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Members of the Student Union of Michigan gather in the lobby of the Fleming Administration Building Tuesday to protest the University’s sexual misconduct policies and other issues.
Students march on Fleming Protesters chastize administration in wake of sexual misconduct case By IAN DILLINGHAM Daily News Editor
Chants heard across the Diag on Tuesday afternoon demonstrated that some students are “fed up” with the University. The Student Union of Michigan hosted a protest to voice concerns about the administration’s handling of sexual misconduct cases on campus. About
30 students and members of the community marched from Rackham Auditorium to the Fleming Administration Building, chanting and distributing pamphlets to onlookers. Students from the group delivered speeches at both Rackham and Fleming, which outlined the group’s concerns and suggested changes that could be made to administrative policies. While several issues were addressed, the majority of the protest revolved around the administration’s lack of effort to improve campus climate, which members of SUM said promotes “rape culture” and “victim blaming,” while protecting the
personal financial interests of administrators. Although several references were made to the recent controversy surrounding former kicker Brendan Gibbons’ permanent separation from the University, Rackham student Laura Herbert said the group supports the survivor’s right to privacy and the University’s decision to keep certain information about the case private. “We’re hearing the same line of rhetoric,” Herbert said. “They’re telling us that because they can’t divulge private matters to us as a student body, they can’t do anything about the rape culture on campus. That’s not
true.” Herbert said the administration has many opportunities to improve campus climate within the constraints of laws regarding the privacy of sexual assault victims. In particular, she called for public forums where students can speak about their concerns and a mandate for University athletic staff to receive training on how to handle cases of sexual misconduct involving students. Following a mandate from the Department of Education in 2011, the University reformed its sexual misconduct policy to comply with new federal reguSee MARCH, Page 3A
Office for Civil Rights will look into whether sexual assault cases were mishandled By WILL GREENBERG Daily News Editor
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights will investigate the University’s response to a Title IX complaint concerning a 2009 sexual misconduct case involving former kicker Brendan Gibbons. The Michigan Daily reported on Jan. 28 that Gibbons was permanently separated from the University after violating the University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy, according to documents reviewed by the Daily. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed the University was notified of the investigation Monday night. “We’re very proud of our student sexual misconduct policy,
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT POLICY
GOVERNMENT
Michigan picked for new tech. center
Big Ten schools undergo similar policy changes Title IX coordinator implemented at universities under new guidelines By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter
While the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights commences its investigation regarding a Title IX complaint lodged against the University, other Big Ten schools are also grappling with the implementation of revised sexual misconduct guidelines. In April 2011, the OCR released a Dear Colleague Letter that required universities to modify their sexual harassment policies codified by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Under the new mandate, universities are required to have a Title IX coordinator who is in charge of “overseeing Title IX complaints and identifying and addressing any patterns or sys-
temic problems that arise during the review of such complaints.” The changes require universities to actively investigate instances of sexual misconduct rather than wait for survivors to bring allegations forward. Like many other universities, after implementing an interim policy based on the recommendations, the University revised its sexual misconduct policy in 2013. The letter includes mandates, but leaves some leeway for institutions to craft their own policies. Though universities are required to implement many of the same changes due to risk of losing federal funding, one of the main differences is the extent to which the operation is centralized. In an e-mail interview, Gary Lewis, senior director of media and public relations at Ohio State University, said certain university offices have the power to investigate cases under their jurisdiction. “If the respondent/accused person is a faculty or staff memSee CHANGES, Page 3A
our prevention efforts and our programs to support survivors of sexual misconduct,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “We will fully cooperate with the Department of Education and we believe that a review of our policy, programs and investigations will conclude that the University of Michigan is doing what it should in this important area.” A letter from the OCR to Doug Smith, a former University professor who has been vocal against the University as information about the Gibbons case has surfaced, said it will investigate Smith’s complaint about the case. Smith issued his complaint in August 2013, accusing the University of failing to respond in a timely manner to a rape incident at a fraternity house that involved a female University student and two University football players. Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said no other information can be confirmed by the OCR at this point regarding the details of the See INQUIRY, Page 3A
LILY ANGELL/Daily
Joseph Kolars, senior associate dean for education and global initiatives at the Medical School, speaks about education and global initiatives at a town hall discussion in the Towsley Center Tuesday.
Town hall series explores Medical School regimen Lecture discusses importance of broad education By CAROLINE BARON For the Daily
An outsider’s perception of the life of a medical student likely consists of a tedious courseload and hours spent memorizing facts and processes. But, more than a few books aside, more experiences outside of a lab lie ahead for those
aspiring to become a healthcare professional. In a lecture Tuesday, Joseph Kolars, senior associate dean for education and global initiatives at the Medical School, emphasized the development of a curriculum that produces socially aware students. The lecture occurred as part of a series of town hall meetings aimed at professors, researchers, students and other members of the Medical School community. The town hall series exists to allow the community to
take part in discussions about important issues related to the Medical School and offer a variety of perspectives on changes that will affect them. Tuesday’s meeting was the fifth in the series, which was first announced in the fall. Kolars said this lecture was focused on advising professors to step back and reconsider the central ideas of success within the Medical School before developing a new curriculum. While the series emphasizes change within the Medical See MEDICAL, Page 3A
Manufacturing innovation institute to create 10,000 jobs in the state By YARDIN AMRON Daily Staff Reporter
At a press conference at the White House Tuesday, President Barack Obama began with a joke. “Basically I’m here to announce we’re building Iron Man,” Obama said. “I’m going to blast off in a second.” While there was no blastoff, the joke alluded to a new manufacturing innovation institute focused on lightweight and modern metals that will open in Metro Detroit this spring. The American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Innovation Institute involves a conglomerate of more than 50 companies, nonprofits and universities — including the University of Michigan — and is expected to create 10,000 jobs See TECH, Page 6A
the literary issue student writers share their poems and stories
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2A — Wednesday, February 26, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
MEMORIZING MEDICINE
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Rackham student Julia Santalucia studies for the MCAT in the Union Tuesday night.
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, joined Alan Schaaf, former Ohio University student and founder of Imgur, in a presentation to Ohio University students on the importance of conceiving ideas and creating startups. According to The Post, the two discussed how everyone has the tools to start their own businesses — as long as they harness their resources and manage their time. “The main thing you got to be good at is Googling,” Schaaf said in his speech. “Really, we use the same tools that you have. You just got to have the need to create. We have exactly as many
Samsung’s new Galaxy Gear feels uninspired, likely thrown together quickly to compete with Apple’s rumored iWatch. The new wearable phone doesn’t offer much in terms of secondary features and relies more on the hype of it being a watch-phone.
Landing an internship in this economic climate is difficult, so many students view landing one at all to be a privilege. While there are clear benefits of interning, the view that interns are indebted to their employers is flawed, and compensation should be expected.
THE PODIUM
BY PHOEBE YOUNG
SPORTS
Debbie Dingell Lacrosse team BY MINH DOAN
BY ALLANA AKHTAR
Coming after Rep. John Dingell’s (D–Mich.) retirement announcement, his wife, Debbie Dingell, may now run for Congress herself. The representative said Debbie Dingell would make an excellent candidate and she has a wealth of experience to back her up.
hours as Beyoncé has in a day.” The Post reported that Schaaf and Ohanian praised how the “welcoming” environment in and around Ohio University helps foster creativity. Ohanian founded the community-driven site alongside Steve Huffman, a fellow University of Virginia graduate, in 2005. Reddit is designed as a forum where users can vote “up” or “down” on submissions to determine their place on the site’s page. The topics of submissions range from series news to entertaining GIFs. Imgur, which Schaaf created in his dorm room when he was a junior at Ohio University in 2009, is an image hosting website
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
BY STEVEN TWEEDIE
THE WIRE
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
Reddit co-founder visits OSU
Leadership Paid or Unpaid? transitioning
Tech Tuesday
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
ALEXIS OHANIAN PAYS VIST
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This week, the men’s lacrosse team works to improve the skills of its future faceoff men, working closely with four players. One of the four, sophomore Brad Lott, was awarded ECAC Specialist of the Week for his skills. Read more from these blogs at michigandaily.com
“Gypsy Pond Hockey Music”
WHAT: A roundtable event designed to help new student leaders of campus organizations adjust to their role and responsibility. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: Tonight from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union
WHAT: Watch University hockey players compete while contributing to a dub/ techno soundtrack using ice-frozen hydrophones and contact mics on their skates. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Tonight at 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Yost Arena
Organ performance
Irish music concert
WHAT: Take a midterm study break and listen to selections from Vivaldi and Mendelssohn in the latest recital in the Brown Bag Recital Series. No tickets are required. WHO: James Hammann WHEN: Today at 12:15 p.m. WHERE: Henry F. Vaughan School of Public Health Building, Community Room
WHAT: Goitse will play selections from its recent album, “Transformed.” WHO: Goitse WHEN: Tonight at 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark CORRECTIONS Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com.
that allows users to share and comment on a variety of pictures for free. George Washington University fraternity brothers host a drag show for LGBT charity event On Monday night, George Washington University’s Inter-Fraternity Council and Panhellenic Association, along with Allied in Pride, the school’s LGBT advocacy group, hosted a drag competition to raise money toward supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, The GW Hatchet reported. — ALLANA AKHTAR
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Michael Williams was charged with petty larceny and ordered to pay $262 in court fees because he tried to pay for his lunch at Applebee’s with a $1 trillion note, a bill the U.S. Mint has never issued, Huffington Post reported.
2
Glitter crowns. Dragons. Organs. These are just a sample of what’s included in this week’s Statement Literary Issue. Read on to watch student writers spin gold. >> FOR MORE, SEE THE STATEMENT
3
A cab driver in Orland Park, Ill. called the police on a couple for having sex in the back of his taxi, the Huffington Post reported. Police reported the couple smelled like alcohol and their clothes were strewn throughout the cab.
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CSG Gibbons investigation Thurnau professor series: shot down by the University Sweeney promotes justice Task force denied access to documents regarding kicker By MICHAEL SUGERMAN Daily Staff Reporter
The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights announced Tuesday it would investigate the 2009 sexual misconduct case involving former Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons, demanding access to all documents related to disciplinary proceedings after 2011, among other files. Though University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald pledged full administrative compliance with the OCR, the school seems to have stymied another group’s investigation efforts — those of the Central Student Government. Last week, the University denied a CSG executive taskforce
the right to access documents from the Office of Student Conflict Resolution related to the Gibbons case. CSG created the taskforce Feb. 3 to explore the differences between the University’s 2009 sexual misconduct policy and the newer one established in September 2013. The end goal of the taskforce was to determine which policy was applicable to the Gibbons case. CSG Vice President Bobby Dishell, a Public Policy junior, led the taskforce which included CSG Assembly Speaker Meagan Shokar, an LSA sophomore, and CSG Student General Counsel Jeremy Keeney, a Law School student. Per a provision in the Student Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, Keeney would have exclusive access to “review all confidential and nonconfidential OSCR documents pertaining to investigations of students for violations of the Statement … and/or the student
sexual misconduct policy,” according to a CSG press release. “Periodic, regular review of records of resolution actions will be made available, in confidence, to the Code of Conduct Advisory Board Chair of CSG,” the Statement reads. The Statement was last updated on July 1, 2013. However, the University interpreted this clause in the statement differently. “The University stated that the sexual misconduct policy did not fall under the Statement, meaning that they felt as if our access to the documents is invalidated,” Dishell said. “Prior to that meeting, that distinction was not clear.” Keeney said the taskforce has evidence that CSG had access in the past to cases dealing with sexual assault and sexual harassment. However, these instances were subject to the 2009 sexual misconduct policy and a similarly older Statement, not the new one. Still, Keeney argued the policies were “close enough” that CSG should be granted access to the Gibbons documents. OSCR Director Jay Wilgus said the Statement has a “cutout” where all potential sexual misconduct violations will now follow the Student Sexual Misconduct policy. The taskforce is now working with Kirkland & Ellis, an international law firm, to determine whether or not there is a direct correlation between the statement and sexual misconduct policy — and ultimately whether or not the University has the right to withhold OSCR documents from the taskforce. CSG President Michael Proppe, a Business junior, said the Department of Education’s investigation might push back the timeline of the taskforce’s investigation, whose work will be ongoing despite its inability to obtain University documents. “The Department of Ed., I’m guessing, is going to take a bit of a priority, but we’re going to continue,” Proppe said.
Prof. Megan Sweeney uses literature to teach social change By RACHEL PREMACK Daily News Editor
Associate Prof. Megan Sweeney remembered Payne Hiraldo as a shy fourth grader from New York City’s Washington Heights, a girl she mentored and taught more than 20 years ago at P.S. 128 Elementary School. Last December, Sweeney learned her student — the girl whose family she got to know, whose first Holy Communion she attended — earned her master’s degree from the University of Vermont. Hiraldo now works at the University of Maryland, College Park as a residence director. “Once I found you and had the opportunity to look at your CV, it felt great to know that you yourself went off to become an professor, get tenure and become a director,” Hiraldo wrote in an e-mail to Sweeney. “It is very inspiring. You serve as a reminder of what I would like to do and where my passion lies.” And Sweeney herself — who serves as an associate professor with joint appointment in the Departments of English Language and Literature and Afroamerican and African Studies, as a faculty affiliate in Women’s Studies and American Culture and director of undergraduate studies in the DAAS — continues to teach. These kinds of reconnections are common for Sweeney, recently named an Arthur F. Thurnau professor in recognition of her work in undergraduate teaching. Even though she’s teaching seminars in race and gender instead of how to multiply fractions, Sweeney said she values relationships with former students. “That’s a teacher’s dream to
hear back from a long time ago and see who they’ve become and keep that connection,” Sweeney said. “It can be emotional at the end of the semester when you feel like you don’t know how often you’ll see your students, but I’ve actually been fortunate and been able to keep in touch with a lot of my students over time, and that matters to me a lot.” Sweeney’s résumé reflects a hodgepodge of community involvement between receiving her B.A. at Northwestern in 1989 and M.A. from Penn State in 1997. Among her former positions are as a caretaker for children afflicted with AIDS in Houston, an arts and education facilitator in a Mississippi town where 20 percent of families live on incomes of less than $10,000 per year and a seamstress in a factory near Boston. Sweeney recalls listening to the life stories of her factory coworkers — including a Japanese woman who lost her arm and young women from the area who were already mothers. She said some of the most inspiring stories came from the female prisoners she met when working as a book club facilitator and GED tutor at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women, a women’s prison and halfway home where recently released prisoners work to readjust to society. Sweeney remembers a 42-year-old prisoner named Sissy as being particularly inspiring. Sissy used books and art as a way to understand the world beyond her upbringing in Mississippi, where she encountered racism and substance abuse, as well as abusive and violent relationships. “She has been unfathomably creative in trying to educate herself and stay connected to the world around her,” Sweeney said. “Reading has helped her to understand people whose experiences and backgrounds are different than hers. The materials that are available to prisoners are so paltry.”
