Weekly Summer Edition
MichiganDaily.com
ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Ann Arbor, MI
Thursday, July 25, 2013
>> 25-year-old student found dead in N. Ingalls residence. Read more online GOVERNMENT
Chapter 9 case effects unclear Financial Manager, a University graduate, at center of historical Detroit bankruptcy By WILL GREENBERG Daily Staff Reporter
After filing for bankruptcy last week, Detroit’s future is unclear as it faces court proceedings and difficult decisions in the coming weeks. Thursday, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder’s office released a press release announcing the city’s Emergency Financial Manager, Kevyn Orr, a University alum, was authorized to file for federal bankruptcy for Detroit. Orr implemented Order No. 13, which ordered the city file for Chapter 9 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. “The simple fact is Detroit is in a financial crisis,” Snyder said in the press release. “The city is insolvent and has been borrowing money to pay its bills for nearly a decade. Bankruptcy is the only feasible option to fix the city’s finances and do what is right for the 700,000 people of Detroit.” See CHAPTER 9, Page 7
INDEX Vol. CXXIII, No. 121 | © 2013 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION ............................... 4 CLASSIFIEDS......................... 6 CROSSWORD........................ 6 ARTS ......................................8 SPORTS..................................11
MARLENE LACASSE/Daily
President Mary Sue Coleman speaks with intern Amanda Lee on the rooftop of the M@dison Building in Detroit on Tuesday.
President Coleman speaks to ‘U’ interns in Detroit Students recognized for efforts to create positive change within the city By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA Daily Staff Reporter
NEWS
inside
UMHS Report Community health report outlines health issues in Washtenaw County. >> SEE PAGE 3
Though business-casual attire replaced the usual maize and blue worn around campus, the school spirit was still palpable when University President Mary Sue Coleman addressed approximately 300 Wolverines who elected to spend their summers working in Detroit. In the auditorium of the M@
dison Building, a center for entrepreneurship and technology startups within the city, Coleman said she was proud of students who have chosen to use their talents and resources to be in Detroit during a historical time. “You will have experiences here that you wouldn’t have in another place because of the situ-
ation that the city finds itself in,” Coleman said in her speech. “I’m proud of all of you for coming here and trying to make this city better.” Coleman added that students can have a large impact on the city as interns and eventually full time employees and business owners. See INTERNS, Page 3
OPINION
ARTS
Only God Forgives
Football Media Day
Student voice should be present on presidential search advisory committee.
Stellar cast, masterful visuals can’t save Winding Refn’s latest work.
Brady Hoke, Devin Gardner and Taylor Lewan spoke at Big Ten Media Day.
From the Daily:
>> SEE PAGE 4
>> SEE PAGE 8
SPORTS
>> SEE PAGE 11
2 NEWS
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A citizens voice concerns over Main Street proposal 2
Football Saturday traffic and parking topics of discussion
Daily Staff Reporter
Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 mhulteng@michigandaily.com
Office hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m. 734-763-2459 opt.3
News Tips Corrections Letters to the Editor
news@michigandaily.com corrections@michigandaily.com
tothedaily@michigandaily.com or visit michigandaily.com/letters
Photo Department Arts Section Editorial Page Sports Section Magazine Advertising Department Classifieds Department
photo@michigandaily.com arts@michigandaily.com opinion@michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com statement@michigandaily.com Phone: 734-764-0554 display@michigandaily.com Phone: 734-764-0557 classified@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL STAFF Elliot Alpern
ealpern@michigandaily.com
VICKY LIU/Daily
Ann Arbor resident George Feldman, who lives by the stadium, expresses concern about proposed road closures on football game days this fall at the Ann Arbor District Library on Wednesday.
University Police Chief Joe Piersante, who spoke briefly in response to resident’s questions about safety concerns, said the proposal was in the best interests of both fans and neighbors. AAPD Police Chief John Seto, who spoke at the meeting and answered questions, said the AAPD supported the measure because of the enhancement of public safety and protection of the pedestrian traffic. “It is a balanced approach for public safety,” he said. Seto added that the AAPD and the University Police Department would meet after every game to evaluate how the street closures worked, stressing that the measure would be reviewed after the first three games. He said concerns of opening the section of Main Street up to
vendors and the street becoming part of the game day experience was unfounded. “That is not going to happen, we are going to maintain control of that,” Seto said. Some residents, many of whom allow fans to pay to use parking spaces in their lots, voiced strong, often angry, opposition to both the process of the proposal and the proposal itself. Many argued that the disrupted traffic patterns would hurt those who parked on their lots. Ann Arbor resident George Feldman, who owns property near the stadium, said this same proposal was brought up years ago. He said the Athletic Department only cared about the experience of the fans, not the homeowners who live in the neighborhood near the stadium.
“It would inconvenience everyone. That’s not really in anyone’s interests,” he said. “It is a better experience for their stadium and it is a worse experience for all of us.” Feldman said the security concerns were simply a way to get the proposal passed by the City Council, citing numerous areas he thought were still insecure despite the proposal. “My personal belief is that this is completely bogus,” he said. Councilwoman Marcia Higgins (D-Ward 4) said a committee could be formed to represent concerned residents in the next year or two. But she said that she hadn’t known the direct desires of her constituents until now. “I haven’t had anyone write back and say this is something that (they) would like to see,” she said.
‘U’ researcher discovers new language By ARIANA ASSAF
MERYL HULTENG
Newsroom
Managing News Editor
O’Shannessy observes Australian village’s speech
KATIE BURKE
Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 kgburke@michigandaily.com
CONTACT INFORMATION
By AARON GUGGENHEIM
After announcing a proposal on July 15 to close Main Street between Stadium Boulevard and Pauline Boulevard during home football games, the University and the Ann Arbor Police Department held a meeting to address the concerns of nearby residents. The street would be closed for three hours before the game and likely open directly afterward, avoiding obstruction of post-game traffic. Six AAPD officers would help with the street closure. The Ann Arbor City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal at their Aug. 8 meeting. The University and AAPD both said the closure, in accordance with a recommendation from a report by the Department of Homeland Security in 2010, would enhance the safety of pedestrian traffic traveling to and from the games. It would also decrease the likelihood of vehicle bomb threats by putting a 100-foot space between the stadium and vehicles. The streets surrounding the stadium have seen closures for events twice in the past: once when President Barack Obama spoke at the 2010 commencement ceremony and again during the 2011 Notre Dame football game. Two other collegiate football stadiums — at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Ohio State University — have similar security measures.
420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com
People rarely consider the history behind the languages they speak today. But when a new language began to form right in front of a University linguist’s eyes, she jumped at the opportunity to be one of the few people in history to study the birth of a new language. Assistant Linguistics Prof.
Carmel O’Shannessy had been in the Lajamanu community of northern Australia for four years, where she was helping to coordinate a bilingual education program. When she began to hear children code-switching, or switching languages within the same sentence, she decided to
turn her investigations into a PhD project. Warlpiri Rampaku, or Light Warlpiri, is a combination of Warlpiri — a language spoken both in Lajamanu and other surrounding villages — Aboriginal English and Australian English. See LANGUAGE, Page 7
Managing Editor
Aaron Guggenheim
Managing News Editor aguggenh@michigandaily.com SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Amrutha Sivakumar, Tui Rademaker
Eric Ferguson
Editorial Page Editor opinioneditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: Megan McDonald
Greg Garno
Managing Sports Editor sportseditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Jeremy Summitt, Alexa Dettelbach
John Lynch
Managing Arts Editor
jplyn@michigandaily.com SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Kendall Russ, Max Radwin
Marlene Lacasse
Managing Photo Editor
photo@michigandaily.com
Austin Reed
Managing Design Editor
design@michigandaily.com
Meaghan Thompson
Managing Copy Editor
copydesk@michigandaily.com
BUSINESS STAFF Leah Louis-Prescott
Sales Manager
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published every Thursday during the spring and summer 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.
