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Wednesday, January 3, 2018
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Trouble in Tampa Michigan collapsed in the second half, giving up 23 unanswered points to South Carolina in a 26-19 loss. » Page 1B
ANN ARBOR
AAPD names Forsberg as new Deputy Police Chief ROSEANNE CHAO/Daily
New interactive map shows levels of poverty across state of Michigan Initiative worked with Michigan Creative to make poverty, health data accessible RACHEL CUNNINGHAM Dailly Staff Reporter
Four University researchers have recently developed an online data map displaying poverty statistics throughout the state of Michigan. The University’s Poverty Solutions Initiative in the Ford School of
Public Policy collaborated with Michigan Creative in efforts to display poverty and health data in a more reader-friendly format. The online interactive map displays statistics on median income, percent of the population below the poverty line, percent of single-parent
households and other statistics by county. Data comes from the U.S. census, United Way, CDC Community Health Indicators and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Strategic Projects Manager Kate Naranjo felt public data was not available in an easily adjustable format and
was instead more catered to researchers. This inspired a collaboration with H. Luke Shaefer, associate professor of social work and public policy, along with three undergraduate research assistants to develop an online map displaying poverty data. Michigan See POVERTY, Page 3A
Most recently, Frosberg was deputy chief at the U-M Dearborn campus ZOE BAXTER
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor Police Department is beginning 2018 with a new addition to its force. Tuesday, Jason Forsberg began his tenure as Deputy Chief of Police of the AAPD. Forsberg joins current Deputy Chief Robert Pfannes and will be in charge of the support services division, which includes the administrative services, professional standards and special services sections. The department typically has two deputy chiefs, however, the second position had been open since April 2016, following the promotion of chief Jim Baird
and retirement of former AAPD deputy chief Greg Bazick — replaced by Pfannes. Most recently, Forsberg worked as deputy chief at the University of MichiganDearborn campus. Prior to working in Dearborn, he served with the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor Department of Public Safety and Security for 20 years. He worked many positions including police officer, sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Forsberg earned his bachelor’s degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and graduated from the Northwestern See CHIEF, Page 3A
Natural History Museum officially Ban on net Suspect of neutrality closes its doors in Ruthven building burglaries
GOVERNMENT
worries ‘U’ community Prospect of deregulated Internet providers could widen wealth disparities RILEY LANGEFELD Daily Staff Reporter
The Federal Communications Commission voted on Dec. 14 to end net neutrality, which blocked internet service providers from charging different prices for different users or content. Though the Trump administration believes that the regulatory rollback will help American business, University students and faculty are concerned about its potential effects. Under the new leadership of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai — appointed by President Donald Trump last January— the commission has begun to advocate for removing regulations which restrict internet companies as part of a broader push for regulatory rollback across various government bodies. The commission voted 3-2 to repeal, with Republican members voting with Pai and Democrats against. The decision has attracted controversy and criticism from a wide variety of citizens and See NEUTRALITY, Page 3A
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CRIME
Museum is set to reopen in 2019 in the new Biological Sciences Building MAYA GOLDMAN Daily News Editor
energy.” The move has also been difficult for community members. Generations of people have enjoyed the current museum over the years and are sad to say goodbye. To aid with the transition, the museum created Museum Memories in December 2016 as a part of the University’s Bicentennial initiative and an online time
capsule of sorts for people to share their favorite memories of the museum. Harris and her co-workers knew they close out the museum in a memorable way. They held a “Last Day at the Museum” celebration on Saturday— a free, all-day event open for the public to commemorate the end of an era. According to Harris, over 3,000 people attended to see
the museum one last time at Ruthven and share their memories once more. “I describe it as a community hug,” Harris said. “I just felt the love.” An additional ticketed New Year’s Eve event was held on Sunday evening. Over 3,000 people were in attendance for a night of dinner, dancing, specialty lighting and New See MUSEUM, Page 3A
Monday night the University’s Museum of Natural History officially closed its space in the A.G. Ruthven Museums Building, after one last night at the museum. The museum, which will reopen in the Biological Sciences Building in several phases throughout 2019, has been housed in Ruthven since the building’s opening in 1928. The museum was originally known as the University Museum, and encompassed the Museums of Paleontology, Zoology and Anthropological Archaeology, as well as the University Herbarium. The Museum of Natural History was officially created in 1956. The University decided to move the museum once the plans for the new Biological Sciences Building were announced in 2011. Though this has been planned for several years, Amy Harris, director of the Museum of Natural History, said the execution of the move will not necessarily be easy. “The logistics of the next year, year and a half will be pretty challenging,” Harris said. “Within the public museum ... we’ve been hiring a lot of short-term staff to help with the project, and DARBY STIPE/Daily that’s been really terrific to The University’s Museum of Natural History officially closed its space in the A.G. Ruthven Museums Building after a have new ideas and new, fresh weekend of celebration.
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Vol. CXXVII, No. 48 ©2018 The Michigan Daily
arrested in bathroom
Footprints in snow help police track suspect to multiple home invasions REMY FARKAS
Daily Staff Reporter
On Dec. 30, Ann Arbor police arrested 63-year-old Michael Brooks on multiple counts of home invasion after identical footprints were discovered at two crime scenes. Brooks’ victims include David Goldwyn and his wife on Minerva Road and a group of four University of Michigan students living on Linden Street, close to Central Campus. However, police expect there may be more victims as students return to Ann Arbor from winter break. According to WXYZ Detroit, Goldwyn and his wife heard a noise in their home followed by the sounding of their home security alarm. The couple discovered a man walking from their house and the suspect’s footprints left in the snow leading to their living room window. Detective Lt. Matthew Lige of the Ann Arbor Police Department received a call two hours later reporting a similar home invasion downtown, close to Central Campus. Four See INVASION, Page 3A
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THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: SOME STUDENTS STRANDED AFTER BLIZZARD Jan 7, 1999 By Asma Rafeeq Daily Staff Reporter There were a few empty seats in lecture halls yesterday, as snow-bound students remained stranded in their home towns. LSA sophomore Megan Schulze was eager to get back to Ann Arbor on time because she is waitlisted in a class she really wanted to take. But lakeeffect snow in her hometown of Muskegon, Mich., foiled her plans to arrive on Tuesday, causing her to miss two morning classes including the waitlisted course. “I’m hoping the snow is a good enough excuse to still get into the class,” she said. Schulze was still unsure about driving yesterday, but finally left in the afternoon. The roads were still somewhat dangerous then, she said. “From Muskegon to Grand Rapids, you couldn’t even tell if you were driving in the right lane, the left lane or in the middle of the road,” she said. Other students haven’t made it
back to Ann Arbor yet. LSA first-year student Paul Caiano originally had planned to fly from his home in New York to Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Tuesday. But when his flight was canceled Tuesday night, he decided to relish his extra time at home. Realizing he would miss yesterday’s classes even if he took the next flight out of New York and knowing that he had no classes tomorrow, Caiano decided to skip his classes scheduled for today and fly to Ann Arbor this Saturday. “I’m not mad about the snow,” he said, “especially considering I get an extra four days with my girlfriend.” As the snowstorm forced airports throughout the Midwest to close, airline passengers were stuck at airports, waiting for standby flights. LSA junior Kevin Meconis spent two days with his family at the airport in Denver waiting for the next available flight home. “It was really boring,” he said. “I went through a lot of batteries on my CD player.”
Rowell Huesmann, professor of communication studies and psychology, also was left without a flight in Denver this past weekend. He decided to rent a car and drove with his son from Denver to Ann Arbor. “The roads weren’t bad at all until we got to Chicago,” Huesmann said. Those who were able to make the trip back to Ann Arbor on time faced treacherous conditions. With medical school classes starting this past Monday, Medical first-year student Debbie Kwon urgently wanted to get to Ann Arbor by Sunday night. Despite the warnings and advice of friends who told her not to go, Kwon, along with two undergraduate University students, set out from Cincinnati on Sunday evening. But about halfway through the drive, her car skidded across the freeway, making a 180 degree turn amidst a crowd of cars and landed in the median. As another passing driver was watching Kwon’s car skid, he lost control of his own car, and it flipped over twice in the middle
of the highway, Kwon said. “It was like a movie,” Kwon said. Kwon’s car was towed out of the median and she kept driving, anxious to get to Ann Arbor for her Monday class But an hour and a half later, the three students were set back again, when the car did another 180 degree turn in the middle of the freeway even though they were driving at a low speed. After being towed out of the median a second time, Kwon said she decided to stop for the night. “I was willing to keep going,” she said, “but (my passengers) wanted to stop.” She drove at 20 miles per hour until they arrived at Findlay, Ohio where the three students found the last available hotel room in the city. Kwon’s car survived the trip without any damage, and the passengers were not injured. Kwon said while the experience was definitely very scary, it was also inspiring to see how many people stopped to help out when her car was stuck in the snow. “The whole incident revived my hope in humanity,” she said.
ON THE DAILY: TRADING BACHELORS FOR BITCOINS Engineering senior Kyle Winstanley is choosing Bitcoin over his bachelor’s degree. Winstanley plans to pursue cryptocurrency trading full time instead of graduating college. Partnered with his classmate, LSA senior Spencer Porter, the pair amassed around $15,000 by Dec of last year, and have now collected almost $70,000 to date to contribute to their trading hub. Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency, a digital form of currency that utilizes cryptography for security purposes. It is not tied to a government entity, and due to the private nature of transactions, can be used for illegal purchases.
In an interview with Forbes, Winstanley emphasized he hopes to one day return to school and finish his degree but did not want to miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on the cryptocurrency market. “I’m not opposed to trying to finish school and I’d love to have my degree at some point and come back and get it,” Winstanley said. “But I couldn’t let this market happen again without my full attention on it.” The housemates said they became infatuated with Bitcoin in August 2017 when they joined a cryptocurrency discussion group on Facebook. From there, they began networking with other students — sharing various
market predictions and analyses between each other. In the same interview, Porter said he spent an immense amount of time — from August to December — researching Bitcoin exchange and keeping track of data. He plans to reduce his course load and graduate next year, rather than in the spring, in order to devote as much time as possible to the exchange. “I logged over 2,000 hours in the last four months in research, charting analytics and data, and it’s really become a passion,” Porter said. “I wake up every morning and I’m excited to begin to learn.” In fact, rather than using his apartment as a quiet study area, Winstanley will
convert his apartment into a Bitcoin trading space for the new semester — replete with a large projection screen and up to 12 monitors displaying the f luctuations of various cryptocurrency exchanges occurring around the world. Porter emphasized the number of opportunities to profit off of Bitcoin exchange is decreasing, as various “big money” institutions have entered the market. “For those that have not stepped in yet, the window is closing,” he said. “Wall Street and the big money has begun to enter. They are moving very, very fast.” -KAELA THEUT
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NEUTRALITY From Page 1A activist groups. According to a survey conducted by the University of Maryland, 83 percent of Americans disapprove of the FCC’s plans to scrap net neutrality, including 75 percent of Republicans. Sixteen percent approve. The survey briefed respondents on arguments for both sides of the issue. Many believe the internet should be regulated as a public utility and worry that the repeal of net neutrality will lead to internet service providers charging higher prices for faster internet, a practice that was illegal before the repeal. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have voiced their opposition to the FCC’s vote, including state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor. “I think it’s one of the worst things that’s happened this year,” Rabhi said. “The biggest issue that needs to be resolved is who’s leading our country, and whether that’s a Republican or a Democrat, that person needs to have these core values that are shared by a vast majority of Americans. And that’s just not the case right now. And obviously, we have an FCC chairman and an FCC majority that is not respectful of the wishes of a majority of Americans.” According to Rabhi, the FCC vote is indicative of an administration that places the interests of large companies before those of the people. He cited the widespread opposition to the repeal as evidence. Rabhi worried the prospect of price discrimination for faster internet would greatly advantage wealthy consumers at the expense of poorer ones. Michael Traugott, an adjunct professor of political science at the University, said he shared this worry, one he denoted as a very
MUSEUM From Page 1A Year’s festivities. “It seemed like a natural watershed moment in the calendar to close the museum on New Year’s Eve, so we’ve been planning this weekend for many, many months,” she said. “It was amazing.” Now that the space is officially closed, the museum staff will focus on moving to the Biological Science Building. Harris said the new museum will open in three stages. The first opening will occur in the fall of 2018 when the main atrium will open with the museum’s mastodons in the front hall and the ancient whales hanging overhead. The bulk of the museum will open in two additional stages — one in the spring of 2019 and one the following fall. Staff will be doing many different things in the interim. Planetarium manager Matthew Linke said he will be spending the next year or so learning about the new planetarium software. The museum’s planetarium will be getting a major upgrade in the move, going from its current 18-foot diameter dome to a 30-foot one. Sixty-four seats will be included, in addition to at least eight handicap-accessible spots, making it easier for visitors in wheelchairs to experience the planetarium. A lecture-hall style arrangement of seats and a stage-quality lighting system will allow the space to be used for a variety of events, and new state-ofthe-art software will allow for an expansion of the kind of images projected on the dome. “It’s the highest-end planetarium software you can get,” Linke said. “We will have the ability of doing a lot more than the current system does.” Other museum staff will focuse on making sure the museum stays active in the community via outreach to local schools. LSA senior Sara Lebow has worked at the museum since her sophomore
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real possibility. Though internet providers are under much scrutiny as a result of the repeal and are unlikely to act quickly, he said, a gradual change would be consequential. “My own view is that it is a negative change because the internet is so central to people’s daily lives in terms of gaining information about the world or about a business or about a research topic that we should be trying to get more people access and maintain a reasonable cost,” Traugott said. The full extent of the impact on college students nationwide remains to be seen, but Traugott said the University has the power to protect students from high prices by paying for internet service for on campus resisdents, which would at least forestall some potential negative effects of the repeal. Depending on how the situation and markets evolve with the new changes, these students would require specific action to keep their access to high-speed internet. Rabhi also expressed concern over other changes being implemented by the FCC under Pai, though these issues don’t attract the attention of net neutrality. “Chairman Pai and the FCC — this is the most controversial of the changes they’ve made, but there is a lot of other stuff that has also been bad,” Rabhi said. “They’ve weakened the antitrust laws, which is damaging for competition in a free market economy. This stuff is also alarming.” According to Traugott, the repeal could be reversed either through an act of Congress or a challenge in federal court. However, congressional action on the issue is unlikely, so a court case is the most likely eventuality. However, the path of legal action is ambiguous and potentially difficult to navigate. The repeal was certainly in the FCC’s power as a government regulator. Legal
challenges would thus have to focus on the inequalities that may be created as a result of the repeal, and the success of the challenge would largely depend on the strength of petitioners’ arguments. In advice to concerned citizens, Rabhi said the best way to organize action around this national issue is through voting. Although municipalities can take some small actions to mitigate the effects, changes in representation are the most effective way to combat the repeal. Traugott emphasized the full impact of the repeal is entirely unknown, and Rabhi agreed government response will depend on the outcomes of the repeal. Much depends on the behavior of telecom companies and voter activity in coming elections. “We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen with the abolition of net neutrality,” Traugott said. “Since we’ve never functioned in this environment before, we won’t know about that until it happens.” Engineering junior Daniel Chandross, who studies computer science, said he worries about the potential for finding jobs in smaller startups and corporations due to the end of net neutrality. “These corporations have not done anything yet. So I think it would be unfair of me to say we have experienced hardship,” he said. “But I think the fact of the matter is, as someone who will be looking for a job soon, it makes it a possibility for it to be harder for small startups or smaller corporations to fight against the larger (corporations) like HBO, Netflix, Google, Facebook or whatever. So as someone who wants to go into the startup field, or another developing field, this funnels students towards larger and more established conglomerates and makes it difficult for smaller ones to attract talent.”
year, and while in the past her job has frequently involved taking school groups around the museum for field trips, she thinks her role going forward will be mostly to bring the museum to these schools. “I have a shift on Friday at the museum where I’m just answering questions there,” Lebow said. “But I’m pretty sure in the coming months it’ll be a lot of outreach, which is a huge part of what the museum does too. We go to schools, and then we go to different
the gift shop, and during one of her recent shifts, a little kid walked up to her with a handful of dinosaur figurines. He told her he was going to use these dinosaurs to start his own museum, now that the Natural History Museum was closing. “The fact that this has that sort of impact (is amazing),” she said. “And now this little kid is like, ‘I’m going to start my own museum with these stuffed animals!’ He was so confident.” The closing of Ruthven is part of a shuff le in buildling space set to play out over the next few years. The Fleming bulidng, which houses the University’s administrative affairs, will be demolished in the near future. Those operations will move to a renovated version of the Ruthven building after the museum’s shift to the Biological Science Buildilng.
