “Empowering and developing leadership is a big one for us,” Adler said. He also identified the student assembly’s efforts to combat sexual assault on campus as a potential area for growth. CSG joined the national campus sexual assault prevention campaign, It’s On Us, in September. The student assembly also partnered with I Will, a student-run campaign dedicated to sexual assault prevention, to create a specific pledge
DEAN From Page 1 young musicians and supports numerous programs to help promote performing arts. He earned Bachelors of Music and Masters of Music in Violin Performance degrees from the University. In a written statement, Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R) called Dworkin an “exciting outof-the-box appointment,” noting his insistence on “breaking new ground” would serve the school well. University Provost Martha Pollack wrote in a statement that Dworkin would lead the school with integrity, energy and enthusiasm. “His lifelong commitment to excellence in arts education is widely recognized in the U.S. and abroad,” Pollack wrote. “Aaron brings exceptional experience with organizational governance and a style that is collaborative, inclusive and pragmatic.” Dworkin was Gov. Rick Sny-
adopted and that they are taken by a loving family.” The package of bills also addresses issues such as allowing same-sex couples to file state taxes jointly. Another bill, sponsored by Wittenberg, allows any couple, including same-sex couples, to keep their marriage licenses private. Wittenberg said he, along with the other representatives and senators who proposed bills, hope to work legislatively with Republicans to push these bills forward. “We’re all working together, and we’re hoping to work with some of the Republicans across the aisle,” Wittenberg said. “We would love to take care of it legislatively. We’re hoping that we wouldn’t have to go the ballot but if that’s what we need to do, then that’s what we need to do. We’re going to try to drum up the support of our Republican colleagues and get as many people on board as possible, and try to talk to them about this being a fairness thing and equality.” Republicans — who led the charge for passing the original ban in 2004 — have traditionally been less inclined to support the legalization of same-sex marriage. Republican majorities currently control both houses of the legislature, which could present a challenge for the bill’s backers. In response to the package of bills, Gideon D’Assandro, spokesman for Speaker of the House Kevin Cotter, said the House hasn’t received the bills yet, but plans to address the package with the normal process. “Once we actually receive the bills, we’re going to refer them to the committee,” D’Assandro said. “Then our plan is to let them go through the normal committee process, which is that they go to committee and then the committee chair determines when they get taken up for a hearing and what the timeline is.” He added that he couldn’t comment further until the House formally receives the bills.
for University students where signers promised to empower sexual assault survivors and become allies. CSG also collaborated on the I Will campaign to facilitate a workshop on sexual assault in November. “We’d really like to see CSG continue to make the strides that they started to make this year but really push the conversation and make sure it reaches across all of campus,” Adler said. Business junior Maddy Walsh, Panhellenic Association president, wrote in an e-mail to the Daily that she spoke to the executive candidates from both parties and they made it clear to her they would like to work to unite the campus through various initiatives. She wrote she believed this was particularly important to her group because one of the association’s goals for the year is to increase collaboration with other student organizations. “It will be great to have CSG as a facilitator, partner, and advocate for a connected campus,” Walsh stated.
der’s appointment to the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. “Aaron has an impressive history of leadership experience and is respected by many in the arts community of not only Michigan but also the nation. His commitment to culture, diversity and learning will be a great benefit to the University of Michigan and I am confident students will accomplish great things under his direction,” Snyder wrote in a statement. Dworkin will succeed Christopher Kendall, who has held the deanship since 2005. The University limits deans to 10 years of service. During his tenure, Kendall secured funding and helped design the expansion of the Earl V. Moore Building, re-instituted major ensemble and international touring and campaigned for extensive scholarship funding for SMTD students. He will continue as a professor at the University in the Department of Conducting.
Opinion
4 — Friday, March 20, 2015
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com JENNIFER CALFAS EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH and DEREK WOLFE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
FROM THE DAILY
Unsurprising behavior
University has failed to provide documents requested through FOIA
I
n September 2014, the Daily requested documents from the University surrounding the Department of Education’s Title IX investigation, falling under the purview of Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. These documents include, “written complaints, e-mails from administrators and witness statements, among other documents.” After negotiations and communication spanning over four months, the Daily paid one of two $445 installments for a fraction of the originally requested documents. Two months later, the University has not only failed to provide the documents, but also has not released a timeline estimating when it might provide them. This is not acceptable. Although the University is not legally required to release any sort of timeline, Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said in an interview with the Daily that this process “really should not take months.” While not illegal, it is unethical and dubious of the University to decline releasing a timeline in addition to the documents themselves. Unfortunately, this failure of the University to make records available to the public is consistent with past behavior. In 2011, the Daily published a special report showing that the University charges hefty fees for open records requests, which sometimes can be well over $1,000 — far more expensive than fees charged by other Big Ten schools. Not only does the University make the attainment of documents under the purview of FOIA difficult by hiking up the fees for document requests, but it also lacks an official policy for preserving public records. The legality and morality of this is questionable, if not doubtful. This problem emerged earlier this academic year, when the Daily submitted FOIA requests for e-mails to and from former Athletic Director Dave Brandon immediately following former football kicker Brendan Gibbons’ permanent separation from the University for violating the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. In this case, the University could not fulfill the request because the e-mails — which are public record — had been deleted due to the lack of a records retention policy. These problems find their origins in both systemic practices within the University and in the details of the state’s FOIA requirements. The Michigan Freedom of Information Act requires the public body to respond to requests for documents within five business days, but this response can simply state that more time is needed before the documents can be released. It does not, however, require the public body to specify exactly how much time is needed.
In addition, the bill states that public bodies may charge requesters fees “for the necessary copying of a public record for inspection or providing a copy of a public record,” and that they may charge additional fees if not doing so would result in “unreasonably high costs” for the public body. These terms are vague and ultimately give public bodies the discretion to determine the cost of obtaining the requested documents. This ambiguous legislation could have led to the unreasonably high costs demanded of the Daily. Fortunately, earlier this year the Michigan legislature passed changes to the bill, effective July 1, that will amend these problems. Such changes require public bodies to release a timeline, albeit nonbinding, for the documents’ release, and also cap fees at 10 cents per page prepared for release. Although these changes are commendable, the problem still remains: the University is not being transparent about its practices and procedures. Even though their practices are not currently illegal, withholding information from the public and from students is morally concerning, regardless of whether it be because the records are poorly organized or the records reveal incriminating information. In light of all of these events, it is absolutely imperative — for ethical reasons and for the sake of re-earning students’ trust — for the University to provide the documents, or at least a timeline for the release of the documents that were requested two months ago, with or without legislation mandating the University do so.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe NATHANIEL MACANIAN | VIEWPOINT
Awaken Ann Arbor When was the last time you took a second to reflect? From the day we step into our freshman dorm rooms, we’re taught that college students should be busy, booked and stressed from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep. Here in Ann Arbor, we especially feel a need to maximize all of the great resources Ann Arbor has to offer, oftentimes sacrificing our personal comforts and mental health in the process. Ultimately, what these self-induced pressures often result in is a tunnel-vision view of our real priorities. Few are aware of the biological benefits of engaging in meditation. Studies conducted at the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest University concluded that mindfulness techniques consistently displayed improved cognitive abilities, and even higher GRE scores. Additionally, MRI studies have shown that enlarged hippocampal and right orbito-frontal regions in meditators were associated with enhanced memory capacity and affective experience, as well as emotional regulating abilities. Meditation and Zen habits are gaining more traction in our culture every day, and for good cause. Other similar studies have shown that meditating 20 minutes for just four days result-
ed in improved test scores than control groups. Big questions are hard to answer and even harder to ask. Awaken Ann Arbor is a relatively new student organization dedicated to helping students learn how to meditate, find a more meaningful purpose in their lives, and grow spiritually without emphasizing dogma. Awaken’s weekly meetings aim to foster a more spiritually minded student body on campus, and offer a community of likeminded individuals to learn from sharing meaningful life experiences every week. These processes are a workout for your brain, and getting started is the hardest part. Awaken Ann Arbor provides certified instructors who guide group meditation sessions for all levels, and the dialogues that follow connect students with the knowledge and resources needed to help maximize our potential here at the University of Michigan. All ages, skills, and perspectives are encouraged to join us at Awaken’s meetings every Sunday at 12 p.m. Remember, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next-best time is today. To get involved, e-mail Will Ellis at elliswil@ umich.edu. Nathaniel Macanian is an LSA junior.
