ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY-FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
POLICY ANALYSIS
‘U’ sexual misconduct policy takes step forward Changes include a more investigative approach to assault and harassment claims By AUSTEN HUFFORD ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
University President Mary Sue Coleman discusses the Gibbons case, #BBUM campaign and curriculum requirements during a fireside chat in the Union Monday.
Coleman hosts private talk In monthly fireside chat, President addresses array of questions, concerns
student life, sat with about 30 students in the Pond Room of the Michigan Union Monday for their monthly fireside chat, which serves as an opportunity to hear and respond to student concerns on campus. The pair answered questions about the Brendan Gibbons case, curriculum requirements, the Being Black at the University of Michigan campaign and the University’s participation with the civil unrest in Venezuela. One student started the chat by asking about the University’s recent handling of the
By CLAIRE BRYAN Daily Staff Reporter
As her tenure comes to a close, University President Mary Sue Coleman is still looking to reach out to students. Coleman and E. Royster Harper, vice president for
controversy surrounding former kicker Brendan Gibbons’ permanent seperation and the timeline of the response. The Michigan Daily reported in January that Gibbons was separated from the University in December after being found responsible for a violation of the University’s Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. Coleman said she could not discuss individual cases of student sexual misconduct, but stressed that the Athletic Department did not play a role in the process of reviewing
Gibbon’s case. “I am very comfortable with the process and what happened,” Coleman said. “We have pretty well-defined procedures that we use.” The fireside chat quickly changed subjects as many students asked about the University’s curriculum. LSA senior Zach Klausner was one of multiple students who voiced their concern with how strict the distribution requirements are at the University. “The only classes that I have truly had a negative experiSee COLEMAN, Page 3
Online Editor
The University’s sexual assault and harassment policies are not something frequently discussed during weekend parties or in Ann Arbor cafes. For those directly impacted by these procedures, their stories and experiences with the University’s process are infrequently told. When controversies do arise, the public outcry is loud even before any facts are made public. Since April 2011, the University has quickly created both an interim and a final Student Sexual Misconduct Policy that changed how the University deals with these allegations. During this time, the University has struggled to convey the significance of these changes to a student body, which seems most interested when bad news hits. The fast pace of these changes have also made it difficult to pur-
sue ongoing cases during the transitional period. More than four years after an alleged Nov. 2009 sexual assault, a Nov. 2013 letter was sent to former kicker Brendan Gibbons informing him he was found responsible by the University for violating the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. Gibbons was permanently separated from the University in December for this violation. Documents, including the letter, were reviewed by The Michigan Daily and first reported on in January 2014, resulting in widespread media coverage and negative attention towards the University and the Athletic Department. Many questioned why it took more than four years to expel Gibbons and wondered if his position on the football team played a role. The University has not commented on Gibbons’ case specifically but has repeatedly stated the University Athletic Department has no influence in the sexual misconduct process and has pointed towards the changes in the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy. Both University President Mary Sue Coleman and Michigan coach Brady Hoke released similar stateSee POLICY, Page 3
CAMPUS LIFE
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Maize Rage discusses new line policies
CSG’s Make Michigan to campaign on experience
After controversy at Sunday basketball game, members brainstorm solution
Candidates confident in ability to connect with students and administrators
By BRIE WINNEGA Daily Staff Reporter
During their weekly meeting Monday, Maize Rage — the student-organized cheering section for a the University’s men’s basketball team — discussed the confusion that occurred before Sunday’s basketball game against Michigan State. Students arrived at the Crisler Center early Sunday morning and began to form a line for entry into the building in order to obtain the best seating. Later, students in the original line were told by authorities to relocate to a secondary line. While some complied, others remained in the original line for fear of losing the bleacher seats that they had been waiting for. Students from the second line, most of whom arrived later, were granted first access to desired seating locations. After some delay, authorities compromised by granting those remaining students access to a different section of seats. During the meeting, Maize Rage members and other
WEATHER TOMORROW
students discussed possible solutions that might ensure similar events could be avoided in the future. Some of the ideas offered included the elimination of a start-time for students to begin lining up before a game and the possibility of prioritybased seating for students who have attended the most games in the past. Some attendees also agreed that adding fences or barricades to guide the line-up process would be helpful. On Sunday, Rob Rademacher, associate director of facilities and operations, said the University’s Athletic Department consistently evaluates their attendance policies, including the use of barriers and increased security to improve attendees’ experience. “We haven’t made a decision on anything,” LSA senior Sasha Shaffer, Maize Rage president, said. “It’s an ongoing process that, obviously it’s only been a little over 24 hours since it happened, so we haven’t come down to a decision.” Although a representative from the University’s Athletic Department representative was expected to attend the meeting, no staff member was present. “I mean, they obviously have a lot going on, so it just couldn’t happen,” Shaffer said. “But they’re setting up a meeting.” Engineering freshman See MAIZE, Page 3
HI: 13 LO: 2
By KRISTEN FEDOR Daily Staff Reporter
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced his retirement Monday. Above, Dingell celebrates the election to his 30th term in Congress on November 6, 2012.
Dingell to retire after 58 years serving in Congress Longest serving member of congress will not run for re-election in fall By STEPHANIE SHENOUDA and ALLANA AKHTAR Daily News Editor and Daily Staff Reporter
U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D– Mich.) officially announced his decision to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives after
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
not seeking re-election this fall. The announcement, released in a statement from his office, came Monday morning. At 87 years old, Dingell is the longest serving Congressman with 58 years under his belt, assuming the seat after his father, John Dingell, Sr. passed away in 1955. Some of his most notable accomplishments include passing legislation for the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Most recently, he contributed to the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law in
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM West Quad residents affected by water line break MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS
INDEX
March 2010. In his prepared remarks for the annual “State of the District” address to the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce, Dingell expressed sentimental feelings about leaving the position he held for so long. In his address, he thanked his staff, colleagues and wife for remaining loyal to him and supporting him throughout his career. He praised his constituents and the people of Michigan for letting him serve them. See DINGELL, Page 6
Vol. CXXIV, No. 75 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
In the upcoming Central Student Government elections, Make Michigan candidates are hoping to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack. Public Policy junior Bobby Dishell and LSA sophomore Meagan Shokar, Make Michigan’s candidates for CSG president and vice president both already hold leadership roles in student government. Dishell is the current vice president of CSG, while Shokar serves as the speaker of the CSG assembly. “Our experience this year is unlike any other candidates experience, both in terms of what we’ve been able to accomplish on campus, as well as our experience in student government and working with administrators,” Dishell said. Dishell began his career in student government when he joined the Greek Relations Commission at the end of his freshman year. As a sophomore, he served as an LSA representative in the CSG assembly. Last winter, he was successful in his 2013 bid for vice See CSG, Page 6
NEWS............................ 2 SUDOKU........................ 3 OPINION.......................4
ARTS............................. 5 CL ASSIFIEDS.................6 SPORTS.........................7
News
2 — Tuesday, February 25, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers Before You Were Here
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles Profiles
THURSDAY: Alumni CampusProfiles Clubs
Grammy winner talks teaching
What’s your favorite class to teach? My favorite class to teach is composition seminar, where we discuss all sorts of music including popular music, film music, avant-garde music and so forth. My second most favorite class is ... music for non-music majors, which is open to any student at the University of Michigan. And
in the class, the students write music and I critique it, and their works are performed at the end of the semester. How does teaching two different groups compare? I think it’s interesting to work both with music majors and non-music majors. We need to have people who know how to compose music, and we need people who know how to listen to music in interesting ways. I enjoy teaching both classes. What’s your greatest musical influence?
Dicey ice
BY MAX RADWIN
BY EMMA KERR
A 4-inch water main broke on Thompson St. Sunday night, leaving some West Quad residents struggling through their morning routine. Rumsey and Cambridge Houses lacked cold water for a short period. The water main was fixed and the street unblocked by 1 p.m.
Off-campus navigation has recently proved treacherous, in spite of a city ordinance that mandates snow removal of greater than an inch of powder on city sidewalks. The responsibility of clearing sidewalks may lie on tenants or landlords, depending on one’s lease.
WHAT: Dr. Anita Gonzalez will discuss using digital technology to explore historical characters, tell stories through interactive visuals and expanding on the potentials of maps. WHO: Digital Currents WHEN: Today at 12:30 p.m. WHERE: Room 1022, Institute for the Humanities
THE FILTER
Yiddish movie night
Heroes is back
21 at 20 BY AUSTIN DAVIS
BY CHLOE GILKE
In the midst of his study abroad in Germany, Davis is acquainted with bar culture. He believes that this will prepare him to have a good year when he comes back to the United States, enabling him to avoid the chaos that sometimes accompanies a 21st birthday.
“Heroes” aired its finale in 2010 after a four-year run. In 2015, NBC will host a “limited series” event of 13 episodes. The revival, called “Heroes Reborn,” will feature characters both old and new.
WHAT: A 1923 Austrian film, “Good Luck,” will be screened as part of an ongoing offering of Judaic programming at the University. The drama contrasts American and European Jews. WHO: Judaic Studies WHEN: Today at 6 p.m. WHERE: Room 2022, Institute for the Humanities
Read more from these blogs at michigandaily.com
News Tips news@michigandaily.com
Corrections
Letters to the Editor
corrections@michigandaily.com
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Arts Section
Editorial Page
arts@michigandaily.com
opinion@michigandaily.com
Sports Section
Photography Section
sports@michigandaily.com
photo@michigandaily.com
Display Sales
Classified Sales
dailydisplay@gmail.com
classified@michigandaily.com
Online Sales
Finance
onlineads@michigandaily.com
finance@michigandaily.com
Katie Burke Managing Editor Jennifer Calfas Managing News Editor
ADAM GLANZMAN/Daily
LSA senior Sennel Threlkeld portrays Dr. Henry Arthur Callis at an interactive wax museum hosted by Sigma Gamma Rho sorority at the Union Monday.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
Digital history Student lecture showcase
We(s)t Quad
THE PODIUM
— MAX RADWIN
Newsroom 734-418-4115 opt. 3
EDITORIAL STAFF
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
THE WIRE
THE WIRE
What piece of your own music are you most proud of? The work of mine that I’m most known for is Metropolis Symphony inspired by the Superman myth. That’s the work that has been recorded twice and received a Grammy Award two years ago.
420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN KIRBY VOIGTMAN
Editor in Chief Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 pjshahin@michigandaily.com kvoigtman@michigandaily.com
ence is the television music from the original Star Trek movie. I just like the television music from the 1960s. There were a lot of interesting composers working in that time. I’m just a big fan of the original Star Trek movie.
