2017-03-28

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Ann Arbor, Michigan

michigandaily.com

ADMINISTRATION

Class of 2017 voices issues over plan for graduation Students expressed discontent over ‘U’ announcement to not have central speaker MATT HARMON Daily Staff Reporter

MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily

Public health professor Dr. Victor Stretcher discusses ways to “design a happy life” during his motivational presentation at the Michigan League on Monday.

Motivational speaker highlights tips for engaging in satisfying life

Panelist provide different insights to students, attendees in a packed Vandenberg Room QUINN FALTER For the Daily

The Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League was overf lowing Monday night with students waiting to hear Dr. Victor Strecher, a professor of health behavior and health education in the School of Public Health, speak about “Designing a Happy Life,” an event aiming to speak about personal development.

The event was the inaugural

lecture in a series organized by the LSA Student Honor Council, an organization dedicated to the importance of honorable behavior in the context of academia and scholarship, which seeks to hold the event annually.

Strecher attempted to illustrate ways to compute the way to happiness.

“This is about designing your life,” Strecher said. “(But) I’m not saying I know everything either.”

Strecher asked students

to identify their age, and found the crowd was a mix of undergraduate students, graduate students and parents from the community.

“Very likely when you were getting into the University of Michigan, your parents had a résumé for you,” Strecher said.

“They had written your résumé for you in their mind. I’m going to take that metaphorical résumé they have for you and tear it up. Because it is not their life. It’s your life.”

Over the course of the

next hour, Strecher veered from personal anecdotes to discussion of philosophical texts, drawing from the works of Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Nietzsche, Buddhist philosophy and his own personal experiences to discuss factors that could lead to personal fulfillment and development.

At one point, Strecher asked the audience to think about their own deaths, taking inspiration from Steve Jobs’ commencement speech to the See SPEAKER, Page 3

University of Michigan seniors have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the recent commencement announcement as there are no plans for a featured speaker. Many also believe the University is focusing too much on the bicentennial celebration instead of the graduating class of 2017.

The commencement speech will feature a multimedia project displaying current University faculty reading the words from previous speeches throughout the University’s history.

Music, Theatre & Dance Prof. Malcolm Tulip, who is producing the exhibition, said the presentation will celebrate both the bicentennial and the current graduates.

“For years now, we have become used to seeing great speeches and events on video,” Tulip said in a University

press release. “In the early days of the university this documentation did not exist or was lost. This project assembles a series of excerpts from significant speeches from the university’s past. In seven minutes, graduating students and their families will gain a sense of their place in the university and nation’s history.”

In the press release, Interim Provost Paul Courant said the bicentennial will not overshadow the students and their graduation.

“Graduation, as always, is principally about the academic achievements of the students who are graduating,” Courant said. “We are pleased and proud to honor them and their achievements.”

Despite Courant’s statement, seniors were frustrated with the speech presentation.

LSA Student Government President Julia Gips, an LSA senior, wrote she was disappointed when the plan See COMMENCEMENT, Page 3

New opioid legislature introduced Minorities Med School in public hopes to curb addiction in Michigan Dean talks

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

ACADEMICS

service recognized

Plans include tracking prescriptions and enforcing opioid abuse education

Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, faculty speak at event

Gov. Rick Snyder and state lawmakers are introducing bills to the state legislature that seek to combat the rising number of opioid overdoses by monitoring prescriptions more closely and enforcing opioid abuse education. Committees within the state House and Senate will begin testimony on more than a dozen measures to battle the epidemic.

The opioid epidemic in Michigan has been growing steadily, with the number of opioid prescriptions increasing from 180 million in 2007 to 690 million in 2016.

Snyder said the new bills are a step in the right direction, though they aren’t an absolute solution.

“There is not just one step to solve this problem … it’s about our society, our culture changing,” Snyder stated. “So this is very comprehensive stuff. This won’t be the last step but another good step.”

Engineering freshman Lincoln Merrill, publicity chair of the University of Michigan’s chapter of College Republicans, agreed.

“At this point, any measure taken against the drug that will help stop the unnecessary deaths it causes is welcome,” he said.

New legislation announced Thursday has received

AMARA SHAIKH For the Daily

Monday evening, students and faculty crowded into the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union for a panel discussion about minorities in public service, organized by LSA Student Government and LSA junior Zoha Qureshi.

LSA senior Julia Gips, LSA Student Government president, explained LSA SG organized the event in the hopes of reaching out to minority groups at the University of Michigan.

“There are a lot of people who feel underrepresented on this campus, and as president of LSA Student Government we had a lot of conversations about how we can make minority voices better heard,” she said.

Quershi said organizing the event was personal to her.

“Being on the Diversity Affairs Committee and being the vice chair with that along with Ibtihal (Makki, an LSA senior), the purpose of DAC is to make sure that this campus is as inclusive as possible to people of different backgrounds and different See LSA, Page 3

GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

CARLY RYAN

Daily Staff Reporter

bipartisan support. The bill limits the prescription of opioids, requires parental consent when prescribing to minors and requires public schools to educate about abuse.

Patients’ drug histories will be tracked through an electronic database, as required by a new law.

The mandate on opioid education is said to look similar to a bill in Ohio that

For more stories and coverage, visit

requires K-12 students to be taught about the dangers of opioid use. If the bill passes, the program would be implemented by the 2018 school year by the Michigan Department of Education.

The bill was introduced by state Rep. Beth Griffin (R–Mattawan) and allows Michigan’s Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Commission to design a curriculum for

michigandaily.com

high school students.

In an interview with WWMT radio station, Griffin said even prescription medications pose dangers students need to be aware of.

“As a mom with kids in sports, it’s good to know that this legislation will help educate my kids on the dangers of taking a drug, even if a doctor prescribed it,” See OPIOIDS, Page 3

DESIGN BY NOAH SHERBIN

INDEX

Vol. CXXVII, No. 53 ©2017 The Michigan Daily

curriculum at SACUA

Marschall Runge, body discuss improved relations with faculty governance MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter

Marschall Runge, dean of the University of Michigan Medical School and executive vice president for medical affairs, stopped by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs on Monday to talk about the Medical School and Michigan Medicine and how these institutions can better interact with faculty governance.

Runge, who has been with the Medical School for two years and is also CEO of Michigan Medicine, began his presentation to the committee with a PowerPoint outlining the missions and current affairs of all three roles of the University’s overall health system: research, education and clinical care.

“I strongly believe research drives innovation and clinical care and gives us the chance to be a real leader in this area,” Runge said. “None of that can occur … without our educational programs.”

According to Runge, the See SACUA, Page 3

NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6

SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7

News

2 — Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tweets

ON THE DAILY: DANCING KING The University of Michigan Dance Team, which performs on the sidelines at every home football and basketball game, is adding a new member to its successful squad — a member who will make history.

Future Dance Team member Brendan Ryan is “the first boy in history to make the University of Michigan Dance Team,” as he tweeted Sunday afternoon.

Final cuts for the team took place over the weekend, after which Ryan was officially named to the team.

Ryan’s accomplishment was widely celebrated by family and friends, and one of Ryan’s previous dance partners was particularly excited about the news.

In addition to performing at sporting events, performs annually at the Universal

Dance Association’s College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship held in Orlando, Fla. The team consistently places in the top 10 at this national competition.

Prior to the addition of Ryan to the team, the Michigan Dance Team was an all-female group. In fact, one of the “Frequently Asked Questions” on the team’s website asks how many girls are usually taken on the team.

Ryan could not provide comment to the Michigan Daily.

The addition of Ryan to the team will add a new face to the sidelines next year, but for now, as one of Ryan’s Twitter supporters noted, this is history in the making.

- ERIN DOHERTY

E D U C AT I O N A L A D VA N C E M E N T

Rachel @rahchelkrapp

someone in the ugli basement has fries and I need to become friends with them like NOW

SavyG

@savannah_guy3

I just rlly want to adopt a diag squirrel MATT VAILLIENCOURT/Daily Cheyenne Turner, Community Support Specialist in the Children’s Services Department at the Washtenaw Youth Detention Center, discusses how disparities in the quality of education in different communities at Hatcher Graduate Library on Monday.

CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Student Composers’ Concert

Smart $ Budget Workshop

WHAT: Original works written

by SMTD student compsers will be performed.

WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 8 p.m.

WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall

WHAT: Steven Foster, from the Office of Financial Aid, will teach smart money management strategies.

WHO: Comprehensive Studies Program WHEN: 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

WHERE: Angell Hall, Room 1139

WHAT: The documentary “Starving the Beast,” which exmaines the reform of public universities, will be screened and discussed.

WHO: Institure for the Humanities WHEN: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

WHERE: 202 S. Thayer, Osterman Common Room

Asian Languages and Cultures Info Session

A Conversation with Economist Dean Baker

Proteins, Policy and Paths Less Travel’d

WHAT: Students interested in Asian studies will have the opportunity to speak with advisors.

WHO: Asian Languages and Cultures WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m.

WHERE: 202 S. Thayer, Room 2022

WHAT: Dean Baker, the codirector of the Center of Economic and Policy Research, will discuss his latest book.

WHO: University Library WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m WHERE: Hatcher Graduate LIbrary, Gallery

WHAT: Gilbert S. Omenn will discuss his career as a “physicianscientist” and the relationship between science and policy.

WHO: U-M Health System WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

WHERE: Rackham Ampitheatre

“Starving the Beast”

Al

@AliCampbell

When Muslims Die in China

UMich Catholics

The Attica Prison Uprising

@UmichCatholics

WHAT: The keynote for the Exhibition of Art by Michigan Prisoners, presented by Heather Thompson, will discuss Attica’s history.

WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Duderstadt Center, Gallery

CARLY RYAN

Daily Staff Reporter

Ann Arbor might lose access to the funding required to move to the next phase of the building of a new Amtrak station.

Though Ann Arbor officials have been trying for months to expedite the Amtrak process, they have yet to obtain the sign off on an environmental assessment from the Federal Railroad Administration required to continue the process.

Officials are concerned the approval will come after the expiration of the federal grant funds allocated toward the project.

“Because we haven’t gotten that draft document done, we Sudoku Syndication can’t start the process of doing preliminary engineering,

SUDOKU EASY

4

9

5

5

3

1 4

6 7

2 3

4 8

6

2

1

2

9

4 4

3

7

5 6 8 3

GRAB ‘N’ GO.

6 8 7 4

puzzle by sudokusyndication.com © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

EMMA KINERY

planned for this and will be an

Public release of the draft (environmental assessment) is still planned for this summer

Probablity prof: “You can’t have negative girls. that’s impossible” Little does he know that’s the value of my dating record #singlelife

420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com

Environmental assessment report yet to be completed, causing delay in construction is still summer

If you’re going to look like a Victoria’s Secret Angel on the Bursley Baits at 8AM, pls don’t sit by me.