“The museum as it is — which I love, I really love it — it’s really a time capsule of how museums used to be” festivals for events.” Lebow, like many others, is sad to see the Ruthven space go but looks at the move as a positive change for the museum. “The museum as it is — which I love, I really love it — it’s really a time capsule of how museums used to be,” she said. “It’s not set up for field trips very well. It’s just not the best space for kids and school groups to be in … I think it’s really great that the new museum is going to be more kid and school group-focused.” LSA senior Alexandra Contis, a museum staff member since her freshman year, echoed Lebow’s sentiments. She thinks the updates the museum will get as a result of the move, like air conditioning and a cafeteria for school groups, will be major improvements. Contis also works in
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 — 3A
POVERTY From Page 1A Creative assisted in putting the data into map form. “Poverty is really widespread across the state,” Naranjo said. “It’s not necessarily concentrated in just Detroit like I think the narrative goes. There’s a lot of rural poverty in this state and a rising amount of suburban poverty.” LSA junior Zachary Tingley, a research assistant for the project, said he noticed his own attitude shift about poverty as a result. “I realized that we talk about poverty ... as a (very) urban issue but it’s important to know there’s a lot impoverished rural neighborhoods as well and a lot of action that can be taken in those areas,” Tingley said. According to the database, Washtenaw County has a median income of $66,040, 14.6 percent of the population is under the poverty line and
CHIEF From Page 1A University School of Police Staff and Command in 2014. In 2016, he earned a criminal justice certificate from the University of Virginia and graduated from the FBI National Academy. Forsberg is currently pursuing a Master’s of Public Administration at U-M Dearborn. While he enjoyed his 14 months in Dearborn, Forsberg is excited to be back in Ann Arbor. “I’ve worked 21 years as a cop and this was the first year I didn’t work at the football games,” Forsberg said. “It wasn’t that I actually missed working the football games because my family appreciates having me home, taking my kids to soccer games, but it didn’t really feel like fall because I wasn’t spending all of football Saturdays in Ann Arbor. I miss the community but also the law enforcement community that’s in Washtenaw County.” Although in the past Forsberg has worked for a university as
INVASION From Page 1A University students lived in the bottom half of the invaded duplexed home. The students, away on winter break, learned of the invasion when police recovered a laptop of one of the housemates in Brook’s vehicle. “The day we found out about the break-in my housemate and I went to Ann Arbor to check what the police had found,” Kinesiology sophomore Max Miley said. “The robber had cut the screen off one of our windows and made his way in through there.” The housemates assume the
8.5 percent of the population receives food stamps/SNAP benefits. The state’s averages were a median income of $47,944, 15.1 percent of the population below the poverty, and 14.7 percent of the population receiving food stamps/SNAP benefits. Public Policy junior Lauren Schandevel has worked with LSA to develop a new major on the study of socioeconomic status, which should be implemented in 2018 or 2019. In an email to The Daily, she said she thinks the map could use some adjustments, but believes it will help Congress and other communities understand county needs. “It would help to have data from individual cities as well to better interpret the information,” Schandevel said. “I think, especially in the coming year as Congress moves to slash benefits for low income individuals, this map will help us determine which counties will be most affected.” In a statement to The Daily, Shaefer said he hopes
to show University students they can assist communities in improving their residents’ lives. “Any one statistic really only shows a piece of the puzzle,” Shaefer said. “We hope that this map streamlines things for Michigan communities so they can look at a range of things and learn more about the strengths and opportunities for improving the lives of residents. This is the type of service that great U-M students can offer.” Naranjo said he also hopes this project betters the University’s relations with the general public. The team aims to add more, as well as updated, statistics to the map. “I think it’s just really important to think about how we as a research institution can better communicate to the general public,” Naranjo said. “I think this is an example of one way to do that, to translate really wonky stuff into something the average person could look at and understand.”
opposed to a city, he said his prior experience lends itself to the new position. “I can take some of the experiences I’ve had both in Dearborn and my career in U-M Ann Arbor and apply them to the city policing,” Forsberg said. “It’ll be similar, but it’s a bigger department. The main difference is different jurisdictional boundaries and the size of the department.” DPSS works very closely with the AAPD in matters of mutual concern, such as football games and crimes that occur on or near campus. LSA freshman Haley Gritz hopes Forsberg will help make Ann Arbor a safer place for students. She pointed to the recent home invasions around campus including the home invasion in the Northwood Community Apartments and the West Quad incidents as signs a new addition to the force might curb crime. “Obviously you don’t want crime but there’s been a few home invasions and robberies,” Gritz said. “Having a new police chief might be a nice change
and it could cut down on crime more.” According to a press release, Ann Arbor Police Chief James Baird is excited to welcome Forsberg to the force. “We are fortunate to bring in someone like Jason who has extensive experience, but also a local connection and familiarity with the culture in Ann Arbor,” Baird wrote. Forsberg said he does not intend to make major changes to the department upon his arrival. Some of his minor plans include ways to make the department more efficient and, if needed, to maximize the opportunities for citizens to engage with the community. “I’m a new guy coming in, it’s a top-notch police department,” he said. “They are renowned worldwide for being a good police department.” Overall, Forsberg is looking forward to beginning his new position in Ann Arbor. “There are a lot of really talented men and women that work at the department in Ann Arbor,” Forsberg said. “I’m excited to learn from them.”
window remained unlocked as no other items in the home were damaged. “He took some small electronics but left more expensive ones which was strange,” Miley said. “He also took my housemate’s glutenfree pretzels and oatmeal — super odd looting.” According to WXYZ Detroit, Lige sent the same group of officers to both invasions where they discovered similar distinctive shoe wear in the snow. The footprints matched and investigators located Brooks in a vacant apartment. After negotiations, police entered the apartment and
found Brooks hidden in a bathtub. “I think it is just crazy that (police) were able to take such a small piece of evidence and track down this guy,” David Goldwyn told WXYZ Detroit. “Odds were slim but there was fresh snow on the ground. They figured if they were going to find him footprints were going to be the way.” Brooks had been on parole for similar crimes. Brooks has been charged in connection to five home invasions, though more charges are expected to be filed. He is currently held on $100,000 bond.
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IFC suspension is a time for introspection
W
hen I arrived at the University of Michigan this past fall, the decision to rush felt preconceived. I am a student surrounded by those of similar backgrounds; a Jewish boy from the suburbs of a big city, anxious to make friends with similarly identified people. Everyone I knew was doing it. It would make sense for me to rush, right? At fraternity parties during Welcome Week, I met different brothers who’d ask if I was rushing. I would say yes in a voice that felt somewhat contrived, the octaves in my throat tumbling down. I strained to contain a part of myself that seemed close to spilling out. I then realized how rushing was desultory with respect to my character. I still felt that I deviated from the stock “frat boy” image the media conjures. I am openly gay. I identify as a progressive feminist. I am actively seeking to dismantle a constricting gender binary. Aren’t the tenets of Greek life, an inherently heteronormative and androcratic institution, antithetical to those values? Would I be morally bankrupt for buying into a system where fraternity members are three times more likely to commit rape than non-greek students? With a guilty conscience, I nonetheless conformed. I did what all of my friends were doing. After touring several houses and meeting dozens of older brothers, I chose a chapter where I felt I belonged. I could tell these were people I could be myself around, and they were nothing but welcoming, warm and inviting. I can truly say that I feel like a member of a brotherhood in which people care for each other. Rarely do I feel uncomfortable being open about my identity. Yet, the implications of Greek life still weighed me down. As I became active in my pledge class as social chair, I was encouraged to invite girls to parties as part of
the job. I thought about themed mixers and how they often objectify girls with titles such as “Office Hoes and CEOs.” Isn’t there a link? Isn’t objectification almost always the first step toward justifying violence against someone? Furthermore, it wasn’t as though I resisted these objectives. I sent out messages to GroupMes saying how “lit” the night would be and that they should “come thru!” We would discuss which sororities we wanted to come and made group chats with them. Then suddenly, the Interfraternity Council suspension on socials shook Greek life to its core, leading
My words become mired in socially unconscious terminology events to a standstill. In the wake of numerous sexual assault and hazing allegations, the governing body of fraternities shut the doors on parties. Social schedules and mixers were canceled and initiation term was halted. To some, it seemed as though the world was ending. However, considering that this coincided with a period in our country where sexual harassment scandals roil the news with disheartening regularity, it seemed like an opportunity to engage with each other about our actions. What led to all of this? Shouldn’t we have used this time to talk about what is inherently problematic about a system that devalues both women and men based on tiers? Or the ways in which hegemonic masculinity contorts our understanding of consent?
JOE IOVINO | CONTACT JOE AT JIOVINO@UMICH.EDU
It appears as though on the whole, instead of harnessing this period as a time for introspection, the IFC suspension became an inconvenience waiting to pass. I heard groans about not having parties to attend. Even I became increasingly agitated waiting for Greek life to return to normal. But then I recall what brought this on. I think about the girls whose lives have been disrupted and, in many cases, ruined by the sexual assaults they have experienced. I even remember that I have been complicit in this system. My words become mired in socially unconscious terminology, talking about wanting to mix within other “tiers,” as if girls are any more or less worthy of respect based on an arbitrary rush process. Even coming up with mixer themes that place women in self-degrading positions was something I considered. Though girls should dress however they want, they shouldn’t feel compelled to do so by a sexist themed party. Upon my fraternity’s executive council elections, I was appointed to be “Sorority Relations Chair.” At first, this prospect excited me. I love talking to girls and scheduling parties. It felt as if there was nothing more fitting. Although I’m enthusiastic to take on this role and help our fraternity get to know new people, I’m a hypocrite and I submit myself to exploitation. I have zero sexual intentions with any of the girls, but I know that my brothers have their own plans. While I am proud that my fraternity isn’t among the accused and feel that they are genuine, good men, this does not change the culture we sometimes foster. It’s time to scrutinize the roles we seem inclined to put women in. Disallow complacency and speak up in every situation. Perhaps then Greek life can return safer and more accommodating than its previous incarnation. Joel Danilewitz can be reached at joeldan@umich.edu.
Don’t let partisanship threaten Mueller
T
he past couple months have been eventful for special counsel Robert Mueller. In his broad investigation into President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and its possible connections to the Russian interference in the election, Mueller and his team have indicted several former Trump aides, including former campaign chair Paul Manafort and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, but his investigation has been subjected to intense and increasingly partisan scrutiny. Mueller has faced hostility from the White House since his appointment as special counsel in May, with President Trump repeatedly disputing the need for a special prosecutor, and at times denouncing Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt.” In contrast, Republican lawmakers, at least for the most part, initially praised Mueller’s appointment and voiced support for his investigation. Yet in recent weeks, criticism of Mueller, and the FBI in general, has been amplified, with many Republican members of Congress and conservative political commentators questioning the competence and impartiality of not only Mueller but also former FBI Director James Comey and Andrew McCabe, the current deputy director of the FBI. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Arizona, called for Mueller’s resignation from the Russia investigation, while Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Florida, proposed a counterinvestigation into Mueller and his team. Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, was more brazen, asserting that Mueller is “out for a scalp” and wants to be “a hero of the left,” while also accusing McCabe of being “disrespectful” to the Republican Party. Conservative pundits cite the fact that several of Mueller’s hired lawyers are registered Democrats as evidence of Mueller being biased, and Fox News contributor Jesse Watters insinuated Mueller is acting like a potential Democratic candidate for president. These claims are fanciful at best, and downright delusional at worst. Mueller is a registered Republican (though his party affiliation is hardly related to his aptitude) and he earned a reputation for integrity during his long career with the
Department of Justice and the FBI. There is no credible reason to doubt Mueller’s ability to run an independent and unbiased investigation. But while this cadre of conservative critics represents the far-right wing of the Republican party, the tepid defense of Mueller provided by more moderate Republicans has enabled criticism of Mueller to spread from the fringe to the political mainstream, leaving his investigation on unstable ground as it enters a critical stage. Naturally, Mueller, and the FBI in general, are not perfect. Some of the recent criticism of
It would be grossly improper to impede Mueller’s investigation on partisan grounds Mueller stems from reports that a member of Mueller’s team was dismissed for having sent antiTrump text messages during the presidential campaign. Though some conservatives pointed to this revelation as evidence of the probe’s supposed bias, their argument ignores the fact that Mueller had removed the agent in question swiftly, and months prior to the report, which, if anything, serves as a testament to his commitment to carry out an impartial investigation. Likewise, Comey’s handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server drew the ire of both liberals and conservatives. Though Comey severely mismanaged the investigation through his unorthodox public disclosure of the agency’s prosecutorial recommendations and his consequential decision to briefly reopen the investigation in the days leading up to the 2016 election, his missteps do not constitute clear biases, and it is implausible that Comey’s actions were politically motivated. Attempts to denigrate Comey’s reputation, which have reemerged since his controversial firing by Trump, and the efforts to discredit
Mueller’s investigation, are politically motivated, largely unmerited and deeply troubling. The current campaign against Mueller represents an encroachment of extreme partisanship into the spheres of law and justice. The congressional investigations into Russian election interference show signs of devolving into counterproductive partisan jostling and grandstanding. House Republicans reportedly are preparing to conclude their investigation to the objection of House Democrats. The Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation has been clouded by reports that President Trump pressured Senate Republican leaders to end their inquiries as quickly as possible. The uncertainty surrounding the congressional investigations underscores the importance and relevance of Mueller’s independent investigation. Mueller has proven himself to be a fair and honest man fully qualified to lead the main investigation into Russian interference in the election and related matters. If President Trump and his campaign were uninvolved with Russia’s election meddling, his aides and allies should proceed with the utmost confidence that Mueller will vindicate him. However, Mueller must be allowed to thoroughly investigate and pursue charges as approporiate. It would be grossly improper to impede Mueller’s investigation on partisan grounds, and the possibility of Trump firing Mueller has received considerable media attention. However, given Trump’s repeated pledges to not fire Mueller, Mueller’s investigation is perhaps more greatly endangered by partisanship. Recent partisan attacks on Mueller’s probe are unwarranted, yet they threaten to unduly shake public confidence in the investigation. Partisanship must be blocked from the domains of law and justice if the law is to retain its sanctity and independence. Failure to do so could have profound consequences, for the Russia investigation and beyond. Noah Harrison can be reached at noahharr@umich.edu.
