2018-03-06

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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CAMPUS LIFE

Shadows of Syrian war loom on ‘U’ community With no end in sight, activists struggle to center Syrians, keep crisis in memory MATT HARMON Daily News Editor

PRASHANTH PANICKER/Daily

A protester clashes with police officers at the Michigan State Richard Spencer protest Monday.

Protesters and police wrangle outside neo-Nazi lecture on Mich. State campus White supremacist supporters escorted to near-empty event, 24 arrested on both sides COLIN BERESFORD Deputy Statement Editor

White supremacist Richard Spencer and his supporters came to Michigan State University Monday afternoon and were met with protesters outside the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education, where the event was held. In sum, two dozen were arrested by state and local authorities.

Spencer was not invited by MSU to speak on their campus,

and his initial request to do so was rejected by the university.

In the rejection, the university cited safety concerns based on the “Unite the White” rally in Virginia that resulted in the death of one woman.

This rejection was met with a lawsuit against MSU by Cameron Padgett, a Georgia State University student and Spencer’s booking agent and legal advocate.

Padgett won the suit, resulting in an agreement from MSU to allow Spencer to speak at the university on March 5. Former MSU

President Lou Anna Simon wrote in a statement the agreement to let Spencer speak was organized during the school’s spring break in order to ensure the safety of the student’s on campus.

“This agreement was based on the university’s requirement that the event occur on a date and at a venue that minimizes the risk of violence or disruption to campus,” Simon wrote. “The security of our campus community remains our top priority and all appropriate security measures will be taken in connection with

the event. Michigan State rejects this group’s divisive and racist messages and remains committed to maintaining a diverse campus and supporting an inclusive, just and democratic society.”

Kyle Bristow, one of Spencer’s attorneys at the time, called this agreement a “victory for the altright.” Bristow announced his resignation from his position earlier this week.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com See MICHIGAN, Page 7A

Following the bombings in Eastern Ghouta last month which, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, have taken the lives of 654 civilians in the past two weeks, the war in Syria will reach its eighth year on March 15. With more than 465,000 Syrian lives lost in the conflict, University of Michigan and Ann Arbor activists are struggling to center the conflict at the local level while death tolls become astronomical. However, emergency responses like phone banks and informational rallies about large attacks such as the bombings in the eastern Ghouta region of Syria and various education events about the war have become a primary focus for activists working to make a difference.

LSA sophomore Ayah Kutmah, fundraising chair for the Michigan Refugee Assistance Program, is a Syrian

immigrant whose parents immigrated to the United States over 20 years ago. Her parents used to take her back to Syria every summer to visit family.

These visits ceased in 2011 when the area became too dangerous due to the violence and riots of the Arab Spring against the Bashar al-Assad regime.

“After the summer of 2011, things had escalated to a point where it was no longer safe for anyone to really go there, particularly if you have a political opinion,” she said.

During his sophomore year, LSA senior Yusuf Ahmed saw how perceptions of safety and the Syrian crisis overall command a very large presence in the news. Since the conflict’s inception during the 2011 Arab Spring in response to the authoritarian regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad, more than a million Syrians have been injured and over 12 million have had to leave their homes because of the conflict. The Syrian refugee crisis is now See SYRIA, Page 3

NAACP chapter convenes with heads New Solid Schlissel, Waste Plan of DPSS to discuss race-based inequity faculty talk

ANN ARBOR

outlined at A2 Council City Attorney Postema awarded 2.5 percent pay increase in special session ALEX COTT

Daily Staff Reporter

The Ann Arbor City Council convened Monday evening to provide an update on the status of the City of Ann Arbor’s Solid Waste Fund, which is currently at a sufficient balance. The Environmental Commission aims to hire an outside consultant to draft the Solid Waste Fund’s fiveyear plan this April. In a special session, the council also increased City Attorney Stephen Postema’s pay by 2.5 percent to $184,500.

The Solid Waste Plan manages a system for recycling collection financed by the Solid Waste Fund, an enterprise fund operating as a bsusiness. According to Councilmember Chip Smith, D-Ward 5, at a working session on Feb. 22, the council’s Environmental Commission provided an update of the fund to a healthy status, which contrasted the original concerning numbers.

“The Solid Waste Fund balance had been given many projections showing very dire circumstances, but going back through the audit, we have been given a revised figure that that fund is currently See COUNCIL, Page 3

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ACADEMICS

With emphasis on community partnership, students worry knowing rights isn’t enough CHETALI JAIN

Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People invited local law enforcement officers to the Afro-American Lounge in South Quad Residence Hall Monday evening to discuss prominent social and legal issues facing African Americans on campus.

Students voiced their perspectives and questions regarding the treatment of Black individuals by police officers and the legal system — many expressed they themselves have faced undue suspicion that non-minorities aren’t subjected to.

LSA senior Isaiah Land, president of the University’s chapter of the NAACP, felt it was important to give students a chance to educate themselves and have an open, honest conversation especially given the current political climate.

“We wanted to be able to let people know what their rights are, what you can do, what you can’t do,” Land said.

A video was shown at the beginning about having “The Talk” with children of color. The Talk is known as a conversation teaching the caution and hyperawareness many Black and Brown parents impart to their Check out the Daily’s News podcast, The Daily Weekly

children on dealing with law enforcement. Students agreed they were implored to be extra respectful and extra careful in order to avoid ending up another fatal statistic.

Eddie Washington Jr., executive director of the Division of Public Safety and Security, said he had The Talk with his children, and felt that there was an opportunity to still remind people of color that they should take pride in who they are.

Crystal James, DPSS

deputy police chief, was also in attendance and stressed the importance of talking about the issue with family members and not shying away from the topic.

“The parent should have The Talk,” James said. “I can pay a ticket, but you can’t bring your kid back to life.”

An interactive quiz at the beginning of the meeting highlighted several startling statistics about crime and police force: Police have initiated force in 81 percent

of interactions with youth ages 16-18. Only 308 racially motivated crimes were reported in the state of Michigan in 2016. However, 82,000 African Americans were arrested in Michigan during the same year.

Students told stories of being pulled over by police and having a gun drawn on them simply for reaching for their license and registration.

Others recalled times when they were warned against See NAACP, Page 3

DARBY STIPE/Daily

The Michigan Chapter of the NAACP hosted Executive Director of Public Safety and Security Eddie Washington in the Afro-American Lounge at South Quad Monday.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXVII, No. 85 ©2018 The Michigan Daily

new policy for assault

New sexual misconduct code allows for hire of reviewer, increase training SONIA LEE For The Daily

The University of Michigan Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs spoke with President Mark Schlissel Monday about the University’s sexual misconduct policy, the potential visit from white supremacist Richard Spencer and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan. SACUA also discussed the upcoming Senate elections and ideas to increase faculty attendance at governance meetings.

Schlissel discussed his plan to tackle sexual misconduct through proposed culture education training. The trainings would aim to make faculty aware of protections for reporters and whistleblowers, and more comfortable with reporting any complaint or concern regarding social and sexual misconduct.

He went on to endorse the hiring of an outside professional to assess how well the University is addressing sexual misconduct, and improving certain procedures, such as hotline calls, in comparison to other See SCHLISSEL, Page 3

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

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

News

2 — Tuesday, March 6, 2018

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY:

By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

UniveRSity Research and Development Expenditures, FY2016

John Hopkins $2,145M

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Michigan $1,436M

The U-M has been the nation’s leading public university in total research spending for the past five years

Pennsylvannia UC San Francisco Washington Wisconsin $1,296M UC San Diego $1,294M $1,278M Harvard $1,158M $1,087M $1,077M

Stanford

Duke

$1,066M

$1,056M

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DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily Levon Chilingirian, artist-in-residence at the Royal Academy of Music and Order of the British Empire, coaches a quartet with SMTD students Iris Wu and Alison Taylor on violin, Lindsey Sharpe on cello and Peter Dudek on viola in the Earl Moore Building Monday.

DAYTON HARE Managing Editor

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RIYAH BASHA and SOPHIE SHERRY

Crowd-funded site launched by ‘U’ community seeks to counteract Nazis Students, faculty and staff lead effort for justice groups in face of white nationalism were organized in response to campus. She said the University an annual neo-Nazi march in the community is faced with the town. In protest, residents donated decision of either legitimizing a In the wake of a potential visit money for each step the neo-Nazis dangerous rhetoric or staging large from white supremacist Richard took in their city. Instead of steps, protests.

Spencer, a coalition of University the initiative at the University “When instigators come to of Michigan students, faculty will donate money based on word college campuses, they set up a and staff have established the count. bit of a trap,” Weineck said. “If “Have Your Speech and Eat It “The more (Spencer) dribbles you just let them speak like you Too” campaign, pledging money on with his super hateful stuff, let any other speaker speak, you to organizations supporting the more money we can raise legitimize what they have to say. issues such as immigrant rights, for causes that he would abhor,” If you block them from speaking emergency housing for abused Weineck said. then you have big protests – which women and families in Ann Arbor Lecturer Anne Berg, the History I respect by the way … It’s a bit of a and food injustice for the Black Department’s assistant director of Catch 22.” community in Detroit. The funds undergraduate studies, is another Looking toward the future, are allocated for each word spoken faculty member involved with the Weineck said she hopes the Sudoku http://sudokugenerator.com/sudoku/generator/print/ at Generator Spencer’s Monday speech at campaign. Berg wrote in an email campaign will offer support Michigan State University, as interview she hoped the campaign to minority groups who are would turn the words of marginalized by Spencer’s the white supremacists into messages. something more positive.

“I hope that we can really turn “For me personally the what is meant to be a very divisive most important aspect of this and hateful event into a show fundraiser is to not be merely of community and love even if MEDIUM reactive to the threats made by that sounds a little sappy but to white supremacists agistators come together to say that we are (sic) but to repurpose their protecting vulnerable groups from provocations and their hate letting someone hate on them we speech to support anti-racist actually turn your nasty dribble work in our communities against you and every word you – to build up the strength say will raise money for people you of those organizations and don’t think belong here,” Weineck groups that fight systemic said. racism and inequality on Berg shared Weineck’s a daily basis,” Berg wrote. sentiment and said she wants “What those of us involved to see the campaign continue to in putting this together like develop. about the fundraiser is that it “I hope it grows,” Berg wrote. is subversive – it mocks white “I hope it gets lots of press. I hope supremacists and essentially it’ll travel to wherever white shoves their hate speech down supremacists attempt to spread their own throats, with every their hateful platform of ‘white word they speak, with every pride,’ ‘ethnostates’ and ‘peaceful appearance they make, they ethnic cleansing’ so we can focus are actually strengthening on the real work, the work to the very groups they mobilize change our institutions and make against.” our communities more inclusive, Weineck also discussed the instead of spending our energy © sudokugenerator.com. For personal use only.