My greatest musical influ-
ON THE WEB... michigandaily.com
FRIDAY: Photos Photos of the the Week Week
WA X I N G O N
MUSICAL GENIUS
Michael Daugherty is a professor of composition in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance. His Metropolis Symphony was given three Grammy Awards in 2011, including Best Classical Contemporary Composition. He has taught at the University for 22 years.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
WHAT: “Creating as a Way of Learning” features student’s media-centered coursework. A panel discussion will focus on the projects’ learning process and outcomes. WHO: University Library WHEN: Today at 4 p.m. WHERE: UGLi, Bert’s Study Lounge CORRECTIONS A previous version of the article “Party profile: FORUM emphasizes student involvement” incorrectly said FORUM vice president candidate Pavitra Abraham worked on voter registration for CSG elections. Additionally, the party FORUM was written as forUM. l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
1
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin - Madison discovered the oldest-known chunk of Earth in Western Australia, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. It is in the form of zircon, a crystal, that dates to 4.4 billion years ago.
2
Despite having an injury-filled playing career at Michigan, Fred Wilpon has made up for his lost time on the field by helping finance the future of Wolverines present and future on the field and off. >> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTS, PAGE 7
3
The Milk Processor Education Program is nixing their iconic “Got Milk?” slogan, TIME reported Monday. Following a decline in milk sales, the marketing agency will start a new campaign focusing on milk’s energizing properties.
kgburke@michigandaily.com jcalfas@michigandaily.com
SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Ian Dillingham, Sam Gringlas, Will Greenberg, Rachel Premack and Stephanie Shenouda ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Allana Akhtar, Yardain Amron, Hillary Crawford, Amia Davis, Shoham Geva, Amabel Karoub, Thomas McBrien, Emilie Plesset, Max Radwin and Michael Sugerman
Megan McDonald and Daniel Wang Editorial Page Editors
opinioneditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Aarica Marsh and Victoria Noble ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Michael Schramm and Nivedita Karki
Greg Garno and Alejandro Zúñiga
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Max Cohen, Alexa Dettelbach, Rajat Khare, Jeremy Summitt and Daniel Wasserman ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Lev Facher, Daniel Feldman, Simon Kaufman, Erin Lennon, Jake Lourim and Jason Rubinstein
John Lynch and Akshay Seth Managing Arts Editors
jplynch@michigandaily.com akse@michigandaily.com
SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Giancarlo Buonomo, Natalie Gadbois, Erika Harwood and Alex Stern ASSISTANT ARTS EDITORS: Jamie Bircoll, Jackson Howard, Gillian Jakab and Maddie Thomas
Teresa Mathew and Paul Sherman Managing Photo Editors
photo@michigandaily.com
SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Patrick Barron and Ruby Wallau ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS: Allison Farrand, Tracy Ko, Terra Molengraff and Nicholas Williams
Carolyn Gearig and Gabriela Vasquez Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
SENIOR DESIGN EDITORS: Amy Mackens and Alicia Kovalcheck
Carlina Duan Magazine Editor
statement@michigandaily.com
DEPUTY MAGAZINE EDITORS: Max Radwin and Amrutha Sivakumar STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Ruby Wallau STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Amy Mackens
Mark Ossolinski and Meaghan Thompson Managing Copy Editors
copydesk@michigandaily.com
SENIOR COPY EDITORS: Mariam Sheikh and David Nayer
Austen Hufford
Online Editor
ahufford@michigandaily.com
BUSINESS STAFF Amal Muzaffar Digital Accounts Manager Doug Solomon University Accounts Manager Leah Louis-Prescott Classified Manager Lexi Derasmo Local Accounts Manager Hillary Wang National Accounts Manager Ellen Wolbert and Sophie Greenbaum Production Managers Nolan Loh Special Projects Coordinator Nana Kikuchi Finance Manager Olivia Jones Layout Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
California almond farming Pollack joins SACUA to affected by long drought discuss projects, budget Despite the crop’s lucrativeness, dry conditions force drastic measures FIREBAUGH, Calif. (AP) — With California’s agricultural heartland entrenched in drought, almond farmers are letting orchards dry up and in some cases making the tough call to have their trees torn out of the ground, leaving behind empty fields. In California’s Central Valley, Barry Baker is one of many who hired a crew that brought in large rumbling equipment to perform the grim task in a cloud of dust. A tractor operator drove heavy steel shanks into the ground to loosen the roots and Sudoku Syndication knock the trees over. Another operator, driving a brush loader
equipped with a fork-like implement on the front, scooped up the trees and root balls and pushed them into a pile, where an excavator driver grabbed them up in clusters with a clawing grapple. The trees were fed into a grinder that spit wood chips into piles to be hauled away by the truckload and burned as fuel in a power plant. Baker, 54, of Baker Farming Company, has decided to remove 20 percent of his trees before they have passed their prime. There’s simply not enough water to satisfy all 5,000 acres of almonds, he said. “Hopefully, I don’t have to pull out another 20 percent,” Baker said, adding that sooner or later neighboring farmers will come to the same conclusion. “They’re hoping for the best. I don’t think it’s going to come.” There are no figures yet available to show an exact number of orchards being removed, but the
SUDOKU HARD
3 8 9 7
5
1
7
3
8
5
9
3
5
8
6
8 2
4
6 8
GO FOR GOLD.
2
1 7
1
5
9 4
7
© sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
Provost discusses increased state budget allocation and campus diversity
economic stakes and risks facing growers are clear. Almonds and other nuts are among the most high-value crops in the Central Valley — the biggest producer of such crops in the country. In 2012, California’s almond crop had an annual value of $5 billion. This year farmers say the By ANDREW ALMANI dry conditions are forcing them Daily Staff Reporter to make difficult decisions. Gov. Jerry Brown last month University Provost Martha declared a drought emergency Pollack joined the Senate Adviafter the state’s driest year in sory Committee on University recorded history. Affairs for its second meeting The thirst for water has of the month to explain the sparked political battles in administration’s progress on Washington, D.C., over use of several policy projects and the state’s rivers and reservoirs. answer questions by members. This month President Barack Pollack began her discussion Obama visited the Central Valon a positive note, expressing ley, announcing millions of dolher enthusiasm about Republilars in relief aid that in part will can Gov. Rick Snyder’s push to help the state’s ranchers and increase funding for universifarmers better conserve and ties in the state of Michigan by manage water. 6.1 percent. http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Baker, who favors farming “We are delighted that the over politics, explained the state is expressing the impormath leading to his decision. tance of higher education, and Between now and the summer this is really good for us,” Polalmond harvest, he would need lack said. to irrigate his orchards with The proposed increase still scarce, expensive water and pay has to receive approval from to have the trees pruned and the Republican-controlled sprayed. Bringing in bee hives Michigan legislature. to pollinate the blossoms costs During her previous visit nearly $500 an acre. to SACUA Jan. 13, Pollack That all would amount to a referred to the formation of $2.5 million gamble, without several faculty committees that knowing if the next couple of would look to address various months will bring significant issues within the University. rain to the valley floor and snow Pollack said progress has been to the mountains. “You’d have made, and the leaders of these wrapped a lot of money up in committees have been selectthose trees to see what haped, though she did not elabopens,” he said. rate further. Removing old trees is comAstronomy Prof. Joel Bregmon practice. Almond trees man will lead the committee remain productive for about 25 on Having Faculty in the 21st years, growers said. The state’s almond farmers removed over 10,000 acres of trees in 2012, according to a report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Most were past their prime. No figures are available on how many orchards farmers are removing today, said department spokesman Steve Lyle.
Century. Psychology Prof. Rob Sellers will lead the committee on Diversity, Equity and Campus Climate. The final new committee, the Financial Models for Higher Education Committee, will be formed down the road to foster collaboration once the other committees have had a chance to begin making headway. Pollack also spoke about the University’s response to recent campaigns pushing for increased diversity on campus. In November, the University’s Black Student Union launched the #BBUM Twitter campaign to shed light on the experiences of Black students on campus. Since then, the group has held several demonstrations calling for increased diversity on campus, culminating in its issuance of seven demands for the University’s administration. Goals ranged from increasing Black undergraduate enrollment to ten percent to increased funding for the Trotter Multicultural Center. Along with Elizabeth Barry, special counsel to the president, and Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones, Pollack has met with students to engage in dialogue about student concerns and demands. The University has granted $300,000 for renovations of the Trotter Multicultural Center and has also agreed to look for property on or near central campus to relocate the Center in the future. There is no specific date for completion, but in the meantime, the existing location will be repaired and
modernized. Furthermore, efforts are being made to increase accessibility for emergency funds to make it easier for students in need. Terry McDonald, director of the Bentley Historical Library, is working to increase students’ access to documents related to race in the Bentley library, as the BSU requested. Pollack said students are also seeking to modify current race and ethnicity requirements in the curriculum and to implement them in schools such as the College of Engineering, where such courses are not required. Otorhinolaryngology Prof. Charlie Koopmann, a SACUA member, voiced concerns about such changes in curriculum. “I don’t think students should be required to take that course,” Koopmann said. “It should be an elective. I think it’s one thing to express interest; I think it’s another to have demands. I don’t think the school should discuss demands; I think the school should talk about concerns.” Before the Provost’s arrival, SACUA discussed the need to establish two nominating committees that would be in charge of identifying potential candidates for open positions. SACUA Vice Chair Rex Holland was selected to head the committee in charge of the Department of Public Safety Oversight. Business Economics Prof. Scott Masten, a member of SACUA, will lead the search committee for a senate secretary.
LOOKING TO PROCRASTINATE? Follow @michigandaily on Twitter
AND ‘LIKE’ US ON FACEBOOK.
(We’re really fun and cool and stuff.)
Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
POLICY From Page 1 ments. The University’s sexual misconduct policy explains how the University responds internally to sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against students, defining how the institution internally handles allegations. Though this procedure can often parallel law enforcement and judicial criminal proceedings, it operates separately. An April 2011 mandate from the Department of Education detailed how universities must handle sexual misconduct allegations and catalyzed an 868-day marathon to update the University’s policy. Within five months of the mandate’s announcement, the University implemented its interim sexual misconduct policy in August 2011. The University then embarked on a two-year process — which brought together the directors of the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, the Office of Institutional Equity, the Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Center and a staff member in the Office of the General Counsel — to create the final, currently enacted policy. This new and currently active policy took effect on Aug. 19, 2013, completely overhauling how the University had historically dealt with these allegations. Before the new mandate Before the interim policy was enacted, the University only sanctioned sexual misconduct perpetrators when the survivor wanted to actively pursue a case with the University’s Office of Student Conflict Resolution. This placed a high burden on survivors. The old policy treated sexual misconduct similarly to other violations of the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities. The Statement details rules and procedures University students must follow and outlines 20 broad categories of violations including ones related to sexual assault, alcohol use and hazing. Not all violations are legal offenses. OSCR is charged with enforcing the Statement, using a variety of formal and informal resolution methods to help resolve violations. If a student is found responsible or accepts responsibility for a violation, there are many possible sanctions ranging from a reflective essay to permanent separation from the University. According to the most recent data available, almost 75 percent of alleged violations of the Statement were alcohol or drug-related. Having “restorative justice circles” or other informal resolution methods where conflicted parties can come together can seem appropriate for a someone caught drinking alcohol. When someone is accused of a more severe violation, such as rape, it is not. A Daily article published in October 2013 detailed one survivor’s experience under the old policy. The
COLEMAN From Page 1 ence with at the University are the classes that are the 100-level science classes, the natural science requirement,” Klausner said. Klausner asked if there has been any dialogue about potentially changing some of the requirements of LSA students when the University receives its new president. Coleman said there has not been any discussion surrounding the topic that she knows of, but professors design course selections with the intent of giving students the necessary knowledge to succeed in upper-level requirements. “The curriculum decisions are really the purview of the faculty, and they decide a particular sequence of courses,” Coleman said. “Those are drawn with the idea that it is most helpful to the student to have the sequence.” “I realize that it causes some constraint,” Coleman added. Coleman encouraged students to voice their frustration by writing to the dean of the department or school to have their issue addressed further. One student asked how the administration is addressing the concerns of the students of the #BBUM campaign, an initiative launched by the University’s Black Student Union in November to shed light on the experiences of Black students on campus.
“I was really touched by the campaign and what students said,” Coleman said. “I don’t think anyone can read the flow of comments without being touched.” The administration has been meeting with student groups every week to understand what is being said and asked for, Harper said. Affordable housing, new modes of transportation and raising the critical mass of the minority student population were all issues Harper said the University is working on. “I know the President-elect will work just as hard as we all have, and maybe bring some new ideas to the table,” Coleman said. Harper said it is a collective effort that is going to create change on campus. Harper added that it is important for students to stand up and voice their concerns when they see something that offends them on campus. In an interview after the fireside chat, Harper spoke about a social identity, bystander prevention workshop that was recently piloted for all incoming freshmen called “Change It Up.” The program will feature issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and religion. “The idea is to get students to understand what it means to live in a diverse community,” Harper said. “And to give students the skills to say when I see something that is contrary to our values, I can change it up by intervening.” Engineering senior Ana Sosa, who hails from Caracas, Venezu-
survivor told the Daily about a “draining 12-hour process” where both the survivor and the respondent were questioned about the incident in the same room. OSCR data shows survivors did not frequently move forward with the University process under the old policy. In the 2009 to 2010 academic year, there were only four allegations of sexual misconduct and three in the 2010 to 2011 academic year. This compares to 62 for the 2011 to 2012 academic year, the latest data available and the first year for which the interim policy was in effect. University officials, including those in OSCR and SAPAC, said at the time this increase is a direct result of the policies changes. Noting similar trends at colleges across the country, the Department of Education issued its April 2011 mandate to ensure educational institutions were properly handling sexual misconduct allegations against students. The mandate required schools to change their burden of proof for sexual misconduct cases to a “preponderance of evidence” standard, which means more likely than not. This is the same standard used for sexual misconduct cases against faculty and staff. The University previously used the higher standard of “clear and convincing evidence” to determine responsibility for cases of sexual misconduct. OSCR still uses this higher standard for non-sexual misconduct violations of the Statement. The Department of Education also instructed schools to actively investigate all allegations of misconduct against students. An investigative model The August 2011 interim sexual misconduct policy changed the University’s procedure from a complaintdriven to an investigative-driven model. This change shifted the burden of pushing a case forward from the complainant to the University. The University should now investigate all cases of sexual misconduct differently than other alleged violations of the Statement, according to the interim policy. To fulfill the new requirement, the University created a new investigative position located within OSCR and under the supervision of the Office of Institutional Equity to investigate allegations. Among other duties, OIE investigates civil-rights abuses at the University. According to OSCR Director Jay Wilgus, OSCR did not have experience with investigations violations in this manner because OSCR generally works with all parties to come to an agreement. He added that the work of the investigator was dissimilar to the work of other OSCR employees. Figuring out when proceedings were not well executed perfectly was one of the main goals of the interim policy. By 2012, the investigator role was moved to be under OIE’s domain so the investigator and the investigations could benefit from being in an office that does similar work.
ela, said the University needs to increase its awareness of current anti-government student protests in Venezuela. The violence has resulted in 13 deaths and about 150 injuries, according to a report by Reuters Monday. Coleman encouraged Sosa to write to and meet with James Holloway, vice provost for global and engaged education, to create a more substantial plan of action. Harper stressed how important it is for students to raise their concerns within college’s student boards, which are designed to listen to student concerns. “Some of my best work has been student work,” Harper said. Religious holidays and the renovations of student resident halls were all initiated through student activism, Harper said. Students also raised questions about study abroad programs, community college transfer student’s processes and attendance of student art performances. “I thought they did a good job with addressing the questions that students asked,” Engineering senior Anjali Saripalli said. “I know that some questions they weren’t at liberty to disclose everything happening fully, but I think they did a good job addressing student’s interest at least.” Coleman said the students raised questions that touched on a wide array of topics pertaining to the University. “I like to hear what experience student’s are having because that can influence the way we do things in the future,” Coleman said.
WE HAVE A WEBSITE: WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 — 3 This change was codified in the August 2013 policy. OIE has hired two full-time investigators to spearhead these sexual misconduct cases. According to Anthony Walesby, associate vice provost for academic and faculty affairs and senior director of OIE, these investigators have experience dealing with similar sexual offenses. Walesby is also the University’s Title IX coordinator and determines if a violation of the misconduct policy has occurred after an investigation. According to Walesby, investigators reach out, if possible, to both the complainant — the person who was allegedly harmed — and the respondent, the one being accused, and both are told about the allegations. The investigators then interview them both in private and gather other evidence such as police reports or witness testimony. The complainant and respondent are never in the same room and either one can chose to not participate in the interviews. A controversy emerged in March 2013 when The Daily reported that during the course of an investigation the University apparently learned of two possible allegations of sexual assault against one individual but did not forward this information to law enforcement until a third allegation emerged months later. The interim policy did not mention law enforcement or police. The August 2013 policy does state that the University is “committed to appropriate coordination” and may “if requested and appropriate” share information with law enforcement and University police. Walesby said these investigations are required by the Department of Education and that the University also wants to ensure all allegations are taken seriously. Mandatory reporting University employees are classified into three separate categories for reporting sexual assault: those who must report allegations of sexual assault, those who cannot report allegations of sexual assault, and those who are encouraged but not required to report allegations. The interim policy made reporting mandatory for some University employees such as University Housing Residential Advisors and security officers. It also clarified that SAPAC, Counseling and Psychological Services and the Office of Ombuds are three confidential locations where students can speak freely without any risk of unwanted reporting. The mandated reported raised concern that students could unwillingly begin the process of an investigation while telling someone they trust. For example, if a student tells an RA about an incident in confidence, the RA is required to report this information to higher authorities. SAPAC Director Holly RiderMilkovich said first-year students are told “multiple times” about the policies and the confidential locations to prevent accidental disclosures by students.
Balancing survivor wishes and community safety The largest change between the interim policy and the August 2013 one is how the University handles cases when the survivor does not want the University to proceed with an investigation. Under the interim policy, an investigation could not continue after a survivor asked for it to stop or did not wish to participate. Under the current policy, if this occurs, a review panel determines if the investigation will continue. The review panel consists of a combination of law enforcement, representatives of the University community and survivor advocates, and is tasked with balancing the wishes of the survivor with the safety of the community as a whole. Rider-Milkovich, Walesby and Wilgus said they believe this review panel is innovative and indicative of how the updated policy is unique to the University. According to them, the University could have taken a lesser policy that would have legally fulfilled the requirements. However, the University chose to embark on the multi-year process to create a specific to their needs, though it often resulted in hours of discussion and disagreement leading up to the creation of the 20-page document. They also conducted public and private forums, consultations with survivors and interviews with previous policy makers. Regardless of the policy’s legal lingo, members of the University community must abide by it for it to be an active agent of change. The University has not released details about the Gibbons case or other sexual misconduct violations citing federal student privacy laws and University policies. It is not clear whether this will be the standard for all cases moving forward or if it was a decision specific to the situation. Rider-Milkovich wrote an op-ed in the Detroit News and spoke to the University’s Board of Regents regarding her beliefs of respecting privacy and the sensitive nature of these cases. She said keeping students’ personal information private is paramount. “I am also proud that this University has withstood tremendous pressure and not revealed private student concerns and private student information,” Rider-Milkovich said. “From my national leadership role I believe that it was the right choice to make.” While for now it’s impossible to judge the effectiveness of the new policy, in time experiences will be shared and data made public, creating a fuller picture on the University’s progress with regard to sexual assault and harassment on campus. The first report regarding sexual misconduct cases is due for release next fall and is a requirement of the updated policy changes.
The University’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center staffs a 24/7 crisis line at (734) 936-3333.
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
LSA senior Sasha Shaffer, president of the Maize Rage Council (LEFT) and LSA junior Maegan Mathew (RIGHT) listen to student concerns about the issues about the MSU basketball game line-up and the attendance ticket priority.
MAIZE From Page 1 Duane London, a Maize Rage member, said he thought the Athletic Department did not properly plan for the event. “I think sometimes they just, sitting in the office, they don’t think about what’s going to happen out there on the site, and it’s just something they need to improve on in the future,” London said. “I also don’t think that the Maize Rage handled it particularly well either by starting the second line and causing a second mass stampede.” He said priority seating might be a possible improvement.
“I guess I don’t really have a perfect solution to offer, but it’s definitely something that we need to discuss further and get the athletic department and the rest of the students involved as well,” he said. Nursing junior Mary Wood, a Maize Rage member, also said priority seating would be beneficial. “I don’t think that we should have to wait outside and potentially have people get hurt,” Wood said. “I think that that would eliminate a lot of safety concerns and I think that it would cut down on a lot of the confusion.” The meeting also covered other related issues of security, ticket policies and student seat-
ing. “We got a lot done, and I think obviously part of that was driven by what happened yesterday,” London said. “I was really impressed with the ideas that people brought, and it seemed like an hour just wasn’t enough at this point, which is not usually the feeling I get after meetings.” Wood said she doesn’t know how she would have handled such a difficult situation, but poor communication was part of the issue. “It was interesting to hear other people’s perspectives on it,” Wood said. “I think it was a positive forum for just getting to tell your side of the story, which I think a lot of people wanted to be able to do.”