ANDREW MEKHAIL | COLUMN
2
Breaking bread with 2017
017 was an exasperating year for many of us. Challenges in our personal lives, coupled with the anxiety induced by our world’s headlines, made for a uniquely intense feeling of exhaustion by the semester’s end. When I finally landed in Los Angeles, my smogblanketed home, I couldn’t tell whether I was happy to be home and at rest, or out of breath now that I could finally be still. My friend likes to remind me that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It’s not quite the first thing I want to hear after I mess up, but it provides balance to the idea that “it’s the thought that counts.” If I had a dollar for every time I thought about going to church, I could probably build one in my backyard. It’s not that I hate the idea of religion, but it doesn’t dictate my life. In other words, I’m in the same place as a lot of people regarding my faith. As I rolled my luggage to the front door, I was surprised to see a wreath— I’d forgotten it was almost Christmas. There were more responsibilities to worry about than ever this year, and fewer Christmas movies, advertisements and music meant I never thought less about this formerly Earthstopping time of the year. As Christmas snuck up on me, I remembered those good intentions of mine to practice my faith, and how consistently I failed to do so this semester. Would I succeed on December
25th? Did I even want to? I made plans with my dad on Christmas and Christmas Eve. I set my alarms on December 23rd and went about my Saturday. My friends and I celebrated being back together, almost done with one of the hardest years of our short lives. As usual, I slept through the three alarms I set for Mass, laying another brick in the road to hell. After he came back from church, my dad and I went to visit a family friend, his best friend as a matter of fact. They immigrated to the United States together from Egypt and had plans to become priests until they met their wives. As I listened to him recount his year, two things stuck out to me. One, he had a year filled with many personal hardships and two, unbelievably, he still seemed happy — at peace, even. This was a man who lost his teenage son to cancer. Undoubtedly, he had endured more than most could bear. It’s not because he wasn’t furious at God, and it’s not that he moved on or forgot or didn’t feel pain. Suffering is a blessing, he told me, because it helps you comfort others when they suffer. I sat in amazement as my whole year transformed. What I formerly considered the hardest year of my life became a year of intense empathy. Renewal washed over me as we left his house. This must be how religious people felt when they connected with God. I used to envy those people for
their steadfastness. How could they still have faith in the face of natural disasters, diseases and such great suffering? No, I still can’t explain those things, nor do I ever expect to. I still cannot bring myself to accept evil as an irremovable element of our world, because I don’t want to become jaded. I don’t want to stop fighting against it. But perhaps this is part of the balance that makes life what it is. It’s okay to feel exasperated, to delight in the ability to even feel negative emotions. The real tragedy is to feel nothing. Later that night, as I was recounting this epiphany to a friend, they asked me about my plans to go to church. My new intention was to go to Mass at midnight. Knowing I might f lake, he insisted that he would go with me for support, even though he’s Jewish. We stood in the back, overlooking the pews in full capacity. My resolve was not strong enough to get there soon enough to earn a seat. That was okay with me. I was just happy to be there. In a time when it’s easy to lose hope, Mass lit up my spirits, a refuge of warmth during a cold winter. My friend and I broke bread at a Jewish deli afterward, for balance. It may be true that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but maybe the road to heaven is, too. Andrew Mekhail can be reached at mekhail@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 — 5A
FILM REVIEW
FILM REVIEW
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‘Last Jedi’ is necessary, Weiwei’s ‘Human Flow’ is brilliant new ‘Star Wars’ stunning and harrowing The latest installment boldly revitalizes a canonical saga JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer
There’s a moment in “The Last Jedi” when all the sound drops out and complete silence descends. For a few seconds, there is nothing. No music, no white noise, no dialogue. All falls away, and for a franchise that has always been easily recognizable for its iconic sound design and legendary score, it’s a strange moment, yet an undeniably brilliant one. “The Last Jedi” functions in much the same way. Much of what has historically characterized “Star Wars” on a superficial level is deconstructed and subverted here even as director Rian Johnson (“Looper”) takes special care to celebrate the most important things — namely the focus on battles between good and evil and the sense of hope in the face of insurmountable odds. The film he crafts is a bold, dark and occasionally weird entry in the “Star Wars” saga, one that
The film he crafts is a bold, dark and occasionally weird entry in the ‘Star Wars’ saga
stands as the best and most necessary chapter since “The Empire Strikes Back.” This isn’t to say that “The Last Jedi” is perfect. While several sequences serve to further character arcs, they often feel disconnected from the central plot, and a certain scene stands out as particularly
ill-advised, brought to life by a special effect that — in an otherwise visually gorgeous film — is comparatively subpar. But couched in a story otherwise exceptionally told, these f laws do little to detract from the rest of the film. The film picks up moments after the end of J.J. Abrams’s “The Force Awakens,” as the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher, “Catastrophe”), must f lee their base in the aftermath of their victory at Starkiller Base in the previous film. As the First Order doggedly pursues them through space, Rey (Daisy
“The Last Jedi” State Theatre, Quality 16, Rave Cinemas Ann Arbor 20+ IMAX Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Ridley, “Murder on the Orient Express”) arrives at the site of the first Jedi temple to receive instruction from living legend Luke Skywalker (a never-better Mark Hamill, “Brigsby Bear”), only to find that he is not the man the galaxy remembers. This base story, for what it is, is fine if occasionally slowmoving. What sets it apart is the thematic work Johnson does with both his script and direction as he uses this plot to explore ideas of acknowledging the past and using it to grow while still letting go of what is not necessary for that growth. In essence, “The Last Jedi” is a story about the tricky relationship between the past and the future, history and legacy. The meta-narrative for a certain space opera entering its fourth decade of existence should be obvious. Because in order to stay
relevant, in order to mean as much to future generations as it did to me and the innumerable die-hards who have come before me, “Star Wars” needed to change. It would have been easy to rehash the same plotlines and archetypes ad infinitum — “The Force Awakens” did so and wound up being a pretty great movie, all things considered — but
Someone needed to break the mold, and “The Last Jedi” is Johnson doing so in bold fashion eventually, it would grow stale. Someone needed to break the mold, and “The Last Jedi” is Johnson doing so in bold fashion. It would be easy to leave it at that, to act as if the boldness is enough to qualify “The Last Jedi” as a great movie, but it isn’t. Boldness alone is novelty; it must be grounded in the characters and the story. This is what makes “The Last Jedi” something truly special. It isn’t that it takes everything we think “Star Wars” can do and takes a hard left turn into new territory. It’s the way Johnson grounds those creative decisions in the characters, old and new, bringing them to more interesting, thought-provoking and emotionally intense places with each scene. It’s the way the actors bring those characters to life in some of the best performances in franchise history and the characters, in turn, embody the themes — redemption, bravery and hope above all — that have always defined “Star Wars” and will continue to define it even as it enters this new chapter.
New documentary from Chinese artist tackles global crisis SOPHIA WHITE Daily Arts Writer
I don’t even know how to begin writing about “Human Flow” by Ai Weiwei (“Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”), because it is a piece that is so much bigger than us. It requires us to recognize our privilege in viewing such a crisis without it being a part of our own human experience. The documentary, which was shot in 23 countries, presents both a brutal, visceral and at times strikingly gorgeous display of the current global crisis in which 65 million people have been displaced from their homes. Weiwei, known more for his controversial reputation in the art world, has participated in documentary cinema before, though never to this extent. As a visual artist, he treats his documentary like a canvas, splattering it with color and layers of impressive drone shots and handheld iPhone footage. He allows us to feel like we’re right there with the migrants and refugees — one or the individual body out of thousands, huddled into masses
“Human Flow” reveals the global crisis that plagues every country on a rugged terrain that has no remorse for its occupants. These migrants, tied down to no land to anchor them, are considered to be the most pervasive status of citizenship, as they are stripped of all the rights and liberties that make them human beings. “Human Flow” reveals the global crisis that plagues every country, but mainly Europe today — the crisis of people f leeing their homes for asylum
and passing through or being trapped in borders. The piece criticizes borders in general, as they are inherently arbitrary in their nature. With the aid of globalization, the world has reaped many benefits, namely the prospect of wealth and jobs, but its consequences are severe. Globalization exacerbates the global inequalities, and through this process, the large, connected world we know is beginning to shrink. This means that different cultures are going to have to learn to coexist in order for humanity to persist. Like the title, the f low of bodies in search of
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refuge and a new life are at risk of hunger, disease, death and above all, the loss of a chance for a better life. Weiwei’s visual approach is guided by the natural landscape across these countries; the way the sky meets the unforgiving, arid and sun-scorched Middle Eastern deserts. The image of Mexican children playing on a beach with an iron fence running through it with the States on the other side is a painful reminder of palpable but still unattainable freedom. The sea connects these countries as a visual motif, but also as a juxtaposition of the free-f lowing, wide open waters that touch country borders but cannot be shared equally by all. We see the sea that transports Eritreans to southern Italy for political asylum, the same sea that a group of friends in Gaza who turn to the Mediterranean for their only chance at tranquility in a war zone, the
same sea that runs up to Tel Aviv just one hour north, the same sea and sun that caress their bronzed tourists is the same sea that traps others just down the coast. If anything, the documentary reminds those of us who are fortunate enough to be citizens in a country — to feel like we belong somewhere and that we are protected — about how connected we truly are and how we choose to neglect this fact simply because we don’t see malnourished children in refugee camps daily, which the news likes to conveniently overlook, too. Europe and
If anything, the documentary reminds us who are fortunate enough to be citizens in a country – to feel like we belong somewhere
America were lands that were thought to provide promise and solace to immigrants, but Weiwei reminds us that the current xenophobia and segregation between these groups is not something we can ignore any longer. “Human Flow” doesn’t let us forget that, no matter what, we all share the same sun and no group deserves its warmth over others. It doesn’t let us forget that we need to stop forgetting about this crisis before it’s too late.
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Arts
6A — Wednesday, January 3, 2018
FILM REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM NOTEBOOK
From the Vault: ‘Ed Wood’ Max Michalsky thinks about ‘The Disaster Artist,’ and why we love terrible movies despite their obvious flaws MAX MICHALSKY Daily Arts Writer
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‘Welcome to the Jungle’ can’t match the original ‘Jumanji’ sequel fails despite good cast and performances JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” functions as a “legacy-quel” (a term coined to describe the recent trend in movies to release sequels after their original audience has had time to grow up and have little audience members of their own) to Robin Williams’s (“The Birdcage”) f lick released 22 years ago. In this updated version, instead of the titular board game bringing all sorts of jungle creatures into modern-day suburbia, four high schoolers are sucked into a virtual world, given different avatars to control and told that they must save the world in order to return home. The crux of the film’s marketing was the idea of watching the stars of the
After that first scene, it becomes painfully obvious that no one involved, especially the writers, has any idea what to do with ‘Welcome to the Jungle’
movie playing against type in a particularly egregious way. Dwayne Johnson (“The Fate of the Furious”) plays the avatar of a nerd who’s afraid of everything. Kevin Hart (“Central Intelligence”) is the jock who pays Johnson’s “real life” character to do his homework. Jack Black (“Goosebumps”) is every teenage girl stereotype the writers could cram into a single character. The problem isn’t that there are no laughs to be mined from this. The
conf lict between a person’s outward appearance and who they actually are is some of the oldest joke material in the book. No, the problem is that after the first scene with the avatars, the shtick wears real thin real fast. After that first scene, it becomes painfully obvious that no one involved, especially the writers, has any idea what to do with “Welcome to the Jungle” beyond repeating those same
“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX, Goodrich Quality 16 Sony Pictures Entertainment
jokes ad nauseum. By the time Jack Black gets an overlong and embarrassingly extraneous scene in which he is taught by Johnson and Hart how to use his new penis — a sentence that, God help me, I can never unwrite — they’ve graduated from the shallow likeability they showed at first into a groanworthy monotony. Not only does using this conf lict as the cornerstone of the film hurt the comedy, it makes it all but impossible for any of the players to develop. The high schoolers are entirely defined through contrast with their avatars rather than through any growth of their own. Take Johnson’s character, Spencer, for instance. From the very beginning, everything about Spencer is in service to enforcing the idea that he is not a character The Rock would usually play. These characters are usually fearless, so Spencer is afraid of everything. They aren’t usually nerdy and socially awkward, so Spencer is both. There isn’t a single aspect of his personality that can’t adequately be summed up as not “The Rock,” and when a character is defined by what they aren’t as opposed to what they are, that doesn’t make for interesting storytelling. The actors all turn in fine
performances, but they aren’t given much to do besides taking what they would ordinarily do and just doing the opposite. Aside from that, there was a chance for “Welcome to the Jungle” to satirize gaming culture, as winked at by Karen Gillan (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”), pointing out the absurdity of her avatar wearing a halter top in the middle of a jungle. Unfortunately, not only does the script completely abandon this idea after that first aside in favor of action scenes that make the sexualization of Wonder Woman in “Justice League” look subtle by comparison, but most of the movie plays like it was written by a 40-yearold man who hasn’t touched a video game since 1996. What little dialogue isn’t taken up by repetitive jokes is filled with clunky exposition about video games that feels like someone opened the Wikipedia page for “video gaming” and just started copying paragraphs.