D
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The PC trend
uring this school year, unlike during others I’ve spent as a student at the University, I’ve found campus sentiment to be overwhelmingly shrouded in politically correct rhetoric. In an article regarding my connection to Judaism and ABBY Israel I wrote TASKIER last October, I received two comments in which readers accused me of justifying the killing of 1,400 Palestinians during Israel’s incursion in Gaza. This was in no way what I’d been arguing, and I believed the comments had been completely taken out of context, in order to confirm the readers’ biases that a Jewish student commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would always side with Israel. In order to avoid any more misconceptions, and frankly, in order to cover my ass, I rewrote the sentence that had prompted any accusations against my social consciousness. On a larger scale, this was a disturbing reality to me. People reading a politically charged article oftentimes take a somewhat ambiguous line from a piece and morph it into what they want it to mean in order to display their moral superiority. In this day and age, social awareness seems to have become a status symbol. All over the Internet, people post comments on media platforms that attempt to highlight an author’s lack of political correctness. But are these comments really attempting to educate the writer, or are they purely assuaging the commenter by publicly exposing what might seem to be evidence of moral superiority? This is an omnipresent issue not only online, but also in conversations held on campus regarding racism, sexism, cultural appropriation, rape culture, etc. The social issues
that hold such a deep significance in contemporary society are spoken about, but in such politically correct terminology that those who are unaware of certain realities are stifled from actually delving into conversation. Being called out is a powerful educational tool. But it should be done tactfully, rather than preached, because exposing someone’s ignorance oftentimes promotes an unnecessary power dynamic between those who are educated about an issue and those who are not. Let us use Jesse Klein’s article, “Relative Wealth,” as an example. Her piece was uninformed and offensive. However, did readers think that her views were founded upon knowledge of economic disparity in America? If so, they shouldn’t have. An article like hers was founded upon ignorance, and although I originally believed that the piece shouldn’t have been published, it garnered both harmful and beneficial responses. Personal attacks on Klein were made within the slew of 348 comments that she received. These, of course, were unnecessary and perfectly exemplify the use of a comment as a status symbol. A comment demeaning the writer, while highlighting one’s own sensibilities, is done selfishly. On the other hand, a response like Jenny Wang’s was completely appropriate in that it opened a forum for discussion, without admonishing Klein. What Wang offered was perspective, which is truly the only teacher of social awareness. After Klein read hurtful responses to her piece and experienced what I can only imagine was the inclination to regress into a hole for the rest of eternity, she bravely came out with another article, much more clearly
articulating her original point. In her response piece, she wrote, “Online, my naïve perception of wealth was called the ‘Problem with America.’ In the real world, there are a lot of problems with America which, with any luck, can be fixed by learning from a few mistakes.” So, Klein is an example of positive reformation after having been called out. Although her situation was extreme, the responses proved to be enlightening. But, what about the responses that were purely motivated by negativity and public recognition? There is a clear argument for political correctness and making the politically incorrect aware of their mistakes. But, as Klein pointed out, problems are fixed by learning from such mistakes. I’m proud of my University that in recent years, students have become much more aware of the social and political issues that maintain inequality. But not everyone is aware of these realities, due to a lack of perspective. Ignorance, however, should not be confronted with judgment. So, to those who are judgmental of the politically incorrect, be sensitive. To those who are unaware of the depths of social issues in America, educate yourself. A 600word Daily article written by a student in a social theory class isn’t going to educate you about white privilege. Expanding yourself beyond the familiar is what will. Political correctness is a BandAid — it assuages those who extend it, and it frightens those who don’t understand it. So hopefully the PC trend leaves us, and what replaces it is education, discussion and the search for perspective.
In this day and age, social awareness seems to have become a status symbol.
— Abby Taskier can be reached at ataskier@umich.edu.
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I
was a newborn. Outside the house, the first one my parents had ever owned, sat the white stork: “Welcome home, David!” The door was freshly painted bright red, the grass just starting to become its impeccable green that early May. Down the street, DAVID on the corner of HARRIS Mack Avenue, was the local grocery store, the Village Market, alongside a doctor’s office and a bank. This block of neatly lined houses was my whole world as a young child. A world that included little more than the arms of my mother I rested in, the yard I crawled in and the street I played on. My world was flat, and across that corner at the end of the street was the edge of the map. I was seven. I had the new freedom of a bike and more energy than my mom could put up with inside my house, so I discharged it by pedaling around. I rode to friends’ houses, to the park, to baseball games. If my wheels could carry me there, I went there. Everywhere, that is, except across Mack. When I hit Mack or Alter Drive, I reached the end of my ride in that current direction. I had reached the edge of the map. This was no rule anyone told me. No signs were posted. You hit Mack or Alter and you turn left or you turn right. There was no straight. These streets are the border of my bubble of a town and Detroit. This is where the suburb meets the city. Where the neat rows of houses and lawns give way to a neighborhood of blocks with abandoned homes, overgrown grass and charred wood left behind from a structure gone up in flames, neglected roads that haven’t been repaved in years. This is not the downtown Detroit of
The border renaissance and revival; this is the rawness of the outskirts, the realness of the desolation, the reality of the economic and racial divide that relegated the city into ceaseless recession. If you go straight through those border streets into the city, you risk popping the bubble. I was 13. I wore a basketball uniform emblazoned with a falcon on it, the mascot of my parish. Our church was on Mack Avenue, my team a mix of kids from either side of that street. I had grown up in a completely homogenous school on my side of street, and here I was on my first team that didn’t fit this uniform lack of diversity I knew. The thought never crossed my mind; the new uniform was the one we wore. The team won every game that season. I was 16. It was a cold December Saturday morning, trunk of the car loaded up with bags of gifts piled all the way to the roof. We stopped at the light on Mack and drove through. We stopped at houses with porch steps crumbled in disrepair, houses neighboring boarded-up properties and at doors with iron bars across them. We walked into homes with the gifts and bags of food; homes with families and children who decorated their houses for the holidays the best they could, ecstatic, cheerful and thankful. I had left the bubble to go over to where I once would never venture and found that the human spirit is identical in the most opposite of places and situations. It’s easy to see the border as a statistic of inequality, as a line of socioeconomic divide, as a contrast of black and white and of different hues of lifestyles. Long and complicated history has created these
invisible walls. The same history has caused us to forget that the other side is filled with the same human emotions, the same lives and the same desires, only transformed across a couple of streets. The suburb forgets that the people merely across the street deserve the same good education, the same safe streets and the same privileges because they are people. The difference of socioeconomic status and tax revenue is merely the result of the systematic societal inequality that is evident all around, sometimes blocks away. I’m now 20. Some things move forward, like the gorgeous, brand new baseball field built where cracked and abandoned tennis courts once decayed a mere two blocks from the border. Others hinder any progress: a fatal shooting a block north of the new field, and another shooting merely a week earlier of four kids from across the border, right before Christmas; one lost her life. There are problems that cannot be fixed with simple solutions. The border remains dangerous, a stark juxtaposition and symbol of a world riddled with inequity, the bubble suburb trying to escape from this reality for years until it realizes that the bubble it subsists in is only figurative. I was lucky to be encouraged to explore, to learn that there is no graffiti-filled concrete wall between the cities that must come down. Instead there exist walls of a different kind, walls that society has built up for years; we sometimes fail to notice they exist. These walls, too, must be torn down.