GIMME UR # puzzle by sudokusyndication.com dilemma the University faces keeping Nazis off our campuses, when controversial speakers out of our schools and out of our invite themselves to speak on communities.”

Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku, Godoku, Samurai Sudoku and Killer Sudoku puzzles at sudokugenerator.com!

AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter

well as his possible speech at the University next semester.

University community members created the campaign as a way to stand in solidarity with those who are threatened

by Spencer’s white nationalist rhetoric. At the time of publication Monday night, the campaign raised $7,623 from 114 total donations.

Silke-Maria Weineck, professor of German and comparative literature, is one of the faculty members involved in the campaign and explained the inspiration for the initiative came from similar anti-fascist protests in Wunsiedal, Germany, beginning in 2014, that

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NAACP From Page 1 wearing hoodies at night, told to say “yes sir” to officers no matter what and to take other precautions when dealing with cops.

Engineering sophomore Peighton Childress is a member of the NAACP University chapter and was glad the groups were able to get together and have a productive conversation about the matter.

“I think this is a really good event to have considering the climate in the country right now,” Childress said. “I think it’s important to let (people)

SCHLISSEL From Page 1 universities.

The University’s Office for Institutional Equity’s annual report released in January showed a 40 percent increase from 2016 in misconductrelated reports. The increase in reports may be due to the University’s revised policy, which broadened the definition of misconduct and added new types of allegations to be addressed by the policy. An independent crowd-sourced database of sexual misconudct in academia called the “whisper network” detailed more than a dozen incidents of sexual assault, harassment and rape perpetrated by University faculty members.

Schlissel also referred to the outside review at the first Board of Regents meeting earlier this year. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald later told The Daily no specific firm has been hired yet.

“We want to have an outside expert come in,” Schlissel said to SACUA. “So we can say, ‘Look, are we doing the best we can? Are our procedures at the level of other schools and our commitment as well?’”

SACUA Chair Robert Ortega, an associate professor of

SYRIA From Page 1 widely recognized as one of the worst humanitarian crises of the current age. While Ahmed had been thinking about the Syrian civil war — then in its fifth year — he decided it was time to take action after hearing the story of a local imam and Syrian refugee who fled from his home during the reign of Bashar’s father, Hafez al-Assad.

“He put the entire audience in his shoes,” Ahmed said. “He made us understand how truly lonely it is and how scary it is to be a refugee, to leave everything behind, to have absolutely nothing besides the clothes on your back … I couldn’t sleep for a week because, to me, I was faced with a paradox — how could I go to school, take tests, go to Espresso, grab a coffee, knowing what atrocities are happening halfway across the world, knowing those atrocities aren’t in the history books but are happening as we speak?”

Inspired by that speech, Ahmed decided to start the Syrian Orphans Sponsorship Association on campus, which focused on orphaned children in the wake of the conflict.

According to UNICEF, a total of 11 million Syrian children have been displaced because of the civil war. From that point, SOSA began to grow. During the first semester of the organization’s existence, SOSA raised $5,000; the following year, they raised $10,000.

As the scope of the organization changed, the name followed suit.

Now as Students Organize for Syria, Ahmed said attempting to address the crisis is not an easy task. He said projects such as medical drives, which package medical supplies and ship them to areas in need of medical care, clothing drives, documentary screenings and more play a very large part in increasing personal participation and encouraging individual involvement but the length of the crisis adds a nuance to organizing efforts that is difficult to maneuver.

“It’s tough because it seems

News

know that there are (those) who aren’t on the negative when it comes to their safety with police.”

The discussion emphasized the importance of building relations between community members and law enforcement.

Orlando Simon, Student Legal Services attorney, explained how respect toward police was important to practice for everyone, but that the effects were magnified for minorities. Simon felt that fostering a relationship between police and citizens is crucial for helping understand one other better.

“I think bringing people together is always a good

thing,” Simon said. “It’s easy to go in (a courtroom) and look at the police as the other side … But I find, over the years, a greater difference is the relationships. It’s crucial to bring law enforcement into the dialogue.”

Many students were concerned that even knowing your rights and doing everything right might not be enough to protect their life.

They cited cases like that of Sandra Bland, who was found dead in a jail cell after she was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Some students asked the panel what change they can expect, if any.

Washington had some

advice for such students who felt disillusioned about their ability to change the status quo. He explained during an altercation, people have to do what they can to remain safe. However, he encouraged speaking out and writing complaints to the police department after the fact.

“Don’t believe nothing happened,” Washington said.

“Just by making some noise, you’re helping yourself … and officers too. It’s one incident at a time. We can’t police without you as partners, and I don’t think the problem can be solved without us as partners …

This is how we get better.”

social work, brought up concerns from faculty members who are unsure if they should report certain situations, or if they are unintentionally handling situations involving misconduct due to lack of proper training.

“There’s always a concern of, ‘Am I trained well enough?’”

Ortega said. “‘Do I know, do I recognize signs or do I see something that I don’t fully understand?’ That seems to be one of the main concerns among faculty, whether we can recognize these situations.”

Schlissel referred to mandatory reporting, which requires faculty members to report situations of misconduct by law. He also agreed that more training for sexual misconduct is necessary.

“We need to make a commitment to have everyone trained to a certain level, and retrained,” Schlissel said.

SACUA member Joy Beatty, an associate professor of management studies at the U-M Dearborn campus, suggested the mentality of sexual misconduct reporting would be difficult to change immediately, even with increased training efforts.

“Culture change takes a long time,” Beatty said. “You can’t just send people to class

and expect them to change.”

Schlissel also updated SACUA on scheduling a space for Spencer to speak on campus, saying Spencer’s representative was not interested in the date the University offered.

He also mentioned Spencer’s appearance at Michigan State University on Monday after a months-long legal battle between Spencer’s legal team and MSU, highlighting the conf lict MSU faced when representatives such as former MSU President Lou Anna Simon outwardly stated they didn’t want Spencer to speak on campus despite his eventual engagement in East Lansing.

He ended his discussion highlighting some successes of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative, such as the Campus Climate Survey, Go Blue Guarantee, Wolverine Pathways and DEI Innovation Funding, which awards grants up to $10,000 to faculty and students with ideas to improve inclusion on campus.

Last year’s Campus Climate Survey found 43.8 percent of all underrepresented minority undergraduates had reported an instance of discrimination at the University.

SACUA then moved into status report updates on the

proposed Intra-University Summit and the upcoming 2018 SACUA elections.

Ortega provided results of a feedback survey for the Intra-University Summit, an event that will bring together Michigan public universities to address campus issues such as DEI efforts and sexual misconduct policies Schlissel mentioned. Seven universities replied to the survey, providing insight on potential topics to be discussed and recommended for discussion.

SACUA elections will be held March 19 and faculty governance members will vote to fill the three seats which will be vacated by Ortega, Dave Wright and Stefan Szymanski at the end of April. The members discussed ideas to increase faculty attendance at governance meetings. Electronic voting was one suggestion to improve attendance at elections.

SACUA member Neil Marsh, a professor of biological chemistry, said improving attendance and interest in meetings among faculty will be a long-term project.

“We need to think long-term about how to interest people to come to Senate meetings,” Marsh said. “It’s not something we can just come up with now.”

sometimes, no matter how much you try to do, nothing changes,” Ahmed said. “The crisis continues to go on. For us, it’s really about looking at the impact we can have as individuals and that’s why those engagement projects are so important … Longevity-wise, that’s how we hope to continue to inspire students and allow them to continue playing a part regardless of how long the crisis is going on.”

Public Policy junior Zoha Qureshi, public relations chair and incoming president of SOS, said the three main goals of SOS are advocacy, education and fundraising. She said the largest hurdle when organizing is continuing to keep a physical presence on campus as the war reaches its eighth year of devastation.

“The biggest thing is reminding everyone this is a crisis that’s been going on for such a long time, and we just need to continue to push forward and do whatever we can in the capacity that we have as college students to make an impact and to really help out in any way we can,” Qureshi said.

LSA senior Zoe Proegler, co-president of the Michigan Refugee Assistance Program, said MRAP, which was founded in September 2016 when many images of refugees from Syria were being shared online, focuses their efforts on volunteering with refugees in the area, and advocacy and education events such as teach-ins and documentary screenings. She said MRAP also grapples with staying relevant on campus given the extended time frame in Syria.

“That’s definitely a difficulty that we face and have to struggle with,” Proegler said. “How do we keep people engaged and informed when things have been so bad for so long?”

As a member of MRAP, Kutmah said the issues around organizing for victims in the Syrian conflict involve keeping Syria in the collective consciousness of the community and inspiring people to work to alleviate suffering.

“In general, whenever you want to have a social movement or try to start any movement regarding an issue, the issue

becomes an issue of memory and an issue of time,” she said.

“When something big happens, it suddenly feels very pertinent.

Everyone wants to organize and … the one thing social movements or any movements have against them is time because the longer that time lapses, the less people are interested and the less people are advocating.”

Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor and Vicinity, the local mosque near North Campus, has been recently responding to and promoting educational efforts on the war in Syria for its members and Ann Arbor residents, but faces similar issues as the campus organizations. MCA President Habib Hamidi said the war in Syria doesn’t have the convenience of organizing around a single issue.

Hamidi cited rallies demanding the removal of troops during the Iraq War as a crisis that can call for one specific outcome while the Syrian civil war does not have an easily digestible conclusion.

“There is no end in sight and there isn’t one particular action that you can sort of advocate for,” Hamidi said. “We just try to say ‘Hey, we just have to do our part’ and … As long as everybody does their part and raises their voice, then collectively we can have an effect.”

Kutmah said these specific points of protest allow for a very large presence on campus, but since the conflict has continued to ravage Syria for almost eight years, these rallying points are too far and few between for a continued activist effort.

“You’ll have rallying points like, for example, when chemical weapons were used or in Aleppo or right now you have eastern Ghouta but for the most part, there’s no continued activism by a large group of people,” she said.

In the past month, activism for Syria has become much more visible on campus and in Ann Arbor given the bombings in eastern Ghouta, which began in late February. The last rebelcontrolled area near Syria’s capital, the 104-square mile district, which is home to about 400,000 Syrian civilians, has been under heavy fire from the

al-Assad’s regime since 2013. Last month, a large bombing campaign began in the region and, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 654 civilians have been killed in the past two weeks as part of the attacks.

