Michigan Daily Compilation

AN ILL EDUCATION Publishers think students need dope examples to make books interesting.

They need to think again. n SEE OPINION, PAGE 4A

A FOND FAREWELL

In their home finale, the Wolverines’ blueliners outmuscled Western Michigan this weekend as the team advanced to the CCHA Semifinals. n SEE SPORTSMONDAY, INSIDE

ONE-HUNDRED-NINETEEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, March 16, 2009

Ann Arbor, Michigan

michigandaily.com

‘M’ dancing for first time since ’98 No. 10 seed Michigan to play No. 7 seed Clemson in first round Thursday

Thursday at 7:10 p.m.

If the Wolverines win, they will face the winner of No. 2 seed Oklahoma and No. 15 seed Morgan State.

“I knew that the country wants to see the block ‘M’ back at the dance,” Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin said. “I think it’s a real defining moment for our program this year.

It’s just upward going forward.”

The Wolverines (20-13) have played their best basketball this season with their backs against the wall. Michigan was the 61st team to have its name called Sunday, which put the team through the grinder yet again.

“It was very appropriate because that kind of sums up our season,” fifth-year senior C.J. Lee said.

“We’ve been right there, back and forth all year.”

When studio host Greg Gumbel finally said ‘Michigan’ on the CBS telecast, it was to the tune of hun-

By ALEX PROSPERI Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan faithful waited more than 4,000 days and watched more than 300 games in preparation for a day like Sunday.

And judging by the turnout at Crisler Arena, it was worth the wait.

For the first time since 1998, the Michigan men’s basketball team has earned an NCAA Tournament bid. CBS announced Sunday night that No. 10 seed Michigan would face No. 7 seed Clemson in the South Regional in Kansas City on

dreds of screaming fans who filled the lower bowl on the east side of Crisler Arena. Michigan coach John Beilein addressed the crowd after the show.

“I don’t even know because of all the excitement, where are we going?” Beilein asked.

Michigan waited more than a half hour to hear its name called — not an easy task for players or coaches.

“I was so nervous,” fifth-year senior co-captain David Merritt said. “My stomach was turning over just to think that there was a chance we wouldn’t make it. Luckily and thank God that our name came up as a 10 (seed).”

Added Lee: “Of course I was nervous. When you’re seeing all those spots being taken by teams that kind of are similar to yourself, we were just playing the waiting game.”

Assistant coach Mike Jackson See TOURNAMENT, Page 3A

WILL MOELLER/Daily

Michigan players and fans celebrate in Crisler Arena last night moments after they found out they made the NCAA Tournament.

THE ANATOMY OF AN ENDOWMENT SERIES, PART 1

CAMPUS REMEMBERS

The multi-billion-dollar backbone At ‘U,’ Davidson As state funding dries up, the ‘U’ must rely more than ever on its endowment

Editor’s Note: Today’s story — a look at the financial investments that make up the University’s endowment, the individuals that manage it and the kinds of strategies they employ — is the first in the Daily’s four-part “The Anatomy of an Endowment” series.

By ANDY KROLL Subsequent stories in the series Daily Investigative Editor will try to answer other important questions about the endowment, It’s often said that the Universilike why more endowment funds can’t be used for financial aid, how ty of Michigan, the state’s flagship the University’s investors take institution of higher education, is into account social responsibil- about as close to a private school ity and ethics when managing the as a public university can get.

On the one hand, this can be endowment’s funds and how the global financial crisis will impact attributed to the University’s the endowment in the months and impressive alumni base and the fundraising success that comes years ahead.

By the end of the series, our goal with such a vast alumni is to have dissected, described and netanalyzed in simple terms an intricate financial portfolio — one that is critical to the University’s day-to-day 11.6 percent operations and $757 million** long-term success.

work — both characteristics of elite private universities.

But declining state funding has pushed the University further in the private direction. Since the 2002 fiscal year, annual appropriations funding from the state government has decreased almost $97 million when measured for inflation.

As a result, the University has been forced to rely more than ever on its multi-billion-dollar endowment to fund its academic departments, provide financial aid for students, pay for other University operations and essentially keep the University in business.

Yet despite the endowment’s increasingly vital importance to the University, very few people

2 FIXED INCOME

1 ENERGY

8.7 percent $569 million

8 REAL ESTATE

15.4 percent $1.01 billion**

understand what the endowment is, what it’s comprised of, how it functions, who manages it and, most of all, how decisions are made concerning how much of those billions of dollars can be spent at any given time.

“Almost the entire public doesn’t understand what endowments are,” said University President Mary Sue Coleman in an interview last fall. “Very, very intelligent people, you know, some of our donors will say to me, ‘Well, why don’t you just spend more of the endowment?’ And I say, ‘Wait, wait, wait. Let me explain it to you.’ ” Given the dire financial situation facing the state, many wonder how reliable a source of funding state appropriations will be for the University moving forward.

And with the endowment compensating for dwindling state funding, it becomes increasingly imporSee ENDOWMENT, Page 7A

3 PRIVATE EQUITY

6.5BILLION*

14.7 percent $ 958 million**

DOLLARS: THE ANATOMY OF AN ENDOWMENT

7 STOCKS INFOGRAPHIC BY ANGELA CHIH AND MAUREEN STYCH

20.4 percent $1.33 billion

17.9 percent $1.17 billion

1 ENERGY This asset class includes investments in oil exploration and extraction companies as well as oil and gas service companies.

2 FIXED INCOME

Better known as bonds, these investments are essentially loans which collect interest, and later, the principal amount is repaid.

WEATHER TOMORROW

4 VENTURE CAPITAL

HI: 69 LO: 42

3 PRIVATE EQUITY

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY BOARD OF REGENTS MONTHLY INVESTMENT REPORT THROUGH DEC. 31 FILED FOR FEBRUARY 19, 2009 MEETING *TEMPORARY VALUE FOR UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENT AS OF DEC. 31 **THESE FIGURES REFLECT SEPT. 30, 2008 VALUES FOR THE ENDOWMENT’S ILLIQUID ASSETS — THE MOST RECENT DATA AVAILABLE

5 CASH

Private equity investments are often partnerships with funds that acquire and restructure companies and later try to sell them for a profit.

The endowment contains a small amount of cash holdings. University investors, however, try to minimize cash due to its low performance.

The University invests in various venture capital firms, which use their funds to invest in start-ups with long-term growth potential.

This asset class is an aggregate of investments and strategies employed by investors aimed at posting positive returns every quarter.

4 VENTURE CAPITAL

6 ABSOLUTE RETURN

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Bill Davidson, Detroit Pistons owner and Ross School of Business alum, passed away last Friday at the age of 86.

Davidson died at his Bloomfield Hills home, and although the cause of death is still unknown, Davidson’s health had been poor for the last few years.

The funeral DAVIDSON will be held at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Mich.

Tuesday at noon.

University President Mary Sue Coleman wrote in an e-mail statement Saturday that Davidson will be greatly missed here at the University.

“It was always a pleasure to spend time with him, and my thoughts are

By JENNA SKOLLER Daily Staff Reporter

7 STOCKS These are the endowment’s U.S. and international stock holdings, which include investments in companies like AT&T and Exxon Mobil.

8 REAL ESTATE

The University invests in real estate managers in the U.S. and abroad who engage in real estate acquisition and development.

NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM How Selection Sunday went for the Big Ten. THEGAME.BLOGS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM

Daily Staff Reporter

Former MSA president Prof. Scott Page will moderate

3.4 percent $222 million

$

By VERONICA MENALDI

with Karen and their family,” Coleman wrote in the e-mail to The Michigan Daily. “We will miss him, and we will honor his legacy as a dedicated and successful alumnus.”

As part of his legacy at the University, Davidson created the William Davidson Institute in 1992 at the Ross School of Business. The institute, according to its website, is a “non-profit, independent, research and educational institute dedicated to developing and disseminating expertise on issues affecting firms in transition and emerging market economies.”

WDI Executive Director Robert Kennedy, who worked with Davidson over the past six years, wrote in an e-mail to The Michigan Daily Saturday that Davidson loved to help however he could, and was truly a great man.

“Bill Davidson was a business visionary, a great philanthropist and a dedicated family man,” he wrote. “He was incredibly generous to the University of Michigan.

“One of the nice things was that it was never about him. Bill always encouraged us to aim high and to accomplish great things,” he wrote.

