2014-05-29

MichiganDaily.com

Weekly Summer Edition Ann Arbor, MI

ONE-HUNDRED-TWENTY FOUR YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

inside

Thursday, May 29, 2014

GOING GLOBAL

Coleman awarded for international engagement

NEWS

Minimum wage Michigan lawmakers raised the state’s minimum wage to $9.25 per hour Tuesday >> SEE PAGE 2

NEWS

‘U’ president made official visits to India, Brazil, Africa and China during tenure

T-rays research New technology could have major health and security implications >> SEE PAGE 3

By NEALA BERKOWSKI

OPINION

Daily Staff Reporter

City budget From the Daily: Views on amendments to the city council budget >> SEE PAGE 4

ARTS

Hannibal The season two finale is sure to terrify, and possibly delight, the shows fans >> SEE PAGE 6

VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily

Ora Pescovitz addresses colleagwues in the Kahn Auditorium at the Taubman Research Institute on Wednesday.

Outgoing UMHS CEO delivers final address Pescovitz named one of the most powerful women in healthcare

By ALLANA AKHTAR

SPORTS

Baseball’s end Nebraska may have ended the Wolverine’s season, but they’ll be back this fall >> SEE PAGE 12

INDEX Vol. CXXIV, No. 108 | © 2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com

NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION ...............................4 ARTS ......................................6 CLASSIFIEDS.........................8 CROSSWORD........................8 SPORTS..................................9

Summer News Editor

All audience members in the near-full Kahn Auditorium in the A. Alfred Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building were engaged as the University’s Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs gave her final speech Wednesday evening.

The institute held a presentation and farewell reception for Ora Pescovitz, University executive vice president for medical affairs for the last five years. She titled her presentation, “UMHStory: Strength, Strategy & Success” in honor of the characteristics she believed made the University of Michigan Health

System one of the top medical institutions in the country.

As CEO of the University Health System and EVPMA, Pescovitz was responsible for the leadership of the University hospitals and health centers, medical school, services of the School of Nursing and the Michigan Health Corporation.

During her tenure, she helped develop the North Campus Research Complex into a renowned institution and helped build the C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. The medical center received its highest-ever patient satisfaction scores, the research endeavors earned $61 million in royalties and the medical school created the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion all under Pescovitz’s leadership After receiving her M.D. from Northwestern University, Pescovitz became a distinguished pediatric endocrinologist, later being recognized as one of Modern

Healthcare’s 2009 Top 25 Women in Healthcare and a nominee for their list of the “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare.”

Pescovitz also worked as a researcher, with a portfolio of 170 published scientific papers on human growth and over 175 manuscripts on growth disorder.

Pescovitz’s presentation praised the doctors, students and patients she believed to exemplify UMHS’ excellence. She included videos of patients, researchers and medical residents to showcase their own work and laud their respective achievements.

“You drive our tripartite mission, and your potential to impact and influence the world is simply limitless,” she told the audience.

“What I admire so much about this place is that we are never satisfied and we are never content. In fact, a desire to constantly improve is built into our DNA.” Following her lecture, six of her close coworkers gave speechSee PESCOVITZ, Page 3

As her tenure comes to a close, University President Mary Sue Coleman traveled to California to receive recognition for her efforts in international engagement.

Tuesday, Coleman was honored with the Cassandra Pyle Award for Leadership and Collaboration in International Education and Exchange from NAFSA: Association of International Educators at a ceremony in San Diego.

NAFSA is a nonprofit organization that works to promote international exchange and global education. Apart from serving as NAFSA president from 1978 to 1979, Cassandra Pyle – the award’s namesake – held positions at similar organizations like the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, American Council on Education and the Institute of International Education.

The previous Pyle recipients include Julia Chang Bloch, founder and president of the US-China Education Trust and the first AsianAmerican U.S. ambassador, and Zuhair A.G. Humadi, who assists Iraqi students in studying at foreign institutions as the executive director of Iraq’s Higher Committee for Education Development.

“For a great public university to thrive in a rapidly evolving environment, we must absolutely forage in the connections of mutual understanding that can allow our See COLEMAN, Page 3

2 NEWS

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan law raises minimum wage to $9.25 Democrats initially aimed for $10.10 per hour through Raise Michigan campaign

tice already used with Social Security payments and other benefits.

The republican-dominated Michigan legislature intended for the bill to undermine the Raise Michigan campaign, a civil rights group that aims to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017. The coalition planned to submit a petition with more than 300,000 signatures to the Secretary of State Wednesday afternoon to call for a ballot initiative in the November elections.

Although the new law allows a lower minimum wage than what national Democrats have been promoting, as when President Barack Obama visited the University this April, many Michigan legislators responded positively to the new bill.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer voiced his approval at the substitute bill in a press release last November.

In the press release, he said he would like to see the minimum wage raised to $9.25 per hour, with index for inflation.

Many Democrats were pleased with the Wednesday approval of their minimum wage proposal, despite the bill falling short of the $10.10 goal.

“I wish we could have had

By MARGO LEVY For the Daily

Many Michigan minimum wage workers can expect to see higher paychecks over the next few years.

After the House Government Operations Committee approved a substitute bill allowing a gradual increase to the state minimum wage from $7.40 per hour to $9.25 per hour earlier in the day, Governor Rick Snyder signed the bipartisan bill into law Tuesday evening. The original Senate Bill 934 would have raised the minimum wage by a smaller margin.

In 2018, the minimum wage will begin to index for inflation.

That means as goods and services increase in price over time, the designated $9.25 will increase as well, ensuring the wage can continue to provide workers with a livable income. Five other states, including Colorado and WashSudoku Syndication ington, apply inflation indexing on the minimum wage – a prac-

$10.10 … but it was a significant step forward, and it eliminates leaving this issue up to chance at the polls in November,” State Rep. Adam Zemke (D- Ann Arbor) said.

Zemke said some legislators are reluctant about raising the minimum wage for they believe it will eliminate job opportunities.

When the Obama administration originally proposed an increase to $10.10, the Professional Budget Office estimated how many jobs would be lost with the hired numbers. They found that 150,000 people would lose their jobs, but 700,000 people would be pulled out of poverty. As the passed bill was lower than $10.10, both numbers would be lower, but the ratio would remain about the same.

The economic definition of poverty is based on those who receive public assistance, which takes an economic toll on a state’s budget.

“If you are significantly reducing the amount of people on public assistance … that’s huge for not only for the quality of life improvement for (those people), it is also a significant decrease of a burden on the state,” Zemke said.

Public Policy Prof. Sandra

Danziger said she was also 420 Maynard St. pleased with the new increase, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 but hopes for a higher minimum www.michigandaily.com wage in the future.

“The Michigan minimum IAN DILLINGHAM SIMONNE KAPADIA wage increase will help many Editor in Chief Business Manager people and is an important step,” 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 itfdill@michigandaily.com simkapa@michigandaily.com Danziger said. “It is less than the federal call for $10.10 per hour and far less than a living wage.

And, it continues to treat tipped CONTACT INFORMATION workers unequally. Low wage Newsroom Office hours: work without either benefits or Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

734-763-2459 opt.3 opportunities to move up creates News Tips news@michigandaily.com long term economic insecurity.”

Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com On the contrary, EconomLetters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com or visit michigandaily.com/letters ics and Public Policy Prof. Alan Photo Department photo@michigandaily.com Deardorff said a significant Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com increase in minimum wage will Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com harm the national economy and Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Magazine statement@michigandaily.com boost unemployment. HowAdvertising Phone: 734-418-4115 ever, because the number has Department dailydisplay@gmail.com remained relatively low over the past few years, he does not see this increase as a threat.

“I’m not a big fan of the miniEDITORIAL STAFF mum wage, since if it is set too Stephanie Shenouda Managing Editor high, I do believe it will cause sshenoud@michigandaily.com more harm through unemShoham Geva Managing News Editor ployment than benefit through news@michigandaily.com increased wages of those who SENIOR NEWS EDITOR: Allana Akhtar remain employed,” Deardorff said. “But the current minimum Aarica Marsh Editorial Page Editor opinioneditors@michigandaily.com wage in the US is low enough that SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR: I don’t think that is a big concern, http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Michael Schramm and since it hasn’t risen for many years, it needs to be increased.”

Jake Lourim Managing Sports Editor

White and male, Google releases diversity data

SUDOKU EASY

4

1 9 3

1

8

3

1

7

3

9

6

6

3

6

3 8

2

5

6

4

3

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — In a groundbreaking disclosure, Google revealed how very white and male its workforce is — just 2 percent of its Googlers are black, 3 percent are Hispanic, and 30 percent are women.

The search giant said Wednesday that the transparency about its workforce — the first disclosure of its kind in the largely white, male tech sector — is an important step toward change. © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

“Simply put, Google is not puzzle by sudokusyndication.com where we want to be when it

4

7 NO SWEAT.

9 1

9

Females, Blacks and Latinos are a minority in Google engineering sector

2

7

comes to diversity,” Google Inc. senior vice president Laszlo Bock wrote in a blog.

The numbers were compiled as part of a report that major U.S. employers must file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Companies are not required to make the information public.

The gender divide is based on the roughly 44,000 people Google employed throughout the world at the start of this year.