There are problems that cannot be fixed with simple solutions.
— David Harris can be reached at daharr@umich.edu.
INTERESTED IN CAMPUS ISSUES? POLITICS? SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK’N’ROLL? Check out The Daily’s editorial board meetings. Every Monday and Wednesdayat 6 p.m., the Daily’s opinion staff meets to discuss both University and national affairs and write editorials. E-mail tothedaily@michigandaily.com to join in the debate.
Arts
5 — Friday, March 20, 2015
GENDER AND MEDIA COLUMN
Why isn’t Will Smith a cougar? A
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
‘Last Man on Earth’ has unique premise By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer
s I write this column (in my Economics class, as my professor stares at me expectantly, assuming I will know the answer to something I don’t), I’ve officially been on Earth 20 years, three months, NATALIE 30 days, 11 GADBOIS hours and 42 minutes. And it took the same brainpower to calculate that that it would have to do my Econ homework. Age is just a number, right? A number broken down into smaller numbers and more finite definitions until it has no meaning. It’s why I get along better with my mom’s friends than my own. Age is just a number — until it’s not. Watching the trailer for “Focus,” the sleek and sexy con movie starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, I couldn’t even get past the first few moments without rolling my eyes. I didn’t see the movie — by all accounts it could be funny or charming or smart. But I just couldn’t watch 46-year-old Will Smith take 24-year-old Robbie under his wing, showing her the ways of the con world and maybe falling a little in love. I couldn’t stop thinking, “Why is that allowed?” Why are we, as an intelligent audience, asked to suspend our disbelief when it comes to the age difference between onscreen love interests? It was the case in “Sabrina” 60 years ago – a daddy-issue-laden Audrey Hepburn was 25 while her counterpart Humphrey Bogart was 55 — and it still happens all the time today. Whether it’s part of the plot, as “Focus” attempts with Smith and Robbie’s veteran/novice relationship, or not, it seems we find it OK when men in movies are AARP cardholders and their girls barely out of braces. Cursory research into this disparity holds true, even with award-winning movies. Bradley Cooper was 15 years older than Jennifer Lawrence when they fell in bizarre love in “Silver Linings Playbook.” (And now Bradley is dating a model 17 years his junior, which begs
the question: is Bradley Cooper kind of a skeeze?) Woody Allen’s entire repertoire, including last year’s “Magic in the Moonlight,” features the perfunctory objectification of younger muses. It’s clear a director has a problem when the onscreen relationship between Emma Stone (25) and Colin Firth (54) barely bats an eye among audiences. Search “age difference in film” on Wikipedia and the list of films featuring older men with younger women is more than three times the length of its reverse, older women with younger men. A vast age gap between a wrinkled man and rosy-cheeked girl is often not even addressed in the plot of a film — it’s just something we’ve come to expect in a patriarchal society. In contrast, when a woman is older than a man in a movie, you betcha the word cougar comes up. The Wikipedia list alone is laughable, featuring titles like “Cougar Club,” “My Teacher’s Wife,” and “Caught” — these movies are defined by this illicit age difference. What does the other side have? Oscar winners and box office hits. When women are older they are often represented as unstable cougars, desperately clinging to their youth or fading self image — the infamous Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate” comes to mind. Or they are lonely women just making a mistake, reclaiming their sexuality — J.Lo as the teacher gone rogue in “The Boy Next Door.” This is a decided type in film, a persona at the forefront of a script. Older men are rarely defined by their age in reference to their younger love interest, unless they literally are predators. We all know “Lolita” and shudder, but Keira Knightley was only 19 when she and Jack Sparrow had their almost-tryst in “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and no one ever talks about that in hushed tones. I know it may seem as though I’m grasping for straws, but there is a real discrepancy. And it matters. Men are valued for their strength, their experience, their confidence; all traits that grow with age. Women are valued first and foremost for their beauty, and then their spontaneity, that fresh, fleeting ingénue quality.
We are afraid for women to get old. That’s it. Men can age with dignity and humor, developing distinguished gray hair and endearing laugh lines. As men in Hollywood age they become wiser, mellower, less inhibited. Women don’t have that luxury — in real life that’s why those who have the means so often turn to plastic surgery, and in Hollywood that’s why 26-year-olds are hired to fill a role better suited thematically for a 40-year-old. Meryl Streep was once quoted saying, “When I turned 40, I got 3 different witch scripts in one year.” That’s fucked up. (And to note, that was 10 years after Streep played a divorced woman replaced by an 18-year-old in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan.”) Female actresses, both young and old, deserve better. The Margot Robbies of Hollywood deserve to be offered roles in which their sex symbol statuses aren’t salient character traits. They shouldn’t always be the targets of skewed power dynamics, a plaything for an older man. Older women deserve roles that recognize their age (and not in a negative way) while still valuing them as living, breathing, loving human beings. That’s not to say that age difference shouldn’t be used as a storytelling device — it’s important that movies do recognize when age plays a role in character decisions or behaviors. But this needs to be conscious, and should reflect dynamics actually present in the world. My mom is four years older than my dad, and growing up it was always a thing. There were usually jokes at parties about Mary, the cougar. Not that it really bothered my mom – she was too busy living her goddamn life to let something like that irritate her. But it always intrigued me. Would there have been the jokes if my dad were older? Movies are often an inflated reflection on real life, in this issue especially. I want to live in a world where no one comments on my parent’s age difference, unless those same people also call into question an even more exaggerated age difference like that in “Focus.” Gadbois is writing angry letters to Woody Allen. To offer your support, email natgadb@umich.edu.