Sweeney later featured Sissy and others in two books. “Reading Is My Window: Books and the Art of Reading in Women’s Prisons,” which won the 2011 Emily Toth Award for Best Single Work in Women’s Studies, a 2010 PASS Award from the National Council of Crime and Delinquency and an Honorable Mention for the 2011 Gloria E. Anzaldúa Book Award, examines how prisoners like Sissy use reading to come to terms with their pasts. “The Story Within Us: Women Prisoners Reflect on Reading” shares interviews with 11 such women. “She is somebody that will probably never leave prison but she’s made a life of herself and it’s a life of the mind,” Sweeney said. The courses Sweeney teaches, like the issues she explored when interviewing female prisoners, concern race and gender. She has also taught courses on social justice and community engagement. In her classes, students analyze topics through film, novels and history, such as that of the Black experience in America in the 20th and 21st centuries. “The work that I’ve done with all different types of groups has made me realize how differently our experiences are shared by race, culture, gender, nationality, by things that are not just theoretical concepts,” Sweeney said. “They deeply shape our experience and our history in the U.S. and everywhere.” Rebecca Pickus, a graduate student in the School of Social Work, took Sweeney’s English 398 course, “Reading ‘the Black Body’ in 20th/21st-Century American Literature and Culture” as an undergraduate student in 2009. One novel she read in the course, “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison, ended up being the topic of Pickus’ undergraduate honors thesis, which Sweeney advised. Pickus said her thesis topic was initially vague, and Sweeney helped her narrow it down signifSee PROFESSOR, Page 6A
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Health officials SOBERING CONSEQUENCES weigh in on hard 25% liquor regulation of students report academic consequences from drinking
Greek life’s decision to only permit beer at large parties wellreceived by UHS By AMABEL KAROUB Daily Staff Reporter
Fraternities will no longer serve hard liquor at open parties, and the University Health Service professionals are on board. On Jan. 19, the Interfraternity Council implemented a rule banning hard liquor at open fraternity parties, effective immediately. Under this distinction, any fraternity parties larger than a mixer will only be allowed to serve beer. If they do not comply, they run the risk of being sanctioned by the IFC. UHS Director Robert A. Winfield, the University’s chief health officer, said beer is preferable to hard alcohol because of the slower speed of absorption by the body. While beer has similar intoxicating effects to vodka, it takes 12 oz. of beer to get the same alcohol content as a standard 1.5 oz. shot. Due to the significantly larger volume, Winfield said people tend to drink beer much slower. “When you drink a shot, you do that in about five seconds, then you have alcohol in your stomach, and it’s all there to be absorbed, so it’s going to get into the bloodstream faster,” Winfield said. “Now, if you drink a beer, usually you’ll drink a beer over a period of time, which means the alcohol will be put into your stomach more slowly, so it’s going to be absorbed more
MARCH From Page 1A lations. Herbert said this demonstrated that the University was only willing to change its policy under threat of financial penalty. She added that students might not understand why the policy changed and suggested the administration could do more to educate students about the nature of the new policy. “These are real changes we could make to make our community safer,” Herbert said. The Student Union questioned Michigan coach Brady Hoke’s involvement in the events surrounding Gibbons separation from the University. SUM alleged Hoke knew about the permanent separation, but created an alibi when asked about Gibbons’ status at a Dec. 23 press conference prior to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. “We do not know how Brady Hoke possibly could have not known about the separation before he called the expulsion a ‘family matter,’” SUM wrote in a statement. “We find the injury
CHANGES From Page 1A ber, the case will be investigated by Human Resources,” Lewis wrote. “If the respondent/ accused person is a student, the case will be investigated by Student Conduct.” The University of WisconsinMadison employs a similar system. Luis Piñero, assistant vice chancellor for workforce equity and diversity, Title IX coordinator and director of the school’s Office for Equity and Diversity, said its investigation process also relies on multiple offices. “We have a system that is decentralized in some ways because the student’s issues go in one place and the employee issues go in another place,” Piñero said. He added that the Division of Student Life, which includes the office of the Dean of Students, investigates student-against-student cases. Within this division, Piñe-
slowly.” Winfield added that with slower absorption rates, the negative experiences students may have with alcohol, such as memory loss and alcohol poisoning, will likely decrease. “With vodka, you run the risk of drinking so quickly that you could get way more intoxicated than you intend,” Winfield said. “That’s the kind of thing that, in general, gets associated with behaviors that people regret — blackout, non-consensual sex, vomiting, behaving in a way that’s embarrassing yourself.” Christina Gerazounis, health educator for the Wolverine Wellness program, agreed that beer is the safer choice, adding that students tend to drink too much vodka in part due to its wide availability at Greek events. “I think that access and availability is huge in this,” Gerazounis said. “Limiting liquor is a must on campus.” While the new limitation will not restrict football Saturday pregame events, Gerazounis said it is dangerous when students drink early on a Saturday morning because alcohol from the night before will likely remain in their blood. Alcohol leaves the blood at a rate of roughly .015 percent of blood alcohol concentration per hour. Gerazounis said there are many myths on how to get sober — coffee, water, a cold shower — but sobriety only comes with time. “Students say, ‘I don’t know how I got so out of hand, I only had two drinks,’ but what we recognize is that they went to bed at 4 a.m. and they still had alcohol in their system,” Gerazounis said. “When they wake up
at seven and they keep on drinking, they’re adding on 1,825 599,000 College College to already students students between the between the existing ages of 18 and ages of 18 and blood alco24 die each 24 are injured year from each year hol.” alcohol-relatunder the Joy Pehled uninteninfluence of tional injuries alcohol ke, a health educator for Wolverine Wellness, said another reason vodka causes much more intoxication than intended is because students do not measure exactly how much they are drinking. Pehlke added that, with fraternity parties limiting About 4 out of 5 of college students drink alcohol hard liquor, pre-gaming these parties might become a lot more common. “The only 44.7% 46.3% 52.1% thing that 2011 2009 2009 comes to my mind as a stumCollege Binge Drinking Rates bling point Design by Shane Achenbach, Jake Wellins and Carolyn Gearig Source: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is...would people have this need to pre- Greek life is trying to make game really hard,” Pehlke said. informed decisions that will be “I wouldn’t want that to be what healthy for the community, but would happen. I also think that not unrealistic.”
story suspicious.” University president Mary Sue Coleman released a statement on Jan. 30 stating that the athletic department “has no influence over sexual misconduct investigations or the academic standing of student athletes.” At a Wednesday press conference, Hoke said he could not discuss the matter and had not been made aware of the student protest. Similarly to past comments by the University, Hoke said federal privacy laws preventing him from discussing the topic. “Like I said before, I ... can’t say anything,” Hoke said. “You know, I don’t like that, but I can’t.” Business junior Sumana Palle, who delivered the closing remarks at Fleming, said she believes administrators at the University placed greater value on financial factors than the safety of students on campus. “There’s no way to right this wrong, something has already happened and there’s no way to right that,” Palle said. “But there’s a way of moving forward in a way that’s productive for everyone and they’re not willing to do that,
because that means they have to be uncomfortable with their previous actions.” On Tuesday, The Detroit News reported that the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights will begin an investigation into the University’s handling of the Gibbons case. The OCR stated that they are following up on two specific complaints received from former Pathology Prof. Doug Smith and another unknown individual, but that the investigation does not necessarily reflect on the validity of the complaint. However, Palle said she believes the investigation reflects on the University’s failure to respond to the sexual assault allegations in an appropriate manner. “I think it reflects lack of accountability, transparency and responsibility,” Palle said. In her monthly fireside chat on Monday, Coleman said she supports the University’s current sexual misconduct policy. “I am very comfortable with the process and what happened,” Coleman said. “We have pretty well-defined procedures that we use.”
University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the University supports SUM’s right to protest and draw attention to important issues for students on campus. He added that student organizations and resources such as the Sexual Assault and Prevention Awareness Center were founded in response to similar student movements. “Students drawing attention to sexual misconduct issues is a good thing,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s really important that students continue to bring these important issues to the attention of the University community.” LSA sophomore Jake Rothenberg said his primary motivation for attending the march was the need to promote campus safety. As information about the Gibbons case surfaced, he said he felt the administration was not doing its job of fostering a positive campus climate. “It just seemed wrong,” Rothenberg said. “Our administrators should be promoting our safety and they should be making us feel comfortable.” —Daily Sports Editor Greg Garno contributed to this report.
ro said a judicial affairs unit enforces the Student Code of Conduct, which sets standards for student behavior. The Office for Equity and Diversity investigates allegations in cases such as employee-against-employee and employee-against-student. He said that assigning only one person to deal with the entire spectrum of allegations would not be effective with such a large student body and campus. Additionally, working with the Division of Student Life ensures Title IX requirements are fulfilled. “We work collaboratively with them and we also provide them advice to make sure that the way they are conducting their investigation fulfills the expectations under Title IX,” Piñero said. In contrast, Michigan State University’s Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives receives all allegations. At the University of Michigan, the Office of Institutional Equity receives all claims. While universities have an
obligation to investigate all sexual harassment cases under the Title IX guidelines, situations in which a student survivor does not want the university to pursue an investigation requires a case-by-case analysis. Paulette Granberry Russell, Michigan State’s senior adviser to the president for diversity, Title IX coordinator and director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said if this were to occur, the office would initiate contact with the student. “We will invite them to come in and meet with us,” Russell said. “The student can then decide if they are going to participate in the process.” If the student opts to not participate in the investigation process, the office then evaluates whether to continue the investigation. At the University of Michigan, there is a panel in place that reviews the case and determines how to proceed. On Monday, the Department of Education confirmed the OCR has also initiated an investiga-
tion of Michigan State’s sexual misconduct policy after a complaint was lodged. At OSU, Lewis said it depends on each case whether or not the university will keep investigating depends on each case. “The university will do a case by case analysis, weighing the survivor’s wishes with the potential risk to the survivor or others in the campus community,” he wrote. “In some cases, the university will investigate to the fullest extent. In others, there may be opportunities for informal interventions that will meet the needs of safety, education and Title IX.” While the Dear Colleague Letter required universities to revise their sexual harassment policies, it also allowed universities to provide students, faculty and staff with educational and resource opportunities regarding prevention and awareness. “It has elevated the topic to a level of prominence that has a beneficial effect,” Piñero said. “It heightens the awareness.”
M I C H I G A N D A I L Y . C O M
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 — 3A
INQUIRY From Page 1A report. The letter said the OCR will investigate Smith’s complaint “that the University failed to promptly and equitably respond to complaints, reports and/or incidents of sexual violence of which it had notice, and, as a result, students were subjected to a sexually hostile environment.” The letter also noted a second complaint regarding the same issue, which the OCR will be investigating in conjunction with Smith’s. The source of the complaint is unknown. Another letter from the OCR addressed to Coleman was made public on the University’s public affairs website. The letter details the requests of the investigation, noting that the investigation of an allegation does not give merit to that allegation and the ORC is simply a “neutral fact-finder.” The letter also includes a list
MEDICAL From Page 1A School, Kolars addressed why many people ask, “If the school is doing so well, why do we need to change?” Kolars’ lecture responded to this question with the suggestion that conversations shift from romanticizing quantitative successes of the past and instead focus on creating a conscious student that can be an agent of change. “The first reflex to ‘What should we be teaching?’ is ‘Well, what’s on the test? What does the board say?’ And this is not necessarily a well-reasoned position in terms of what’s foundational and what we should be working on,” Kolars said. He added that an emphasis on test scores and placement rates may blind educators to the evolution of other relevant topics that should be woven into Medical School curriculum. Kolars said the impetus to create a wellrounded curriculum stems from broader societal changes. “Society is asking for a different kind of health system,” he said. “The public wants more quality and value for their dollar, they want a system that is easier to work with, where there’s more access and one they can understand better when it comes down to making choices. This shouldn’t just be based on advertisements on TV or hype; we should be able to help address that.” He added that the school must address the importance of diver-
of documents that the OCR is requesting from the University, including the University’s policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment from the 2011 to 2014 school years, as well as any changes to those policies. The department also requested complaints or reports of sexual harassment made during that time, as well as all communications between University staff, faculty, administration or the Board of Regents on this topic. Additionally, the OCR is requesting the names of anyone involved in the University’s Title IX coordination, personnel who investigate discrimination and harassment based on sex, as well as a description of the role of law enforcement in dealing with such cases. These were only a handful of the 21 specific requests made in the letter. The OCR may also conduct interviews with staff members and will make a campus visit if necessary, according to the letter.
sity with conversations rather than numbers or quotas. “We have diversity but it’s just not enough,” Kolars said. “So we’re restless on how to do better and how to make sure we’re trying to have the right conversations about that. To me it’s not just about satisfying numbers, but what are the values that underpin that, and how can we make sure that we’re pursuing those values and making for a much more inclusive environment?” Cheryl Moyer, managing director for Global REACH, a program in the Medical School that fosters its international research and education, said the Medical School must think about how its curriculum can be geared to the bigger picture beyond individual patient care. “I think how we approach educating medical students will affect the type of doctors that we create, and so it’s important to be strategic in our education initiatives to make sure students have the best variance as possible and come out of their time here extremely well prepared,” she said. “I think there might be this misconception that the Medical School sits over here and does its own thing. Part of what we do is the same as what every part of this university does and that’s turn out change agents, and we need to consider how we can create the leaders of the future, the people who are going to make a difference in the world.” Kolars’ entire lecture can be viewed online at the Medical School’s website.