WHAT: This lecture will investigate the relationship between China and Islam using three tombs in China.

WHO: Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m.

WHERE: School of Social Work, Room 1636

Funding for building of new Amtrak station could be lost under FRA so we haven’t expended any additional funds that (the Ann Arbor City Council) has approved for that consultant agreement,” said City Administrator Howard Lazarus at a City Council meeting last week.

The FR A is expected to have the environmental assessment report completed this summer. A 30-day review period will follow.

If completed on time, the federal grant funding, which was awarded in 2011 and expires Sept. 30, will still be available to the city. In an interview with MLive, FR A spokeswoman Desiree French said the organization is still working closely with the city to help it meet the funding deadline.

“Public release of the draft (environmental assessment)

Follow @michigandaily

Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 kineryem@michigandaily.com

NEWS TIPS

ARTS SECTION

arts@michigandaily.com

photo@michigandaily.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

NEWSROOM

tothedaily@michigandaily.com

EDITORIAL PAGE

734-418-4115 opt. 3

SPORTS SECTION

sports@michigandaily.com

CORRECTIONS

opinion@michigandaily.com

corrections@michigandaily.com

ADVERTISING

dailydisplay@gmail.com

Editorial Staff

AMELIA CACCHIONE and EMMA RICHTER

REBECCA LERNER

Senior Photo Editors: Zoey Holmstrom, Evan Aaron, Alexis Rankin Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Meingast, Emilie Farrugia, Sinduja Kilaru, Sam Mousigian, Marina Ross

Managing Photo Editors rebler@michigandaily.com

ALEXA ST.JOHN

Managing News Editor alexastj@michigandaily.com opportunity to obtain agency Senior News Editors: Riyah Basha, Tim Cohn, Lydia Murray, Nisa Khan, Sophie Sherry and public comment on the Assistant News Editors: Kevin Biglin, Caleb Chadwell, Heather environmental analysis and http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Colley, Erin Doherty, Maya Goldman, Matt Harmon, Andrew the project,” French said.

Hiyama, Jen Meer, Carly Ryan, Kaela Theut

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

Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 hjhakim@michigandaily.com

PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION

news@michigandaily.com

Managing Editor

As soon as the assessment is done, preliminary design and engineering will be completed by Neumann/ Smith Architecture, as voted on by City Council in January. The design and engineering is expected to cost $2.37 million, of which Neumann/Smith will get $2.14 million. With unallocated funding taken into account, the total cost of the project is expected to be nearly $2.5 million.

Of the total cost, $2 million was expected to be reimbursed by the federal grant. Grant-funded work was expected to be completed by the end of March, allowing ample cushion time before its expiration date. Now, with the grant-funded work, there is a chance that the federal funding would be returned to the U.S. Treasury. The FR A cannot extend the expiration date, as it was a condition of the agreement.

HUSSEIN HAKIM

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com Senior Opinion Editors: Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Max Lubell, Madeline Nowicki, Stephanie Trierweiler

BETELHEM ASHAME and KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Senior Sports Editors: Laney Byler, Mike Persak, Orion Sang, Minh Doan, Chloe Aubuchon, Sylvanna Gross, Chris Crowder Assistant Sports Editors: Rob Hefter, Max Marcovitch, Avi Sholkoff, Ethan Wolfe, Matthew Kennedy, Paige Voeffray

ANAY KATYAL and NATALIE ZAK

Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Senior Arts Editors: Tess Garcia, Dayton Hare, Nabeel Chollanpat, Madeline Gaudin, Carly Snider Arts Beat Editors: Caroline Filips, Danielle Yacobson, Danny Hensel, Erika Shevchek, Matt Gallatin

MICHELLE PHILLIPS and AVA WEINER

photo@michigandaily.com

LARA MOEHLMAN

Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Deputy Statement Editor: Brian Kuang

Yoshiko Iwai

DANIELLE JACKSON and TAYLOR GRANDINETTI Managing Copy Editors

copydesk@michigandaily.com

Senior Copy Editors: Marisa Frey, Ibrahim Rasheed

DYLAN LAWTON and BOB LESSER

Managing Online Editor lesserrc@michigandaily.com Senior Web Developers: Erik Forkin, Jordan Wolff

ABE LOFY

Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Gilly Yerrington, Matt Nolan, Aarthi Janakiraman, Emily Wolfe

JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG

Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Christian Paneda, Tanya Madhani, Neel Swamy, Adam Brodnax, Areeba Haider, Halimat Olaniyan, Sivanthy Visanthan

ELLIE HOMANT

Managing Social Media Editor Senior Social Media Editors: Carolyn Watson, Molly Force

Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Senior Design Editors: Alex Leav, Carly Berger, Christine Lee

Business Staff

SONIA SHEKAR

EMILY RICHNER

National Accounts Manager

Sales Manager

ANNA HE

Special Publications and Events Manager

Digital Marketing Manager

JESSICA STEWART JULIA SELSKY

Local Accounts Manager

CLAIRE BUTZ

Production and Layout Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $225 and year long subscriptions are $250. 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.

News

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COMMENCEMENT From Page 1 was originally mentioned back in October. She said LSA SG sent out a survey last semester to gauge student opinions on the announcement, and found some apprehension regarding the plans.

“After polling 500 students (both seniors and younger), we found that 61% were upset that commencement wouldn’t follow the traditional pattern of having a speaker,” Gipps wrote. “I sent this information to President Schlissel in November ... Unfortunately no changes were made to the original plan ... Ultimately, our big day is shaping up to be underwhelming.”

LSA senior Nick Suárez echoed Gips and wrote in an email interview the current plan is very lackluster and doesn’t show a dedication from the University to its graduates.

“It was definitely a huge slap in the face to all the

OPIOIDS From Page 1 Griffin said.

The opioid usage online database, titled Michigan Automated Prescription System, will be implemented in April and provide a userfriendly, comprehensive report of prescription history and usage to both the doctor and patient.

When announcing the system, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley (R) said database bill will be integral to monitoring opioid usage.

“It will give doctors real time information about the prescription history of the person they are dealing with,” Calley said. “You would think in this day and age that a doctor would have that ... but today

SPEAKER From Page 1 graduating class of Stanford University in 2005.

“Imagine your memorial service,” he said. “Visualize your headstone with your name on it. What does your epigraph say?”

Eventually, Strecher turned to the idea of finding personal fulfillment. He spoke about the diagnosis of his daughter’s heart condition as the beginning of him living his life with purpose, saying he wanted to give her a big life while it was possible for her, which in turn made him want to live a more involved life.

LSA From Page 1 identities, and we want to make sure minority students especially feel welcome here,” she said. “And then we realized that also there are a lot of minority students who might want to explore the realm of public service, like for example me — public service is something I see in my future career and I wanted to give them an opportunity to see people who have already done successful things in that realm.”

Given the recent political climate, the panel emphasized the importance of minority representation in the traditionally white-majority field of public service, and what steps need to be taken to continue to encourage more diverse involvement. The panel allowed five public service leaders to reflect on their experiences in the Michigan community.

Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and current candidate for governor of Michigan, was one of the panelists in attendance.

El-Sayed explained that he left left his job as a professor at Columbia University to dedicate his efforts to public service in Detroit. One of his projects included creating a program that provided every child in Detroit with glasses.

grads,” Suárez wrote. “The commencement speaker is really the only aspect of the whole event that many people even care about, so this is just another way the university shows its students how little it cares about us as individuals.”

Education senior Maggie Cowles wrote going from past commencement speakers such as former President Barack Obama and Michael Bloomberg to a recap of other speeches seems like a self-indulgent move from the University.

“I feel like we’ve spent four years building up to this, to our graduation, and hearing about all of these amazing speakers in the past,” Cowles wrote. “I’m from Ann Arbor, so I remember the year Obama came. I remember being so excited about who my graduation speaker would be, and anticipating it … It just really feels like the university is trying so hard to promote itself that it’s not at all concerned about what students actually want to see in commencement.”

Suárez wrote the tuition bill students have paid over their four years at the University merits a new speech for graduation.

“Considering the amount of money paid and debt accrued by so many of us, to reach our culminating moment and not have something to look forward to with this event is disheartening honestly,” Suárez wrote.

Cowles added the University is prioritizing the bicentennial over its students, emphasizing she would be able to watch old footage of commencement speeches at home but her own graduation should be something new.

“Nobody wants to sit in the big house and watch a video clip of graduation addresses aimed at different years — we want our own speaker with … our own ceremony,” Cowles wrote.

“It’s taking away a huge part of graduation that, honestly, is the only part of the wholeschool graduation I was looking forward to.”

that doesn’t exist.”

Additionally, state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker (R– Lawton) introduced legislation that mandates disciplinary action should a patient not report usage via the database.

To benefit those who already suffer from opioid addiction, state Rep. Andy Schor (D– Lansing) introduced legislation that gives Medicaid users treatment options. Schor told U.S. News the opioid addiction is not a partisan issue, rather a universal one.

“We all know that prescription drug and opioid abuse is not a partisan issue, it’s not a Democrat or Republican issue, it’s happening in cities, it’s happening in townships, it’s happening in urban and rural areas,” Schor said.

Public Policy junior Rowan Conybeare, chair of the

University’s chapter of College Democrats, agreed and said non-partisan cooperation will be integral to finding a solution.

“I’m very glad to see both parties working across the aisle to tackle this urgent problem in Michigan,” she said.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement arrests won’t solve the issue, and a systemic solution is needed.

“The opioid epidemic is sweeping across Michigan, with hardly a day going by that we don’t hear of an overdose or death caused by an opioid-based drug,” Schuette said. “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem.

The bi-partisan package of legislation announced today is an important step in Michigan’s overall effort to curb this growing epidemic.”

Closing remarks were followed by large applause from the audience, after which he opened up for questions.

Business and LSA junior Claire Yerman, the LSA Student Honor Council president, was excited Strecher was able to speak.

“We reached out to Vick because we knew his deep commitment to talking about purpose and we thought that aligned really well with integrity, which is our main focus,” Yerman said. “We really felt that if he could talk about living your life authentically — which he did — then this really aligns with integrity, because unless you are staying true to yourself and living true to

your values, you are really not showcasing integrity.”

Anna Moshkovich, an LSA senior presently taking a gap year, was initially drawn to the talk by emails sent by the Newnan Advising Center.

“I’m doing a gap year and I didn’t know (Dr. Strecher) was so big into gap years,” she said.

“I have no idea where I’m going to be placed and it is through a Jewish Peace-Corps-type program. His whole talk was about how we should go out of our comfort zone and do things that scare us.”