When “The Last Man on Earth” was announced last year, they hadn’t even filmed a pilot. FOX picked up the idea straight- B+ to-series with only a loose idea The Last and Will Forte Man on (“Saturday Night Life”) attached Earth to star and Series write the series. Premiere Upon presenting the show to FOX advertisers in Sundays at May, they had 9:30 p.m. only a video of Forte performing solitary activities — singing the National Anthem to an empty Dodgers Stadium and getting food from an empty grocery store, among other things. That added up to a series with an amount of promise, but even more uncertainty. However, upon watching the first three episodes, it’s clear the network’s risk has been rewarded. Over the course of these episodes, the comedy displayed some growing pains, but it also showed great potential. “The Last Man on Earth,” which counts “21 Jump Street” directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller among its executive producers, follows Phil Miller (Forte), the titular last man on Earth after a virus wipes out the rest of the planet’s population. It portrays the hijinks that ensue and how he lives his life as the only person in the world. At the end of the pilot, the show expands its world by introducing Kristen Schaal (“Bob’s Burgers”) as Carol,
FOX
“I don’t know if this is gonna fit me.”
the last woman on Earth, and the second and third episodes of the show feature her interactions with Phil. The best aspect of “The Last Man on Earth” is how it generates the show’s inherently one-man comedy style. His activities are absurd, yet always enjoyable to watch. The first episode is almost entirely made up of things like playing racquetball on the presidential seal, creating a Jenga tower that would put anyone else’s to shame and going bowling with a truck and a queue of fishtanks. Forte plays each of these scenes so casually, adding to each moment’s level of humor. While this idea on its own is not enough to sustain a TV series (which is likely why they introduced Schaal’s character), it’s the best part of the show. What’s more problematic is Schaal’s character. They bring her into the world to add a foil for Forte to play off of, however, they go slightly too far with this. Her first episode (the show’s second) is the worst of the three
because Carol isn’t given any sort of nuance. She is OCD to the extreme and follows the rules of the “regular world” with constant rigidity (like stopping at stop signs), and perfectly juxtaposes Phil’s messiness and complete neglect of the rules. Schaal is directed to turn up the volume of her performance to full blast, and it just comes off as obnoxious. Her second episode does a lot better by the character. It gives her more notes to play with her wedding to Phil. “Last Man on Earth” is the type of show that network executives should make more often. It has an incredibly weird premise, but in the hands of an actor like Forte and writers like Lord and Miller, it turned out to be highly entertaining. Sometimes in television programming, it’s worth investing in a risky premise because of a belief that it could be strong. Even if the show had some rough growing pains, as many sitcoms do, it’s a show that’s engaging and worth watching.
FILM NOTEBOOK
CRITERION
I’ll watch anything, and I’m watchin’ you.
Movie experiences Meaning of the bow change with company COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
By BAILEY KADIAN For The Daily
It’s time. The lights dim, the audience roars and it’s your turn to greet them. You are no longer the character they watched, but yourself, walking toward center stage to face all who watched you. You have waited for this moment for quite some time, and you are ready to receive the praise that they are eager to give you. The bow calls for an abandonment of your character. The rule that demands “you must never break character” is dismissed for this moment and the audience sees you just as you are. The fourth wall is gone, and now there is nothing separating you from your character. The character you were has been exchanged for reality, and your audience now recognizes you as you. Your first steps toward center stage make you realize that this is your moment to acknowledge them face-to-face. Initially, you think they’re thanking you. Their praise indicates to you that your audience is grateful for your entertainment, for your emotions, for your story. You gave them all they needed to engage in an alternate world with alternate characters and
now you bow to accept their appreciation. As the cheering continues and you scan the crowd, you realize this bow means more to you than others would think. Is your bow only an exchange of your audience’s gratitude toward you? Or does this bow initiate a catharsis of your own?
I will graciously accept the satisfaction of this moment. As an actor, you work every moment of every day to produce something that an audience will love. You work to eventually see that your audience approves of the story you have told them and appreciate what has been communicated. However, your bow does not work entirely one way. There is an equal exchange of thanks from the audience to the performer, as well as from the performer to the audience. Your bow is a form of submission to your audience. You see it as your way
of telling them that the effort you put towards every second of rehearsal, and will continue to put towards your art, is for them. With that commitment, you submit everything you are to become a character for them to grow with and relate to. With this bow you say: Thanks to you, audience, because you are why I do what I do. Thanks to you, because your very applause confirms to me that the hours I spent rehearsing lines, learning blocking, running numbers and sacrificing time was worth it. Thanks to you, audience, because your praise eliminates my uncertainty towards my art and my fear and anxiousness towards defeat. You are the reason I wake up every day inspired by a character that I must become. I realize at this moment that my art produces a feeling of utter contentment, and you are here to witness it. As I stand here at center stage to be thanked by you, I truly owe you the thanks. If I didn’t see you here in front of me clapping and smiling, I wouldn’t be doing what I love. My life without theater would not be fulfilling, so a thanks to you all, because with this bow, I accept the challenges that will come, and I will graciously accept the satisfaction of this moment.
By CONRAD FOREMAN Daily Arts Writer
The experience you have watching a movie changes depending on whom you watch it with. That may seem extremely reductive, but I believe it’s true, and I believe it’s a beautiful truth. Think about it: Whether your watch a movie alone, or with family or friends, the film doesn’t change, but your perception of the film can change significantly. The reason why is fairly selfexplanatory: Different groups create different dynamics, which affect your perception of everything around you, and thus your perception of the movie. Let’s look at an example. I like “Dazed and Confused” as a movie. It’s fine. But it’s 100 times better when I watch it with my two friends that can quote the entire film. Their enjoyment inspires me to find pleasure from the same source. “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” offered me a similar experience. Enjoyment is contagious — as is disapproval. An example on the opposite end of the spectrum, for me, is “22 Jump Street.” Walking out of the theater after that movie,
I felt very negatively about it, to the point that I believe perhaps my reaction (and review) was too harsh. However, the two friends I saw it with also hated it, and my negative perception was reaffirmed walking out of the theater, so until I experience “22 Jump Street” in another way, it will also have a sour taste for me. The same goes for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which I saw with a friend who was determined to enjoy the film. He was so sure that I would like the movie that he promised I could kick him in the balls if I didn’t. After that, there was no chance I was going to enjoy “Ben Button.” To this day I think of “Benjamin Button” as a three-hour borefest. I’ll never know exactly how much that opinion has to do with the circumstances under which I first saw the film, but my money’s on a lot. As a member of the FilmSquad at The Michigan Daily, I fancy myself something of a movie buff, as do my peers. Each of us often holds strong opinions about certain films. For each of us, the films we love and hate are different. Sometimes we disagree strongly about a film, which speaks to the beautiful truth to which I referred at the beginning of the article: There
is no objective standard for art. To me, it seems objectively obvious that “Birdman” is a unique, brilliant film in every way — acting, cinematography, soundtrack, narrative, etc. But even this year’s Best Picture winner proves divisive for some. My father summed up “Birdman” as “Hollywood making fun of stage people making fun of Hollywood, and underneath it all is the fact that (Michael) Keaton played Batman a couple times.” This is blasphemy to me, but how can I say that anyone is wrong in their judgment about a piece for which there is no objective grading scale? I know that what I’ve said here isn’t groundbreaking, nor particularly original. I just wanted to take the opportunity to use the platform I have through the Daily to point out some important obvious things about movies. Any movie can be enjoyed, no matter how shitty; all you have to do is watch it in the right environment, with the right people. Any movie can be hated, no matter how masterful. Maybe the real point is that words like “shitty” and “masterful” aren’t appropriate to describe a film — only the experience of watching the film.