On Monday, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution calling for an investigation into the bombing campaign in eastern Ghouta, as well as a failed ceasefire two weeks ago. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said it was “high time to stop this hell on earth” at the HRC’s opening session.

SOS, MRAP and MCA stepped up organizing in response to the crisis. SOS held an emergency phone bank in the Michigan Union on Thursday, February 22, where students could contact their state and federal representatives, asking them to take a stand and pass legislation condemning the attacks in Ghouta.

“Our goal is really for (the representatives) to publicly recognize the fact that this is going on because that’s something that I didn’t really see in any US news outlets,” Qureshi said. “I woke up Thursday (February 22) … I get the New York Times and get newsletters emailed to me every morning and I didn’t see any word of that and it just felt kind of weird like it’s not even being talked about.”

Proegler said MRAP has worked with SOS on events in the past and supported the phone bank method, saying it not only allows students to get involved with the organization but also to contribute to the collective goal of bringing attention to the crisis.

“When you’re able to give members things to do like call your representatives and advocate for this specific change, it allows them to feel more involved and actually taking steps to mitigate the crisis and it does make a difference,” Proegler said.

MCA, on the other hand, concentrated their efforts on a physical educational presence, staging an “Interfaith Rally for Syria” in front of the Ann Arbor Post Office Friday, February 23.

MCA member Dr. Mohammad

Tuesday, March 6, 2018 — 3

COUNCIL From Page 1 stable,” Smith said.

With higher recycling costs resulting from the shutdown of the Materials Recovery Facility, some voiced concerns about longterm stability. However, according to a January report by Craig Hupy, public service area administrator, average annual revenue from the Solid Waste Fund measures approximately $14 million, and barring an emergency, will not drop significantly. In January, City Administrator Howard Lazarus projected higher revenues numbers for the end of the fiscal year than Hupy.

“The end of year balance for the Solid Waste Fund is forecasted for the end of the fiscal year to be $22 million,” Lazarus said.

“There’s a drop in what’s called the unrestricted fund balance, this is at $8.5 million, but that’s forecasted to rebound in the fiscal year of 2019 to go up to $10 million.”

Smith emphasized the Environmental Commission’s main focus in the coming months is to update the 2013-2017 Solid Waste Plan and draft a new fiveyear plan, which would aim to establish a zero-waste system for the city.

“But more importantly, we spent a lot of time at that work session talking about the upcoming five-year Solid Waste Plan and since we’ve all been very involved in the recycling situation particularly with the condition of the MRF, this is all going to be examined in pretty great detail in the five-year Solid Waste Plan update,” he said.

The Environmental Commission will hire an outside consultant to evaluate the plan’s current condition and ultimately draft a new, improved five-year proposal aiming for a zero-waste plan.

“The selected consultant will prepare financial models about the best ways to pay for these things, give us guidance on how to move forward with the MRF with or without regional partners and give us real direction on how to achieve the goals we have set

AlAzem, who helped pass out flyers on the Ghouta bombings with information on how members of the public could contact their representatives, said he believes it is his job to spread the word about the crisis in Syria to those who may not know about it.

“I (have been) living in Ann Arbor now for the past 29 years and … My duty as originally Syrian (and) American is to educate the public,” AlAzem said in an interview after the event.

Hamidi said an element of MCA’s organizing efforts is getting members involved in the democratic process through rallies and educational demonstrations such as the one he and AlAzem organized and attended.

However, a large issue for these organizers comes when there are lulls between large events to rally behind. Qureshi said staying relevant on campus is a struggle when there isn’t an emergency like Ghouta for members to interact with and for students to learn about. “(We’re) periodically just having different kinds of events to show that we are active and we are continuously doing things,” Qureshi said. “We just want to continuously have events like bi-weekly just so (students) know that our presence is there on campus … One of our goals is spreading awareness about the campaign so we want to be able to make sure that as many University of Michigan students as possible know about what’s happening there and know that they can do something about it too.”

Another issue Ahmed and Proegler addressed with their respective organizations is reaching out to new students who aren’t already involved with the issue. When an issue such as Syria is addressed, Ahmed said a specific crowd of involved students is drawn to their events.

While he said this base is good, there are more students at the University that might not know about the war. He said these are the populations SOS is working to interact with.

“Population penetration is

for ourselves which is becoming more on a path towards zero waste in a financially responsible manner,” Smith said.

Smith also highlighted the community’s concerns surrounding the revitalization of the MRF for future use under the five-year plan.

“The update from staff included information that we have yet another group that will give us an opinion on the condition of the MRF and what it will take to make it operational again,” Smith said. “We expect that by early April we were told.”

With the guidance of the outside consultant and involvement of the Ann Arbor community, the drafting will begin in April.

“We expect to have a consultant on board to start the five-year Solid Waste Plan by mid-April and that will go on over the course of the summer and naturally there will be a lot of public meetings that we will be asking a great deal of input from our community on this plan,” Smith said.

Hupy emphasized prioritizing different aspects of the plan based on the council’s goal of zero waste.

“Part of the planning effort will have to be prioritization of what items get done first and with what resources,” Hupy said. “This isn’t an unlimited amount of money so you have to decide what gets done first so that’s why the Solid Waste Plan goes back through council so they can mold it to make sure it reflects their values.”

Smith emphasized the need for public input in order to attain sustainable zero waste as a community, since the results will have a significant effect on every resident in Ann Arbor.

“I think it’s easy to think that this isn’t a glamorous plan to work on just because it’s called Solid Waste Plan but I think it impacts every single person in the city, and I think there are a lot of issues we need to tackle on this plan so it’s going to be of critical importance to have good public engagement on this project,” Smith said.

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something that we’ve been looking at pretty deeply,” Ahmed said.

“We’ve actually implemented an expansion manager and an outreach manager, that’s on and off-campus communication so that we’re not just reaching out to more orgs on campus, whether that’s fraternities, sororities, different volunteer clubs, but also to the larger Ann Arbor population.”

MRAP has been working to create more cross-organizational communication as well to tackle the issue of the same people attending their events. Proegler said by collaborating with other organizations on campus, more students can get involved and a larger impact can be made.

“As we see broader coalitions forming sort of across a range of social and political issues, we’re definitely benefiting from some of that energy of people wanting to reach out and get involved with stuff that might be kind of outside of their realm of expertise or their focus as a service organization or as an affinity group but we’ve definitely been seeing people remain interested and engaged,” Proegler said. “As much as this isn’t something that has an end date in sight, I find a lot of hope in people who are still coming out to events (and) still taking action.”

In his own experience with organizing, Hamidi said MCA is working to stage more public events and reach out to members of all backgrounds in the community to increase education efforts and hopefully help the victims of this crisis.

“What I think is most effective is getting out in the streets and basically interacting with people one-on-one and trying to have a conversation with them,” Hamidi said. “Especially with a long conflict, when you do any type of rally or anything like that, people are desensitized to what you’re talking about, especially when they hear the word ‘Syria’ because it’s such a long conflict so I think one-on-one interactions and listening to people … is refreshing to me.”

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Opinion

4— Tuesday, March 6, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

IAN LEACH | COLUMN Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

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NOAH HARRISON | COLUMN

C

Reign of chaos

haos once again returned office, but he outdid himself to the White House this last week on g un control. At past week a televised meeting with the sudden with senators and resignation of Hope congressman from Hicks, White House both parties, Trump communications praised proposals director, in the to establish wake of news that comprehensive she testified to background Congress that part checks on all g un of the job entailed purchases and telling “white to raise the age NOAH lies” on President to buy assault HARRISON Donald Trump’s weapons to 21. In a behalf. Hicks was Trump’s surreal moment, Trump even fourth communications expressed openness to a ban director in the span of barely on assault weapons. Yet, in a year in office, but more an ironic twist, after chiding importantly, Hicks was a Republican lawmakers for loyal and trusted member of being “afraid of ” the NR A, Trump’s inner circle.

Trump met with NR A Her stunning departure lobbyists and rescinded his serves as an indication that support for the g un control the Trump administration’s measures he had praised just unprecedented streak of a day earlier. attrition — which has seen the exit of Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and many others — is far from over. A day after Hicks announced her resignation, NBC News reported that National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster will be replaced within the month at the behest of Defense Secretary James Mattis and John Kelly, White House chief of staff. That same day, news broke that Kelly, at Trump’s inconsistency Trump’s request, is planning on g uns confused and to remove Ivanka Trump and exasperated leaders of both Jared Kushner from their parties, but was quickly official advisor roles. overshadowed when Trump Kelly was supposed declared his intention to to provide order when he introduce tariffs on steel was hired last summer, but and aluminum imports. instead, the White House Such a move would violate has fractured further under existing trade agreements his direction. Kelly himself and indubitably lead to was recently embroiled in retaliatory measures from controversy over his handling other countries that could of domestic abuse allegations easily spiral into a costly and against former White House disastrous trade war. aide Rob Porter, which Kelly The reaction to Trump’s ignored for months, only firing tariff plan was swift and Porter after the accusations harsh. Leaders of both leaked to the media. parties quickly rebuked the Amid this frenzy of idea, global leaders blasted attrition, speculation and Trump and the stock market scandal, one thing is clear: plunged.

However, amid Trump’s White House is this widespread criticism, eng ulfed in turmoil, the Trump doubled down and repercussions of which f lared tweeted that trade wars are brightly this past week. “good” and “easy to win.”

Trump has long been known to That’s blatantly false, and f lip-f lop on policy positions, the fact that no one in the expressing contradictory White House has conveyed to views on topics ranging from Trump the threat a trade war immigration to taxation to poses to the U.S. economy is abortion throughout his rather alarming. campaign and first year in Trump’s eventful week

Order must be established in the White House.

culminated with renewed scrutiny over his neglect to fill dozens of vacant positions, including 41 ambassadorships.

Critical allies and strategic partners like South Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia and the European Union are among the countries and organizations that currently lack an American chief diplomat. When considering the current geopolitical climate around the world, it is astounding that some of these positions have yet to be filled.

Given the tensions on the Korean peninsula, appointing an ambassador to South Korea should be a priority, but to the Trump administration, it is an afterthought.

It is no coincidence that a week of internal White House chaos coincided with one of Trump’s most volatile weeks in the policy sphere.

Trump’s advisers appear incapable of providing astute advice, a problem that is likely compounded by the constant attrition plaguing the White House. In the absence of stability, Trump appears to have adopted a strateg y of going off-script and reversing positions as he pleases, knowing that his public statements have little correlation to the policy his administration executes. This inconsistency compounds government inaction, as evidenced by Trump’s gun policy f lip-f lopping, and leads to impulsive decisions like these new proposed tariffs.