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN EDITOR IN CHIEF
MEGAN MCDONALD and DANIEL WANG EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
KATIE BURKE 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
Pedaling to a better future
The ArborBike program will benefit students and reduce pollution
T
his May, the University and the city of Ann Arbor will implement ArborBike, a bike-sharing program that allows members to pick up and use bikes from kiosks around the city for a low fee. This collaboration between the city and the University’s Parking @ Transportation Services will establish bike kiosks throughout campus in several areas, including: Main Street, State Street, South University, North Campus and Central Campus. ArborBike will make transportation more convenient for students and Ann Arbor residents and help preserve the environment by reducing the need to drive. The University should implement the program, and if successful, help expand it to the entire city. ArborBike will make transportation available at more locations and more times, giving students easier access to areas that are not served by Blue Buses. Students will also not be bound by inconvenient bus schedules. Easy and inexpensive access to bikes will allow students to easily travel to and from important locations around Ann Arbor. In addition, being part of a bikesharing program could be more convenient and affordable than bike ownership for students. The program may save students money, as they wouldn’t have to buy a bike, pay for upkeep or worry about theft. In 2012, more than 90 bikes were reported stolen, but this program will relieve participants of the worry of being the next victim. To maximize benefits for students and make sure the program is accessible for all, the University should further ensure that B-Cycle, the program provider, keeps membership rates low. Additionally, there are several environmental benefits of the program. According to B-Cycle’s interactive website, it is projected that if only two bike kiosks were set up at the University, the program would reduce six tons of carbon emissions and save 616 gallons of gas. It is also estimated that it would help reduce traffic by 415 cars, improving the downtown environment by alleviating congestion. The University
plans to install 14 kiosks so these effects are projected to be even greater. If the entire city of Ann Arbor eventually incorporates bike stations, the effects can be amplified to reduce 219 tons of carbon output and traffic by 15,193 cars. In 2011, Coleman detailed her environmental sustainability initiative, of which this is an important component. According to Coleman, all of the University’s planned environmental programs combined will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent and decrease vehicle carbon output 30 percent by the year 2025. However, as the University prepares to implement a program to increases bike ridership, it must call upon B-Cycle to provide helmets to users. Helmets tend to be expensive, so casual bike riders, especially students, may not purchase them on their own to wear when riding ArborBike bikes. However, helmets are necessary to protect students. Providing helmets as part of the bike-sharing program can help incentivize students to wear them. It is also important for ArborBike to create a way to ensure the cleanliness of the helmets. The implementation of ArborBike will help students get around our increasingly, spread-out campus. The University should implement the program in earnest — and barring any major difficulties — expand it to include more areas of the city.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Barry Belmont, Nivedita Karki, Jacob Karafa, Jordyn Kay, Kellie Halushka, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Paul Sherman, Allison Raeck, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe COLLEGE DEMOCRATS | VIEWPOINT
The case for raising minimum wage
While the U.S. economy has largely emerged from the Great Recession, income inequality persists as a true economic crisis. Wages are stagnant, the cost of living continues to rise and opportunities for economic improvement are limited. One concrete way that we can address this worsening inequality is to raise the minimum wage. Last year, thousands of fast food workers went on strike across the country calling for a living wage. At $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009. This means a full-time minimum wage employee with a family still lives below the poverty line. With workers pushing fair pay proposals, the time has come to raise the minimum wage. Last week, President Barack Obama signed an executive order that mandated federal contractors pay their workers at least $10.10 per hour. While more must be done to increase the minimum wage nationally, this is a good step toward raising the federal minimum wage, which would boost the earnings of 16.5 million workers. Minimum wage impacts nearly all Americans. About 80 percent of all college students work part-time jobs, many at or near the minimum wage. Last year, 284,000 college graduates worked minimum wage jobs, making it nearly impossible for them to independently support themselves or pay off their school loans. A full-time minimum wage worker’s salary is just $15,080 per year. To put this in perspective, it would take nearly seven years to pay in-state tuition for four years at the University of Michigan on this salary, without taking into account the cost of housing, food and other basic living expenses. However, the minimum wage does not just affect young people. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and contrary to what many people believe, about half of all minimum wage workers are over the age of 25, and many have the added responsibility of supporting families and children. This summer, mothers, fathers, students and senior citizens went on strike demanding a wage they and their families can survive on. Not only is the minimum wage too low — it is also continuously decreasing in value. As inflation increases, the actual value of $7.25 decreases. Every day the purchasing power
of the most vulnerable Americans is further weakened. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) brought attention to the significant impact of inflation on the Senate floor earlier this year by noting that if the minimum wage of 1960 were adjusted for inflation, it would be $22 today. A higher minimum wage would not only benefit low-income workers, but also the economy as a whole. While some have suggested that a higher minimum wage would create a surplus of workers and increase unemployment, studies have generally concluded that wage requirements do little to disrupt the job market. In fact, a study by David Card, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that a higher minimum wage may actually increase employment. Additionally, because low-wage workers tend to spend a higher percentage of their income, raising their income would give the economy a much-needed boost. Democratic politicians have offered several proposals to increase the minimum wage. Michigan gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer, a former U.S. Representative, wants to tackle the issue of income inequality head on and, if elected, he will fight to increase the minimum wage to $9.25 in Michigan. However, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder is opposed to raising the minimum wage and does not believe addressing it and raising the standard of living for thousands of Michiganders is a “burning issue.” In his State of the Union address, Obama once again called on Congress to raise the minimum wage, but he is not waiting for Republicans in Congress to act. The president has vowed to do whatever possible to address this crisis, which is why he is taking executive action to begin to address this issue. In Michigan and Washington, Democrats are ready to get to work and address our low minimum wage. Aside from the social and economic benefits, there is one irrefutable reason to increase the minimum wage: it’s the right thing to do. Obama declared “that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty.” With that in mind, one thing has become clear: the time to raise the minimum wage has come. This article was written by members of College Democrats at the University of Michigan.
I
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
How to tell a true story
guess it was around the end of high school that I stopped sleeping. I don’t mean entirely, of course, but for a month or two I existed in a state of deliberate insomnia. When the sounds of telenovelas faded from the walls JULIA around me and the ZARINA men downstairs breathing smoke with practiced cool had drifted off into their own corners of the evening, I would open my window to let the moon in. From the top floor of our apartment building, my own domain was infinite. I felt solitary in my knowledge of the hours I would sit at the window, watching the eyes of the city blink slowly from deep within a jungle of black steel and concrete. I felt the heartbeats at the centers of a million different curtain-drawn pupils lined neatly in brick rows along city streets. The silent rush of the wings of millions of prayers whispered into dark rooms — millions of stories never retold in the daylight — scattered the gray and drafty holding patterns of my own thoughts. I was wondering how to tell a life story that was completely true, because sometimes the facts are incidental and all that really matters is character development — how you are different at the end of a series of events than you were at the beginning. Some people spend their entire lives learning how to love; others are born in love and spend their entire lives learning how to fall out of it. I didn’t know quite where to place myself. Self-reflection is an exercise in what it means to risk everything you know in the name of growing up. Self-doubt is a risky venture and selfconfidence is no less perilous. When approached without balance, either can prove to be both perpetuating and debilitating. Without a measure of confidence, a person will never attempt to succeed, but without a measure of insecurity, they will never question their potential to improve. My life up until that point could be divided into two distinct segments: the desert and everything that came after. I grew up barefoot in a city of dirt roads, banyan trees and crowded busses. Cairo to me was muddy
ankles and leaves you forgot were green until the rains came and the soldiers sang monsoon songs in the streets. It was our windows without glass in them, khamsin and jinn and night air that was always sweet and dusty with bougainvillea and reconciled kitchen fights. America was where I spent my lunch breaks in the bathroom, hot tears of shame running down my face each time I was reminded by ignorance, innocence or plain fact, that maybe I was born to be the odd one out. That no matter where I moved or the kind of person I tried to become, we all carry reminders, heavy at times, impossibly light at others, of where we come from. That even though the sand is gone, I can’t shake the desert out of my shoes. Growing up, I was inclined to speak in absolutes because life is easier to learn and understand when the universe is not implacable and events can be neatly categorized like in the movies and books I loved. People were good or they were bad; they were vulnerable or they were calculated. Happy endings found those who deserved them and no true love was unrequited. I was resolutely American or I resolutely wasn’t, depending on who asked. I was fiercely loving or chillingly distant. I was eager to prove that I wasn’t just another passing face, eager to prove that I was every bit the parts of my past I had handpicked and placed on display, delicately tended. I was more eager to prove that I was resolutely not the parts of my past that I had disassembled and left behind. I spent a lot of time trying to make my life imitate art, to fit neatly into the outline of a novel or the frames of a Bollywood movie. Back then I had the tendency to arrange the events around me with a degree of intentional literary significance. My life had character web complexities and thematic arcs like I thought only dead Russians knew how to write. Even as I collected the details of my friends’ lives obsessively — what they wore, how they spoke, what they believed — I rejected the details of my own
as wholly and resolutely as a body rejecting a transplanted heart. In my imagination, I was dark and beautiful and loved completely, separated at birth from a perfect, perpetually happy family that believed in what I believed and wanted to be what I wanted to be. Falling into these thoughts was a long way down, and I walked that edge precariously. It was a fault of innocence. I was too young to understand that some tears are not yours to cry. I was too naïve to understand that love is a family who cares for you in their own way — even when you are young and it is a painful reminder of a culture and past you are desperate to leave behind — because it is honest and true and the best way they can. I did not understand that real stories aren’t linear and neatly bound in covers to sit on shelves gathering dust, though that doesn’t make them any less interesting or worthwhile. From my window on the city, I stopped trying to sleep and just watched. The streetlights became the stars in my own galaxy. In the hours between days, I began to remember things that I did not know I had forgotten. I had sand between my fingers, desert nights in my soul, lost words on my lips and past days on my mind. I had spent every second up until then wondering how to tell the story of my life, and it was only in that moment that I finally knew what I would say. If I had forever, I would write about my parents and my home and the Big Bang and everything that defines who I am, whether I’ve grown to accept it or not. If I had a book and wanted it to be critically acclaimed I would write it in tears, and if I wanted it to be factually accurate I would write a physics textbook, but even then nothing is certain. But if I wanted it to be entirely true, I would plan none of it and tell it entirely in the present, in single words. And if I had to choose just one, I would say “Urgent,” because whether it is “I love you” or “I accept you” or “I’m sorry,” everything you need to tell somebody is.
Real stories aren’t linear and neatly bound in covers to sit on shelves gathering dust.
— Julia Zarina can be reached at jumilton@umich.edu.