Arts & Sports
6 — Friday, March 20, 2015
EVENT PREVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FOOTBALL
Men! Men! Men! a Mattison enjoying new dissection of gender start with Wolverines By GRACE HAMILTON Daily Arts Writer
A fetishized bicycle, spiked high heels, decadent strings of pearls and football uniforms will decorate six dancers Outside the as they poke and twist Box: Men! our concept Men! Men! of gender. UMMA The hourlong program, Mar. 27, “Men! Men! 6-7:30 p.m. Men!” curated Free by Thurnau Professor of Dance Peter Sparling, is a complement to UMMA’s exhibition of the Hergott Shepard Photography Collection. The world-acclaimed collection, running through June at the museum with Mario Codognato as guest curator, focuses on the concept of masculinity and the complexity of male identity in contemporary society. Nadine Hubbs, Professor of Women’s studies and Music, and MFA student Michael Parmelee assisted in the curation of “Men! Men! Men!” Sparling, who has been at the University for the last 30 years, made a name for himself by integrating dance with the visual arts, sciences, video and other creative media, establishing a long-standing relationship with UMMA. Sparling sent out a call for students to consider what it meant to explore male identities. He received six enthusiastic responses, from four current students and two alumni. The dancers are Maddy Rager and Chris Sies, Marcus White, Michael Parmelee and Amy Guilmette, Anthony Alterio and Tru Yunkman. “One of the alums, Amy Guilmette, responded immediately after I sent the call saying ‘you know, this makes me think of how I have always
felt that I am a seven-yearold boy in a woman’s body,’” Sparling said. Each piece will bravely tell a different story, like this one. “If people are shocked or offended, that’s their problem. I kind of hope that some people are. I want, and the performers want, to jostle people out of their complacency,” Sparling said. Undoubtedly, the performance will be a spectacle. He describes several of the highlights to provide a sense of its range: Tru Yunkman uses dance to transform from woman to man, Michael Parma Lee explores sexuality through his dialogue with a bicycle and Maddy Rager and her percussionist partner, Chris Sies, will wear football uniforms from the high school her father teaches at, in a duet usually performed in baroque costume.
Pushing the boundaries of art, convention, space, bodies. Curating moving bodies is different than curating stationary objects, like paintings or photos. “In curating a performance, I think about whether there is a common thread throughout, or whether there isn’t, and how to maximize juxtapositions so that contrasts come forward and it doesn’t all blend together,” Sparling said. “So how do you arrange the trajectory so that you get the most impact out of the whole cumulative effect?” Modern dance has had an important role in addressing social and political themes for decades. Recently, dance has partnered more frequently with other kinds
of art and within performance art to address complicated issues, like gender, tying itself more closely to politics. “In more and more cultural theory, the moving dancing body is being considered as a text to be read about everything and anything in its culture and environment,” Sparling said. “Here at U of M and in the broader field of dance, we’re really looking at contemporary dance as a barometer for the way that people react and behave and how their bodies and motions tell everything about how they project their identity within a culture.” Sparling has a strong belief in the unique power of moving bodies to affect people deeply in a way that other forms of art, like text and even photographs, which can act as filters, cannot. “Dance cuts through to a part of the brain that reacts and responds viscerally. There’s something immediate about a live body in the same space you’re in. It’s dangerous!” he said. The pieces will be performed in the old wing of the museum, within the apse, without the familiar safety of stage. This proximity is a personal invitation to audience members to step outside of their comfort zones and engage with the questions raised before them. “Hopefully, people are at an age (and at a place of learning) where they want to learn about themselves. And of course, at the ages of 18 to 25, it’s a hot time to try and figure out who in the hell you are. So why not be engaged and challenge yourself to think about these things like gender identity?” Sparling said, appealing to students. “Men! Men! Men!” exemplifies the role of contemporary dance, pushing the boundaries of art, convention, space, bodies themselves and audience members. While the pieces themselves will step outside of the box, audience members will be required to do so as well.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Friday, March 20, 2015
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03/20/15
In Greg Mattison’s 37th year of coaching, at his 11th program, there’s plenty of reason for him to be unsatisfied with the role of defensive line coach. Or, knowing the opportunities he had in the off-season, to want to be somewhere else. There’s a new head coach, a new defensive coordinator and a new role — a smaller role. But Mattison is just fine in his second stint at Michigan. “I feel very fortunate to be able to stay at Michigan,” Mattison said. “I love Michigan, and I feel very strongly about the players coming back and the guys in this program, and I feel very strongly about Coach (Jim) Harbaugh. I’ve known that family for a long time, and it’s just great to be back.” Mattison worked under Harbaugh’s father, Jack, at Western Michigan from 19821986, first as a defensive line coach and then as a defensive coordinator. Now, he’s back on another Harbaugh staff. When Harbaugh came to Michigan, he hired D.J. Durkin from Florida to take over the defensive coordinator post Mattison had held for four years under former coach Brady Hoke. Durkin is also the linebackers coach. Then Harbaugh asked Mattison, the Super Bowlwinning defensive coordinator, to stay on staff as a defensive line coach. “I’ve coached defensive line my whole life,” Mattison said. “You can get guys to be better. You can make improvements there through technique and through hard work.”
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By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor
Still, it was a demotion, essentially, for an accomplished coach who could have gone somewhere else. “I had a number of offers, some in the NFL and things like that,” Mattison said. “But I made up my mind that if I had the opportunity, I’d love to stay, and I did. So I stayed.” The reason was sentimental, just like when he left the Baltimore Ravens the first time to join Hoke’s staff. It was Michigan, the place he has coached at least four years longer than each of the other 10 stops. And it was under Harbaugh, who had won in college and in the NFL and whom he knew personally. Thursday, he had nothing but positive things to say about his new role: no complaints, no interference, not a backhanded comment toward the new staff. “Not at all,” Mattison said. “I really respect the guy I’m working with and the guys I’m working with. I’ve done that for so long that sometimes you say, it’s kind of enjoyable just to take these four guys and see how good they can be. “I knew that when Jim hired me. There’s only one coordinator, and what he says, we do. Once you get that, you say, ‘OK, my job now is to coordinate the defensive line and to do a great job with that.’ I’ve done it so long and I’ve had so many opportunities to do it, it’s about really just seeing how good we can get this team.”
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So after four years under Hoke, Mattison came back to finish what he started. After all, only one of their recruiting classes has made it all the way through. But he would object to the term “finish.” “I don’t know if it’s to finish, because when you’re finished you say it’s over,” Mattison said. “I just wanted to stay a part of what Michigan is and what Michigan will be and what Michigan has been forever. “I think that’s coming. I want to be a part of that, and I’m fortunate to be a part of it.” He also served as a stabilizing force during a tumultuous offseason with the coaching transition. When players had the chance to leave the program for a fresh start, unsure of the new coach, Mattison kept the ship steady. “The message was, ‘Hey, this is Michigan. You came here because it’s Michigan. Don’t be thinking about doing anything else. You’re staying here. It’s going to work out. Everything’s going to be good,’ ” he said. “And that’s the only thing I’ve ever said to them.” It worked. “It tells you that you recruit the right guys,” Mattison said. “And they’re Michigan guys.” He has many of them back for his fifth season, and once again, Mattison is standing behind them. He didn’t have to, but he’s along for one more ride after all.
“I just wanted to stay a part of what Michigan is.”