The company didn’t factor about 4,000 workers at its Motorola Mobility division, which is being sold to China’s Lenovo Group for $2.9 billion. The racial data is limited to Google’s roughly 26,600 workers in the U.S as of August 2013.

Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!

sportseditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR: Daniel Feldman

Giancarlo Buonomo

Managing Arts Editor

gbuonomo@michigandaily.com SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Adam Theisen

Allison Farrand and Ruby Wallau

Managing Photo Editor

photo@michigandaily.com

Emily Schumer

Managing Design Editor

design@michigandaily.com

Meaghan Thompson

Managing Copy Editor

copydesk@michigandaily.com

The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published every Thursday during the spring and summer terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers.

Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate.

On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.

The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Research looks at new uses for T-rays Technology may be implemented in medical science

By CAROLYN GEARIG Managing Design Editor

Terahertz rays may be invisible to the human eye, but University research on these waves is spotlighting their possible uses, ranging from deciphering water content in a bodily tissue to detecting concealed weapons on a person to quality control in manufacturing.

T-rays, as they are called, are not as ubiquitous as other energies on the electromagnetic spectrum, like ultraviolet waves, which are used in barcodes, medical light therapy, DNA sequencing and other applications. However, a detector developed by Engineering Prof. Jay Guo and his research lab could allow T-rays to become more of a household necessity.

T-rays fall on the electromagnetic spectrum below infrared waves — energy that’s harnessed in things like remote controls and heat lamps that warm food — and visible light, which humans can see. They have shorter wavelengths and are of a higher energy than microwaves and radio waves.

Though T-rays have been difficult for engineers to study and to develop technologies around, Guo said their uses are quite varied.

“It is a scientifically rich frequency band and offers unique value for imaging, chemical identification and characterization of materials,” Guo wrote in an email.

PESCOVITZ From Page 1 es in her honor, including University Regent Shauna Ryder-Diggs (D-Grosse Pointe) and James Woolliscroft, dean of the University’s medical school.

Woolliscroft, praising Pescovitz’s legacy at UMHS, touched on her efforts to partner with other health systems, her work with the Regents and executive offices and her efforts to make her job as transparent as possible by starting a blog and Twitter page.

“Her example will leave a lasting impression on all of use here,”

Current T-ray detectors are difficult to work with because they are too cumbersome, need especially cold temperatures or are unable to work in real time. Guos’ transducer – a technology which, in essence, transforms one form of energy to another – eases this process by allowing for T-ray conversion into sound waves.

The transducer is composed of plastic and carbon nanotubes.

When T-rays reach the device, they are absorbed by the nanotubes and turned into heat energy. This energy is passed onto the plastic, which is called polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS for short. The PDMS expands and makes an ultrasound wave.

Researchers developed an ultrasound detector, a tiny plastic ring that is only a few millimeters wide. This detector has a response time of a fraction of a millionth of a second. Guo said this allows for real-time terahertz imaging most of the time.

“The low photon energy of terahertz radiation is biologically safe,” Guo wrote. “Therefore developing small and easy-to-operate terahertz components, including sources, waveguides, and detectors, would benefit both fundamental research and applications.”

While the team’s work is currently devoted to the development of a compact, sensitive and fast T-ray detector capable of operating in room temperature, Guo hopes they will be able to improve the sensitivity. Improved sensitivity can show video-rate imaging, opening doors for more uses and opportunities with T-rays.

Woolliscroft said. “And so I really think that Ora’s legacy is in the people, the impact here on each one of us.”

Pescovitz acknowledged the unique challenges the UMHS has faced over the course of her tenure, including the effects of the national healthcare reform, decreased federal funding for research, the growing competition among medical schools and the increasing difficulty for students to pay for a medical education. She said UMHS overcame these hurdles and emerged stronger due to the staff, students, faculty, trainees and volunteers that comprises the health system.

NEWS 3

Event blends art and science Artists paired with scientists to create pieces to support bio-med research

By IAN DILLINGHAM Editor in Chief

Smooth jazz played, cocktails were served and donors were schmoozed — all the appearances of a typically University fundraiser.

However, those gathered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit Thursday evening were engaging in something different, as physician-scientists from the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute paired with professional artists to create 11 pieces for the first-ever Evening of Art and Science event.

The pieces, all original works inspired by research being conducted at the institute, were used to raise funds for the institute and its scholars. After being paired with a scientist, each artist had the opportunity to tour the lab and learn about the work being done before creating the piece. In turn, several of the scientists trav-

COLEMAN From Page 1 citizens and our nations to flourish,” Coleman said in her recorded acceptance speech. “That is why, as president of the University of Michigan, I have led faculty delegations to develop partnerships with colleagues on three continents.”

According to a University press release, the number of undergraduate students who studied abroad doubled under Coleman’s presidency. Participation increased in underrepresented fields of study and programs in nontraditional and diverse locations.

Coleman also created partnerships at universities in Ghana, China, Rwanda, Brazil, South Africa and India. She made trips abroad during her tenure to promote engagement for international students. During her most recent visit to India she promoted the University of Michigan Health System’s partnership with the only freestanding trauma center

eled to the artists’ studios to learn more about the artistic process.

Ranging from paintings to sculptures to video displays, the art sought to encapsulate the nature of research through the exploration of a great number of media.

Some of the art, such as Koen Vanmechelen’s “Bio-Care” series, explored complex scientific principles. Vanmechelen, who was paired with Charles Burant, professor of internal medicine and molecular and integrative physiology, used a process called untargeted metabolomic profiling to create webs showcases the physiological similarities and differences between humans and other animals.

Other submissions, such as Aku Kadogo’s “Love Cancer” series, drew focus toward the human aspect of disease and health.

After being paired with Ronald Buckanovich, assistant professor of internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, Kadogo said she was moved by the love that he showed for his cancer patients.

She said her piece, a series of photographs of her in the brush, inspired by recent fires in Sydney, Australia, portrayed the “patient”

as a “warrior” in the fight against cancer.

“It was really a humbling and a flattering experience to have someone want to make art out of our science,” Buckanovich said.

“My patients will know they have terminal illness … and that is a really difficult thing to discuss and a lot of patients express that through art.”

The art pieces were available to attendees through auction or purchase, and were valued anywhere from $150 to $40,000. Prior to the art showcase, the Institute hosted an exclusive dinner, which provided some of the artists and scientists a chance to discuss the process with potential donors.

Artist Allie McGhee said he spent years as an abstract landscape painter before he decided he wanted to learn more about the science behind what made his subjects come to life.

“I got bored with the subject matter,” McGhee said. “I wanted to know more about my subject — what made trees what they are — so I started to look at the microworld … these are realities you can’t ignore.”

in India, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

“International education is important to sustaining the world,” Coleman said. “It delivers powerful rewards and I can know of no more important work than joining hands with other universities to transform lives with the power and promise of global knowledge.”

Students currently research in various countries preforming projects like diabetes research in Bolivia, the effects of television violence on emotions in Germany and aquaculture investigation in Vietnam.acceptance speech.

“That is why, as president of the University of Michigan, I have led faculty delegations to develop partnerships with colleagues on three continents.”

According to a University press release, the number of undergraduate students who studied abroad doubled under Coleman’s presidency. Participation increased in underrepresented fields of study and programs in nontraditional and diverse locations.

Coleman also created partnerships at universities in Ghana, China, Rwanda, Brazil, South Africa and India. She made trips abroad during her tenure to promote engagement for international students. During her most recent visit to India she promoted the University of Michigan Health System’s partnership with the only freestanding trauma center in India, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Students currently research in various countries preforming projects like diabetes research in Bolivia, the effects of television violence on emotions in Germany and aquaculture investigation in Vietnam.

“International education is important to sustaining the world,” Coleman said. “It delivers powerful rewards and I can know of no more important work than joining hands with other universities to transform lives with the power and promise of global knowledge.”

4 OPINION

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu IAN DILLINGHAM EDITOR IN CHIEF

AARICA MARSH EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

STEPHANIE SHENOUDA MANAGING EDITOR

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board.

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

FROM THE DAILY

Amending allocations Ann Arbor had both gains and lossses in its 2015 fiscal budget

L

ast Monday, the Ann Arbor City Council reviewed 17 amendments to the $334 million fiscal year 2015 city budget. The council voted to reallocate funds to numerous areas in need of assistance such as transportation, animal management, clean energy and affordable housing.

Unfortunately, efforts to redirect funds from the police force to drug rehabilitation assistance were thwarted with only two councilmembers voting in favor of the amendment. While the city council acted commendably by distributing much needed funds to road management, road repair and clean energy, failing to provide further provide resources to those suffering from substance abuse is a misstep on the council’s behalf.

The city council passed two separate road amendments that are slated to enhance the Ann Arbor community for both students and local residents. The first amendment places $75,000 into services for managing deer and other animals.

Michigan drivers experience 40,000-50,000 deer-vehicle collisions each year. These populations must be managed in order to promote the safety of residents. The second amendment proposes that city administrators outline a plan for alternative street repair funding. Given the consistent dissatisfaction with Ann Arbor roads coupled with the University’s bus services and commuting students, this amendment proves vital to enhancing an impactful facet of student life.

The council voted against an amendment that would invest $100,000 from the Affordable Housing Fund into a warming center for the homeless.