Merit: The Michigan difference in action
D
avid Merritt and Kuhu Saha sit on tall stools surrounding the sales counter at Merit, Ann Arbor’s new clothing store with a conscience. Both 20-somethings are University alums that graduated in 2008. Now they SOPHIA own their own USOW business and their own nonprofit organization, like the kind you get tax refunds for donating to. And they’re pretty damn good looking. Intimidated? You should be. But six years ago David and Kuhu didn’t know what the future would hold. “When I was a senior, I got really into the idea of being a consultant,” David, a former Michigan basketball player, tells me. “But I also had a passion for young people and for the city of Detroit.” Luckily, consulting didn’t pan out and now David feels like he is right where he wants to be — creating a product that he is proud of and giving back to a community he believes in. David is Merit’s founder and seems to be the ideas-man of the two young entrepreneurs. He gesticulates enthusiastically at the merchandise that lines the walls of the meticulously organized South University store as he explains Merit’s aesthetic to me. In his words it is simple, fresh, modern, vintage style with a militant edge. Militant because Merit is fierce about the cause it champions. Militant because it looks good. Kuhu, the duo’s implementer and executive director of the company’s nonprofit arm, FATE, explains to me what Merit’s cause entails. For every hat, sweatshirt or notebook patrons purchase, 20 percent of the item’s cost is invested in a savings account. Two years from now, the money accrued within that account will serve as a scholarship fund for the 22 students (now sophomores) that have completed the FATE program. In Detroit, fate is a loaded word. The fate of Detroit’s student population is often seen as predetermined by location and circumstance. The
Motor City has been swept up into a dangerous national trend in which every 26 seconds a high school student drops out. In Detroit, one out of every four students will not make it to graduation. Without a college education or a high school diploma, boys and girls who drop out face a higher probability of becoming impoverished, unemployed or incarcerated adults than their peers who stay in school. On a more basic level, those kids miss educational opportunities that are critical for them to realize their full potential as individuals. FATE challenges that negative trend by retaking the term and making it about bright futures, not preordained failures. The program facilitates the student’s growth through monthly Saturday workshops with Ann Arbor-area companies such as Google, Domino’s and Zingerman’s. In the workshops the students are exposed to different business models and ideas. They also develop personal leadership skills, creative ability and selfconfidence. They become — in a cliché, yet important sense — more than just a statistic. That’s a big deal to Merit’s creators. “We don’t want people to see our cause as some sort of Sarah McLaughlin, ‘Save the Children’ type of crusade,” says David. Kuhu nods adamantly. “We want people to connect with our students. When you wear clothing with the Merit badge, you’re not just helping some faceless street kid. You’re supporting Amari, or Shamon or Jiyah in achieving their dreams of becoming a doctor or a movie director or whatever inspires them to continue their education. That’s why we wanted to make a website where customers can go and learn about the kids in the FATE program and see what they are funding.” Merit’s new website, meritgoodness.com, launched this past weekend. At the top of its start
page, to the right of the badge, are three numbers: college tuition dollars raised, products sold and minutes of class provided. It is a reminder of the merger of commerce and charity, that buyers can be both benefactors and consumers. As the beneficiary of a firstrate education being a University of Michigan student, I often find myself falling into the collegiate mindset that allows me to shrug my shoulders and say “I’m a just a wittle undergrad! I can’t help anybody!” It is incredibly easy to be lulled into the happy irresponsibility of college life, sure those slices of South University pizza and Urban Outfitters sales rack items are the best I can do right now. I give change to the homeless woman outside of the 7-Eleven on State Street and pat myself on the back. I wake up in the morning and find a receipt from last night’s bar hop and wince … then console myself with a coffee and a cookie at Espresso Royale. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m 22 and all those things are normal — even expected. But I want to make a difference, as I think we all do. Like the 22 kids who attend FATE, I have ambitions that necessitate higher education and a community who will guide me towards reaching my full potential. That way, maybe I’ll grow up and create something as meaningful as David and Kuhu. For now, however, Merit offers the opportunity for me to be, in some small way, militant for a cause just by doing something I’d do anyways: shop for fresh clothes. And then lose them. And then buy more, because I need another super-soft tee or a warm beanie or a sweatshirt my friends will want to “borrow.” The numbers on the website will rise and rise, but they won’t be just another statistic. They’ll be part of a cause.
Merit offers the opportunity for me to be militant for a cause by doing something I’d do anyways.
— Sophia Usow can be reached at sophiaus@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC COLUMN
TV INTERVIEW
Music’s changing face
HISTORY CHANNEL
Not ‘Game of Thrones’
‘Vikings’ talk shop Stars of History Channel series discuss new season By GRACE HAMILTON Daily Arts Writer
On Feb. 27, when the second season of “Vikings” premieres on History Channel, viewers can expect to revisit the conflicts of last season — longships and all. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, actors Clive Standen and Katheryn Winnick talk about what is to come for their characters and why “Vikings” is different than most shows. The series is based on the adventures of Ragnar Lodbrok, a prominent figure in Nordic literature, and follows his raids across Europe, playing up the family tensions and clan rivalries along the way. “(Creator) Michael Hirst is faithful to this society and period of time,” Standen said. “The Vikings have never been really given the right justice and dedication on screen before.” Season one ended with many loose ends left to be tied — among them an affair, threatening the strength of Ragnar’s marriage to his warrior wife, Lagertha, a death in the Lodbrok family and a powerful split between Ragnar and his brother Rollo. While such openended questions may have made for a frustrating season finale, they have provided fruitful ground for
fast-paced and exciting second season. Standen and Winnick’s characters are at the center of these conflicts. Still, they are unsure what lies ahead for their characters. For Rollo, the question remains, will he be able to reconcile with his brother, having chosen to fight against him? Standen recites an old Viking saying, “bare is the back which has no brother,” perhaps affirming viewers’ projections for a reconciliation. For Winnick, the second season is a test of identity for her character. Lagertha has a powerful role, with great appeal in her warrior persona, fighting alongside her husband in battle in addition to caring for their children. Winnick attributes most of this to history. “Women in the 8th century had a strong voice,” Winnick said. “They were allowed to be not only mothers and young wives and farmers but also fight in battle, also own land, also divorce their husbands, and eventually rule.” It’s true that the historical information surrounding the Vikings is limited, and that which is available, is of questionable accuracy. Still, being a “historical drama” does have some important implications. “(At the end of the day) the biggest spoiler is actually picking up the history books, finding out what they did, how they met their ends or what they achieved,” Standen said. So, while the exact plot details of this next season remain a mystery, some of the blanks are already filled
in.
This creates a stark contrast between “Vikings” and a show like “Game of Thrones,” where writers and actors can throw a curveball at any point to hook viewers. Such a show has the advantage of using dragons, monsters and magic to create intrigue. “Vikings,” however, does not have the same freedom, which creates a challenge with regards to preserving the show’s genre. “The show is a huge risk for the History Channel, but one with great payoffs,” Standen said. “Vikings” has turned into a sort of catchall series, by targeting both the network’s typical viewers, those attracted to a historically based narrative, while also luring in a younger demographic hungry for battle and mysticism. In this respect, the show has proven to be a great success. The season finale was able to draw approximately 3.6 million viewers. Some people may object to the blurred lines “Vikings” draws between fact and fiction, but undeniably, something in the model is working very well. TV audiences are typically very divided, whether by age, gender or economic standing. But if other shows can manage the same balancing act, they might find greater success. Season two does not promise a classroom-worthy history lesson or fire-breathing dragons. It does however promise a gripping plot line, dedicated acting and some good costumes along the way.
ALBUM REVIEW
Genre-defying ‘Phase’ By YARDAIN AMRON For the Daily
What I know about Beck: he looks good in a fedora; he has magical, golden locks like Rapunzel; his voice is Adangerously soothing — think whales Morning singing. Phase What I don’t know about Beck Beck: his first Capitol 11 albums. Haven’t listened to them. The problem is that he’s old enough to be my Dad — 43 to be exact (I looked that one up). Despite his age, Beck is way too chic to wear his pants too high. That was in the early ’90s, and if you were in high school then (the minority reading this), you probably know Beck. I was still learning how to poop, so all I’ve got going for me is his latest album, Morning Phase. And while I understand the importance of placing his 12th album in context of his first 11, I’m not your guy for that job. My focus is what I know: the 13 songs on this album, and I gotta say, they’re worth more than one listen. Let’s get to the music. First off, I’ve given up trying to place the record in a genre; songs give off vibes of soft rock, altrock, folk, blues, experimental, maybe a little country. I’m always drawn to unclassifiable music because it’s usually the stuff that opens new doors for future artists to explore — think Radiohead’s complex simplicity, or in literature, Hemingway’s crisp prose. In three words, Morning Phase is soft, slow and somber. Instrumentation is bare bones: acoustic guitar and Beck’s voice acting as foundation, and strings, light pianos and harmonies providing the character; drums
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 — 5
CAPITOL
“I’m a Scientologist, born and raised!”
are minimal and all together absent on some tunes and the tempo takes a leisurely pace across the album. The opening track, “Cycle,” is a soundscape of strings that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The orchestra sounds straight out of a dramatic Hollywood soundtrack, and leads smoothly into the soothing acoustic riff and falsetto vocals of “Morning.” I could definitely wake up to this album and believe wholeheartedly the day would be a good one. But it’s not all happiness.
Good any time, day or night. Beck sings “I tore it all down and buried me underneath the wave,” and now all I want is a hug. The lyric might also be alluding to “Wave,” which Beck planted right in the middle
of the album, almost like an anchor. The tune stands out for its gloom, and starts with the same full string lick from “Cycle” minus the high octave. The second verse emphasizes this phase of sorts with some of the simplest, yet most pointed lyrics of the whole record. “If I surrender / And I don’t fight this wave / No I won’t go under / I’ll only get carried away.” Instead of fighting, Beck surrenders and is swept away. To where? The song ends with Beck droning angelically on the words “wave” and “isolation,” like his voice is the wave carrying him off to some beautiful darkness. And don’t get fooled by the title. Morning Phase is good any time, day or night. The album’s versatility continues to astound me. I usually can’t study with lyrics, but Beck’s vocals are relaxing and stay out of your face. Yet, the record is not just background music; it has a dual capacity for intricacy that’s just waiting to be found, especially for a Beck rookie like myself.
Back when I was still in high school, I remember a friend bringing up a new style of music he’d been listening to lately: dubstep, dub for short. I’d never heard it before, and the name brought to mind strange connotations — druggy, numbed listeners ELLIOT dancing a ALPERN shuffling jig, some fusion of stepping in place and whatever the hell “dub” was. Slowly, the genre began to take root like a stubborn sapling, gathering in strength until it pervaded the house scene as a whole. Skrillex, deadmau5, Modeselektor — at Lollapalooza, dubstep moved from the dance tent to the headliner’s stage in just a year’s time. Predecessors like “wub” had been around since the early ’90s, but it wasn’t until the end of the 2000s that the “wobble bass” style exploded into the limelight. Once artists like Britney Spears were depending on dubstep (see 2011’s “Hold It Against Me”), it was clear that the style had reached a critical mass. Those rubbery basses have been everywhere lately — even TV commercials, the graveyard of musical trends, have started to feel tired when the bass drops under some guy showing us his cell phone. Clearly, some shiny new influence will rise to become the newest, “hippest” element of pop music. But what? For the time being, I’ve picked a few other genres or styles that I could see propping up the most recent Disney-star musician Kwaito/Zef This is admittedly a weird pick, but I’ve listed it first here
because it seems like the most interesting possibility. Hailing from Africa, Kwaito — and more recently Zef — could be the next big hit to come from an unexpected origin (see “Gangnam Style”). South African group Die Antwoord has picked up some traction in the U.S. through catchy (if extremely creepy) club hits, and it’s not hard to extrapolate that some of Africa’s booming hip hop will follow. Usually a bit slower than the current house, Zef will need help via incorporation of American artists, but the potential explodes from there. African rap is downright infectious, and its boisterous presence seems like it would fit in right at home with the current climate of the hiphop world.