ICE HOCKEY
Penalty kill lifts Michigan to win By ZACH SHAW
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Shoot the moon 6 “Say from whence / You __ this strange intelligence?”: Macbeth 9 Word of possibility 14 MDX maker 15 __ Pacis: altar of Peace 16 Tough test metaphor 17 Where shirts may be lost? 19 Dish man? 20 Measurement for Sagan 21 One sending out bills 23 Field guard 24 Bolivian president Morales 25 Denounce unmercifully 27 Natl. debt unit 28 Mountain __: soft drinks 30 White 31 Galileo’s birthplace 32 California Marine Corps base 35 Snowboarding gold medalist White 38 Begins 39 Realm of some self-help books 45 Easy pace 46 Idle colleague 47 Conan Doyle, for one 51 “Love __ Rose”: Neil Young song 52 At sea 54 LAX stat 55 Fade out 57 Film with six sequels 58 Muse for Sagan 60 Equals 62 Update 64 Kovacs of early TV comedy 65 Tao follower? 66 “JFK” director 67 Late bloomer? 68 Skid row woe 69 Prepares for recycling
Under current staff, defensive line coach still feels at home at Michigan
Daily Sports Writer
With 9:22 to go in the game and momentum suddenly in Wisconsin’s favor, the Michigan hockey team knew it had a job to do. Junior forward Andrew Copp, sophomore forward JT Compher and senior defenseman Brennan Serville took the ice for 1:03 of 5-on-3 hockey. After allowing a goal just moments before, the Badger fans in Joe Louis Arena rose to their feet in anticipation. “With five minutes to go, we were knocking on the door with a power play,” said Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves. “Realistically we’re hoping that we get a second goal and make a go of it. They got two late goals, and that was the difference.” Every time a hint of momentum swung toward the Badgers, the Wolverines were quick to earn it back. Copp won the faceoff in Michigan’s zone and delivered the puck to Compher, who skated the length of the ice, fired a shot and quieted the suddenly awake fans. “I said, ‘We’re fine here. We’ve got 10 (minutes left), up two.’ ” Copp said. “We were pretty calm and collected on the bench; not a lot of freaking out there.” Michigan was able to kill the penalty, drawing the largest cheers of the night. In the minutes that followed, the Wolverines played their best hockey of the night, securing two late goals in the 5-1 win. The penalty kill in the third period was one of Michigan’s six in the game — including four in the tense third period — but what came off of each kill proved to be the most important. Despite a sluggish start and an offense that seemed out of sync for much of the game, the Wolverines were able to not only survive, but thrive off the heels of their penalty kill. “We were aggressive,”
said freshman forward Dylan Larkin. “Didn’t give them much time to set up. Travis Lynch had a breakaway, and there were some chances, and we took away their time and space, which was good.” The penalty kill was on fire Thursday, but that hasn’t always been the case for the Wolverines. Even with the effort against Wisconsin, Michigan is just 33rd out of 59 teams in the penalty kill, and — even with the nation’s top-ranked offense — has shown a tendency to kill momentum with sloppy play throughout the unit. “I thought our guys were dialed in tonight and did a good job,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “In fairness, Wisconsin hasn’t had a lot of momentum on their power play. But we still had to kill it because they had good puck control and they had some good looks. So that’s an important part of the game.” But the opposite was the case in Thursday’s win. Whether it was killing the 5-on-3 in the third period to close out the victory, rebounding from kills with consecutive goals in the opening minutes of the second period, or even using an early power-play opportunity for Wisconsin as a catalyst to wake up the sluggish offense in the opening minute of the game, it seemed that every time the Wolverines had their backs against the wall, they turned it into a momentum shift. “It’s huge, it’s a confidence builder,” Berenson said of the success. “It starts with your goalie, then your forward’s willingness to get in the shooting lane or sticks in the passing lanes, blocking shots, winning faceoffs, getting the puck out when you get it. “There’s a lot more to penalty killing than just penalty killing. There’s a lot of little things that have to happen.”
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, March 20, 2015 — 7
Softball Preview A good team, with a chance for greatness
C
arol Hutchins has been Michigan’s softball coach for decades. Everybody knows that. She has won 17 Big Ten regular-season conference championships, 16 NCAA regional championships and a national championship in 2005. She’s in the NFCA Hall of Fame, too. Michigan softball’s inaugural season was in 1978. By 1985, Hutchins was the head coach, and has been the general to lead the Wolverines into battle ever since. Entering the 2015 season, Hutchins has amassed a career 1,349-452 record and a .746 win percentage. With Hutchins at the helm, there will always be talk of league championships, of winning streaks TYLER that stretch into the 20s and of making a run in the SCOTT postseason NCAA Women’s College World Series. With her résumé and the program’s continued success, it’s obvious that the Wolverines should have no trouble putting together a respectable season. Undoubtedly, Michigan will add to Hutchins’ win total. But really, the number of wins won’t matter. For Team 38, the last win of the season will be the one that carries the most significance. Hutchins is the grand master behind the chessboard, and has all the pieces in place to make a championship run. But ultimately, it’s the players, not the coach, who execute the plan of attack. Michigan, even with a legendary coach and a lineup full of stars, lost to the No. 1 Florida Gators to open the season. It served as a reminder for the Wolverines that despite their perennial status as a member of softball’s elite, beating champions, or even becoming them, is never an easy task. This Michigan team has already taken some lumps. Against Florida, it was senior left-hander and 2014 second-team All-American Haylie Wagner who threw a wild pitch to let a Gator baserunner score from third and clinch the game. But it was only one bad pitch, and only one game, the first in a long season. By Spring Break, Michigan had built a 19-game win streak, and had hit 20 home runs through five games at the Arizona State Slugger Invitational, but fell in back-to-back games to then-No. 22 Arizona State, and again to Florida. Against Florida, Michigan had chances to even up its head-to-head record, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first and holding on until the sixth when Florida scored three runs to earn its first lead. Michigan was unable to conjure up any offense and did nothing against the Gators in the seventh, losing 3-2. It’s worth noting that the Spring Break losses to Florida and Arizona State came at the end of a long road trip for Michigan, at which point the Wolverines had flown to every game they had played. But when the Wolverines finally got back to Ann Arbor, after some much-needed
rest, the first home game ended in disappointment, too. Kent State, the Wolverines’ only unranked loss, squeaked away with a win behind junior right-hander Emma Johnson and her .96 earned-run average to upset Michigan, 3-0. Statistically, the Wolverines are already among the best in the Big Ten in multiple categories, but again, the Wolverines’ ability to compete at an elite level isn’t what is in question. At times, Michigan has looked deserving of its ranking, and before the losses to Arizona State and Florida in early March, it was primed to move up in the rankings even further. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, timing is everything. No one calls into question the ability or character of anyone on the Michigan coaching staff, and no one should. But in the few times when
Michigan has been faced with truly top-tier competition, mainly against Kent State’s Johnson and Florida, it has stumbled. It’s an old cliché in sports that a good team has to beat the teams it’s supposed to beat, and there’s zero doubt Michigan will continue to do that. What will define this team are the games Michigan isn’t “supposed” to win, when they’ll be evenly matched. Michigan is very good, there’s no doubt about that. But how the Wolverines grow from the early-season losses, and more importantly, how they respond in future high-pressure situations, will ultimately determine the outcome of this season. Should they capitalize, they will have the possibility to be great once again under Hutchins’ watch. Tyler Scott can be reached at tylscott@umich.edu.
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Carol Hutchins’ team has won seven straight Big Ten titles, but this year, it is searching for its second Women’s College World Series appearance since 2009.