Recently, University students have worked to increase accessibility to affordable housing for students with lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

With the campus climate in support of cheaper housing, choosing to maintain the affordable housing budget could help provide students with more leverage in the conversation.

Furthermore, the council intends to expand warming shelters this winter with intent to discuss suggestions with community partners deterring negative impacts to the city’s homeless populations.

Unfortunately, the city council voted against an amendment to reallocate

$95,000 from police staffing toward programs that help prevent and treat addiction.

The amendment would have decreased the number of new police officers being added from three to two. Nine council members opposed the amendment, believing funds were better used towards a proactive police force and court-ordered treatment.

These beliefs, however, are seriously flawed. Crime rates in Ann Arbor are at historic lows while drug and alcohol use are higher than average for Washtenaw County adolescents.

Instead of focusing on patrolling citizens, Ann Arbor should help further fund addiction prevention for young residents and addiction treatment in order to the enhance the mental wellness of its citizens.

I

It’s time for action

’ll say it up front: I don’t like guns.

To be honest, I’m not sure if the sentiment was one that always existed, or if it rose up after various moments in my life.

The first time I noticed it was when my high school went under lockdown for over four hours due to a gun on the prem- HARLEEN ises that was never KAUR found. My body seized with fear as a SWAT team patrolled our roof and state police barged through doors without warning. The time I remember most vividly though, of course, is when a neoNazi man entered my childhood house of worship, the Oak Creek Gurdwara in Wisconsin, and killed six members of the community.

Since then, the sound of a gunshot, even if in a show, movie or musical, makes my heart stop. There had been moments, walking home at night in Ann Arbor, where I drove myself crazy convincing myself that any car that was driving by might try to shoot me. My fear was absolutely irrational and borderline insane.

Yet, there were times when I couldn’t find the logic to convince myself otherwise. I, in part due to the media and inaction on the part of United States politicians, had allowed gun violence to become normal, an expected part of daily life.

However, I’ve been able to reflect and realize the difference between a gun and the person behind it. I’ve seen that ignorance can lead to hate-driven violence, that our society accepts anger as a reaction to rejection, that some individuals are not given the proper care and facilities they need. However, most of all, I’ve seen and learned that there is not one blanket solution to mass shootings. Each shooter has had their own reasons for their actions, and although taking the lives of others is never justified, I think we have learned that simply limiting access to guns won’t be enough.

So, what’s the conversation we really need to have? Is it the way that the media

chooses to prostitute the coverage of certain shootings while completely ignoring others? Is it the assumptions that are made about a shooter based on the color of his skin? White man, mentally ill; brown man, terrorist. Is it the way that we use mental illness as an excuse for killing and suffering, as if all mental illnesses lead to deadly rampages? Or, most recently, why a man felt that a gun and the deaths of many individuals was the appropriate solution for his feelings of rejection?

All these conversations have happened, and yet, they’re still not the right one. Somehow, the mass shootings keep happening and we’ve yet to do anything to prevent another one. Our reality has become one of violence, death and excuses, even though our Constitution calls for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Without any real action or call for justice, this may just become the new “normal.”

Richard Martinez, the father of University of California, Santa Barbara shooting victim Chris Martinez, summed up the impatience of most of Americans as mass shootings become more and more common: “Don’t call me and tell me you’re sorry about my son’s death. I don’t want to hear it from you!

I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry about my son’s death, I don’t care if you’re sorry about my son’s death. You go back to Congress and you do something, and you come back to me and tell me you’ve done something, then I’ll be interested in talking to you.”

It’s time to stop accepting mass shootings as an everyday reality and question how our nation even got to this place to begin with. Allowing a person to carelessly end the lives of others should never be allowed, nor should it be a consideration for anyone.

And mostly, it’s time to stop pretending that we have no way to prevent these senseless murders. It was unbelievable after Columbine, it was heartbreaking after Sandy Hook and now, after the UCSB shooting, it’s absolutely absurd.

We’ve been waiting for action long enough, and it’s time that Congress finally answers the call.

Stop pretending we can’t prevent these murders.

— Harleen Kaur can be reached at harleen@umich.edu.

HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO SOCIAL LIFE WHATSOEVER?

Come to the Michigan Daily’s summer editorial board every Monday night at 7:30 (unless noted otherwise). Discuss local legislation, the University administration, state affairs, the superiority of certain dog breeds over others and various other issues!

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

JOHN WEEKS | VIEWPOINT

What is economics?

Does a growing federal debt threaten the credit rating of the U.S. government? Does the budget deficit cause inflation? Will a federal minimum wage of $10 an hour reduce employment?

Should you think that economics is a “hard science,” I remind you that when I was an economics graduate student at Michigan during the second half of the 1960s you were taught that the answers were (in order) “no,” “rarely” and “definitely not.” But today, the eponymous economics student, obeying the entreaty on the old graduate library to “be still and learn,” would enter on his iPad, “very likely,” “almost always” and “yes.”

In those bygone days of yesteryear, Michigan economics occupied the mainstream of the discipline — even more, was the bedrock of the mainstream — Keynesian for macroeconomics and neoclassical for microeconomics.

Michigan’s particular twist on this incompatible heterodox union was to treat macro as the serious part and micro as a hoop through which the neophyte economist must jump.

The difference between neoclassical economics and heterodox economics both then and now is how each defines the subject of the discipline. For the neoclassicals the “economic problem” is how to allocate scarce resources in face of unlimited demands. At Michigan in the 1960s, I learned quite a different definition of economics.

Before explaining the alternative, let’s pursue the implications of the scarce resources paradigm for the debate over the federal government’s budget deficit.

Because resources are scarce, a country lives beyond its means when its government runs deficits and goes into debt. The debt must be repaid from the scarce resources of the future. This is the deficit crisis in a nutshell; people and politicians foolishly allowing the government to mislead them into believing that a free lunch can be found in budget deficits. The world would be an easier place if resources were abundant and needs limited, but we must face reality. If we do not, the operations of markets will bring the reality of scarcity home to us. Markets guide the allocation of scarce resources to their best use and going against markets is a fool’s game.

A very large proportion of the adult population of the United States accepts this parable of scarce

means and unlimited needs even if innocent of the underlying theory.

Isn’t that what population growth and a limited earth add up to policies of austerity, for households or governments? Isn’t it no more than the consumption excesses of humans coming home to roost?

Actually, no. As I learned in the 1960s when an undergraduate at Texas and a graduate student at the University, the scarce-meansunlimited-needs story is not reality. It’s analytical construction that contradicts reality. Resources are not scarce. Economics is about the allocation of scarce resources among unlimited needs to the same extent that astronomy is the study of horoscopes.

The most important resource in any society is the laboring ability of its population. At the end of 2010, one of every 10 members of the U.S. labor force was unemployed, and by the latest statistics unemployment is still well above 6 percent. With this level of unemployment, we should not be surprised that utilization of production capacity is below 80 percent. Idle workers, idle factories and offices, and homes in Detroit and other cities standing empty and abandoned. Resources are scarce?

To put the matter simply, when something is in surplus, it is not scarce. I learned that bit of rocket science studying economics at Michigan. The remote possibility that resources could suffer from a shortage in the future does not make scarcity economics plausible. If society does not use all of its resources, there is no danger of running out. In most countries in most years, labor and the machinery to employ that labor are not scarce.

So what is the central economic problem in a market society? Not how to allocate scarce resources; we can be sure that is wrong. The central problem is how to use productively the resources available to society. Unregulated markets do not provide the solution to that problem. What, then, is the economics problem, in contrast to the alchemy of scarce resources? Economics is the study of how society brings its available resources into production, and distributes that production among its members.

John Weeks is a University alumni and Professor Emeritus of Economics, School of Oriental & African Studies at the University of London.

OPINION 5

Empowering student journalists Trigger warning: mental health issues and substance abuse There are so many things I find interesting (read: downright strange) about culture here in good old America.

The one that I really struggle with the most, VICTORIA though, is our NOBLE bizarre tendency to, for lack of a better word, baby young adults. It’s a sheltering mechanism as far as I can tell, which we use to protect youth from the massive, terrible problems of our world. But childhood isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either, and Americans kids have all sorts of problems unique to their age group and generation. Who should solve those problems? Why the kids, of course.

Too bad schools aren’t letting them. Instead of allowing students to openly discuss, the source of all truly decent solutions, difficult problems like adolescent mental health, academic stress, substance abuse and bullying remain wholly unsolved and partially unaddressed.

Herein lies the problem: all those adults contemplating these issues already made it through their teenage years. No wonder so many adults write them off as “part of growing up.” There’s a selection affect at work — those suffering the most can’t be part of the solution when the adults are in charge.

Madeline Halpert and Eva Rosenfeld, two students at an Ann Arbor high school, noticed that despite the fact about one in four American adults have a diagnosed mental disorder, it’s still difficult for so many to talk about, especially in high school. The absurd, illogical and damaging stigmatization silences personal stories on the subject. So, disconcerted with the absence of personal experience in the mental health discussion, Halpert and Rosenfeld strove to use their positions as managing editors at their high school newspaper to change the nature of the debate. The girls, with help from other members of staff, compiled the stories of several students’ mental health struggles including “prescription abuse, drug

addiction, insomnia … and mainly depression,” Halpert said in an interview with The Daily.