What little dialogue isn’t taken up by repetitive jokes is filled with clunky exposition about video games
This lack of self-awareness and dated dialogue might be forgivable, but it’s compounded by the dearth of good humor, and almost any reason to see “Welcome to the Jungle” completely collapses under that weight. The only thing left is the simple nostalgia of seeing the original reimagined — references include a wellintentioned reference to Robin Williams’s character that makes little sense and Bobby Cannavale (“AntMan”) chewing scenery in the part originated by Jonathan Hyde (“Titanic”) — and that nostalgia, as in all legacy-quels,
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When you hear moviegoers use the phrase “so bad it’s good,” your mind likely goes to Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room,” or perhaps to even more recent offerings such as “Sharknado” or “Birdemic: Shock and Terror.” With the recent release of “The Disaster Artist,” a comedic biopic about the making of “The Room” from actor/director James Franco (“The Vault”), the discussion surrounding films that are so bad they’re good has been renewed. However, the advent of the anti-masterpiece began long before Tommy Wiseau ever uttered the phrase, “Oh, hi Mark.” Rather, those examining the history of bad film should look to one Edward D. Wood Jr., the mind behind B-movie flops such as “Bride of the Monster” and “Plan 9 from Outer Space.” In the 1994 film “Ed Wood,” director Tim Burton (“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”) pays homage to Wood, posthumously awarded as The Worst Director of All Time. Starring Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) as Ed Wood, the movie focuses on several aspects of the director’s life: His transvestitism, his film career and his friendship with actor Bela Lugosi. Interestingly, the film never sets out to make fun of Wood but to celebrate his life and his uncompromising dedication to his dream. Over the course of the film, audiences see Wood do whatever it takes to film his next scene, whether that be begging for the attention of rich backers or convincing all of his friends
Interestingly, the film never sets out to make fun of Wood but to celebrate his life and his uncompromising dedication to his dream
and incompetence, Wood is never alone. He attracts an unwaveringly loyal band of Hollywood misfits from the oncegreat actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau, “Abe & Phil’s Last Poker Game”) to Tor Johnson (George Steele, “Boston Girls”), a hulking Swedish wrestler. Never mind his ineptitude, never mind his penchant for crossdressing during the puritanical and straight-laced 1950s, Wood’s magnetism and vision make
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him beloved by an ensemble of characters who don’t just tolerate his eccentricity but embrace it. It’s in this way that Wood redefines “the artist’s struggle.” It’s not just the monetary struggle of the underappreciated artist, it’s also the struggle to stay true to oneself. This is poignantly depicted in a scene where a frustrated Wood storms off set and hops in a cab to the nearest bar. Upon arriving, he’s surprised to see his inspiration and idol Orson Welles sitting in a booth. Dressed head to toe in women’s clothing, he approaches Welles and the two converse as equals. There’s a certain coat of irony that comes in successful mega-stars playing struggling artists, but it melts away in this scene as we see the lauded Welles speak to Wood as if they were old friends. These artists, for all the disparity that may be present in the quality of their work, bond over common experiences. It’s here that the true message of “Ed Wood” reveals itself: The quality of your work isn’t as important as staying true to your vision. It’s an important message, and one that likely answers the question of why we gravitate towards films like “Plan 9 from Outer Space” and “The Room.” Both Wood and Wiseau were men whose mediocrity at their craft played itself out with such passionate truthfulness that the result is irresistibly magnetic. Through all the raw, unbridled passion these artists hold, we can sense an uncompromising dedication to a dream. As Orson Welles says to Wood when the two directors depart: “Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else’s dream?”
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RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Lighthouse emission 5 Routine material 10 Mystery novelist Paretsky 14 “Sesame Street” giggler 15 How cut-up raw veggies are often served 17 “Bridge of Spies” spy Rudolf __ 18 “Casablanca” actor 19 Deliberately damage 21 Some running shoes 22 Made oneself scarce 23 Bingo-like game 24 Smoke from Cuba 30 Euro pop? 31 Go from pillar to post 32 Gaza Strip gp. 35 Milk 40 Classified postings 41 Word with hall or house 42 __ pricing 43 Some Downton Abbey staff 47 38th-parallel land 50 Many millennia 51 Just enough to taste, with “of” 52 Starting at 19Across and ending here, vehicle making its way through five long answers 58 Expressed with only gestures 60 Greasy 61 Walk-in emergency center 62 Mess setting 63 Zap with a weapon 64 Like giraffes and horses 65 Token receiver DOWN 1 Young Cleaver, for short
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to get baptised by a church in order to fund his movie. Depp’s charm makes Wood the ultimate underdog; as he stands behind the camera mouthing along to lines he wrote, pantomiming the facial expressions of his characters, Wood’s unbridled enthusiasm becomes contagious. It’s this very contagiousness that sits at the center of the film’s message; for all his eccentricity
2 Idris of “Luther” 3 Service call? 4 Penicillin source 5 She sang about McGee 6 Iroquois tribe 7 Willy or Lenny of Manhattan deli fame 8 Pentathlon sword 9 35mm camera type 10 Russell __ Candies 11 Heart chambers 12 Played over 13 “You __ cool!” 16 Selma’s state 20 “So that’s the puzzle theme!” 24 Torso topper 25 Torah chests 26 One of a vivacious pair? 27 Origami bird 28 Discontinued Saturn model 29 Noir weapon 30 School support org. 32 Cooped (up) 33 Co-worker of Clark
34 “The good is __ interred with their bones”: Antony 36 Stuffed one’s face 37 Throw on 38 Jettas, e.g. 39 Rev 43 Protégé 44 Midnight rider 45 Like a ripped-up check 46 Taylor of fashion 47 On the blink
48 Maureen of “The Quiet Man” 49 Wedding bands 52 Layered mineral 53 Arabian Sea sultanate 54 Loads 55 Vaccine holder 56 “Not only that ... ” 57 Politburo no 59 “Newhart” production co.
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01/03/18
01/03/18
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Michigan collapses, drops Outback Bowl to South Carolina ORION SANG
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DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN
AMELIA CACCHIONE & SAM MOUSIGIAN / DAILY
TAMPA, Fla. — The college football offseason is long. It’s even longer for teams that lose their final game of the season in the fashion Michigan did on Monday afternoon. With 7:49 left in the third quarter of the Outback Bowl, the Wolverines needed just nine yards to extend their lead to 20 and put the game out of reach. By the early fourth quarter, Michigan (8-5 overall) had completely collapsed, surrendering a 16-point lead to South Carolina (9-4). The Wolverines tried their darndest to lose. So the Gamecocks obliged. And in a 26-19 loss, Michigan found out that a mid-tier New Year’s Day bowl is no cure for an 8-4 hangover. “They got better as the game went on, no doubt,” said Jim Harbaugh. “They made plays to win the football game. We didn’t. We didn’t get the knockout punch when we needed it. Didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that were there.” The game started how you would expect large college-aged men to behave the noon after New
Offensive offense Michigan couldn’t establish the run or pass — perhaps because South Carolina knew what to expect.
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Year’s Eve. Both teams, far from the college football heavyweights slated to play later on New Year’s Day, began their Monday afternoon in a stupor. Midway through the first quarter, there were four times as many commercial breaks as combined first downs — the football equivalent of stumbling into your kitchen, bleary-eyed, only to discover you’re out of orange juice. The Wolverines’ 9-3 lead certainly wasn’t a satisfying halftime result. At the very least, they had made fewer mistakes than the Gamecocks, who simply looked as if they were ready to head back to bed and sleep it off. But that changed in the second half. After Michigan’s first possession of the second half produced an efficient 7-play, 72 yard touchdown drive, the errors began piling up. First, Karan Higdon fumbled near South Carolina’s goal-line, tanking a red-zone drive. The Gamecocks put together their first touchdown drive. Then Jake Bentley hit a leaping Bryan Edwards for a 21-yard score following Sean McKeon’s fumble deep within Michigan territory. “That was our fault,” Harbaugh said of the lost fumble. “It was a coaching error. We had the wrong personnel in there, and I should’ve called timeout.” Bentley was only beginning to heat up. On the next drive, he completed a 53-yard touchdown bomb to Shi Smith to give South
Carolina its first lead of the game. “(South Carolina) made the inside seam fade,” Harbaugh said. “Quarterback threw a really nice ball in the red zone. (They) were able to create some big plays.” Michigan could only continue unraveling. The Wolverines were in the process of putting together a response when Brandon Peters, in an audition for next year’s starting job, tossed an unfathomable interception on third-and-goal from the five-yard line. And to cap things off, putting the finishing touch on perhaps the most miserable stretch Michigan has suffered through all year, Donovan Peoples-Jones dropped a routine punt after the defense forced a crucial late stop. Up to that point, viewers might have been asking themselves what other calamities could possibly befall the Wolverines. But — as this year may have taught — there is always more suffering to endure when you play sloppy football. After the miscue, PeoplesJones lingered on the ground for a few extra moments, seemingly lamenting the mistake. He couldn’t be blamed for taking the extra time to gather himself. After all, it was just that type of year for the Wolverines. Dropping your final three games — all in which Michigan held a lead at some point — can subdue even the most youthful and excitable of teams.
Bye-bye, birdie Backed by a couple unexpected offensive sources, Michigan finally took one in Iowa.
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SportsWednesday
2B — Wednesday, January 3, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Four months summed up in four quarters
O
n the first day of 2018, the story of the 2017 season played out for the Michigan football team. Four months of frustration summed up in four quarters. After returning just five starters — the BETELHEM fewest total ASHAME in the nation — from a team that finished 10-3 a year ago, the inexperienced, yet talented, Wolverines set out on a mission to show the country that this wouldn’t be a rebuilding year. But that’s exactly what the season became for Michigan. The Wolverines opened the Outback Bowl on a high note, as the defense forced a trio of three-and-outs and held South Carolina to just 13 yards in the first quarter. Redshirt junior defensive end Chase Winovich even recovered a fumble, as did freshman defensive back Ambry Thomas on special teams. But Michigan’s offense couldn’t take advantage of either opportunity, failing to reach the end zone despite starting at the Gamecocks’ 31-yard and 46-yard lines, respectively. In both cases, redshirt freshman kicker Quinn Nordin hit a field goal to put the Wolverines on the board. Their 6-0 lead was just as unconvincing as their 4-0 start to the season. Back in September, Michigan’s double-digit wins over then-No. 17 Florida, Cincinnati, Air Force and Purdue were marred by a tendency to wait until late in the second half to put the game away, mainly due to the prevalence of mindless turnovers.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Junior running back Karan Higdon believes the feeling of Michigan’s 8-5 season will linger until next year’s season opener at Notre Dame.
That should sound familiar. The difference is that the Wolverines still managed to put those games away. The second quarter showed more stagnation, as Michigan’s defense kept South Carolina at bay while its offense struggled to move the ball. Nordin and Gamecock kicker Parker White traded 40-plus-yard field goals to make it, 9-3, at halftime. And at the end of October, the Wolverines had dropped to 6-2, with two reasonable victories over Indiana and Rutgers and two devastating losses to Michigan State and then-No. 2 Penn State. Still, Michigan had control of its own destiny. As unlikely as it may have seemed, if the Wolverines won out — their stated goal at the time — a Big
Ten championship berth could have been in the cards. In the third quarter, Michigan began to make its move, scoring a touchdown on its first possession after the break. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters put together a six-play, 72-yard drive capped off by a one-yard rush from freshman fullback Ben Mason. On the very next series, redshirt junior linebacker Noah Furbush picked off South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley and returned it 27 yards
“We have to finish games, and we just didn’t today.”
Brandon Peters fails to impress in opportunity at the Outback Bowl TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. — Brandon Peters could have showed everyone why he deserves to start next season. But when he had the chance to lead a game-winning drive in a New Year’s Day bowl game against an SEC opponent, he turned the ball over. Twice. Late in the fourth quarter, he stood alone on the sideline, hands on his hips and kicking the dirt off his cleats. Kicker Quinn Nordin patted him on the shoulder first, and then punter Will Hart walked over as well. Just two minutes remained on the clock, but Michigan’s defense made another stop. Sophomore VIPER Khaleke Hudson came over to Peters, put his arms around him and spoke into his ear. “It’s the last drive. C’mon. We need you,” Hudson said to Peters. “Just go out there and try your best.” Peters trotted out, but four plays later threw his second interception of the fourth quarter. South Carolina took a knee, and time winded down. Michigan lost the Outback Bowl, 26-19, and Peters lost his last chance to impress the coaches, media and fans before the offseason. Peters finished the day with 186 passing yards. He threw two interceptions and completed just 20 of his 44 passes, more attempts than any Michigan quarterback threw in a game this season. In light of the recent news about Shea Patterson’s transfer from Ole Miss to Michigan, Peters said earlier this week that the Outback Bowl could be his own “breakout game.” He compared Patterson’s transfer to Michigan to the likes of someone stealing something from your house — and Peters said he wouldn’t let it happen.
The Outback Bowl was Peters’ first audition, though, and it didn’t start out very well. Peters went 11-for-23 in the first half for just 76 yards. The second half’s first drive seemed more promising — he went fourfor-four on a touchdown drive, completing deep passes, slants and fades to multiple receivers. After the game, Jim Harbaugh said there were “some good” parts from Peters’ performance, but there were also some plays that he knew Peters would “like to have back.” “He was battling just like the rest of the guys,” Harbaugh said. “There was some error there. A little too much at the wrong time.” Even if Peters had put on an impressive performance, it wouldn’t have put next year’s quarterback battle to rest, but he would’ve at least provided some positive game film against a decent opponent — albeit not a
“He was battling just like the rest of the guys.”
to the Gamecocks’ 27-yard line. The Wolverines had their chance to put the game away. But they only made it to the four-yard line. Junior running back Karan Higdon was stripped, and South Carolina pounced on the loose ball. “(We) gave up too many opportunities,” Higdon said. “We had them right where we wanted them. … We just didn’t capitalize.” After that play, the momentum shifted dramatically. Aside from a 48-yard field goal from Nordin, it never swung back in
great team in South Carolina — but a team with a winning record nonetheless. “It does light a fire under me,” Peters said. “I want to be the best I can possibly be. I’ll just take everything that’s happened this year and learn from it and take it into next year and be better.” In the next few weeks, Shea Patterson will join the team in Ann Arbor and start his Michigan career. With his move, the next quarterback competition of the Harbaugh era begins. Harbaugh has had one in each of his last three seasons, and 2018 won’t be any different. Patterson, Peters and freshman Dylan McCaffrey. That’s what the quarterback competition looks like right now. One of them hasn’t played a collegiate snap, one of them struggled on the biggest stage yet and the other one led the SEC conference in passing yards halfway through the season. Harbaugh said he wasn’t sure how much these bowl game performances impact those quarterback competitions, but if Peters turns out to be the starter next fall, it definitely won’t have to do with the bowl performance in Tampa.
Michigan’s direction. In November, the Wolverines beat Minnesota and Maryland handily. They were riding high at 8-2 with two games left to play. But down by just four points to then-No. 5 Wisconsin, Peters suffered a concussion and left in an ambulance. Michigan lost that game, as well as its next game against then-No. 8 Ohio State, and finished the regular season with an 8-4 record. Suffice to say, it wasn’t the ending the Wolverines had imagined. By the end of the Outback Bowl, Michigan turned the ball over four more times. The Gamecocks scored 20 unanswered points. South Carolina, which entered the game as a seven-point underdog,
went on to win by that margin instead in a 26-19 loss for the Wolverines. In the fourth month of Michigan’s 2017 season — bowl month — the same problems that haunted it all year came to the forefront and sent the Wolverines into 2018 with a sour taste in their mouths. “We have to finish games, and we just didn’t today,” said senior left tackle Mason Cole. “ … When things like that are happening, you’re just waiting for that big play on us to stop their momentum, and it just never really did. “It’s tough, especially for younger guys. They handled it fine, but sometimes when things aren’t going your way, you get emotionally hijacked or whatnot, and it’s just a learning lesson. Obviously, we wish it went the other way, but it didn’t.” And because it didn’t, Michigan has a long offseason ahead. Its young core, thrown into the fire this year, performed about as well as could have been expected. But the Wolverines have plenty of room to grow. They already know. Asked how long the bitter feeling of an 8-5 season will linger, Higdon cut to the chase: “Until we play Notre Dame.” While the 2018 season opener is eight months away, he and his teammates have their work cut out for them. “You gotta go into it now with a more serious approach because now we know we have real issues that we gotta fix,” Higdon said. “If we wanna be great and we wanna be a national championship contender, those are mistakes that we can’t have.” Four quarters in 2018 and four months of 2017 showed Michigan there’s a lot to learn from a rebuilding year.