When asked if she felt confident in her current plans after listening to the talk, Moshkovich responded: “100 percent.”

“The fights are worth fighting, and justice will get done if you do it,” he said, explaining to the audience the importance of not being a victim of circumstance and encouraging minorities to push through discrimination.

Alford Young, the chair of the Department of Sociology, explained how the majority of his research was inspired by his background as an AfricanAmerican man. Growing up in a neighborhood in New York, Young saw how many of his friends were stereotyped based on their race.

“Almost all social service agencies think of Black men as men with problems,” he said. “I say there are more to these men than just problems.”

Martha Jones, director of the Michigan Law Program in Race, Law and History and professor of African-American studies, also learned about the dynamics of giving back in her childhood.

“In my family, whenever you got a break, the lesson was always how to pay that forward,” she said, explaining that this led to her own profession as a lawyer for people in marginalized communities.

Another panelist, Awilda Rodriguez, is an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education who researches the representation

of Black, Latino, low-income and first-generation students in postsecondary education.

Rodriguez shared her own childhood experience, saying she grew up valuing education, but noticed that fewer minority students tended to rise to higher schooling levels.

“There is such a lack of diversity, especially in high educational policy space where you could have a happy hour and easily fit everyone that was of color working on higher education policy in one corner,” she pointed out.

Student activists on campus also served as speakers for the events. LSA senior Nicole Khamis is the founder of the Michigan Refugee Assistance Program and is currently an intern for the U.S. State Department. Khamis was inspired to create MRAP because her parents are refugees from Palestine.

“I’ve tried to take my time here at Michigan to raise people up, and show that everyone deserves the same opportunities that I have,” she said.

Khamis also emphasized that people of color should be able to have their own operating spaces to cultivate an identity.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

SACUA From Page 1 mission of Michigan Medicine is to improve all three of these areas as much as possible.

“Our vision overall is to be outstanding in each of these areas, so in research, to really bring discovery to health as well as broaden the spectrum of research that we do; in education, to prepare today’s doctors and scientists for tomorrow,” Runge said.

Runge then outlined the curriculum changes the Medical School has undergone in the last few years. The new curriculum is meant to bring together the first two years of medical school into one, so students can start their clinical rotations and narrow in on a specialty sooner.

In the new curriculum, year one outlines the foundational medical sciences and year two goes over patient care and clinical practice. In year three, students start rotations to choose a clinical focus, and in year four, the focus is on developing physician leaders.

Runge also emphasized that, though Michigan Medicine can sometimes seem separated from the University, it shares many of the same goals, including increasing diversity, equity and inclusion, per this fall’s DEI plan.

“We also have … priorities in diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said. “This is really important in health care. People don’t think about it so much but people who are ill like to work with health care providers who understand them … When we’re ranked for diversity, among other academic medical centers, we look pretty good, but we don’t have nearly the level of diversity we need to. And it’s a

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 — 3

tough uphill battle to increase that, so we’re focusing on starting with the medical students to do this.”

After Runge’s presentation, the committee moved into a Q&A session. SACUA member David Smith, a professor in the College of Pharmacy, began with an inquiry about how Runge felt clinical staff could be better integrated into the educational environment.

SACUA has spent a lot of time discussing whether or not they should extend the ability to become members of the Senate Assembly — a body traditionally reserved for tenure-track faculty — to clinical staff.

“We’ve had this discussion here as well, and it has to do with the status of the clinician scientist,” Smith said. “What are your views on how to integrate them into the Michigan culture? In other words, I don’t believe they’re part of the Senate (Assembly) … how do we get them more involved while also protecting some of the feelings of the people who have these tenuretrack appointments and want to preserve that integrity?”

Runge said Michigan Medicine has been considering this problem as well lately, and he finds the apprehension surrounding it to be wellfounded.

“There’s some of that tension in the Medical School but this group that we call ‘clinical track’ is actually our largest group,” Runge said.

“I think that group would like to feel like they’re more part of the mainstream, but I certainly understand the inherent tension, because they outnumber (tenure-track faculty members).”

SACUA Chair Bill Schultz, a professor of engineering, asked the next question. He wanted to know the pros and cons of having Runge act as both the

dean of the medical school and the executive vice president of medical affairs.

“We were sort of blindsided by the president in the fall of last year in you becoming both the executive vice president and the dean simultaneously,” Schultz said. “He indicated that this wasn’t that uncommon in medical schools, but … I’m wondering if you could talk brief ly about the advantages of becoming both the executive vice president and the dean, and the disadvantages?”

According to Runge, University President Mark Schlissel was correct in saying this practice is not uncommon among top-tier medical schools that also own their own hospital systems. This helps the University, though, by allowing the two entities to work more collaboratively.

“It’s common among places we consider peers, which are the highest level medical schools who own their own hospitals,” Runge said. “The advantage is it really aligns decision-making on how you divide your resources … The big disadvantage is no one person can do all that, that’s just the reality. This allows us to have three really important vice deans who have important portfolios and it makes them work together.”

Once Runge left, the SACUA members once again brought up the issue of clinical staff in the Senate Assembly. Smith ended the meeting by saying he felt it was important to gauge the interest in clinical staff of being part of the assembly before moving forward with any action.

“I think it’s important to see what level of interaction they want,” Smith said. “They may be perfectly happy not getting involved, and there may be some that want to get involved in different levels.”

SACUA

JOSHUA HAN/Daily Dave Wright, SACUA Vice Chair and Business professor, discusses potential candidates for the SACUA board in the Fleming Administration Building on Monday.

Opinion

4 — Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

DANIEL ROTH | OP-ED

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

420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

EMMA KINERY Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY

and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors

REBECCA LERNER Managing Editor

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Carolyn Ayaub Megan Burns Samantha Goldstein Caitlin Heenan Jeremy Kaplan Sarah Khan

Anurima Kumar Ibrahim Ijaz Max Lubell Alexis Megdanoff Madeline Nowicki Anna Polumbo-Levy

Jason Rowland Ali Safawi Sarah Salman Kevin Sweitzer Rebecca Tarnopol Stephanie Trierweiler

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.

ZACHARY COX | COLUMN

P

Putting health funding last

resident Donald Trump’s Many such scientists do recent budget blueprint research here at the University for the fiscal year 2018 of Michigan and would calls for several major cuts be significantly affected to departments by a reduction and organizations in funding for that used to garner their work.

As bipartisan support, the quantity and like the National quality of research Institutes of Health. work falls due to the These budget changes, drop in funding, the particularly the $5.8 world-renowned billion reduction of medical centers in the NIH budget, hold the United States, severe ramifications like Michigan ZACHARY for medical scientists Medicine, will be COX who rely on the NIH left shorthanded to fund grants that help in the battle against make groundbreaking research diseases like cancer. Moreover, on deadly diseases such as cancer a reduction in research and HIV. funding would mean that not The budget fails to justify only would scientists have the cuts to the NIH, except less money available for raw for mentioning it needs to materials, but they would “focus resources on the highest also have less available to pay priority research.” This raises staff and research assistants the question of what “highest at both the undergraduate priority research” refers to. and graduate levels — a Looking at a recent categorical consequence that would spending report from 2016 gives have a ripple effect on the one a sense of what current affordability of the academic spending priorities may be. experience at this school for Among the most funded areas students interested in pursuing are cancer, clinical research extracurricular involvement in and biotechnology. the biomedical sciences.

Could these priorities My parents, immunologists change? This question suggests who specialize in B cell two possible answers. The NIH transplantation for the could either drastically reduce Department of Surgery at funding for all programs, or Michigan Medicine, employ it could cut smaller programs a handful of students in their that benefit fewer people (but laboratory who assist with their are still important, like the research. A reduction in funding Agency for Healthcare Research for them would translate to and Quality, which seeks to fewer educational opportunities “produce evidence to make in the medical sciences (if any health care safer, higher quality, at all) for these students, which more accessible, equitable, and would consequently stifle both affordable, and to work within the advancement of important the U.S. Department of Health biomedical research. Grant and Human Services and with funding also helps to pay their other partners to make sure salaries, as well as the salaries that the evidence is understood of other scientists. The salaries and used”). The possibility of of lab assistants and janitors are NIH funding being reduced also, in part, made possible by in any of these research areas the University’s grant funding. questions the priorities of this Cuts to this funding would result administration and whether in significant salary reductions these priorities truly put and, consequently, reductions in “America First,” as Trump’s the quality of life enjoyed by my budget plan boasts. family and others who work in

the medical sciences.

Some may argue it is not the responsibility of the government to provide funding for academic endeavors like the pursuit of scientific research, suggesting that such funding can be provided for by charities such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation or the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The issue with these charitable organizations being the sole resource for funding lies in the fact that the support they offer is more limited than the NIH, due to the comparatively limited financial pull they have.

For example, a 2014 annual report for the Gates Foundation showed a total grant support of $3.86 million, spread across the areas of global development, global health, U.S. programing, global policy and advocacy, communications and other charitable programs.

Even within the overall NIH grant support budget, 80 percent goes to outside research.

Funding is spread across several other microprograms, like the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (which studies Alzheimer’s Disease and type 2 diabetes). In contrast, the Gates Foundation has much more of a focus on global health issues (like malaria) than on private research. I believe it is the responsibility of the government to protect the people it serves, and I cannot see how limiting funding for life-saving medical research serves to protect the people of this country.

It is imperative that we do not allow this presidential administration to strip students and scientists of opportunities that contribute to the physical well-being of society at large.

If this leadership insists on putting “America First,” it should focus on placing the health of its citizens among its highest “priorities.”

I am sorry, Evan Rosen

I

t’s done! The dreaded University of Michigan Central Student Government election season is over and we have a winner: eMerge! Congratulations; I know you all worked very hard and wanted this more than anything you’ve wanted thus far in your campus careers.

Your campaign was astounding and historical, and I do not want to discredit your win in any way whatsoever, but this campus owes an apology to LSA junior Evan Rosen, who ran for president with the Movement Party. Here’s why.

During campaigns, it is more than fair to attack a candidate’s qualifications, platform or ideas. However, those supporting eMerge didn’t do that. For the last two weeks, I’ve seen Rosen’s name defiled. I’ve heard students in my classes, who I don’t know, refer to Rosen as “racist,” “sexist” and other horrendous names I don’t feel comfortable publishing. Not the viral rap video — Rosen himself.

And what was worse? When these comments — and other, similar comments — were raised online, I saw eMerge team members like them. With their big blue profile pictures, I saw virtual endorsements of these kinds of personal attacks.

It was the ugliest campus politics I had ever seen. To see people compare Rosen to President Donald Trump was also disheartening and wrong.