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Opinion
4A — Wednesday, February 26, 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
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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
Changing Greek party culture
The University should better educate students on alcohol dangers
O
n Wednesday, Feb. 19, the Interfraternity Council amended its Social Environment Management Policy to ban hard liquor at Tier IIIA and IIIB parties. These registered open parties typically include the members of the fraternity and are limited to 200 guests, and often have crowds that are harder to control than lower-tier parties. The new policy may help foster a cultural shift toward a safer party scene, and it is indicative of an IFC and larger student body with a vested interest in student safety and conscientious alcohol use. However, the University should do more to better protect its students and foster a more responsible party culture. If enforced, this amendment has potential to curb dangerous drinking on campus. According to the National Institutes of Health, 1,825 college students die annually due to alcohol-related incidents. An estimated 599,000 more students are injured while under the influence and 690,000 are assaulted by a student who has been drinking. The risk of being involved in a sexual assault also increases when alcohol is involved. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly half of binge drinkers reported experiencing more than five drinking-related problems in one year. A study published in 2002 in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol reported 31 percent of college students met the criteria for alcohol abuse. While drinking is an undeniable part of college culture, banning hard liquor from large parties may help prevent injury or death. This is a proactive step in the promotion of campus safety, and in the longterm may even help change campus culture by deglamorizing dangerous drinking. The new ban should be expanded to include other large parties. IFC President Tommy Wydra, an LSA junior, said in an interview with the Daily that he has “absolutely no plans to expand it to Tier II or Tier IIICs.” Tier II parties have a limit of 100 guests and Tier IIICs are limited to 200 but are hosted by more than one fraternity. Parties with 100 guests may still get easily out of control, and monitoring a large group for signs and symptoms of alcohol overdose is not easy, despite the presence of trained sober monitors. Additionally, by not extending the ban to larger parties hosted by more than one fraternity, the IFC is openly ignoring many of Greek life’s larger events. Not extending the ban to parties
with more than one host is self-serving, and the safety of partygoers should not be ignored simply because the liability and risk are more dispersed. While this policy takes a step in the right direction, the University needs to hold fraternities accountable to following the law and enforcing their existing policies and rules. Licensed bars are highly regulated to ensure that alcohol is not served to minors. While fraternity parties do not sell alcohol, they do host a large number of people. More needs to be done to promote legal compliance. Promoting student safety and changing the college culture of drinking is not the sole responsibility of the IFC. The University needs to be more proactive in educating its students on alcohol safety. Currently, the only mandatory alcohol educational process for non-Greek members is an online program called AlcoholEdu that students complete their freshman year. While this may be a good first step, further education is needed to ensure that students feel safe and confident in their abilities to make responsible decisions. Proper, comprehensive alcohol education is the best way to change the culture of dangerous binge drinking at college parties. One way this education could be formatted is in a facilitated, dialogue-based seminar, similar to Relationship Remix, which students attend freshman year. Education should be continued for all four years as students’ habits change. Rather than creating policies that stop alcohol consumption completely, it is more important to change the culture of campus by having safer parties. The University has the potential to build its reputation by stepping in and taking action.
UNITED COALITION FOR RACIAL JUSTICE | VIEWPOINT
Not your Victors
At last Thursday’s University’s Board of Regent’s meeting, University President Mary Sue Coleman proclaimed that “great struggles occur at great universities,” while members of the #BBUM movement sat in the front row with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing the University’s silencing of Black students. Coleman’s remarks were a Janus-faced affair of culpability and triumph, complicity and victimhood. On the one hand, the University of Michigan has “struggled in the wake of Proposal 2.” On the other, “universities look to us to develop new solutions.” At the University, “commitment has never waned,” yet we “haven’t always gotten it right through the decades.” Capping this rhetorical diversity dance, a choral group sang “Hail to the Victors” to a room packed full of protesters addressing the University’s low minority enrollment, poor racial climate and growing class inequality. Without irony, Coleman delivered a disjointed speech which both lauded the University’s leadership and all but admitted its utter inadequacy. Her farcical remarks were capped with a bizarre and jarring chorus of triumph. The logic put forth by Coleman was as incoherent as the rhetoric was empty. So what allows the University to enumerate its myriad shortcomings while simultaneously trumpeting the triumphant narrative of the Victors? The answer takes two forms. First, the University co-opts student movements. The University strategically repackages the legacy of student activism as a part of its triumphant narrative about the University as a nationwide leader in diversity. Second, the University nonsensically trumpets that very narrative despite increasing evidence to undermine it. The history of student activism on campus is an important one, but can be claimed only by the students who forged these paths. The institution can only claim to have been the impetus of these protests, not its torchbearers. In 1968 when students took over an administration building after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, they helped establish what is now the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies. The 1970 strike initiated by the Black Action Movement led to the University’s first aiming for a goal of 10 percent Black enrollment. The 1987 sit-in by the United Coalition Against Racism forced a reluctant University to issue Nelson Mandela an honorary degree, close for MLK Day and eventually draft the Michigan Mandate — a
comprehensive and flexible plan to increase diversity among students and faculty. In all of these cases, students led and the University followed. The point at which the University can claim to be an inclusive and diverse institution is a fleeting one in a long history of isolation and unmet promises. We must create a movement that cannot be absorbed, appropriated and repackaged under the banner of the Victors. There is a legacy to be claimed here, but we must make sure that the students, and not the administration, rightfully claim it. The co-optation of student movements is especially damaging when it bolsters the false idea that the University has historically been a safe and inclusive place for students, staff and faculty of color. That notion is shoddy history. Coleman can tell us that the University leads in diversity and support for students color. Provost Martha Pollack can tell us that the problem is only a few years old. But too often the popular Prop 2 narrative elides the true history. A 2008 report called Opportunity Adrift, released by a nonprofit advocacy group, found that the University of Michigan ranked in the bottom quartile in minority student access and success. It listed the University along with Indiana University as one of two institutions to receive “the lowest overall marks for performance and progress.” Furthermore, it was one of only six nationwide whose ranking had dropped from 2005 to 2008. Schools do not look to the University as a model in diversity and this is not a new problem. Students have long come to this conclusion. It is time this administration does so as well. The University would like to think that it can simply rebrand itself through new hires, new positions, and new initiatives. But at this point, the current administration has lost what little credibility it had. If Coleman will not deliver anything more than empty rhetoric, Presidentelect Mark Schlissel must take a stand. Until proven otherwise, his silence stands as a tacit endorsement for this administration’s inaction. As Barbara Ransby, former United Coalition Against Racism activist, told a crowd of over 1,000 at the Speak Out in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library last Tuesday, students must continue to be “the conscience of this institution.” Now it is time for the institution to demonstrate that it has one. This article was written by members of United Coalition for Racial Justice.
O
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Anonymous altruism
nce in a while peer pressure produces good things, but it also makes me question where our motivations come from. Last week a friend of mine nominated me for “Feed the Deed,” a social media initiative led by nonprofit DEREK Kindness Counts WOLFE encouraging people to go out and do something nice for their community, post about it on their social networks and then nominate their friends to do so too, usually within 24 to 48 hours. The initiative of Feed the Deed has a very interesting origin. A drinking game called Neknominate became popular at the end of last year. Similar to Feed the Deed, it involved people recording themselves chugging copious amounts of alcohol, posting the video on their social networks and then nominating their friends to do the same. At the end of January, a South African named Brent Lindeque was neknominated. Instead of attempting the drinking challenge, however, he bought a sandwich and delivered it to a homeless man on the side of the road. The video was then seen by Canadians Josh Stern and Russell Citron, who teamed up to spread the initiative through Kindness Counts, the nonprofit that Citron runs. For my own Feed the Deed, I had an encounter on State Street with a homeless lady who asked me for some money to buy food. I have always simply walked past homeless people on the street, but this time — with the nomination in mind — I decided to help. Instead of handing over cash though, I said I would buy her some food. She asked for a Jimmy John’s BLT, which I then bought and brought back to her. I was met with a thank you and “God bless.” I responded by asking her about how she is able to get by every day. She told me how she has been sleeping outside — which
is unfathomable given the polar vortexes and all — and occasionally gets to stay in a hotel thanks to the generosity of the owner. A struggle for survival, indeed. The experience, though only a couple of minutes, was humbling and gave me the smallest glimpse into what homeless life is like. In a world where my biggest worry is about how I may have done on the exam I just took, here is a woman who needs to beg for the help of others to survive. Truly eye-opening. While many people have also decided to help the homeless in their communities — notably in Ann Arbor — through Feed the Deed, other deeds that have been done such as passing out motivational notes to other students, making midterm survival kits and donating to various organizations. There is no doubt that Feed the Deed has brought the emphasis on good deeds back into the spotlight — as sad as that is to say. So from that perspective, I have no complaints, and it will be an aspect I address later on. However, after completing my deed, I couldn’t help question why it was this time that I decided to help a homeless person. I didn’t love the idea of falling for a social media scheme, yet at the same time, there was no justification not to do anything. Clearly, peer pressure succeeded. But in a way, I was disappointed with myself that I don’t help others more often without the pressure and social media status to glorify my action. Why did I need “other people” to tell me I should do a good thing? Ultimately, can we really call it a good deed if the whole goal is to get noticed for doing it? After all, I probably would never have done it if I didn’t feel the obligation to not be seen as “the guy who didn’t do it.” It’s also kind of uncomfortable seeing people take pictures of
themselves doing good things, which is why I chose not to do that. The words were enough for me. But, it was also part of the activity, so I digress. There is something to be said about the intricate relationship between goodness and anonymity. For example, helping the elderly lady across the street when no one else is watching, and she never learns your name. To me, that is goodness. Feed the Deed has become something you do to prove you are capable of helping others, which is also a good thing in its own right and by no means is this saying that those who do it are bad people whatsoever. It’s just important how we classify it. I had a conversation with a friend of mine questioning this point of classification, because the other day he gave money to a homeless man without a Feed the Deed nomination looming. We discussed whether motivations even matter because whether it was through Feed the Deed or not, the homeless man was still given a meal and the lady made it across the street. It’s hard to disagree with this fact, but I couldn’t help but feel my friend did “more good” by acting on his own accord, rather than on an initiative. In the end, Feed the Deed could be the starting point of many more good deeds. Not a one-time deal. It was a refreshing reminder, in the midst of midterm season, of the thrill that comes from helping someone. It also made me realize I should do this more often. I know there are plenty of ways to get active and lend a helping hand, so I intend to make that happen. The difference is that next time I won’t be waiting for my friends to like it.
Ultimately, can we really call it a good deed if the whole goal is to get noticed for doing it?
— Derek Wolfe can be reached at dewolfe@umich.edu.
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
Leaving the savior mentality behind
A
s the countdown to Spring Break gets smaller and smaller, I cannot wait to simply go home and hibernate for several days straight, eat nondining hall food and continue my rampage of Netflix’s watch instantly library. However, I’m HARLEEN also aware of the KAUR fact that a large majority of my friends and peers are preparing for a different experience — a week-long service trip. Service trips have become somewhat of a trend at the University, whether one participates through Alternative Spring Break, Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children, the Ginsberg Center, or your own student organization. Some of these trips are domestic, as close as Detroit, others international, going to various countries in South America. I have heard incredible testimonials of those who choose to attend a service-based spring break of some sort, claiming it as a sort of “life-changing” experience, but I am always left wondering, how much can you really affect a community in one week? What’s the point? Granted, this may just be some of my cynicism shining through. I don’t want to say that these trips are all completely worthless; in fact, I almost did an ASB this year myself. I also know that many of these organizations, particularly ASB, are becoming aware of the “savior” mentality and talking to students so they do not feel that they are saving a community. But, I still worry that not all individual participants understand one’s role as an outsider entering a community, especially when it is only for a week. First of all, it’s very unlikely that
a person can understand the dayto-day struggles a community faces. Sure, you’ll see it for a week, but the largest part of privilege is being able to step in and out of feeling powerless, while others live it every day of their lives. Realizing this imbalance in power and experience is the first step to being respectful during a service trip. Next is realizing that, ideally, it will be a learning experience for both communities, but especially yourself. The community you are entering may gain something from you, but the largest gain will be that they are willing to let you enter their home and space. Accepting this offer with humility is key, because in no way does this community need to allow you in. The most important part is engaging in a two-way dialogue with the community at hand, rather than simply wanting to “help.” Helping implies that you are above someone else and have something for him or her to gain or benefit from. In reality, the community will probably not change much from your work in a week, but your perspective will be forever changed by even a small insight into a certain injustice or inequality. One of my favorite philosophers, Dr. Paulo Freire, writes in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed, “True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nourish false charity. False charity constrains the fearful and subdued, the ‘rejects of life,’ to extend their trembling hands. True generosity lies in striving so that these hands — whether of individuals or entire
peoples — need be extended less and less in supplication, so that more and more they become human hands which work and, working, transform the world.” Freire continually discusses the importance in recognizing one’s privilege and accepting that one is part of the oppressing group, even if you are not necessarily participating in the oppression. Recognizing the ability of the oppressed is equally important; as Freire says, forcing the oppressed to continue to extend their “trembling hands” continues the cycle of “I can help you and you should accept my help.” Trusting the oppressed to advocate for themselves is critical, because it shows that the oppressors understand the full humanity and believe the oppressed have just as much power. At this point, I am reminded of the wonderful words of Indigenous Australian activist Lilla Watson: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. If you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” As you rebuild houses, work in medical clinics, volunteer with nonprofits, make meals in homeless shelters, or play with orphaned children, remember this: however important you feel, the role that the community you’re visiting will be more significant. Our liberation depends on them and their power to fight against the oppression and helping hands that have been imposed upon them.
The largest part of privilege is being able to step in and out of feeling powerless, while others live it.
— Harleen Kaur can be reached at harleen@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints should be 550-850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
DETROIT ARTS COLUMN
ALBUM REVIEW
Spirit of Motown captured in Detroit museum
TOP DAWG ENTERTAINMENT
When will bucket hats die?!
Schoolboy shoots for TDE crown L.A. rapper releases long-awaited ‘Oxymoron’ By JOSH FRAZIER Daily Arts Writer
The long-awaited major label debut from West Coast rapper Schoolboy Q paints a comprehensive picture of the Los Angeles B+ gang scene, yet the album falls Oxymoron short of meeting its lofty Schoolboy Q expectations. Top Dawg Oxymoron is the first studio Entertainment album released by Top Dawg Entertainment since the 2012 release of good kid, m.A.A.d city by labelmate Kendrick Lamar. Schoolboy Q is the logical successor to Lamar, the second-in-command at one of the most in-demand labels in rap. His latest full-length effort falls short of the high standard set by Lamar’s last album, but is a worthwhile listen in its own right. Schoolboy Q draws on his own life experiences to weave together a vivid tapestry of street life, with tales of drug dealing and human temptation. Q attempts to balance hood-friendly bangers with more introspective, personal confessions. Oxymoron reaches its highest points when
Q turns inward, ruminating on religion, morality and drug use. His narrative-driven songs are interspersed with snippets of his young daughter’s voice, which juxtaposes his criminal lifestyle with his good intentions for his family. It’s a compelling portrait of a conflicted man attempting to find his place in this world. Q is at his best when he shares his inner psyche over the course of Oxymoron’s 15 tracks. Songs like “Prescription-Oxymoron” and “Blind Threats” are obvious standouts that are thoughtful meditations on life. Creative storytelling strengthens “His and Her Fiend,” which features Q rapping from the perspective of an Oxycontin pill. Other tracks showcase Schoolboy Q’s versatility, as he switches his point of view from that of a drug dealer and pimp to that of a nurturing father. Oxymoron features industry heavyweights behind the production and as featured guests. A-listers like Lamar, 2 Chainz and Raekwon deliver stellar guest verses, and beats are provided by hitmakers like Pharrell, The Alchemist and Mike Will Made It. Despite this star-studded cast of characters, Oxymoron does not deliver top-shelf results. Schoolboy Q’s rhyme schemes often feel simplistic and border on redundancy in many songs. The Pharrell-produced track, “Los Awesome,” sees Q’s voice overpowered by the beat’s thumping
baseline. Unfortunately, the album has too many lowpoints to make it a consistently rewarding listen. At his best, Schoolboy Q is one of the most entertaining rappers in the game, but Oxymoron has far too many clunkers. Despite energetic bangers like “Break the Bank” and “Man of the Year,” the album is plagued by filler. A tighter track list would dramatically improve the Oxymoron listening experience, as the album loses steam as it goes along. The last two songs are among the weakest on the album; removing those tracks, in addition to the dull “Hoover Street” and the lackluster “Studio,” would make Oxymoron one of the best rap albums of the last several years. As it stands, however, the finished product is still a solid release, just not the modernday classic Q made it out to be. It’s not Schoolboy Q’s fault that Oxymoron will draw inevitable comparisons to good kid, m.A.A.d city, which also featured a conflicted young man describing life in Los Angeles. Schoolboy Q has created a very good rap album, but he wants to be considered as one of the best. On “Break the Bank,” Q raps “tell Kendrick move from the throne / I came for it.” Oxymoron won’t convince anyone that Schoolboy Q is a bigger star than Lamar, but it is a promising release from an entertaining rapper, and another worthwhile offering from Top Dawg Entertainment.