Michigan offensive miscues due to poor execution and predictability ORION SANG
Managing Sports Editor
TAMPA, Fla. — There’s a lot of blame that can go around when an offense performs the way Michigan’s did in its 26-19 loss to South Carolina. 203 passing yards on 45 attempts with two crucial interceptions. 33 carries for 74 yards with two backbreaking fumbles. Those four turnovers, along with a muffed punt by freshman receiver Donovan PeoplesJones, helped the Gamecocks erase a 16-point deficit in nearly the blink of an eye. And, as the old adage goes, once it started raining, it simply began pouring. “They just grabbed ahold of that momentum and it just never really came back our way,” said senior left tackle Mason Cole. “When things like that are happening, you’re just waiting for that big play to happen and stop their momentum. It just never really did.” Of course, most mistakes don’t just happen on their own. It takes a collective effort, like on a fumbled handoff exchange between Brandon Peters and Sean McKeon. It seemed
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters struggled against South Carolina, throwing two interceptions.
peculiar that McKeon, a redshirt freshman tight end without any previous carries, would get the call on a crucial third-and-one. Perhaps that was never supposed to be the case. After the game, Jim Harbaugh blamed the miscue on the coaching staff, noting that they had the wrong personnel in the game. It was a mistake that Peters realized as well. Yet it went unchecked, and the result was costly for the Wolverines. “Yeah, I did realize it, but I thought (McKeon would) know what to do,” Peters explained. “When I snapped the ball, he seemed a little surprised that I was handing him the ball. I should’ve seen that and made sure he knew what he was doing.” Similar miscues plagued Michigan’s drives throughout the second half. A missed block on a wide receiver screen. A missed block on the edge. A fumble from a normally dependable ball-carrier on the opponent’s four-yard line. So as Peters framed it, yes, a lack of execution on offense did play a role in the team’s collapse. But — if South Carolina’s defensive players are to be believed — Michigan’s issues weren’t just in execution. They laid in preparation, as well. When asked if there was a moment where the Gamecocks’ defense felt they had solved the Wolverines, cornerback JaMarcus King gave an affirmative answer. He felt that way after Michigan’s first two drives. “They gave us everything,” King said. “After that, we knew we could stop everything.” Why? King felt the Wolverines were playing to their tendencies — running a lot of the same routes over and over again. “The choice route where the receiver runs a mesh and the tight end runs a dig,” King said. “So they ran that probably 85 percent of the time, and they ran a lot of stop routes on the back side.”
Given King’s answers, perhaps it should be no surprise that it was he who intercepted Peters on a third-and-goal from South Carolina’s five-yard line. A mistake in judgement on Peters’ part, yes; the ball was clearly late. But what King saw on film had a lot to do with it. Similar answers were provided by linebacker TJ Brunson and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw. Brunson knew from certain formations whether Michigan was going to run the ball and where the Wolverines would run it. He could also tell what to expect from personnel groupings. That allowed the defense to simply read their keys and “make plays, execute.” “We got in the right calls in the right positions,” Brunson said, “and everyone executed for the most part.” Similar to King, Kinlaw felt early on that his team held a clear advantage, even if the Gamecocks trailed by as much as 16 points in the second half. “I knew from the first play that we were going to win that game,” Kinlaw said. “I could tell from a physical standpoint.” Calling Michigan’s offense predictable, Kinlaw — similar to Brunson — had an idea of when the Wolverines would run the ball and when Peters would drop back to pass. As the game went on, he noticed something else as well — a change in Michigan’s body language. “When I see body language switch, heads moping,” Kinlaw said, “that makes me want to turn it up even more.” And by that point, it was clear that Michigan’s continued mistakes on offense had pulled it into a downward spiral it would not escape. “If you have a guy beat mentally, a lot of good things can happen for you,” Kinlaw said. “Probably when all the turnovers started happening — that’s when I feel like we had them mentally beat.”
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsWednesday
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 — 3B
Simpson leads ‘M’ past Iowa in crucial road win
The Wolverines were led by their sophomore backup point guard MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Editor
IOWA CITY — Throughout the season, the point guard position has been a source of limited production for the Michigan men’s basketball team. In their previous game, freshman Eli Brooks and sophomore Zavier Simpson combined for just two points on three shot attempts facing a far-inferior Jacksonville team. But on Tuesday night, Simpson played the best game of his college career, tallying 15 points and 7 assists to lead the Wolverines (2-1 Big Ten, 13-3 overall) to a 75-68 win over Iowa (0-3, 9-7) at CarverHawkeye Arena. “We got after him a little bit after (Jacksonville),” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “He didn’t guard his man, and we challenged him to go out and play better. He’s that type of guy who need to bring it every night. “He works in the gym so much to hit those 3s that we needed to have.” Simpson’s productivity was joined by that of freshman forward Isaiah Livers and sophomore center Jon Teske — three bench players that were key Tuesday night. Livers scored a career-high 13 points, and filled in nicely on the defensive end guarding Iowa forward Tyler Cook. And with junior center Moritz Wagner still knocking off rust from a ankle injury, Teske was also effective in limiting the
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Sophomore point guard Zavier Simpson turned in an impressive performance against the Hawkeyes, tallying 15 points and seven assists in Tuesday’s win and helping run the offense smoothly.
Hawkeyes’ frontcourt down the stretch. “Our bench really was solid today because Moe and Duncan really didn’t have some of the things (they usually have today),” Beilein said. “Our bench was the difference today.” The same could be said about the Wolverines’ shooting performance. Michigan shot 49 percent from the f loor and knocked down 11 triples — including eight in the first half.
“We played extraordinarily well as far as shooting ...”
ICE HOCKEY
Michigan finishes third at GLI JACOB SHAMES Daily Sports Writer
DETROIT, Mich. — For a second straight contest, Michigan got off to a dismal start. And in the second period for the second night in a row, a convenient bounce led to a freshman’s first college goal to bring the Wolverines within one. This time, though, Michigan (8-8-2 overall, 3-5-2 Big Ten) sealed the deal, coming all the way back and then some. Slightly under five minutes into the second period, senior defenseman Sam Piazza’s shot from the point slammed off the back wall to freshman forward Michael Pastujov, who slipped the puck into the bottom-right corner of the net. One minute later, junior forward Cooper Marody redirected a cross-ice pass from senior forward Dexter Dancs behind Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon to tie the score at three. To lead off the final stanza, senior defenseman Cutler Martin’s shot ricocheted off the back of Spartan defender Zach Osburn and past a helpless Lethemon, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the Great Lakes Invitational — one they would not relinquish. Michigan claimed third place in the GLI for the second straight year with a 6-4 victory over the same opponent — Michigan State (8-11-1, 2-7-1) — as in 2017. As usual, the Wolverines’ high-powered first line set the pace, especially Marody — who recorded his second career hattrick with his equalizer and then two third-period goals. Senior forward Tony Calderone assisted on all three of them, while Dancs registered one assist of his own. It’s unlikely anyone would have seen this coming a couple hours before. Just 26 seconds after the intial puck drop, Spartan forward Taro Hirose scooted through Michigan’s defense and found the net to open the scoring. Four minutes later, forward Logan Lambdin tipped defenseman Carson Gatt’s shot into a wide-open
net created when a Michigan State player collided with sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne — a goal which was reviewed for interference, but ultimately stood. “Obviously it’s not the start we wanted,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “Twenty seconds into the game we get one behind and we get 2-0. … I thought we got a break after the first period just to regroup a little bit and just to have a chat.” The first half-hour, while still ugly for the Wolverines, wasn’t quite the same nightmare it had been against Bowling Green the previous night, which had a 4-0 lead 24 minutes into the bout. Michigan showed more life on offense, moved the puck and created decent chances. Not surprisingly, that all led to better results Tuesday. Three minutes into the second period, sophomore forward James Sanchez halved the deficit with a flick from the left wing that caught the right side of the net. But two minutes after that, Sanchez was penalized for tripping, leading to a power-play goal by Patrick Khodorenko to restore the Spartans’ original lead. Last night, Pearson bemoaned the fact his team couldn’t do much after bringing the game within one goal. Again, Tuesday was different. After Martin’s goal, Khodorenko was hit with a crucial major penalty for cross-checking. With the man advantage, Michigan could do whatever it wanted for the next five minutes. Shots flew in from everywhere, but it was one in particular — a high wrister by Marody for his second goal — that carried the most influence. Michigan State capitalized on a power-play of its own with a fiveon-three advantage to stay in the game. But Marody’s third salvo sealed the deal with four minutes remaining. “I think that we just had more will tonight,” Martin said. “Our team, we’re not as skilled maybe as we were my freshman and sophomore year. This year we sometimes have to play a little grindier game. And just making sure we do that, holding each other accountable.”
“We shot so well tonight,” Beilein said. “If we missed some of those shots, I might have a different story to tell right now. But we played extraordinarily well as far as shooting the ball.” Despite the shooting boost, however, Michigan’s victory didn’t come easily. With just over 10 minutes to go, the Hawkeyes went on an 11-3 run to close its deficit to just six. And after leading by as many as 18 points, the eeriness of Michigan’s collapse at Ohio State last month crept in. “That’s all we talk about all season,” Livers said. “That we can’t come out here in the second half and let them come hit us. We’ve got to hit them before they hit us. I think that’s
going to help us going forward in the season.” But, fittingly, it was Simpson who stopped the bleeding. With a layup that beat the shot clock and an assist to senior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman, he sparked the Wolverines to a 9-0 stretch that put the possibility of another Big Ten loss out of question. With an augmented command of the offense and a 6-for-9 effort from the field, Simpson was instrumental in creating the ball movement Beilein previously said Michigan lacked with the Ohio native on the f loor. “We wanted him to see the f loor better,” Beilein said, “and he did that tonight.”
But like Saturday, it was another slow start for the Wolverines, who coughed up five turnovers before the game’s first media timeout, including two traveling calls against redshirt sophomore forward Charles Matthews. But with the Hawkeyes struggling to find twine, Abdur-Rahkman and Simpson each knocked down a pair of 3s to launch Michigan to a 15-point advantage midway through the frame. That would set the tone for eight made triples from six different Wolverines in the first half. And with a 62-percent shooting performance on 15 assists, Michigan would take a
49-36 lead into the break. That was despite quiet performances from Wagner and fifth-year senior Duncan Robinson, who combined for just seven points in 29 minutes. “(Wagner) is just not right,” Beilein said. “He was tender on the ankle, but now he’s fine. He just needs to get his rhythm back. ... And I’m concerned about him because we need Moe Wagner.” And for a few minutes in the first half, the Hawkeyes exploited Wagner’s uncharacteristic game. With an 11-0 run, Iowa closed its deficit to single-digits early into the second frame. But just as he did later in the half, it was Simpson who ended the run, wiggling his way into the paint for an easy score.
Livers displays improved outside shooting at Iowa The freshman forward has worked on his shot recently, and it seems to have paid off MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor
Isaiah Livers caught the ball in rhythm as he has all season. He squared to the hoop and lifted with the same form he has all season. The difference? This time it went in. In a place Michigan hasn’t won in seven seasons, in an arena enlivened by Iowa’s quick 6-0 spurt, Livers motioned to the now-silenced crowd and lifted his fingers to his lips. Shhhh. The three-point stroke looked the same. The confidence from the freshman was brand new. “From here on, it just makes me play with a chip on my shoulder,” Livers said. “I know what I can do. I know what I’m capable of. At first, I was second-thinking everything. There was always a second thought that I had, and I think that was holding me back early in the season. I think now I have a lot more confidence than I had.” On the next possession, Livers caught a swing pass in the corner and faced the rim again. This time, with the calm of a skilled veteran, Livers offered a slight pump fake. His defender bought it, offering him a clear lane to an easy layup. A disgruntled (to put it mildly) Fran McCaffery called timeout, but Michigan never slowed down on its way to a 75-68 win at Iowa. Coming into the game, Livers was shooting just 28 percent from beyond the arc and averaging just three points in his 12.1 minutes per game. Michigan coach John Beilein has long suggested Livers would eventually develop a long-range jumper; most Beilein-coached players do. For Livers, that shot is the key to unlocking the treasure trove of skills he possesses — offensively and defensively. “Coach (Beilein) works with me after practices, every practice we work on my jump
shot,” Livers said. “So I think (the key is) just having a positive mindset, and seeing the ball go through the basket.” Throughout the season, much of Livers’ value has remained intangible — or at least less visible. Paired next to Wagner, Livers has often provided a necessary defensive upgrade at the other frontcourt position, and averages 3.6 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes on the other end. Until Tuesday, his role had been clear and rigid. But if his shot begins to drop — and he made each of his three attempts Tuesday — his potential now and in the future seems far greater. “I think that I could be more of a Duncan Robinson,” Livers offered for how his role might change with a developed stroke.
“I could shot fake, get the defender in the air, and I could go right past him and get to the bucket or make open passes for my teammates.” But, of course, it was the stark difference between the skillsets of Livers and Robinson that told the tale of Tuesday’s win. Michigan was 23 points better with Livers on the court than without. It was 18 points worse with Duncan Robinson on the floor than without him. There’s correlation and causation; that is unmistakeably the latter. Much of that can be attributed to the matchup problem with Robinson — a defensivelychallenged wing — guarding Iowa’s Tyler Cook. Cook was a physical presence who gave Robinson and junior center Moritz Wagner problems
“I think that I could be more of a Duncan Robinson.”
all evening. With Robinson unable to handle Cook’s aggression, Beilein turned to Livers. “Duncan Robinson is a mismatch ‘4’ that we don’t have another answer right now. DJ Wilson was the answer this year and he isn’t here this year,” Beilein said. “That’s hard for Duncan to guard some of these guys, so Duncan has been filling in and Isaiah should be playing more in the future. He has been working on that jump shot and his numbers are good in practice. He hasn’t done it in games, but maybe this is a breakthrough.” Tuesday night was a glimpse into an ever-growing light at the end of Livers’ lengthy developmental tunnel. It’s unreasonable to expect Livers to fill the shoes of DJ Wilson right away, but the long-term comparison is not far-fetched. With a newfound shot and growing confidence, there are sure to be more crowd-silencers down the road.