Rosen’s political beliefs, as demonstrated through the first CSG debate, are very in line with those of eMerge and the Defend Affirmative Action Party. But no, that didn’t fit the narrative that worked for his opponents. So he, by default, had to be evil and Trumpian.

What did Rosen do when faced with these attacks? Any rational person would fight back or defend themselves.

However, being the poised person he is, Rosen responded to his team by saying in a GroupMe message to the Movement team: “Hey guys: real quick I want to make it clear in here that anyone who was offended by our video absolutely has the right to be,” he wrote.

“While we may not share their reaction, we have no right to tell them what to feel, ever, period. We haven’t taken the video down yet because I think it’s doing more good for this community than it

is bad. That doesn’t mean these people’s feelings aren’t legitimate. Please keep that in mind, not just as a member of this party, but as a fellow human being. We must always try to understand before we project our beliefs and experiences onto others.

And it doesn’t matter how many people it is. Nobody is wrong or right. Everybody is FEELING different things.

Remember that. Thank you.”

If it wasn’t clear then, it must be clear now that Rosen is a class act. While you may not like the contents of his video, he eventually showed that he understood where students were coming from and didn’t try to discredit their feelings.

Let’s interact with more respect, because this campaign showed there is a serious lack of that.

any candidate who comes into CSG and wants to do things differently? Are we going to persecute them in front of the court of public opinion until they are nothing but a pulverized social media disaster? Are we going to keep calling them “dangerous for UM,” as written on a Facebook post by eMerge Party candidate Brittney Williams, a Social Work student, even though they never got the chance to talk about how they planned to bring more diversity to campus? Could Rosen have chosen his words better to be a bit more sensitive? Absolutely. Was criticism of him taken way too far? I believe so.

Rosen deserved to have his ideas talked about. Rosen deserved to debate. Rosen deserved better. Rosen’s name has been tarnished by this campus — and for what? For a CSG election? Rosen tried to right a wrong, but everyone refused to listen since he must be demonized to fit the story.

Congratulations eMerge: Like I said, I think you all worked very hard for this, and I look forward to you, hopefully, keeping your campaign promises, but please acknowledge that Evan Rosen and the Movement Party represent a wider cross section of the student body that is fed up with the same old CSG that we just re-elected. We, as the University of Michigan, should be approaching the issues raised in this election with a more constructive dialogue — something all parties could have done better.

That is not how the Leaders and the Best act. Let’s interact with more respect, because this campaign season showed there is a serious lack of that.

I have many friends in CSG who have asked me, “How do I get more people to respect CSG?” Well, here’s your answer: Respect those who run against you. Respect those who campaign differently than you.

Respect people when they try to right their wrongs. Today I am ashamed to be a Wolverine.

Not because Movement lost, but because of how they lost.

So on behalf of this campus and everyone who won’t say it: I am sorry, Evan Rosen.

Generally, there was little talk of platforms or ideas, of which Movement had a lot.

But to the public eye, there was only that video. A video with the intention of getting more students aware of an election. A video that did just that. To discuss or debate the contents of that video at this point is redundant and irrelevant, but let me make one thing clear: Whether you were offended by it, laughed at it or didn’t understand it, Rosen empathized with you and didn’t try to change your mind.

Rosen held his head high the whole time, through attacks, unfair media treatment and even a little bit of possible debate sabotage.

But instead, his opponents decided to paint a false narrative of racism and not respecting the stories and struggles of communities of color. After the video was taken down, the backlash didn’t stop. Apologies didn’t matter and taking the video down didn’t matter, people wanted Rosen to be their “privileged” villain. He could do no right in their eyes.

Daniel Roth is an LSA sophomore Michigan, I want you to take a look in the mirror. Is and was a general team member of the Movement party. this how we’re going to treat

DAILY STORY SLAM Join The Michigan Daily for our annual Story Slam featuring original pieces sorrounding the theme of relationships. The Story Slam will occur on April 7 at 7 p.m. at 420 Maynard Street.

Zachary Cox can be reached at coxz@umich.edu.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU

Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds.

Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

JOE TRUMPEY | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

I

was disappointed by the University of Michigan men’s basketball loss March 23, but was thrilled by the women’s basketball win! Title IX has only leveled certain aspects of women’s athletics on campus.

Unfortunately, The Michigan Daily continually sells women’s athletics short in how it features stories. Yes, it offers the same quantity of coverage story for story, but look at the feature.

Look at the front page, look at the total word count and look at the color versus blackand-white photos. The Daily’s front page on March 24 was about the men’s loss in full color and featured a full piece on page eight — in full color.

The women’s win is covered

in detail, but only in black and white on page seven. The front page today should have read: Women’s basketball moves on to Women’s National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals! Everyone in the student body should show up to support them at home games. The front page could have had a smaller tease stating the men came home with a tough loss and have more coverage in black and white on page seven.

I have two daughters and two foster daughters — we attend many women’s athletic events and rarely see them treated equally in coverage or hype. The Michigan Daily needs to encourage all our students to attend and support our women’s sporting

events as much as we do our men’s. The WNIT games on March 18 and March 25 were very poorly attended. There were far more students in the band, cheer and dance teams than students in the crowd.

Please work to correct this imbalance. Take an active stance on supporting the women — at least to the level to which the paper highlights the men. It will have a positive effect across our communit y. I hope to see you and many other students at the women’s game.

Joe Trumpey is an associate professor of art at the School of Art & Design and of natural resources at the School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 — 5

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

FILM REVIEW

WILLIAMS AND KELLEY Still from “Following Seas”

‘Seas’ is a fascinating look into one family’s challenge Can computers create?

UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Alicia Vikander in “Ex Machina”

Ann Arbor Film Festival presents a tale of a family at sea ASIF BECHER Daily Arts Writer

You’ve probably never heard of the Griffith family, despite the fact that they’re among the most accomplished American sailors in history.

The family undertook 20 ocean voyages over two decades, including three separate circumnavigations.

They’ve been marooned on desert islands, navigated through miles and miles of treacherous icebergs and nearly drowned more times than they can count. They live their lives according to the call of adventure, untethered by the trappings of modern society.

“Following Seas,” a documentary shown at the Ann Arbor Film Festival made by Tyler J. Kelley and Araby Williams, is the story of the Griffiths, as told by the matriarch, Nancy. Her narrations are set to the footage she took while at sea over the years on 16-millimeter film. The result is fascinating — a film filled with stories of adventure, love, heartbreak and visceral panic.

They are truly a family of explorers, in the oldest possible sense of the word. Nancy’s husband, Bob, had been a successful veterinarian until one day he decided he couldn’t take it anymore, and so he took

his daughter (an act that Social Griffiths needed to put the Services had described as whole story together. They “kidnapping”) and went off to experienced some horrible sea. He met Nancy in Honolulu losses in their travels, losses Harbor in 1960, and the two of that could be expected given them got married and raised the danger that constantly their family at sea. loomed over their lives, Nancy tells her stories in but awful nonetheless. The a deadpan voice, which feels filmmakers’ empathy for their somewhat juxtaposed with subjects is clear in the way her subjects: that time she was they edited the film, with stranded on a desert island a deft sense of humor and a and lived self-sufficiently for precise eye for the detail that three months, or that time she makes the Griffith family’s found out she was lives transcend pregnant while from a collection on a Russian of anecdotes to a naval base in complete story.

Antarctica.

There’s a keen Her matter-ofsense of nostalgia 55th Annual Ann factness is part to “Following Arbor Film Festival of what makes Seas.” Whether March 25, 2017, her family’s story that be because of 5:15 PM so compelling — the omnipresent she’s interesting 16mm footage Michigan Theater because of what or the fondness she did, not how with which those she spoke. They interviewed traveled without talk about the GPS, any way to communicate old days, I don’t know, but it with the world or money (most lets the film hit the audience of the time). It was just the gently. Not with a sudden rush family, a 53-foot boat they built of forced sympathy, but with themselves, a chronometer and a quiet yet focused empathy. some maps.

Kelley and Williams aren’t According to a post- here to force awe or judgment screening Q & A with the on the Griffiths — they’re just filmmakers, it took about along for the ride. It’s a lovely, six years to finish the film. warm film, one that deserves to Most of that time was spent go beyond the festival circuit not gathering the footage — to wide release. We could all Nancy supplied that herself do with a little more adventure — but gaining the trust of the in our lives.

“Following Seas”

GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN

Problematic presentation of pregnancy in the media Where we go wrong at the intersections of social media and health If you type into Google the phrase, “am I pregnant,” the first autofill that comes up now is “am I pregnant video.” The video that this popular search refers is actually titled, “how is prangent formed.”

In case you haven’t seen or heard of this video, a quick explanation: Published on Youtube on October 20th, this video consists of several screenshots of the question “am I pregnant?” or variations of it from Yahoo Answers. This video went viral quickly after being published; every time I checked Facebook for a few weeks, people were sharing it on each other’s walls, and I’m still seeing it pop up occasionally. Now, it has more than 8 million views.

The first time I watched it, it was without sound and I thought it was a poverty porn type of video — something made to pull on heartstrings. I thought that if I turned up the volume, I would hear that song they play during the ASPCA ads, and there would be a somber voiceover talking about women who have no access to healthcare or education or birth control or something along those lines.

After I watched it with volume, I wished it had been that simple.

The guy doing the voiceover reads every single question out loud in a “funny” voice. The humour is supposed to come from the fact that he pronounces everything

phonetically, including people’s or don’t have anywhere else to spelling mistakes, and doesn’t turn to for answers. Of course, we correct any grammar. He reads already knew that, but this is visual one in a in a stereotypical Southern evidence. I’m still unclear as to accent (around the 47 second mark, how this is actually funny, when in case you’re curious), presumably you think about the implications. because of the use of the word ain’t: I’m not trying to shame anyone “Girlfriend aint had period since she for liking a video where some guy got pregat?” speaks in a funny voice, nor am I I get it, the narrator’s voice is a “feminist who can’t take a joke.” funny, sure, whatever. But these Hearing a guy read these questions questions aren’t funny out loud — a guy at all, especially when who has presumably you consider that never had to worry anyone who is turning about the possibility to Yahoo answers for or implications of something as serious becoming pregnant — as pregnancy must not was jarring enough. have very many other But seeing so many options. Some of the people on my social most off-putting or media feeds who concerning asks include: I know care about SOPHIA “How can a nine year women’s issues old get prangnet,” “are KAUFMAN (and human rights these systoms of being in general) spread pregarnt,” “Did most you women this video as if it were devoid of FEEL pgrenant before find out?” political implications was also and “How long can u go being unsettling. And for people who prognant to get an abortian?” consider themselves vehemently I don’t know anything about pro-life and believe the the women who typed these government should ban abortions, questions into Yahoo answers. But it’s worth asking yourselves how the sheer volume of them suggest you can want to deny women that that there are women out there option, and yet laugh at this video who need answers, haven’t had which shows some women clearly access to education about how seeking alternatives and unable to the reproductive system works, find them. feel alienated from their bodies, I feel like I’ve seen an increase maybe never went to high school, in coded messages revolving can’t speak English well and/ around pregnancy in the media

The question of artificial intelligence originally raised by Turing JESSICA ZEISLOFT Daily Arts Writer

Can computers think?