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS 3
CSG works Report highlights to strengthen community needs web presence Proppe, Dishell consider new communications director position By WILL GREENBERG Daily Staff Reporter
The Central Student Government has long been struggling with their web and social media presence — outlets are often left without updates and lack an audience. But beyond including up-todate contact information for staff and a list of CSG initiatives, the site is inconsistent with the CSG Constitution, as it doesn’t show the current budget or reports from the University Board of Regents meetings and the University Council. Business senior Michael Proppe, CSG President, said much of the problem stems from an unclear understanding of who is responsible for making sure the necessary items go onto the site. Dealing with the website is one of his top priorities for the late summer and fall. “It’s a little unprofessional that the website isn’t up-todate,” Proppe said. “Also it’s important from a transparency standpoint. Everything needs to get placed on the website so students and other University community members can see it and review it.” Engineering senior Kyle Summers, CSG’s webmaster, is in charge of attending to the website. Summers said while he was involved in CSG — he was
INTERNS From Page 1 “We all know that there’s a lot of work to do, but right now, it’s more important than ever to
representative for the College of Engineering and Chief of Staff — he took the role of webmaster, after re-doing the website. He added features like UPetition, a feature where students can create a legitimate student petition through the website. However, last year, Summers was not involved in CSG as an elected member but continued on as the webmaster. Summers said the responsibility then fell on the elected officials to submit documents to him to upload to the site, and that his primary role was not to attain current documents himself. Proppe said not having an internal position with the clearly defined role of keeping the website current has hurt the site in the past. Proppe said his goal for this year is to introduce a Communications Director position that would work to do that. The position would cover press releases, website updates and Facebook and Twitter. While the website may have struggled in the past, CSG isn’t too far behind the rest of the Big Ten’s student governments. As of July 21, seven of the 12 Big Ten schools (not including University of Maryland and Rutgers University) had updated minutes or agendas of their legislative meetings and only five out of the 12 had a current budget. However, several schools who didn’t have the exact breakdown of the finances did have a page explaining the amount of funding that student organizations generally receive and procedures on how to receive it. See CSG, Page 6 recognize the powerful, youthful energy that we feel has real momentum in Detroit,” she said. “We all have a stake in Detroit’s turn-around, and we can all play a role, including this young talent.” Other speakers included 2012
UMHS to collaborate with area hospitals to address health issues By TUI RADEMAKER Daily News Editor
As one of the three major hospitals in Washtenaw County, the University Health System’s recently released community health report could open the door for a greater partnership between the University Hospital and county residents. The Community Health Needs Assessment is part of the hospital’s compliance with the Affordable Care Act of 2010 — President Barack Obama’s health care reform legislation — that requires all tax-exempt hospitals such as UMHS to conduct reports on community health status as well as implement strategies to address discovered issues. The report was drawn up by a UMHS team who reviewed data from a county-wide health information survey. Keven Mosley-Koehler, coordinator of the Community Benefit and Community Health Needs Assessment, said the report has proven beneficial to the health needs of the area. “Really I think that part of the thrust of the Affordable Care Act is really it’s asking the questions of health systems saying ‘how can we deploy the economic power, the human and intellectual resources of our institution to build healthier and more prosperous communities?’ ” Mosley-Koehler said. The 52-page report identified the following community needs as the targets of the hospital’s alum Sam Hamburger, Ross senior Patricia Diaz and 1987 Ross alum Brian Hermelin, who is an active member of Opportunity Detroit, a program spearheaded by Quicken Loans Chairman and Founder Dan Gilbert to draw
greatest attention, in order of priority: access to care, mental health, substance abuse, obesity, pre-conceptual and perinatal health, immunizations and child abuse and neglect. The data used in the CHNA came from a survey in which UMHS collaborated with the Washtenaw County Public Health Department, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital of Ann Arbor and Chelsea Community Hospital. Due to the large sample size, Mosley-Koehler said the extensive survey enabled UMHS to look not only at the health needs within the county as a whole, but also at trends within different demographic groups defined by factors such as socioeconomic status, race, region, education and attainment of health insurance. “As a whole, Washtenaw County has comparable health needs to other counties that have comparable demographics,” she said. “But when you start to look at the health within Washtenaw County by these specific social factors, that’s when you start to see really (great) differences … risk factors, health status, things like that.” She said one of the most dramatic factors for determining health status is education level of the population. For example, 25 percent of respondents from the county as a whole reported engaging in no physical activity whereas the number was 65 percent when looking only at respondents who had only a high school education. Mosley-Koehler said another trend in the data was binge drinking. However she said unlike most other health concerns, where the trends are often determined by factors
other than location, the Ann Arbor area showed much higher rates than other parts of the county. She said this could be due to the large student population in the area. Mosley-Koehler said one of the most alarming trends that the report touched on and marked as a health priority was that of child abuse and neglect, which is increasing at a “staggering rate.” However, one of the reasons the team chose to list child abuse and neglect as a hospital priority was in part their confidence in their resources to target it. “We believe that we have the strength within our health system in terms of our specially trained providers and our child protection team to work not only within Washtenaw County but at a state level to build everyone’s capacity to identify the signs of child abuse and neglect and to intervene early,” she said. In order to address the county’s health concerns discovered in the data and examined in the report, MosleyKoehler said the hospital system will continue to prioritize community based efforts, something she said the hospital already shows strength in. Mosley-Koehler said a major part of “community benefit” — something that the Affordable Care Act requires tax-exempt hospitals to provide — includes subsidized and compensated health care as well as community improvement programs that engage in education and awareness. She said the hospital’s goals are impossible without the collaboration of other health care partners within the area, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital of Ann Arbor and Chelsea Community Hospital.
attention to the positive aspects of Detroit’s renaissance. Though Diaz grew up in the Dominican Republic, she has made a life in Michigan and said she “hasn’t been able” to leave. “In Detroit I see people who
are passionate and positive,” she said. “When I look around Detroit I see (a place) for leadership to leave a mark, to make a change, because the energy is there and people want to be a part of Detroit’s comeback.”
4 OPINION
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NILS-HENNES STEAR| VIEWPOINT
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu KATIE BURKE EDITOR IN CHIEF
ERIC FERGUSON EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR
ELLIOT ALPERN 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
Representation required
“U” presidential search committee needs student members
L
ast Thursday the University Board of Regents announced the members of the presidential search advisory committee — a body responsible for choosing the next University president. However, this committee currently contains no student members. This is a notable and unwelcome change from the 2002 presidential search, where two students were on the advisory committee. The University’s president represents this campus — and one of the most important parts of this campus is the student body. It’s therefore imperative that they are properly represented in the search. The regents should appoint students to sit on the search advisory committee. Currently, the committee is made up of the eight University regents and eight faculty members. Along with the regents and the executive consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates, this committee will play a central role in the presidential selection process. This setup gives more than adequate representation to University faculty and administration, but it entirely fails to represent students. The committees and initiatives the University president has the power to create directly affect the student body. Students — who pay to attend the University and whose lives and livelihoods will be fundamentally shaped by their time there — deserve more than the chance to attend public meetings and participate in an online “open nominating process.” There is no proper substitution for direct representation on the committee.
Business senior Michael Proppe, Central Student Government president, has already expressed dissatisfaction at the decision to exclude students from the committee — in a letter to the Regents, he pointed out that students have the greatest stake in the presidential appointment. Since CSG is made up of representatives elected by the student body, it’s in a good position to provide student input to the advisory committee. One way for CSG to do this would be to form a committee tasked with gathering student input on the presidential search. This committee would then provide representatives to the advisory committee. Under the regents’ current plan, public meetings will be held in September and October in order for the University community to provide input relevant to the selection process. Should the regents
persist in not allowing student representation on the committee itself, students and student organizations — including CSG — should take it upon themselves to voice their opinions regarding the selection process at those meetings. Besides students, there are still many parts of the University community with a stake in the next president and the vision he or she will bring to the University that have been left out of the selection process. Students, facility staff, part time instructors and the entire Flint and Dearborn satellite campuses are all groups left out this time around. Those groups had at least some representation in the 2002 presidential search that resulted in President Coleman’s appointment. Hopefully, the regents will realize their mistake and appoint students to the advisory committee.