Order must be established in the White House. At present, Trump’s administration is the most disorganized, dysfunctional and, at times, utterly incompetent administration in modern American history.

The chaos plag uing the White House muddles the president’s legislative priorities, devalues the U.S.’s image abroad and weakens the credibility of the institution of the presidency. It often is tempting to dismiss the White House drama as meaningless or even entertaining, but weeks like this past one demonstrate the significant consequences of an executive branch drowning in chaos.

Noah Harrison can be reached at noahharr@umich.edu

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I

Hope for gun control

was hopeless about g un control. Until now.

Another mass shooting.

Over a dozen children dead.

Prayers from both sides.

Arguments about restricting guns. Rebukes from the NRA. You’ve heard and seen all of this before. In many ways, we had become so jaded to this process, I truly felt like we had lost hope. I, like many of us, had begun to feel that there was nothing that could be done. This being said, I’ve found some hope from those students advocating for gun control at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

You’ve likely heard a variety of jarring statistics, but let me provide a reminder: Nearly one in four have been threatened with a g un in their lifetime or have a family member who has been threatened. And this is even worse for minority communities: nearly a third of African-Americans have reported that they or their families have been threatened by g un violence. Whether it’s being threatened with a g un or regarding actual shootings, we can see that there has been little change in g un violence: 10 of the 15 deadliest shootings have occurred in the past 10 years.

I am likely preaching to the choir, unfortunately, despite the fact that nearly nine out of 10 Americans want more regulation on guns— specifically, commonsense legislation that includes restrictions on those with mental illnesses having access to guns as well as more thorough background checks.

These legislative proposals have high support across party lines, and most people support ending private, unlicensed sales of firearms (colloquially known as the “gun show loophole”). Still, there has yet to be legislation that is representative of the will of the people. This is a true testament to the NRA and the number of officials that have received funding

from them for their political campaigns. Here in Michigan, nine legislators have received funding from the NRA’s political action committee funds — unsurprisingly, all are members of the Republican Party, which has prevented gun control legislation from being enacted.

I had truly become so jaded to the cycle of thoughts and prayers, followed by the inundation of statistics and descriptions of the propagators of gun violence, and, finally, inaction from our legislative body. That is until I saw and heard from the kids at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A high school senior, Emma Gonzalez spoke out against the inaction of government officials regarding

Nearly one in four have been threatened with a gun in their lifetime gun control legislation.

“Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have been done to prevent this, we call B.S.,” she said. “That us kids don’t know what we’re talking about, that we’re too young to understand how the government works. We call B.S.” I think it’s important to note that she is younger than all or nearly all of us here at the University of Michigan. It bears repeating that, despite the fact that she has yet to enter college, she is likely doing more than most of us regarding gun control legislation. While I’m sure many of us students are feeling upset about the recent events, I question if we have been willing to do what it takes to change the discourse

surrounding gun control into tangible legislative action. It’s these kids who are starting protests, who are raising money and who are putting in the energy to take these concerns and grow them into national outcries in ways that I’m not sure I’ve seen before.

These young activists have pioneered the #NeverAgain movement. In doing so, they have raised nearly three million dollars in support of g un control legislation. In many ways, their protests and their voices have elevated the conversations in ways that an average person cannot.

For the American public, and our legislators, having to hear from children who had to experience the effects of g un violence has seemingly turned the conversation in unexpected ways. Just the other day, President Donald Trump announced some tentative support for increasing background checks, surprising officials and virtually all of the American community. There is still hope that we can make the change, but, if there is to be effective legislation, those in support of g un control cannot let up now. If we are to pursue legislation, support can’t simply be just from the #NeverAgain individuals.

It can’t be just from the victims of shootings. It has to be from every individual in the American government speaking out on what may be one of the larger issues of our time. What I now know, however, is that there is still hope for us to enact commonsense legislation for guns.

Maybe it won’t be tomorrow — it might not even be within the coming year — but if we continue to ratchet up the pressure on our officials and suggest how to fix this problem, we can ensure that fewer individuals die from gun shootings and that kids can go to school believing in the safety Ian Leach can be reached at ileach@umich.edu.

DANIEL GREENE AND IZZY BAER | OP-ED

T

A letter from MVision

o Our Fellow Wolverines, As new Central Student Government parties form and elections fast approach, we wanted to take a minute, amid of our marathon meetings and late-night platform talks, to discuss what matters most: the students that make up the University of Michigan’s campus. It’s with a dedication to creating a better and more unified campus that we announce our candidacy as Student Body President and Vice President with the newly formed MVision party.

Having collectively spent time working with and on Central Student Government (CSG), LSA Student Government (LSA SG), Center for Campus Involvement (CCI), Wolverine Support Network (WSN), LSA Honor Council, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC), Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council (IFC) we have no shortage of acronyms, nor time spent listening to, debating with and working for the greater student body. We understand the huge potential and astounding responsibilities of the offices we hope to hold. We also know the shortcomings of CSG and the pitfalls of overpromising that have been made clear over our semesters on campus.

The changes we wish to bring about are manifold, but our vision is clear: to create a CSG that serves the entire student body. Ultimately, we want a CSG that empowers students to be seen, to be heard and to be supported.

The eMerge party ran with the desire to build a more accessible, inclusive student government, and we are proud to have been a part of that

campaign.

CSG President Anushka Sarkar and CSG Vice President Nadine Jawad have done a phenomenal job providing our campus with hope and a sense of belonging for communities that CSG had previously alienated. We hope to continue their impactful work by expanding CSG’s outreach to communities who still feel isolated on campus.

We will not be distracted from CSG’s mission to serve students. It is imperative that CSG becomes a group dedicated to providing resources for the student organizations that create the richness of our campus. Let’s allow those organizations to shine in their own right, indebted only to the students and causes that they serve. We created a team with the intention of building a platform based on direct experience and expanding CSG’s outreach. The range of CSG experience that our team brings has allowed our platform to ref lect the varying communities and concerns from across our campus.

We have experienced, firsthand, policies that need to be improved to allow for a campus where each student is valued. The MVision Michigan team is comprised of students who understand what it means to be openly gay in Greek life, to be a woman on a college campus today, to struggle with mental illness, to survive sexual assault, to balance work-study positions or to feel unsafe because of their identities. However, we understand that our experiences do not speak for the 46,000 voices that make up the University. We hope to increase the representation of all marginalized and invisible identities within classrooms and campus resources. We

hope to replace “freshmen” with “first-years,” and other, more inclusive, terminology.

We plan to embed a SAPAC ex-officio in CSG to connect the University with the needs of survivors on campus.

No student should feel alone as they struggle with mental health, which is why we need to reach the golden ratio of CAPS counselors to students. No student who is a survivor of sexual assault should be unsure of their options, which is why we need to expand the SAPAC empowerment fund.

No student on campus should feel isolated or disenfranchised, which is why we need to proactively address the campus climate. That is where our CSG philosophy stems from. Our experiences have shaped our determination, and our willingness to go the extra mile.

We are honored to work with brilliant individuals from across the communities that represent the breadth of experience here on the University campus.

MVision is actively creating a community that promotes equity and acceptance and works at a grassroots level to pursue inclusivity.

If you have policy ideas that you believe will elevate students on this campus, please visit the MVision website. We see you and want you to feel heard.

Let’s MVision together, Daniel and Izzy

Daniel Green is a Public Policy junior and Izzy Baer is an LSA sophmore.

Arts

5 — Tuesday, March 6, 2018

DAILY FOOD COLUMN

Something in the Water: A spotlight on NYC pizza ELI RALLO

Daily Food Columnist

The debate over this country’s best slice of pizza is as contested and heated as the partisan political debates plaguing our society intensely in the 21st century. Democrat or Republican? Pro-life or pro-choice?

Gun control?

Immigration?

Education?

Where can you get the best pizza around here?

The question: What is the best slice of pizza in the country? At the very least, despite its vicious and aggressive implications, this debate consistently ends positively, due to a mandatory post debate taste test in order to truly come to some sort of conclusion. It’s a debate that brings people together over a slice of pizza — because at the end of the day, there’s no such thing as bad pizza (unless you’re on the West Coast, then maybe reevaluate). It’s necessary that time and time again we have this pizza conversation, one of great magnitude and vital necessity.

Take this as a state of the union address for ’za — a state of the slice address, if you will.

The Chicago deep dish, “Detroit” style pie and, of course, the famous New York slice all have cult-like followings — groups of people devoted to the locationally specific style of ’za that they hail as this country’s “best slice.” But anyone who knows anything about food at all knows that the New York slice is superior.

People that believe that any pizza is better than New York pizza have A) never been to New York B) are confused or C) are clearly wrong. Pizza was introduced to New York in 1905

by Gennaro Lombardi who saw it as the solution to not wasting the day old bread in his grocery store.

Lombardi’s genius sparked an energetic revolution for the city that never sleeps, making pizza a ubiquitous staple of the New York streets.

New York pizza is notorious.

It is scientifically proven that the water in New York is quite literally better for making pizza dough than anywhere else in the United States. Supposedly, Frank Sinatra, Hoboken native, had New York water shipped out to the west coast biweekly in the 1940s to make edible pizza when he wasn’t close to home.

There are 32,000 pizza places in New York City, lining each street corner — all at once similar and incredibly unique.

New York pizza is the pizza that began the slice industry, selling pizza by the slice instead of by the full pie, making ’za an individual experience. A casual moment. A stop by or a game time choice instead of a planned and plotted, also often shared, full pie. Opening the opportunity for small human moments in the interaction that takes place during the transaction of a lunch slice, a snack slice, a serendipity slice.

Pizza in New York is in high demand, and there are an abundance of options available to New Yorkers and visitors alike. Due to the variety of pizza places, New York pizza is a situational concept. What I mean by that is that one can always determine where to get pizza in New York based on their unique situation.

There’s a major difference between your classic 2:00 a.m. late-night drunk slice, your “I need my suburban parents to meet my new significant other and like them” slice and your important-meeting-withpeople-that-I-have-to-havemy-shit-together-for slice.

That’s what makes the New York pizza scene so special: There’s a slice for every occasion. The breakup slice, the hangry slice, the first date slice, the quick slice, the fancy slice, the just married slice,

the I have time to stand on a 30 minute slice, the celebratory slice.