Big Ten preview: It’s Michigan and Minnesota, then everybody else By CHRIS CROWDER Daily Sports Writer
In the conference room at the new Donald R. Shepherd Softball Center, pictures of past Michigan Big Ten championship teams are proudly displayed on the wall. There’s just one problem: there’s no room for more pictures. This fact is proof of how dominant the No. 4 Michigan softball program is as it’s vying for its eighth consecutive conference championship. With arguably the best player and coach in the country in junior infielder Sierra Romero and coach Carol Hutchins, the Wolverines are favorites to win the conference, looking to add another picture to the collection, and in turn, moving the frames to a different, larger wall. But to achieve the milestone, Michigan will have to navigate past the following teams. No. 15 Minnesota (24-4) If any team in the Big Ten has a better offense than Michigan, it’s the Golden Gophers. They may be the only team capable of challenging Michigan for a conference championship. Minnesota leads the Big Ten in batting average (.351), hits (270) and doubles (52). Despite a loss to No. 20 UCF, the Golden Gophers have beaten No. 12 Cal, No. 21 Arizona State and No. 24 Mississippi State. Their one-two punch of senior utility players Kaitlyn Richardson (.437 batting average, 31 runs batted in) and Hannah Granger (.474 batting average, 30 runs batted in) are both in the top five in those categories. Player to Watch: Sophomore right-handed pitcher Sara Groenewegen Headlining the pitching staff that leads the Big Ten in strikeouts is Groenewegen with 167 Ks. She has pitched 109 innings this season, the most in the Big Ten, taking a majority of the pitching duties for the Golden Gophers. Her 0.96 earned-run average, .152 opposing batting average and 15 wins are all best in the Big Ten. She also has offensive prowess, batting .338 and racking up 11 total bases in one game twice this season. Purdue (19-9) The Boilermakers haven’t played a very competitive schedule so far, just playing two ranked opponents, including a win against No. 23 Texas A&M. Purdue leads the Big Ten in triples (nine) and is second in Big Ten for lowest team ERA (1.78). Freshman outfielder Maya Hughes may be the future of the program, batting .315 and stealing 16 bases. Player to watch: Senior infielder Ashley Burkhardt Burkhardt is a triple-threat type of player, batting .438 while hitting eight home runs and batting in 32 runs. She leads the conference in hits (39) and is second in the Big Ten with 70 total bases. Her speed keeps teams guessing, as she has the ability to swipe four bases in one game — a feat accomplished in a March 15 contest against Western Michigan. Maryland (17-11) The Terrapins have lost all of their games to currently ranked teams, but their expertise is in plate vision. They rank second in the Big Ten in walks (109), and have walked 13 times in one game. Senior outfielder Erin Pronobis has a .387 average with 45 total bases.
Player to watch: Senior right-handed pitcher Kaitlyn Schmeiser Schmeiser is among the top Big Ten pitchers, being the third-best pitcher in regard to wins (12), innings pitched (109) and strikeouts (104). Ohio State (13-9) The Buckeyes have lost to every ranked opponent they have faced this season: No. 11 UCLA, No. 9 Auburn and No. 18 Washington (twice). Freshman outfielder Taylor White earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after hitting .583 with a home run and a triple at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Player to watch: Senior outfielder Caitlin Conrad Conrad is the lead-off hitter for Ohio State, batting .358 with 25 RBI and a .642 slugging percentage. Michigan State (15-12) While the Spartans have struck out the fourth most in the Big Ten (139) and teams have stolen 45 bases on the Michigan State defense in 49 chances, they have shown signs of promise. They lost to No. 20 UCF by run-rule, but have beaten once-ranked Tulsa. Redshirt freshman right-hander Kristina Zalewski has a 1.63 ERA and 91 strikeouts to lead the pitching staff. Player to Watch: Senior outfielder Alyssa McBride Despite batting in the nine spot for a majority of the season, McBride — who batted .184 last season — is the leader of the Michigan State offense, batting .443 with a .538 on base percentage. Rutgers (10-7) The Scarlet Knights have shown both excellence and failure at the plate. In one game, they hit six doubles, but in another, they left 15 on base. The pitching staff has a collective 4.76 ERA, and must pitch more efficiently if Rutgers wants to remain competitive in the Big Ten. Player to watch: Senior outfielder Jackie Bates
Bates has a .439 batting average and is second in the Big Ten with a .930 slugging percentage. Northwestern (11-10) The Wildcats have allowed the least amount of hits in the Big Ten (120), but that’s only because they haven’t played that many games. Junior right-handed pitcher Kristen Wood leads the pitching staff with 84 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .224 batting average. Northwestern has also struck out 14 times in one game, proving that its offense is not to be revered. Player to watch: Senior outfielder Andrea DiPrima DiPrima’s statistics may fall once Northwestern gets deeper into the season, but she is currently third in the Big Ten with a .466 batting average and second in the conference with a .597 on-base percentage. Wisconsin (13-13) The Badgers will put pressure on opposing teams on the base paths. They have stolen 86 bases in 101 chances, leading every other team in the Big Ten by at least 28 stolen bases. They have had one-run losses against formidable teams like No. 25 UAB (twice). Player to watch: Senior outfielder Maria Van Abel Van Abel is the catalyst of the Wisconsin offense, leading the Big Ten in stolen bases (21) while batting .407 with 35 hits. Nebraska (12-12) The Cornhuskers score in bunches (averaging close to nine runs a game) and are second in the Big Ten in batting average (.348). Eight players have started at least 15 games and have a batting average over .300. But they have lost to all of their ranked opponents, and the pitching is to blame. Hitters have punished the pitching staff to the tune of a .317 average and a 5.47 ERA. Player to Watch: Junior outfielder Kiki Stokes Stokes is batting .444, slugging .806 and has an on base percentage of .549.
STAFF PICKS The Daily softball writers do their best to predict what will happen in the world of college softball this season. Michigan overall record Michigan Big Ten record Michigan MVP Michigan Offensive POY Michigan Freshman of the Year Big Ten regular season champion Big Ten regular season runner-up
Big Ten MVP Big Ten surprise team Michigan’s season ends here
Kevin Santo 48-7 20-3 Sierra Romero Kelsey Susalla Tera Blanco Michigan Minnesota Romero Wisconsin WCWS
Ted Janes 47-8 20-3 Megan Betsa Sierra Romero Taylor Swearingen Michigan Minnesota Ashley Burkhardt Nebraska WCWS
Chris Crowder
Tyler Scott
47-8 19-4 Romero Sierra Lawrence Aidan Falk Michigan Minnesota Sara Groenewegen Purdue WCWS
46-9 19-4 Romero Romero Blanco Michigan Minnesota Kristen Wood Rutgers Super Regionals
Sports
8 — Friday, March 20, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
S FTBALL
Michigan’s position-byposition preview By TED JANES Daily Sports Writer
both seen plenty of innings at third. Montemarano has started 22 games, all at third. She struggled to hit throughout the nonconference schedule, posting a .196 batting average as well as going hitless through nine games. Swearingen has seen more time at third lately, but if Montemarano gets back on track with her bat, it will be tougher for the freshman to crack the starting lineup. Outfield If there are any positions that are actually set, it’s the out-
field. Sophomore Kelly Christner will be in leftfield, junior Sierra Lawrence in center and junior Kelsey Susalla in right. The trio is part of Michigan’s core power hitters, and all three of them are in the top four of the batting order. While Susalla is new to the outfield this season, she has adjusted well. Christner, who rarely started during her freshman campaign, has played in every game so far. Finally, Lawrence, who has a perfect fielding percentage, has become one of Michigan’s most consistent and reliable outfielders, tallying just four errors in her 151 career appearances.
