ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Friday, October 30, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
CAMPUS LIFE
IGR hosts dialogue on costumes, intervention Discussion considers culturally appropriative dress on Halloween By GRIFFIN ST. ONGE For the Daily
Two days before Halloween, students gathered to discuss the complex, intersectional issue of Halloween costume cultural appropriation and the different scenarios in which it can occur. The open dialogue, titled “It’s Just a Costume, Right?” was scheduled to be timely and informative, and aimed to give people the tools they need to discuss the issue. The event was hosted by CommonGround and the IGR Student Engagement Team. LSA senior Elena Ross, a member of the Student Engagement Team, was one of the students responsible for organizing the night’s discussion and originally suggested its main topic. “It’s an issue I see come up every year and that people don’t really know how to handle,” Ross said in an interview after the event. “We also tried to highlight bystander intervention in this dialogue for that reason.”
“We came away with some actual, tangible tools to use when … we’re seeing people dressed up in costumes that we find offensive,” she added. Generally, the participants discussed ways to mitigate and intervene in situations where Halloween costumes target and present microaggressions toward specific cultural identities, spanning the gamut from ethnically charged to gender-based outfits. One guideline in this process was for students to “expect and accept a lack of closure” on the issue in general. “I came here today because I feel strongly about my Indian cultural heritage, and so I identify with people whose cultures are portrayed in Halloween costumes,” said LSA senior Sana Isaac. “So I think it’s an important topic and one I’d like to hear other perspectives on.” The dialogue began with a list of discussion guidelines and a presentation of different definitions of cultural appropriation. One of the first exercises involved participants walking to one of three different colored pieces of tape — green, yellow and red — on the ground for any given scenario presented. The green piece represented indiSee COSTUMES, Page 3
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Sally Peterson (D-Ward 2), an Ann Arbor City Council member, speaks to the College Democrats about voting at their Get Out the Vote City Council Elections meeting in the Michigan Union on Thursday.
Candidates for City Council emphasize impact of voting College Dems host forum to encourage participation in Tuesday’s election By ALYSSA BRANDON Daily Staff Reporter
In a push to increase student voter turnout before city-wide elections Tuesday, Ann Arbor
City Council members partnered with the University’s Chapter of College Democrats to host an event emphasizing the importance of civic participation Thursday. Held in the Michigan Union, the event coincided with College Democrats’ Get Out The Vote campaign, an initiative that seeks to increase votership in the final days leading up to elections. Council members and mem-
FOOTBALL
The Vote) is so important, especially for Democrats, is because it’s our time to shine,” she said. “When voter turnout is high, Democrats win. That’s a proven fact. The good thing about being a Democrat is we have grassroots people power and (get out the vote) is where that shows the best.” Echoing Jarvis’s comments, Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi, who also See ELECTION, Page 3
FILM INTERVIEW
Pixar veteran Pytko talks ‘The Good Dinosaur’
‘M’ tries to regain Little Brown Jug on Saturday Wolverines, Golden Gophers set for emotional matchup in Minneapolis
Lighting Lead for classic animated films discusses career at Angell
By MAX BULTMAN
By JACOB RICH
Daily Sports Editor
MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily
After two long weeks spent trying to process a shocking loss to Michigan State on Oct. 17, the Michigan football team will finally return to the playing field Saturday. The Wolverines travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers in a game that will be influenced in large part by emotion. For Minnesota, Saturday will be an opportunity to win for Jerry Kill, the former Golden Gophers coach who retired Wednesday due to health concerns. Kill suffered two seizures on Tuesday, leaving him little choice but to address his epilepsy head-on and step away from coaching. A year after Kill’s squad brought home the Little Brown Jug, his team will have to defend the trophy without its leader. But as far as Minnesota’s game plan goes, Michigan isn’t expecting anything different from interim See MINNESOTA, Page 7
WEATHER TOMORROW
bers of the College Democrats sought to inform students about candidates in advance of the upcoming elections as well as provide a platform for some council members to introduce potential plans for University and the city of Ann Arbor. Public Policy senior Erin Bozek-Jarvis told attendees that when more people vote overall, it’s generally positive for Democrats. “The reason why (Get Out
HI: 54 LO: 44
LSA Dean Andrew D. Martin answers students’ questions in a casual Q&A session at the Union on Thursday.
LSA dean discusses course evaluations, diversity plan Martin also fields questions on R&E requirement, dual-degrees By LYDIA MURRAY Daily Staff Reporter
Over ice cream sundaes, LSA Dean Andrew Martin held an open forum as part of a continuing series of #withDeanMartin talks. Approximately 20 students gathered in the Michigan Union’s Pond Room on
Thursday night to ask Martin questions about various topics, including the University’s forthcoming diversity plan and course evaluations. During the talk, Martin emphasized his support for University President Mark Schlissel’s new diversity plan that is moving forward this year. Schlissel is currently soliciting input from the University’s various units and departments to inform a larger strategic plan to improve diversity and inclusion at the University. “It’s an incredibly important process for the University, and
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
I think it’s going to provide us a really nice plan for what we are going to be doing as an institution going forward,” Martin said. “It’s really something that this campus holds as a core value.” Martin said different departments within LSA are working on specific initiatives that could eventually coordinate into a campus-wide strategic plan down the road. “All the schools and colleges are going through a coordinated strategic planning process this academic year, and at the very end this is all going to roll See DEAN, Page 3
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Bananas could inform new medical treatments MICHIGANDAILY.COM/SECTION/NEWS
INDEX
Daily Film Editor
Pixar. Need I say more? You know their movies, and you love them. It seems current college students in particular have a deep affinity for these films, being the first generation to have grown up with their now-classics such as “Toy Story,” “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles.” But how does Pixar create their art? Who are the men and women that make the visual beauty of these computer-animated films possible? Last week, I crammed myself into a packed Angell Hall auditorium along with dozens of other University students to meet a Pixar wizard in the flesh: Jonathan Pytko. His presentation gave insight into his career in digital lighting, as well as a look at Pixar’s production process. He also gave us a preview of “The Good Dinosaur,” their latest project. A veteran Lighting Lead, Pytko joined the Emeryville,
Vol. CXXV, No. 22 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
CA-based company to work on 2004’s “The Incredibles” (a hushed wave of excitement and “oh my god I love that movie so much” whispers rushed over the crowd when he listed that bullet point on his resume) and has since lit films like “Ratatouille,” “Up” and “Brave.” “I really like to make things with my hands. I like to build models and paint and draw, play with Legos, and all that stuff,” he said in a post-presentation interview with The Michigan Daily. “All that stuff is great, but you never have that piece, the piece that you’re missing, or you don’t have the color for the painting you’re trying to do. When I was in high school, I got my first computer and I started playing around with (computer animation). And you have all the colors, and whatever’s in your head. If you can get it in there, you can get it out on the computer, so it’s kind of this limitless opportunity.” Pytko began his presentation by showing us a few proof-ofconcept shots that his team worked on in pre-production of “The Good Dinosaur.” They were drop-dead gorgeous moving images of natural scenes: a leafy twig with beaded water droplets and a river flowing through a mountainous landscape. See PIXAR, Page 5
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS...........................5
SPORTS......................7 SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6