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Freshman forward Isaiah Livers had a plus-minus of 23 points, and his outside shooting helped Michigan beat Iowa.
SportsWednesday
4B — Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Shea Patterson can’t fix Michigan on his own
T
AMPA, Fla. — A proclamation came from the first row of Raymond James Stadium. “It’s Patterson season,” one fan screamed in Brandon Peters’ direction. KEVIN And thus, SANTO the proverbial cloud hanging over the redshirt freshman’s head became very, very literal. He stood on the sideline, helmet perched upon his head. He was a lonely man, playing one of football’s loneliest positions. He had just gone four-andout with four incompletions, the Michigan football team’s penultimate gasp in a 26-19 loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. Little did he know his world was about to get a whole lot lonelier. His defense gave him a final chance at playing hero. He would throw his second pick of the game, on 4th-and-1, to seal
the win for the Gamecocks once and for all. Then he would trot off the field accompanied only by Sean McKeon. So yes, it well may be ‘Patterson season.’ The former Ole Miss quarterback is officially in Ann Arbor, set to enroll in classes and begin offseason workouts while he awaits the fate of his eligibility. But here’s the rub: Shea Patterson can’t fix Michigan’s problems. After the game, asked what was necessary for the program to get to the next level, Jim Harbaugh offered little clarity and no specificity. “We’ll look at every aspect of it,” he said, “and we’ll make improvements.” Not long after, Karan Higdon was asked to summarize Michigan’s 8-5 season. “I think it’s definitely a learning season,” he said. “We learned a lot about ourselves, a lot about our program, a lot about our coaches, our players, and I think going into next year we’ve got to put it all together. … We’ve gotta capitalize on those things and fix the little things as well.”
The problem is that Michigan certainly has improvements to make, but they’re not a matter of the “little things,” as the issues have been described all season. And despite the Wolverines’ optimism with each passing week that they were one step away from a breakthrough, the fact remains that they’re not. That doesn’t change that, in the week leading up Monday’s matchup, the consensus was rather simple. A matchup with the Gamecocks was an opportunity for progress, a springboard for 2018. But given a month to prepare, it was anything but. And the evidence was strung across four quarters in Raymond James Stadium. Near the seven-minute mark of the second quarter, freshman Brad Robbins was replaced with Will Hart after hitting three of his first four punts under 35 yards, only to be reinstated on
the next fourth down when Hart hit a line drive himself. With just over nine minutes left in the third quarter, Higdon fumbled inside the five-yard line with a chance to put the Wolverines up by 19. Then came the fumble on Michigan’s own 21-yard line and the 17-point onslaught that gave the Gamecocks the lead and the two interceptions. All the while, the Wolverines relied on their kicker to generate points and watched as a makeshift offensive line that is largely indicative of the future was manhandled. If this all sounds familiar, it’s probably because it happened in Arlington against Florida, too. As for the cherry on top? Asked how long it took South Carolina to figure out Michigan’s offense, cornerback JaMarcus King left things pretty plainly. “Two drives.” Taking that all into account, it may be time for fans to prepare for a tough reality. Shea Patterson can beat a defense with his legs. As things stand, he isn’t fast enough to make up for his offensive line. He has a pretty arm, but won’t produce 300-yard outings if his offense is predictable. He has a fanbase hungry for him, hungry for a savior. But they felt that way about Peters, too, not so long ago. And the same problems that undid him remain, leaving Michigan in a bit of a conundrum. The Wolverines have a lot to fix themselves. Shea Patterson can’t do it for them.
“We’ll look at every aspect of it and we’ll make improvements”
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Transfer quarterback Shea Patterson will need help from the rest of the Michigan football team to fix its issues.
WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Freshmen perform well in Greensboro RIAN RATNAVALE Daily Sports Writer
The Greensboro Aquatic Center is a considerable 591 miles away from Ann Arbor. It’s not a stretch to say that most other visiting divers would feel like a fish out of water there. However, two freshmen divers for the No. 4 Michigan women’s swimming and diving team, Nikki Canale and Christy Cutshaw, had their own home-pool advantage while competing at the 2017 USA Diving Winter National Championships in their home state of North Carolina. Over the course of the six-day meet from Dec. 13-18, Canale and Cutshaw both finaled. Cutshaw finished second in the synchronized platform and sixth in the platform, while Canale placed eleventh in the threemeter final. Diving coach Mike Hilde attributed some of the divers’ performance to being in familiar territory, but was impressed nonetheless. “I know that they were excited that friends and family were in town and there were people there to support them,” Hilde said. “It was kind of a rare occasion because there’s not a lot of times where you’re in a place that you’re from. But it was a great experience. My two freshmen divers were competing at a high level … both ended up in the finals and both did pretty well.” Hilde also highlighted the freshmen’s toughness in the face of adversity. Many of
the divers at the meet were upperclassmen or divers who were already out of college, while this was Canale and Cutshaw’s first collegiate dive of such high stakes. “They’re young girls and are new to the college scene,” Hilde said. “Not everybody in this meet was a college diver but a majority of them are or were graduating divers, so just to see their mental toughness And the way they handle themselves was the main thing. They’re battling with the best so it’s also a very good positive motivator going forward.” The divers will return home to Canham Natatorium on Jan. 13, where both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs will host Indiana. As the meet will mark the women’s program’s first home meet since Sept. 29, Hilde is looking forward to seeing the team rallying around each other and the Wolverine community. “They can stay home, continue to train and study without leaving their own place and going back and forth,” Hilde said. “It changes the way because we don’t have too many meets coming up, and you can really get into the rhythm for what we want to get done at the Big Ten’s. You’re not away from all your peers and fellow athletes to rally around, so it’s nice to have that chunk of time back home.” For Cutshaw and Canale though, that chunk was just a bit longer, and all the more triumphant.
“... It’s nice to have that chunk of time back home.”
Santo can be reached at kmsanto@umich.edu or on Twitter at @Kevin_M_Santo
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FOOTBALL
Report says Frey set to leave for Florida State ORION SANG
Managing Sports Editor
Greg Frey’s first stint in Ann Arbor lasted three years. His second? That could be much shorter. According to a report from Josh Newberg of 247Sports.com, Michigan’s offensive tackles and tight ends coach didn’t travel home with the team from Tampa after Monday’s Outback Bowl. Instead, Frey and his wife drove up to Tallahassee to meet with new Florida State head coach Willie Taggart. Frey may not have coached alongside Taggart before, but he does have significant shared history with the Seminoles, having played for Florida State’s 1993 championship team. The report implies Frey has been in ongoing talks with Taggart, who was officially hired Dec. 5. According to Newberg, there’s a “good chance” Frey’s departure is finalized in the near future. Such a move would represent a second consecutive offseason with a significant shake-up in the offensive coaching staff. Following last season, the Wolverines saw former assistant coaches Jedd Fisch and Tyrone Wheatley leave for jobs elsewhere. Jim Harbaugh brought in Frey as one of the replacements along with passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton. He was seen as a key cog in the development of Michigan’s offensive line, joining offensive coordinator Tim Drevno, who
was responsible for interior linemen. Frey, an acclaimed coach who has developed numerous NFLcaliber linemen such as Taylor Lewan, Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney throughout stops at four different schools, also served as the Wolverines’ run game coordinator. Known as a dogged recruiter, Frey was responsible for signing Jalen Mayfield and Ryan Hayes, two four-star offensive tackles, and Luke Schoonmaker, a three-star tight end, in the 2018 class. In his one year on staff, Michigan experienced mixed results along the offensive line. The Wolverines struggled with pass protection, especially on the right side of the line, where Michigan started three different players at right tackle. The Wolverines surrendered 36 total sacks, ranking No. 114 in the nation. The rushing attack saw more positive results, although the Wolverines limped to the finish. In their final three games (all losses), they rushed a combined 115 times for 232 yards, averaging 2.0 yards per carry. On the year, Michigan averaged 177.7 rushing yards per game. According to the S+P ratings, the Wolverines’ rushing attack ranked No. 14 in the nation. During Frey’s previous tenure, Michigan’s offensive line play improved quickly enough that he was able to see the fruits of his labor. That doesn’t appear to be the case this time around.
(Frey) didn’t travel home with the team from Tampa.
‘M’ falls to Iowa as Thome, Flaherty struggle ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer
Michigan had all the momentum in the world. The No. 21 Wolverines (1-1 Big Ten, 12-3 overall) fought back from a nine-point deficit with five minutes to go in the game to make it two with just under four minutes left. The No. 23 Hawkeyes (2-0, 14-1), proceeded to slam the door shut with more force than the Incredible Hulk. Iowa’s Chase Coley hit an elbow jumper to make the lead four. Kathleen Doyle put in a transition layup to extend it to six, then added another layup off a backdoor cut to make it eight. When Megan Gustafson beat the shot clock to make it 10 with 1:21 to go, that was all she wrote. The Michigan women’s basketball team fell on Sunday, 82-72, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The loss snaps an eight-game winning streak and keeps coach Kim Barnes Arico from passing Sue Guevara for first place on the program’s all-
time wins list. Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty managed to put up 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting, spurring Michigan’s fourth-quarter run with six straight points. However, she was the only Wolverine with more than 11 points on the night. “I thought we had a couple opportunities of some other people to make plays, whether that be getting stops on the defensive end, or even on the offensive end with the defense they were playing, denying Katelynn and denying (Nicole) Munger a little bit,” Barnes Arico told WTKA. “But we really couldn’t get too many other people going. “I thought Kayla Robbins did a decent job of giving us some real good minutes as she’s done the last couple of games. But other than that, we really struggled to
get going.” The Hawkeyes managed to keep the Wolverines quiet with a triangle-and-two defense that flummoxed them. “They face-guarded Katelynnn and face-guarded Nicole and we really weren’t able to get them any open looks the rest of the game,” Barnes Arico said. “We really struggled with that. And I would imagine that’s how teams are probably gonna defend us, so we gotta continue working on that.” The game was decided down low. Gustafson, who averages 22.1 points and 12.6 rebounds per game for Iowa, lived up to her billing. She finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, getting junior center Hallie Thome into foul trouble early and spending the rest of the game scoring over
“If you’re not ready to go for 40 minutes, you can be beat.”
double-teams. “I thought we did a great job in the first half of really crowding (Gustafson),” Barnes Arico said. “I think some of their other role players made a couple shots and I think that made our kids a little bit nervous, to come on out and to guard some of them. When they did, that really opened things up for Gustafson.” Thome herself was shut down by Gustafson and the rest of Iowa’s defense. Despite the foul trouble, she played 31 minutes, but managed just seven points, her second-worst mark of the season. Michigan has, for the most part, spent the season feasting on non-conference opponents, their only two losses coming against two top-three teams. On Sunday, it learned the hard way that the competition in the Big Ten, on the road, is a good deal tougher. “Welcome to the Big Ten,” Barnes Arico said. “Where every night, if you’re not focused, if you’re not locked in, if you’re not ready to go for 40 minutes, you can be beat.”
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior guard Nicole Munger struggled with Iowa’s triangle-and-two defense, as No. 21 Michigan dropped a close road game to No. 23 Iowa.
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | JA N UA RY 3 , 201 8
Hustled Out
Union renovations strip away 97 years of pool hall history
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Wednesday, January 3, 2018// The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | JA N UA RY 3 , 201 8
Managaing Statement Editor: Brian Kuang
Photo Editor: Amelia Cacchione
Managing Editor: Dayton Hare
Deputy Editors: Colin Beresford Jennifer Meer Rebecca Tarnopol
Editor in Chief: Alexa St. John
Copy Editors: Elise Laarman Finntan Storer
Design Staff: Michelle Phillips
Brews Through: Starbucks in Kobe BY YOSHIKO IWAI, COLUMNIST
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ike every good story, mine comes with a cup of coffee — an Americano with no room, to be exact. As I start my final semester at the University, finishing two degrees and leading up to what is probably my 2,190th cup of coffee (365 days x 4 years x 1.5 cups on average), I’ve come to appreciate the coffee shop culture in Ann Arbor. It’s contributed to the way I feel a part of the Ann Arbor community — aspiring journalists, novelists, physicians, researchers and artists alike. It goes without saying I am mildly addicted to coffee — not to caffeine — but to the bitter taste of espresso that stains my teeth and accounts for the majority of my dental bill. Before I leave the University and the city that has now become my home, I’ve made a promise to myself to explore, to the best of my abilities and schedule, the coffee hubs that make up Ann Arbor. Coffee is never just coffee. It’s never just a buzz, an alternative to caffeine pills, a natural laxative or a conversation starter. It’s so much more than the full-bodied taste of freshly ground coffee beans. It’s an experience. When I drink coffee, it rarely comes without sentimentality. I’ve realized — because this is what my nostalgic senior-year mind does in its spare time — each chapter of my life comes with a different coffee drink. Soy chai latte when I was in middle school, exploring the world and realizing there was more than plain milk, matcha latte after I left Japan for boarding school in the U.S.; skim latte when I copied everything my mom did; dirty chai in high school; and right now I take everything black because I like that it makes me feel like an adult. (No, I genuinely like the way it tastes.) A vast majority of these early coffee epiphanies were rooted in a Starbucks. Yes, maybe it is heresy to write about Starbucks in a coffee column — I do prefer independent local coffee shops to massive chains any day. But it happens to be that some of my best and hardest memories came with coffee and a green, two-tailed mermaid.