How a position becomes an identity By KEVIN SANTO Daily Sports Writer
Ice breakers were always hard for Kelsey Susalla. The junior Michigan softball player could never find the right words for an answer. “Those are the (questions) I always struggle with,” Susalla said. “In class, they’re like ‘tell us something interesting about yourself’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ ” The question applied to the softball field as well. She didn’t know her identity there, either. *** A few weeks after Florida State eliminated the Wolverines from the 2014 NCAA Super Regional with a heartbreaking walk-off homerun, Susalla stepped into coach Carol Hutchins’ office. It was her turn to have the end-of-the-season meeting that Hutchins conducts with every player on her roster. Susalla’s first message was to be expected — she wanted to get more playing time, and she would do whatever it took to earn it. The second message, however, was not so predictable. “She came to me and said, ‘I’d like to try the outfield.’ ” Hutchins said. *** Susalla had not played a single inning of her softball career in the outfield. Until high school, she consistently played second base, and at Garden City High School, she was converted into a first and third baseman. Garden City coach Barry Patterson even played Susalla at pitcher for her junior and senior year, and she garnered AllState honors at the position. For her current success, Patterson credited Susalla’s experience in the circle for her attitude on the field. “(She gained) an understanding of what it means to be that person,” Patterson said. “Every single play and every eye in the park starts with you. You’re such a big factor. I think part of the demeanor that she has of never getting rattled (comes from her experience pitching). You can’t pitch from an emotional standpoint. You just have to fight through adversity.” Susalla also set career records for runs scored, batting average, hits, home runs, doubles and triples in her tenure at Garden City, but in her first two years at Michigan, she struggled
to consistently etch her name into the lineup. She played just 36 and 34 games in 2013 and 2014, respectively — about half of the total contests the Wolverines played those seasons. Over the course of those 70 games, Susalla started in just 20. So as Susalla entered that office, she knew an opportunity was there for her taking, and she wasn’t about to let it slip through her fingers “I thought since we were losing a couple outfielders with that graduating class, that opens a spot up for me,” Susalla said. “I just asked if I could work on it over the summer. I would take extra fly balls, get some outfield work in with my throws, anything like that.” *** The outfielders who had graduated left Susalla with large shoes to fill. Among the graduating class were Lyndsay Doyle, Nicole Sappingfield and Katie Luetkens. Both Sappingfield and Doyle played every game in the outfield for the Wolverines in 2014. Michigan’s leadoff hitter, Doyle, posted a .369 batting average, while Sappingfield boasted a .402 and .431 batting average and on-base percentage, respectively. Though Luetkens played just nine games in 2014, she was a team captain with Sappingfield and had spent her whole career in the outfield. Luetkens mentored Susalla, spending time with her last summer. The bulk of the time was spent on the field, as the veteran hit fly balls to Susalla and fine-tuned her fielding technique. “(The most difficult part) was reading the ball off the bat,” Susalla said. “When you’re in the infield, you’re a lot closer to the batter. You can see if it’s going to be a line drive, ground ball or pop up. But in the outfield, a good 50 to 60 feet further back, along with the wind and sun, judging the ball (was tough).” Susalla had the opportunity to apply her newly developed talent in game situations prior to the 2015 campaign. Per her request, she was occasionally deployed to the outfield with her travel team, the Kalamazoo Hooters, over the summer. Susalla’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed by her teammates. “She’s honestly one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever met,” said sophomore pitcher Megan Betsa. “I saw it this summer. I stayed (in the offseason) and she was here also. She was (on the field) and Olivia Richvalsky’s dad came. He would just hit her fly balls, and she was out there working hard every day because that’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to play.
“She earned her spot, and she’s keeping it up. She still comes in every day.” *** With her position finally solidified, Susalla has been thriving. She has started 28 of 29 games this year, and her stat line has been exceptional. Susalla has already eclipsed her season totals in all major batting categories from her freshman and sophomore season. In 77 at-bats, she has recorded six home runs and 30 RBI, while posting a staggering .792 slugging percentage. On top of that, Susalla boasts a .390 batting average with nine doubles. Most notably, the junior seems to be at home in right field. Susalla has not recorded an error this season and has shown flashes of brilliance — she robbed Alabama of a momentumshifting home run at the Easton Bama Bash by making a spectacular play at the wall. *** But Susalla’s position and performance aren’t the only things that have dramatically changed this season. As her teammates explained, their first impression of Susalla was that she was quiet and shy. But Susalla is quickly emerging as a leader for the Wolverines. She arrives early to practice every day for batting practice, and sets an example for her teammates, who are feeding off of her energy. “She’s like that blue-collar kid that comes in with her lunch bucket,” Hutchins said. “(She) just is trying to do her part. She doesn’t have these huge expectations, she’s just working hard. She’s had to work really hard to get this opportunity, and she’s taking advantage of it.” Added junior infielder Sierra Romero: “Her confidence, it has improved like crazy. From her freshman and sophomore year to her junior year, she’s just continued to get better and continued to become more of a dominant power hitter.” *** Susalla was a first baseman. She was a second baseman. She was a third baseman. She was even a pitcher. But now, Susalla finally knows who she is. She’s found her identity. She’s the starting right fielder for the No. 4 team in the nation.
P R E V I E W
With the Big Ten season right around the corner, the roster for the No. 4 Michigan softball team is finally settling into place. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins continues to shuffle players in and out, especially in the infield, but a handful of Wolverines have consistently made the starting lineup. Defensively, the team is well rounded and has immense depth, so starting spots are largely earned on the field by standing out with the bat. The Daily examines the 2015 softball team position by position. Pitchers Michigan’s pitching staff is robust. With all three pitchers returning from last season, experience has not been an issue. Senior left-hander Haylie Wagner currently has a 1.98 earnedrun average, and was named to the preseason Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List. Wagner is known to be a contact pitcher, jamming up right-handed hitters. Sophomore right-hander Megan Betsa has been lights out lately, and Hutchins refers to her as a “strike out pitcher” that you want to have in the circle late in games. Against then-No. 3 Alabama, Betsa allowed just two runs while striking out six in a complete game. Her confidence, which was lacking last season, seems to be off the charts so far. Finally, senior right-hander Sara Driesenga is a drop-ball pitcher, getting a lot of ground balls from her opponents. She is currently dealing with a nagging injury and has appeared in just seven games. Nonetheless, Driesenga holds a 0.78 ERA, the lowest on the staff. Freshman Tera Blanco also makes occasional appearances in the circle, and Hutchins hopes to work her into the rotation more as the season matures. Catcher Senior Lauren Sweet is the go-to catcher, but she was injured in a game against Kent State, and the length of her recovery is still unknown. Freshman Aidan Falk has since taken over. While Falk seems capable of filling her duties as catcher, she will have to make up immense ground offensively. This preseason, Sweet put up a .329 batting average, recorded 27 runs batted in and hit six home runs. Though her bat might not be as strong as Sweet’s, Falk has been impressive, hitting three home runs so far this season. First Base Since joining the roster, Blanco has stepped in as the Wolverines’ first baseman. Blanco started all but one of Michigan’s games, earning her starting role right away. Blanco boasts a .423 slugging percentage and has 25 RBI. Freshman Taylor Swearingen also appears in the lineup often at first base. Second Base Both junior Sierra Romero and sophomore Abby Ramirez are seeing a lot of time at second. Now, Romero seems to have settled in. One of the best players around college softball, Romero carries a .531 batting average, by far the highest percentage in the starting lineup. Her 1.109 slugging percentage is the fourth highest in the nation, and the second highest among power conferences. Her biggest threat is with her bat, but nonetheless, Romero is a solid defensive choice for second base. Shortstop Romero has been swapping in and out of shortstop with Ramirez. As Romero plays more at second, it’s becoming clear that Ramirez seems to be earning the starting spot at shortstop. Consistent with her bat as well, Ramirez holds a .303 batting average and has started all 29 game. Third Base Sophomore Lindsay Montemarano and Swearingen have