“The thing he said most often was, ‘How can I help?’ ” See DAVIDSON, Page 3A

MSA presidential candidates to square off in debate tonight

7.9 percent $514 million**

5 CASH

%

Pistons owner, University alum passed away at the age of 86 on Friday

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

$ 6 ABSOLUTE RETURN

left lasting legacy

INDEX

In the midst of one of the most competitive Michigan Student Assembly election races in recent history, the presidential and vice presidential candidates from each party will engage in a debate at 7:30 tomorrow night in the Palmer Commons Auditorium.

All three parties in the election — the Defend Affirmative Action Party, the Michigan Vision Party and the reMichigan Campaign —

Vol. CXIX, No. 109 ©2009 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com

will take part in the debate, which WOLV-TV will broadcast on channel 55 and stream to its website.

Vice presidential candidates will field questions from Political Science Prof. Scott Page, who was MSA president from 1984-1985, until 8 p.m., at which point presidential candidates will take the stage until the close of the debate at 9 p.m.

Page said he thinks student leaders offer a unique perspective on improving campus-wide issues.

“When I was a student, I was convinced that students had some of the best ideas for how to improve the University,” he said. “I still think that’s true.”

Page will pose a series of questions to the candidates, who will See DEBATE, Page 3A

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LESSONS FROM ‘89

OUR PICKS

The 1989 championship was a high point in Michigan basketball history, but led to the team’s lowest low. What has the program learned from the fall from grace? n SEE THE STATEMENT, INSIDE

The Daily’s editorial board weighs in on who should be the next leaders of the Michigan Student Assembly. n SEE OPINION, PAGE 4A

ONE-HUNDRED-NINETEEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Ann Arbor, Michigan

michigandaily.com

THE ANATOMY OF AN ENDOWMENT SERIES, PART 3

Giving voice to the endowment With its investments, students want the ‘U’ to consider social responsibility

By ANDY KROLL Daily Investigative Editor

MAX COLLINS/Daily

Elizabeth Jones has dinner with her son Harrison at Tios Mexican Café yesterday afternoon. After the city purchased the building that currently houses Tios, the restaurant’s owners were forced to find a new home for their eatery. But financial troubles have left restaurant management scrambling months before they will be forced to move out.

City to Tios: Get out by June Restaurant forced to find new location after city buys spot

By MALLORY JONES Daily Staff Reporter

The lingering scent of refried beans and hot salsa will soon clear the air of East Huron Street when Tios Mexican Café moves out of the building it has occupied for over 20 years.

In July of last year the City of

Ann Arbor purchased the building next to city hall, where Tios Mexican Café has been located since 1985. The restaurant will have to vacate the building by June 30, when its current lease is up.

After the city bought the building, Tios launched a campaign to raise the $50,000 it needs to finance its move. So far, it has about $20,000, according to owner Tim Seaver. As a part of the campaign, customers can make donations ranging from $50 to $5,000, each paired with benefits including monthly discounts to getting

one’s name engraved on a stool in the restaurant.

Seaver said Tios’ owners were surprised by the purchase since they were not aware that their building was up for sale. The business learned that the building had been purchased and that they would have to move from customers and from the Ann Arbor News, longtime employee Pauline Slate said.

Dean Zahn Properties LLC, the restaurant’s landlord, was unavailable for comment.

The restaurant is hoping to move

to the space formerly occupied by Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina on East Liberty, or the former location of The Metro Café in Kerrytown.

Seaver said he’s confident that his business will raise enough money for the move.

“It’s going to be touch-and-go but I think we’re going to make it,” he said. “We’re optimistic.”

Seaver said his major complaint with the situation is that the city is not helping the restaurant with the move. He said that he would not mind moving if it wasn’t such See TIOS, Page 3A

Picking an MSA president

By JENNA SKOLLER

By LINDY STEVENS

Daily Staff Reporter

Daily News Editor

Abhishek Mahanti, an Engineering junior from Okemos, Mich., is the Michigan Vision Party’s presidential candidate.

Mahanti joined the Michigan Student Assembly last year as an Engineering representative and currently serves as its Communications Chair.

If elected, Mahanti said his main goal is to increase the transparency and visibility of MSA. He said he wants to ensure that the assembly has a positive impact on as many students as possible “whether that’s with student organization funding, whether that’s with the freshman who comes in with no idea what to do and finds resources on our website, or if somebody goes to a concert that we put on or an event that we put on and is positively affected.”

Mahanti also emphasized that he thinks it’s important for MSA to focus only on University-centric goals like helping students get jobs and obtain financial aid.

An LSA junior from Las Vegas, Nev., Gibran Baydoun is running as the presidential candidate for the reMichigan Campaign. Now in his third year on the Michigan Student Assembly, Baydoun said if elected he plans to refocus student government and advocate for the student body.

Baydoun said his primary focus as president would be to make the University affordable for students of all backgrounds.

“No. 1 is tuition and financial aid,” Baydoun said. “We need to advocate for a tuition freeze in the short-term, and in the longterm think about some creative options for the way that we make the Michigan experience affordable.”

Though tuition costs are a concern for both parties, Baydoun said his party plans to take a more proactive approach than the opposing party in solving campus problems.

“The one thing that sepa-

He said he would work toward this goal by implementing a weeklong event before the career fair in which students can find help with résumés, take part in mock interviews and attend career workshops.

The Michigan Vision Party is different from other parties because of its emphasis on finding the best candidates possible rather than simply trying to fill the slate, Mahanti said.

He said the party only chose 11 See MAHANTI, Page 7A

Kate Stenvig

By JENNA SKOLLER Daily Staff Reporter

Kate Stenvig, a Rackham graduate student from Royal Oak, Mich., is the Defend Affirmative Action Party’s candidate for president of the Michigan Student Assembly. She has been a member of DAAP since 1999.

Stenvig said DAAP emphasizes the importance of maintaining a

WEATHER TOMORROW

HI: 46 LO: 23

“diverse, integrated, affordable” campus.

“That means opening up U of M to really make it what a public university should be, a university that is accessible to everyone and is not exclusive,” she said.

“We want an increase in minority student enrollment. We want the campus to be a sanctuary for immigrants. We want affordable education.”

THE NEW PROPOSAL The right side of this graphic outlines a new student-created proposal to create a permanent shareholder responsibility advisory committee, which would alter the University’s existing shareholder policies, as seen on the left side.

Gibran Baydoun

Abhishek Mahanti

MAX COLLINS/Daily

The purpose of the University of Michigan’s endowment is simple.

As University Chief Financial Officer Timothy Slottow wrote in his “Statement on University Investment Policies” in November 2005, “There is one overarching principle related to our endowment and investment strategy: The University’s governing board and officers have a fiduciary responsibility to protect our assets for the long term, so that we may leave to succeeding generations a University at least as strong as the one with which we have been entrusted.

“Therefore, the primary purpose of our endowment,” he concluded, “is to generate the greatest possible income, subject to an appropriate amount of risk, in support of the University’s missions of teaching, research and service.”

But for nearly as long as colleges

Stenvig said DAAP is unique because of its persistence in supporting its members’ opinions, emphasizing student opinions rather than the administrators’ views.

STENVIG “I think what’s different about DAAP is that we’re not afraid to disagree with the

GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

and universities have had endowments, there has been pressure on these institutions to not only focus on maximizing endowment gains, but also to act as engaged, socially responsible shareholders with an interest in the policies, practices and transparency of the companies and corporations in which they invest and a willingness to use their shareholder votes to voice their opinions.

This concept of shareholder activism in the United States began in the 1940s, when federal regulations allowed shareholders to introduce resolutions about a company’s affairs on which all shareholders could vote, according to a working paper written by Harvard Business School Prof. Michael Toffel and Harvard Business School doctoral student Erin Reid.

One of the most vivid examples of shareholder activism took place in the 1970s and 1980s, as American opposition to apartheid in South Africa reached a fever pitch. At that time, many different individuals, companies and institutions, among them universities, looked at the investments they had involving apartheid South Africa and, in many cases, decided to divest their holdings as a repudiation of that See ENDOWMENT, Page 7A

University  ‘U’ delegates authority to outside investment managers for proxy voting.  Outside managers receive voting directives for broader financial issues.

MAX COLLINS/Daily

rates us is we’re not just talking about lofty goals and ideas and visions,” he said. “We’re more than that.”