There’s one Starbucks my mom and I went to near our home in Kobe, Japan. Japanese Starbucks stores aren’t much different from the ones in the United States. The drinks seem smaller because they are rigorous with measuring the exact amount of milk and syrup (the drinks never overflow with whip cream like they do in the U.S.) and are generally more expensive, and they have different seasonal features like white chocolate green tea lattes instead of pumpkin spice. The merchandise is different and of course, the people are different. But if you close your eyes, you could hardly tell the difference. It still has that bold smell of roasted coffee beans with a slightly sour aftertaste that clings to your nose. There is the flutter of silverware and plates that occasionally make it hard to hear conversation, and the intermittent loud steam from the coppercolored espresso machine. No matter what time of day or day of the year, it is never empty. Eight times out of ten, there’s a stroller parked in the store somewhere. There is a flux of chatter and a warmth that makes it feel cozy, even if it is an outpost of an 85 billion dollar enterprise. The Starbucks my mom and I go to is a part of a small mall that faces the Hanshin train station. It has floor-to-ceiling windows on one side so light fills the store during the day. The Hanshin train runs above ground and you can see it pull into the station above the buildings. We watch the flurry of people walk out of the station as the train leaves. Sometimes a truck pulls by the window to drop off loaves of bread and pastries to the bakery next door. We always sit at the table furthest from the windows, I don’t know why. We sit at the same table close to the exit, where we can still see the train but also the other stores inside. It’s close to the pick-up counter so there is usually a barista close by. The table with honey and cinnamon is always behind me, on my left shoulder. We laugh about it now, how much has changed since we first sat in that Starbucks at that same table. We held hands and cried over our half-eaten blueberry scone as I tried to digest the
recurrence of her cancer. I remember being nauseated from anxiety when I thought I wouldn’t be able to continue school in the U.S. because of my visa. We talked only paperwork over our drinks. After my ACL surgery, I hobbled on crutches to the same table and watched my mom carry our drinks — I had to sit on the other side because I couldn’t bend my knee, I thought my world was ending. When I decided on U-M, we were both so happy we finished our drinks and food the fastest I’ve seen yet. We’ve seen baristas come and go and the wallpaper painted, retouched and finally changed. We sit, holding hands across the same table, talking about my dreams, her future, the hypothetical grandkids and mother-daughter book tour. We’ve cried and laughed at the table, her over a skim latte, and me over a constantly changing drink. She is my constant — of course she is, she’s my mom. But in some ways, so is Starbucks. I like that I can drink the same drink with her at our table by the barista, watching the train pull into the station, and in the Michigan Union during midterms. I like that I can order a grande
A Starbucks in Kobe, Japan.
or venti Americano in Kobe and be reminded of it when I traveled to Portugal for a writing conference. I like that I can drink that same coffee as I talk about my post-grad plans with professors I admire. I like that I can eat a blueberry scone in Japan and in Ann Arbor and know it tastes the same, even if I’m breathing different air on different soil. I like that I can simultaneously feel at home and part of so many different worlds. And maybe that’s what’s unique about a global enterprise like Starbucks. Less the quirky types of coffee beans and picture-worthy foam art, but more the unique ability it has to spread and blend experiences. I can still remember the first Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino I ordered after a dance competition in Los Angeles, when I was eight or so. When I drink an Americano now, in Kobe or Ann Arbor, so much has changed. I realize I’ve come further than I would’ve ever thought, that the world has changed tenfold and the future is even more unpredictable. It’s so much more than just coffee, it always is.
Courtesy of Yoshiko Iwai
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 // The Statement
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Soundtracking: Writer’s block
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o I may or may not have stared at a blank Google Doc page for hours on end trying to write this column. I don’t consider this column about not being able to think of a column “phoning it in.” I consider it making the most out of what I was given — which was a laptop, a deadline and early 2000s bops f loating around in my brain. Between my essay-steeped course load, working at The Daily, drafting plays and scenes and attempting to record some songs every now and again, it’s safe to say I write a lot. I have to. As someone who can barely say two words without making a fool of himself or cracking a half-baked joke to get out of an awkward conversation, writing gives me something physical to grasp onto. You can take your time when you’re writing. The language can f low onto the page in one swift breeze but you have the ability to go back and comb through the word vomit. You can’t go back and revise a conversation; this isn’t the fun-for-all-ages comedy “Click” starring the immaculate Adam Sandler. Sometimes when I’m writing, I feel as though I’m drunk. I blink and words suddenly appear on my page. I feel this way right now. Sometimes your drunken stints of text turn into complete and utter garbage. You look back and think, “What the hell was I thinking?” All Bad — J.I.D ft. Mereba But sometimes you strike gold. On rare occasions, you reread your work and it isn’t the worst shit you’ve ever seen. It could even be good like when you play “Tipsy Chef” and become the Gordon Ramsey of drunk food — I still stand by my pretzels and chocolate milk combo and I will never change. I surprise myself a lot. Like for instance, I’m genuinely shook that I’ve been able to write this much. It took quite awhile. Here’s your daily dose of Julie Andrews: “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start” No Title — Corbin The title is arguably the hardest part of writing for me. I have trouble starting a piece if the title is blank. I also have trouble condensing something I’ve just finished drafting into a short title
BY MATT HARMON, COLUMNIST that represents the entire work. Like how the hell do people come up with autobiography titles? You’re basically writing your own epitaph. You’re summarizing the story of your life in a max of five words. Mine would probably be “So White You Need Sunglasses: An Autobiography.” After wracking my brain for an hour or so on this column, looking through my Spotify for songs and scrolling through Facebook because I’m weak, I
decide I need to get out of the house. I can’t write at home. Some find solace in the familiar. I’d rather be at a coffee shop or somewhere in public so I feel bad if people see me scrolling through a news feed or reading an article on David Bowie’s 100 favorite novels when I should be working. I hop in my car and drive. I need to get far enough away from home where it will be too long of a drive home if the column isn’t done. A coffee shop is ideal. As I drive with no specific destination in mind, I pass by the primary example of cookie-cutter chain coffee shops. I can’t say the specific one here but let’s just say it rhymes with Barbucks. No one will be any the wiser. I am not about to stop there. Fuck the Industry — Solange I keep going until I remember my favorite little spot in metro Detroit.
It’s about 15 minutes away from my house but worth the hike. Amazing and cheap coffee, huge reading room, comfy chairs, a portrait of George Washington in the bathroom — what else could I ever need? I pull up, park and head inside to find the reading room completely empty. 10/10 for this idea. Many afternoons have been spent taking friends around, ultimately stopping here for an hour or two to talk around our mugs, read, write, play card
jam, this song fits the bill. It’s all I can think of. My column ideas go out one ear and this tune goes in the other. I regret nothing. The Sweet Escape — Gwen Stefani ft. Akon Akon’s refrain and Gwen’s “woohoo, yeehoo” won’t leave me alone. I can’t focus on the column. I rely on my coffee to drive me through and actually help me escape “The Sweet Escape.” I need that extra jolt to push my brain cells away from 2006 Gwen Stefani and towards my column deadline. When I go to buy a cup, the woman behind the register waves me away when I try to pay. “The register’s on the fritz. You’re all good,” she says. My heart melts. Free coffee? I take this to be a sign of some power greater than my understanding. If this safe haven of literature and caffeine can grace me with free coffee, I can finish this column. When I sit back down, I close my eyes once again. This time, I feel that drunken haze I get when a writing storm is brewing start to fall over me. I am ready to get to work. Liberation — SiR ft. Anderson .Paak Ultimately, the coffee and the unwavering stare from George Washington’s portrait peering through the open bathroom door drive me to finish this piece. It is not my proudest work but it ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS is also not the worst piece of games or do whatever our caffeine- writing I have ever attached my name fueled hearts desired. to. I’ve never been disappointed by the In conclusion, my recommendation, confines of this coffee shop. as the textbook-definition of a rookie Never Let me Down — Kanye West writer, would be if you ever suffer ft. Jay-Z and J. Ivy from writer’s block, here’s what you Upon arriving, I think I’ll be able to need to do: crank out this column in no time. Get away from where you sleep. Wrong. Dead wrong. Writing in bed will break the crucial My fingers rest on the keys. I never gap between home and work, which is learned how to really type with all no good in my book. fingers so the position feels awkward. Something to drink gives you a quick I close my eyes and expect ideas to reprieve from thinking. Be it coffee, f low from my brain to my hands to the water, alcohol or anything in between, keyboard to the screen. Instead, I can’t raising a glass to your lips physically get the image of a specific music video stops you from writing and can be the out of my head. perfect pause you need before you dive I remember watching this video on back in. VH1’s “Top 20 Countdown” for a couple Always keep a portrait of George weeks. If I had to say so, I’d say it was Washing ton handy. It’s something a certified bop. It slaps. It bangs. Every about the eyes that says “Keep word you can think of to describe a writing, asshole.”
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Wednesday, January 3, 2018 // The Statement
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 // The Statement
The pool hall, hustled out Union renovations strip away 97 years of pool hall history
by Will Feuer, Contributor
T
he room is a labyrinth of ancient tables, antiques still in use. Above each one, fluorescent lights puncture maize and blue stained glass to reflect off the phenolic resin balls. Blue cue chalk stains the hands of the players and permeates the air to create a haze. Chatter is drowned out by the smack of balls. The archaic space heaters moan and the greats who came before us stand watch, framed in timeless wood, nailed to the walls. The scratches and tears in the 16 nine-foot Brunswick tables tell a story longer than most at the University of Michigan have been alive. Few people know that when the Michigan Union was erected in 1919, it boasted a bowling alley, bar, swimming pool, barber shop, hotel rooms and much more. Over the century since, these amenities have slowly been replaced by a computer lab, Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, fast food chains and other facilities that fill today’s Union. However, one room on the second floor remains virtually untouched, frozen in time and displaying the Union’s winding story. As this academic year ends, so too will the lingering life of the historic billiards hall. I spent hours every week — probably every day — in this room my freshman year. It is where I would unwind after a long day and where I would bring people to understand me a bit more. The green-felted nine-foot Brunswick tables put the ratty seven-footer my dad taught me to play on to shame. This is my refuge, my paradise and my home.
Men play pool in the Union billiards room in 1937.
It wasn’t long before I was on the club pool team. Yes, U-M has a team. In fact, U-M hosts the largest college pool tournament in the country, the University of Michigan Team Pool Championships. My freshman year, the UMTPC was the weekend of Halloween. While my fraternity brothers were doing what they do, I was locked in a heated game of nine-ball until midnight against a couple of students from Carnegie Mellon University. I lost, we shook hands and they asked me where the parties were. That tournament is held every year, and it’s bliss for those of us who crave the intensity of calmly tapping safety shots for two hours patiently awaiting a chance to run the table in one foul devastating swoop. OK, so it’s not football, but what pool lacks in aggression and physicality, it makes up for tenfold in strategy and tact. Though far and few in between, there is a network of individuals on campus who don’t just love billiards but love the billiards hall. That’s why I question the Union renovations slated to begin this April, which will not only erase the pool hall entirely but also devastate the community surrounding it. ***** When the Union closes for renovations this spring, the University will sink more than $85 million into the project over two years. In planning the new and hopefully improved Union, the University conducted surveys, town halls, intercept interviews and more to gauge campus and alumni opinion on what the Union should be. In total, more than 350 stu-
dents, 500 alumni and almost 200 staff offered input. Driven by the results of those outreach efforts, the administration is seeking to expand space for student organizations in the Union, said Susan Pile, senior director of University Unions and Auxiliary Services, who has been active in planning the renovations. The University currently boasts over 1,500 student organizations, but fewer than 80 have office space, all of which is located on the third and fourth floors of the Union. While creating office space for student organizations, the renovations will expand Counseling and Psychological Services and move some administrative offices to the third and fourth floors. The student org offices will move to the “IdeaHub,” a planned co-working space that will be available to all 1500 student organizations. However, if demand is high, space may become reservation-only. What is certain is that the IdeaHub will take over the space that has been the billiards hall for 97 years, which has failed to turn a profit in the past decade according to Pile. “I think folks recognize that we are trying to create a much more inclusive kind of space for student organizations,” Pile said. “We are going to maintain the historical details of the space and we will tell the story of the billiards room in the space to honor that legacy.” The concept behind the IdeaHub originated in 2011 from the student-run Building a Better Michigan, formed by the Michigan Union Board of Representatives to advocate for improvements to the Union. BBM has significantly contributed to the Union renovation process, communicating directly with the project’s architects. “One thing that BBM really does is it helps keep the renovations in a student-led perspective because the University would not exist had it not been for students here,” LSA junior Jazz Teste said, a co-president of BBM. In 2013, members of BBM spoke before the Board of Regents, claiming to represent all 17,000 LSA students despite being unelected. The Regents then voted to add a semesterly $65 “University Unions and Recreational Sports facility improvement fee” onto the tuition and fees of students to go towards renovating campus facilities, formally putting the gears in motion for the Union overhaul. “I do regret having to lose the billiards room because it is a gorgeous and iconic place in the Union. However, student leiCourtesy of Bentley Historical Library sure activities have changed over the past couple decades,” Teste said.
Teste said it’s unfair for the University to pick and choose which student groups receive the limited office space, and reiterated the billiards hall has been unprofitable. The IdeaHub will eliminate the need to parcel out space among eager student organizations. “It would come down to evaluating them, which we currently do, but how do you measure someone’s passion over another?” she asked. Being that it is precisely the administration’s job with these renovations, I put the question to those who care most about the billiards hall. ***** “This place for me was one of my favorite places on campus. It’s where I spent most of my free time. I fell in love with pool and met a lot of really cool people here,” Greg Webster said, who graduated from LSA in 2016. “I met my girlfriend here,” he added with a bashful smile. Webster is a self-proclaimed follower of “The Dude” from “The Big Lebowski,” though he’s replaced The Dude’s passion for bowling with that of pool. His long blonde hair and signature goatee are a testament to his aesthetic, even if the Union doesn’t allow White Russian cocktails. Webster can be found in the pool hall almost everyday. He is one of the first people I met at the University. In my freshman year, he convinced me to try out for the team. “It is what it is. I’ve kind of accepted the fact that it’s going to be removed from the building … They’re already looking to sell everything,” he said in classic “Dudeesque” fashion. According to Pile, the University will seek out other homes on campus for the tables before trying to sell them off. Webster understands the hall has been unprofitable for at least a decade, but he believes there’s value in the room that the administration fails to see. “If you come in here during the day, you see people from all over the world coming to play and you hear people speaking all types of languages … Most of my friends who I spend hours a week playing pool with are from Asia. I’ve even learned some Chinese. I could go to a pool hall in China and be able to speak to them a bit,” he explained. Webster was speaking not just about the pool hall, but also to a much broader global trend. While the once-hugely popular game of billiards has steadily declined in the United States, the sport has taken off throughout Asia, particularly China. At the turn of the 20th century, New Yorkers enjoyed more
than 4,000 billiards rooms. Today, there are fewer than 30. Shanghai was home to 200 billiards clubs in 2008, a number that has since skyrocketed to 1,500. Pool academies have been established in major cities throughout Asia and today, six of the top 10 global pool players are from East or Southeast Asia, according to the World Pool-Billiard Association. “(The University) is trying to create all these ‘global citizens,’ but then they get rid of every sport that’s not ‘American,’” Webster said. “This is where you’re able to connect with people who you wouldn’t normally connect with through this shared interest in pool. This is where our cultures meet and we’re able to bond over it.” Mengyang Zhang, who graduated last fall from the School of Engineering, echoed that point. Zhang hails from the province of Shanxi in China, and transferred to the University three years ago from North Carolina State University. Discovering the pool hall his first week on campus, the tight-knit community helped him adjust. Zhang went on to represent the University at the UMTPC for three consecutive years, also competing every year to qualify for the Association of College Unions International Collegiate 9-Ball Championship. As a founding member of ACUI, the University has hosted their billiards tournaments dozens of times, and this past summer they did so again, knowing it would be the last in Ann Arbor. Zhang placed in the top 16, but his favorite part of the game is the relationships. “Pool is a common interest for everyone who comes here, so from the pool, we then start talking about life and get to know each other, different lifestyles and cultures. It’s the start of the conversation,” he said over a game of eight ball. The University’s billiards club is the first club Zhang joined on campus and three years later, he still attends almost every weekly meeting, loosely defining the term “meeting.” Members of the billiards club convene every Friday evening in the hall for a tournament. The winner gets a free week of pool. Though Zhang said he only competes to win when he is feeling really good, he enjoys being with all of his friends and afterward, they’ll go out for dinner or a drink. “If it’s possible, I definitely want this pool hall to be kept. All my memories, all the people I know, it all started here. Even if they just move some to another room, if I see one of the tables I can pick up the memories maybe,” he said. “This is where all my memories are. There’s a story here.” ***** The billiards hall has welcomed numerous professionals over the years, including Hall of Famer Nick Varner, and the legendary Mike Massey. But perhaps today’s most famous patron of the pool hall is Betsy Sundholm, manager of the Student Organization Resource Center. Sundholm came to the University as a freshman and hasn’t left since. She became a full-time employee of the Union in 1996. Not only is she friendly with every regular, student and non-student alike, but she has also created a huge network
across the country of collegiate pool players through her masterminding of the UMTPC. “I have so many memories of the billiards room. It has played such a big role in the person that I am. I got a job there as an 18-year-old kid and now I’m well into my forties,” she said nostalgically. “I met my partner of 27 years there ... he taught a pool class and I was working behind the desk. He was one of the best players in town and I had a crush on him.” Sundholm struggled to recall other schools with comparable billiards halls, adding that some schools without any tables on campus have a flourishing billiards community, though they face massive hurdles. “(Students from other schools) come here and this is like Disney World to them,” she added. One of Sundholm’s favorite memories of the pool hall is when one of the most recognizable faces of professional pool, Jeanette Lee or the “Black Widow,” came to play a few racks in 1998. The billiards room partnered with the Korean Student Association to bring Lee, a Korean-American, to campus. When it comes to the pool hall closing, Sundholm has to separate her professional duty from personal feelings. Pile, her boss, sat in on our interview, perhaps to make sure she did so. “Square footage in Ann Arbor is a premium,” she said. “On a personal level, it makes me sad, but professionally, I completely understand ... There will always be a demand to some extent for people who want to play pool, but I don’t think it’s going to be what the billiards room is right now. Student needs evolve, spaces evolve…” But the evolution of the Union will not just impact students. Whereas the billiards hall is open to the entire Ann Arbor community, the IdeaHub will be exclusive to students. Originally from Ypsilanti, Greg Jackson has lived in Ann Arbor for about 23 years, but he’s been a regular at the pool hall for even longer. “I started playing when I was 15 years old. All I wanted to do was play pool ... I was here almost every day for about 20 years. Almost every day,” he said. “It’s just the love of the game.” Jackson says he endured a rollover car accident in 1995, which put him in a coma and permanently damaged his brain, but pool has helped him recover. “I’ve learned to be patient. I’ve learned to accept things ... Pool has trained me to think about things in the long run. It’s trained me to take my time to concentrate and not just do the first thing that I see automatically.” The billiards hall is not only Jackson’s home-away-from-home, but he says pool has taught him how to cope with a chaotic neighborhood at times. “It’s been a great run for me here. I’ve loved every day that I’ve played here. I never got into a fight here. I never got into so much as an argument here. It’s just a peaceful place. It’s a peaceful place,” he said. Since it was constructed and opened up to the public, the pool hall has been a cornerstone of Ann Arbor, Jackson emphasized.