Awesome right? Here are two girls working to combat one of the deadliest problems facing their demographic. However, their school administration disagreed.

The dean of the school didn’t support the project, Halpert said.

“She didn’t want to risk student’s safety in any way. Our dean said that she talked to a mental health professional, who said that reading about depression could possibly trigger another occurrence of it,” she said.

Apparently they’ve never heard of trigger warnings.

Halpert and Rosenfeld wrote an opinion piece discussing their own struggles with depression and their school’s refusal to fight the stigma associated with the disorder, which the New York Times decided to publish.

Halpert and Rosenfeld wrote in their op-ed that they were “shocked” by their dean’s response, but I can’t say that I really am.

When I was in high school, a piece that I wrote was met with similar disapproval.

The article chronicled the explosive rise in student use of K2, a formerly legal synthetic marijuana substance that can cause severe, violent reactions in some users. I interviewed a student who gave a personal account of being high on the drug. I later found myself in the principal’s office, and eventually removed pieces of the article linking the student, and effectually the school, from the substance abuse problem. A year before I joined my high school’s paper, the same principal directed writers to remove personal accounts from a story about student depression.

Prior review and restraint is more common than many realize. Supreme Court decisions on Tinker v. Des Moines and Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier expressly allow school administrators the option of prior review and prior restraint. But, by overextending this power, school officials are silencing student voices.

I identify with Halpert and Rosenfeld. They tried to do what educators, public health advocates and even this opinion section have

called for: opening the discussion about difficult student health issues. The American media has a gross tendency to wrap the high school experience up in pretty paper, marketing partying clichés to the public. But, for many students, this could not be further from their felt reality. The dissonance between what students feel at, or caused by, school and what they are shown by countless media messages can make students feel even more depressed, abnormal and alone.

Because the propensity to misrepresent is so large, student media has the obligation to correct the inaccurate characterizations of their experience. High school is different for everybody, yet, in a way, common threads — both light and dark — run through the student experience. If a student athlete were injured on the field, I doubt that administrators would forbid the school newspaper from covering it. But if that same person were to reveal they suffered from depression?

The quotes, anecdotes and emotion would be severely restrained at my old high school and so many others like mine.

Through this double standard, high school officials contribute to the horrifying mental health stigma that their students have their courage and will to solve.

More importantly, schools need to prepare students to think independently and challenge the tenants of society. Prior review obliterates student responsibility, their ability to challenge power relations and lead discussion on issues at their school. If we don’t allow and encourage this type of engagement in high schools, what kind of adults can we expect these students to become? Student journalism is undeniably a venue for promising discussion. It’s an important outlet to open and set the tone for so many other forums. High school is more than academic preparation. Students should graduate with deepened understanding and empathy for the broad array of difficulties that others may face.

High school is more than academic preparation.

— Victoria Noble can be reached at vjnoble@umich.edu.

6 ARTS

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM REVIEW

TV REVIEW

‘Mad Men’ wraps up The real side

of ‘Palo Alto’

By ANDREW MCCLURE Daily Arts Writer

AMC

Jon Hamm as Don Draper

Mid-season finale ties up some loose ends but looks to the future

Cooper’s final song and dance, but we’ll get to that later).

“Mad Men” has never been shy in emphasizing the parallels between Don Draper and his proBy MADDIE THOMAS tégé Peggy, but in “Waterloo” the Daily TV/New Media Editor baton is finally officially passed.

The war-like title easily could’ve With a title like “Waterloo,” signaled Don Draper’s last hoorah you’d have expected “Mad Men” (especially now that Peggy’s offi’s mid-season finale to be a grim cial rise to greatness is secure). affair. A quick Google search (or Instead, Matt Weiner erred — actual knowledge of history, I uncharacteristically — on the side guess) could inform its meaning: of hopeful, further indicating that, Napoleon’s batshockingly enough, maybe Don’s tle at Waterloo, professional life isn’t really what Aand the loss of “Mad Men” is all about. And maybe his political and Mad Men Don Draper isn’t metaphorically military power.

Napoleon after all.

With that con- Season 7A Our real fallen hero is none text, you come in Finale other than the late, great, Bert expecting a war, Cooper, whose death is both a realAMC a turning point ity check for Roger and a poignant Sundays at 10 p.m. and a fallen hero. choice for an episode all about “Waterloo” does giant leaps into the future. The have all three, but moon landing is a definitive turncertainly not in ing point in this final season (and, the way you would’ve guessed. of course, in real U.S. history) and Much like the season’s first epi- as “Mad Men” continues to plunge sode, “Waterloo” opened with a toward the 70’s, it makes sense that countdown. As predicted in The the oldest partner, who is a relic Michigan Daily’s weekly “Mad from another era in his own right, Men” recaps the moon landing gets left behind. But the dark cloud was the centerpiece of this epi- of death cast over this episode sode, which was packed with big was soft-shoed away by a charmplot points and even bigger power ing song-and-dance routine from plays. Most notable was Peggy’s Robert Morse in “Waterloo” ’s final own giant leap — her stunning moments, leaving us with a smiling Burger Chef pitch will go down reminder that “the best things in in history as one of “Mad Men” ’s life are free.” greatest scenes (along with Bert The death of a partner and a

shake-up in the agency’s ownership are both plot points that have been explored previously in “Mad Men” ’s seven seasons, just seen through a new lens. With these decisions, Weiner subconsciously reminds us of the “Mad Men” of days past before sending us hurtling off toward a new frontier. Rewatching the pilot episode, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” it’s astonishing how far the decade has taken these characters. Peggy went from a naïve secretary to a high-powered ad exec. The Don Draper who was a pathological liar and womanizer has transformed into a humble sage. Pete used to have a full head of hair! “Mad Men” tricks us in the way real time does: it goes so slowly when you’re in it, but seems so fast when it’s over.

The first half of “Mad Men” ’s final season wrapped up Don’s work dilemmas neatly and elegantly, and when it returns for its final run next year, there’s nowhere to go but deeper. Don will have to face his personal downfalls head on. Megan has moved on and Betty now thinks of him as “an old, bad boyfriend.” Don needs to learn who he is without his work, because as of now, without his work he’s a wreck. Before the elevator doors close on Don Draper’s story, he’ll either have to learn to adjust, or get left behind trying, because that’s what this show is about: coming to grips with change. (Also, spontaneous dance numbers.)

For many, Palo Alto, the international technology hub nestled in the hills of Northern California, connotes little more than AZuckerberg-ized jargon: applica- Palo Alto tions, virginal Tribeca Film coders, ideation, the new Wall Playing at Main Street. It owns a Art Theater distinctive attitude, one that creates “benefit” for a select few while wearing wrinkled denim to work. But this misses entirely what 99.9% of Palo Alto residents, teens and grown-ups alike, yearn for, struggle with, and are comforted by. Rookie director Gia Coppola takes what James Franco started in his short story collection and crafts a beautiful picture in “Palo Alto” that asks the hard questions about youth and adulthood — and how they’re both equally fucked.

High-schooler April (Emma Roberts, “Adult World”) is a hot virgin adored by her wink-winky varsity soccer coach (James Franco, “This Is the End”). Her virgin-ness is apparent in the way she, every day after practice, strips down to a light blouse and bra and fabricates dialogue with boys (or her soccer coach). Her dysfunctional family doesn’t help her anxiety. Her mom is a “cool mom”, one that’s dumb and faketitted and fake-everything else.

Her stepdad (Val Kilmer, “Standing Up”) smokes a lot of pot and rewrites April’s English papers that “need some work.” Through it all, April’s affinity for a boy her own age never wanes.

Teddy (first-timer Jack Kilmer), conversely, is not a virgin but is challenged in other departments: discipline, getting high, and hanging out with his best friend-worst influence Fred (Nat Wolff, “Admission”). Fred tries “so hard to seem crazy,” according to Teddy, yet manages to rope in Teddy whenever naughty shit happens. Akin to April, Teddy’s divorcee mom has a store-bought

body and a narrow vernacular while his prepubescent little sister is already experimenting with stripper-height heels. Aren’t we all just fucked? In any case, April and Teddy share a subtle desire to glow positively in this superficial abyss of hormones, slut-shame, and existential confusion.

The film wins many times over.

Its naturalistic dialogue (Fred: “Fuck ‘good.’ Live a dangerous life.”), its quirks (April and her coach’s son throw on animal masks before watching a movie), and its of-the-moment feel. Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers” captured this millennial moment well, but in a hedonistic context.

“Palo Alto” seeks this same millennial truth but by way of subur-

Even California millionaires have serious problems ban life devoid of any idealism.

During a bedroom sex scene, the lens focuses on the angelic glass menagerie from a girl’s childhood instead of sweaty flesh.

Millennials, spoiled and numbed by technology, are so quick to “adopt” adulthood that they blindly enter worlds darker than expected. Coppola reassures us, adolescence nor adulthood is the final destination. In fact, being present might be your best bet.

The ace performances make the film a real treat. Franco is very creepy, Roberts’s vulnerability shines, both Kilmers emote compellingly stoic personas and even up-and-comer Zoe Levin (“The Way Way Back”) evolves and matures wonderfully throughout.

It’s nice and comfy to think that these multimillionaires out in Palo Alto have cute, cookiecutter families, too. As the sage says: more money, more problems.