TV REVIEW
‘Americans’ grows in season two By ALEX INTNER Daily Arts Writer
For great TV dramas, the second season ideally takes the ideas the show planted in season one and builds upon them. Season Atwo increases the depth of the The show’s world and characters Americans while maintain- Season 2 ing its ongoing Premiere story. If season one is the estab- Wednesday lishment of the at 10 p.m. story, season FX two is where shit gets real. The second season of “The Americans” does just this, taking the story from season one and increasing the potential consequences of the characters’ actions, as well as deepening the audience’s understanding of them. “The Americans” follows Elizabeth (Keri Russell, “Felicity”) and Peter Jennings (Matthew Rhys, “Brothers & Sisters”), a team of spies who work for the KGB during the 1980s, posing as husband and wife outside of Washington DC. It portrays the balance of their missions and their family. There is also Stan Beemen (Noah Emmerich, “The Walking Dead”), the Jennings’ neighbor and an FBI Agent who is working to take down the KGB’s operations in America. The increasing depth of the content plays out most in Peter and Elizabeth’s storyline. As they invest more and more in their operations, including the involvement of their children (without the
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 — 5A
M
arvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Temptations, Diana Ross, The Jackson 5 — all of these renowned artists came together to create one of Detroit’s namesakes: The Motown Sound. Motown PAIGE Records was PFLEGER founded by Barry Gordy in 1959, in the midst of racial tumult in the city of Detroit. Falling between the race riots of 1943 and the riots of 1967, the creation of Motown infiltrated the white-dominated music industry with a soulful pop sound. Berry Gordy started off opening a record shop dedicated to jazz music in 1953, and it soon closed due to lack of a market. After opening Motown Records, he hired unemployed jazz musicians from the area to form his in-house band, the Funk Brothers. Gordy’s business model was made to replicate the assembly line process Ford had adopted for making cars, but Gordy used it to crank out hits. His idea was that an African American kid off the streets could walk into the Hitsville U.S.A. offices as an unknown, and emerge from the other side a star. In the early days, the beauty of Motown music wasn’t being seen — it was merely being listened to. As Gordy developed the Motown sound, he purposefully shielded the race of the performers from radio disc jockeys and other potential markets for the music to prevent racism holding the music back. Gordy carried this out was by hiding the identity of the artists on the record’s album cover art, as most of Motown’s earlier albums displayed a variation of geometric patterns as opposed to the faces of the performers. It wasn’t until the musicians gained popularity among a young white audience that Gordy allowed the artists to be revealed as African Americans, and the Motown sound grew into a dynasty — one of the most successful African American owned and run businesses of the time. Today, the immense history of the evolution of Motown can be seen in full in one place: Hitsville U.S.A., Motown’s
FX
“That guy looks like Zach Something from ‘Nevermind.’”
kids knowledge), their missions get more interesting. This is the best material for the actors to work with, as they are forced to show a deep mix of emotions — worry, fear — while never losing a straight face. The second season expands the presence of the Jenning’s two children, and this is a good thing for the show. Over the last several years, television has had a problem with teenage characters being whiny and annoying. Paige Jennings (newcomer Holly Taylor) verges on becoming the stereotypical “annoying teenage character” as she starts to investigate her parents. She never crosses the line, but the writers might if they’re not careful. “The Americans” succeeds by increasing the involvement of Agent Beeman and his mistress/ source in the KGB Nina (Annet Mahendru, “Escape from Tomorrow”). Season one ended with Nina being forced to turn on Beeman and report on his actions to the KGB. What results is an intriguing double cross, with Beeman falling deeper in love with Nina and Nina losing feelings for him. Mahendru
is successful at being more than a pretty face, and watching her play Nina’s deception is what makes this arc interesting. The show’s biggest problem is also one of its strengths. “The Americans” takes itself seriously, almost to a fault. Some of the scenes in the first half of each episode are very dry. While they’re usually captivating, filled with great dialogue and character moments, when the dialogue isn’t there, the episode quickly becomes boring. Much of the “The Americans” ’s success depends on the strength of its cast. Russell, Rhys and Emmerich exhibit an extremely high level of acting difficulty, as each of their characters has many complex layers (certain aspects of their characters are visible at different times). As the show’s writers continue to increase the stakes for the characters, and as the actors add more layers to their performances, things look to keep on getting better. Despite a few dry scenes in its season premiere, “The Americans” remains one of the most fascinating dramas on television.
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first headquarters on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. The white building sits back on a grassy lawn with a massive sign stuck in it that reads “Motown Museum.” Its window frames and doors are painted blue, and a sign spans the length of the house says Hitsville U.S.A. in cursive letters. Upstairs are Barry Gordy’s old living quarters, and downstairs is the infamous Studio A. Right next to the studio is a candy machine that still holds Stevie Wonder’s favorite candy bar, a Baby Ruth, in it’s customary spot fourth from the right so Wonder always knew where to find it. The house was converted into a museum in 1985 after Motown had moved to Los Angeles. Esther Gordy, Berry’s sister, woke up one morning, looked out the window and saw people lined up on her lawn, snapping pictures of the place where Motown began. She called up her husband in L.A. and told him, “I think we made history, and we didn’t even know it.” The conversion from house to museum was easy — leave everything exactly as it was, including a Kool-Aid mug on the kitchen counter and Wonder’s favorite candy bar. It’s joined to a brick house next door, formerly the publishing office, which is now home to hundreds of Motown artifacts, among them photos, records, one of Michael Jackson’s fedoras and his white studded right hand glove that he wore the first time he performed the moonwalk. For Detroit native Antonio Dandridge, the Motown dynasty has shaped the entirety of his life. When he was three years old, Dandridge told his mom he wanted to sing, and not only that — he wanted to sing Motown music. “The way the Motown singers made me feel was the way that I wanted to make my audience feel when I performed,” Dandridge said. “It’s a great story to tell, because they didn’t have anything, and they made something out of nothing.” Dandridge began visiting the museum when he was seven and has gone consistently ever since. He followed through on his word and traveled around the globe singing Motown music. When he returned three years ago, Dandridge became a museum docent and changed the style of the tours through the Motown Museum — he began singing Motown songs
and dancing Motown dances, turning the tour into a full out performance that became one of the many things that draw people from around the world to the West Grand Boulevard location. “I really love working there. I love Motown,” Dandridge said. “To see people come out and some cry, some laugh, some thank you for taking them down memory lane. All of the members that work there, all of the staff, all have a passion for Motown and really have a passion for the music. That’s what makes it really enjoyable to work there. We dance, and we sing, and we have a lot of fun.” A world map in the front hall of the museum boasts an immense number of pins, placed by visitors from all over — France, England, Egypt, and more. Tens of thousands of people flock to the museum each year, and in the summer months the line wraps around the block with people waiting to see the home of The Motown sound.
West Grand Blvd. museum keeps Hitsville, USA alive. Though Dandridge is moving on from Detroit, he isn’t leaving Motown behind; he’ll be performing in a Motown show on Carnival Cruise ships touring around the Caribbean islands. Motown has been the catalyst that has directed his life, and the impact is reciprocal — the Museum has been impacted by his presence and the time he has given back to it can be seen through the songs sung by tour guides into the echo chamber upstairs or when people dance to The Temptations in Studio A. “It’s a part of American Culture. It’s a part of the songs of Motown; it’s the soundtrack of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and even now. It really shaped people. Music is a universal language, and that’s what Motown really gave. A lot of people go back to Motown music because it makes them laugh. It makes them cry. It had a lot of emotion. People should come to learn about it.” Pfleger is jamming out to Stevie Wonder. To join her, e-mail pspfleg@umich.edu.
News
6A — Wednesday, February 26, 2014
TECH From Page 1A
ANDREW LUBIMOV/AP
New mayor of the city of Sevastopol Alexey Chaly, center, speaks to a crowd during a rally in Sevastopol, Ukraine, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014.
Ethnic Russians consider secession from Ukraine Crimea is home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of pro-Russian protesters rallied Tuesday in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea against “the bandits” in Kiev who are trying to form a new government — with some even speaking of secession. A lawmaker from Russia stoked their passions further by promising them that Russia will protect them. As a Russian flag flew Tuesday in front of the city council building in Sevastopol — a key Crimean port where Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based — an armored Russian personnel carrier and two trucks full of troops made a rare appearance on the streets of the city. The Crimean Peninsula — a pro-Russian region about the size of Massachusetts or Belgium — is a tinder pot in the making. Protesters had torn down the Ukrainian flag a day ago, pleading with Moscow to protect them from the new authorities in Ukraine who have forced President Viktor Yanukovych to flee Kiev, the capital, and go into hiding. “Bandits have come to power,” said Vyacheslav Tokarev, a 39-year-old construction worker in Sevastopol. “I’m ready to take arms to fight the fascists who
have seized power in Kiev.” Yanukovych’s whereabouts are unknown but he was last reportedly seen in the Crimea. Law enforcement agencies have issued an arrest warrant for Yanukovych over the killing of 82 people, mainly protesters, last week in the bloodiest violence in Ukraine’s post-Soviet history. Chanting “Russia, save us!” the protesters gathered for a third day before administrative buildings in Sevastopol and in other Crimean cities. The protests Sunday numbered in the thousands. “We won’t allow them to wipe their feet on us,” protester Anatoly Mareta said in Sevastopol, wearing the colors of the Russian flag on his arm. “Only Russia will be able to protect the Crimea.” “I hope for the Ossetian way,” he said, referring to the brief but fierce 2008 RussianGeorgian war in which Russian tanks and troops helped the separatist provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to break free of Georgian control. Russia has recognized both as independence states, but few other nations have. Russia, which has thousands of Black Sea Fleet seamen at its base in Sevastopol, so far has refrained from any sharp moves in Ukraine’s political turmoil but could be drawn into the fray if there are confrontations between Crimean popula-
tion and supporters of the new authorities. The open movement of Russian military vehicles — normally avoided in Sevastopol per Ukrainian request — was seen as a reflection of the tensions gripping the city. A senior Russian lawmaker, meanwhile, promised protesters that Russia will protect its Russian-speaking compatriots in Ukraine. “If lives and health of our compatriots are in danger, we won’t stay aside,” Leonid Slutsky told activists in Simferopol, the regional capital of Crimea. Slutsky, who heads a parliamentary committee in charge of relations with other ex-Soviet republics, also promised that the Russian parliament is considering a bill to offer Crimea residents and others in Ukraine a quick way of getting Russian citizenship. He also declared that Yanukovych remains the only legitimate leader of Ukraine, adding there is a “big question mark” over the legitimacy of the decisions made by the Ukrainian parliament since he left the seat of power. Ukraine’s new authorities are clearly concerned about the tensions in Crimea. The country’s interim leader, Oleksandr Turchinov, met with top security officials Tuesday to discuss the situation there.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle DOWN 1 Area below Greenwich Village 2 Sleigh ride song 3 As a whole 4 Kid 5 Making pronouncements 6 A writer may work on it 7 Trick-taking card game 8 Prefix meaning “English” 9 Portable shelters 10 Curriculum part 11 Grain grinder 12 Rod in a hot rod 13 Letters on some Brit. letterheads 21 Dancer Castle 22 Oracle’s opening 24 UPS competitor 26 Lettuce variety 27 Imam’s faith 28 Fondue choice 29 Knucklehead 31 “Three Coins ...” fountain 32 Resolute about 35 Reserve soldier 36 Minor dent
38 Put a bad present to good use 40 Like daisies 43 Lillian of the silver screen 45 Musical key abbr. 48 Smart-looking 49 Enter quickly 51 Character in “Donald’s Nephews” (1938 cartoon)
53 5’7” Spud who won the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk contest 54 “Rubáiyát” poet 55 Enjoy 56 Bouquet 58 Top-of-the-line 59 Visit with a guide 60 Money mgrs.? 64 Texter’s “I didn’t need to know that!”
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
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By Bryan W. Young and Jeff Chen (c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/26/14
PROFESSOR From Page 2A icantly. During their weekly meetings, Sweeney would read Pickus’s lengthy drafts, propose alternate theories and recommend scholars to research. “That journey was every bit as fulfilling as the final product,” Pickus said. “It was a journey of discovery and questioning and trusting her to guide me to ask the right questions.” Michael Schoenfeldt — John R.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 McCarthy’s dummy friend 6 Baltic, e.g. 9 Cougar 13 Canadian dollar coin nickname 14 “I threw away my golf shoes when I got a hole in one” e.g. 15 Computer operating system 16 “Blackadder” network 17 Hosp. heart exam 18 Medicinal dose 19 Cutie pie 20 Impressionist whom Mel Blanc labeled “The Man of a Thousand Voices” 23 Baltic feeder 25 “... a __ / By any other name ...” 26 Head honcho 30 Tolkien’s talking trees 33 Equal: Pref. 34 “The Mod Squad” cop 35 Show shame, perhaps 37 Smudge 39 ’60s jacket style 41 UFO-tracking org. 42 Unsavory sort 44 Respectful address 46 From, in some European names 47 Star witnesses? 48 Driving with abandon 50 Hispaniola, por ejemplo 52 Poet __ St. Vincent Millay 53 Borzois, e.g. 57 Gratify 61 Put out 62 Low numero 63 Prominent Ore. peak 65 Wither in the sun 66 Porter’s “__ DeLovely” 67 B beater 68 Raised 69 Look at 70 Super Bowl XLVII player
in the region during the next five years. The $148 million high-tech hub is part of a larger $1 billion government project to create a national network for manufacturing innovation to revitalize and specialize domestic manufacturing in the face of rising global competition. “In the 2000s alone, we lost about one third of all American manufacturing jobs — and the middle class suffered for it,” Obama said. “Now the good news today is that our manufacturers have added more than 620,000 new manufacturing jobs over the last four years. That’s the first sustained manufacturing growth in over 20 years.” University President Mary Sue Coleman and Jack Hu, interim vice president for research, both served on a working group that recommended the creation of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation in 2011. “Through this initiative, our region will build on its core strengths to become the nation’s technology hub for lightweight materials and manufacturing,” Coleman said in a statement. “Companies from around the country will come here not only because of our technological capabilities, but also because we have the workforce they need in their efforts to revitalize and transform domestic manufacturing.” The ALMMII will focus on innovations in lightweight metals — a key component in increasing fuel efficiency by reducing weight — by facilitating the process between new innovations and adoption for use in cars, trucks, airplanes and ships.