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Amelia Cacchione/Daily Photos of a visit by Jeanette Lee in 1998, a professional pool player known as “Black Widow,” hang in the billiards room.
He, like others, understands the financial turmoil of the room, but hopes the University can find another public space for pool. “(The University) is focusing on education and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I have to accept it. I have to accept things I can’t change and I can only change things in certain circumstances,” he dejectedly said, perhaps relaying a lesson he learned from the game of pool. ***** But it isn’t just players mourning the billiards hall’s death. LSA senior Alexandra Ngo has worked at the pool hall since her freshman year as a work-study employee, rising up the ranks to now serve as the facilities and equipment manager. “I’ve gotten to know everyone who comes in this room. I know everybody’s first name. I know what table they go to. I know what class they’re coming from and what they’re studying,” she said. “There’s a bunch of people who have been here longer than some students have been alive.” Alex works about 30 hours a week alongside the 10 to 12 other work-study students who earn an income at the pool hall any given year. Over her four years at the pool hall, she has overseen weddings, bat-mitzvahs, bar-mitzvahs, “Sweet 16s” and many more events. “It breaks my heart because I didn’t even know that the billiards room was included in the renovations until I got back to campus (this fall). And it breaks my heart every time alumni come in and say ‘Wow, this room has so much history,’” she said. “Coming in here and just talking to the regulars or people I recognize is one of my favorite things.” Nguyen pointed out three distinctly modern tables in the far corner of the pool hall and explained they are Diamond Tables — the kind used in professional pool’s most competitive tournaments. “We just bought these tables. We need a purpose for them ... This isn’t something you’re going to see drunk as hell sitting at Circus with people eating popcorn on them,”
she said, referencing Circus Bar & Billiards on South 1st Street. “This is something that people literally drive to Ann Arbor to use. We are fighting to keep these in the building!” Michigan Union employees declined to give the exact amount the University spent on the Diamond tables, but Sundholm says the total amount was less than $20,000. The fate of the tables are also uncertain as the University seeks a new home. Almost everyone I spoke to empathizes with the University’s rationale for closing the financially defunct pool hall, but Nguyen is unapologetically opposed. “The University takes so much pride in its history and we talk about tradition and culture on campus, but if we get rid of the billiards room I call bullshit … (The pool hall) is not only integral to U-M’s history, but also the history of Ann Arbor, so fuck U-M if we get rid of this.” ***** This past summer I found myself in rural Buriram, Thailand for a weekend. No one spoke English, but everyone played pool. When I got on the table, I shed the role of strange foreigner and became just another player, shooting alongside everyone else. That bar, filled with smoke and tattered pool tables scarred by usage and lack of maintenance, was a far cry from the Union’s billiards hall. In a few short months, the billiards hall will fall to the shadow of the Union, joining ghosts like the bowling alley and swimming pool. Pool will always be a part of my life, though that may mean playing more often on the unkempt tables down at Eightball Saloon on South 1st Street. But I will never forget the long days and late nights spent shooting on table 8 overlooking State Street alongside other wannabe hustlers, bonded by a shared passion for pool. This semester is likely your last chance to shoot some racks in the same room as Michigan’s greatest once did. Use the pool hall late in the semester, and you may be the room’s last.
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Wednesday, January 3, 2018 // The Statement
My stream of conciousness saved me BY COLIN BERESFORD, DEPUTY STATEMENT EDITOR
I
found myself completely alone, lacking a soul to call my friend. It sounds melodramatic, but that was my reality. I didn’t choose it, nor—in my view at the time—was there much of an opportunity to escape it. Essentially, the group of guys I had become friends with through association in elementary school and the beginning of middle school started to see me as something different than a friend. I
became a punching bag — the recipient of every joke. That’s how it started and it quickly spiraled into an incredible social exclusion that pushed me into near isolation. I vividly remember wearing a brand new pair of loafers to school thinking I was the coolest kid in the halls that day. I strolled up to the group of guys I hung out with at school and before I could open my mouth, I was called a “faggot” for the shoes I had on. To my mom’s dismay, I never wore them again.
I can’t lie — even after the bullying started in seventh grade, I kept hanging out with these guys and didn’t stop associating with them until high school. Every person who has heard some rendition of my middle school days always asks why I didn’t just find a new group of people. Here’s the thing: No middle schooler really wants to admit they’re being bullied and have no friends. To me then, conceding that reality was worse than putting an end to the mental,
physical and emotional abuses I was subject to. I had my family, but how much does a seventh-grade boy want to hang out with just his family? I started feeling depressed and anxious before I even knew what that meant. The summer after seventh grade, no one called asking to hang out with me. That memory is burnt into my mind and still stings as I think back on it. But that’s the first time I put a pen to paper for the first time something other than an assignment. I can’t remember what exactly pushed me to do that — it seemed insignificant at the time — but what matters is that I did. I poured myself into my writing because at that point, that was all I had. I couldn’t bring myself to talk about anything to anyone, but writing oddly seemed to be some sort of less than, but still sufficient, alternative to a friend I could ooze my reality into. I wrote and wrote on Friday nights, Saturday nights and all the other nights my “friends” were together, all of which was extensively documented on Facebook. I had the pleasure of having all my anxieties confirmed when I went on social media, finding they were, in fact, hanging out without me. To ease the pain of constant exclusion, I wrote about it. I wrote anything that came to mind, whether it was fiction or poetry or just an account of my day. Writing not only gave me an outlet for what I was dealing with but also the opportunity to put my thoughts into a single stream, silencing the anxiety that sends my mind off in what seems to be hundreds of different directions. My emotion-filled spiral notebooks are scattered throughout my room, purposely. I haven’t reopened most of them since I filled in the final lines. I already relive so many of those painful ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS memories through f lashbacks;
the last thing I need is to remind myself about how I was exactly feeling between the lingering memories. Writing has been the most constant thing in my life since I started over eight years ago and is now how I want to support myself once I’m on my own. It’s grown into somewhat of an obsession and the most sustained emotional outlet I have. The bullying didn’t end until the end of my freshman year of high school, when I found actual friends. Instead of being in the midst of the trauma, I had to then deal with post-traumatic stress disorder. And even though I now had friends, the depression and PTSD were so isolating that I often didn’t feel like I had people around me that cared. It wasn’t long after I first self-harmed that I found myself in the chair of a therapist and then a psychiatrist. From then to now, I made my rounds through the offices of about 10 therapists and three psychiatrists (I lost exact count over the years). But the writing remained constant as I continued to fill journals with sometimes my lack of will to live and other times a brief recollection of a happy moment. Writing, luck, friends and family kept me alive through most of high school. And I mean that in the most literal sense. I give writing the most credit in helping me grow from a high school sophomore who tried to overdose to a college student three semesters away from graduating. Darkness was all I knew for an untold number of years, but through it, my passions and reality today have been shaped. Sometimes, even now, it feels like my journal is the only given in my life that understands, especially as the PTSD has transformed itself into bipolar disorder. But even with the shift in how my trauma manifests itself, why I write hasn’t changed.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018// The Statement
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Empath in the Wild: Empathy is for everyone
O
ver the course of last semester, I wrote five columns about empathy — this one you’re reading now is my sixth and final one. I’ve written about empathy in the context of my Montessori elementary school; I’ve written about it in the context of Americanized yoga; I’ve gone into a somewhat philosophical debate about whether empathy and justice can coexist with one another; I’ve discussed empathy in the context of sexual and genderbased violence and I’ve told a personal anecdote about how selfabsorption has prevented me from empathizing with others. Others have written about empathy from a variety of angles, approaching it with philosophical, psychological and creative nonfiction lenses. The writer Leslie Jamison approached empathy through writing autobiographical, creativenonfiction essays in her awardwinning collection, “The Empathy Exams,” which has been circulating throughout my fellow book-loving friend circles since it was first published in 2014. These examples reveal some of the varied ways one can conceptualize empathy. While all of these disciplines — philosophy, psychology and creative writing — are in some ways very different from one another, they have at least one thing in common: They get
BY REGAN DETWILER, COLUMNIST into the nitty-gritty, gnarled intellectual and emotional roots of what empathy is. And sometimes, their findings ask the question of whether empathy, feeling what somebody else feels, is even possible. While I think all of the examples I mentioned are honorable intellectual
make it seem more accessible to people, and sometimes it can have the opposite effect. This is something I’ve spent a while thinking about since I’ve written a collective five columns on empathy this semester in efforts to spur self-reflection in those who read my writing. I admit some of the arguments that empathy
explorations, they can make the pursuit of empathy seem like a daunting endeavor, and therefore inaccessible. When I see a 240-page book with the title “Empathy: What It Is and Why It Matters,” it makes me think I need to know more in order to truly understand what empathy is. It leads me to believe I should be thinking about empathy in a more critical way, that maybe there’s more to it than just “stepping into someone else’s shoes,” and that I should be wary of my apparent ignorance on the topic. Sometimes writing a lot of words about something can
is actually impossible are compelling. I find the argument that it’s impossible to know anything at all compelling, too. Our perceptions of reality are entirely subjective, differing from person to person, so objective truth is a myth. But this doesn’t mean scientists should stop conducting experiments, or else we’d still be dealing with the bubonic plague. I don’t think it matters if empathy is “ultimately” possible or not. Like striving to find out what’s scientifically “true,” I think striving to empathize is a worthwhile and
necessary endeavor. Moving toward a more empathetic existence means people step outside themselves, and take on a more collective mentality, increasing the likelihood that individuals act selflessly rather than selfishly. While I admire the work of philosophers, psychologists, writers and other specialists who’ve
Determining how someone else wants to be treated can be easy and it can sometimes be hard. Sometimes it’s as simple as saying “thank you” with a smile when a barista hands out my coffee. Empathetic action can be a little tougher when someone doesn’t want what I think they want. I may think someone walking several yards behind me, exiting the Union, wants me to hold the door open for them to walk outside. But they’re kind of far away and they don’t want to “make” me hold the door for too long. They go from walking to a sort of trot, and the expression on their face is a mixture of guilt and embarrassment — for making me hold the door for too long, on the one hand, and for having to do this awkward jog thing, on the other. They might have preferred I never held the ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS door open in studied empathy, I think it’s the first place. vital that intellectualized Practicing empathy can versions of empathy can coexist be complicated. But I think with a stripped-down version arbitrary debates on the of empathy that’s accessible to definition of empathy and everyone, not just the bookish. whether it’s actually possible Empathy, in the most can distract us from the basic sense, is feeling what points that actually matter. someone else feels. It’s Empathy is something anyone taking a walk in their shoes. and everyone can practice, It’s something that happens and that it’s worth striving in the brain that can lead to for, even if it’s not ultimately empathetic actions. It takes possible. At its best, empathy the “golden rule,” “Treat can be an incredibly powerful others the way you want to tool for justice, leading to be treated,” one step further. a more democratic society The empathetic “golden rule” where everyone tries, in is, “Treat others the way they earnest, to understand where want to be treated.” each other is coming from.
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Wednesday, January 3, 2018 // The Statement
V I S UA L STAT E M E NT
TRADITIONS This issue, The Statement looked at the Union billiards room, a 97 year old tradition at the University. Over the holiday season, our photo staff documented traditions in their own life. Photos by Michigan Daily Photo Staff
Every year around Christmas, my family gets together to make some music. Often, my cousin and I write our own music. (Matt Vailliencourt/Daily)
My family makes Tangyuan, glutinous rice flour balls stuffed with red bean paste, to celebrate the winter solstice. (Max Kuang/Daily)
On our kitchen table we have a “Christmas pyramid,� a German contraption that spins powered by the heat from candles. When candles around the outside are lit, the heat rises and catches the paddles on the top, making the figures rotate around the manger. (Amelia Cacchione/Daily)
Each Christmas, my family gifts our dogs a present and lets them open the wrapping. This year, my dogs received Santa stuffed toys, which they immediately fell in love with. (Zoey Holmstrom/Daily)
Wherever we are during winter break, my family visits bookstores. At a French bookstore in Quebec City, my mother found a novel her friend authored. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Daily)