This is not about dubstep. West Coast Vibe Really, I have no other name for this, other than the phrase Daft Punk used to describe their most recent influence (specifically, those Californian pioneers of the ’70s). But when a record like Random Access Memories wins Album of the Year at the Grammys, how can you ignore what makes it stand out from the other nominees? “Get Lucky” took home Record of the Year with that catchy groove, and “Blurred Lines” has dominated the charts using something like a ’70s funk flavor. Regardless of how you feel about either of those albums, “West Coast Vibe” seems primed to explode into every other band worried that it’s getting stale (and really, if you don’t like Daft Punk, just get out of here).
The New Alternative If you’ve read my column before, you know that I’m a bit of a fan when it comes to alt. But luckily, this has relatively little to do with that. All you have to do is look at the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of this article’s writing. Four of the Top-10 premiered on XM’s AltNation well before they shot their way up the charts. OneRepublic, Lorde (to a lesser extent), Bastille, Passenger — all of those names hung around the fringes of alt-rock before they ascended to the big leagues. And they’re only following in the footsteps of similar acts like Foster the People and Gotye, proving that we might be in for a decade of alternative trends. Something Something Something Disney Once again, this is going to be kind of a strange one to describe, but bear with me here. I think that, these days, it’s only a matter of time before a few more Disney music stars are born. But, shocking plot twist — what if the new Disney star is actually a good musician? Maybe not liked, but at least respected as a talent. And then, in another shock, new Disney star collaborates with a heavyweight of the music world — think maybe Jay Z or Kanye. And it works. Where do we go from there? How does the music world reconcile such an oxymoron of taste? By accepting it, more or less. Slowly, the stigma will fade, and eventually somebody who can actually play the guitar will be selling out arenas with Yeezus right behind them. Or not. Some perceptions are damned hard to break. Alpern is not listening to dubstep. To remedy, e-mail ealpern@umich.edu.
News and Sports
6 — Tuesday, February 25, 2014
CSG From Page 1 president alongside Business senior Michael Proppe, current CSG president. Shokar was elected as an LSA representative for CSG at the end of her freshman year, and was elected vice speaker at the beginning of this year. In December, she transitioned to her current role as speaker of the CSG assembly. Dishell and Shokar come from different backgrounds, a strength of their partnership that both candidates emphasized. “We have two very different social identities, and that’s something really amazing that no other platform has,” Dishell said. “Together, our party is diverse in itself, and we represent more of campus,” Shokar added. Both candidates also noted how their differences have helped them in their decisionmaking over this past year in CSG. “We encourage each other to think differently and challenge each other,” Shokar said. “We always consult each other before making decisions, and that’s something that’s been really great,” Dishell added. Dishell pointed to the establishment of the Night Owl bus route and model for student input build during the search for the University’s next president as just a few of this year’s successes of CSG. He added that their experiences as CSG leaders place Make Michigan at an advantage moving forward with future initiatives. They have already
established relationships with various administrators and departments, a process Dishell said usually takes a few months. “We really want to build on the relationships we’ve made,” he said. “We want to move on from that to accomplish even more next year, already having those relationships in place.” One of those relationships that Dishell and Shokar want to build on is CSG cooperation with the Athletic Department regarding student-ticketing policies for both football and basketball. They said they want to work on developing an improved reserved seating system for football — a result of negative student responses to the new general admission seating policy. They also discussed a proposal to have a student ticket exchange phone application for basketball tickets. Shokar ran last year as a candidate with FORUM, an opposing party in this year’s election, but has since shifted to Make Michigan. She said that her decision was based on Make Michigan’s platform, not politics. “It’s not really so much a switch. It’s more that I joined Make Michigan because it has the platform of ideals that I believe that Michigan really values,” Shokar said. “It’s about what I want to work on, and how I want to go about making the changes I want to see on campus.” The platform Shokar spoke about includes Make Michigan’s “five pillars”: student-focused, healthy, safe, diverse and innovative. One of the initiatives that align with their “healthy” pillar that Dishell and Shokar addressed was a program that
focuses on the mental health of students. “Mental health is something that’s really overlooked here,” Dishell said. “It’s time we come together as a community through a peer support network.” Make Michigan proposes peer groups of 12 to 20 students that will meet on a weekly basis. Senior leaders who are Counseling and Psychological Services and the Program on Intergroup Relations trained for counseling would run the groups. Dishell said he hopes if instituted, the program will set a standard for other colleges across the nation. “Not everyone has an amazing day every day, and there are definitely times we all can think of when we would have liked to have a network of our peers that we could go to where we didn’t feel awkward because there was a staff member in the room, or we weren’t embarrassed about what was going on,” he said. Regarding Make Michigan’s “diversity” pillar, Dishell said he hopes to increase cooperation between CSG and the LEAD (Leadership, Excellence, Achievement, Diversity) Scholars Program run by the Alumni Center, a program that grants merit-based scholarships to diverse students who exhibit the qualities listed in its name. He said he hopes to work with the program to increase minority admissions recruitment. Moving forward in the campaign, Shokar said that keeping voters informed of their experience and accomplishments over the past year in CSG is key. “Having a conversation is important, but taking action on it and really making the difference on that item is really what we’re about,” Dishell added.
DINGELL From Page 1 “There is no greater privilege than a life spent in service, and I know how fortunate I have been to spend my life as a Member of Congress,” he said. “I have done my best for the people who live here — my neighbors, my friends, those who supported me and those who didn’t.” Dingell added that his health was not a factor in his decision and cited disillusionment with Congress in general as his main decision to step down. “This Congress has been a great disappointment to everyone, members, media, citizens and our country,” Dingell said. “Little has been done in this Congress, with 57 bills passed into law. This is not Heinz packaged varieties, it is the laws passed by the Congress.” On Monday, legislators around the state and nation, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Carl Levin (D–Mich.) responded to Dingell’s decision. Biden, who has worked closely with Dingell during the 2009 auto-industry bailout, expressed
@MICHIGANDAILY LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! (WE POST COOL PICTURES SOMETIMES) WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MICHIGANDAILY
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Turnover advantage leads to Wolverine win over MSU
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Lunchbox staple, initially 4 Handy, say 8 Hatcher of “Lois & Clark” 12 Pakistani language 14 Pakistan neighbor 15 Tablecloth fabric 16 Striped fish 17 Dangerously sharp 19 Ranch nightmare 21 “Wake Up Little Susie” singer Don or Phil 22 “Curb Your Enthusiasm” creator 24 Next-to-last Greek letter 26 Difficult turn on the slopes 27 Fellows 28 Cape Town’s land: Abbr. 31 1983 Streisand film 33 “From __ to shining ...” 34 Has-__ 35 Common pump choice 39 Early garden 40 La-Z-Boy room 41 Very unpleasant, weather-wise 42 Country south of Turk. 43 Costly crackertopper 44 35-Across, e.g. 46 Boxer’s stat 47 Gnarly one on the waves 50 “Beat it, kid!” 53 “I’m serious!” 56 “Star Wars” droid, and a hint to letters shared by 17-, 22-, 35and 47-Across 58 Eyelid trouble 59 Taxi fixture 60 Clothier Strauss 61 Traffic sound 62 Glimpse 63 Lose sleep (over) 64 Mario Brothers console
DOWN 1 Stout servers 2 Unruly kid 3 Holden Caulfield creator 4 Cable stations, e.g. 5 Vintage sitcom stepfamily 6 Vegged out 7 Ambient music pioneer Brian 8 Assisted through a tough time, with “over” 9 Caltech grad, often: Abbr. 10 Hose holder 11 Race nickname 13 West Point letters 15 “Deathtrap” playwright Ira 18 Disclose 20 Suave shelfmate 23 “So true!” 24 Funereal piles 25 Like some rye bread 28 Comedian who ended his show with “... and may God bless”
29 Make arrangements for 30 Raggedy dolls 32 Winery cask 33 Baltimore daily 34 Cry from a flock 36 Loved to pieces 37 Scuba spot 38 Come after 43 Gossip fodder 44 Vinyl record feature
45 Cleverly skillful 47 “Here, piggies!” 48 “It’s open!” 49 Imprecise cooking measure 50 Pool or polo 51 Raw rocks 52 Web address opening 54 Harp kin 55 Strong urges 57 Pixie
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
BLUE NILE IS hiring for servers, bussers, and hosts. Apply in person at 221 E. Washington, Thursday to Friday from 3 to 6pm. WORK ON MACKINAC Island This Summer - Make lifelong friends. The Island House Hotel and Ryba’s Fudge Shops are looking for help in all areas: Front Desk, Bell Staff, Wait Staff, Sales Clerks, Kitchen, Baristas. Housing, bonus, & discounted meals. (906)847-7196. www.theislandhouse.com
FOR RENT ! NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm. ! ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! ! www.HRPAA.com 996-4992 !
xwordeditor@aol.com
02/25/14
With seven minutes left in the first half of Sunday’s Michigan men’s basketball game, Zak Irvin streaked down the court with ball in his hands. Instead of pulling up from behind the arc, the freshman guard drove to the basket. Climbing in the air toward the hoop, the swingman unleashed a dunk — a rarity for the 3-point marksman. As the Wolverines began to claw back from an 11-point deficit in their eventual 79-70 win, one thing became apparent in that fast break: Michigan was ready to run,
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
HELP WANTED
$1485 FOR A FULL 2 bedroom at Forest Glen Apts. Price includes FREE HEAT, 1 parking spot and furniture. $1485 for the whole apartment!!! Call us to tour your new home today. 734-761-2680.
of Dingell’s career. “What has happened in American politics is that money, particularly big money from corporate interests, have come to so dominate political discourse that there isn’t a lot of room left for elected officials in Congress to come together and work out difficult issues,” Irwin said. LSA senior Meg Scribner, chair of the College Democrats, spoke to Dingell’s status as a prominent Michigan political figure. “Congressman Dingell is going to have a great legacy, not just for the number of years he served, but for the legislation he was involved in,” Scribner said. “His accomplishments, the Endangered Species Act and Affordable Care Act among them, will continue to impact Americans long after he leaves office.” Scribner said she could understand Dingell’s frustration at the sense of partisan gridlock that he cited in his announcement as impeding social and political change. Though she could not speculate about his retirement plans, Scribner said she’s sure Dingell’s presence will be missed on the Capitol Hill, and that he’ll always be involved with Michigan politics.