Baydoun said he also plans to engage in more extensive outreach to student organizations, provide students with more academic guidance and increase access to internship and job opportunities through the University.

He added that his plans for MSA also include efforts to creSee BAYDOUN, Page 7A

administration,” she said. “We recognize that there are going to be differences, that we’re not always going to agree.”

DAAP supports increasing opportunities for minority and lower income students to attend the University through increasing financial aid and freezing tuition among other things, Stenvig said.

“We want affordable education,” she said. “We want the money that’s coming for public See STENVIG, Page 7A

NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Never heard of the Collegeinsider.com tournament?

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INDEX

 Outside managers must abstain from voting on social and political issues.

Advisory Committee  A shareholder responsibility advisory committee reviews proxy resolutions on social, political and environmental issues.  The committee advises the ‘U’ and outside managers on how to vote.

Outside investment managers

 Outside managers vote according to ‘U’ voting directives.  Outside managers abstain from social and political proxy votes.

 Outside managers still follow certain ‘U’ voting directives  Recommendations of advisory committee and ‘U’ taken into account on select proxy voting situations

companies invested in  ‘U’ position on financial and governance issues is heard

 ‘U’ voice heard on many important shareholder issues.

 Absence of ‘U’ positions on social and political issues, except in rare cases.

 Companies urged to be more transparent, increase information disclosure.

Vol. CXIX, No. 111 ©2009 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com

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Sports

8 — Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Chris Dzombak/Daily

Junior Louie Caporusso was a unanimous pick for the preseason All-CCHA first team.

Preseason All-CCHA Team First Team Forward, Louie Caporusso, junior, Michigan Forward, Carter Camper, junior, Miami Forward, Mark Olver, junior, Northern Michigan Defense, Ian Cole, junior, Notre Dame Defense, Erik Gustafsson, junior, Northern Michigan Goalie, Brian Stewart, senior, Northern Michigan

Said Alsalah/Daily

Senior Carlos Brown is leading the Wolverines’ high-flying offense with 336 yards rushing, four total touchdowns and 8.4 rushing yards per attempt.

Blue aims to be more physical with in-state rivalry game up next

By Andy Reid Daily Sports Editor

Since Rich Rodriguez and his coaching staff at Glenville State came up with the crazy idea to run a two-minute offense for the whole game, he has had to deal with common perceptions about the spread.

The offense is about speed. It’s about finesse, style points and flash.

It’s not about toughness.

When he took the Michigan job after Lloyd Carr’s retirement, Rodriguez was berated with questions about how his high-octane offense could possibly work in the Big Ten, still home to 320-pound linemen and the “three yards and a cloud of dust” philosophy.

“I've heard that quite a bit … that if you're a spread team, you're not as physical,” Rodriguez said at his Monday press conference. “Being

physical is a mentality and a state of mind with your players, not a system.”

Rodriguez’s critics grew louder after his terrible 2008 debut, saying his brand of football wasn’t tough enough for the Midwest. Michigan couldn’t run, throw or, well, do anything when it got the ball.

But those naysayers have been quieted this season. The Wolverines are eating up enormous chunks of yards, and they’re doing it in a way that would make Bo Schembechler proud — on the ground.

Michigan leads the Big Ten in rushing offense, racking up more than 240 yards per game. That’s almost 50 yards more per game than second-place Wisconsin. The Wolverines have also scored 12 touchdowns on the ground, which is greater than or equal to the number of total offensive touchdowns put up by five conference counter-

War of the words: 2007 Michigan 28 Michigan State 24

parts: Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

“If you run for 350 yards or 400 yards in the spread offense, you have to be a little bit physical at some point,” Rodriguez said.

“That part is probably played up too much. I don't think it's the style of play. But there is no question, in this game, the physicality of both teams.”

But once again, with his team traveling to East Lansing this weekend, Rodriguez was questioned about his team’s toughness.

That’s because the Spartans have garnered the reputation of being a very physical team since Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio strolled onto campus three seasons ago.

Last year, on the legs of Javon Ringer, the Spartans were one of the most physical, ground-churning teams in the Big Ten, if not the nation. But Rodriguez doesn’t want

S

to focus on the toughness of Michigan State, but of the intensity of the conference as a whole.

"We try to preach the importance of the Big Ten games in particular, how intense they are,” Rodriguez said. “Some of the schools in the Big Ten, if you ask them, they may tell you their biggest game is against Michigan.”

On the defensive side of the ball, the Spartans are giving up a scant 113 yards per game on the ground, which means hard-nosed football is going to be the key to the Wolverines’ offensive success this weekend and in the future.

"We've played pretty physical at times this year, but we're going to challenge our guys this week to be more physical, and not just because we're playing Michigan State,” Rodriguez said. “We're doing it because I think we can play more physical.”

? ? ?

Forward, Calle Ridderwall, junior, Notre Dame Forward, Billy Maday, sophomore, Notre Dame Forward, John Albert, junior, Ohio State Defense, Eddie DelGrosso, senior, Nebraska-Omaha Defense, Kyle Lawson, senior, Notre Dame Goalie, Bryan Hogan, junior, Michigan

Honorable Mention Forward, Ryan Thang, senior, Notre Dame Forward, Greger Hanson, junior, Northern Michigan Defense, Zach Redmond, junior, Ferris State Defense, Chris Summers, senior, Michigan Defense, Tyler Ludwig, senior, Western Michigan Defense, Chris Wideman, sophomore, Miami

Hey, @UM_coachrod. at least we write our own tweets. follow @michdailysports.

ince Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio’s first season in 2007, there has been no love lost between the Wolverines and Spartans.

You probably remember Mike Hart’s infamous “Little Brother” comment — and Dantonio making fun of Hart’s

height in response — but there are plenty of chalkboard-worthy quotes for both sides from the last few years, including some pretty startling quips from a few Spartans at yesterday’s press conference. Needless to say, this annual in-state battle is getting more heated than ever before.

Here are a few of those quotes for your enjoyment:

Michigan running back Mike Hart: “I was just laughing. I thought it was funny. They got excited. Sometimes you get your little brother excited when you’re playing basketball and you let him get the lead. Then you just come and take it back.”

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio: “I find a lot the things they do amusing. They need to check themselves sometimes. Let’s just remember: Pride comes before the fall. You heard me, pride comes before the fall.”

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio: “This game is an important game.

They want to mock us? I’m telling you, it’s not over. So they can print all that crap all they want to over their locker room. It’s not over, and it’ll never be over here. It’s just starting.”

Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham before the 2008 Michigan State game: “We gonna come out, we gonna work hard this week. Because I don’t think we are going to ever lose to State. I’m feeling like we’re not gonna to lose to State because that’s just — we’re not going to lose to State. We are going to work hard.

We’re gonna win.”

2008 Michigan State 35 Michigan 21 2009

Second Team

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio after the 2008 Michigan State game: “We won’t walk the alleys, we can walk in the street.”

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez after the 2008 Michigan State game: “They deserved to win. We didn’t.”

Michigan State defensive end Trevor Anderson: “After about 15 seconds, I realized why I didn’t like them. Just the total lack of respect that they have for our school in general. Not just the program, but the general lack of respect they have for us.”

Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins: “This game is personal, and we need to win it. And we better win it.”

Michigan State left tackle Rocco Cironi: “Yeah, I think everybody has a hatred for Michigan.”

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez: “I’m friendly with everybody … I’m a nice guy. I’m closer with some other coaches. (Dantonio and I) don’t share tea and crumpets … we don’t trade text messages every day, but we’re friendly,.”

Michigan cornerback Donovan Warren: “This past year (in January) I was going back home and I was at the airport and a guy — I had nothing Michigan on — but the guy just came up to me and said, ‘We’re gonna beat your ass this year again.’ I said, ‘What?’

He’s like, ‘Yeah, those Wolverines, we’re going to give it to you this year again.’ I said, ‘All right, all right, sir.’ ”

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The BEST ALBUMS of 2008

Jan 8. to Jan. 11

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From TV on the Radio to Lil’ Wayne, from Deerhunter to Portishead, 2008 saw a wide range of artists score big with some of their best-ever efforts. At the dawn of 2009, the Daily Music Staff takes a look back with its picks for the best albums of the year.