Alan Turing, the closest thing computer science nerds have to a god, first posed this question in 1950.

Today, I ask: Can computers create?

Before I dive into the second question I want to talk about the first one: Can computers think?

Computer scientist Edsger W. Dijkstra countered this with another question: Can a submarine swim? And by extension, can an airplane fly? All three examples involve technology achieving a certain naturally defined endgame.

Submarines swim, but not like fish. Airplanes fly, but not like birds. Resultantly, computers think, but not like humans.

We see submarines and planes as successful because they are able to navigate the seas and skies.

To reach a similar bar of success, a computer that thinks should make decisions as rationally as human do.

Computers can’t do this yet, but the entire field of Artificial Intelligence has emerged in pursuit of this goal. And in the past decade it has exploded.

Given that in a mere half century we have seen computers evolve from cluttering entire rooms to fitting into our pocket, making a machine that thinks seems like a realistic goal. Google Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil, an incredibly accurate technology forecaster, said at the SXSW conference last month that this moment could be upon us come year 2029.

So if we wait a couple decades, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to definitively answer yes to the first question. And although this might seem menacing, I assure you there’s nothing inherently

recently, or maybe I’m just paying more attention. There was that X-ray of a pregnant snake that went viral after Hank Green tweeted it, as people starting tagging Taylor Swift and then making jokes about sending it to their ex-girlfriends.

Then there was U.S. Rep. Steve King (R - Iowa) ’s comment that went viral, “We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” in reference to immigration issues. While thinking about these happenings, I couldn’t help but recall the memoir “Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust,” by Immaculée Ilibagiza. It’s a haunting narrative about genocide, human cruelty, sorrow, and unbelievably, forgiveness. I was too young when I read it, but there are a few lines seared into my memory, including a chant that people would use as inspiration for killing anyone, including pregnant women and children, they came across: “A baby snake is still a snake, let none escape.”

I’m not making a direct correlation between viral twitter comments, memes or videos and genocidal mindsets. But it’s worth thinking about how, in the media, what we sometimes mindlessly consume affects our engagement with the concept of pregnancy — and why we find certain things funny when they’re not attached to a real name or face.

dangerous or scary about AI. Ex Machina is fiction. At its core, AI is a collection of algorithms and agents like Siri and Alexa are just a bunch of lines of code.

Now that we’ve theorized about the first question, we turn to the arguably more compelling question: Can computers create?

It’s one thing for a machine to drive itself across the country, but can a machine record the next 10/10 Pitchfork album? (Can anyone for that matter? I won’t launch into that debate right now though.) Or can a machine create the next Starry Night? For a computer to be innovative, its abilities must span far beyond mere thought.

The world has already seen some early attempts at creative AI agents, especially in the music field. Last week, a high school student debuted a machinelearning library that uses Kanye West lyrics to create its own ad-libs. Last year, Flow Machines, a project funded by the European Research Council, released two songs composed by a computer, though the production, mixing and lyrics are human-generated.

Despite the buzz and flashy headlines, the resulting compositions fall far short of the goal of creativity. The computer can rhyme, but the rhythm structure and wordplay is lacking. The Flow Machines tracks, developed in the style of The Beatles and Duke Ellington, sound like they came from their respective influencer’s discography. There was nothing new in the actual composition.

But just because these AI agents don’t meet the standard, doesn’t mean that none ever will.

To reason about the future of this technology, we must consider what creativity is.

Steve Jobs said, “Creativity is just connecting things.” I think he’s pretty spot on. No musician exists without influences;

no painter creates without predecessors. Artists look at what already exists — be it current events, society or other art — and rearrange select pieces in a way that has not been done before.

As we learn more about the neuroscience behind creativity, we will eventually pinpoint what makes a high-quality creative connection and develop technology that reflects this. It is likely that someday machines will be able to create like humans.

This doesn’t mean that artists will be obsolete, though. As I said before, there is something inherently different about creativity and thought. A selfdriving car is successful if it drives, but an artificially intelligent artist is not successful if it merely creates something.

Artists are so much more than their art; they impact society and pop culture in ways that machines cannot. Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean — hell even Taylor Swift — all have reputations and societal impact that is infused into their music. You can’t listen to Kanye without thinking about his latest Twitter rant, or Swift without considering her latest breakup.

Machines don’t have emotions or personality. They could contribute industry-changing innovation, but the entire experience would fall short of a human artist’s.

Regardless, computers have the potential to compete with humans creatively. We shouldn’t see this as a threat though.

Some of the best art results from competition. Considering that for years now the arts have struggled to be taken seriously by government and society, a creative revamp might be just what the industry needs.

Although we might have to wait a while for it, creative AI could eventually spark a new artistic golden age.

Arts

6 — Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

FILM REVIEW

Clark and Brown bring lyrical poetry to Literati Two previous poet laureates who test the limits of lyricism and performance to present their recent poetry at Literati FALLON GATES For the Daily

FLICKR Tony Conrad, subject of the new documentary

Conrad documentary is a heartfelt portrait of artist New doc profiles the life of experimental filmmaker Tony Conrad BECKY PORTMAN Daily Arts Writer

“History is like music, completely in the present” – Tony Conrad These are the words that open this riveting documentary on the life and work of artist, musician, filmmaker and teacher Tony Conrad, and they couldn’t be more accurate. Conrad is radically present in all of his endeavors, using his passion and creativity to challenge constructs of power, cinema, music and art. The film, directed and produced by Tyler Hubby (“House of Harrington”), is a non-linear style timeline of Conrad’s experimental, antiauthority, sometimes blinding collection of artistic endeavors.

Hubby manages to capture Conrad as an artist and a character simultaneously, while keeping the audience engaged, entertained and excited.

Conrad is loveable and ridiculous. His personality is clearly demonstrated on screen as a quirky grandpa-type who talks to the camera as if it were a dear friend. Before entering the world of minimalist music, Conrad studied computers at Harvard, which explains his high caliber vocabulary

and long-winded soliloquies.

Following Harvard, Conrad took refuge on Ludlow Street in downtown New York City, where he jammed with the likes of John Cale and The Velvet Underground. It was there that Conrad and his buds helped form the foundation for minimalist music as we see it today.

After making strides in the music scene, Conrad took his talents to the world of underground filmmaking, where he challenged Andy Warhol and cinema in general. Hubby documents Conrad’s ventures in underground filmmaking with his 1965 debut of “The Flicker,” a film which consists of, well, flickers. Conrad playfully addresses the camera declaring himself “Mr. Flicker.” Also Hubby highlights Conrad’s famous “Yellow Movies,” which fall somewhere between performance art and film, with a little expressionism thrown in for good measure. A hallmark of Conrad’s music is the monotoned drone of the worst quality violin you can imagine. The sound — or noise rather — of it can be unbearable at times, but the passion Conrad feels for his craft makes the headache worth it.

In addition to his radical films rooted in challenging the norm, Conrad also took on teaching

Classifieds

media at both Antioch College and The State University of New York at Buffalo. Conrad perfectly fits the mold of the oddball professor, with teaching methods in the classroom that keep students on their toes. He skyped into a class on documentary filmmaking, utilizing Hubby as a teaching tool in his instruction. The meta-effect perfectly captures Conrad’s effervescent presence and style.

Conrad, an abstract artist in his own right, screws the construct of abstract art and the contemplative religiously that goes with it. Conrad would rather make his audience laugh out loud than silently meditate, and Hubby’s film is definitely filled with laughter.

The film ends with Conrad standing on the streets of New York City, directing traffic as if he were conducting an orchestra; a screaming child, a motorcycle, three large trucks.

It is the perfect end to the documentary, leaving the viewer with a final taste of Conrad’s eccentric, quirky charm.

Hubby’s documentary is a telling portrait of Tony Conrad’s contributions to the world of art, cinema and music, all the while capturing the unique lovability of a legendary creative mind.

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

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

SERVICES

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Like some benefit golf tournaments 6 Baby bed 10 Deadly snakes in hieroglyphics 14 “It matters to me” 15 Italian money until 2002 16 Tackle box item 17 *Seeks shelter 19 Samoa’s capital 20 “__ side are you on?”

21 Not up to snuff 23 Pierced ear part 26 Actor Jared 28 Conceals in one’s hand 29 Tactical advancements 31 Like slugs 33 Jellyfish bites 34 Thrilla in Manila boxer 35 Stop stalling 37 Wee one 38 *Bob Marley togetherness classic 41 Mag mogul often seen in pj’s 43 Letters in geometry 45 Duracell size 46 Ritzy spread 48 Ivory and Coast, for two 50 Tom Brady, notably 51 Garden bug 53 Airline to Tel Aviv 55 “The Piano” actress Paquin 56 “Just my luck!”

58 La Scala solos 60 Prime for picking 61 Stationery that may include a company logo ... or what the ends of answers to the starred clues can be?

66 “Got it” 67 Dole (out) 68 Chill-inducing 69 Camera part 70 Toboggan, e.g.

71 Second or sixth president

DOWN 1 Mango discard 2 Color TV pioneer 3 Sturdy furniture wood 4 “Is it a go for tonight?”

5 Sports jersey material 6 Wraps up 7 Fastener for Rosie 8 Rancor 9 Pub crawl stops 10 Montgomery’s home 11 *System that gets goods to customers 12 Trojan War king 13 Chars 18 Reason for a heating bill spike 22 Wire service org.

23 Most wanted __ 24 In the lead 25 *Major golf tournament won five times by Tom Watson 27 Nobel Institute city 30 Back in the day 32 Habitually misrepresent one’s true self

34 Pie __ mode 36 Wyoming’s Grand __ National Park 39 Lighten (up) 40 Md. winter hours 42 Spanakopita cheese 44 Evening affairs 47 Seriously vandalized 49 USN bigwig 50 Took different paths

51 Month with showers 52 Composure 54 Foamy pick-meup 57 Tall shade trees 59 Environs 62 Slender swimmer 63 Pitcher’s stat 64 Asset at the archery range 65 __ Moines

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

STUDENT SUMMER STORAGE Specials ‑ Closest to campus ‑ Indoor Clean ‑ Safe ‑ Reserve online now annarborstorage.com call 734‑663‑0690

FOR RENT 712 W. HURON ‑ PURRRFECT, pet‑ friendly location with great pricing! Rents starting at $1375! Call today for specials & secure your new home! 734‑741‑9300 ARBOR PROPERTIES Award‑Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2017.