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM REVIEW

‘X-Men ’ hit reset button

TV REVIEW

‘Hannibal’

By CHLOE GILKE Daily Arts Writer

20TH CENTURY FOX

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Refreshing update of long-running superhero series

By JAMIE BIRCOLL Daily Film Editor

It’s difficult to believe the “X-Men” film franchise is nearly 14 years old — that’s a lot of time to tell a lot of stories, and to make a lot of poor story-telling decisions. In fact, B+ it seemed the franchise was X-Men: taking its last Days of creative breaths Future Past with “X-Men: First Class.” But At Rave and “X-Men: Days of Quality 16 Future Past” is a testament to the 20th Century Fox tenaciousness of comic-book creativity, as it delivers an exciting yet intimate and engaging superhero flick.

The task at hand is a great one as “Future Past” serves both as sequel, prequel and time-travel reset button. Credit is due to returning director Bryan Singer (“Jack the Giant Slayer”) and writer Simon Kinberg (“Sherlock Holmes”) for taking an otherwise elusive plot and laying it out on screen to nearly perfect accord.

The film opens with a glimpse of the future, where Terminatorlike Sentinels patrol the world to hunt down mutants and humans with a chance of passing on mutant

genes. The remaining X-Men (some from movies past, others undoubtedly to be seen in movies to come) fight a losing war for survival. In a last ditched effort to alter their present, they send the consciousness of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, “The Wolverine”) into the body of his younger self in a Vietnam Warweary America.

After this brief introduction with some of your favorite X-Men and a display of superhero prowess that would make The Avengers jealous, the film shifts to 1973, where Wolverine must track down and reunite a reeling, alcoholic Professor Xavier (James McAvoy, “Filth”) with former friend Magneto (Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”). The two continue to wage their intellectual war over the role of mutants among the human race; only this time they do so in a fight for the soul of Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”), whose actions are responsible for the horrible future to come.

The film focuses heavily on the inner struggle of the telepathic Professor X: a struggle with the Vietnam War, a struggle with the loss/deaths of his friends and fellow mutants and a struggle with his own handicap as a paraplegic and as a mutant. And he does see his gifts as a handicap — as he descends into his own depression, he feels the pain of those around him through his telepathy, magnetizing his own inner demons in the process. Magneto, by contrast, represents sheer confidence in his powers and the superiority of mutants over humans, and yet he

knows it is that very confidence that paralyzed his friend Xavier.

Both men, though, are committed in their respective resolves.

The wild card here is Mystique, caught between two diametrically opposed ideologies with only her sense of personal justice to guide her.

Lawrence, blue-skinned, speaking English, French and Vietnamese and kicking ass like no one’s business, ups her game to really dig into Mystique’s own conflicts.

Rather than just blow stuff up, the film is more concerned with character and soul-searching: and that is why it succeeds. The action set pieces are effective but kept at a minimum, and fistfights comprise the bulk of the fighting rather than mutant displays of unhinged power.

The result is more realistic and, frankly, more visually appealing —CGI can only get you so far. The A-list cast, not to mention a scenestealing performance from Evan Peters (“Kick-Ass”) as Quicksilver, tops off this superhero extravaganza.

So much of this film is about righting wrongs: those done to friendships, to oneself and, perhaps most importantly, to audiences who watched the monstrosity that is “X-Men: The Last Stand.” But it’s also about the restoration of hope in oneself (and the franchise). “Days of Future Past” is a smart superhero film with something to say, whose implications open the X-Men universe to greater continuity and cohesion; the future of the X-Men is a bright one indeed. Who would’ve thought a reset button could be so poignant?

ARTS 7

“Hannibal” is never easy to watch.

The deliberate crawl of its pacing, the contained performances and the unexpected gasps of brutal violence (the season’s penultimate episode featured a man tearing off and eating his own nose) combine to create A monstrous horror.

This season, we’ve Hannibal followed broken Season Two hero Will Graham from imprison- Finale ment to freedom NBC, and watched him stumble back Fridays at 10 p.m. under Hannibal Lecter’s awful manipulation. Their showdown was inevitable, but “Hannibal” stretches anticipation to its breaking point.

Season two finale “Mizumono” does not disappoint. It’s unflinching tragedy, and arguably the best hour of the series to date.

Instead of providing answers to some of the season’s burning questions, “Mizumono” raises new questions of its own. Will’s motivations and loyalties have become inscrutable, as he weighs the opinions of Jack and Hannibal on equal footing.

Hugh Dancy (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”) plays Will with a new fervency that is all the more disturbing considering his mental instability.

The episode’s opening scene conveys this with stunning visual clarity — dreamily jumbled close-ups of conversation with his therapist and his mentor. Will can’t keep his loyalties straight.

But the drama isn’t all psychological. The centerpiece of the episode is a nightmare dinner party, flawlessly designed by Hannibal to provide himself the perfect escape. Of course, Hannibal’s plan is to kill all of the attendees and leave them bleeding out while he enjoys champagne on a flight to France. The typical composure of Dr. Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen, “Casino Royale”) is thrown to the wind, as he kicks off the meal with a gritty fight. The show finally catches up to the kitchen battle between Jack and Hannibal, but this time around, it’s more devastating than exciting. Jack is unprepared and stumbling, biding his time with punches until Hannibal deals the deciding blow. Mortally wounded,

Jack phones his beloved Bella one last time (just to twist the knife).

Jack’s character has been rather flat compared with the endless depth of Will Graham, but Laurence Fishburne is at his best when portraying Jack’s doomed stoicism.

The big reveal of murder prodigy Abigail Hobbs is particularly unsettling, especially given her familial relationship with Hannibal and Will. Their surrogate daughter is still alive, but under Hannibal’s tutelage, she has blossomed from a troubled teen to a cold killer. When she pushes kind-hearted Alana Bloom through a window to her death, it serves a chilling mirror of Will’s own situation — he too is on the brink of becoming a monster.

But, when Will sees Alana’s lifeless body on the ground and learns the extent of Hannibal’s manipulation of Abigail, he switches back to protec-

Horrifying yet so enjoyable. tor mode. Sadly, it’s too little, too late, as Hannibal moves to add Will to the body count.

Of the three near-deaths, Will’s is most touching. As he lies bleeding out, slain with the same tool used to kill Abigail, Hannibal delivers a monologue about the merits of forgiveness and playing God. He redeems himself to Will, the puppet who proved himself a formidable friend. Will didn’t accept the “rare gift” that Hannibal offered, but it’s okay, because he forgives Will of his sins. Will comes back from the dark side, but his last words indicate that it was Hannibal’s plan all along.

With three main characters bleeding out in Hannibal’s home and the grandmaster fleeing the scene, the future of “Hannibal” is uncertain. Like last season’s ender (in which Will was wrongly imprisoned), we close with open-ended tragedy. Everyone with a lead on Hannibal’s guilt is incapacitated, while the murderer gets away scot-free. “Hannibal” is gripping, unapologetically dark television — unafraid to explore the depths of psychological evil while dealing a fatal blow to the good guys.

8 SPORTS

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

FILM COLUMN

Classifieds HAPPY THURSDAY! Enjoy the Sudoku on page 2 RELEASE DATE– Thursday, May 29, 2014

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Chain named for two oceans 6 Diet guru Jenny 11 Slender slider 14 Patch plant 15 Cuban dance 16 “The Lead With Jake Tapper” airer 17 *Aperture 19 __ polloi 20 Suffix with Senegal 21 First American to orbit Earth 22 Oak product ... or source 24 *Words said between courses 26 Email again 29 Pie perch 30 Seed-bearing organ 31 Many a preadolescent 34 Hiker’s reference 37 Southernmost Ivy 38 Game where the ends of the answers to starred clues are commonly heard 39 Bean used in falafel 40 Call off 41 Underground anchors 42 Turning part 43 Mine find 45 Like some partners 46 *It can be a painful reminder 51 Atelier fixture 52 Mission where Jim Bowie fell 53 Hub WNW of LAS 56 Mohawked muscleman 57 *Sister’s symbol 60 In the infirmary 61 Hold water 62 Maudlin 63 Lao-__ 64 Irritable 65 Fast-growing school’s need, perhaps DOWN 1 Seaman descriptor

2 God with a vulture symbol 3 Diamond group 4 Trial VIPs 5 Scion 6 Walk on tiptoe 7 Like noses, at times 8 Kind of acid in proteins 9 Hebrew : Ben :: Arabic : __ 10 First Russian to orbit Earth 11 *Part of a class act 12 Stock market giant?

13 Confident way to solve crosswords 18 Earnestly appealed 23 Grey Cup org.

24 “Show Boat” composer 25 Takes advantage of 26 It’s often skipped 27 __ number 28 *Place to see shell decorations 31 Nevertheless, informally 32 Slippery, perhaps 33 Pothook shape

35 Skin So Soft seller 36 Barbershop division?

38 Future stallion 39 Traditional genre 41 Gives a tonguelashing 42 Cannoli cheese 44 World Cup cheer 45 One usually keeping to the right

46 Send in 47 British nobles 48 Barbecue venues 49 Influence 50 Half-woman, halfbird monster 53 Bridge 54 Blaze 55 Jet-black gemstone 58 Flowery composition 59 Kyoto currency

Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

PARKING

“PRIME” PARKING FOR SALE 2014-15 Great Locations: 721 S. Forest $1500 1320 S. University $1500 326 E. Madison~1 Pass $960 515 E. Lawrence $720 511 Hoover $720 508 S. Division $600 Parking for less than the rest!