Wolverines benefit from Spartan fatigue, turnovers down stretch
Daily Sports Writer
FOR EXCITING UPDATES AND BREAKING NEWS
his high regard for the most senior member of Congress. He lauded Dingell’s deep respect and care for his constituents and fellow members in Congress, as well as his advocacy for legislation that has helped make the United States a more “just, fair and free country.” “John has always been more than Mr. Chairman to me,” Biden said. “He’s been Dean, the longest serving Member of Congress and one of the most effective in our history. There’s never been a colleague I’ve admired more.” In January, Biden praised Dingell’s work and passion for the auto-industry in his address at the Detroit Auto Show. Levin commended Dingell for his determination and generosity toward Michigan residents, adding that he has known no better person in government during his tenure in office. “Everyone who cares about Michigan has benefitted from his tireless advocacy for our state,” Levin said. State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) noted how recent disunity and bickering in Congress added his input as to why the Congressman decided to retire. He said money corrupts the original principles Congress held at the start
SPORTS
By DANIEL FELDMAN
FOLLOW THE MICHIGAN DAILY ON TWITTER
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 BDRM HSE, Fuller by North Campus, 1010 Cedar Bend Dr. $2400/m + utils. 2 bath, 3 parking. Wsher/dryer. Avail. Fall 2014 contact 734-996-1991. ARBOR PROPERTIES Award-Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2014. 734-994-3157. www.arborprops.com EFF. 1 & 2 Bdrm apts. for Fall 2014. $700-$1395, showings avail. M-F 10am-3:30pm w/ 24 hr notice. Cappo/Deinco cappomanagement.com. Contact 734-996-1991 M-F 9am-4pm PMSI IS LEASING for 2014-2015. Eff. 1, 2, and 3 bdrm apts avail. in Central Campus and downtown area. Contact 734-665-5552. pmsiproperties.com THE 2ND FLOOR NEW Luxury Apartments, Right on S. U. / Central Campus. Apartments come with the BEST Service, Amenities and All at REASONABLE RATES www.The2ndFloorSU.com
whether Michigan State liked it or not. Outscoring the Spartans 14-0 off turnovers, it didn’t matter that Michigan State outscored the Wolverines in the paint thanks to 54-percent shooting from the field. “I think (turnovers were) the difference in the game,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “They got turnovers. They got touchdowns and layups, and we didn’t.” Committing just three turnovers, compared to 13 by Michigan State, Michigan didn’t just outscore the Spartans — the Wolverines outwore them. After a 21-4 run spanning more than seven minutes in the second half, Michigan reached its biggest lead of the game. With Michigan State players bent over in exhaustion, the 16th-ranked Wolverines (11-3 Big Ten, 19-7 overall) made up for a slow start. “I could see a couple of their players bending over,” said sophomore guard Glenn Robinson III. “I told our guys this is what we train for. Some of our guys have been here the whole summer. This is our moment. I thought we did a great job of responding to that and I thought we had a lot of energy today.” Though it’s easy to look at the calendar and note that Michigan had a week off between games and Michigan State had a late game Thursday at Purdue, that wasn’t necessarily how the Wolverines felt. “I don’t know if that’s an excuse,” said fifth-year senior forward Jordan Morgan. “We played five games in 13 days — everybody goes through that. I think it was our energy more than anything. We had it all game long. I think that may have made it overwhelming. “I don’t know if it was necessarily that we outlasted them. I
just think our energy level kept everybody encouraged (and) confident.” Extra rest or not, Robinson made sure that his teammates, and more specifically Morgan, saw what was happening to the Spartans. “A couple of us noticed (their fatigue),” Robinson said. “I told Jordan (Morgan) to run the floor. Even if he doesn’t get the ball, we’ll have spot-up jump shots.” That was the case in Michigan’s second-half run to open up the game. In the 21-4 run, 14 points came on open jumpers — with four more coming on shots at the basket — by sophomore guards Nik Stauskas and Caris LeVert. Forward Adreian Payne remained in the game the entire duration, with the exception of the initial Stauskas 3-pointer, and Michigan took advantage of the Spartans’ best big man playing his sixth game back since missing seven because of a sprained foot. Though Payne posted a double-double, it was clear he wasn’t near the force he has come to be known as over his four-year career at Michigan State. “He looked just dead to me,” Izzo said of Payne. “I mean, a couple times we wanted to get him out, but we didn’t want to use a timeout. … The poor kid, I thought that was part of it. I think he’s not used to taking over the team like a month ago.” Though Izzo was willing to acquit Payne and guard Keith Appling’s fatigue due to lingering injuries, the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the Spartan team. With the Wolverines controlling their destiny for the Big Ten regular-season title, Michigan needs to have a repeat performance of Sunday to keep its stronghold of first place.
TICKETS & TRAVEL
$400 OFF First 10 rentals on Selected Units At University Towers Rent a FULL 2 bedroom w/ FREE HEAT as low as $1680.00. Great location, Great Service and Great RATES!! www.universitytowers-mi.com 734-761-2680 ** AVAILABLE FALL 2014** 4 Bedroom House. Near B-School. 2000 dollars/mo. Call: (734)223-7777 *AVAILABLE FALL 2014* Large 3 bdrm. house. On Campus. 945 Woodlawn. Contact Mike at 734-276-3876.
By C.C. Burnikel (c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/25/14
4 BDRM HSE South Central Campus 1037 Packard - $2500/m + utils. 2 bath, 3 parking. Wsher/dryer. Avail. Fall 2014. Contact 734-996-1991.
TERESA MATHEW/Daily
Sophomore forward Glenn Robinson III found an extra burst on Sunday when the Spartans slowed.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, February 25, 2014 — 7
Wilpon gives back after a career cut short By MATTHEW KIPNIS Daily Sports Writer
With a torn rotator cuff his junior year in 1956 , Fred Wilpon’s time on the Michigan baseball team was over. Who would have thought 58 years later, the complex on the athletic campus that includes the baseball stadium is named in his family’s honor? Wilpon, chairman and CEO of the New York Mets and co-founder and chairman of the board of Sterling Equities, continues to maintain strong ties to the University he loves. “The University of Michigan changed my life more than anything, other than my parents,” Wilpon said. The Wilpon family’s strong relationship with Michigan has been well documented through generous donations to both the athletic department and University at large. With the start of the upcoming season next month and addition of new turf, Wilpon opened up on his past and connection with Michigan. *** Baseball was a big part of Wilpon’s life growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. Wilpon was fortunate enough to play baseball in a Kiwanis organization sandlot league that gave out scholarships to one of its players each year. Wilpon won the scholarship in 1953 and it opened the door to a collegiate future. Colleges would later offer him baseball scholarships as well. Scouts in Brooklyn invited Wilpon to Ebbets Field to pitch batting practice to the Brooklyn Dodgers for a summer and a few professional contracts were offered his way. His parents, though, were very insistent that he become the first person in his family to attend college and that he get a degree before playing professional baseball. The president of the league advised Wilpon to attend a school that excelled in both academics and athletics. The president recommended a few schools, but Wilpon didn’t know the difference between Duke, Michigan or any of the other schools mentioned. To make his decision, Wilpon decided he would attend the first school to admit him. Michigan’s acceptance letter came in first and, with his scholarship, Wilpon arrived in Ann Arbor. But his time on the baseball team was filled with frustration. Early in his
career, he tore his rotator cuff, though at the time, doctors misdiagnosed him with merely a sore shoulder. Injured and unable to play his sophomore year, Wilpon felt guilty about occupying a scholarship, enough that he contemplated quitting until his coach, Ray Fisher, convinced him otherwise. During his junior year, he still hadn’t made progress, so Fisher came through again. The coach advised Wilpon step by step what to do and wrote a letter on behalf of Wilpon, which he gave to the dean responsible for student aid. As a result, Wilpon received a grant in aid equivalent to his scholarship for the two remaining years at school. “He was a wonderful mentor and an outstanding man,” Wilpon said. “When you played for coach Fisher, no matter how you did on the field, you left being a better person. That is the great mark of a superior coach, teacher and mentor.” The financial aid changed Wilpon’s life; he otherwise would’ve had a difficult time remaining in school. This afforded him the opportunity to finish school debt-free, where he met his wife, Judy Kessler. With his liberal arts degree, Wilpon entered the real estate business, where he went on to co-found Sterling Equities, valued in the billions. In 2002, he became the principal majority owner of the New York Mets. *** In 2007, the Wilpon family made a significant donation to the University — none more notable then to the baseball and softball programs. In 1954, the baseball stadium — now known as Ray Fisher Stadium, named after his coach — was hardly expansive. In fact, facilities throughout campus came nowhere near today’s levels. During the cold weather, the baseball team had to practice inside Yost Ice Arena with almost every major team. Wilpon’s donation helped renovate ‘The Fish,’ as Ray Fisher Stadium is affectionately called, and Softball’s Alumni Field, with both stadiums receiving new seats, press boxes and indoor batting cages. Wilpon was, in a sense, able to reunite with the late Fisher as the neighboring fields were given the combined name, the Wilpon Baseball and Softball Complex. “My family is very proud to
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon donated to the Unversity in 2007 to help renovate both the softball and baseball stadiums, along with a scholarship endowment.
be a part of the complex and being associated with Ray Fisher (Stadium) is a privilege for us,” Wilpon said. “I believe in the University of Michigan. I believe in the student athletes and I wanted them to have first class facilities. “I thought it would help their experience and their education — education being broadly defined — not just in the classroom. You learn a lot being on a team about the values of teamwork, friendship and sacrifice.” Most recently, in 2013, Wilpon partnered with the University to add turf to the Wilpon Complex stadiums, after it became clear the natural grass fields had to be addressed. With the new turf, the teams can practice outside on their field much earlier in the year, instead of having to wait for the ground to thaw after the snow clears. Wilpon’s donations also spurred the creation of the Sports Injury Prevention Center — in conjunction with the school of Kinesiology — to conduct research into sports-related injuries. It was a personal matter for Wilpon, who knows first-hand the hardships sports injuries can cause. The family sought to create a need-based scholarship for students who qualify for admission to the University, but financially cannot afford
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
The Michigan baseball team sits in the dugout of Ray Fisher Stadium after the generous donation of alum Fred Wilpon.