In terms of specific New York and East Coast slices, you can say I’m relatively well versed. As a pizza connoisseur who was raised by a pizza messiah, I take pizza very seriously. Everyone in my family does, and the red Italian imported pizza oven sitting on our kitchen countertop is testament to just that. On a recent trip to New York, I had the pleasure of visiting my favorite spots to share some intimate moments with my favorite slices. A group of slices with which I have reliable and dependable relationships. The physical sensation is always great, and emotionally, we just connect.

Joe and Pat’s, a Staten Island pizzeria, is a firm 10. The three chefs crank out approximately 500 pizzas on any given Friday to the beats of funky ’80s music. The customers bring vibrance and diversity to the old-fashioned atmosphere.

I recommend sitting at the counter with a blood orange San Pellegrino and a plain pie,

A wise pizza lover once told me that in order to be a perfect 10, the slice has to pass the most important pizza taste test: You must be able to taste each ingredient

about noon on a Friday, for the full experience. The plain pie is to die for, its circles of mozzarella memorable, the dash of romano to finish, a hot take, but in my opinion, a blessing. The sauce is young, punchy and sweet, a perfect pairing to the flaky, crisp crust.

The crust of a Joe and Pat’s plain pie is arguably the best pizza crust in the country, if not the world. Its crust is its magic and the exact vehicle that allows customers to eat an entire pie in one sitting. It’s light, it’s romantic, it’s easy. It’s the reliable guy your parents love and you can always depend on. Joe and Pat’s is a dream slice, one that puts Staten Island on the map as more than a New Yorker’s punching bag.

A wise pizza lover once told me that in order to be a perfect 10, the slice has to pass the most important pizza taste test: You must be able to taste each ingredient; sauce, dough, cheese. On the opposite end of the spectrum from Joe and Pat’s skinny little slice of heaven is Brother’s Pizzeria Sicilian slice. Down the road from Joe and Pat’s, Brother’s is close in distance but miles away in style. Its thick, deep dish crust is a textural journey — crispy, doughy, flaky and thick.

Its stretchy mozzarella and zesty, peppery sauce cratered between the soft pillows of dough make a home in your mouth. Unlike Joe and Pat’s, one slice of Brother’s Sicilian is plenty. But that doesn’t mean you should stop at one, because clearly, you need at least two slices to get a true gauge on the quality of slice.

A whole borough away, tucked into a little no-frills corner of Brooklyn, is quite possibly the best slice in the country: Di Fara. The

pizzeria makes one of the most sought after slices in New York City, a two hour line of hungry customers spilling onto the sidewalk awaiting the enlightenment of a pricey five dollar slice day after day. Domenic DeMarco, the shop’s owner (also known as Jesus to his loyal disciples), stands unaffected by the daily commotion, over crackling round pies, slicing basil onto their exteriors with a pair of kitchen scissors. When I was four years old, my father took me for my first slice of Di Fara pizza, and simultaneously awakened me from the dark world I’d been living in without it. To my chagrin, but not surprise, I apparently stood up on the counter, in my young impatience and beckoned at the 72-year-old DeMarco: “Excuse me, mister, where’s our pizza?”

We didn’t wait much longer after that.

Di Fara was worth the wait then, and it still is now.

DeMarco uses San Marzano tomatoes, the most famous plum tomato to come out of Italy, and I’d deem this a power move. His sauce is tangy yet delicate, the imported Italian buffalo mozzarella cheese its perfect pair. DeMarco is the only person who makes the pizza, which contributes to the ridiculous line, and also the notoriety of the famous slice.

Di Fara pizza is the type of slice you wish to never end — it’s a head over heels, hot romance.

It’s balanced in the way pizza should be, and its simplicity is nothing short of outstanding.

A few subway stops away is Marta in NoMad, a special, newer addition to my list. Marta specializes in pizza of the Roman style, which is funny, being that nobody ever goes to Rome for the pizza. Sure, Rome has pizza, and yes, a lot of it is good, but it’s no Naples.

Marta, however, celebrates the extra thin crust of a typical Roman pizza. Of course, thin crust pizza in New York is no shock, but the pizza at Marta is notably thin. It’s comparable to a thin cracker that doesn’t crumble, a perfect vessel for its fresh toppings. Most wonderful of these toppings is the homemade pulled stracciatella cheese, which I’d call a gift to pizza. Other notable Marta ’za’s include the egg, grated pecorino, potato and guanciale masterpiece (a deconstructed Carbonara sauce finding home on a pizza) and a personal favorite of mine, the absolutely worth-it 60-dollar tartufo nero, which is topped with shaved Italian truffles. Marta is your fancier slice indeed, but we all need to feel fancy and sharp now and again.

Rounding out my New York slice list at number five is Staten Island’s best known pizzeria, Denino’s. Opened in 1937, the little brick building on the northern end of the island is at once both a tourist attraction and “the spot” for locals.

Though I am a firm believer that the plain pizza is the only kind of pizza any of us should be eating — Denino’s changes the game and tests my longstanding loyalty to the plain pie. The trademark “M.O.R” pie, is the must order here.

It’s a simple romance between meatball, ricotta and onion that puts Denino’s on the list.

The crust here is thicker than a usual New York slice, though still slender with a sweet sauce, which is complemented by a perfect blend of ricotta and mozzarella. The meatballs make the pie a worthwhile contestant for a shotgun wedding, as it is impossible to be anything but in love with the specialty pie Denino’s is known for.

Despite my defiant opinion that New York pizza is a one-ofa-kind, out of everyone’s league slice, there are other places that certainly threaten to challenge New York’s seat at the top of the pizza hierarchy.

One of these places, Sally’s

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Apizza, a New Haven, Conn. hole in the wall, definitely puts up a good fight. Both Sally’s Apizza and its neighbor and brother pizzeria Frank Pepe’s consistently make national best slice lists. Both have large fan bases, and most of these fans have a strong opinion as to which place serves the better ’za. For me, it’s Sally’s Apizza, which I’ve had the great pleasure of eating at twice in my 19 years, not counting the leftovers.

Both Sally’s and Pepe’s serve thin, charred crusted pizza, and their differences are not immediately apparent.

However, Pepe’s is known for its trademark (and incredible) white clam pizza, and Sally’s for its signature tomato pie, stark in its simplicity, topped with nothing but a sprinkle of parmesan. Despite Pepe’s unique take on ’za, Sally’s brings me back to my base, reminds me why I eat pizza, and gives me the reality check only the best things in life

can. Sally’s is open five days a week at 4:00 p.m., and the line begins to form about an hour beforehand on days of business, because the slice is that good.

What makes these slices perfect 10s comes down to a few things. First, the ingredients, all of which are fresh and, for lack of a better term, primo.

Second is the heart and passion of the pizzerias; these slices are handcrafted to mean something more than just pizza. They are time machines to other worlds, invoking memories of grandmothers passed, family dinners on Sunday afternoons, heritage and a country with an innate capacity of bringing people together through good food.

What I recommend when seeking out a good slice anywhere, but especially in the five boroughs of New York, is to ignore appearances, follow the crowds, don’t be afraid of a shabby exterior or a crumbling infrastructure — instead look for the heart, the San Marzano

tomatoes and the hands of the pizza chef. Those hands make the magic of the perfect slice — never underestimate the architects of such ecstasy.

Whereas in Chicago you’re confined to the deep dish, in Detroit, some square looking nonsense (sorry) and on the West Coast cardboard (sorry again), the diversity and simplicity of the slice in New York City is what makes it the pizza capital of the United States. The notoriety of the New York City slice makes all other cities overwhelmed with a jealousy so intense that they should turn it into motivation to get on New York’s level.

After all, I don’t think any of us East Coasters here in the Midwest would complain if someone could figure out the key to bringing the New York slice a few hundred miles west, but then again, confining the best pizza in the country to the city’s 303.33 square mile area is what makes it such an idiosyncrasy.

FILM REVIEW

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

‘Annihilation’ takes on more than it can handle MAX MICHALSKY Daily Arts Writer

In the late 2010s, science fiction as a film genre has seen something of a renaissance, with critically acclaimed releases such as 2016’s “Arrival.” The film is an excellent example of the genre’s ability to touch on complex, profound ideas through intensely personal human stories.

Director Alex Garland seemed to have tapped into this concept with his 2015 directorial debut, “Ex Machina.” Garland displayed a unique tact for developing characters in fascinating ways, all the while tying those characters up in the story being told. Garland’s follow-up release, 2018’s “Annihilation” seemed set to be another example of intense, characterdriven science fiction.

The film tells the story of Lena (Natalie Portman, “Song to Song”), an ex-military biologist whose husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), suddenly reappears after having vanished for more than a year into The Shimmer, a mysterious jungle that appeared on a United States coastline after a meteor strike.

When it becomes apparent that The Shimmer left Kane terminally ill, Lena teams up with four other scientists — all of them women — to investigate The Shimmer in hopes of finding a cure.

Unfortunately, the result is a mixed bag. Perhaps the film’s greatest hindrance is its ambition. Over its runtime, it becomes apparent that the film was adapted from a novel, lacking the room to breathe and explore characters and ideas that a book offers. In just two hours, the film must characterize and develop all five of its scientist

protagonists, tell a compelling story and touch on concepts concerning what it means to be human. As a result of its extensive to-do list, the film ends up accomplishing none of these things outright.

“Annihilation” Paramount Pictures Ann Arbor Quality 16

The area where this is most apparent is in its characters; simply put, the film lacks heart. Alex Garland’s last film, “Ex Machina” was able to devote ample screentime to developing its three-person cast. With five characters to juggle — six including Kane — Garland struggles to find a way to make us care about the characters. The film reaches its emotional peak about five minutes in as we see Lena tearfully paint the bedroom she once shared with her missing, presumed-dead husband while listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping.”

It’s a tender and moving scene, but one that ultimately leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, because this is the most we’re going to get in terms of characterization for Lena. She, and the other four scientists investigating The Shimmer, are characterized almost exclusively by their past trauma. The film lacks either the time or the will to make its characters anything more than shallow archetypes.

Despite this, there are f lashes of brilliance throughout.

The film’s third act, titled “The Lighthouse,” is some of the most breathtakingly stunning filmmaking this year. This is where the film rolls up its

sleeves and f lexes its muscles, showing its audience the payoff of all the tension and mystery it had been building up. There are select scenes throughout “Annihilation” that serve as the gold standard for drawing audiences in. The film caused me to physically react on numerous occasions; my jaw hung open, I gasped, I covered my mouth in awe. In terms of building visceral, guttwisting situations, Garland proves himself as a master.

In the end, however, this isn’t enough to distract from the fact that the film doesn’t come close to satisfying in the end. “Annihilation” poses some massive questions concerning human nature, individuality and death, but ultimately fails to answer — or even address — these concepts in any meaningful capacity.