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Engineering Prof. Alan Taub, who will serve as ALMMII’s chief technology officer, said the hub will take theoretical technologies and turn them into manufactured realities at an affordable cost. “Today, when a company wants to lighten the structural part — whether it’s of a navy ship, a commercial aircraft, or a light vehicle — it costs more money to do it, and our goal is to produce manufacturing technologies that can make those changes more affordable,” Taub said. Taub added that the city of Detroit would benefit from the new hub. “It’s jobs,” Taub said. “It’s where we’re going to train the workforce, everything from engineers to plant line operators, and it would be natural then beyond the traditional companies for additional companies to locate here in order to use this new technology.” The projection of 10,000 jobs created will largely be generated through metal stamping, metalworking, machining and casting industries that will benefit from the new technologies piloted at the ALMMII. While the University’s role at the ALMMII will shrink after the first five years, Hu said the connection would remain. “(ALMMII) is an independent entity even though the University is a co-founder,” Hu said. “But I think in order for the technology to be used by industry, you need that intermediate organization to help with the translation because research at a university is very basic and cannot be directly applied by industry. So by having institutes like this, you make the technologies more mature and ready for industrial use. We may not be as closely involved after the first five years, but still our ties with the institute and other
around the country will continue.” On Tuesday afternoon, a writer for the University News Service tweeted a picture of Sen. Carl Levin (D–Mich.) joined by Taub and Hu at the White House announcement. Levin lauded Obama’s announcement in a statement released Tuesday. “The investment announced today will mean the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Michigan Tech and Wayne State University will team with other great academic institutions, as well as nonprofit groups such as Focus:HOPE and a wide array of industry partners, to advance new technologies that will bring important capabilities to our military and new economic opportunities for our people,” Levin wrote. Two hubs like ALMMII have already been built — one in Youngstown, Ohio specializing in 3-D printing and a second in Raleigh, North Carolina specializing in energy-efficient electronics — and Obama plans to launch four more this year. Despite the positive outlook, other developed industrial powers are racing to create innovation centers of their own — providing competition for the American initiative. Germany already has a vast network of 60 high-tech hubs, and Obama called on Congress to not become complacent. “I don’t want the next big job creating discovery to come from Germany or China or Japan, I want it to be made here in America,” Obama said. “So we’ve got to focus on advanced manufacturing to keep that manufacturing here in the United States. That’s what’s going to help get the next Stark Industries off the ground.”
Knott, Jr. Collegiate Professor of English and chair of the Department of English Language and Literature — said Sweeney is the type of teacher that changes lives. “She leads her classes to ask just what literary or cultural materials can teach us about particular social and historical realities,” he wrote in an e-mail interview. “She is a deeply thoughtful teacher who listens to her students, and allows them to develop their own voices and positions.” Sweeney said the process of helping students like Pickus in long-term projects was fulfilling. She discussed the importance of “finding yourself in scholarship.” “That gets back to the idea for students to figure it out what they want and why it matters,” Sweeney said. “It’s not just to get a grade, but to try to understand why do I care about these subjects, why does this matter to me, what do I want read-
ers to know or understand.” For Sweeney, teaching and reading are her ways of conducting social justice. Making a difference in the world is a value she said her parents instilled in her. Her childhood in suburban Pittsburgh included living with four foster children her parents took in, witnessing her mother’s social work as an agent on a suicide hotline and with the elderly and her father’s commitment to ensuring the education of his children, grandchildren and others outside the family. “I always ask, ‘How are people trying to make meaning and survive in the world?’” Sweeney said. “Reading and writing are a huge part of the ways that they interpret their experiences. All of the complicated ways that we as humans have to deal with our identities in many ways, those are the subjects that really matter to me as a human being.”
Israeli PM refuses to elaborate on air strike Netanyahu yet to confirm missile strikes on SyriaLebanon border JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday refused to confirm whether his country carried out an airstrike along the Syrian-Lebanon border, but said he would do everything possible to protect the security of Israeli citizens. Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his vague answer hours after Lebanon’s state news agency reported that Israeli aircraft carried out two airstrikes late Monday. While Israel’s military refused to comment, Israel has carried out similar airstrikes in the past on suspected weapons shipments believed to be bound from Syria to Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. At a news conference with the visiting German chancellor, Angela Merkel, he said Israel’s policy is not to discuss what others claim it did. “We do all that is needed to protect the security of Israeli citizens,” he said. Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate. Israeli officials believe Hezbollah has restocked its arsenal with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, some of which are capable of striking virtually anywhere in the Jewish
state. Although Israel has refrained from taking sides in the Syrian civil war, Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to take action to prevent Hezbollah from obtaining “game changing” weapons from its ally Syria. Past Israeli airstrikes are believed to have targeted Russianmade anti-aircraft missiles and guided missiles from Iran. Israel has never confirmed the airstrikes. Lebanon’s National News Agency said the air raids took place near Nabi Sheet, a remote village in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. The agency did not say what was targeted in the attack. The porous border is frequently used by fighters and smugglers to move people and weapons between Lebanon and Syria. Hezbollah has a strong presence in the area. Arab media reports said Hezbollah had suffered casualties, though neither the group nor the Lebanese military confirmed an airstrike had actually taken place. Earlier this week, Israel’s military chief, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, accused Iran, a key backer of Syria and Hezbollah, of “handing out torches to the pyromaniacs.” He spoke during a tour of the Golan Heights, a strategic area near Syria and Lebanon. “Right now we’re in the Golan Heights and it seems quiet and peaceful. I suggest that everyone keeps in mind that underneath this quiet, a storm is brewing — day, night and in every setting,” Gantz said.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
A rivalry, even on the ice By JEREMY SUMMITT Daily Sports Editor
It’s ‘Ohio’ week in February. The hype of a Saturday in late November might not be swirling around Ann Arbor and Columbus, but the MichiganOhio State rivalry is still held to a high standard on the ice. The Wolverines have finished ahead of the Buckeyes in the conference standings for each of the past 10 seasons and hold a 72-33-11 edge since the first game was played between the two schools on Feb. 8, 1964. Records and a lopsided difference in program prestige might not point to a heated rivalry, but everything else does. “It’s a big game between two rival schools, and you feel that out on the ice,” said senior defenseman Mac Bennett. “People are making that extra effort or fighting a little bit more to get that puck, and they’re exciting games to play in.” Take the 2004 CCHA championship, for example. Michigan and Ohio State came into the conference tournament sitting in first and fourth, respectively. The Wolverines came out flat, and after conceding three second-period goals, stumbled toward a front-row seat to Ohio State’s first CCHA championship since 1972. The next season, in 200405, Michigan finished atop the conference with the Buckeyes close behind. No matchups could particularly be classified as an upset, but those contests provoked a sincere hostility between the two sides due to their competitiveness. Michigan coach Red Berenson said the construction of Value City Arena — the current home of Ohio State basketball and men’s hockey programs — in 2000 ignited the
hockey program’s relevance on a more national scale. Previously, the Buckeyes played in a rink that held 1,700 people and hardly resembled a place that supported Division I athletics. “It was too bad, but it was a disgrace to Ohio for them to have to play Division I hockey in that rink,” Berenson said. Since the opening of Value City Arena, it’d be fair to say Ohio State’s increased relevance has created its benefits for the Wolverines, too. Senior forward Derek DeBlois remembers struggling through a seven-game losing streak during his sophomore season. With a weekend series with Ohio State looming, the Wolverines desperately needed a way out of a massive sinkhole. That time,
the Buckeyes were ranked No. 2 in the nation, but DeBlois and company outscored their rivals 8-1 over the weekend. “I think it was the most packed it’s been since we’ve played there,” DeBlois said. “That kind of turned around our whole season, so it was an exciting time.” Berenson credits the increased television exposure from the Big Ten Network and the conference schedule as keys to igniting the rivalry even more. With teams vying for the same recruits, bragging rights and championships, rivalries become inevitable. “You saw the outpouring support when they played here the first time we played them,” Bennett said. “That place was nuts.”
It was quite the spectacle. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney was in attendance alongside 5,800 fans who were well aware of what a matchup between Michigan and Ohio State should entail. Most left satisfied, too, after sophomore forward Andrew Copp’s winning goal in overtime. The following Monday in Columbus, Bennett proved to be the hero when he netted a game-winner in the final minutes. “The losing team always feels it’s a bigger rivalry than the winning team,” said senior forward Luke Moffatt. “Just because it hurts so much more to lose than it feels good to win.” When these teams meet this weekend, there’s no reason to expect any different sentiment.
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Senior forward Derek DeBlois has fond memories of playing Ohio State, a rivalry the Wolverines have dominated lately.
FOOTBALL
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 — 7A
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Smith finding an offensive rhythm Guard tallies 38 points in two games By ALEXA DETTELBACH Daily Sports Editor
Though the final score said otherwise, the Michigan women’s basketball team didn’t feel like it walked away NOTEBOOK with a loss Saturday to Iowa. In its last home game of the season, the Wolverines (8-7 Big Ten, 17-11 overall) played strong in both halves and shot 50.8 percent, matching its best shooting performance in conference play. “We knew it was going to be a tough matchup for us, but it went back and forth,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “We came out ready to play.” And for the second time in as many games, junior guard Shannon Smith led the way. Smith started the season as the team’s only viable offensive option, but the growth and emergence of junior forward Cyesha Goree and freshman guard Siera Thompson has often put Smith in the backseat of the scoring action. In Michigan’s last two games, though, Smith has put up 38 total points. But in the game before that, though, she was held to just five. “That’s what we’ve talked to Shannon about, you have to be more consistent,” Barnes Arico said. Smith’s inconsistency is attributed to the fact that the opposing team’s best defender hovers between her and Thompson. When one isn’t in
an offensive rhythm, the other faces the best defenders. “When you put numbers up like that, you’re facing the opponents’ best defender night in and night out,” Barnes Arico said. “They’re trying to be physical with you and they’re trying to bang you around. Shannon’s really thin and tiny, and she had to get accustomed to that, and she had to learn to adjust to that. “And against Indiana and Iowa she did.” DOMINATING THE MIDDLE: Senior center Val Driscoll has been an unexpected force in the middle this season. Last year, Driscoll sat out the entire campaign with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. But after months of recovery, she has stormed back to make the most of her last season as a Wolverine. With Michigan in need of height in its starting lineup, Driscoll’s 6-foot-4 frame was a welcomed option. Now a consistent starter, Driscoll averages six rebounds and just over two blocks per game. The center is tied for seventh in program history on the singleseason block list. Driscoll has been a big reason why the Wolverines have outrebounded their opponents in 24 of 28 games. Against the Hawkeyes, Driscoll posted a career-high 18 points. “Our kids did a great job of really looking inside, of attacking the high-low, of getting Val or Cyesha touches,” Barnes Arico said. “It’s so great for a coach to see a young lady develop like she has, and see her have such a special night in front of her parents and her family and her team.”
MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Gardner practices, Hoke ‘M’ hosting Championships fourth straight title reveals position changes seeking Wolverines heavy Gardner returns from broken foot suffered in Ohio State game By GREG GARNO Daily Sports Editor
Devin Gardner looked a little bigger, a little thicker around his shoulders and arms as he stood to talk to media for the first time in NOTEBOOK 2014. The fifthyear senior quarterback is heavier — nearly 15 pounds so — than the end of last season after he said he dedicated more time in the weight room. Last year, Gardner said he regularly came in at about 205 pounds. Now he says he’s 218 pounds, but “sometimes 220.” “I was just doing everything in my arms,” Gardner said. “I was getting on arm bikes, pulling ropes and doing pretty much anything they make up for me.” But just because he’s added weight doesn’t mean he’s slowed down. In the Michigan football team’s first spring practice of the 2014 season, Gardner returned to running through drills with teammates after he injured his foot in November. So what did he do? “He played football,” said Michigan coach Brady Hoke. “He was a quarterback. I mean, just throwing, play-action passes and all that stuff.” Gardner last played in a loss to Ohio State, but finished the game despite breaking his left foot during the third quarter.
He subsequently missed the Wolverines’ game at the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Dec. 28. The injury, which Gardner called “the worst pain of my life,” kept Gardner from competing in winter conditioning with teammates. But on Tuesday, Gardner returned to practice without complication, albeit in only shorts and a helmet, using just a plate in his shoe for protection. Gardner has been rehabbing his foot and bulking up in his time off his feet, and Hoke said he was pleased with the fifth-year senior’s speed in drills Tuesday. “He looked great,” Hoke said. “I was more surprised, as much as anybody. “His mobility was awfully good. I think that’s what surprised me.” Both Hoke and Gardner said they expect the quarterback to do everything with his teammates for the remainder of spring practice. POSITION
CHANGES: Hoke announced a number of position changes to open up Tuesday’s press conferences, most notably at the linebacker position. Fifth-year senior Jake Ryan moved from strong-side linebacker to middle linebacker, switching with redshirt junior James Ross. Junior Royce Jenkins-Stone also moved to the strong-side linebacker position. Senior Desmond Morgan moved from the middle to weakside linebacker, where Hoke said he has practiced well. Redshirt junior Keith Heitzman moved from the
“Competition that’s there is really healthy for us.”
defensive line to tight end, a position he held in high school. Heitzman should fill a void left by sophomore Jake Butt, who is out indefinitely as he is scheduled to have surgery on his ACL. Junior Devin Funchess will not move back to tight end and instead will stay outside as a wide receiver. LINE SHUFFLING: After a tumultuous 2013, the offensive line still creates concern with a pair of redshirt freshmen missing time in the spring. Erik Magnuson will miss the entire spring practice because of a shoulder injury, while Logan Tuley-Tillman should miss a few weeks because of hand surgery. For now, Hoke will put redshirt junior Graham Glasgow at center, and sophomore Kyle Bosch and redshirt sophomore Kyle Kalis at left and right guard, respectively. Redshirt freshman David Dawson and redshirt sophomore Ben Braden are at the top of list at left and right tackle, respectively. “I think competition that’s there is really healthy for us,” Hoke said. “Is it a concern? Yeah it’s a concern, but we’ll just keep working every day.”