FOUR DAYS UNTIL SPRING BREAK! SO KEEP UP WITH US ON TWITTER. WE’LL TWEET UPDATES FROM OUR TRIPS TO OUR BEDS
@THEBLOCKM
it. Thus, in partnership with the University, they created the Irene and Morris B. Kessler Presidential Scholarship Program, named in honor of Judy Wilpon’s parents. The Wilpons visit with the Kessler students every year at a scholarship luncheon, spending time getting to know the recipients. Many Kessler Scholars see the Wilpons as more than just scholarship donors because they are very invested in the program, as Fred was in their shoes when he was younger. “With a lot of scholarships, you just receive a notice that lets you know you have a grant or a scholarship. This was a little
more personal,” said former Kessler Scholar Travis Gonyou. “It was a direct outreach to all of us, trying to get to know us, and I felt it was more personal than other scholarships you could get.” *** Lately, Wilpon has been able to join two of his biggest investments — the Mets and the Michigan baseball program — inviting the University’s baseball team to New York’s spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. In five of the past seven years, the two clubs have faced off in exhibitions. Win or lose, Wilpon knows
it’s beneficial to the Wolverines. “If you ask the coaches, they will tell you it is one of the highlights of their season and also helps the (Michigan) coaches’ recruiting efforts,” Wilpon said. Not only is it helpful for the team but, it’s also rewarding for Wilpon. The university that helped him become one of the most successful businessmen in New York is on the field with his current organization. His past and present are coming together on the field. “I tell you this from my heart,” Wilpon said. “The University of Michigan will always be among the most important parts of my life’s experiences.”
Sports
8 — Tuesday, February 25, 2014
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Tobel closes home meet with a bang By CLAIRE KITNER Daily Sports Writer
For some athletes, shooting the last puck or dunking the last ball may mean a lot more than just the end of a season. Many college athletes have participated in their sport since childhood, and as some seasons end for seniors, the transition away from a life of organized athletics can be a big adjustment. However, for fifth-year senior women’s track and field captain, Kiley Tobel, adjusting isn’t so much the issue — it’s more about finishing her senior season with a bang. “This year for me is the icing on the cake,” she said. “I’ve had a great career so far, but there is still unfinished business for me. I want to win a Big Ten championship as a team, I want to win one as an individual, and I’d like to make another trip back to nationals and have a great performance there. “Overall, though, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself when it comes to setting goals, so I’m taking it day by day and learning from my mistakes.” This past weekend, the Wolverines competed in their last indoor track meet of the regular season, the Silverston Invitational. Prior to the start of the running events, seniors were honored for their individual careers. Tobel had a chance to reflect on her own time, which naturally brought an air of nostalgia. In her last season of eligibility, Tobel felt she could speak for the
rest of the seniors on the team. “It’s hard at times,” she said. “It makes me sad because this is something I’ve put so much time and energy into that it has basically become a part of who I am. I know it’s a great opportunity to be here competing for a fifth year, so I just want to soak it all in and be as positive as I can.” However, for those who balance academic success and athletic achievement, the transition to a life without sports may not be so difficult after all. A Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science major, Tobel has applied to two physical therapy schools recently, and has already been accepted to Eastern Michigan. “The next phase is going to be different, but grad school is something I’ve been set on for a couple of years now,” she said. “It’s a huge relief, especially going into the outdoor season, knowing that my future plans are set.” Among the nine first-place finishes secured by Michigan on Saturday, Tobel rounded out the final field event of the day by clearing a height of 3.98 meters in the pole vault. After a successful indoor season, it’s safe to say that Michigan is in a good position to compete for a Big Ten championship. “There’s a lot of promise on our team,” Tobel said. “We have a lot of talent, but we have still a long way to go to reach our goals so we have to keep that in perspective and know that every single day is a building block for the next day.”
“I’ve had a great career so far, but there is still unfinished business.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tourney picture shifts into focus By LEV FACHER Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s basketball team has had its ups and downs this season, having defeated ranked opponents on the road and having lost to teams in the bottom half of the Big Ten standings by double digits. But ultimately, the extremes seem to have evened out, as the Wolverines will likely enter next week’s Big Ten Tournament squarely in the middle of the pack seeding-wise. With that much established, this week presents a chance to examine where Michigan will enter the tournament. The Wolverines do have one remaining Big Ten game — they travel to State College on Saturday to face first-place Penn State — the game likely won’t have a significant bearing on either team’s positioning in the tournament. Meanwhile, Nebraska’s victory over Penn State on Monday night means the Cornhuskers hold the headto-head tiebreaker over the Nittany Lions. That puts them in the Big Ten driver’s seat, making them a shoe-in to enter the tournament as the league’s top seed. Minnesota’s loss to Big Ten Women’s Michigan State Basketball on Monday Standings night means 1. Penn State Michigan has officially 2. Nebraska 3. Michigan clinched State sixth place in 4. Purdue the Big Ten, 5. Iowa even though 6. Michigan both could 7. Minnesota finish 8-8 in 8. Indiana conference 9. Ohio State play. With 10. Northwestern only one game 11. Wisconsin remaining, the 12. Illinois Wolverines can’t pass fifth-place Iowa, whose record stands at 9-5. Michigan and Minnesota
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Michigan women’s basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico and the Wolverines sit sixth heading into the Big Ten Tournament.
split a pair of regular-season contests, rendering that tiebreaker moot, and the next step in the tiebreaking procedure compares each involved team’s record with teams at the top of the conference standings. It takes until fourth-place Purdue to find a discrepancy in win percentage — the Wolverines split the season series, while Minnesota lost its only game against the Boilermakers. Michigan’s most likely first-round opponent is Northwestern, though Ohio State and Wisconsin remain slim possibilities. If the Wolverines face the Wildcats or Badgers, they’ll have the season’s track record in their favor. Wisconsin is one of just two schools Michigan has beaten twice this season, having played home-and-home series
against five Big Ten opponents in total. The Wolverines beat Northwestern, 70-68, in Evanston on Feb. 6 in the season’s lone meeting between the two teams. Should the Wolverines advance to the second round, trouble awaits them regardless of their seed. The No. 6 seed matches up against the No. 3 seed, and Penn State, Nebraska and Michigan State remain the Big Ten frontrunners. The Wolverines are 0-3 against that group, and would be 0-4 with a loss to the Nittany Lions on Saturday. Entering the tournament as a No. 6 seed means that Michigan’s first tournament game will tip off at roughly 9 p.m. Eastern on Big Ten Network, 25 minutes after the conclusion of a scheduled 6:30
p.m. game between the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds. Inconvenient travel itineraries have plagued the Wolverines throughout the season, but the tables will be turned in Indianapolis. Michigan plays just one game in the 10 days leading up to the Big Ten Tournament, and the Wolverines are one of the only Big Ten teams with the luxury of playing in the tournament over spring break. The breather is a refreshing change of pace from a schedule that forced Michigan to play four games in 10 days, more than any other team in the conference, but the advantage doesn’t do much — things aren’t much worse for either prospective first-round opponent, as Northwestern plays just twice in that stretch, and Wisconsin plays only once.
ICE HOCKEY
Without Bennett, pairings shuffled once again By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer
On Friday, the question was who would fill in on defense. On Saturday, it was who would sit out. But in each of the No. 14 Michigan hockey team’s two games against Penn State, the defense was questionable. And after a series split, it has little by way of answers. After an egregious loss on Friday, Michigan coach Red Berenson chose to address the defense first, inserting forward-turned-defenseman Andrew Sinelli on a line with junior forward Phil Di Giuseppe and sophomore Boo Nieves in place of junior Alex Guptill. And with the previous night’s disappointment in mind, the Wolverines got off to a strong start.
Early in Saturday’s game, Berenson’s pick turned out to be a good one, but for reasons he hadn’t anticipated. Midway through the first frame, senior defenseman Mac Bennett lay flat on his back, his gloves and stick scattered by his side. After a few minutes of uneasy silence, the captain — the heart of his unit, the penalty kill and this team — skated off the ice, clutching his left arm to his side. He was taken to the hospital for X-rays after being evaluated in the locker room. “It was good that we had Sinelli dressed, and he jumped back on defense,” Berenson said. “I wish it wouldn’t have happened at all, but at least we had six ‘D’ dressed.” Berenson announced Monday that Bennett is listed as weekto-week with an upper body
injury, and will be evaluated again next week. He added that the injury is not as serious as originally anticipated, and that it’s not expected to be seasonending. “It’s hard when you’re a player and you’re injured and you’re a captain, to feel like you’re as much a part of the team as you were before you got hurt,” Berenson said. On Friday, Sinelli and freshman defenseman Michael Downing both served an NCAA-sanctioned one-game suspension for their hits in a series against No. 2 Minnesota. Meanwhile, freshman Kevin Lohan made his first appearance since suffering a knee injury nearly four months ago. Without two of its steadiest defensemen, the unit may not have been at full force, but the Wolverines couldn’t get out of
first gear on the defensive end. Costly, and often embarrassing, turnovers from both forwards and defensemen, seniors and freshmen, allowed the Nittany Lions to fire 44 shots at freshman goaltender Zach Nagelvoort, five of which found twine and secured Michigan’s fourth straight loss in overtime — its second loss to Penn State. “I was surprised that we did as well (in the first half of the season) as quick as we did, with such a young team, and with the changeover when Racine got hurt, and then Lohan got hurt,” Berenson said. “But I thought our team held up really well. We got off to a tough start in the second half. “We have to straighten it out and get on the right track.” Saturday, then, was supposed to feature the complete, healthy
package. Kevin Lohan had played well enough to earn a second starting nod, and Downing and Sinelli — who moved back to fill in for Lohan in November — were available to play. It was the first time since Lohan’s injury that the unit was fully in tact. But without their captain, and Sinelli filling in his place, the Wolverines held the high-volumeshooting Nittany Lions to just 20 shots and two goals. The defense was not impenetrable, and questions about next weekend’s pairings resurfaced as soon as Bennett hit the ice. There is one certainty: Michigan will be without its leader for its matchup with Ohio State, a team that nearly toppled the then-hot Wolverines twice in December. The question now is less about who to replace
“He brings a certain energy to the rink and guys feed off that.”
Bennet’s talent on the ice with, and more about how this team will respond without his effort on and off of it. “I think they’re as ready as they’ve ever been to pick up some of the slack,” Berenson said. Though the captain will attend daily team meetings, Michigan will rely on forward alternate captains Derek De Blois and Andrew Copp during the game. “He brings a certain energy to the rink and guys feed off that, so it’s different not having our leader,” Copp said. “But at the same time, when one guy goes down, the next guy steps up. He’s moving the baton on down, so we gotta pick it up and make up for his absence.” And if nothing else, Bennett will lead via other modes of communication. “Congrats on the win,” he wrote in a group text message to his team Saturday. “I heard you guys dominated pretty much. I didn’t get to watch, but I was following on Twitter.”