Call 734-761-8000

SUMMER PARKING BEHIND 420 Maynard St. $100/Mo. Call 734-418-4115 ext.1246

FOR RENT

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: ! NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm. ! ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! ! www.HRPAA.com ! !!LG. RMS., Hill St. off State. Prkg.

For Male. $525/mo. 845-399-9904

xwordeditor@aol.com

05/29/14

*LIMITED APARTMENTS LEFT* Don’t miss out, get $800 in FREE RENT. Hurry in! This special can end anytime...

University Towers www.universitytowers-mi.com 536 S. Forest Ave. 734-761-2680 *on select units*

8 MONTH LEASE for a Limited Time Rent a two bedroom remodeled apartment for 8 months.

Call or email us today before they’re all gone. 734-761-2680 www.universitytowers-mi.com

By David Steinberg (c)2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

05/29/14

ARBOR PROPERTIES Award-Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2014.

734-994-3157. www.arborprops.com

CENTRAL CAMPUS, FURNISHED rooms for students, shared kitch., ldry., bath., internet, summer from $400, fall from $575. Call 734-276-0886.

FURN. 1 BDRM. apt. for a male U M grad student contact (734) 665-8292

STUDIO’S ONLY $1,195.00! *ONLY a Few Left* www.universitytowers-mi.com 536 S. Forest Ave. 734-761-2680

SERVICES THESIS EDITING. LANGUAGE, organization, format. All Disciplines.

734/996-0566 or writeon@iserv.net

Cynics and X-Men The first draft of this column opened with a phrase resembling the preachings of an unhinged cultist or, more accurately, Richard Simmons: The Cinephile Version. A TI-89 calculator, a pompous little notepad, muted mumbling, giddy giggling — all sealed together in a polished, AKSHAY plastic coat of SETH enthusiasm to form: ‘It’s been 168 hours, 37 minutes and 12 seconds since “X-Men: Days of Future Past” debuted at midnight screenings across America. Since Brian Singer changed the world. Since I became a man …’

It was bad. I hadn’t just boarded the hype train — it had barreled through me, screeched to a halt, backed over my lifeless, flattened corpse before sliding open its doors to let Colossus hop out of the conductor’s cabin and stomp me further into the ground with his size 18, steel-clad feet.

Pancaked underneath this idyllic state of fanboy fervor, I lay there. I clung to fond memories of Quicksilver waltzing through blissful slow-mo, humming along to Jim Croce’s “Time In A Bottle”, until finally, A.O. Scott’s unnecessarily massive forehead tunneled out of the earth to scrape me off those train tracks and back to reality.

I don’t like A.O. Scott. He has his moments; he’s one of the chief film critics at The New York Times and holding that job, he’s thereby guaranteed a significant chunk of haters who consider him an extension of the stuffy arrogance that has for so long defined movie critic stereotypes — a Harvard-educated white dude leaning forward in a cinema hall seat with Legal Pad in reach. His mouth is agape, one hand touching his forehead as if in preparation to shoot some Cyclops-style, face-melting rays of critical thought. All the while, of course, being paid to come up with snarky remarks or comment on a film’s philosophical, formal-

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

istic, quiescent thingamajigness.

Before writing this column, I made a rookie mistake, doing the first and only thing that should be avoided while preparing to word-vomit about any particular film, let alone what I already considered Singer’s masterpiece.

I read Scott’s review. At the time, it seemed like a carefully reasoned decision — even that crotchety old shit had to have liked this 130-minute dedication to every. single. thing that made comic-book adaptations great. The heavy-hearted performances. The explosions. That sexy retroactive continuity (retcon for the geeks). And the ’70s, baby, *softer voice* the ’70s. This film had it all — there was no possible way whatsoever that his review could be anything less than fawning. All I wanted was to check what kind of Wolverine jokes the highbrows at The New York Times thought would work.

‘Was the word “bub” used at all?’

But my boy Scott and his forehead never fail to disappoint.

It was like being lowered headfirst into a chilling tub of liquefied Macklemore albums, every desperate gasp for breath a disappointing confirmation of my willingness to overlook simplicity just so I could buy into this superficial, bandwagon mentality. Was I really too stupid to pick apart the obvious plot-holes?

All the ham-fisted imagery — anchored around Magneto’s dizzying display of power in lifting the entirety of RFK Stadium and dumping it at President Nixon’s feet, thus setting the stage for our climax — was I wrong in reacting by silently mouthing “symbolism, bitches” at the theater?

Being a film critic, however fledgling, should I have seen it as the “gratuitous, imaginationdeficient grandstanding” that Scott described? I stayed up half the night thinking about it, tossing and turning in a boiling vat of existential doubt thicker than Toad’s adhesive spit. But then something occurred to me.

I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and haven’t thought about Scott since.

Forehead never grew up watching these films. To him, feeling Spidey slow down time just to avoid a bully’s punches will never register on the same, personal level it would for someone of our generation because, plainly put, he wasn’t nine years old when he saw it happen. He wasn’t being bullied when he

saw it happen. Witnessing Peter Parker so forcibly turn the tables on his tormentors was more than just cathartic escapism or a thrilling experience: It was a way for me to hope that maybe, one day, if I played to my own strengths, things could get better.

And looking past all the timetraveling super soldiers, firebreathing robots and imposing, intertwined plotlines, there’s a blip of silence in the realization that “Days of Future Past” is grounded on this same basic, human concept — pain, no matter how unbearable, compels hope.

This franchise is unique. It’s 14 years old, the longest running sequential film series of its kind that hasn’t diverged from where it took originated. “The

Superheroes still matter to those who grew up with them.

Avengers” had an added benefit of 120-minute lead-ins dedicated to specific characters before the suits behind the curtains dared bring those stand-alone heroes together under a single banner.

Pulling it off required a lot of forced manufacturing on the part of Papa Joss. So despite the final product featuring some of the best entertainment Hollywood has or will ever produce, at least in this genre, we spent the entire film hammering away at an admittedly mundane “if we don’t work together, we’re fucked” mentality in order to make sure a road for future sequels/prequels was secure.

“X-Men” raises the stakes.

It’s a thinly coated critique of our society’s inability to accept the unknown, but for once (and I’m talking about more than just comic-book adaptations here), presented almost exclusively through the eyes of the victims, the minority. Underneath that coat lies a deep, roiling anger.

This is an anger I, along with many other people of color, understand: One which, for so long, I’ve struggled to come to terms with. But watching it projected, fully realized on a giant vinyl screen — used to puppeteer a man who can lift an entire sta-

dium — means I’m not alone or helpless, that others understand.

The series derives its inspirations from The Holocaust — its main antagonist is a survivor, molded into rage-stricken monstrosity by the merciless brutality he faced as a child at the hands of his Nazi captors. Yet, the jargon he uses to justify his calls for a mutant rebellion is lifted directly from Hitler’s own philosophy of a single, exceptional race, destined to inherit Earth from its less-evolved oppressors. The crucial difference, of course, is that Magneto is right. Mutants, with their abundance of superhuman abilities, and a knack for so poignantly inf luencing history, can be construed as the homo sapiens to the humans’ homo neanderthalensis. But should that truth vindicate violence, even if it is in the name of retribution, even though its justification shares roots with the thinking of a madman? If not intriguing, it’s an essential question, and ultimately, the reason why this particular series continues to remain so timeless — words not typically thrown around when discussing comic book characters.

The cynicism that so often meets these films is presented in sentences such as “So much has already been done, so much is supposedly demanded by fans, that any given installment in a multi-sequel enterprise can feel like the hysterical pursuit of diminishing returns. In the case of ‘Days of Future Past,’ the plot is as overelaborate and muddled as some of the effects.”

An unbiased perspective might confirm a lot of truth in these words. And above all, it’s worth noting that this cynicism is cyclic in nature, incubating inside each of us until we too reach a point in our lives where we can’t or are unwilling to emotionally relate, from a firstperson perspective, to some of the art we examine. Until that time comes, I’m not budging. I’ll lie here, pancaked in this dreamworld of Quicksilvers and Magnetos. So I can stay naïve. So I can hope.

Seth is still thinkng about A.O Scott’s forehead. To chat, e-mail akse@umich.edu.

ARTS 9

WEEKEND R O U NDUP TASTE OF ANN ARBOR SUNDAY, JUNE 1 FROM 11 A.M. TO 5 P.M. FOOD 50¢ TO $4

B.B. KING AT THE MICHIGAN THEATER SUNDAY, JUNE 1 AT 7:30 P.M. TICKETS $35 TO $60 Very few artists can claim to have influenced The Rolling Stones, U2, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and countless other legends. Out of those few, how many are still touring?

Perhaps just one: B.B. King.

The 88 year old (yes, that’s correct) bluesman brings his vast experience, talent and his guitar (affectionately known as “Lucille”) to the Michigan Theater on Sunday. Estimated to have played over 15,000 live shows in his lifetime, King’s unique style of guitar playing and his status as a revered elder statesman in the music world are sure to make the concert a special, enlightening experience.