FOLLOW DAILY OPINION ON TWITTER Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, go on our blogs and join in the debate. Check out @michdailyoped to get updates on Daily opinion content.
Democratic deficit Last Thursday, the University Board of Regents selected the members of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. Their task is to produce a shortlist of candidates from which the board will select the University’s next president. Disappointingly, they didn’t select any students — a bizarre omission given that the committee set up for 2002’s search included two students. I have to agree with Michael Proppe and Bobby Dishell’s sentiment expressed in a recent letter to the Regents that “students are very important stakeholders in the process” of selecting a new University president. Indeed, one would have to hold a pretty warped view of a university’s function to contest that modest claim. One wonders then, why the Regents deem it expedient to exclude students from the committee. Were the students in 2002 disruptive in meetings? Did they smell bad? Both facetious questions, but facetiousness comes naturally in the face of absurdity. I applaud Regent Larry Deitch’s intention to “reach out to the campus community to solicit feedback on issues facing the University and qualities to seek in a new president.” But that this merits applause already suggests a degree of democratic deficit — conditions in which students operate at the mercy of distant administrative decisions, grateful when these are made conscientiously. This deficit became manifest recently when the University’s athletics department decided — with apparently no student input — to overhaul football game seating policy. Associate Athletics Director Dave Ablauf justified the decision like so: “We ... decided to change our policy to create a culture of arriving early to provide our football student-athletes with a home field advantage prior to kickoff.” Wonderful, Dave. Unfortunately, decisions handed down as edicts run the risk of alienating those for whom the decision is made. Student upset following this decision suggests the risk was realized in this case. It seems uncontroversial that, ceteris paribus, those a decision most impacts should be included in making that decision as much as possible. We can even give that principle a name — oh, I don’t
know — “democracy” perhaps? A process falling short of this principle is to that extent undemocratic. Of course, even autocracies can be benign. And I don’t doubt the regents wish to do right by all. But the only way to even approach ensuring that all relevant people’s concerns are justly weighted is to represent those concerns as well as feasibility allows. Regents should take this democratic principle very seriously. For the consequences of excluding students — and interested parties more generally — go beyond inconvenient seating policies. To see how, consider the current state of financing for higher education. Millions of U.S. students must now opt for a life of debilitating debt to educate themselves in an economic structure that punishes those who don’t. Student debt has just topped the $1 trillion mark nationally, exceeding even consumer debt. This only stands to worsen as states — including Michigan — further reduce their higher education budgets and increase real tuition, while the federal government allows interest rates to rise on federal student loans. The situation would be laughable if it wasn’t so acutely tragic. Returning to our central thread, it’s hard to believe that this sorry situation would have arisen had legislators really heard student concerns. This is why including students on the search committee is important. The office of the president provides a significant, if modest, platform to address issues such as higher education funding — an issue likely to be more important to students laboring under debt than to relatively wealthy faculty and administrators. I acknowledge that some regents — e.g. Mark Bernstein and Denise Ilitch — have expressed concern about this issue. Still, students shouldn’t have to rely on the benign possibility that some administrator shares their concerns — they should be guaranteed a meaningful voice. To deny students their legitimate role in the selection process is not only unfair, but politically irresponsible. Nils-Hennes Stear is a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy.
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Escaping definition
Nice girls finish last
“
You have ice queen eyes. One look and I swear you could kill a man. You’re no nice girl, you’re a maneater.” I raised an irritated eyebrow at my co-worker, thinking 1) Can’t you see I’m busy? and 2) What does that even mean? What the hell NATASHA constitutes a nice ERTZBISCHOFF girl and why would I want to be one? And seriously, a Hall & Oates reference with that maneater bit? Way to date yourself, you old geezer. But isn’t that life? As a woman, you’re either labeled a maneating bitch for being assertive and confident or you’re a blasé nice girl whom no one respects. It’s a no-win situation. So what’s a girl to do? In this time of moral crisis, I turn to the Betch Bible — authored by the Betches, Jordana Abraham, Samantha Fishbein and Aleen Kuperman, the creators of the satirical website Betches Love This. Principally, “the nice girl plays by the rules without ever questioning them. She’s dull, lacks depth, lets people walk all over her, yet brings nothing to the table.” I have shoes that are more shiny and interesting than a nice girl. The Betches give me three caveats for avoiding turning into this one-dimensional pushover — don’t be easy, poor or ugly. My translation — accomplish your career aspirations, take pride in your image and don’t let men use you. Being a nice girl isn’t going to get you any closer to these goals. In fact, nice girls perpetuate the stereotype that “women are inferior, that we’re not smart or funny and we should stay in the kitchen.” Essentially nice girls are the Sandra Dees of the world, and who wants to be a goody two shoes who doesn’t drink, swear, rat her hair or go to bed ‘til she’s legally wed? I thought so. Sandy’s sheepish attitude about boys — which is as retro as the ‘50s — is disintegrating in modern culture. The New York Times published an article entitled, “Sex on Campus: She Can Play That Game, Too,” about the fall of the nice girl lifestyle and the rise of women in hook-up culture in tandem with their academic aspirations. The article features University of Pennsylvania women who bravely say what many of us are thinking — if men can hook up and avoid burdensome commitment, all while getting ahead, why can’t we? We really can play that game, too. Even sweet Sandra Dee realized that by the end of Grease,
using her new leather outfit and slick attitude to put Danny Zuko in his place. In fact, one anonymous woman at UPenn refused to apologize for her healthy sexual appetite and habits because nobody will remember that about her. More importantly, they’ll remember her transcript and her accomplishments on campus. She’s kick-ass and definitely not a nice girl. There’s nothing wrong with that — she’s an admirable, modern-day feminist pioneer.
Should we all turn over a new leaf and become nice girls? Take a second and think — as a woman — about whom you admire. I admire Beyoncé. At her concert this past weekend, she emerged in a burst of gold confetti, wind in her glorious hair, wearing a bejeweled leotard. She sung of girls running the world, the epitome of women empowerment. Why do I have such a girl crush on Queen Bey? She’s anything but a nice girl — unlike Taylor Swift, who sings about how countless guys have dumped her or used her as a doormat (take a hint, he’s just not that into you). Beyoncé is a charismatic dominatrix who sings fierce lyrics about boys being far from irreplaceable, not little ol’ country ditties begging some dude to realize that you belong with meeeee. She’s an icon, inspiring women to never take shit from guys, to be proud of your sexuality and to never stop working hard until you’ve made it to the top. You think Beyoncé would be where she is today if she sang “Kumbaya” and wore a knee length skirt? Psh, TSwift you can keep your sneakers and your spot on the bleachers, and I’ll put on my high heels and step into the spotlight. Although the anti-nice girl campaign is catching on, it does have its critics. So, should we all turn over a new leaf and become — dare I say it — nice girls? Nah. After all, nice girls finish last. So the next time someone accuses you of being confident, direct, having too high of standards or a cruder synonym, smile and say thank you. Tell them maneaters are here to stay, so watch out boys, we’ll chew you up. —Natasha Ertzbischoff can be reached at nmertz@umich.edu.