734‑649‑8637. www.arborprops.com AVAILABLE MAY 2017, Studio near CCRB. AVAILABLE SEPT. 2017, 2 Bedroom near South U. 734‑996‑2836

xwordeditor@aol.com

03/28/17

BROADVIEWAPARTMENTS ‑ Spa‑ cious & peaceful North Campus living!! 1 & 2 bedroom apartments with pricing that starts at $1110 per installment!! FREE parking, FREE laundry, and FREE shuttle service! Call today for specials!

CMB MANAGEMENT ‑ With 17 pre‑ mier locations treating every resident like family since 1992. Apartments as low as $1050 per rental installment. Call today for specials and to schedule a tour of your new home! 734‑741‑9300 GEDDES HILL ‑ HUGE contemporary apartments with unforgettable amenities!

Peaceful location adjacent to the Arbore‑ tum with pricing starting at $1800. Call to‑ day for current specials! 734‑741‑9300

HAPPY

By C.C. Burnikel ©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

03/28/17

TUESDAY!

Literati welcomes poets Fleda Brown and Patricia Clark to share selections from both of their latest published collections, each focused on the natural world.

Fleda Brown, a former poet laureate of Delaware from 2001 to 2006, currently resides in Traverse City where she writes for the Record Eagle. Brown will read from her new book, “The Woods Are On Fire: New & Selected Poems,” as part of the Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry Series.

“I like to hear my poems out loud,” Brown wrote in an email interview. “It helps me as a writer.

But even more, the poem is nothing until it’s heard. It needs an ear and an eye.”

For Brown, nearly anything in the world could be her next inspiration for a poem.

“I am inspired by any odd thing. Nothing in particular, just the ordinaries of my life,” Brown wrote. “I am very visual and often a poem starts with an image — a tree, a cedar waxwing, a man crossing the street, etc.”

Brown stressed the importance of finding what one is most passionate about. In her own life, she was unsure of pursuing what she loved to do, and encourages taking a leap of faith.

“I had no idea that people could do this for a career,” Brown wrote. “I got a Ph.D. in American Literature and after I began teaching at the University of Delaware, I finally put together enough poems for a book.

And behold! Someone wanted to publish it. So I was off and running.

I no longer ‘had’ to be a scholar. I could keep doing what gave me the most pleasure.”

Brown describes her climb to success as many little things building up to what she has become today.

“Over the years I’ve had some great poet friends who’ve read my poems and commented, encouraged and discouraged me.

I seem to do best with someone the eye can see without taking pointing out what’s working any notes. Finding things in the rather than pointing out what isn’t physical world inspires her to working,” Brown wrote. “I do well discover what it signifies. with praise. I’m the one who’s “When I come home, my test hardest on myself.” is kind of, ‘Do I still remember In Traverse City, Brown has something?’ And if I still remember been staying busy with several something then it must mean different projects. something psychological,” Clark “I’ve been working my tail off. added. “So my goal as a writer is I put together an edited collection to put some words down on paper, of my blog posts from when I some observations, and see it I can had cancer and published it as a tease out what it means.” book, ‘My Wobbly Playing with Bicycle,’ with all language is a large Poetry at the proceeds going part of her writing.

Literati: Fleda to the Cowell When the words Cancer Center here come together just Brown and in Traverse City,” right, Clark finds Patricia Clark Brown wrote. “I’m her job to be a real writing an essay thrill.

Literati Bookstore now and then, “When the Tuesday March expecting to pull reader reads it they 28th @ 7 P.M. essays together for too have a little a collection when I discovery moment Free have enough that I and a moment of like.” insight. Not a big Patricia Clark, moment, like ‘the a former poet laureate of Grand world sucks,’ it’s more like a little Rapids from 2005 to 2007, is a insight, like this is a beautiful professor of writing at Grand moment,” Clark said. “Now that Valley State University. sounds kinda trite but hopefully in Clark will be reading from her the poem it isn’t. It’s fresh.” new book, “The Canopy,” which Clark teaches creative writing came out in January. She enjoys at Grand Valley State University, hearing how people respond to instructing on poetry, fiction and her work. She may even read a nonfiction. She leads students out new poem that has not yet been of the academic writing they may published. be used to into a whole new artistic “There’s always a surprise in world. terms of what people respond to …

“You can do a lot of wild and that’s really fun,” Clark said. “And crazy things … you can experiment, then people come up and say ‘I was you can break the rules. Students really moved by this’ or ‘this meant seem to really respond,” Clark said. a lot to me.’ ” Some students have even Clark describes her style of changed majors as a result of the poetry as lyrical, and it often discoveries made in Clark’s class. focuses on aspects of the natural “(Teaching) always rejuvenates environment. my own writing because I think, “Poetry really is closest to music ‘wow this is what I should be in terms of an art form even though doing. It can really help my own it is words, so I tend to try to have writing.” a fairly musical kind of line,” Clark Currently, Clark is working said. “And then in terms of imagery on a collection of obituaries from and stuff like that I have a lot of several different Patricia Clarks nature imagery in my poems.” from all across the country.

Basing her writing off Aiming to laugh in the face of observations, she is known to death, this piece will have a bit of simply walk about and see what humor to accompany it.

FILM PROFILE

The 55th Ann Arbor Film Festival Awards Review Madeleine Gaudin recaps winners and losers of this year’s festival MADELEINE GAUDIN Senior Arts Editor

This past Sunday, the awards ceremony of the 55th Ann Arbor Film Festival opened with a jab at the festival itself. Before the award winning shorts were screened, they played what the introductory remarks called a “PSA.” It was an SNL skit from last fall that poked fun at the experimental film festival.

Within a genre of filmmaking that seems ripe for this sort of mockery, the films recognized on Sunday stood out for their simultaneous mastery of narrative and innovative artistic expression.

The Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival was awarded to “Xylophone,” a collage animation piece by Jennifer Levonian. In the film, Levonian pairs striking cutpaper animation with a flowing, absurdist plot. With no dialogue, the film follows a pregnant mother and her daughter as they travel across a gentrified Philadelphia neighborhood bouncing on exercise balls in “mommy and me” yoga classes and picking up goats at the petting zoo. “Xylophone” demonstrates Levonian’s mastery of animation, comedy, social commentary and unconventional, yet accessible, narrative techniques.

An equally smart animated film, “‘The Talk’ True Stories

About the Birds and the Bees,” won the Prix DeVarti Award for Funniest Film. Alain Delannoy’s short film weaves together the first-person testimonials of a handful of men who recount the talks their parents gave — or didn’t give — them about sex. From the cringe-worthy to the absurd, Delannoy’s film captures a very precise moment in adolescence with a gentleness that allows his subjects to be vulnerable. Shown as faceless, animated silhouettes, the men tell their stories anonymously, a trick that allows the film to get as close to its subjects as it does in its brief 11 minute runtime.

A less traditionally narrative piece, “Commodity City,” earned its creator Jessica Kingdon the award for Most Promising Filmmaker.

Kingdon’s film explores the world’s largest wholesale market in Yiwu, China. The mall spans over five miles end to end, but Kingdon stays close to her subjects, favoring detail over scale. She captures an assortment of booths — people selling everything from clocks to rope to flowers.

At first, the subjects are still and quiet, they watch videos on their phones and type on computers, almost visually consumed by the products around them. As we settle into the space, the subjects begin to behave as if no one is watching them. A girl pulls a stool out from under her younger

brother, a boy picks his nose, others fight over toys. Without a plot or much dialogue, Kingdon builds an immensely intricate and visually stunning world inside the mall.

In addition to the specific awards, a number of films received Jury Awards. A standout among the Jury Award winners was William Caballero’s “Victor & Isolina,” a part claymation, part animation piece about the relationship between the filmmakers’ grandparents.

The narrative is built around recordings of an interview between Caballero and each grandparent, but none of them are seen until the films credits.

Rather, Caballero shoots small doll-like figurines and animates the content of the interview in paper-cut letters onscreen. The film stands apart from others in the festival for its innovative approach to animation and the way in which it blurs the lines between traditional animation and live action.

Other notable wins include Gabriel Ortega’s “Emelina” taking home the Tios Award for Best International Film, the \aut\ Film Award for Best LGBTQ Film going to Elegance Bratton’s “Walk for Me” and Jonathan Rattner picking up the Michael Moore Award for Best Documentary for his film “The Interior.” A full list of winners is available here.

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 — 7

Michigan’s Pro Day exemplifies main ‘M’ eager to advance commitment to grooming NFL talent WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MAGGIE KOLCON Daily Sports Writer

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Writer

Two and a half years ago, Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley were just rotation players on the Michigan football team’s defensive line, with only a handful of starts between them.

The only NFL Draft speculation surrounding either of them came from an Instagram post from Charlton in November 2012, a few months before he enrolled at the University. The photo depicted an empty Draft stage and bore the caption, “One day in a couple years I’m going to walk across this stage and be able to tell my momma (I) made it!!”

Now, after two more full seasons of football and a coaching staff overhaul, both Charlton and Wormley — along with as many as a dozen of their teammates — are poised to hear their names called on a similar stage in Philadelphia at the end of April, making their dream a reality.

Friday afternoon, Charlton, Wormley and the rest of the draft-eligible Wolverines spoke to the media following the team’s annual Pro Day at Oosterbaan Field House — where they had just worked out in front of a large contingency of NFL personnel, including at least eight head coaches — and couldn’t help but reflect on how they made it to this moment.

Many of them were highlytouted recruits brought to Ann Arbor by former coach Brady Hoke, but either played below their potential in their early years or had a hard time getting on the field whatsoever. But thanks to more years of seasoning and the arrival of new coach Jim Harbaugh — and his experienced, NFL-savvy coaching staff — many of those same recruits now find themselves on the cusp of playing at the next level.

“I think maybe we did

COURTESY OF JACOB GASE

Senior defensive end Taco Charlton figures to be one of the Wolverines’ highest picks in the NFL Draft in April.

something right,” Wormley said.

“We all could have went our separate ways when Coach Hoke left, but we all stuck together, we all pushed through it and made the best of it with Coach Harbaugh. And obviously, he’s done a lot of great things for us.

I think it’s a combination of us putting in the work and sticking through it, and having Coach Harbaugh on our side as well.”

Harbaugh’s focus on developing players for the next level hasn’t been just limited to the highest-caliber high school talents, either. Defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow was a walk-on who worked his way into the starting lineup and is now a potential mid-round draft pick. And defensive tackle Matt Godin was a three-star recruit who didn’t become a permanent fixture on the starting line until this season, but he had a positive experience

at the Pro Day and is pursuing an NFL career as well.