HAGERUP RETURNS: After he was suspended last season for team-specific reasons, redshirt junior Will Hagerup has returned to practicing with the team. Hagerup, who made the Big Ten’s first team his junior year, was hitting the ceiling in practice, according to Hoke. Al Glick Fieldhouse, where the team trains in the winter, has a maximum height of 80 feet.
For even more sports Check MichiganDaily.com for tennis, golf and more
favorites, but parity in the Big Ten has increased this year By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer
Dominating the Big Ten has become a routine for the Michigan men’s swimming and diving team. Since 2007, the Wolverines have won five of six conference titles and have gone 40-1 against Big Ten opponents. This year, as the No. 2 team in the country and defending national champions, Michigan is poised to win its fourth straight title and continue its run of conference dominance. But recently, the gap in the conference has narrowed. With four of six ranked teams ranked in the top 11, the Big Ten has emerged as the nation’s fastest conference, leaving Michigan coach Mike Bottom more nervous than usual. “There’s a lot more competition this year,” Bottom said. “Ohio State and Indiana have looked really good lately. We beat them both at their home pools earlier in the year, and (they) have been eyeing us since. Now they’re coming to our home pool looking to take us down, and we have to be ready.” Despite the nerves, the Wolverines (6-0 Big Ten, 9-0 overall) remain the favorites
to win the title by a convincing margin. Michigan swimmers have accumulated 78 NCAA Championship cuts during the regular season and boast the conference’s top time in 15 of 18 recorded swimming events. After winning the National Championship in 2013, this year’s Wolverines are seeking a repeat. Michigan returns 11 All-Americans from that squad, including reigning Big Ten Swimmer of the Year and 2012 Olympian Connor Jaeger. Amazingly, the 2013-14 edition might be even more loaded. Eight freshmen have already reached NCAA qualifying times. In addition, a much-improved dive program will send four divers to the NCAA qualifying meet and give Michigan a punch last year’s team was missing. Yet as a controversial fourpoint victory over Ohio State on Feb. 1 proved, it’s tough to tell who will show up at any given meet, leaving the pressure on the veteran Wolverines to carry the team. “Our leaders need to lead,” Bottom said. “We have an incredible senior class that’s done a lot for this team and have been great leaders. They need to show up, but we have some freshmen and sophomores we feel like we can count on too.” The four day event will begin Wednesday evening with the 200-medley relay and 800-freestyle relay. The following day will crown
champions in the 500 freestyle, 200 IM, 50 free and 400-medley relay, all events in which Michigan is favored. Regardless of the final results, Bottom believes a fast start to the meet will set the tone for the rest of the way. “That 500 can be huge for us,” Bottom said. “It’s the first individual event, and if (Jaeger) and (senior Ryutaro Kamiya) can get us started, that can spark our team the rest of the way. You don’t win a big meet with just the big guns, you need everyone to step up. If we can get off to a good start, the whole team can build off of that and our chemistry can be really strong.” Last season, the Wolverines’ dominant performance propelled the team from a thirdplace ranking to its first NCAA Championship in 18 years. This year, the target is on Michigan’s back yet again, but with the Big Ten Championships in its home pool for the first time since the beginning of its dominant stretch, Bottom is hoping a hometown crowd will propel the Wolverines to their 38th Big Ten title. “This one’s special,” Bottom said. “It’s the first time we’re at home, able to swim in front of home crowd (in the conference championship), and we’re excited. “This is the best, fastest conference meet in the country. No one’s going to deny that, and we want this one bad.”
GOOD LUCK ON MIDTERMS! REMEMBER, C’S GET DEGREES, BUT YOUR MOM WOULDN’T BE TOO HAPPY. Love,
@THEBLOCKM
Sports
8A — Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
It’s time to expand the Maize Rage
A
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Sophomore forward Nik Stauskas will look to continue his hot hand at Purdue.
Keys to the game: ‘M’ visits Purdue By DANIEL WASSERMAN Daily Sports Editor
The Michigan men’s basketball team had one week to prepare for its game against archrival Michigan State, and it showed. Despite a slow start, the Wolverines were more Michigan prepared physically and at Purdue mentally, and Matchup: only minutes Purdue 15-12; into the Michigan 19-7 second half, When: Michigan (11-3 Wednesday Big Ten, 19-7 7 P.M. overall) began Where: to impose its Mackey Arena will on the TV: Spartans. BTN Now holding sole possession of first place in the Big Ten with just four games to play, it must avoid a letdown if it hopes to win its first outright conference title in almost 30 years. The final stretch of the season starts Wednesday, when the Wolverines head to West Lafayette to take on a middling Purdue (5-9, 15-12) that has lost seven of its last nine games. Michigan won the previous meeting, 75-66, on Jan. 30 in Ann Arbor. The Daily breaks down the three keys for another victory: Continue the Nik and Caris show: It’s clear that the Wolverines are at their best when sophomore guard Nik Stauskas is at his. Early in Big Ten play, Stauskas emerged as one of the country’s most dangerous scorers, and as Michigan rode a 10-game win streak through East Lansing and Madison, the talk shifted to Stauskas’ professional aspirations. But when Stauskas’ play dropped off, the Wolverines lost three of five games despite a scoring surge from sophomore guard Caris LeVert. But when both are on, like they were against the Spartans — the guards combined to score 48 points — the Michigan backcourt is lethal enough to beat anyone in the nation. Control the ball: In the
teams’ previous meeting, the Wolverines shot a whopping 60.4 percent from the field, yet only beat the struggling Boilermakers by nine. How was the game so close? Michigan’s starting backcourt — Stauskas, LeVert and freshman point guard Derrick Walton Jr. — combined to turn the ball over 10 times, and the team had 16 total turnovers. That figure, more than six above the team’s average, kept Purdue in the game — it led to 12 Boilermaker points. If the Wolverines can replicate their three-turnover performance from Sunday’s win, they should have no troubles with the Boilermakers.
Play your game: At the end of the day, stats can be thrown out in a game like this. Michigan is the vastly superior team, with more talent, experience and all the momentum on its side. Purdue, on the other hand, is sputtering to the finish line, and a win over the 16th-ranked Wolverines would be a nice way to go out. Don’t expect the Boilermakers to simply roll over, meaning the onus is on Michigan to come out looking focused. “They’re just as tough a game to us as if we went to Ohio State, went to Michigan State. They may not be to the media, they may not be in reality, but they are to me,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. That sounds nice, though it’s easier said than done, especially coming from a coach and not a group of college kids riding high from the win of their season. Still, Beilein insists that he’ll have his team ready. “That’s our whole job as a coach, to be able to make sure that they understand that at this level of basketball, every game is going to be a battle,” Beilein said. If he succeeds, his team should, and relatively easily.
minute before the biggest home basketball game of the year, and Teddy Sallen and his roommate were laughing. Not because of their seats — they DANIEL were behind WASSERMAN the basket, halfway up the upper bowl — or even a joke, at least an intentional one, anyway. It was at a video playing on the video board just moments before tip-off against Michigan State on Sunday that had just proclaimed the Maize Rage the best student section in the conference, just as public address announcer Bobb Vergiels had declared minutes earlier. Such buffoonery has come to be expected from the Athletic Department under the direction of Dave Brandon — lots of cheesy talk and over-the-top marketing that typically lacks the walk to back it up. So Sallen, an Engineering freshman, was laughing. A few sections to his right, so was LSA senior Jonah Rosenbaum, who “thought it was hilarious.” It was laughable, hilarious, incredible, absurd and above all — in a category that is judged on such unquantifiable and subjective factors — unmistakably incorrect. But since someone in Michigan’s vastly expanding marketing department opened the discussion, I’ll play along. The Maize Rage, the Michigan men’s basketball student section, is at best No. 7 in the conference; Minnesota in a good year can arguably push it down to No. 8. But while the Athletic Department likes to deflect blame, this one can’t be pinned on the students.
“If you put the students by the court and you care about them, you care about the experience, you’ll have a great environment,” Rosenbaum said. “If you don’t, you’ll have Crisler Center.” Officially, students are allotted 3,000 of Crisler’s 12,707 seats, though an additional 300 were saved for Sunday’s game in anticipation of increased student demand. However, just 653 of those seats are in the lower bowl, and fewer than 400, a meager 12 percent of the student allocation, are the courtside bleacher seats that encompass the heart of the Maize Rage. Compared with the Spartans’ Izzone, which wraps around three-fourths of the arena, pitting thousands of screaming students right on top of opposing players, Crisler is practically a friendly confine. And at least a friendly confine awards some character to the environment, which it had little of in the buildup to Sunday’s game — the biggest home game of the season against the school’s biggest rival. Less than an hour before game time, the building was dead — save for a slew of corporate and University ads and the occasional chorus of boos or cheers when the teams entered or exited the floor. Though nearly every student seat was filled 50 minutes before game time, the lack of buzz was palpable with two-thirds of the students a great distance from the floor and only a handful of non-students already in the building. It was a stark contrast from the game in East Lansing a month earlier, when the Breslin Center atmosphere was fully charged well over an hour before tip-off. “It was dead in there — it’s embarrassing,” Sallen remembers of the two hours spent before the game sitting in the upper bowl of Crisler. “You’re sitting there waiting for the clock to run down and the
game to start because that’s all there is to really think about. You’re not in the environment of getting all crazy and rowdy. You’re just another spectator that happens to have a general admission ticket.” Added Rosenbaum: “It’s definitely deflating. The whole thing is just a corporate environment, which is fine for the Super Bowl, but it shouldn’t be that way for Michigan basketball. If you look at the great programs, the really crazy places to play college basketball, that’s not what they’re like. They’re not run like it’s Domino’s.” LSA sophomore Yale Williams arrived at Crisler at 6:45 a.m., early enough to score seats in the bleachers because his three experiences sitting in the upper bowl were “almost like watching it on TV,” with those around him sitting through the game’s entirety, texting or talking to friends. The high levels of disengagement in the upper bowl contrasts greatly to the students in lowerbowl seating, especially in the bleachers, where students stand for the duration of games. Business senior Alex Loewenstein echoed those comments as the reason why, after sitting mostly in the upper bowl last year, he opted to watch the games from home this season. “I can’t justify to myself spending two hours in line or paying that much money when I know I’m going to sit in the upper bowl,” he said. Central Student Government President Michael Proppe, a Business senior and seasonticket holder himself, has made the student experience at sporting events a pivotal part of his agenda. Though the general admission policy for football games has loomed larger on campus, a matter reflected in Proppe’s conversations with the Athletic Department and in CSG meetings, the Crisler conundrum has recently caught
Prediction: Michigan 81, Purdue 63
Want game coverage? Check MichiganDaily.com throughout the day for updates
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
The Maize Rage is hindered by the seating arrangements, diminishing the Crisler Center atmosphere, writes Wasserman.
his attention. He and CSG Vice President Bobby Dishell, a Public Policy junior, have been gathering data, not only on Maize Rage attendance, which he said has been “very high,” but on where Crisler’s student section stacks up against Big Ten competitors. “It seems like right now we are one of the smaller courtside student sections in the Big Ten,” Proppe said. “Given where our program is at and the level of student interest, I think the evidence is pretty compelling … that in the next year or so, expanding the lower-bowl student section should be given pretty serious consideration.” Still, though, Proppe expressed caution that any major change will be made in the immediate future. While smaller adjustments, such as moving up the claim period closer to the game dates, could happen for next season, he believes that it’ll take at least a couple more years of high attendance figures “before they start to re-seat the entire arena.” So while an expanded bleacher section wrapping around the arena is certainly unrealistic in the next season or two on the heels of the 2011 interior renovations to Crisler, the Athletic Department can choose to make short-term adjustments, such as converting current non-student sections in the lower bowl to student seating, much like the 250-seat section 130. “It’s something that’s on their mind, but it’s not being given a super-serious look,” Proppe said. Following the win in East Lansing, Brandon turned to a Michigan State athletic official and said, “I’m jealous” of the “incredible” atmosphere he witnessed — even in spite of a Spartan loss. It was an atmosphere Brandon would certainly love to bring to Ann Arbor, but is it enough of a desire to come at the cost of losing the Personal Seat Donations — hefty charges in addition to the per-game cost — from non-student season ticket holders in the lower bowl? Only time will tell, but Brandon’s track record suggests the answer is no. So while the pockets of one of the richest athletic departments will continue to grow, so too will student unrest with the department. “I don’t think there are too many administrations out there that care less about the student experience,” Rosenbaum said. The message Brandon is sending to the students — the ones expected to be future donors and season-ticket holders — is clear, and it’s not one that can be soothed over with preposterous attempts to flatter. Because if the Athletic Department wants to flaunt the Maize wRage as the best anything, it’s high time it starts treating its students like it. Daniel Wasserman can be reached at dwass@umich.edu or on twitter @d_wasserman.
2B
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 // The Statement
Dear readers,
For writers, it’s a hard-knock life. Seriously. The world is funky, and the world is also filled with rainwater, chocolates, glue sticks and star fruit. Which is to say, the world is filled with the visual, the brave. We write so we can remember. We write so we can press the eye’s detail to the page; so we can make and shift and save and carve. It’s not magic, but it’s something that levitates, touches gravity and enfolds both brain and heart in a delicious way. It’s a difficult duty to do justice to the planet’s wondrous weight and gold. Yet, writers somehow manage to cause sparks with the alphabet.
This year, The Statement’s Literary Issue attempts to introduce you to writing that uproots and imagines. We hope these pieces cause readers to rethink the familiar into the strange. We hope they turn the common into the fresh. Here at The Statement, we are incredibly in awe and proud to feature the creative work
AFTER THE STORM ERIKA NESTOR
After the fever I only remember waking up to find everything revealed, my pale nightmare of the sun in a rainstorm and my mother moving in and out of sight stumbling and laughing, the messy relief of night-watch survived: my baby chanted, whispered, a thousand times. The bundle of my body under three blankets, rolling over and over again. Hot dry tongue, purple sky becoming pink & how the room grew larger as it spun. My father sat sitting by the door, his fingers curled around a cup of coffee. Close enough to touch, the lines of his mouth pulled down, my sister’s gray jumper drip dripping on stained wood. The floor shook when he stood up, and touched a single finger to my glassy skin. Behind me the rocking chair was creaking, someone’s dog somewhere barking. Beyond the great green incline of the couch I saw my mother’s fingers twitching over buttered toast, smelled her sharp familiar perfume like the aftermath of fear. In my dream, my mother turned pursuer, and I woke up with a stitch in my side. And yet: I saw her only in profile, as I dreamed— it might have been anyone.
of such talented student writers. We hope the readers will find that the poems and prose in this issue cradle, flit, unsettle the dirt and do work in the world.