Garland is aware these questions exist because the film actively strives to avoid addressing them. Instead, it feigns profundity with intense visual spectacles and vague dialogue that seem to trick audiences into thinking they’ve witnessed something meaningful. Films that ask big questions don’t necessarily have to answer them, but they have to give audiences something substantive. By the end of “Annihilation,” it felt like the film had thrown up its hands and shrugged.

Ultimately, it isn’t a bad film.

You’ll see some crazy stuff, but it won’t teach you much of anything; that doesn’t make it bad, but it is a disappointing offering from a director who’s proven he can balance substance and shock value in the past. At times absolutely brilliant and at times shallow and glib, “Annihilation” feels like it’s constantly reaching for some kind of profundity which, despite trying in an intense and spectacular fashion, it never truly manages.

Arts

6 — Tuesday, March 6, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

CONCERT REVIEW

‘Freshwater’ is a primal dive into mental illness DOMINIC POLSINELLI Senior Arts Editor

AXIS RECORDS

Jeff Mills & Tony Allen enchant at Marble Bar SHIMA SADAGHIYANI Daily Music Editor

Jeff Mills is a name that carries significance, at least within the realm of modern American techno. One of the founding members of Underground Resistance — a Detroit-based label combining Motown soul and gritty electrotechno with DIY charm and an almost militaristic edge not unlike Public Enemy — Mills helped construct the Detroit techno scene in the late ’80s and early ’90s before moving to New York to further pursue a solo career. He is deserving of his title; his DJ sets are complex, often stacked with three or four turntables, and he pioneers new directions to take the electronic music he produces, often adding keyboard, drum and orchestral input to his sets.

Yet, despite Mills’s wellestablished history within American techno and obvious prowess, he finds more success internationally than he does within his hometown of Detroit, noticing that European

countries are more welcoming of his nouveau interpretations of techno: Fusing electronic and classical to create a sound that is almost celestial. “I’ve been doing this for about a decade and have never once received an invitation to come to the US, so I have to assume there isn’t much interest,” Mills revealed in a 2015 interview with The Guardian.

Which is why his live show with afrobeat drummer Tony Allen at Marble Bar on Mar. 2 was so unprecedented. Not only did two musical legends have the opportunity to perform together — with Rolling Stone naming Tony Allen as one of top 100 greatest drummers of all time — but also it was a chance to see Mills return to his roots, on-stage in the same city where his career all started.

Before the group even appeared, the energy was tangible. The sold-out show caused the venue to become packed with people; the wallto-wall anticipation made the air spark, and when the musicians finally stepped into view — sophistication conveyed through sleek, suave suits and

Classifieds

tinted sunglasses — the crowd seemed to burst into flames.

The show was immersive; the combination of neon tinted stage lights, live drum set and video projection allowing the audience to fully view the scope of the complexities behind a Jeff Mills DJ set caused the performance to feel personal, the stripped-down synth and ever-evolving percussion felt larger than life. Everything seemed organic. Rather than a rehearsed performance, Marble Bar hosted a dynamic conversation between the various instruments on stage: The tempo would change, and the kick drum would respond accordingly. Muted keyboard would smoothly progress into more upbeat rhythms as the drumline kicked in. Consistent over everything, Jeff Mills kept the pulse alive, fingers flying over the turntables in front of him, face calmly focused on the task at hand. Nothing seemed planned, yet every snare, every cymbal crash, every sound modulation coming from Mills was done with purpose and precision — mastery over an art form at its finest.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

FOR RENT

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

DOWN 1 Job detail, for short 2 Old Chevy

3 “I smell __!”

4 Crossword solver’s choice 5 Remove dirt from 6 Petting zoo youngsters 7 Bygone apple spray 8 Regular pay 9 “Not so close!”

10 Extended pd. away from work 11 Golden Fleece ship 12 How-to instruction 13 Soviet news agency 21 Sanctified 22 Declare emphatically 26 Drinks in schooners 27 Maria von __, family singers’ matriarch 28 Rich boy in “Nancy” comics 29 Groom’s new relative 30 Author Hoffman 31 Foot cover 32 French dispatch boat 33 Guiding principle 34 Standing tall

37 Heinz varieties count, to Caesar?

39 Those in favor 43 Failed suddenly, as a laptop 44 URL letters 45 Political fugitives 46 __ profit: make money 50 __ Brothers: defunct financial firm 52 Equine outburst

53 iPhone downloads 54 __-sea diver 55 Drink with sushi 57 Frolic in a lively way 58 Thinking output 59 Currency named for a continent 60 Choir voice 61 Student’s workplace 63 Runner Sebastian

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03/06/18

Question: What goes great with your morning coffee?

Answer:

By Bill Zagozewski ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

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

RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, March 6, 2018

ACROSS 1 Easy thing to do 5 Lobster serving 9 Great time 14 Skin opening 15 Tra-__: refrain syllables 16 Main artery 17 Snapchat cofounder Spiegel 18 Cyberzine 19 Parakeets’ quarters 20 Have things finally go one’s way 23 Photo __: media events 24 Charged particles 25 Intl. news broadcaster 27 Singer’s quavers 30 Recently 35 Harry’s pal Weasley 36 Mosquito-borne disease 38 Penne __ vodka 40 Singer Damone 41 Trig ratio 42 Engage in hardnosed negotiations 47 “Just a __!”

48 Dress-forsuccess accessory 49 New York Giants legend with 511 career home runs 51 Used a bench 52 Location 53 Sponsors’ spots 56 Make an annual clock adjustment ... and what the end of 20-, 36and 42-Across may literally have 62 Georgia state fruit 64 Smell 65 Gold rush animal 66 “Orange” tea grade 67 Kind of pittance?

68 The “A” of NEA 69 Drive too fast 70 New England NFLers 71 Barnes & Noble reader

Akwaeke Emezi’s debut novel “Freshwater” is as fascinatingly fractured as its protagonist Ada, a woman plagued with a form of dissociative identity disorder.

Yet rather than taking a scientific approach to her depiction, Emezi tells the story almost entirely from the perspective of Ada’s other selves, self-described “gods” that are trapped within her body, providing a primal plunge into the chaos of a mind that isn’t entirely whole.

Her ailment is painted from the inside out, employing the supernatural to make sense of this condition. In one of the few chapters from her own perspective, Ada describes the tone of the novel best: “The world in my head has been far more real than the one outside — maybe that’s the exact definition of madness, come to think of it.”

The novel certainly isn’t for everyone. As a strong debut, it showcases Emezi’s ability to write from multiple perspectives, shifting tone and atmosphere on the f ly to build a strong cast of characters that do not even exist within the tangible world of the novel.

However, Emezi also dropkicks the reader into a world

ruled by these supernatural novel, which focuses mainly on figures who have little concern Asughara and a pair of evenfor humanity’s well-being, toned spirits only known as requiring a great deal of trust “We.” As Asughara’s malice from the reader that the novel devolves into fierce protection will eventually unfold its logic over Ada, we get a sense of the way we justify our own deep — which it does, to an extent.

As the novel’s focal point on desires to ourselves. Saint mental illness would suggest, Vincent, Ada’s weaker identity, depicts human it’s a bleak curiosity and exploration of “Freshwater” human thought symbolizes Ada’s and interaction. exploration into Akwaeke Emezi sexual f luidity but Emezi does not from a perspective shy away from Grove Press of innocence carnal desire, Feb. 13, 2018 self-harm and rather than impulse as shown human cruelty. in Asughara.

Ada’s most As fractured as prominent and powerful identity, Asughara Ada’s psyche is, Emezi makes (which translates as the Igbo it startlingly easy to see word for “dagger”), is born ourselves in her.

“Freshwater” is undoubtedly from Ada’s sexual assault.

Asughara presents Ada’s most an impressive debut. Emezi malicious self, toying with has incredible talent for sex and emotion for her own storytelling that eases the amusement. She initially has reader into the rhythm of little concern for her “f lesh her prose, and her ability prison” and often tries to plan to shift and blend different Ada’s death to make an escape, perspectives within the same but she justifies her evil as mind is as beautiful as it is protection for Ada’s fragility in ultimately frightening. Many the world, often taking over to may find the novel to be protect her from sex. too bleak and otherworldly Most impressive about the to be worth the read, but novel is the way that Emezi “Freshwater” rewards slowly immerses the reader those with patience to see it in the emotions of these gods, through to the end. While the humanizing them throughout novel is thoroughly dark and the course of the novel. Ada demanding, it doesn’t forgo herself is by far one of the a sense of resolution and more minor characters in the reparation.

03/06/18

michigandaily.com

TRAILER REVIEW: ‘READY PLAYER ONE’ Ernest Cline’s bestselling science fiction novel, “Ready Player One,” has been given the Spielberg treatment for the film adaptation’s Mar. release.

In the year 2045, the Earth has become a trash heap of a planet thanks to overpopulation and climate change. Therefore, the people of the world have turned to a virtual alternative much better than the real one.

They live most of their lives in this virtual universe called the OASIS, which provides everything from socialization to entertainment to jobs. When the OASIS founder, James and skilled gaming techniques.

Halliday (Mark Rylance, “The Wade, alongside a rag-tag team of fellow gamers including the B.F.G.”), dies, he decides to give his fortune away in a likes of Lena Waithe (“Master of None”) and Olivia Cooke Wonka-like fashion by hid(“Me, Earl and the Dying ing an Easter egg within the OASIS. The Girl”), face off one who finds against a group “Ready Player it will inherit corporate-backed gamers after Halhis wealth.

One” liday’s fortune.

Halliday, Warner Bros.

The trailer obsessed with the culture of gives off “Tron” Mar. 29, 2018 and “Bladerunhis ’80s youth, ner 2049” vibes, drops reference upon reference to his favorite trying to capture the neon-lit bygone era in his universe. grittiness of a futuristic dystoEnter Wade Watts (Tye Sheri- pia. Scattered throughout are several references to the nosdan, “Mud”), an OASIS fiend from my hometown of Colum- talgia that Cline relies so heavily on in his novel; everything bus, Ohio who hopes to win the prize through his extenfrom “The Iron Giant” to the sive knowledge of ’80s culture DeLorean from “Back to the

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Future” make an appearance in the trailer. It looks as if the film may be trying too hard to be a gamer movie. While the book is rooted in gaming culture, hopefully the film will capture the more cinematic aspects of the story.

“Ready Player One” runs the risk of getting lost in Cline’s cultural references, making it more of an ode to John Hughes than a Spielberg original. Will Spielberg deliver an “Apocalypse Now” or is “Ready Player One” destined for Atari-level failure? The film adaptation may be a hit, but I have a feeling it’s headed for Game Over.