The sheer depth and quantity of talent earning NFL looks Friday — especially given the state of the program two seasons ago — certainly wasn’t lost on Glasgow.

“I think it says we’re taking a step in the right direction, especially with developing guys to the pros,” Glasgow said. “We were an eight-, nine-, seven- win team but only having two, three guys at the Pro Day who were getting serious looks for a few years there. I think it means we’re taking a step in the right direction in developing pro players and not just working out college players.”

And Charlton, one of the leaders of the defensive line who came on late under Harbaugh and figures to be one of the Wolverines’ highest draft picks,

thinks that trend will become the new norm. With a number of assistant coaches with NFL backgrounds — including passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton, offensive coordinator Tim Drevno and defensive line coach Greg Mattison — the groundwork for a pipeline from Ann Arbor to the NFL is clearly visible.

“What Coach Harbaugh’s been able to do and what all the coaching staff has been able to do is only gonna continue in the future,” Charlton said. “We’ve got a lot of young guys that are gonna be very successful; they’re very talented, they’re just very young.

“This is the right coaching staff to elevate their game and basically teach them the right way, so I definitely have faith in what Michigan has in the future going forward. They’re in good hands.”

The Michigan women’s basketball team has smashed its single-season win record.

Formerly stuck at 22, the Wolverines have won 26 games already, and their season is not over. Yet after racking up four wins in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, Michigan is in the same place it has ended its last two seasons.

In 2015, the Wolverines faced UCLA in the semifinal round of the WNIT, and lost by just four points to the eventual champions.

The Wolverines were the only Big Ten team invited to the WNIT, as Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State and Rutgers all earned bids to the NCAA Tournament.

Despite its eighth place finish in the Big Ten, Michigan redeemed its 2014-15 season in the WNIT. The Wolverines outlasted all of their fellow conference teams in postseason play except for the Terrapins, who made it to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. After a mediocre season, Michigan’s third place WNIT finish was an impressive accomplishment.

In 2016, the Wolverines’ season came to an end after losing 71-62 in the WNIT semifinal to Florida Gulf Coast. Leading up to the matchup, Michigan faced tough non-conference teams in Wright State, Bucknell, San Diego and Temple. The Wolverines scored over 75 points in each game to move on to the penultimate round.

Out of seven Big Ten teams competing in 2016, Michigan made it the furthest of in the WNIT, despite finishing seventh in the conference.

This season is different, though. Michigan fully expected to be selected to the NCAA Tournament after its third place finish in the Big Ten. The Wolverines spent three weeks

ranked in the top-25 in the nation — the first time they earned a spot in the coveted rankings since 2013 (coincidentally the last time they made the NCAA Tournament). While winning the NCAA Tournament would still have been a long shot, it was a shock for them not to be chosen to compete, especially since two teams behind the Wolverines in the Big Ten standings made the Big Dance.

That’s why, if Michigan finishes its season by losing to Villanova in the semifinal round of the WNIT, it will be a disappointment. Led by senior guard Siera Thompson, junior guard Katelynn Flaherty and sophomore center Hallie Thome, Michigan is better than it was in those seasons.

Thompson now holds the all-time assists record, Thome has the record for best field goal percentage in program history and Flaherty occupies the top spot for points in a single season, points per game and field goals made. Even without their thirdbest scorer, freshman guard Kysre Gondrezick — who began an “indefinite leave of absence” on Mar. 23 — the Wolverines have plenty of prolific players.

Winning the WNIT should not be out of reach. Yet Michigan has been unpredictable this season.

Though the Wolverines have momentum after beating four consecutive WNIT opponents, they also seemed to have confidence going into the last four games of the regular season. Michigan lost three of those four games, and the losing streak carried over into the Big Ten Tournament, where it fell to Michigan State in the first round.

This season is still supposed to be different, but only if the Wolverines win the WNIT and hang a championship banner in Crisler Center. Anything less would be considered a disappointment.

‘M’ loses its 21-game home win Wolverines’ energy not enough streak against No. 3 Ohio State to clinch doubles point Sunday LANEY BYLER

Daily Sports Editor

During the doubles matchup between the No. 16 Michigan men’s tennis team and No. 3 Ohio State, the Varsity Tennis Center was anything but quiet.

The rows on the north side of the building were packed as the two rival teams battled it out for the doubles point. But the Wolverines would lose at both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, and the Buckeyes (4-0 Big Ten, 19-3 overall) would gain the initial advantage.

The point was one of four Ohio State would record en route to winning the matchup, 4-1. The loss snapped Michigan’s 21-game win streak at home, which dates back to the 2014-15 season. It also snapped the Wolverines’ five-game win streak overall.

The No. 1 doubles pair for

Michigan (1-1, 11-4) consisted of senior Jathan Malik and freshman Connor Johnston, which rank 30th nationally. This was a shift from the norm, as Malik usually pairs with senior Kevin Wong, and the duo sits at No. 5 in the ITA. “We’ve played that lineup a few times already but we went back to it,” said Michigan coach Adam Steinberg.

“I thought it was a good change, we needed it, we’ve been struggling on the doubles court and we just needed something, a spark, anything, so that’s why we made the change.”

Malik and Johnston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, while the No. 2 pair of juniors Runhao Hua

and Alex Knight fell behind their Buckeye counterparts. The No. 3 duo, consisting of Wong and sophomore Myles Schalet, also advanced to a lead.

But while the No. 3 pair was able to secure a 6-4 win, Knight and Hua dropped their match, 4-6.

The winner of the doubles point boiled down to the No. 1 spot.

With the game tied at 40 and Ohio State leading in sets, 5-4, the next point would either keep Michigan in the running or give the Buckeyes possession of the doubles point. Ultimately, the Wolverine pair sent the ball out of bounds, giving Ohio State the advantage headed into singles.

At No. 1 singles, Malik faced the challenge of playing Buckeye Mikael Torpegaard, a junior from Denmark who is the topranked singles player in the nation.

Malik gained an early edge with a 6-3 win in the first set of the match. The second set went to a tiebreak, which Torpegaard claimed 7-6 (5). The two went into a third set, only to abandon the match after Ohio State recorded its fourth team point on another court.

“I thought he did great,” Steinberg said. “I thought it was a big lift for our team, a big confidence boost for him and for us against the best player in the country. I thought he played a really smooth match and I told him that he should be proud of that effort for sure.”

The Wolverines’ lone point came from junior Alex Knight at the No. 3 spot in straight sets over JJ Wolf, 6-3, 7-5. But individual victories from Ohio State’s Hugo Di Feo, Kyle Seelig and Herkko Pollanen at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, gave the Buckeyes to enough points to claim the win.

“I told him that he should be proud of that effort for sure”

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

Senior Jathan Malik faced a tough challenge against No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard.

Freshman Connor Johnston filled in for senior Kevin Wong at the No. 1 spot, but Michigan still fell short PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Writer

Just 10 minutes into the No. 16 Michigan men’s tennis team’s doubles matches, each Wolverine doubles pair had the upper hand and it appeared that they were going to win at least two of the three matches and clinch the doubles point easily.

But No. 3 Ohio State would not go down without a fight.

Michigan made a point to come out with more intensity than it had all season, and the energy from a packed crowd in the Varsity Tennis Center seemed to be propelling the Wolverines to a victory.

“Every second of every day is about playing for Michigan, playing for each other, playing for something bigger than themselves, with better energy, better enthusiasm,” said Michigan coach Adam Steinberg.

But that kind of fervor couldn’t last forever.

The No. 1 doubles pair of senior Jathan Malik and freshman Connor Johnston jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Buckeyes rallied and after a double fault from Johnston, they held a narrow 4-3 lead.

With a strong performance at No. 3 doubles, senior Kevin Wong and sophomore Myles Schalet claimed a 6-4 victory. In the match point, the duo served to its opponent’s backhand and he mishit the ball off the frame, ending the match.

The No. 2 duo finished almost simultaneously, though with a different result. The pair lost its early lead and fell to the Buckeyes, 6-4.

With each team having won one match, Malik and Johnston were left to give their team the doubles point – and the advantage – going into singles play.

With the score tied at four games apiece, Ohio State was up

40-0 and only one point away from breaking the Wolverines’ serve. Malik and Johnston battled back to deuce but ultimately fell short after the Buckeyes watched Malik’s shot sail just long of the baseline.

Ohio State was up 5-4 and serving for the match.

It was a tightlycontested game, reaching deuce once again. The Buckeyes served to Malik, giving him the opportunity to redeem himself. He set his feet in an attempt to hit a deep shot down the line, but once again the ball

landed outside of the court.

“We got up on them a little bit and they really fought hard and stayed in there,” Steinberg said. “I thought we could have put them away, especially at one doubles. It got away from us a little bit, but I was happy with the energy and the way they competed.”

Michigan’s momentum from the start of the match had transferred to Ohio State. The Buckeyes ran away with the doubles point, which then set the tone for the rest of the match, which Ohio State won, 4-1.

“We got up on them a little bit and they really fought hard”

ARNOLD ZHOU/Daily

Freshman Connor Johnston jumped out to an early lead but fell in doubles play.

Sports

8 — Tuesday, March 28, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Canfield powers Michigan on offense, defense SOFTBALL Scoring first equals playing loose for ‘M’ BENJAMIN KATZ Daily Sports Writer

Faith Canfield spent Friday morning in class jotting down notes instead of taking batting practice before the No. 19 Michigan softball team opened Big Ten play against Penn State.

This lack of game-time preparation didn’t matter for the sophomore second baseman.

While her teammates rocketed balls over the fence during warmups, Canfield was one of few who consistently found success when it counted.

The Garden Grove, Calif., native hit a combined 6-for-9 this weekend against the Nittany Lions, racking up six RBI, five runs and five extra-base hits — including three doubles, a triple and her team-leading fifth home run of the season. Canfield’s bat was hot throughout the Penn State series, offsetting the Wolverines’ unpredictable production at the plate.

Michigan coach Carol Hutchins believes Canfield has given the underwhelming lineup a much-needed spark when the Wolverines have needed it most.

“Faith has been just working hard and improving,” Hutchins said. “I think she plays with a great energy, which I think helps you play better. … She has great rhythm and is swinging well. So, she is making it look kind of easy.

I’d like to think that that inspires the group — that ‘You can do it, if I can do it.’

“She’s certainly been solid for us,” she concluded while grinning.

With the graduation of one of Michigan’s all-time greats, Sierra Romero, Canfield won the starting job at second base. And the decision to insert her in the lineup is paying dividends in both aspects of the game.