VISIBILITY
Sincerely, Carlina Duan Magazine Editor ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMY MACKENS AND RUBY WALLAU
THE
statement
Magazine Editor: Carlina Duan Deputy Editors: Max Radwin
Photo Editor: Ruby Wallau Illustrator: Megan Mulholland
Amrutha Sivakumar Editor in Chief: Design Editor: Amy Mackens
Peter Shahin
ALEX KIME
I wish I could say I didn’t know what it was that marked me, that when the boys yell insults as they pass me on State or from the other side of the sidewalk, I would not know how they found out. but I do. I am aware of the way my voice sounds, what my gestures look like, the unconscious paintbrush switch of my hips as I walk down the street, the bright streaks in my asymmetrical haircut. a group of drunken frat boys is an alert. every muscle becomes stiff, every hair becomes raised, I am never more self-obsessed than in those moments, analyzing what I look like: am I wearing tight pants? am I wearing bright colors? are my nails painted? do I have glitter in my hair? have they heard my voice? how readable am I, in this moment? is it likely they’ll revisit childhood, decide to play smear the queer? in the end, it doesn’t matter. I was wearing a baggy Michigan hoodie with my painted nails in my pockets and a hood over my hair they still saw me, even from a moving car.
Managing Editor: Katie Burke Copy Editors: Mark Ossolinski Meaghan Thompson
Wednesday,February 26, 2014 // The Statement
J
oseph read the newspaper and sipped a coffee too hot to be drunk by a first timer. His mother made scrambled eggs on the stove and talked to Gwendolyn on the phone, a conversation defined largely by its “oh-my-God’s” and “no-way’s!” Joseph wasn’t bothered though. This was the morning ritual: coffee, newspaper and “Didn’t you hear, Gwen!” every day. Even this day. And though the momentous occasion begged the Singletons to break routine, they did no such thing. Joseph appreciated this consistency to the bitter end, just as he’d grown to appreciate the little things about his mother, who had separated from his father when her son was just two. Now, Joseph was 16. He was mature for his age; at least that’s what teachers told his mother at conferences. “He’s a quiet boy,” they’d say, “but very smart. I think he just needs a little encouragement.” His mother spoke with Joseph those nights about planning for the future, how college was just on the horizon and had he started thinking about what he might want to be when he grew up? The when of that question, after all, was fast approaching. Joseph would pause, check his watch, and say, “I don’t know yet. Ask me in three years.” To which, his mother would give him a look of indignation or disappointment — Joseph could never tell — and ask him what he wanted to do for dinner the next night. Of course, the next night didn’t matter anymore to these two, what with the clinics springing up in every town and the government orders. And it wasn’t just the next night that had lost any sort of relevance. It was the night after that. And after that. And the one after that. But most folks weren’t complaining. Life is a difficult, uncontrollable force. Life suffocates and strangles and squeezes you until you’ve forgotten what it feels like to breathe. Now, Joseph could still breathe, but he knew it wouldn’t last. He imagined it would be nice to have some say in when life began and ended. At least, with the clinics, he could make an appointment, schedule it.
“Thanks for everything, Mr. Abner,” Joseph said, shaking his teacher’s hand.
“Yes, sir.” “Ah so no essay for you huh?” Joseph laughed while he had the chance. “I guess not,” Joseph said. “Well it’s been a pleasure, son. Good luck out there.” “Thank you. Have a good one.” “You too! Hey would you mind calling Steve Mason in here? I need to talk to him about his handwriting.” “No problem.” Joseph called Steve; then went to his locker, grabbing his backpack and cramming as many books and notebooks into the three pockets large enough to hold them. His theology textbook proved especially difficult to fit, so he decided to leave it with Sister Anthony, the head of the religion department and a nun whose name caused more than one taunt from the boys of St. Charles Preparatory Academy. Regardless, the petite, scarlet-haired woman retained a tough exterior (Rumor has it she once beat a boy with a ruler for throwing a paper airplane. His parents threatened to sue if Sister Anthony didn’t automatically pass him. She did so, but not without informing both the mother and the father that they were, “failures to their son, their God and themselves.” She called them “pathetic, shriveled worms devoid of backbone, yet inexplicably filled with hot air.” Joseph considered Sister Anthony the very definition of a Woman of God). “Sister Anthony,” Joseph said, waiting at her classroom door. She graded papers and drank tea in her free periods. “Come in, Joseph,” she said, not glancing up from an essay on the sixth commandment. “I just need to return my theology textbook. I was cleaning out my locker, and it wouldn’t fit in my backpack.” “Saying goodbye to us are you, Joseph?” Sister’s Anthony spoke quickly and without inflection. “Yes, Sister.” “Should I wish you congratulations?” Her eyes looked up from the paper and stared at Joseph over the frames of her glasses. Joseph knew she expected an answer, but had none. “I suppose so, Sister.”
“Oh you’re most welcome, Joseph.” Mr. Abner said. “I hear you have an appointment
“Well congratulations then. Are you
nervous?” “A little.” “Well from what I hear, the procedure isn’t very painful. But then again, who on earth could attest to that?” Joseph laughed unsteadily. Sister Anthony sighed, removed her glasses, and stared at him with a concentration rarely seen outside of life’s most heart-swelling or heartbreaking moments. “Good luck, Joseph. It’s been a pleasure having you as a student.” Joseph’s face warmed at the old nun’s words, but his stomach churned at her tone. “Thank you, Sister. It’s been great having you for a teacher.” Sister Anthony smiled a sad smile, and Joseph said, “Well, I’ll let you get back to grading papers.” Joseph left her room, and then the school. He attended piano practice, played a few of his favorite movements, and drove home, waiting for his mother to return from work. He never saw Sister Anthony again. ***
argue with her choice, except maybe Joseph, but, like Gwendolyn, he never said a word against it. The procedure was supposed to be like falling asleep anyway. One doctor said the vaccine gave the patients a feeling of “relief,” as though the weight of life were finally off their shoulders. The anxiety, the worries, the fear, the doubt. Life has fewer pros than cons, Joseph’s mother thought. She caressed her favorite quote. “This makes sense,” she whispered. Joseph opened the passenger door and said that there would be a five-minute wait. The clinic was busy, today, but the doctors were moving quickly to get everybody in. That’s what Joseph said he heard at least. Three minutes later, Joseph and his mother left the car and walked across the parking lot to the clinic doors, which were smudged with something red, or was it pink? Joseph’s mother held his hand, that is, until he released her grip and sprinted away from the clinic, across the parking lot, and into the street. She watched her son leave her, wiped a tear from her left eye, and opened a glass door smeared with blood. “Ms. Singleton?” a nurse asked.
Joseph’s mother drove to the clinic. The driving helped her relax; at least that’s what she told her son, who wasn’t paying attention in the first place. Nostalgia had gotten the best of our Joseph. He was thinking of girls he’d never kissed, books he’d never read, and mistakes he wouldn’t have the chance to make. Most of all, Joseph wondered whether life was meant to be lived at all; if death was so inevitable and forthcoming, why even try? To quote the darkest and most melodramatic recesses of his mind, “What was the point of it all?” Joseph and his mother never did discuss it, and so on she drove to the clinic as the shy boy thought of questions he would never ask.
“Yes,” Joseph’s mother said. “The doctor will Congratulations.”
see
you
now.
“Thank you.” Readjusting a wayward strand of hair, Joseph’s mother composed herself and followed the nurse to a small room that was mostly unfurnished save a leather couch and chair. It looked like a therapist’s office without the coziness of a bookshelf or a window.
*** The clinic was a dank little building, perfect for an optometrist’s office or a two-bit law firm. Joseph’s mother pecked her son’s cheek before sending him to tell the receptionist they’d arrived for the appointment. Meanwhile, she took one last smoke while reviewing the pamphlet, which the government had loaded with percentages, statistics and quotes, her personal favorite being: “To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” The line gave her confidence. She referenced those words whenever anyone questioned her decision. Gwendolyn never did, which was enough for her. No one could
BEHIND THE CURTAIN ALEXANDER BERNARD
FOR THE FULL VERSION SEE MICHIGANDAILY.COM
DESIGN BY NICK CRUZ
The day was April 12, a Thursday. His history teacher Mr. Abner assigned a paper for next Monday. Joseph was happy he didn’t have to do it. The essay topic was on the West European migration to America in the 17th century and the inherent struggles of such a transition. This issue, of course, carried little weight with 16-year-old boys, especially Joseph who, at the time, had other, more holistic matters weighing his mind, specifically an appointment with the clinic at 5:30 p.m. that afternoon.
with the clinic tonight.”
3B
4B
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 // The Statement
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 // The Statement
DUST & FEATHERS
we stroll through Sunday-
INEDIBLE LOVE TERESA MATHEW
I dreamt I was a dragon last night And you were a princess Don’t worry, I didn’t eat you But I didn’t save you either I didn’t stop you from braiding your hair To let in a boy I knew would steal your heart [and your wallet and vinyl records I’m sorry about that, but iTunes exists now. Let it go.] Or snatch your shoe from the staircase To stop him from coming after you In my defense I thought your beat-up converse would detract any man But we confused desperate for hopelessly devoted I’m sorry they stuck to the gum-ridden stairs And I’m sorry he let you down Then a boy showed up with a talking tea set And I could have breathed fire at him In long, angry streaks But I stayed quiet Because I was taught that only love can break a curse I guess I’m mad he broke your heart But really I just can’t believe he took our ottoman It was shaped like a puppy Damn him I’m tired of waiting For a prince to come save you And I would if I could but I can’t Because I’m a dragon And we eat people, we don’t love them Or save them or marry them But if we could I would promise to never steal your records And pretend that The National sounds better on CDs And I would treasure your shoes Never needing your foot size or bra size To identify or value you And I would never steal the furniture Or lock you in a dungeon No rose would ever lose its petals So throw away the storybook And I’ll wake up if you will I know a dragon can’t turn into a prince But I love you And I won’t eat you Can that be enough?
Daddy carries our long-trip-thermos (deep green & dented & topped with a chrome cap) it is filled with brown tea which we drink from small glasses shaped like hexagons the flavor makes me carsick
and the scene goes: trees gaping down pink-limbs drool off wide trunks thick bunches hang green & greedy above while orange lilies throw their heads back bossy & fluted capturing the silence in their soft throats i know my flaws:
BOTANICAL
sometimes i get too caught up in verbs & muscles sometimes i become damp in the sunlight sunlit rooms can swallow me sometimes i walk in circles that end with nausea and a bench surrounded by lemon grass
LEELA DENVER
JANUARY 2013 MARGARET HITCH
on the first day of the year my friends and I almost get hit by a train. afterwards, there is not much to say. our skin is red with the cold. the new blue sky in your alleyway is filled with stratus clouds. there is dirt uncovered, wet and poorly sorted. this is the place where we rang in the new millennium with glue and glitter crowns, now — 2013 looks like glitter itself — flashy channel dancing dub-step static and singing forever. youth shape — shifts onscreen yet outside, something like snow is lulling. we are already ancient. claylike, lusty red. what vibrancies lick my boot soles! stomp over every bit of untrodden earth. I run through the park, and the tongue of the mouth of the earth soaks through the snowmelt.
GOOGLE SEARCH: FLOWERING TREE SPECIES IN DETROIT
ALLISON EPSTEIN
amongst the glossy fronds and ivies i become wrecked
London, 1945. The war was over. He walked along the border of Regent’s Park with his hands tucked in his trouser pockets. It was dark already, but then, it had never been light – a thick fog hovered around the streetlights, nestling close to the ruins of what had once been the aviary of the London Zoo. It was not the first time that he had walked this way, but every day it was a challenge. Before the war, he had set himself goals for each morning: run the circumference of Hyde Park, run from St. Paul’s to Grosvenor Square and back. Now he had set the no-less heroic goal of walking past the London Zoo, calmly and without thought. Someday, perhaps, he would manage it. The remains of the building were only brick and mortar, but he smelled sulfur and manure and something musky that made his stomach turn. He longed for a drink to settle it, but it was only three in the afternoon. Too early for a pint, even by London’s standards. He turned up the collar of his coat. The wind blew cold, hinting at snow somewhere past the Tower, biding its time across the Thames. He nudged a crumbled piece of brick with his toe, feeling the pressure of destruction against his boot. It must have been an amazing sight, when the Germans dropped the air-raid bombs on the aviary. Flashes of gold and red and orange like the fireworks on Bonfire day, pinpricked through with the jewel tones of exotic feathers, emerald and turquoise and violet. Feathers floated atop the dust, driftwood and seaweed borne along by the tide. Feathers, riding like tiny boats without passengers along the Thames to the sea. There were no bright colors left in London. Only soot-covered sparrows and battle-scarred wrens stumbled across the streets under the thick fog, gorging their young on the smoke. And the pigeons that occupied Trafalgar square like refugees, huddling together, speaking in rapid non-Romance languages about places and people they had left behind the curtain of fire and dust. It was no wonder he longed to kick them when he passed – they were everywhere, atop the heads of the marble lions, watching the same people walk backward and forward, sneaking down into the Tube and waiting for the same trains to circle back and around. They didn’t know that they were no different than anybody else, that they had nothing left to wait for. He kicked the rubble in front of him like he had done with Will when they had been boys, except then they had used tins of baked beans or smooth, round pebbles, cleared of all roughness and imperfections by years of wind and water. He wondered what kinds of birds still flew over the cliffs at Normandy, and whether Will could still see their colored feathers.
5B
fat bunches v. sweet, perfumed very sweet smelling creamcolored kind of squat small small and squat heavy in the rain bows when weighed down by water rain rainwater kissed my forehead lives on Cass Ave. by thekissed my forehead as i walked by i got wet – lives on Cass Ave. across from café with best tuna melts not far from home two-month-home home home i’m not going back to home i plucked a fat bunch and got wet from rainwater spraying off very sweet smelling cream-colored petals which I held to my cheeks and it felt so lovely.
LEELA DENVER
Can you pleasethis treeI miss it.