-Becky Portman, Senior Arts Editor

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Tuesday, March 6, 2018 — 7

Indoor season ends in bittersweet fashion Michigan hires Klein RIAN RATNAVALE Daily Sports Writer

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Senior Claire Kieffer-Wright captured gold in the high jump at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Chamiponship.

JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Writer

For the Michigan women’s track and field team, spring break didn’t begin with tanning on a beach or backpacking through America’s greatest parks.

Instead, it was spent competing in the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championship.

While there may be no wonders of the world in Geneva, Ohio — the site of the championships — there is an indoor track facility where the Wolverines closed out their Big Ten indoor season to bittersweet results.

For a few athletes, the weekend’s tournament proved favorable.

Two Wolverines claimed Big Ten titles, a relay team set a school record and five athletes advanced to the NCAA Championship.

Fifth-year senior Haley Meier won the mile with a 4:46.05 and punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championship. The race came down to a near-photo finish where Meier narrowly escaped

last year’s champion, Madeline Strandemo of Minnesota, edging her out by less than threequarters of a second.

“This has been a goal for a really long time, and one that I’ve wanted to have since I got to Michigan,” Meier said. “It was really an amazing experience.

A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into trying to get there, but I really just owe a lot of that to my coach and especially to Claire (Borchers) and my sister Hannah who also competed with me to get me there.”

Having never been to a national meet to compete as an individual, the competition next weekend will surely be a new experience.

“I’ve been struggling with my mentality before races for a long time,” Meier said. “It’s really taken some time to figure out what works for me before races and no matter what, there’s always going to be nerves, but it’s always so important to let yourself be excited too.”

Senior Claire Kieffer-Wright

MEN’S SWIM AND DIVE

‘M’ soars to second at conference meet MAYA SALINAS Daily Sports Writer

Over a span of four days, the No. 7 Michigan men’s swimming and diving team put teamwork first and took second in the Big Ten Championships with 1,617.5 points at the Minnesota’s Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Forty-seven personal records were set.

Of the 26 student-athletes representing the Wolverines, 25 scored points for the team.

Eleven swimmers received AllBig Ten honors.

“We had a really great meet,” said Michigan coach Mike Bottom, “They fought for each other, and they have a lot of fun. They supported each other.”

Added sophomore Felix Auböck: “What we can be proud of is the team performance that we had. We kept it close until the end.”

The Wolverines earned four Big Ten titles — three individual and one relay.

Auböck won both the 500yard freestyle and the 1,650yard freestyle; Auböck won the 1,650-yard freestyle at last year’s Big Ten Championships, too.

Sophomore Charlie Swanson won the 400-yard individual medley. The 200yard freestyle relay team of freshman Luiz Gustavo Borges, graduate student James Peek, senior Paul Powers and senior Evan White also won.

Powers took third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 42.34 — the second-fastest time in Michigan’s history.

Peek, who finished eighth in the 100-yard freestyle, was a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree.

Sophomores Jeremy Babinet, Tommy Cope, Jacob Montague and Charlie Swanson all qualified for the finals in the 200-yard breaststroke.

Montague finished in fourth,

Swanson in fifth, Cope in sixth and Babinet in seventh. Cope swam faster in the event’s preliminary, with a time of 1:52.91, the second-fastest time in the Wolverines’ history.

Freshman Ross Todd was the first Michigan diver to qualify for the final in platform in four years. His qualification in the platform finals made the meet that much closer, overall.

Todd qualified for the finals with a score of 76.50 points – taking the last qualifying spot.

Todd finished in fifth with a score of 452.75 points, a full 88 points higher than his personal best prior to coming into the meet.

“The performance was greater than expected,” said Bottom.

Freshman Chris Canning and sophomore Jake Herremans also performed well. Together, the three divers, Canning, Herremans and Todd, scored 98 points.

Freshman Ricardo Vargas also performed well at the meet, earning two silver medals and a bronze. In addition to being the highest-scoring freshman at the meet, he was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

“That was pretty exciting for us,” Bottom said.

Saying that it was for ‘us’ — as opposed to ‘him’ — the Sportsmanship Award that Peek won and the overall success from the different facets of the team encapsulate the spirit of comradery Michigan emulated throughout the four-day meet.

The Wolverines surely wanted to finish first in the Big Ten, their teamwork seemed second-to-none. That’s nothing to scoff at.

“I don’t think there was even one race where I saw someone giving up,” Auböck said. “Everyone was swimming for another person on the team and for each other.”

captured gold in the high jump after a tie-breaking finish and will be joining Meier in College Station for the championship.

“It was really exciting,” Kieffer-Wright said. “I want to, of course, thank my teammates for cheering me on in the sidelines and all my coaches and trainers and my mom for being there for me.”

Kieffer-Wright separated herself from the pack by clearing 1.81 meters on her first attempt, paving the way for her top-place finish.

But though Michigan earned several individual accolades, the team struggled as a whole.

The Wolverines finished eighth of 13 teams despite the individual performances, showing that Michigan still has a lot to improve on going into the outdoor season.

“I thought on one hand our bread and butter was middledistance and distance,” said Michigan coach James Henry.

“They had an outstanding day, an outstanding performance

and I thought the area that I was responsible for didn’t bring it the way that I thought that they were going to bring it until the end with the (4x400-meter) relay.”

Henry, who primarily coaches the sprinters, watched his group struggle all weekend, reaching the podium in only one event.

The 4x400-meter relay team set a school record of 3:37.88 but finished just fifth in a deep field of runners.

“Everyone’s got to take some responsibility,” Henry said.

“There were some kids that didn’t get out there and execute or I didn’t prepare them accordingly.

It’s probably a combination of both, so taking responsibility as a coach and an athlete is the biggest step towards solving our mediocre performance.”

Added Kieffer-Wright: “It was good to see that some people are stepping up. I think that if those people who are stepping up can bring one or two people along with them to the outdoor season, I think that will really help our team standings.”

After 10 years, the Michigan women’s soccer team is starting anew.

Athletic director Warde Manuel announced Feb. 28 that Jennifer Klein will take over as head coach of the program, replacing Greg Ryan.

Klein, 33, comes to Ann Arbor with a considerable amount of coaching experience at every level. She first began as the head coach at Nevada-Las Vegas, then moved on to become an assistant coach at Washington State and Southern California, where she spent that past few years.

“Michigan has such great academic and athletic traditions and I can’t wait to be a part of it,” Klein said in a statement on MGoBlue.com. “I am really looking forward to coaching and leading the women’s soccer program as we work to pursue excellence both on and off the field.”

Klein was the youngest head coach in Division I women’s soccer when she was named the head coach of Nevada-Las Vegas’ program in 2010. In her first year, the Runnin’ Rebels saw their win total increase from five wins to 11, and set a school record with 38 goals.

During her four years as an assistant coach at Southern

California, the Trojans amassed a 71-19-9 record and won the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

Conversely, the Wolverines finished last season 3-5-3 in Big Ten play (6-6-6 overall), and haven’t notched a win in the NCAA Tournament since 2013.

Michigan didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament in either Ryan or original head coach Debbie Rademacher’s first three seasons.

With Klein’s hiring and her recruiting prowess, though, the Wolverines will look to buck trend. As the assistant head coach at USC for the last three seasons, Klein was in charge of recruiting for the Trojans. She should provide a boost in that department for a program that has struggled to attract a lot of top-end talent. While she was an assistant coach at Washington State, Klein also helped recruit 2014 Pac-12 Player of the Year Micahela Castain.

Klein also holds playing experience under her belt, and has been battle-tested in big games. From 2002 to 2005, Klein played for Arizona, and was a captain in her final two years. In 2004, the Wildcats captured a Pac-10 Championship and made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament the following year.

Between that and her recruting skills, better times could be on the horizon for the program.

ROBERT BUECHLER/Daily

The Michigan women’s soccer team has found its new coach.

Weak finish, but still strong enough

ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily

The Michigan women’s basketball team should make the NCAA Tournament based on its strong performance from all but the final weeks of the season.

Ambiguity isn’t fun. Let’s get rid of it right away. The Michigan women’s basketball team deserves to be in.

The Wolverines (10-6 Big Ten, 22-9 overall) should hear their name ETHAN called by the SEARS selection committee next Monday. They should — for the first time in five years — play an NCAA Tournament game.

Michigan’s February was one to forget. The Wolverines blew a 16-point lead in the last seven minutes of their game against Purdue on the first day of the month, then proceeded to drop three of the next four, falling to sixth in the Big Ten. On top of everything, freshman forward Hailey Brown suffered a leg injury — Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico estimated she’ll be

out for the season. What had been a team likely to host early-round games became one that needed another couple wins to avoid disaster.

And that’s exactly what it got.

Facing a must-win scenario on Senior Night, the Wolverines knocked off then-No. 13 Maryland on the back of 17 points from sophomore forward Akienreh Johnson. Barnes Arico exercised caution postgame, but it was clear the mood had shifted — and with good reason.

Michigan’s resume over the season’s first three months is unimpeachable. The Wolverines didn’t lose to a team outside the top 25 and beat Ohio State — now sixth in RPI — in Columbus. Their losses being condensed into four weeks instead of spread out over four months shouldn’t matter for anything but seeding.

At the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan did what it had to do, beating Penn State to a pulp in Thursday’s first round before falling to Nebraska in the second.

It was all the Wolverines needed.

“We had finished third in the league (last year) and had a decent RPI, a top-50 RPI, but (the selection committee) said we didn’t have enough top-50 wins,” Barnes Arico said Friday. “This year, we have a bunch of top-25 wins. We have three top 25 wins and we have a 38 RPI (ranking).

Our conference is significantly better. Our double opponents were pretty good.

“So we think we’ve done what we needed to do.”

It’s around this point in the calendar that every coach becomes a salesperson, but Barnes Arico’s pitch is worth buying.

If it can replicate its peak, Michigan is capable of stringing a run. Senior point guard Katelynn Flaherty can light up anybody from outside and junior Nicole Munger is shooting 42 percent on 3-pointers as the starting ‘2’.

Johnson has taken Brown’s spot in the rotation and filled it in full, knocking down 60 percent from

the field in the four games since Brown’s injury. Junior center Hallie Thome is as much a lowpost threat as any other center in the conference.

Even so, making it past the first weekend is far from a guarantee.

If anything, it’s unlikely. The Cornhuskers shut down the Wolverines’ offense on Friday and, though Flaherty has gotten better against constant faceguarding, turnovers are still an issue. Going 2-4 in February also opened the door to a matchup with No. 1 Connecticut as soon as the second round of the Tournament — a scenario currently projected in ESPN’s Bracketology.