The Michigan Theater’s “Great Directors Series: Alfred Hitchcock” continues this weekend with three of The Master’s finest films. On Friday, at midnight, Janet Leigh has the misfortune of winding up at the sinister Bates Motel in “Psycho”; on Saturday, at 1:40 p.m., Cary Grant finds himself on the run after being mistaken for a spy in “North by Northwest”; and on Sunday, at 1:40 p.m., James Stewart FE JK8>< becomes obsessed with the woman he saw die in “Vertigo.”

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For 45 years, the Guarneri String Quartet has remained one of the most respected groups in the field of classical music. With plans to retire, they are coming to Ann Arbor this weekend for one last farewell.

4 p.m. Sunday at Rackham Auditorium.

Tickets are $24-$50.

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Jack Bauer finally gets back to doing what he does best — killing and torturing people — after nearly a year and a half of delay. In what’s sure to be a gloriously bloody return, Fox’s “24” begins its seventh season with a two-night, four-hour premiere starting this Sunday at 8 p.m.

1. tv on the radio — Dear Science, TV on the Radio, buzz band no more. With the release of Dear Science,, TVOTR has entered into a rare and hard to define realm within the music world – part of a breed of bands that are respected by all, challenged by few and envied by their less-talented peers.

Radiohead is in this category; so was Pavement.

Dear Science, is an album with no unnecessary flourishes, no out-of-place instrumentation and no moments that sound even remotely close to contrived. Every single note on the album is essential, like each individual brushstroke in a masterpiece painting. From the claps on “Dancing Choose” to the breezy synth swells on “DLZ” to Tunde Adebimpe’s sweet falsetto “cry-i-i-i-ing,” TVOTR has crafted 2008’s best album, a brilliant work coming from a band in the infancy of its career. It’s staggering to even think of what’s next.

Jeff Sanford

2.fleet foxes — Fleet Foxes The Fleet Foxes things-to-do list for 2008 might look something like this: release Sun Giant EP in January; tour relentlessly in a run-down van through the spring, garnering much hype for the June release of the self-titled debut album along the way; win over audiences and critics nationwide with pastoral harmonies and deceptively simple folkpop arrangements; get tapped by Wilco to open for a leg of the summer tour, circulating a spirited live collaboration of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” around the Web to show for it; appear on every late night program on network television; wind up near the top of nearly every year-end list known to humanity; and somehow manage to do all this in less than 12 months.

Fleet Foxes’ quick rise to fame outside of the Pitchfork inner circle is as much a ragsto-riches story as any, but the cult of the Foxes stems largely from the group’s ability to turn any passerby into a believer. Needless to say, the Foxes can now afford to fix up their van.

Mike Kuntz

3.mgmt — Oracular Spectacular From the haunting bubbles on the intro of “Time to Pretend” to the creepy children counting down on “Kids,” MGMT’s debut was not to be overlooked. It combines just the right amounts of creepy and cool to make for great electropop. Equally suited to the club and to the car, Oracular Spectacular is full of anthems you can sing and dance to — so pick your poison. Maybe that’s why the band broke its way into so many hearts (and parties) this year. Then again, maybe it’s just the energy-intensive retro sound and incomprehensible lyrics that make MGMT so awkwardly lovable.

Sarah Chavey See best albums, Page 4b

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RubberBanDance Group is a dance company that freely mixes the genres of hip hop and contemporary dance. The elasticity 9FFBJ of movement is highlighted with innovative dance routines.

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the b-side B The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | Thursday, November 13, 2008

At UMMA, everything old is new once again

the list Nov. 13 to Nov. 16

The Daily Arts guide to the best upcoming events — it’s everywhere you should be this weekend and why.

AT RACKHAM

Living up to its name, the Creative Arts Orchestra performs a set of original music this evening at Rackham Auditorium.

The music is inspired by forms contemporary and classic, American and international. And there’s one catch: it will all be improvised. The show starts at 8 p.m. Free.

AT RACKHAM

One of Michigan’s most popular a cappella acts, The G-Men bring their high-octane brand of vocal performance back to the stage this weekend with “Because ‘A-Men’ and ‘C-Men’ were taken …” The songs will range from Disney favorites to disco hits to ’80s dance-pop. Rackham Auditorium. 8 p.m.

Friday. Student tickets $7.

ZACHARY MEISNER/Daily

By KIMBERLY CHOU Daily Arts Writer

EXPLORING UMMA’S NEWEST AND MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES  Expansion size:

93,000 square feet total; 53,000 square foot Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing  The masterminds: Designed with Brad Cloepfil and Allied Works Architecture of Portland, Oregon; the firm also oversaw the Seattle Art Museum expansion and the St. Louis Contemporary Art Museum  The artwork UMMA’s collection includes more than 18,000 artworks  The new elements: Museum features a triple-height (three-story) Vertical Gallery, among other new and expanded gallery spaces  Hours: Extended gallery hours and a public zone that will be open 16 hours a day  All free: Most importantly, admission to UMMA is still free

ABOVE AND ABOVE RIGHT: New skylights in the original statuary of the Alumni Memorial Hall portion of UMMA combine natural light and electrical light to best showcase the artworks. RIGHT: The new Frankel wing features a “triple-height” vertical gallery.

After two years of renovations and new construction, the University of Michigan Museum of Art readies stunning new expansion

O

n the ground level of the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s new Frankel wing, two glass walls join neatly, pushing toward State Street like the prow of a ship. Right now, the space they enclose isn’t much — something more to walk around, though it affords a nice view of the recently installed Mark di Suvero sculpture “Orion.”

“Most people are surprised to find out that it’s going to be a gallery,” said UMMA director James Steward.

Once UMMA reopens during winter term, after two years of renovations and new construction, the space will house temporary exhibitions of emerging contemporary artists.

“When we figured out how we were going to site the expansion, this is the space we first started thinking of to help us capture interest of people going past,” Steward said.

Work exhibited in this gallery will employ light, movement and other elements visible through the glass. Hopefully, according to Steward, being able to see such dynamic work without barriers — save for the glass walls — will lure passerby inside.

“There’s this idea: We want to make art part of the everyday experience,” he said.

The space is part of UMMA’s efforts to make the museum — and by extension, art in general — more accessible to everyone, every day, in its position as both a University resource and a community resource. According to Steward, UMMA is the largest museum between Detroit and Chicago and people come from great distances to visit. Each visitor, whatever his or her walk of life, should feel comfortable taking in a performance at UMMA’s See UMMA, Page 4B

AT HATCHER

While first-time visitors often marvel at the intimidating size of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library collection, few people ever see even a tiny fraction of the library’s catalogue. To show off the best parts of its collection, the Grad is rolling out its “Exhibit of Treasures” from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday. Free.

IN CONCERT

Celebrated in both his native country and the world over, pianist Radoslav Kvapil is regularly crowned the greatest Czech pianist in the world. In his Friday night recital, he’ll perform works by legendary fellow-Czechs Leos Janacek and Antonin Leopold Dvorak. 8 p.m. at the E.V. Moore Building. Free.

8 — Friday, January 30, 2009

Photo Story

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

RANGER CHALLeNGE photo story | Max Collins

The Ranger Challenge is the weekend-long “varsity sport of ROTC” held at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. Every year, 17 Army ROTC programs from Indiana, Illinois and Michigan compete in a grueling three-day test to find who has the fittest — and smartest — soldiers.

they undergo ten challenging events, starting with a land navigation exercise, where teams have to locate specific checkpoints in a forest in the middle of the night. The event culminates sunday morning with a 6.3 mile ruck march where Soldiers carry 60 pounds of equipment and supplies on their backs. The cadets who participate in this challenge train all semester, five days a week in addition to their regular battalion activities. Even though the challenge is tough, the tired and sore soldiers walk away with a sense of pride, knowing they’ve achieved their ultimate goal.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009 — The Michigan Daily

7C

Competitors and confidants Law school admissions message boards provide support in a cutthroat field Lisa Haidostian | Daily Staff Writer In the “Law School Acceptances, Denials, and Waitlists” section of www.top-law-schools.com’s expansive message board, a poster with the screen name jelifysh wrote in the University of Michigan thread: “gahh the suspense is killing me.”

Poster EmmyD, a Michigan Law student, replied: “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’d be very surprised if you got in.”

It was Christmas Eve. Some posters jumped in to defend jelifysh (“let us dreamers dream!”) while others stood by EmmyD (“What’s wrong with honesty?”) Jelifysh responded: “Stranger things have happened, and I’m sure that a good essay could go a long way. Merry Christmas to you.”