OPINION 5
A
lot has been said about our generation. According to the experts, we’re a narcissistic, privileged youth, with ADD and addictions to drugs, apathy and BEN whatever. GLOGER Female Millenials have professional aspirations, but also know that sex and marriage exist. Guys like tacos. For the most part, it’s easy to dismiss such characterizations as trite, trending journalism. In fact, this publication has already delved into the ridiculousness of the media’s efforts to define our generation — multiple times. However, that isn’t to say we aren’t a product of our environment. We — as a generation — are the primary participants in the most rapid period of technological advancement human existence has ever experienced. These advancements are radically reshaping our social organization, keeping us constantly interconnected and informed. Furthermore, even those marginally interested in current political happenings know that not only is polarization rampant, it’s at its highest levels ever. Ultimately, it’s our interconnectivity that’s driving this polarization. Our lives are constantly subjected to the influence of others, and tremendous pressure exists to align along prepackaged, Saran-wrapped political ideologies that eliminate our capacity for informed, objective discourse. If the politicians, news outlets, talking heads, pundits and crab people alike are to be believed, we can only be two things: conservative or liberal. In fact, you are neither. You’re a pure Michigander, a Suburbanite and a City Kid. A student, a frat star, a hipster and a Wolverine. You wipe sitting down and standing, you put your left foot in — and above all, you just want to be accepted. Like it or not, we’re obsessed
with our status and statuses. A Facebook friend count may no longer matter, but even if we say otherwise we damn well expect numerous birthday comments from people we haven’t talked to in years. An un-liked status is a blemish, and even those who denounce social media still do so in an effort to categorize themselves as that guy. It’s only human to want to feel connected and a part of something, but it’s clear that our hyper-connectivity has taken this to extreme levels. As a result, we’ve become infatuated with labels and definitions, and in doing so have convinced ourselves that there are only two ways to view any event. But you’re the conglomeration of a series of vastly different experiences and thoughts uniquely your own, and you’re not easily quantifiable. It’s a polarized world out there, and we must remain vigilant in separating the ideologies from the facts, reality from sensationalism and take each issue on an individual basis. To identify with the label of conservative or liberal limits the intellectual development of yourself and — akin to the many so-called experts crying Millennial — allows you to hide behind trite and counterproductive talking points. I fail to see why just because you prefer conservative monetary policy you must also oppose increased gun legislation and human-induced climate change. Likewise, where’s the connection between redistributive wealth practices, marijuana legalization and pro-choice policies towards abortion? These issues are simply not related. Some aren’t even inherently political. Yet, it has become increasingly convenient for politicians and media outlets to convince you they are. Their jobs are significantly easier when the world exists on a binary scale, where there’s no middle ground, no truth beyond theirs or fallacies beyond that of their opponents. Just as we subscribe to our favorite Instagram and Twitter accounts, so too have we made politics a form of entertainment. We tune into what
we want and drop the rest out. In doing so, we’ve forgone any hypothesis, drawing similarities between events that are nonexistent and reinforcing media outlets that proudly tout their biases, creating an atmosphere of us against them. This past Saturday was the one year anniversary of the Aurora, Colorado shooting. Unfortunately, there probably will be another, similar case to that of State of Florida v. George Zimmerman. The “nuclear option” showdown was only an appetizer for this fall’s budget shouting contest. I remember each side’s viewpoint on all these events, but I never remember talking about them. There is no analysis — only the pursuit of ammunition to use against the oppositions. Proactive conversation is either nonexistent or comprised of predetermined ideological fodder.
You’re not easily quantifiable. Our interconnectivity has the potential to engage our generation in unprecedented ways, enabling social discourse that truly represents viewpoints from all spectra. We’re an incredibly creative generation — already leveraging our abilities for civic betterment in ways past generations couldn’t even dream of. But process drives outcome, and we must resist those who would hijack our interconnectivity to exploit our intense desire for acceptance, to ignore those whose job it is to sell finalized and uncompromising opinions. We’re Millenials — we lack hubris and like tacos, alcohol and casual hookups. We escape definition — we’re neither blue nor red and we have the capacity and means to rise above the polarization. We just need to start using our tools on our own terms. —Ben Gloger can be reached at bgloger@umich.edu.
6 NEWS
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CSG From Page 3 CSG does not have an updated budget but does display legislative minutes. But to see the breakdown of each vote and CSG initiative takes some digging, requiring a full read through of the minutes, making the site not as accessible or “student-
friendly” as other schools’ pages. The University of Nebraska student government page includes a project tracker which shows a visual poll of the progress of each student government goal. Northwestern University’s site features a “Campus Voice” page where students can vote and suggest various initiatives. Proppe said there have been talks about instituting a similar
student interaction component on CSG’s site. The Rackham Graduate School Student Government site has two separate pages for the minutes and the status of initiatives. Rackham student Phillip Saccone, RSG President, said the site updates generally fall into the hands of the executives — the president, vice president and treasurer — but they are
Classifieds Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 “The Walking Dead” network 4 Home of William, known for his logical “razor” 9 Dubuque native 14 John of England 15 “Guess again!” 16 Aria response, perhaps 17 Poet’s eye 18 *Union VIP 20 Image on Irish euro coins 22 Weigh station unit 23 Kitchen extension? 24 *You might sleep through it 27 Abates 30 Feedback for a masseuse 31 Tip for smokers 33 José’s hooray 34 It may contain a $10 bottle of water 37 Bicker 39 *Self-esteem essential 41 Super 8, e.g. 42 The Big Easy, to locals 43 “Yuck!” 44 S.A. country 46 Inc. cousin 47 Silk Road desert 49 *1998 Sandra Bullock film 55 Peas, at times 57 “Deathtrap” playwright Levin 58 Horseradish, e.g. 59 Swimming infractions, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can all have 63 An invitation might include one: Abbr. 64 Small landmass 65 Prepare to be dubbed 66 Casual top 67 Sculpted works 68 Après-ski drink 69 Intensify, with “up”
DOWN 1 Sign of tropical hospitality 2 Parable message 3 Hooded slitherer 4 Hooter 5 Tiny Tim’s surname 6 Early computer language 7 “That’s __!” 8 Ball club VIP 9 Skeptic’s reply 10 Speak with style 11 Besides Derek Jeter, only Major Leaguer whose 3,000th hit was a homer 12 City map abbr. 13 Here-there link 19 Change in Albania? 21 Laud 25 Tropical capital 26 Seven-time A.L. batting champ 28 Really bummed 29 Observe 32 Skater known as “America’s sweetheart” 34 Puts in storage 35 Word shouted at church
36 Actress Gardner 38 Bitterness 39 Kelly’s possum 40 Like star-crossed lovers 41 Ham it up for a shooter 45 P-like letters 48 “You ready?” answer 50 Grand __ 51 Had to say “Oops,” say
52 Vital conduit 53 Clan symbol 54 High-end 56 Ball club whose colors are blue and orange 59 Little white lie 60 Sch. with a Mesa campus 61 Box office buy: Abbr. 62 Slick
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
PARKING SUMMER PARKING BEHIND 420 Maynard St. $100/Mo. Call 734‑418‑4115 ext.1246 “PRIME” PARKING FOR SALE 2013-14 Great Locations: 721 S. Forest $1500 1320 S. University $1500 511 Hoover $720 Parking for less than the rest! Call 734-761-8000
FOR RENT ! NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm. ! ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! ! www.HRPAA.com 996-4992 !
xwordeditor@aol.com
07/25/13
! STERLING 411 LOFTS has limited summer only bed spaces avail. starting at $500 all inclusive. Lease dates are May 3rd – August 13th, 2013. 2 blk. from Central Campus and downtown. 734‑998‑4400 www.4elevenlofts.com ! STERLING 411 LOFTS – The first 10 people to sign will receive $1,000. Reserve your 2013‑14 bed space at U‑ M’s Best housing. Sold out early for the last 3 yr(s). 2 blk. from Central Campus and downtown. 1 – 4 bdrm apt. with May to May or August to Au‑ gust lease terms avail. Rmmte match‑ ing, prkg and private baths available. Rates starting at $675. 734‑998‑4400 www.4elevenlofts.com !!LG. RMS., Hill St. off State. Prkg. For Male. $475/mo. 845‑399‑9904 ARBOR PROPERTIES Award‑Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2013. 734‑994‑3157. www.arborprops.com NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm. ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! ! www.HRPAA.com 996-4992 !
By Matt Skoczen and Patti Varol (c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
07/25/13
looking to revamp their site and implement a communications director position similar to Proppe’s idea. Saccone said keeping a userfriendly site does require some extra work, but that it primarily takes a dedicated staff and organization, something Saccone is confident CSG can achieve. “It’s about balancing,” he said. “So the execs, the committee
CENTRAL CAMPUS, FURNISHED rooms for students, shared kitch., ldry., bath., internet, summer from $350, fall from $500. Call 734‑276‑0886.