Canfield boasts a .359 batting average, and leads the team in home runs with five, 59 total bases and 29 runs. She also ranks among the top three on the

team in doubles, RBI, steals and slugging percentage.

Coming into college, Canfield was a go-to utility player and an undeveloped power hitter, looking instead to make contact and get on base. But hard work to get “bigger” during the offseason has led to the sophomore already doubling her home run total from last year.

Canfield also attributes her newfound power to the finetuning of her technique in the batter’s box and hitting off her backside. Then there’s the mental aspect to her approach, one Hutchins engrains into all her players. She purely focuses on the outcome of each at-bat by hitting the back of the ball, or at least making contact to put it into play.

“It’s in my confidence, trusting my process and just keeping it simple,” Canfield said. “Honestly, not making it too big. The game doesn’t know who you’re playing or what your batting average is, so you just have to go up to every at-bat looking to hit the ball hard.”

Though Canfield made her

name known last year after flashing offensive potential, primarily entering games as the designated player, she has earned a reputation this year as a reliable defensive player¬¬. This weekend, her sometimes flashy — but always consistent — glove got her pitchers out of jams, inspiring her teammates in the process. She has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage this season and leads the team with 45 assists, along with 28 putouts.

Canfield believes her backup role for most of last season taught her to be more appreciative of all the chances she gets to display her natural fielding abilities.

“I love going out there,” Canfield said. “… I think just going out there and enjoying it and realizing that every day we get to play is a great opportunity (is important). I think that whether you’re up or down, being grateful definitely helps me keep a positive energy.”

For her teammates, watching Canfield’s prowess and dedication to the game is motivational,

impacting their own play.

“She’s improved so much from last year and I’m so proud of her because of her work ethic and honestly, how hard she goes for this sport,” said junior designated player Amanda Vargas.

Added senior right-hander Megan Betsa: “She comes every day, she works hard and she has great at-bats. I know throwing to her in practice, it’s always a tough battle, so I think she gives us life and she gives us the spark that we need, especially in the two-hole.”

With a dominant weekend showing, Canfield solidified herself as a major force on a shockingly subdued Wolverine offense this season, and is primed to catalyze Michigan in upcoming Big Ten play.

“At batting practice today, we hit about 100 balls over the fence, and apparently we used them all up,” Hutchins said after Friday’s “fortunate” 3-0 win. “We only had six well-hit balls and Faith had three of them. And she wasn’t even at batting practice today.”

But imagine if she was.

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Sophomore second baseman Faith Canfield hit a combined 6-for-9 last weekend and has a perfect fielding percentage.

MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Writer

Jogging off the field after escaping a second-inning jam against Penn State last Friday, junior right-hander Tera Blanco was met by an enraged Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. As Hutchins’ voice boomed toward Blanco, echoing around Alumni Field, the game’s urgency grew.

The Wolverines were stuck in a scoreless contest against a program that they had beaten in their last 25 tries.

It was obvious Hutchins’ team wasn’t playing to her standards.

She yelled at her hitters to be more aggressive at the plate from the third base coach’s box, using demonstrative swings and hand motions to illustrate her point.

Despite Hutchins’ animated reaction, Michigan didn’t raise its level of play. In a game left scoreless until the fifth inning, the Wolverines were unable to get timely hits until errors and walks

by Penn State eventually gave the game away.

Those first four innings of scoreless softball have largely represented what the Wolverines’ season has been thus far: playing tensely but not particularly well at times, despite posting a 22-7-1 record. In more high-pressured games against ranked opponents, Michigan is just 2-6-1.

“I think when the kids feel the pressure, they try too hard,” Hutchins said during the Judi Garman Classic in early March.

“That’s exactly what is going on with them.”

On Friday — though not against a nationally ranked team — the Wolverines certainly felt the pressure, causing a lackluster start to a series though they ultimately won the game, 3-0.

But there’s a remedy for that tightness: getting on the board first. That’s what Michigan did

against those same Nittany Lions on Sunday, pushing across five runs in the opening frame and winning 17-0 behind a no-hitter from senior right-hander Megan Betsa.

The Wolverines enjoyed themselves, leaving the field with smiles and giving high-fives to each other while vocal support came from the dugout.

Hutchins believes that these three aspects — early leads, scoring first, and playing loose — are all interconnected.

“Certainly in a game like that when you jump on them and you’re up by five, you don’t feel tight,” Hutchins said. “When you’re not tight, you do play better.”

Opening the scoring could be Achilles’ Heel for her team.

When Michigan scores first, it has a 22-1 record this season.

When the Wolverines don’t, they’re a meager 2-5-1.

Of course, the first team to cross home plate maintains the innate benefit of purely scoring a run. But in Michigan’s case, scoring first aids the team’s ability to stay relaxed.

“Once we were ahead, we got a lot of good swings,” Hutchins said. “We weren’t as tight.

Especially when you’re up in the series, they’re just trying to get a game from you. (Scoring in the first inning) puts a stake in it.

You could feel that Penn State was pretty deflated after the first inning.”

And as her team poured it on the Nittany Lions on Sunday afternoon, Hutchins’ face became more relaxed from that third base line. She wasn’t aggressively swinging her hands or shouting at players with the same ferocity as she did Friday.

That’s because it proved to be no longer necessary. Thanks to an early lead, the Wolverines — for one of the few times this season — simply played loosely.

Wolverines prep for midweek tilts Butt tackles pay for play debate PAIGE VOEFFRAY Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan baseball team (1-2 Big Ten, 17-6 overall) opened up conference play at Maryland last weekend, but it will now return to Ray Fisher Stadium to host two non-conference midweek contests.

The Wolverines will face Toledo (0-3 Mid-American Conference, 5-18 overall), which is fresh off a weekend series against Northern Illinois, on Tuesday. Michigan played the Huskies two weekends ago.

The Rockets lost all three games to the Northern Illinois, with the Huskies outscoring Toledo 32-9.

When Northern Illinois and the Wolverines battled in Ann Arbor, Michigan took two out of the three games due to an offensive surge by junior third baseman Drew Lugbauer – including a walk-off home run and a grand slam.

The Rockets’ most prolific threat on offense is outfielder AJ Montoya who currently sports a

.291 batting average and leads his team in runs batted-in with 17.

Toledo currently has zero players batting over .300, while Michigan has three players over that mark in — redshirt sophomore left fielder Miles Lewis, sophomore second baseman Ako Thomas and senior shortstop Michael Brdar.

When the Wolverines host Central Michigan (10-13) on Wednesday, though, the task will be much tougher. The Chippewas recently earned two wins against Missouri State, but have posted mixed results this season against other Big Ten opponents.

Central Michigan took three out of four games against Northwestern, but then fell 11-2 to Michigan State just two days later.

Midweek contests may prove difficult for Michigan since the Wolverines may not receive regular rest, but the Chippewas have a deep lineup — with every player seeing the field so far this season — and just two have started and played in every game.

Infielder Alex Borglin and outfielder Daniel Robinson have started in all 23 games this season.

They have combined for 37 RBI so far and are boasting a .351 and .327 batting average, respectively.

Michigan has made a habit of starting off slow and with the pair batting high in the order, the Wolverines will need to ready from the first pitch.

These midweek matchups also mean that all of the teams will be without their usual starters on the mound. Junior right-hander Jayce Vancena will most likely pitch for Michigan after a stellar start during the Wolverines’ previous midweek game against Western Michigan.

But the Wolverines can expect to see a lot of fresh faces on the hill, such as freshman right-hander Karl Kauffman and sophomore left-hander William Tribucher.

Two midweek game victories may give Michigan confidence before its Big Ten home opener this weekend.

MAGGIE KOLCON Daily Sports Writer

Jake Butt tore his ACL during his last Michigan football game against Florida State on Dec. 31, risking millions of future signing dollars to help his team attempt to win the Orange Bowl. But instead of discussing whether he should have skipped the game to stave off injury when questioned at Michigan’s Pro Day, he changed the conversation to something that mattered more — NCAA policies.

“I should be the example of why college athletes should be getting paid in college,” Butt said.

While Butt has commented on his issues with the NCAA in the past (especially on Twitter), he used his platform at Pro Day to raise new awareness to his concerns. He believes that athletes who are bringing in huge amounts of revenue for their universities should be compensated for their efforts.

“When it first hit me was when I was getting $900 a month and my rent was 700 bucks,” Butt said. “I see my name being used to profit someone else, and I got $200 for food, gas, cable, water.”

As he alluded to, Butt’s scholarship was hardly enough to cover basic living expenses: his $700 rent didn’t even cover utilities. With a full course load and an intense practice schedule, there was no way to get a job, so Butt was left with only one option.

“I had to call my dad,” Butt said. “And thankfully I’m lucky, my dad was able to help me out a little bit, but there’s plenty of people that don’t have families that can send them a couple bucks to help them cover everything else.”

Butt admits that his situation wasn’t nearly as bad as it could get.

“Some people can’t call their parents,” Butt said. “Some people are sending their money home to their parents.

“There’s one example last year of a guy, someone was giving him money — his family money — because his mom can’t pay the bills,” Butt said. “A millionaire

guy is giving his mom a couple hundred bucks a month to help her pay her bills. When this guy is sacrificing his body… I don’t see a problem with that.”

One of the issues, according to Butt, is that his likeness can be used without his consent, and profited off of hugely. Meanwhile he is still forced to look for funds elsewhere, though other people are making a indefinite amounts of money off of his name, face and signature. He has even seen people wearing shirts emblazoned with “I like Jake Butt and I cannot lie.”

The ability to profit off Butt is not limited to the NCAA, though. Anyone on the street can sell his signature too, but Butt can’t use his own name for any special benefits — not even a free breakfast.

“I see those mini helmets going for like 340 bucks with like me and Jabrill’s signatures on Ebay,” Butt said. “There’s something not adding up here. ‘They’re protecting us.’ They at least should come up with something better. They’re not protecting us.”

He would like athletes to be

compensated somehow, and while he repeated that he didn’t need a paycheck, it seems that education isn’t always enough.

“I’m grateful. (I had a) wonderful education here at Michigan,” Butt said. “But there’s something missing here. …I’m looking at how much money this March Madness is bringing in … oh, but the basketball players get an education? How are they getting an education if they’re missing the whole entire month of March?”

According to him, Butt doesn’t plan on giving up his cause after he starts his career in the NFL. He will keep speaking out and advocating for the rights of student athletes. And while Butt hasn’t come up with a concrete fix for the issues he’s raised, several suggestions were thrown out.

“What would happen if we didn’t play? Damn,” Butt said.

“Think about how much money the NCAA is losing if we didn’t play.

“I think these kind of conversations are important.

Someday, something needs to change.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Senior tight end Jake Butt used his platform at Pro Day to voice his position.