Sure, there are fights and bickering. But for the most part, law school message boards are filled with love and support between anonymous posters either vying for the same few spots at prestigious law schools or already attending them.

Although law school is often deemed one of the most academic, stiff and competitive post-graduate programs, its online community presence out does that of other post-graduate degrees. The Top Law Schools forum has more than 16,000 members and the Law School Discussions website, which students say has lost considerable ground in recent years to Top Law Schools, boasts more than 37,000.

Both boards have more than a million posts.

University students are flocking to these prolific law school message boards to seek and give LSAT and application advice and to simply revel in a community of (sometimes) like-minded individuals.

Ian Spain, a second year University law student, said the message boards are practically ubiquitous among young law students.

“Pretty much everyone has either browsed or posted at one point or another — but nobody really likes to admit it,” he said of his law school peers.

Spain said law school message boards might be more popular than business school boards, for exam-

ple, because applicants are generally younger and more used to online social networking.

The collegial and helpful environment fostered on the boards is counterintuitive in such a fiercely competitive field. Students applying to the same law schools edit each other’s personal statements.

LSAT takers share study tips. Law students spend hours responding to questions about their schools.

It isn’t all serious, though. The “off-topic” sections at both Top Law Schools and Law School Discussions are among the most popular. At Law School Discussions, one user starts a thread asking whether people prefer Whoppers or Big Macs. Another says, “Finish this sentence: ‘I could not be friends with a person who thought...’” Message board regulars even meet up for bar nights.

But the bread and butter of the sites is geared toward admissions.

On Top Law Schools, categories include the “LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum,” “Law School Admissions Forum” and “Choosing A Law School.”

The staggering popularity of the sites is correlated with how “convo-

sam wolson/Daily

University of Michigan Law School: the source of much admissions anxiety this month.

ing basic information from users, one of the biggest benefits of the message board is taking comfort in others who are going through the same process. Right now, many law schools are in the process of getting back to applicants and the anxiety can be overwhelming for those still waiting.

“When you get your first rejection letter, it’s really nice to be able

“When you get your first rejection letter, it’s really nice to be able to go online and say, ‘I’m not the only one.’ ” luted” the law admissions process is, said University alum Cassandra Talley, a Top Law Schools poster who is applying to law schools right now.

She said that when she joined the message board before she took the LSAT, she “couldn’t believe what a resource (the website) was.”

“I think 90 percent of it is amazing,” she said, qualifying that the opinions offered must be taken with a grain of salt. “People are really supportive and they give really good information.”

Talley said that beyond glean-

to go online and say, ‘I’m not the only one’ — there’s like fifteen posts of people who got rejected the same day,” she said.

Kristen Flory, Michigan State University College of Law’s director of marketing and communications, said she regularly lurks around the message boards to get an idea of the hot topics in each admissions cycle.

“I can see that when students do post comments where they’re a bit nervous or afraid about their chances, it’s more reassuring for them to hear from another student who’s in the same boat,” she said.

Flory said the popularity of the boards and lack of discernible competition wasn’t surprising.

“This generation of law school students has grown up with this type of environment available to them, so they’re used to assuming that position where they can go on and offer advice,” she said.

While she said she has come across “a lot of misinformation” on the message boards, she thinks they are useful tools, so long as students use common sense when garnering advice.

“I think it’s kind of cool, actually,” she said.

Although the message boards seem to be geared toward law school applicants, many posters stick around far past matriculation.

“Once you’ve been through it, you want to help each other,” said Kerry Monroe, who is in her second year at the University’s law school and frequently posts on the boards.

She said a main reason why she takes time out of her studies to post is to make sure students have accurate information about Michigan Law School and to encourage them to apply.

“In law school, continuation of a really strong student body is good for everybody involved,” Monroe said, who graduated from the University of Georgia in 1998. “It’s the

same reason why, at school, I volunteered to be a tour guide: I want to put a positive face out there for the student body.”

Talley said a downside was that many posters have a “very narrow view” of the qualifications one must have to get into certain schools.

True to its name, Top Law Schools houses many users who poke fun of scores below the 98th percentile or schools outside the top twenty.

“It sometimes is a little soul crushing,” Talley said.

But most of the time, she said, the sense of community trumps the sense of competition.

“It’s so strange that everyone’s helping the competition, but I don’t feel like people look at it that way,” she said. “They could be future classmates.”

Spain, who said he got a “ton of help” on his personal statement from other Top Law School users, said students aren’t wary of helping each other out because by the time they hit the message boards, there’s hardly any way to improve their grade point average or LSAT score, the two main factors in law school admission.

“So much of the competition for seats comes down to factors that are already decided that helping kids out and giving them more information doesn’t really negatively affect your own chances,” Spain said.

6B

The Michigan Daily — Wednesday, September 23, 2009

A Bulgarian getaway Forget the Campus Inn — the next time your parents are in town, they should stay here.

By Ashlyn Gurley and Jessica Vosgerchian | Magazine Staff Writers

L

ooming on Washtenaw Avenue, surrounded by quaint homes, is a cavernous, Swiss chalet-style mansion that might, on a dark night, fill a passerby with a sense of dread.

If you were to guess the building’s purpose, you might think it was the headquarters of some clandestine, powerful society — or Ann Arbor’s own haunted mansion. But the story behind the thick fieldstone and menagerie of shrubbery is really nothing so lurid. The mansion is the Vitosha Guest Haus Inn, the city’s most interesting hotel.

This imposing stone fortress is home to the Vitosha Guest Haus, as well as owner Kei Constantinov and family. Located just west of fraternity row, Vitosha is named for Constantinov’s ancestral connections to Bulgaria.

Greeted by Constantinov — and, most likely, her gigantic, snaggletoothed Mastiff-mix named George — a visitor to the bed and breakfast is immediately dazzled by the strange, elaborate interior.

Exposed ceiling beams combine with dark slate flooring to invoke a rustic but sophisticated lodge in the European countryside.

From a close examination of the décor, it is clear that Constantinov has thought about every detail: the Victorian literature in the bookcase, the Holtkamp pipe organ in the hall and the period furniture in every room. Even Constantinov herself adds to the ambience — with her rich dark red hair pulled into two braided buns, she composes herself like the grand dame of a manor frozen in time.

Constantinov’s fantasy time warp was years in the making.

A former art teacher from Indiana, Constantinov purchased the manor 11 years ago after her hus-

band was transferred from a New York art firm.

The 32-room inn has a rich history dating back to 1917, when it was the home of Dean Meyer, a professor at the University’s medical school and Ann Arbor City Council member. Before the Constantinovs, a Unitarian church had used the property for services and office space, adding a chapel, parsonage and a few outhouses.

George Brigham, a modernist architect who taught at the University, designed the Unitarian sanctuary in 1956. And according to the Ann Arbor Historical District Commission, famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright praised Brigham’s work.

But despite prestigious acclaim, Constantinov said the manor was a far cry from the living dollhouse it is today when she bought it. The Unitarians had left many of the interior rooms as plain as hospital rooms.

“When we purchased the place, the big house had been used as an office by the Unitarians and it seemed like the entire interior had been spray-painted white,” Constantinov said. “And there were absolutely no gardens around the place. It looked very stark.”

Constantinov renovated and landscaped the property for years before opening for business. After her English roses had flourished and each room had been exquisitely furnished, Constantinov set herself to creating an unforgettable experience for her guests. Visitors are treated to a china-laden breakfast and, if they come at the right time, a variety of entertainment.

“When guests come, I see they are immediately able to relax and sink it to their surroundings here,” Constantinov said. “It’s really about details and finding the time

to establish these details that makes this place unique.”

Norbert Klusen, a visiting professor from the University of Hanover in Germany, sat with his 13-year-old daughter in the concert hall listening to the 1930s jazz stylings of Stolen Sweets. As is commonly the case with visitors to Vitosha Guest Haus, Klusen had chosen to stay there on the recommendation of his University contact. He was very happy that he had done so.

“I’ve been about 30 different states and this place definitely has a more European feel than many places we’ve stayed,” Klusen said.

“Immediately when I walked in, it reminded me of a Scottish or English place.”

Constantinov’s concert hall will be busy this year, with a new concert series hitting the stage featuring acts from the former Firefly Jazz Club.