His songs, having been through so many years and variations, carry a weight of importance that’s impossible to understand unless heard from a master in a live setting. Take in an essential piece of music history — and someone who’s still currently a fantastic live performer — this Sunday downtown.

Most Ann Arborites are familiar with Restaurant Week, the semi-annual event in January and June where participating restaurants offer prix-fixe menus for a week, often at more affordable prices than usual. This Sunday, the annual Taste of Ann Arbor event will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Main Street, acting as a sort of "Restaurant Day" to the upcoming Restaurant Week from June 22-27. At Taste of Ann Arbor, restaurants — 39 this year — will set up stands on Main Street offering samples of their cuisine.

The entrants registered by the Main Street Area Association this year represent the diversity of cuisines and dining establishments that Ann Arbor offers, from Whole Foods Market and Buffalo Wild Wings to Shalimar and Cafe Felix.

However, Taste of Ann Arbor isn't just about the free samples; it's a full-blown competition. A team of judges, including Mayor John Hieftje, will award prizes to entrants for their food. Past categories have included Best Appetizer, Best Entree, and Best Dessert, as well as a People's Choice Award and a Best of Show Award, which was won by Arbor Brewing Company last year. In addition to the food, there will also be live music on Bank of Ann Arbor’s Sonic Lunch stage, provided by Bennett, The Rolling Jays, Kate Peterson of Nervous But Excited, Abigail Stauffer, Dave Menzo & The Cave of Wonders and Chris DuPont.

10 SPORTS

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Nine years later: Blanchard’s dream

By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor

Sixty feet. Besides about 1,000 miles down to Tallahassee, Fla. for the Super Regionals, Caitlin Blanchard’s journey took her around the country for weekend tournaments and on countless drives to Ann Arbor in between.

Now, she found herself at third base in the deciding game of the Super Regional, 60 feet away from scoring, giving Michigan the lead and continuing her dream.

Blanchard followed the 2005 Michigan softball team, the first team east of the Mississippi River to win the national championship.

That dream was years in the making, and since that team got its happy ending, Blanchard has wanted one of her own. The daughter of two Michigan graduates, she grew up in nearby Petersburg, Mich., coming to Michigan softball games all the time and dreaming that it would be her on Alumni Field one day.

But growing up in a town with a population of just over 1,000, those opportunities aren’t easy to find.

Though she starred on her high school team and worked her way up to better travel teams as often as she could, she was rarely noticed by big schools.

Not until Blanchard arrived in Ann Arbor did she realize that there were players who were offered full scholarships almost on the spot. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It was definitely difficult to get noticed, but I kind of like the fact that I knew what Michigan softball was all about coming into it,”

Blanchard said on April 9. “I have a shirt signed by the 2005 national championship team. Other people, they don’t know who the players on that team were, whereas I kind of idolized them.”

Several Michigan players have said that the program has tested them in ways they’ve never been tested before, that this is the hardest part of their careers. For Blanchard, getting here was no easy task, either.

It took years of hard work, an intense desire and an element of chance. Then, she got the chance to live the dream she had watched play out five years earlier. *** Ironically, Blanchard had to travel across the country to get noticed by coaches who worked at a school 30 miles from her house.

She played for a handful of different teams over the years, in front of too many colleges to count, but there was only one she ever wanted to play for.

People sometimes use the term “dream” as a cliché, but for Blanchard, coming to Michigan was just that. When she caught a pitching lesson taught by Jennie Ritter, who led the Wolverines to the 2005 national championship with five wins in the Women’s College World Series, she was awestruck. When Michigan coach Carol Hutchins called her the first time to tell her she was interested, Blanchard said she almost passed out.

Eventually, Hutchins offered Blanchard the chance to join the

team as a walk-on, but there was one more roadblock to overcome — paying tuition.

Blanchard’s grandparents answered the bell, agreeing to pay her tuition and allowing her to fulfill her dream.

“When they told me that news,” Blanchard said, “I almost had a heart attack.”

On a team stocked with AllAmericans who had chosen Michigan over several other top schools, Blanchard became a regular. This year, she hit behind sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero, who batted almost .500 and was a National Player of the Year finalist.

One of the best in program history, Blanchard was not. A formidable hitter to protect Romero, she was.

“I’m not a Sierra Romero,” Blanchard said.

“There’s not the pressure of, you have to hit 20 home runs this year. I can just go up to the plate and do my own thing for the team, and normally it works out.”

In many cases this year, Blanchard’s job was to punish teams that decided not to pitch to Romero, and more often than not, she came through.

Trailing 1-0 on April 19 against Minnesota, the Wolverines needed some offense, having lost 1-0 the night before. With two on, the Golden Gophers walked Romero to load the bases. And Blanchard made them pay, lacing a three-run double to the gap.

“Caitlin is what we call a gamer,” Hutchins said on April 9. “Caitlin has been hitting in the middle of the lineup for a long time because she’s clutch. She thrives under pressure. … She doesn’t make more of it than it is. Those kids do well. They stay consistent because they’re not caught up in the surroundings.”

For years, schools around the country overlooked Blanchard, including her dream school. But years after she found Michigan, Michigan finally found her. *** In the end, Blanchard came to Michigan for the same kind of fairytale ending the Wolverines earned in 2005. In her first three seasons, seasons that each included Big Ten championships and NCAA Tournament appearances, that dream eluded her.

So she came back for one more run at it. When the Wolverines started the NCAA Tournament in Tempe, Ariz. against No. 8 seed Arizona State,

“When they told me that news, I almost had a heart attack.”

the dream seemed unlikely. But Michigan won the regional, thanks in part to a go-ahead two-run homer by Blanchard in the first of two elimination games against the Sun Devils.

Michigan loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh inning of a tie game last Friday night. Blanchard moved up to third with two outs on a fielder’s choice.

But she was stranded there, and then things went downhill: In the bottom half, Florida State hit a walk-off two-run home run to end Blanchard’s career.

Blanchard was playing first base during that shot, and she watched it clear the left-field fence easily. She walked toward the dugout after the game and stood there, speechless.

Was it really over? Nine years, nine NCAA Tournaments and seven Big Ten championships after she watched Hutchins’ team win the national championship, would she really never put on a Michigan uniform again?

When the 2005 team won the national title, it sparked an invincible dream inside Blanchard.

She never got the fairytale ending she always sought. But then again, maybe she was living it all along.

$1 Off Any Smoothie Limit One offer per customer with coupon.

Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Valid at Barry Bagels Ann Arbor location ONLY. Barry Bagels Westgate Shopping Center 2515 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734) 662-2435 www.barrybagels.com

Expires: June 5, 2014

RUBY WALLAU/Daily

Caitlin Blanchard’s dream was always to play softball for Michigan.

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The walk off T

ALLAHASSEE, Fla. — By the time Florida State rushed MAX the field to BULTMAN celebrate its Women’s ColOn Softball lege World Series berth, there was nothing more Michigan could do.

Courtney Senas, the Seminoles’ lightning-rod center fielder from Wahiawa, Hawaii, hit a two-run walk-off home run, and there was no bringing it back. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins always asks her team to keep fighting, but now there were no more battles to fight.

All that was left for the Wolverines to do was watch Senas leap in the air before touching first, then see her move into a dead sprint toward home, then try to collect themselves walking off the field for the toughest moments in all of sports.

When a season ends, inevitably, so does a career, or two, or six.

For outfielders Lyndsay Doyle and Nicole Sappingfield, Senas’ home run meant they would never again start the game in the outfield, where they’ve played togeth-

er for their entire careers.

For designated player Taylor Hasselbach, no more home runs that make everyone in the stadium wonder how she didn’t play more often early in her career.

For first baseman Caitlin Blanchard, she was now just an alumnus of the program she has followed since long before Hutchins invited her to be a part of it. To Brandi Virgil, the tworun shot meant her days pinchrunning were done, and for Katie Luetkens, it was time to christen a new leader of The Bench Mob. Looking back, Hasselbach had her chances with the bases loaded.

Virgil could have been called safe instead of out on a tag at home in the fifth inning, and Blanchard was stuck watching from third in the seventh.

But that wasn’t important once reality sunk in. Hutchins said she was proud of her team’s heart, and from a coach like her, she meant it.

No one outside the program knows what Hutchins said in the huddle she called while the Seminoles jumped up and down around home plate, then rolled around on the infield dirt, then ran around

RUBY WALLAU/Daily

Michigan won game one of the Super Regional and went down to the wire in game three, but lost on a walk-off home run.

screaming and hugging. But you can bet it involved the word “pride.”

After all, they had done everything she’s preached since day one.

They played the game pitch by pitch, like Hasselbach and Doyle did last week with their unthinkable plays to beat Arizona State.

They did their part, like Virgil when she came into nearly every game to pinch run, then left each one without protest. Sappingfield played through the flu in

SOFTBALL

FSU eliminates Michigan

By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Almost three games and 20 innings had boiled down to this: the Michigan softball team and Florida State, tied at two, in a Super Regional final, with both teams’ stars coming up in the seventh.

But when both walked on nine total pitches, it was up to the rest of their respective teams to come up with the hit that earned a berth to the Women’s College World Series.

And that hit came from Florida State center fielder Courtney Senas.