SERVICES WHY RUIN YOUR SUMMER? POISON IVY located, identified, removed, controlled 734‑476‑4970
HELP WANTED PART-TIME MARKET Research Po‑ sition. Outgoing? We need you for im‑ mediate market research interviews on or around your campus. Work on your own time and independently. Respond now. You snooze . . . well, you know. Good job now = more projects through‑ out the year. Reply to: Thrive.insight‑ s@gmail.com with Market Research in Subject Line for more information
chair and what not, obviously retain some control over it, but you also want to be able to give access to all of the members and even to the student body to some degree.” Beyond the official site, Proppe said he has generally been pleased with CSG’s social networking presence, which included maintaining an updated Twitter account over the summer. Proppe said he also hopes to start a series of blogs that would be updated weekly by the CSG executives to allow students a better look into the organization. “A lot of people don’t know what are the day-to-day operations of central student government,” Proppe said. “ ‘Why is this position a 40 hour-a-week position?’ Not a lot of people really know that.” Proppe has compiled a list of the issues with the CSG site that he hopes to get fixed and is in communication with Public Policy junior Bobby Dishell, CSG Vice President, to begin work on the site.
READ MORE ONLINE!
CHILDCARE FOR ROOM & board 10 blocks from Law Quad. Great for student schedule. If you like kids, call Renee 734‑904‑1498.
All printed articles, and many more, can be found at:
PERSONAL
MICHIGANDAILY.COM
HAPPILY MARRIED, FINANCIALLY stable couple looking to adopt. Please call Jason and Sheila at 1‑ 800‑494‑5978. Expenses paid.
THE 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR IS COMING!
CHILDCARE
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
NOW. @michigandaily
For questions concerning joining our staff, don’t hesitate to email KGBURKE@ MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CHAPTER 9 From Page 1 Currently — according to the release — Detroit is facing $18 billion in debt. A report from Orr in June, the Proposal for Creditors, illustrated Detroit’s dwindling economic status over the past few decades, showing that between 2000 and 2012 Detroit’s population decreased by 26 percent with unemployment increasing by 12 percent within that time. Both Snyder’s press release and the report stated that the hope was to incentivize investment and growth for the city down the line. Orr’s plan would spend $1.25 billion over the next 10 years to revamp and restructure the city’s main services, police, fire, trash and street lamps. Wednesday, one day before bankruptcy was filed, the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit and the Police and Fire Retirement System of the City of Detroit filed a lawsuit with the Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing against Snyder and Orr. The plaintiffs claim that filing bankruptcy and disrupting the
LANGUAGE From Page 2 In order to determine that Warlpiri Rampaku is distinct from its parent languages, O’Shannessy had speakers tell a story from a picture book, or had two people simply talk to each other while she recorded the conversation. She found unique grammatical patterns forming, which is one of the factors that makes Light Warlpiri a language of its own. The pattern for Light Warlpiri involves the use of a mostly Warlpiri sentence with an English or Kriol verb. For example, to ask someone “Where did you go?” in Warlpiri, one would say “Nyarrpara-kurra-npa yanu?” But in Light Warlpiri, one would say “Nyarrpara-kurra yu-m go?” Here, the Light Warlpiri version uses the English word for “go”, and “yu-m” translates to the nonfuture version of “you”. But in the Warlpiri version of the same sentence, “yanu” is used for the past tense of “go” and the “you” is expressed as “-npa”. Both the lack of a dictionary and
city employees’ pension funds would violate Article XI, Section 24 of the Michigan Constitution. The article states that pension funds “shall be a contractual obligation thereof which shall not be diminished or impaired thereby.” A press release from the Detroit Police and Fire Department Retirement System stated that it was willing to cooperate with Orr but was also legally required to protect pension funds. It asked the court to prevent “taking any action which would contravene the protections of Article IX, Section 24.” Orr’s order reads that any element that is deemed illegal or unenforceable can be “severable” without completely removing the order. The case was heard by Judge Steven Rhodes in the U.S. Bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The Detroit News reported that Rhodes froze the lawsuits against the city but did not rule yet on whether Detroit is eligible for Chapter 9 and did not rule on the constitutional legality of Snyder filing the city for bankruptcy. State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), who has spoken out
against the minimal requirements needed to implement the Emergency Manager position, said he was frustrated with the way Detroit’s finances have been handled in the past. He said other communities around the state have received funding while the government seems less inclined to bail out Detroit. However, Irwin said the magnitude of the city’s financial woes is likely too great for an easy fix. City management has far less to blame for the deficit than does the city’s diminished population. “They’re trying to pay for the pension obligations of the policemen and the firemen that patrolled that city when they had two million people in it,” he said. “Imagine if the population of the United States shrunk from 330 million to 110 million; do you think we’d be able to make Social Security payments? Probably not.” With the bankruptcy only recently filed, it may be too early to determine the full impact on both Detroit and the University’s involvement within the city. University President Mary Sue Coleman said at an event in Detroit on Tuesday that she was not concerned Detroit’s
writing system — speakers write in traditional Warlpiri instead — point to the newness of the language. Determining the difference between a language and a dialect is often difficult, but O’Shannessy said it often has to do with political and social criteria. However, she added that if two systems are not mutually intelligible, they aren’t considered the same language. O’Shannessy said a person who spoke Warlpiri but not Aboriginal English or Australian English, wouldn’t understand Light Warlpiri. However, all Warlpiri speakers in Lajamanu do actually understand Light Warlpiri because they are all multilingual. Light Warlpiri is not mutually intelligible with Aboriginal English or Australian English, so it’s not considered simply a different dialect. Linguistics Prof. Sarah Thomason said O’Shannessy’s discovery and ability to study a language from its beginning is particularly remarkable. “It’s so rare to find something this unusual when you can actually study (its development) in real time,” she said. “There aren’t that
many well understood mixed languages.” Thomason compared Light Warlpiri to Michif, a language spoken in Canada that combines French and Cree and is often characterized by Cree verbs incorporated into French phrases. “The people who created these things had to know both Cree and French to do it, but if you know French, you wouldn’t understand Michif because you wouldn’t know the verbs,” she said. Similarly, Thomason said, “You can’t just wing Light Warlpiri,” even if you know the languages it’s derived from, because there are structures that don’t occur in those languages. “It’s very unusual to have the opportunity to see a language develop like this, but there are still many questions as to how it will develop,” O’Shannessy said. Given the permission of the Lajamanu community, O’Shannessy plans to continue her research indefinitely. With time she said she hopes to analyze how grammatical structures change, if and how new words are developed and whether Light Warlpiri’s speakers continue to use the language.
bankruptcy would have any impact on the University. “I am really not,” she said. “I have tremendous confidence in Kevin Orr … it is going to be painful to get back, I understand it. But if it gives the city a chance to start over, then we all just have got to make that happen.” Craig Regester, associate director of the Semester in Detroit program, said he doubts the economic problems will deter students from becoming or remaining involved in Detroit. Regester said University students would continue to have a role in influencing the city but that he and the students take a “humble approach” to their contribution, crediting the Detroit residents for maintaining the city through years of hardship. “Yeah, they (the students) have something to contribute,
NEWS 7
absolutely, but they also probably have as much, if not more, to learn and to understand about the world through being and working (in Detroit) along with so many people who have been doing this for decades in the city,” he said. Regester said he also felt that many people don’t have a full understanding of the city’s strengths and weaknesses, which contributes to the problem. “Even with the official declaration of bankruptcy, and this is no small financial shift, the various organizations that have emerged all throughout the city could almost be seen as an unofficial, second quasigovernment that will keep on functioning, as it has for so long now, independently of the city.” Daily Staff Reporter Adam Rubenfire contributed reporting.
Sudoku Syndication
http://su
SUDOKU EASY
2 3 7 5
4
4
3 7 6 9 6 7 4
6
1
8
8
5
9 1
6 4 3
SIT BACK AND WAVE THROUGH THE DAYLIGHT.
9
4
2 8 7 5
2
9 2 © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudok
8 ARTS
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
B ‘Only God Forgives’ At the State Theater Radius-TWC
RADIUS-TWC
I see the blood on the leaves.