“Much of the music featured is along the lines of jazz, classical, and indie folk music,” she said.

Tickets are sold prior to each performance.

But Constantinov’s vision for Vitosha Guest Haus doesn’t stop at a bed and breakfast with occasional entertainment. She wants to expand into the art world, making Vitosha a “cultural center with lodging.”

Right now, she is currently accepting residency applications from artists who would live at the inn for extended period, teaching workshops, exhibiting work and participating in panel discussions.

Constantinov’s plan to make Vitosha Guest Haus the creative hub of Ann Arbor is right in line with the character of the magnificent house, which has been a piece of art at every point in its long, winding history.

Sam Wolson | Photographer

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The Michigan Daily — Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Wednesday, February 18, 2009 — The Michigan Daily

T

LSA senior Cayden Mak is an activist at the University for transgender issues. Born a female, he identifies as “post-gender”.

TRANSCENDING GENDER University life for transgender students — what it is and what it should be Story By Kristen Steagall Photos by Chris Dzombak and Rodrigo Gaya n

here is a story often read in woman’s studies programs called “X: A Fabulous Child’s Story” by Lois Gould.

In it, a child named X is raised in a gender-neutral household.

Neither X nor anybody else is privy to X’s biological sex and X is never assigned a gender.

The child’s parents buy Barbie dolls and GI Joes, ballet slippers and toy fire trucks. X is allowed to grow up and develop interests independent of what society expects of a female or male child, and in the process, inspires other children to shed their confining gender roles.

While this method of raising a child is far from the norm, LSA senior Cayden Mak sees the value in challenging our society's assumptions about how gender is constructed.

Mak is part of a small and often underrepresented group of transgender students on campus. Transgender, as described by the Spectrum Center, is “having a gender identity or expression that doesn’t fit neatly into the ‘male’ or ‘female’ boxes.” It is gender expression that transcends the societal binary of “man” and “woman” in terms of appearance and behavior.

A female by birth who selfidentifies as post-gender, Mak said that he identified more as a boy while growing up than as a girl. He, much like child X, was allowed to play with whichever toys he liked and pursue school subjects and sports that attracted him, even when they were “independent of common patterns seen in the gender roles of little girls.”

When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would reply “a priest.” As Mak explains, he grew up in an environment that allowed him to be oblivious of the limitations society would place on him later.

Not all transgender people realize their true gender at such a young age. Charlie, who asked that his full name not be used for privacy reasons, is a University employee who was born a female but prefers to identify as a man. Unlike Mak, Charlie did not fully assume a masculine identity until well into his undergraduate career here at the University.

“I grew up with a very bio-

logical viewpoint of what a man and a woman is,” Charlie said. “I was a tomboy but still very feminine because that was what was expected of me.”

Some psychologists have a name for Charlie and Mak’s experience: Gender Identity Disorder. According to Psychology Today, it is characterized by “strong, persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one's own assigned sex.” The onset of these feelings usually occurs between the ages of two and four years old, and the feelings often disappear around the age of puberty. Whether or not the feelings change because of social pressures or because the children simply outgrow them was not discerned in the article.

Research conducted on transgender experiences is inconclusive. It’s unknown how many children and adults identify with the opposite gender, and for many years, research on the subject focused mainly on people transitioning from female to male while those transitioning the other way were neglected. A study in Psychology Today indicated that “roughly 1 per 30,000 adult males and 1 per 100,000 adult females seek sex-reassignment surgery.”

But by placing a label such as “Gender Identity Disorder” on those who choose to define themselves outside of conventional gender identities, society simply continues to perpetuate the confining nature of those roles. According to a gender philosophy supported by Mak, we should all strive to see beyond these blue and pink color lines, beyond the tutus and the footballs, and assume post-gender identities.

Mak chooses not only to see beyond gender roles but also live beyond them, defining for himself what gender means.

“The way I look at my own gender is that I am post-gender,” Mak said. “I think of myself as sort of a synthesis of various gender stereotypes and roles.”

The idea of creating genderneutral environments in which one can create one’s own gender identity is a recurrent theme in literature and resources provided by the Spectrum Center.

In a DVD titled “It’s Who You

Are,” students explain that the greatest challenge to discovering your personal gender identity is that others assign it to you before you have a chance to declare it for yourself. People are constantly judging you on how masculine or feminine you look. The University students in the video describe how gender should be viewed: “It’s not about how or where you go to the bathroom” but rather “how you see yourself inside and out.”

But in a world that is not quite ready to renounce established gender identities and roles, transgender students face challenges every day to their gender philosophies, such as that unavoidable dilemma of which bathroom to use.

The answer to that question is different for every transgender student. Mak, who feels comfortable passing in physical appearance as a man, uses the men’s bathrooms on campus. But Charlie struggles with that idea every day. On days that he feels confident that he effectively passes as a male, he uses the men’s bathroom. On other days, when he feels that people will perceive him as a “very butch woman”, he uses the women’s. It is an issue that could be easily solved with the presence of a unisex bathroom. But for Charlie, whose job at the University has him visiting different campus buildings every day, locating a unisex bathroom is usually not an option.

For all its relative openness, the University’s campus reflects the view that gender is a black-and-white binary.

Everything from on-campus housing to student questionnaires unconsciously balk at any shade of grey, which makes life as a transgender student difficult.

“Gender is like the air we breathe,” said Gabriel Javier, senior assistant director at the Spectrum Center. “We do not notice it in our everyday lives until someone points it out.”

But in the everyday lives of students, it is constantly being pointed out in the way we choose to dress, the bathrooms we use, the dorm hall we live in and the way our peers treat us.

The University continues to try and meet the needs of transgender students and those who are in the process

of transitioning. There is a special policy on gender-neutral housing which tries to work with students on a case-bycase basis to provide adequate housing, whether that is a single or double room with a private bathroom attached or a unisex bathroom nearby.

But students may be denied these options due to a lack of availability, which means they will simply be assigned to a room based on birth gender. In Mak’s own experience, he was not allowed to request genderneutral housing because he had not undergone any surgical procedures. Instead, he was lucky enough to avoid an uncomfortable living situation by rooming with a female high school friend. For many students, though, this may not be the case.

Another challenge a transgender student may face is in the classroom when a GSI takes attendance or at a sporting event when students show their MCards. Since androgynous names are less common than gender-specific ones, transgender students’ birth names don’t always fit the gender identities they assume in adulthood. But the University provides assistance in fixing this gender predicament. A policy enacted in April 2008 allows students to choose the name that will be listed on class rosters and printed on

their MCards.

Charlie, who has changed his name from a more feminine one, never registered his preferred name with the University, opting instead to simply tell professors and GSIs to use the name Charlie in place of his birth name. Charlie hasn’t decided whether he will ever change his name legally — a long, paperwork-intensive process that can cost several hundred dollars in fees. The decision to take Charlie as his everyday name was gradual. It began as a stage name, but felt too right to discard once the show ended.

“Initially, it was part of my drag name,” Charlie said.

“Drag helped me express myself better physically and gave me a better understanding of my body.”

Charlie began dressing in drag as a part of a performance group called Drag King Rebellion, which originated at Michigan State. The group tours the Midwest, lipsynching pop hits and performing choreography in a way that Charlie says integrates “all kinds of identities and experiences into a medley that turns out original, quality and socio-politically conscious performances of gender.” In the role of Chapless Charlie, dancing on stage with his friends in the troupe, Charlie is able to express his true sense of self.

If a transgender student is ready to take the surgical plunge and undergo a sexchange operation, the University Health System offers some of the most complete services in the nation with its Comprehensive Gender Services Program. Through this program, transgender students can find general physicians and psychologists who cater specifically to their gender-related needs. Patients have access to services that include medical and mental health care, speech/voice therapy, and hormonal and surgical treatment.

But often, patients must also pay for these treatments out of pocket, since many of the procedures are not covered by insurance.

When Mak decided that he was ready to change his sex from female to male, he used Comprehensive Gender Services. He started out with hormone treatments, rubbing a testosterone-laden gel on his upper arm once a day that is released throughout the day to simulate natural production of the hormone. Already, after only four months, Mak said he has a voice that is an octave and a half lower, is able to grow some facial hair, has seen an increase in his muscle mass, is constantly horny and easily angered — all qualities generally associated with increased See TRANSGENDER, Page 8B

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Football Saturday — September 26, 2009

Eyes that have seen it all M

September 26, 2009 — Football Saturday

Winning two Super Bowls UCLA 1982-1989

PACIFIC 1972-1974

A former walk-on, Robinson played center, tight end and linebacker at Pacific. Him and teammate Pete Carroll became graduate assistants immediately afterwards.