If Michigan gets in, it will have crawled in. The Wolverines were capable of doing more than finishing sixth in the Big Ten and that’s worth noting. Their resume isn’t perfect. It may not be deserving of anything more than a No. 8 seed and a second round date with the Huskies.

But they’ve done enough to get in.

Sports

8 — Tuesday, March 6, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

New York Jump Two best friends experience the Big Ten Tournament ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Editor

NEW YORK CITY, NY. — The Michigan men’s basketball team’s locker room was rattling after it dismantled Nebraska, 77-58, to reach the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines’ Jan. 18 defeat in Lincoln was an afterthought. A date with then-No. 2 Michigan State loomed.

Reporters shuffled into the tight guest locker room, elbows were bumped and recorders were stuffed in the student-athletes’ faces.

Scrums accumulated around usual suspects — Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman and Moritz Wagner.

Finding a player without a smile was hard.

Except for Jordan Poole. The freshman guard furrowed his brows and asked antsy journalists to wait a second before he would answer questions. He scoured the room, shouting.

“Where my best friend at?

Where my best friend at?”

Poole’s missing best friend was fellow freshman Isaiah Livers. The 6-foot-7 forward simply hadn’t reached the locker room yet as he traipsed slowly off the court and past the team showers, but best friends don’t leave each other behind. Once Livers had entered the room, the two embraced and sat down in their typical spots — side by side lockers — and faced the media.

“He’s a big drama guy,” Livers said of Poole.

Drama, as they would soon discover, was fitting for the occasion. The two freshmen and the rest of Michigan would theatrically display impeccable chemistry in their next two contests en route to a Big Ten Tournament Championship.

Their season isn’t over yet,

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Freshmen Isaiah Livers and Jordan Poole are inseparable roommates who just experienced their first Big Ten Tournament together in New York City.

but Poole and Livers can already check off one of their goals on their college bucket list.

“It feels amazing,” Poole said after beating Purdue in the finals.

“Being able to go out in a situation like this and beat (Michigan State and Purdue) and Nebraska and Iowa, it’s just amazing.

Being able to experience something like this at such a historic arena puts the cherry on top.”

Playing high-stakes games at Madison Square Garden is usually enough to give any firstyear player pause. But for a guy

as boisterous as Poole, that isn’t necessarily true. He had played at the Garden when he was in high school at La Lumiere, one of the nation’s premier high school programs.

For Livers, on the other hand, the bright lights and spacious arena were a shock to the system.

The Kalamazoo, Mich. native described his high school days as spent in a “little, tiny gym” absent of the grandiose pageantry. It was big enough to contend and win Michigan Mr. Basketball, but not enough to walk into the World’s Most Famous Arena without

“I like the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden.”

awe. Like Poole, though, Livers found comfort in it.

“I like the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden,” Livers said. “I felt it right during shoot around. I was like ‘Dang, this is pretty big.’ That just kinda pushed me to play better.”

Poole and Livers weren’t significant contributors in the tournament — they combined to post just 6.8 points and 4.6 boards each contest. Though it was a lackluster weekend for the two, they still had an opportunity to marvel at the big stage.

The pair took time to admire the history of MSG when they first arrived. When they settled into the New York Knicks’ locker room on Thursday to play Iowa — the only time the team suited up there during the tournament — they gazed at the

Lavigne shows off mental resiliency in sweep

wooden lockers. They saw the names of two former Michigan greats embellished on them, and harbored an inclination to be like them in the future.

“You got Tim Hardaway Jr. over there, you got Trey Burke,” Livers said, pointing out their lockers. “They’re doing what we wanna do in a couple years. It just motivates me to go out there and play hard.”

Added Poole: “We see guys who were in the same situation that we were. They just kept working, kept fighting and they were able to accomplish their dreams. At the end of the day,

“They’ll be leading Michigan here in the future.”

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Slow start dooms Michigan to sixth at Big Ten Indoors JODI YIP

For the Daily

EMMA RICHTER/Daily

Sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne shrugged off a rocky start to Friday’s game to finish with what Mel Pearson called an excellent game.

ROBERT HEFTER Daily Sports Editor

Hayden Lavigne had a rocky start Friday.

The sophomore goaltender — who has championed the No. 11 Michigan hockey team’s defense in the second half of the season as a stalwart brick wall in front of the net — wasn’t playing to his potential.

While the Wolverines (11-103 Big Ten, 20-13-3 overall) got out to a one-goal lead, Wisconsin defenseman Tyler Inamoto started an onslaught that would see three total Badger goals in the first period.

Though Michigan would go on to steal a 6-5 victory and later a weekend sweep over Wisconsin (8-13-2-1, 14-19-3), that wasn’t evident at the 15-minute mark when arguably the Wolverines’ greatest defensive asset was left looking up into the air in frustration.

Michigan coach Mel Pearson even mentioned after the game Friday that he considered pulling

Lavigne after he allowed a third goal in the first period.

And with the game’s momentum arguably on the line at this point, Pearson called a timeout to reassure his players and his star goaltender.

“We just talked about … (How) we hadn’t played yet, we hadn’t played,” Pearson said Friday. “We were just out there spectators, they should’ve charged us for admission tonight to come into the building the way the first 10 minutes went.

“Then we started to play. And it wasn’t everybody, but you know, a lot of guys haven’t been through this, we’re still a young team. …

We were very loose, and we need everybody.”

He squashed the temptation of ending Lavigne’s night, and what happened next proved that Lavigne could withstand the pressures of postseason hockey.

“Hayden, I think the guy gave up five goals that maybe he had a tough night,” Pearson said, “but other than the one, I thought he played excellent tonight.”

Senior forward Tony Calderone

— who scored the Wolverines’ first tally — started a four-goal scoring streak that Wisconsin would not ultimately recover from.

“He knows how to handle himself in good and bad times,” Calderone said. “He struggled in the beginning of the year but pulled himself out of it. So, I think he’s one of those guys that you’ve got to let him go and let him do his thing because you know he’s gonna do the right thing.”

And doing the right thing in this case was a careerhigh 48 saves that proved to be just enough to hold Michigan’s onegoal lead — good for the opening night victory.

While five goals allowed doesn’t look too pretty on the box score, Lavigne gave a veteran comeback performance where significant early struggles seemed miniscule in the end.

“I don’t think it was Hayden’s fault, I think we made a bunch of mental mistakes,” Calderone said.

“Hayden’s been great for us all year and I think he played great tonight.

I think it was a lot of mental breakdowns by us that caused that.

So, no, I don’t think he needed any picking up. I think he’s pretty solid mentally.”

Lavigne continued his steadfast performance with 28 saves in the quarterfinal round against the Badgers with 28 saves, though his prowess was an afterthought due to another round of high-output play from the Wolverine front line.

Lavigne’s comeback in the second and third periods Friday shows that Michigan holds a mentally durable backline able to withstand the demands of what, from now on, will be postseason single-elimination hockey.

“Hayden’s been great for us all year.”

that’s what you play basketball for. … We find it motivating.”

Another Michigan great, 2017 graduate and current G-League player Zak Irvin, has been keeping tabs on Poole and Livers. And when Irvin, who attended the matchup against the Hawkeyes, embraced the two freshmen in the locker room afterwards, they conversed like they were longtime teammates.

“The guys before me did the same thing to when I came in even though I didn’t get to play with them,” Irvin said of his relationship with the freshmen.

“They still took me under their arms. It’s the same thing I’m doing with them. They’re a talented group. They’ll be leading Michigan here in the future.”

Between the commotion of games in Madison Square Garden and the noise from teammates and former players coming in, basketball engulfed the social lives of Poole and Livers. The team took a brief walk around Times Square before their first game, but didn’t do much else besides mimicking plays in their hotel’s ballroom and lounging in their rooms.

It really was a business trip for the wideeyed freshmen.

And even if they didn’t cause too much of a stir, they still deemed their experience unimaginable.

With the two best friends drenched in water, egging on a dancing John Beilein as they celebrated the Big Ten Tournament Championship, they looked ready to conquer the next big stage in March Madness.

It was clear that business was booming.

The Big Ten Indoor Championships were in full throttle last weekend as the Michigan men’s track and field team finished sixth with 57 points.

In the shot put, junior Andrew Liskowitz and senior Grant Cartwright finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to contribute nine points toward the team score.

The relay team, consisting of senior Ryan Wilkie, sophomore Desmond Melson, junior Matt Plowman and sophomore Andrew Lorant also added extra points after taking sixth place in the distance medley event.

“I thought we had a good day (on Saturday),” said Michigan coach Jerry Clayton. “We had a little bit of a rough start the first day. We were hoping to get a few more people qualified to the finals, but it is what it is. The people that we did get through, I thought they lined well in that final day which helped us finish as high as we could.”

The second day of the tournament featured a historic performance from the weight throwers. Junior Joe Ellis, in particular, was the team’s star at Saturday’s meet.

Ellis broke the program weight throw record with a distance of 23.31 meters — breaking Cartwright’s record last season.

Ellis continued his recordbreaking performance with a championship winning throw of 23.64 meters. Ellis’ record is currently ranked second nationally and 13th in collegiate history.

“It’s the first big step towards

becoming a legendary year,” Ellis said. “It certainly feels good. Setting a personal record at the Big Ten Championships is definitely a big deal.”

Cartwright also earned a spot on the podium by placing third with a season-best toss of 22.87 meters, losing to Penn State’s David Lucas.

“Penn State’s got a great team over there,” Ellis said. “We are all really close and close competitors. Me and Grant (Cartwright) were fighting against David Lucas and Morgan Shigo. We got more points at the end so job well done.”

Ellis and Cartwright’s combined throws totaled 46.51 meters. Their record went down in the books as the farthest combined throw by a pair of teammates in a non-NCAA Championship meet. Their total score also finished as one of the best duo added totals in collegiate history.

Clayton believes the Wolverines should rank in the top 20 nationally, and is relying on certain athletes to get the team to the NCAA Championships.

Ellis and Cartwright are guaranteed spots in the weight throw, while Liskowitz is waiting on other national results to see if he qualifies in the shot put. Senior distance runner Ben Flanagan is also hoping to qualify in the 5000-meter.

“It’s attainable if we get all four of them in the meet,” Clayton said. “We’ve come relatively close to that. We always want people challenging for the top three and for the championship.

That’s a direction that we need to keep working hard and moving towards in this outdoor season.”

“We had a little bit of a rough start the first day.”