‘God Forgives’ wastes stellar cast Winding Refn follows ‘Drive’ with gory, repetitious film By AKSHAY SETH Daily B-Side Editor
A krabi sword whistles though the air, its path washed in reddish neon glare as it makes the slow, weighted journey to a man’s outstretched arm. Nicolas Wind-
ing Refn (“Drive”) forces us to watch, but as the crescendoing beat tightens to a standstill, we pull away. The blood spurts, the screams come, yet we’re looking elsewhere. We’re looking into the face of Lieutenant Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm, “The Hangover Part II”). We’re looking into the face of God. Chang is a personification of pure justice, uninhibited by the overhanging limitations of law and order. As an agent of death
answering only to his own tempered code of ethics, he becomes the natural source of conflict in a film totally defined by its savage, Polanski-esque treatment of setting. Chang also becomes one of the few redeeming features of “Only God Forgives.” Pause. Before jumping to any early conclusions, it’s worth noting that though lukewarm, this is not a terrible movie, completely worth the ticket price and 90-minute run-time
for diehard Ryan Gosling (“The Place Beyond The Pines”) or Refn fans. It never reaches the soaring heights achieved by Refosling’s previous venture “Drive,” yet comes alive in its attention to setting. That setting is the seedy Bangkok underworld housing American expatriate Julian Thompson (Gosling), a man seeking revenge for the brutal, bloody slaying of his brother, who, in turn, got killed by a man seeking revenge for the brutal, bloody slaying of his daughter. Revenge is like a sadistic game of pinball in this fucked up world, bouncing back and forth, smacking and killing everything stupid enough to get in the way of the next bodycount-high-score. That is, until Chang steps in and puts a period to all the tomfoolery. And despite the fact that no trials or regulations even pretend to exist, our righteous antagonist distinguishes himself as the difference between vengeance and justice, the man who always has the last word. The movie itself is not so direct, repeatedly skewered by extended delays of dull, repetitive buildup resulting in anticlimactic, often disgustingly gory payoff, but Refn’s mastery of the visual and visceral cannot be denied. The shots look to have been plucked from the walls of a Pulitzer prizewinning photography exhibition, boasting a certain indescribable symmetry in every frame that lets the pulsating, vibrant palette engulf the action on-screen. The end result is like watching the background imbibe the foreground. Whatever thin notion of separation that otherwise might have held our attention melts away. It’s woozy in the most beautiful, mind-bending way perceivable, and Refn is quick to mix us a new drink every frame. I’ll let the hypnotic soundtrack speak for itself. Yet, it’s not enough to save the film from a tiresomely direct storyline
WE CAN’T STOP, AND WE WON’T STOP. FOLLOW OUR CEASELESS TWITTER ACCOUNT
involving nothing more than an easy, cut-and-dried, boring quest for revenge. Revenge is meaningful where there’s some notion of “hunter vs. the hunted” so that, even at a marginal level, a game of cat-and-mouse can develop, letting our tensions rise and side with a particular party. “Drive” succeeded because it played heavily on a forced transformation of “the hunted” to “the hunter,” thereby setting up its main stage thematic battle between innocence and rage. Here, it’s like watching two confused cats looking for each other. Both want to set up the final confrontation but are too stupid to figure out who they’re supposed to be fighting. And never in my life have I seen acting talent so completely wasted. I mean, come the fuck on Nicolas, you have goddamn Ryan “Hey girl, my shirt fell off” Gosling at your disposal, and you give him a paltry fifteen lines at best? Fifteen?!!!?! What’s worse is he has no more than two— count it, two — facial expressions throughout the film: nonchalant and sad. That’s all. And let’s not forget that for a quarter of the movie, his face is a pulpy, disfigured mess. He doesn’t smile once — sigh. Gosling’s lackluster performance is kind of ( but not really) offset by Kristen Scott Thomas’s (more reason for everyone to see “I’ve Loved You So Long”) mind-boggling turn playing what can only be described as the “why did no one think of this before” combination of “Real Housewives of OC” cast member meets mafia kingpin. But alas, “Only God Forgives” can never be forgiven for its ultimate sin: It’s neither thoughtprovoking nor fun to watch. It’s a tired exercise in repetition, akin to the pinball known as revenge in Bangkok. If only Chang were there in the editing room with his krabi to set things straight.
@michdailyarts
ARTS 9
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FAIRLY GOOD
SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA, MILEY CYRUS IS STILL TWERKING. SOMEWHERE IN ANN ARBOR —
420 Maynard to be exact —
THE DAILY STILL NEEDS ARTS WRITERS!
VICKY LIU/Daily
Request an application by emailing arts@michigandaily.com.
Wire Artist Jackie Crissman takes out a handmade necklaces to show Kathe Helbig at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.
Reflecting on the 2 A Street Art Fair Roads shut down in annual celebration of creativity By ELLIOT ALPERN Managing Editor
There are four days in Ann Arbor, four average July days sweltering or storming with the usual July weather, where the cozy college town becomes … well, something else entirely. The signs are there if you look hard enough — the streets you walk every day suddenly up and close; the pace of foot traffic through the heart of town transforms into a slog, the sidewalks clogged thick with outof-towners. The residents who’ve been here for past summers know that something’s coming, something that will stop at nothing to swallow the better part of Ann Arbor for its four-day lifespan. Those residents likely also know that there are two choices: stay home for a few days, or give yourself up to the “original” Ann Arbor Street Fair. For what it’s worth, the experience can be a blast; especially for prospective artists or connois-
seurs alike. For local businesses, the fair is an absolute boon, packing the streets with throngs of potential buyers despite the insufferable heat this year that topped off in the mid-90s. Even for the casual observer, the experience of strolling down the center line of State Street at noon on a Saturday can be fun. But it’s undeniable, especially for the multitudes who converge on this college town from elsewhere, that the Fair is something to behold. On East University, a small crowd gathered as silversmiths hammered out fresh wares over a pit of glowing embers, while others sifted through custom sets of silverware and jewelry. Further up State, generations of hippies trawled over a cabinet of hand-blown glass pipes, opposite clothes stands filled with upper-class, older women. As a student, attending the Fair with any kind of hope for a bounty of inexpensive treasures is, if not impossible, at least farfetched. It’s clear that the focus here is, deservedly, the patrons of art who have the cash to pump into the local economy. Did you enjoy that medium-sized oil painting of intertwining trees?