By Michael Eisenstein | Daily Sports Editor

ichigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson has been through everything.

In 34 years of coaching, Robinson has experienced the height of glory with two Super Bowl championships and four Rose Bowl wins as a coordinator. He’s coached from coast to coast and in between, leaving a trail marked by a love for football that has brought together countless teams.

But he has also struggled tremendously, leading Syracuse to its first and second ever 10-loss seasons in his first head-coaching job. He was fired after four years of intense scrutiny, even though he felt the Orange was close to a turn around.

Robinson found another job a few months later as the head of Michigan’s defense. And Robinson now has the tall task of revamping a unit that gave up the most points per game in program history last season.

With Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez’s strong offensive focus, the defense’s fortunes are in the hands of Greg Robinson.

Max Collins | Photographer Said Alsalah | Photographer (Cover)

5B

Robinson was hired as UCLA's defensive line coach. He stayed there eight seasons, including one where he served as offensive coordinator.

With the Bruins, he went 8-0 in bowl games, including three Rose Bowls, and coached four All-Americans.

UNIVERSITY

OF

TEXAS

2004

Robinson returned to the college game after 14 seasons in the NFL to co-coordinate the Longhorn defense.

That season, he earned his fourth Rose Bowl ring.

NY JETS 1990-1994

Switching coasts to follow Carroll, Robinson coached the Jets' defensive line. In 1994, he became New York's defensive coordinator.

DENVER

BRONCOS

1995-2000

When the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls, Robinson's defenses were ranked No. 1 and No. 3 against the run. And in three of his six seasons, the Broncos had one of the NFL's top 10 overall defenses.

At A Glance SYRACUSE 2005-2008

Position: Defensive Coordinator Born: October 9, 1951 Credentials: Two Super Bowl wins (1997, 1998); Four Rose Bowl wins (UCLA: 1982, 1983, 1985; Texas: 2004) Coaching Experience: UCLA, NY Jets, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, University of Texas Last Job: Syracuse Head Coach

After coaching for nearly 30 years, Robinson was hired for the first time as a head coach. But after winning just 10 games over the course of four years, and posting the Orange's first two 10-loss seasons ever, Robinson was fired.

MICHIGAN 2009

Robinson approached Wolverine coach Rich Rodriguez about the job opening, and Rodriguez hired his former Big East foe as his defensive coordinator.

You have been coaching for over 30 years now.

What has influenced your coaching style?

Coming back to college (after the NFL), it was very apparent to me, first of all, that I was a whole lot more compassionate to the life of a student-athlete, had a lot more empathy for the parents because I’ve had my own kids grow and go through college and be involved in college athletics.

And I’m a lot more patient now with student-athletes than I was probably back in my earlier years coaching, because I see now how hard these kids are really trying to do what you’re asking them to do.

dad was going to make sure that somebody was going to be a football coach, we just didn’t know it. And my dad was a lawyer and a judge. My uncle was a lawyer and a judge. I have a brother-inlaw lawyer, two brother lawyers.

I’ve got two nieces that are lawyers, a nephew that’s a lawyer.

And I can keep going, there’s still more in the family. I was thinking I was on my way to law school, because I thought it was kind of what I was supposed to do, but it’s funny how it all plays out. I promise you though, they all do live through me and enjoy being a part of my little world.

It’s amazing on Sunday mornings, or on Monday mornings when I was in pro football, how good they were at giving me advice after the game.

er played at Stanford. So they’ve been around football. Plenty of it.

while he was playing so that was interesting. And my older broth-

I don’t know if there’s one thing. I love what I’m doing. I love

So, then, how did you get What are the core roots into coaching? of your defenses?

Well really, Jim Coletto, my position coach (at Pacific), asked me. Pete Carroll and I were teammates, and Pete was a year ahead of me — I redshirted, he didn’t redshirt — but Pete was a (graduate assistant) a year before me, and so he and I would ride on the bus together wherever we went and we’d talk and talk. I used to think, this is kind of neat what he’s doing. Then Jim Coletto, my position coach, asked me if I’d be interested in coaching. I said, ‘Yeah, I really think I would be.’ So we went to my head coach, suggested that I get an opportunity to be a GA, so the rest is history. I took it.

You were one of eight siblings in a family of Football advice? lawyers. How does that Oh yeah. My brothers, they affect you and play into played football. I coached my younger brother. I was a gradu- What motivates what you do? ate assistant at Pacific and he you personally?

They all live their lives played there. I was on the staff through me (laughs). But they all wish they were coaching. My

to win. I don’t like to lose. Those are the things that motivate me, I suspect. The challenge.

I’m still a believer in fundamentals. You got to learn how to control your body. You got to be able to learn how to maximize your body as far as leverage. You have to play with great effort.

I mean, those are core things.

Enthusiasm. The fundamentals of the game are very important.

The longer I’m in coaching, the more I believe that. John Wooden used to always say, ‘Great teams keep getting better.’

Because as some begin to fall off teaching their fundamentals as the season goes on and get more into the schematics, all of a sudden, you’ll see a decline in their fundamentals, where as those that continue to really hone in on the fundamentals, you’ll see growth as the season goes on.

At UCLA, we always took great pride that we were a team that always, we won every bowl

game when I was there. I think it was because Coach Wooden had such an influence on every program (at UCLA) and that was one of them, fundamentals.

In 20 or 30 years, when you look back at your time at Syracuse what do you think you’ll take away from that?

Oh, I worked extremely hard.

Very, very hard trying to get the thing headed in the right direction. In my heart I think we were, and I believe that you’re going to see — there’s an opportunity for the new staff in there to reap the benefits. They still have a tough schedule. But anyway, I didn’t realize what a situation that I was in going into it and I didn’t realize how tough a schedule we were going to play. Really, for three or four years I think we had a top-15 every year toughest schedule in the country. That’s tough while you’re still trying to reprogram the program. The See robinson, Page 7b

When Greg Robinson was the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator, one event that stole the show each season.

Even when Denver won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998.

“Every year, we had a party at his house where he’d bring in a pianist and we’d have a singa-long party and it was always a great time,” former Broncos and current Indianapolis Colts defensive line coach John Teerlink said. “One of the highlights of the year.”

They’d sing “all the popular stuff” in duos and trios, and play “name that tune.”

While Robinson had an innate talent to bring together a young staff, his coaching accomplishments in Denver were overshadowed by the offensive accomplishments of John Elway, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. “(We had) just fantastic numbers and fantastic stats that always got lost behind the John Elway, Terrelle Davis numbers, you know,” Teerlink said.

“The fact that we had all those sacks, all those turnovers, and played so well on third downs always has kind of been forgotten, and I don’t think Greg ever got the credit for that that he deserved.”

Robinson coached in Denver from 1995 to 2000, leading three top-10 overall defenses.

Against the run, the Broncos were especially potent, ranking No. 1 and No. 3 in their Super

Bowl years.

Over those same seasons, they forced 61 turnovers and sacked the quarterback 90 times.

“When you win, there’s only so much credit, and it always went to the offense,” Teerlink said. “Greg did a hell of a job.”

When Robinson arrived in Denver, the team had just dabbled in free agency and had many new coaches. What he excelled at was working with new faces.

Robinson’s creativity stretched to everything he did, especially his motivational techniques.

“He’ll bring out boxing highlights, hockey tapes, gun fights, movie clips, things where people are challenged and have to rise to the occasion,” Teerlink said. “I don’t want to take away any of his secrets, but he’ll put stuff on Friday nights that’ll fire the guys up.”

He fit in perfectly there, an ability that he’s brought with him along the many stops in his coaching career, and it translated onto the field and into the team’s chemistry.

“To delegate, to manage and to organize to where all the parts are working together — that’s very hard to do, especially when you’re diverse and from different teams and different places,” Teerlink said.

“Everybody kind of wants to do their thing and it was his job to tie it all together and package it and he did.”

Going 10-37 Almost 10 years later, Robinson had his Syracuse coaching staff watch the 1972 John Wayne film, “The Cowboys,” which the coaches referenced back to throughout the year. The movie is associated with words and phrases such as “survival story,” “hardship” and “fighting for what you believe in.”