As the Wolverines loaded the bases with no outs in the top half, it was only fitting that nearby lights went off in the middle of the inning, shifting the spotlight onto the winner-take-all game.

But after Florida State got out of that jam, Senas’ walk-off two-run home run ended Michigan’s season with a 4-2 loss.

Michigan got its best opportu-

nity of the day when sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero walked on four pitches, senior first baseman Caitlin Blanchard singled to the warning track in center field and a popup from sophomore outfielder Sierra Lawrence dropped in shallow left field. In a tie game, the Seminoles had to fight out of that jam before they walked off.

“I walked out to the group and (said) it’s very doable,” said Florida State coach Lonni Alameda. “We practice that a ton. We put pitchers out there a lot with no outs early in the fall. … They had a calm confidence about them.”

But with the heart of the lineup out of commission, the Wolverines couldn’t make anything of it. After senior designated player Taylor Hasselbach struck out looking, the Seminoles induced two ground balls, the first of which they sent home for the force.

In the Seminoles’ half, No. 9 hitter Alex Kossoff led off with a single to bring up O’Brien, the nation’s

SPORTS 11

leader in slugging percentage. But O’Brien popped up the first pitch in foul territory for Michigan third baseman Lindsay Montemarano.

The rally nearly ended there, but with two outs and a runner on first, Senas poked a popup halfway down the first-base line. Junior left-hander Haylie Wagner ran over to grab it, but she missed it and it rolled toward the dugout.

Florida State second baseman Tiffani Brown came around to score from first, tying the game.

The Wolverines had another chance in the sixth, when they put runners on second and third with two outs. Sappingfield blistered a line drive right at Florida State third baseman Briana Hamilton for the third out.

In all, each team had only one 1-2-3 inning. Michigan left 12 runners on base. A couple fewer, and the game might have been different.

“I thought we played with heart,” Hutchins said. “We definitely didn’t give up. We didn’t quit.”

100-degree weather.

It was understandable, then, for Hutchins to get a little choked up when asked to reflect on her senior group.

“It’s tough,” Hutchins said. “It’s tough to say goodbye.”

The Wolverines have plenty of returning talent, and even more in the incoming recruiting class.

They could very well make another run next year behind sophomore shortstop Sierra Romero and the same pitching staff of juniors

Haylie Wagner and Sara Driesenga and freshman Megan Betsa.

But right now, it’s hard to imagine any of that without Sappingfield, Doyle, Blanchard, Hasselbach, Virgil or Luetkens.

In college sports, it’s still about winning with the people you want to win with.

This team wanted to win together, and it could have won together. That’s why it hurt so bad when there was nothing left it could do.

12 SPORTS

Thursday, May 29, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan is coming back Nebraska ends baseball’s season O BASEBALL

nly one team gets to end each season ZACH on top, so for all SHAW but one team, On Baseball the saying “Wait ’til next year” is little more than a cushion to the blow of defeat.

But after a second season under coach Erik Bakich, Michigan baseball has something brewing for 2015.

The team lost in every way possible, failing to get above .500 until May. But by the time the Wolverines finished behind only No. 9 Indiana and No. 23 Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament, the youth that had lost so many early games became the team’s greatest strength.

Now, with up to 27 of 32 players returning next season and another top recruiting class coming in, Bakich has the pieces necessary for his vision of success to become reality.

The 2014 season began with nothing but agony for the Wolverines. On Feb. 14, Michigan opened its season by blowing late-game leads of three and four runs in consecutive extra-inning losses to Texas State and Washington.

The next week was no better: The Wolverines dropped three one-run games to Houston.

Freshman right-hander Keith Lehmann and freshman lefthander Brett Adcock were 0-2 with a 12.70 earned-run average in bullpen work in the team’s opening

BY THE NUMBERS Michigan Baseball

2.82

Combined earned-run average of freshman pitchers Keith Lehmann and Brett Adcock.

80

Percent of offense that will return next season.

2,064

Attendance at the home finale May 10, the largest crowd since 2010.

12

Wins in last 17 games, ending in a thirdplace finish at the Big Ten Tournament.

Offense sluggish in Big Ten Tournament loss

By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Erik Bakich’s vision for Michigan baseball is finally starting to come to fruition.

eight games. But over the course of the season, the pair rose up the ranks to become late-season starters and combined to go 11-5 with a 2.82 ERA with 93 strikeouts in their first seasons.

The rest of the team followed suit, finishing 12-5 with an underclassmen core leading the charge.

The improvements weren’t enough for a title. Not yet.

But through the up and down season, the evidence of Bakich’s vision was clear.

It was clear following Saturday’s season-ending loss to Nebraska, when a reflection of the season quickly turned into an analysis of things to come.

It was clear after a 7-1 win at Central Michigan on May 6, which for many teams would have been little more than a meaningless non-conference win.

“There will come a time where these games will be just as big as the conference games,” Bakich said. “Our team will be playing for at-large bids and the opportunity to host regionals, and people across the country will be looking at how we do in every one of our games.”

It was clear after a 5-1 win against Ohio State on May 10, as many of the 2,064 fans who attended the game — the largest crowd since 2010 — lined up for autographs following the game.

The vision was always aimed at the future. But as the season concluded Saturday, it seemed like the future is closer than before.

Next year’s team will return at least three of four pitchers who started in last weekend’s Big Ten

Tournament. Its top nine pitchers in earned-run average will be back.

Additionally, the Wolverines return roughly 80 percent of their offense, including sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes, a .308 career hitter who was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team with a conference-best .706 onbase percentage.

That’s why last weekend’s tournament — in which 23 of the Wolverines’ 28 hits and every single extra-base hit came from players who will return next year — proved to be a promising sign.

In his introductory press conference in 2012, Bakich used the word “championship” 18 times, making his goal clear from day one.

With his second straight highly ranked recruiting class and the majority of his team’s core coming back next year, Bakich is looking to rebuild the pillar of success that had crumbled upon his arrival.

After the home finale against Ohio State, as the line for autographs stretched from left field to behind home plate, it became clear that fans are buying into the future too. Knowing this, Bakich smiled and looked at the infield shimmering in the sun, envisioning the even brighter future ahead.

“We’re looking to have a big crowd on every occasion,” Bakich said. “We want our team to be successful enough to which we can get 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 in here watching us play. It’s like what I tell the guys, ‘They won’t be able to build these seats fast enough.’ ” Think it sounds ambitious now?

Just wait ’til next year.

“They won’t be able to build these seats fast enough.”

The atmosphere of TD Ameritrade Park replicated that of an MLB game, and it was as if Nebraska was the stadium’s tenant.

Among the sea of red, there were glimpses of maize, though the color was more prevalent on security guards wandering the aisles than Michigan fans.

Saturday morning, the fifthseeded Wolverines couldn’t force a second game in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and ended their season with a 6-1 loss to No. 2 seed Nebraska.

Michigan (13-11 Big Ten, 30-29-1 overall) took a dagger in the sixth inning, when the 20thranked Cornhuskers batted around and scored five runs, including three on bases-loaded walks.

Nebraska ousted Michigan freshman right-hander Keith Lehmann when second baseman Pat Kelly doubled to the rightfield corner with one out.

Michigan coach Erik Bakich put in junior right-hander James Bourque for relief and during the transition said “he’d rather be one batter too early than a batter too late.” But the situation didn’t play out that way, as the first batter Bourque faced hit a blooper to shallow left field, and the next singled over second base to bring in the Cornhuskers’ second run.

With two runners in scoring position, Bourque got the second out but hit the next batter and walked two more, putting Nebraska up 4-0. Bourque’s 29th pitch was his last, and in came freshman right-hander Mac Lozer, but things didn’t get any better.

Michigan third baseman Jake Placzek singled down the thirdbase line, and Lozer walked in the

Cornhuskers’ sixth run before ending the 36-minute inning.

The damage had been done, and Michigan couldn’t revive itself.

“You can’t give free passes to good teams,” Bakich said. “It’s the difference of getting strike one and strike two on a hitter versus ball one and ball two. ... We got behind a lot of hitters there in the middle.”

Nebraska (18-6, 40-18) couldn’t pile on any more runs before the slaughter ended. But each swing of the bat brought the Wolverines’ season closer to its end.

The Cornhuskers, who accumulated five two-out RBIs, struck first in the fourth inning, when Lehmann — in his second start of the season — walked two batters and allowed catcher Tanner Lubach to line an RBI single up the middle.

Michigan, meanwhile, couldn’t do anything on offense, with its only run coming by a stroke of luck. The Wolverines finished the game with a paltry three hits, two from Cronenworth and one from sophomore shortstop Travis Maezes, all singles.

Left-hander Kyle Kubat pitched a near-complete game for Nebraska, and more than half of his pitches were strikes. But the Wolverines couldn’t make contact on the barrel.

“We gotta do a better job off a guy like that,” Bakich said. “The best contact we had was when we stayed in the middle of the field and went the other way — he just had us off balance all day.”

Utilizing his change-up, Kubat posted six strikeouts and retired eight of nine batters after the sixth-inning Nebraska onslaught.

For Michigan, there is no atlarge bid to the NCAA Tournament. It’s the end of the line for a roller-coaster season filled with many disparities.

Friday morning in Omaha, the disparities were on display, and they hurt more than ever.

“You can’t give free passes to good teams.”