That’ll be $6,000 please, cash Sudoku Syndication http://su or check. I think we have some postcards on the other side that are closer to your … “style.” It is true that there are more manageable prices if you look hard enough, but going tent-to-tent for something to hang on the wall is HARD a bit of a fantasy. No, that’s the draw for out-oftowners with money to spend. But that’s not to say that the Street Art Fair is worthless to students — far from it. Where the people flock to find art, students should flock to find people, and to experience what worthy art is firsthand. It’s otherwise rare to find a family of sophisticated aficionados rubbing elbows with beatniks looking for some inspiration, all in front of a metal sculpture of a dog. That is to say, next time, definitely come to the Art Fair to peruse, to sample the state of artistic expression in Ann Arbor. But just don’t bet on finding that perfect landscape to cover the dent in the wall. Instead, after you’ve had your fill, just relax and watch all of the people who’ve travelled, not just © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. WE’RE FATED TO PRETEND. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com to enjoy the town you get to live in, but to watch what makes that town so special in the first place. Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudok
SUDOKU
6
9
2
4
2
3
3
5
7
8
9
6
2
7
5
4
6 2
5
1
1
6 5
6
9
9
4
10 ARTS
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
Wan succeeds in ‘Conjuring’ horror Director of ‘Saw’ series returns with memorable scares By ANDREW MCCLURE Daily Arts Writer
Even in the digital epoch where secularism is hip and science trumps art, there’s nothing not scary about tiptoeing down a lightless hall- A way as the grandfather clock ‘The loudens. Noth- Conjuring’ ing. It’s a heartpounding moment At Goodrich nobody can out- and Rave grow — just like a New Line bunny’s hypersen- Cinema sitive hearing, we humans instinctually assume the worst when an unpleasant sound emanates from the bedroom closet. In one of most compelling fingers-over-eyelids pictures ever, “The Conjuring” finds harmony in the carriage of Satan’s cupped hands. Before, filmmaker James Wan
knew more about creating scary buzz than actually scaring his audience (see: “Saw” and “Insidious”). With shaky performances and a lack of through lines, those films succeeded as ideas, not actual artworks. If cinephiles have cast doubt over Wan, “The Conjuring” is his all-important, holy-shit rebound. Throughout, he manages to keep you on the edge of your seat, forgetting to breathe. No plot point is safe, including the opening and closing credits. Set in the Nixonian early ’70s, paranormal spirit-finders Lorraine and Ed Warren (Vera Farmiga, “Source Code” and Patrick Wilson, “Insidious,” respectively) investigate the demonic occurrences most people would try to ignore so they can sleep at night: demonic possessions, exorcisms, resilient spirits and even some entirely explainable creaks from the “haunted” attic. Lorraine’s different, though. She can connect preternaturally with inhuman energies via sight, touch, smell and sound. They make a killer team — Lorraine as the medium to best extract the forces and Ed as the intrepid torchholder. After an exorcism that “(takes) a
lot out of” Lorraine and leaves her eating nothing for eight days, the Warrens finally are settling down with their daughter. It’s not long until a family across the plains approaches them with house disturbances unlike any the Warrens have seen. The sinister spirits have a demented agenda and only Lorraine’s animalistic pulse paired with Ed’s pluck stand a chance. Lorraine’s got it. But not just in an “I see dead people” fashion; rather, our heroine balances her surreal powers to her congenial mothering. We can see what she sees from the horrified look in her eyes, not the grisly images themselves. Farmiga’s conviction will convert unbelievers to believers and jocks to mice. Her ability to translate the unknown into knowable terms makes you root for faith, despite your atheistic view. An unexpected gear of this hairraising machine comes from the gymnastic lensing that smoothly flips, coasts and vertigoes. One thumb-biting scene features a young girl peaking under her bed after suspecting someone else in the room. The lens carefully somersaults upside-down as she herself unconfidently peaks. Thankfully the lens never embodies one of the bad guys — an unimpressive gag recycled many a year. Any filmic analyst won’t understand why “Conjuring” ousts other recent contemporaries. From an analytical stance, the movie derives virtually all of its assets from previous works: odd noises, a suspect dog, a rotten noose and a match lit in darkness. It takes a synthesizing mind to appreciate these assets holistically. A grain of sand bores, but a beach astounds. A deft sound editing team, clever lighting crew and crisp direction all help to synchronize a script that allows Farmiga and Co. to shine. During a decade-long stretch when horror trailers are urgently dismissed while channel surfing, “The Conjuring” will disrupt the ugly trend of blood sans depth. For whatever reason, well crafted satanic-themed movies always stand the test of time. From Rosemary to Father Merrin, Lorraine Warren reminds us maybe we believe more than we like to think we do.
FILM REVIEW
Finding ‘The Way’ By CARLY KEYES Daily Arts Writer
For years, films have risen to success via the awkward-boycomes-of-age plot. But, why? Really, why? How many A of us can relate to someone like ‘The Way Brad Pitt who saves the world Way Back’ from a zom- At the bie attack and Michigan lands Angelina Theater Jolie (off-camera, too)? Who Fox Searchlight wakes up in the Pictures morning, looks in the mirror, and says, “Boy, I sure do look a lot like Megan Fox?” Who went to a high school, like the one in (insert every teen soap operadrama ever made here), where even the nerds are attractive and charismatic? Even though they’re on-screen in fictional roles – and it’s their job to act like someone else – seldom can a movie star be denoted “one of us.” So when a film like “The Way Way Back” comes along, featuring a shy, skinny, pale pre-teen boy named Duncan (Liam James, TV’s “Psych”) who’s forced to spend the summer with his pushover of a mother, Pam (Toni Collette, “Hitchcock’), and her new asshole of a boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”) with his equally charmless brat of a daughter, Steph (Zoe Levin, “Trust”), in tow – we smile because that’s familiar. We feel you, Duncan. Thankfully, Owen (Sam Rockwell, “Seven Psychopaths”), the goofball manager of a local water park, takes Duncan under his wing; he’s like that fun and crazy uncle who never grew up or “made anything of himself” according to the rest of the family when, in actuality, they all secretly envy his carefree spirit and zest for life. In an equally hilarious, sidesplitting (yes, I said side-splitting) performance, Allison Janney (“Touchy Feely”) plays Betty, the loquacious and lovable, boozehappy next-door neighbor hanging out of her crop top. She doubles as the graciously aging, cool and hip “Mom of the Year” to her son with a wandering eye and her daughter, Susanna (Annasophia Robb, “Soul
Surfer”) who befriends Duncan. Maya Rudolph (“Friends with Kids") as Caitlin, a fellow employee at the water park slash Owen’s love interest, and Rob Corddry (“Pain and Gain”) and Amanda Peet (“Identity Thief”) as Kip and Trish, a couple of Trent’s rowdy pals, round out an incredible ensemble cast. But, despite the all-star lineup, what sets this quirky indie dramedy apart from every other quirky indie dramedy isn’t really the who, but rather what they do and what escapes from their mouths — sometimes narrowly, sometimes blatantly. Written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who swept the 2011 awards season with their adapted screenplay for Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants,” this straightforward story relies on authentic characters (Faxon and Rash both make memorable cameos themselves) who face everyday scenarios and familiar challenges garnished with imaginative moments and accompanied by downright outrageous dialogue. It’s no surprise that Duncan’s only mode of transportation would be a pink and white bicycle with streamers on the handles, but how often does one find themselves trapped in a break-dance circle, forced to bust some moves and then walk away with a well deserved nickname like “Pop-NLock?” And as for a heated, ultracompetitive game of Candyland that ends with someone throwing something across the room in an angry fit of rage, well, I can’t speak for your family.
Indie dramedy at its best. So far this summer, movie theaters have been ruled with an Iron Man, countless other big-budget comic book concoctions and the perpetual CGI-fueled, oh-no-theworld-is-ending-again undertakings. Like Christmas at the North Pole, ’tis the season. But, as we immerse ourselves in the high tide of action-packed popcorn flicks, this elegantly understated combination of craziness and comfort is a good reason to come up for air.
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS 11
Lewan’s diet and notes from Big Ten Media Days By ZACH HELFAND Daily Sports Editor
CHICAGO — Taylor Lewan may have lied to Michigan coach Brady Hoke before the Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday, the coach says. The fifth-year senior NOTEBOOK left tackle has embarked on a strict diet. He went out for pizza in the city Tuesday night. He told Hoke he would get a salad, though. Temptation proved too much. Lewan’s friends “order pizza and wings, I look at that and I’m salivating just looking at it, and I’m excited about it,” Lewan said. “I go to Buffalo Wild Wings, and I order a salad and five chicken breasts.” Pizza slipup notwithstanding, Lewan has followed his routine with zealous intensity. He eats 12 hard-boiled eggs every day. He eats six cans of tuna fish. He mixes in 12 tablespoons of olive oil. And he can count on one hand the number of times he’s broken the diet. “He doesn’t eat like me, I could tell you that,” said redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner. The All-American, who surprised many by returning to Michigan for his senior season, said that he has lost five percent body fat since January. In the past 30 days, he says he gained six pounds of muscle and lost one pound of fat. He didn’t mention how much his diet is costing him, though. His routine goes like this: Each night, he boils a dozen eggs. He eats six the next morning before
his workout, and mixes three with lunch and dinner. Some time after each meal, he eats two cans of tuna. He only eats carbohydrates (whole wheat pasta) after workouts. And he mixes at least 12 tablespoons of olive oil with the meat and vegetables. Lewan cooks sometimes, but fellow fifth-year senior lineman Erik Gunderson assists. (“I don’t know even know what he does, but it’s like magic when he touches it,” Lewan says.) Hoke confirmed Wednesday that Lewan “must have not been truthful” about the previous night’s dinner. One reporter asked him to elaborate on the diet. “I can’t,” Hoke said with a smile. “Because obviously I’m not dieting.” INJURY UPDATE: Michigan’s three injured starters have shown encouraging signs this summer. Redshirt junior linebacker Jake Ryan, who has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, has been running, according to Gardner. Ryan sustained the injury in a March 19 practice, and the team set a late-October target return date, which would be an unusually speedy return from an ACL injury. Hoke said Wednesday that he still expects Ryan to resume playing sometime in October. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Blake Countess, who tore his ACL in the first game of the 2012 season, has been cleared for Michigan’s first practice on Aug. 5. Gardner said he has resumed normal activities.