All of those terms seemed appropriate during Robinson’s time with the Orange, as he went from a nationally celebrated coordinator to a floundering head coach.

It’s truly startling how lightand-day different those closely associated with the program describe Robinson’s career at Syracuse.

There is the obvious reaction. Syracuse was a Big East powerhouse, boasting winning season after winning season for as long as can be remembered.

No coach had ever lost 10 games in one season in Orange history.

But that was before Robinson did it twice in his first three years at the helm of the program.

“I don’t see the competitive spirit that I’d like to see, I don’t see the hitting that I’d like to see. I don’t see any of the inten-

sity that I’d like to see,” former Syracuse running back and NFL legend Jim Brown said on ESPN’s College GameDay in September last year.

Syracuse Athletic Director Daryl Gross also publicly called Robinson’s performance well below Syracuse standards.

“We’re Syracuse. We should beat Akron. It’s that simple,” he said on GameDay, referencing Syracuse’s 14-point loss to the Zips, a bottom-dwelling MidAmerican Conference team.

The days of Syracuse’s 1959 National Championship and Heisman winner Ernie Davis were buried in fans’ memories as they witnessed Robinson’s downfall. The Orange never finished above another team in the Big East in his four years.

But even with the lowly record, Robinson was still wellrespected in the locker room.

“He’s very, very, very detailed, a great communicator, great with the kids, a great teacher,” said former Orange secondary coach Jim Salgado, who now coaches at Cornell.

“Not only teaching players, but us coaches as well, making sure you got all your i’s dotted and t’s See Syracuse, Page 6b

4B

The Michigan Daily — Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 — The Michigan Daily

Northern locavores

When snow covers the ground, you might think your opportunity for homegrown food has passed.

But Ann Arbor producers have you covered all year round — if you’re willing to alter your diet.

7B 5B

(Top) chanel von habsburg-lothringen/Daily (Right) jed moch/Daily

Sara Lynne Thelen | Statement Staff Writer

W

ith the clink of artisan martinis and the pang of steep menu prices, it’s clear that Grange Kitchen and Bar on Liberty Street has joined the legions of swanky Ann Arbor hot spots. Grange is definitely trendy, but not just for its chill atmosphere and prime location. The restaurant, which opened in Bella Ciao’s old space this summer, is based on a more consequential trend: eating local.

Eating food grown and processed nearby isn’t a novelty. The idea of cutting out the middleman has been lauded as environmentally friendly and beneficial to local economies for a long time. But now, as climate change becomes a more pressing issue and the locavore movement grows, the quest is to maintain the most sustainable diet possible. To the most ardent locavores, their place on the sustainability spectrum is a measure of their love for the earth and their loyalty to the floundering Great Lakes State.

But the plausibility of adhering to a strict 100-mile-radius diet in a state that freezes over for much of the year is questionable. It’s difficult, but not impossible. The first step is committing to eating seasonally, or in other words, forsaking exotic fruits for vegetables that can be cultivated year round. And there are more locally grown options than may be expected. Thanks to a plethora of local farms, chefs and grocers dedicated to sustainability, any Ann Arborite can eat with a conscience in the dead of winter.

SUSTAINABLE GOURMET Brandon Johns, head chef and owner of Grange, doesn’t like to be tethered to the political label of locavore, but his clean and simple dining room exudes an air of “back to the basics”. The decor is sparse and modest: wooden floors are surrounded by spring green walls, where unframed canvasses showcase photos of thick julienned eggplant, hands cradling golden tomatoes and blood oranges sliced in half.

On each place setting, sandcolored cloth napkins complement a white linen tablecloth, and the one-page menu is typed on material not unlike a paper grocery bag.

For Johns, using local ingredients isn’t just about conserving the environment. First and foremost, it’s about assuring that his food is the freshest and best it can be.

“My main aim is to have a restaurant that serves great food, and to source as much as I can locally at the same time, because I think those things go (Top, Middle, Bottom left) photos by Jed moch; (BOTTOM right) photo by chanel von habsburg-lothringen/Daily

Tantré Farm is an organic farm in nearby Chelsea that yeilds produce throughout the entire year.

(top, bottom) photos by chanel von habsburg-lothringen/Daily

Grange Kitchen and bar is a new downtown restaurant that offers seasonal menus consisting of local food.

hand in hand,” he said. “I’m not walking home with a flag on top of my head. I really just did it because I wanted good food.

Then the political, social and environmental reasons that everyone’s sort of hot to hop on now came to light.”

All but one of Grange’s 13 food sources listed on its website are in Michigan, with five producers based in Washtenaw County that provide Johns with fresh fruit, meat, eggs, coffee and more. Besides alcohol and spices, Grange’s one out-of-state source is a farm in Ontario, Canada that produces millet.

As crops in Michigan are harvested at different set points each year, the trick to Johns’s trade is reimagining Grange’s menu to suit changes in the season. According to Johns, asparagus is only available locally for four weeks in the spring, but most everything else that grows here — tomatoes, peaches, pears, carrots, squash, apples, onions, apricots — are available until mid- or late October. Winter-

time brings root vegetables like potatoes and hardier greens like kale and mustard leaves.

“I just always wanted to cook with the season,” Johns said.

“As the season changes, your body changes what it needs.”

Right now, the menu is heavy on fish, meat, potatoes and squash. Conspicuously absent are traditional side dishes like broccoli and asparagus. But it is clear that Johns has applied some creativity in drumming up dishes that play to fall’s strong points, such as with an entrée of cider braised beef, roasted parsnips and pumpkin ravioli, or a vegetarian option offering zucchini and squash cakes with wilted greens and spiced tomato sauce.

As a whole, a local menu is more expensive to fill than a conventional one, so it demands that he be creative to compensate for the cost.

“I spend 12, 13, 14 dollars a chicken, where Tyson chickens would cost me three bucks a chicken,” Johns said. “Now I think the difference is worth it — you can completely taste it.

But it also makes me use a lot of parts that no one else does. A lot of sausage.”

However, some customers that seek out Johns’ natural philosophy might want to fully understand it before they sit down.

“People complain about the duck, they say, ‘It’s too tough,’” he said. “And I go to the table and I say, ‘Well, the duck got to walk around. The duck evolved muscles.’ ” Johns faces a challenge in running a restaurant with a self-enforced ingredient constraint. It’s not enough to find a local producer — he must also make sure that producer is using chemical-free cultivation and processing methods to assure the produce is of the highest quality. Johns said researching farms to attain ingredients with the highest levels of taste and nutrition and the lowest impact on the environment is a “huge time commitment.”

“Just because it’s local doesn’t mean it’s being done right,” he said.

THE LOVE AND LABOR BEHIND LOCAL FOOD Tantré Farm, a certified organic farm in nearby Chelsea, is one of Grange’s sources that has gotten food production right. Stationed out of a small white house straddled by shadowy willows and softly rolling fields of yellow soybeans, Tantré Farm is a 40-acre experiment in community-sponsored agriculture. Customers purchase shares in the farm and receive regular deliveries of produce in exchange.

The farm’s business model is a direct affront to the near-monopolies that reign over a food industry that is riddled with social justice and health issues.

At Tantré Farm, no factory walls hide travesties against humanity, animal rights or common health that would make you lose your appetite. Instead, a family of three, a handful of live-in workers, part-time help and volunteers cultivate a diverse array of organic crops.

“We’re into the post-industrial model,” Tantré Farm co-

owner Richard Andres said.

Tantré Farm produces as much as 8,000 pounds of peppers, parsnips, lettuces and tomatoes every week. During other times of the year, the farm also cultivates its high hedges of berries, melons and mushroom patches, an herb and flower garden, goats and 50 chickens.

Hard Michigan weather serves as more of a benefit than a drawback for Tantré. When feebler crops die off in the first frost, Andres and his team have more time to devote to maintenance, refurbishing, and finishing projects that “dangle all summer” while crops are more diverse and abundant.

“Then we can focus on making the operation run smoother and more efficiently,” he said.

Tantré sells hardier crops that survive the cold to restaurants throughout the winter. Andres said that there are about 15,000 pounds of potatoes, 10,000 pounds of squash and 5,000 pounds of onions already saved up. They also cut firewood, milk cows and make cheese.

Kale, carrots, Kohlrabi and See eating local, Page 6b