ROOT VEGETABLES LEELA DENVER
Dirt holds my head up and after I gauge the progress I grab hold of the forsythia’s bottom and pull up. I think about turnips and how they look like noses and how at the farmer’s market this girl held my hand once. Once, when I was five, I learned who god was supposed to be. Is? The green onions are sprouting; I hope I don’t forget about them. I break off a sprig and chew on it. It tastes good and I remember when the jungle gym in my neighbor’s basement punched me in the stomach: pungent. Zubin’s blue basement couch was where we fought about “church” and, also, made up. The hyacinth flowers don’t smell very sweet. I like that. Leaves tickle my cheeks and the sun splits shadows of bushes as I crawl out from behind the purple rows. I pinch a blade of grass and remember how I never could whistle it like my friends. I didn’t learn about angels then, but a year later I felt funny when an old lady gave me a cherry cough drop and said that I was one. and god threw his hands down and dug them into the ground uprooting tiny humans and planting gardens of angels
6B
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 // The Statement
DESIGN BY NICK CRUZ
MY SONG, MY FAMILY AND ME SUPRIYA JALUKAR
T
he glare of the incandescent lights seemed brighter than ever, and the room seemed to have tripled in size in the few minutes I had been in it. Inhale, exhale, inhale, repeat. I took a few deep breaths, cleared my throat, and searched for a familiar face in the crowd. Focusing on one person always helps me get through challenges, as if the silent support of a pair of eyes could infuse me with a steady strength. The eyes seemed to blend together in an expansive sea of faces, and I could feel my heartbeat gradually quickening. I wondered if the audience could sense my anxiety. “Just feel the power of the words,” my aunt’s voice echoed in my mind, “and you’ll be fine.” I lowered my glance, and my eyes landed on a maroon-colored rectangular carpet, splashed with images of fuchsia roses and powdered lilies, the picture the song lyrics conjured up. I mustered the courage to produce a single note, but after a few seconds, the tone shook, and I couldn’t sustain it any longer. I couldn’t continue with the performance, I had disappointed everyone. It was over. It’s been six years since this scene. I was in India, around the time of my cousin’s wedding. I haven’t had the courage or desire to sing since that failure. The magic in singing seemed less clear to me after such an embarrassing experience. It was as if fear had quelled the passion that had originally driven me to perform for others, blurring my understanding of why music still needed to remain a part of my life. Despite this, I’ve grown up in a musical household. Singing and dancing were always part of my life, expected in a sort of way. Music has historically been a part of Indian culture. A number of dance and musical styles have originated in the country, and the sheer melodic variety reflects the nation’s richness. What this means for the average Indian child, however, is that by the age of 10, she will have taken classes for dance, Indian percussion, singing or any other traditional Indian art form. Most often, families try to retain a style or form of art that has trickled through the family tree. For instance, if one’s mother and grandmother danced, it is likely that the third generation of children will be enrolled in dance classes, despite their own inclinations. In my case, since my mother had been a Bharat Natayam dancer, and my father had played the synthesizer, I grew up dabbling in both dancing and singing. Since my father came from a deeply cultured, artsy Indian family, I too, began learn-
ing about Indian music early. My informal music education began when I was three, and would parrot my grandmother’s voice, learning simple Indian nursery rhymes in my mother tongue, Marathi.I had been an enthusiastic and musically inclined youngster, picking up melodies almost naturally, I am often told. My easily moldable mind, like any other young brain, soaked up any and every Indian song that it could. I enthusiastically accompanied my grandparents on rather complex songs, taking initiative to memorize various traditional tunes before I had even learned the English alphabet. The first time I sang in public was in a large 50-seater auditorium at my local temple in the U.S. I distinctly remember stepping out onto the warm wooden temple stage, showered under the bright, hot glow; I was nervous, but excited, clutching the silver microphone between my, then small, palms. Just as the varying shades of the fallen crisp autumn leaves painted and enlivened the earth outdoors, so too, the melodies fortified my world with vibrant colors. My five-year-old mind raced to remember the lyrics, composed of fewer than 100 words. My father accompanied me, easing my fears to an extent, feeding me the lines during the show, and drowning out any of my mistakes with a quick, improvisational piece on the synthesizer. Each year the ritual would repeat, evolve from innocent to more mature or complex tunes. I began to perform independently. Though I would be trembling back stage, rehearsing the lines frantically in my mind and aloud, while on stage, I would gaze out into the blinding white light and somehow, mysteriously, feel comforted, complete and fulfilled. Then, after five minutes of musical bliss, I would escape into the audience again. These cultural performances became an annual tradition, and I relished the opportunity to learn and perform Indian tunes for that one September holiday night
“
each year. Things were different in India. My aunt has been teaching music for as long as I can remember. Her voice has an incredibly mighty tone. As a child visiting my family, I would always look forward to a singing session with her. We’d sit on a pair of embroidered cushions on the cool stone floor of the small apartment, facing one another. Almost instinctively, her left hand would rise, her fingers curled, as if her hands were narrating a story through song. Her voice would rise above like a lark on the coolest day of spring leading with great pride, vigor and passion. Being present to witness such magic was inspiring beyond words, and I grew up wanting more than anything to replicate her voice, to create sounds so sweet. But the “family concerts” terrified me. Being center-room with my aunts, uncles, cousins and other distant relatives, judging my voice, labeling me as the “American girl who sings” was intimidating. When I sang in America, I felt the stakes were always lower. I sang a song, people clapped, and that was it — it was simple, painless and I didn’t have to explain or prove myself to anyone in particular. Perhaps the pressure of singing for my family in India stemmed from the fact that I knew that a single performance was always the lasting image my extended family had of me. Each trip to India, my entire extended family held a family reunion the weekend before we departed for the states. The event always promised to be fun-filled, marked by contagious laughter — the inviting kind, which cultivates authentic smiles — a savory home-cooked meal and music.However, it was the last time we’d meet for a few years. So, I feared that if I missed a note, wavered on a tone, or had any less-than-satisfactory presentation, this would be their last opinion of me. I would leave India with an impression of failure, powerless to change it until
When I sang in America, I felt the stakes were always lower
”
the next time I visited. I hadn’t sung for three years when I visited my mother country again this past summer. I had nearly forgotten how to hold a note for longer than a minute, a feat which, five years earlier, seemed much easier. So, naturally, when my aunt, who learns music regularly, asked me if I wanted to join her to observe her music class, I was hesitant. How would I be able to understand the tempos? What if they asked me to join in? I wasn’t prepared to sing, but my aunt said coolly, “Come. It’ll be good for you to hear some good Indian music.” I couldn’t resist or rather, didn’t have the motivation to, so I agreed to accompany her, rather unwillingly. The singing guru’s home was a short five-minute motorcycle ride away, and as we entered the tiny two-roomed home, a gruff-looking bearded man ushered us in. An oblong wooden instrument resembling a ukulele with a long fingerboard lay in the corner, ready to be picked up and played by its owner. For the first five minutes, my aunt and her guru began with warm-ups — arpeggios, or raagas, ranging from the simplest two-note patterns, to more intricate combinations of notes. Hearing the various tones and the brilliant combinations reminded me of trekking through a mountain with twisted turns carved into it. The tones combined in just the right places, but there was an element of mystery in that it was impossible to predict the following combination of notes. Gradually, their voices gained momentum, blending together in just the right way, yet retaining their unique traits; the sound assumed a more definitive pattern of tones as the song progressed. I realized that it was fused with particular sentiments, and that the unique ways the tones merged and diverged tugged at specific emotions. I became engrossed in the song’s melody, felt the need to catch every fleeting note and process its perfect timbre, rhythm and tone, just before it transformed into a new one. Listening to them sing together — their perfect blend of voices — touched me, and I was reminded of my childhood sessions learning music from my aunt. Then, too, I had been enamored of the magnitude of music. I had realized how music can stir and connect souls, even those oceans apart. By the time of the class’ close, I was emotionally charged from the beautiful performance, and I decided that I needed to start singing again. FOR THE FULL VERSION SEE MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 // The Statement
7B
A DAY AT THE FAIR AMY HENSON
I
’m an imposter in my blazer from eighth grade. Waiting in line at (Fortune 500 Company X), I’m mentally prepping for the eight-or-so minutes I will have to make an impression, and my brain just won’t turn off. Be natural. Be exceptional. Be funny. Be relatable. Be cool. Be smart. Be interested. Be interesting. Just be yourself. I wipe a sweaty palm across the back of the leather resume holder I felt compelled to buy junior year. It leaves a smear, and I debate blowing it dry with my mouth. Instead I open the thing up, looking at my resume for the millionth time. My resume. The story of me in a neutral serif font, size 10. Complete with a professional summary, list of experiences and strong action verbs for each bullet point (not forgetting to show the results of my responsibilities with numbers!). • Spearheaded • Implemented • Managed The result of hours of frustration with unaligned indents and bullets and headlines, this 8.5” by 11” sheet of paper has become my “foot in the door.” Kind of. “I look at resumes for new hires at Puma, and we really just go through the database and search certain buzzwords.” My cousin, the Global Product Group Manager at Puma, helped me with my resume last year. “Not higher than a 3.5 GPA? Gone. No retail experience? Gone. No leadership experience? Gone.” “How many people get hired based on their resumes?” I ask. “Barely any. It’s all about networking.” So, I learn the art of the palm-to-palm handshake (Remember: only two shakes! Any more than that and you’re stuck in a handshake-death-spiral with a recruiter who will probably dismiss you as unemployable while you incessantly shake and smile and shake and smile). I learn about selling myself, about dealing with recruiters, about “networking.” I learn because I have to, because those around me are also learning, because this is what it takes to become a successful adult, right? I imagine the career fair from above looks like a hellish, business-casual picnic. The 48 company recruiting tables are draped in brightly colored tablecloths, swarmed by eager-for-employment University of Michigan students — ants in formal attire. We crawl, we schmooze, we shake hands. Employ us, we beg. We take our promotional pens and sunglasses and water bottles and move on. Except in this ant colony, we don’t work together. In this, it’s every ant for himself. As a senior at a competitive university like Michigan, the job hunt is both exhilarating and exhausting; we hate it, but we love it. All of us aren’t sure what we will really be doing at these companies, but we go for the big jobs anyway. We want the great salaries. We want to be successful and we want to be happy. But at what point do perfected elevator pitches, strong handshakes and fontsize-10 resumes make us stand out? Finally, the recruiter smiles in my direction, indicating that my turn has arrived. She is no older than 24, fresh-faced and happy to have her day away from the office. I go in for a firm, double-pump palm-to-palm handshake, and the dance begins. “Hi! I’m Katherine. Great to meet you…” “…Amy. Hi! Great to meet you, Katherine. (insert small talk here. i.e. ‘It’s so hot in here, how are you holding up?’)”
“(Insert response small talk. i.e. ‘I know right? So hot. But hangin’ in there!’). So tell me a little about yourself, Amy.” Tell her about myself. Tell her that I am always, always, always on time. That I am naturally curious, and love working with smart, creative people. That I am a writer. That I love making people smile. That I am an English major who isn’t planning on teaching or going to graduate school, actually. That my favorite sections of the New York Times are Technology, Opinion and Books. That I would give 100 percent to this company because I’ve given 100 percent to all of my activities since I started dance class at four years old. That I really want to find a job that I love, but fear I never will. That I hate recruiting, hate this blazer, hate that my palms are sweaty, hate that I’m second-guessing my liberal arts degree. That no job offer will be better than these past years as a student and that I never want to leave this place for the real world. Myself is me, sitting in my Michigan sweats talking with friends about our obscene Oreo intake, laughing at Drake on Saturday Night Live. I am an empathetic listener with a dry sense of humor and naturally decisive tendencies — but somehow couldn’t get all that onto my resume. Just be yourself, but I don’t see how I can. Especially when I’m wearing this outfit. Why this is called business casual, I’ll never understand. Casual is jeans and a tee shirt. Casual is sneakers. Casual is comfortable, and I feel anything but. I notice with envy that Recruiter Katherine and all of her recruiter buddies from (Fortune 500 Company X) are wearing jeans and companylogo T-shirts. “We don’t dress up for work. Really, we would never wear something like you’re wearing.” This comment makes me feel weird, but okay. Conversation continues. Eventually, we end up discussing the job posting I found online for a writing-based position. I’m feeling pretty excited about it, and ask about the recruiting process for fulltime hires. “Oh, I don’t really handle that kind of work. I recruit for Sales. But you can go talk to Jessica! She knows more about those kinds of positions than me.” What? I
move over to Jessica, a girl I swear I have seen walking through the Diag over the years. She is wearing her blue jeans, standard-issue logo T-shirt and a pair of Converse sneakers, and looks more like the college student in this exchange than I do. I go through the hand-shake-smalltalk-tell-me-about-yourself routine, and then ask about that same writing position. “Oh, interesting redirect by Katherine. I actually just started three weeks ago, so I don’t really know much about anything other than Sales. You should go to www.(fortune500companyx).com/careers and check it out though!” Yes, I have checked that out, actually. “Great, thank you for your help.” “Would you like a stress ball?” Yes, I would like a stress ball. “Sure.” I don’t give her my resume, and my foot remains firmly outside the door to (Fortune 500 Company X). I crawl onward, shoving my new stress ball into my purse. *** I wait in another excruciatingly long line for a different company, and start to chat with the guy waiting in front of me. His blazer hangs folded over his right arm, and the rings of sweat pooling around his armpits make my thankful that my nervous sweating problem is in my palms. “Yeah, I’m a sophomore. I’m here for internships.” A sophomore? “Cool! What’s your major?” “Computer Science. I just built my own server this summer. I can access it from anywhere in the world. It’s dope. What’s your major?” Holy shit — what am I doing next to this kid? “I’m studying English and New Media,” I tell babygenius. “Like blogs? Wow, they have classes for that? I thought anyone could blog.” I decide to disengage, reaching for my iPhone to shut this kid up. He puts his blazer back on and taps his foot impatiently, waiting for his turn. Later on, I can hear baby-genius talking with a recruiter from a huge technology company. His voice sounds different; his hands are working it; he’s doing the dance. I close my eyes. He’s a sophomore. “NEXT!” My turn. *** “But are you having any fun there?” It’s my older brother, Max, and I just called to tell him about my upcoming phone interview with (Fortune 500 Company Y). I pause. I am, aren’t I? I’m still going to football tailgates, still hanging out with my friends, still getting beer at Jolly Pumpkin and ice cream at Rod’s Diner. “Of course I am. It’s just hard not to get wrapped up in this stuff,” I explain.
FOR THE FULL VERSION SEE MICHIGANDAILY.COM
8B
Wednesday, February 26, 2014 // The Statement
THE THINGS WE CARRY after “Look” by Laura Kasischke I bear into this room a package full of the love my mother felt toward my father. The mug of coffee on the counter each day, the proper professor food, she told her friends about his Ph.D. And he studied galaxies, planets circling in orbit, the inevitable collision of decomposition. This space dust would fall from his mouth at dinnertime, senseless matter that would coat the kitchen plates and seats and walls. He was used to speaking, while she would touch his elbow, brush his back lightly, each point of contact a pull of gravity. My father built constellation palaces around himself. My mother passed him lemon bars to keep cool in his study during summertime. She— filled the gaps of air around him. She— smiled daily, licked at rose lipstick, trying to compete with stars.
LUCY ZHAO
VITAL ORGANS EMMA KRUSE
Half-mooned beneath my belly button is the little white puckered cross-stitch from where they stuck the camera in to see the salamander in my currant jelly insides. The surgeon told me as soon as they cut it out it burst in his hands. Of all the organs he’s held I imagine my appendix is very far down on his list. He must have held purple hearts caressed fishy lungs and maybe even touched a liver! twitching as it baptizes blood and churns it out pure. Of all my organs, I live most with my liver. After all, it is the thing that keeps me from poisoning myself. I once read that in Babylon they thought livers were souls, weighing in at three fatty pounds.
THANKS FOR READING, THANKS FOR WRITING. — THE STATEMENT STAFF