Michigan Football Preseason Award Watch Maxwell Award
(College player of the year)
>> Taylor Lewan >> Devin Gardner Mackey Award
(Most outstanding tight end)
>> Devin Funchess Lou Groza Award (Top place-kicker)
>> Brandon Gibbons Outland Trophy
(Most outstanding interior lineman)
>> Taylor Lewan
Rotary Lombardi Award (Lineman/linebacker of the year)
>> Taylor Lewan >> Jake Ryan Biletnikoff Award
(Most outstanding receiver)
>> Jeremy Gallon Davey O’Brien Award (Nation’s best quarterback)
>> Devin Gardner Walter Camp Award (Most outstanding player)
>> Taylor Lewan
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Fifth-year senior tackle Taylor Lewan’s diet would be enough to keep chef Guy Fieri busy, broke and lacking descriptive words.
Gardner also reported that fifth-year senior running back Fitzgerald Toussaint recently beat him in agility drills. Toussaint broke his leg on Nov. 17 in a game against Iowa. “I guess that speaks for itself,” Gardner said. “I feel like Fitz is ready to go.” NO GARDNER GUARANTEE: Gardner refused to walk back his statement in June that Michigan would beat Ohio State when the teams meet in November. Appearing on the “Huge Show” on WBBL 107.3 FM, Gardner said this year’s team is one “that will win in the Big House against Ohio State.” Some commentators took that as a guarantee. “I never said the word ‘guaranteed’ or ‘promise,’ ” Gardner said Wednesday. He said the media had made a big story out of nothing, and added he wouldn’t retract what he said. “I wouldn’t expect any player from any team to ever answer that question differently,” Gardner said. “And if they do they don’t deserve to be on that football team.” DELANY FAVORS INCREASING SPENDING MONEY: Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany talked (and talked and talked) Wednesday as the last speaker of the day. His opening statement alone went 23 minutes — 748 words longer than the longest coach’s press conference. He made news on two poten-
tially controversial fronts. Delany called for more money in the student-athletes’ pockets for expenses and for a guarantee of free tuition for all scholarship athletes who leave in good standing. Delany explained that in his last year of college in 1970, he received $15 per month for laundry, in regards to the expenses. The NCAA cut the stipend in 1972 to save money. “But now that we’re revisiting 45 years later, it’s never too late to do the right thing,” Delany said. Delany also introduced his vision for what he called an “educational trust.” Under his plan, any student-athlete on a full scholarship who left a school in good standing would be guaranteed the right to finish school for free. “If you go professional, if you drop out, that we’ll stand behind you so when you’re ready to get serious or when you have the time, we’ll support your college edu-
cation degree for your lifetime,” Delany said. INJURIES END ANTONIO POOLE’S PLAYING CAREER: Sophomore linebacker Antonio Poole is no longer with the team as a player, the team confirmed Wednesday. Poole will return as a student-assistant after battling injuries for the entirety of his college career. SCORECARD: There are no winners and losers at the Big Ten Media Days, but that doesn’t mean we can’t declare winners and losers at the Big Ten Media Days anyway. Hoke wins for brevity at slightly less than 93 words per answer. The conference average was 171 words per answer. First-year Wisconsin coach Gary Andersen was the most verbose at more than 284 words per answer. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said the most total words of any coach at 2,604. Delany’s opening statement alone was 3,339 words.
12 SPORTS
Thursday, July 25, 2013 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
A tale of two coaches for Michigan, Ohio State By ZACH HELFAND Daily Sports Editor
CHICAGO — One coach is the favorite to win the Leaders Division, one the favorite in the Legends. One’s interview session drew a swarm of reporters, the other’s felt almost quaint. For Urban Meyer, hardly any of the questions at the Big Ten Media Days Wednesday were about football. For Brady Hoke, almost all were. The first day of the annual event was largely about Meyer, the Ohio State coach. The Buckeyes punished four players Monday for off-the-field issues. Should
“Last year we were 8-5, and that was unacceptable” Meyer have prevented them from ever being involved? Ohio State had reported an alleged recruiting violation by Florida, Meyer’s former team. Was he behind it? A former player, Aaron Hernandez, was charged with murder. Could Meyer have done more for him? Ohio State was the Big Ten’s best team in 2012 and the preseason favorite in 2013. Meyer fielded 11 questions during his televised press conference. Just one dealt with football. A poll of 26 writers released
Monday revealed Ohio State as the unanimous choice to win the Leaders Division. Michigan edged out Nebraska in the poll for the Legends. From Wednesday, each team had 38 days before its started the season. And each must answer different set of questions before the season starts. The question for Ohio State isn’t whether it is good enough to win the conference. It’s whether it can endure the distractions. The Buckeyes had largely avoided controversy during Meyer’s short tenure. Then Hernandez was arrested a month ago. And then recruiting allegations surfaced. And then the four players were disciplined. All of a sudden, the narrative in Columbus had changed. After his press conference, Meyer went through an untelevised round of interviews. “I’m so excited to get to training camp because all the storylines are gone, last year’s gone, it’s time to move forward,” he said. “All the other stuff, you just kind of…” He paused. “Just trying to get to training camp.” And then there was Hoke, the Michigan coach. At his press conference, he fielded 11 questions, just as Meyer did. All but three were about football. In Hoke’s first year at this event, he introduced himself to the Big Ten with his folksy fergodsake-laden opening speech. Michigan was the story of the conference. In his second year, the Wolverines had their own issues to deal with. Redshirt
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Michigan coach Brady Hoke was all business at Big Ten Media Day on Wednesday, following an “unacceptable” 8-5 season.
junior running back Fitzgerald Toussaint had been arrested for driving under the influence. Sophomore defensive end Frank Clark was arrested for stealing a laptop from a dormitory. How would Hoke respond under pressure? “A year ago we were 8-5, and that’s unacceptable,” Hoke said. “It’s unacceptable at Michigan. It’s unacceptable for us.” This year, Michigan was almost boring. One of the biggest storylines of the day was about Taylor Lewan’s diet. Hoke fielded a question about Detroit’s bankruptcy. The only controversy was
Buy a smoothie and receive one of greater or equal free. Limit One offer per customer with coupon. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Valid at Barry Bagels Ann Arbor location ONLY.
Barry Bagels Westgate Shopping Center 2515 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734) 662-2435 www.barrybagels.com
Expires: July 31, 2013
that redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner said he thought Michigan would beat Ohio State this year. The Wolverines open camp 12 days from Wednesday, and unlike Ohio State, the only questions are about the football team. They have nearly survived the summer. But Hoke’s squad regressed last year. Once again, Hoke said Wednesday the goal is to win a Big Ten championship. Is the young team good enough? The drama for the Wolverines will start with organized practices. It has a brand new interior offensive line, two untested linebackers and questions at tailback. Quarterback Denard Robinson is gone. The schedule is easier this year than last, but is the team better? “I like how they’ve handled themselves on the field and off the field so far this summer,” Hoke said. “I like how they’ve represented Michigan in a lot of ways. Me liking them doesn’t guarantee us anything.” Each coach was given 15 minutes for the opening press conference televised on the Big Ten Network. For 11 minutes, Hoke answered questions about his quarterback; about a child fighting cancer; about his recruiting philosophy. “Time for a couple more ques-
tions,” the moderator said, and Hoke scanned the room. Fifteen seconds passed. Finally, a hand, and Hoke answered a question about an injury. “Time for one last question,” the moderator said again and again, each followed by silence. This time, no one volunteered. This year, for this team, the only questions worth asking must be answered on the field.
DON’T WRITE FOR DAILY SPORTS STAFF. Or is that reverse psychology? EMAIL SPORTS@ MICHIGANDAILY. COM IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW BETTER.