2018-03-12

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Monday, March 12, 2018

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Wichita bound No. 3 seed Michigan is in the West Region and will play Montana in Wichita on Thursday night

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ADMINISTRATION

Spencer puts college tour on hold after MSU protest EVAN AARON/Daily

Still unclear if white supremacist will attempt to speak on campus over summer

The University of Michigan will have Charles Woodson as the speaker at the spring commencement ceremony this year.

Heisman winner Charles Woodson to speak at spring commencement

Graduating seniors get to hear live speaker for second time in three years ANDREW HIYAMA Daily News Editor

The University of Michigan will have a speaker at its spring commencement ceremony this year, the University announced in a press release Monday, and that speaker is alum Charles Woodson.

Woodson, a student-athlete on the University’s football team from 1995 to 1997, received the Heisman Trophy in 1997. He is the only primarily defensive player to win the award to date. That same year, Woodson led the team to an undefeated season and national championship, then went on to an 18-season career in the N.F.L.,

playing for the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers.

Central Student Government President Anushka Sarkar, an LSA senior, said the announcement excited and surprised her.

“I heard a lot of rumors about who the commencement speaker was going to be, and I think this is kind of coming out of left field,”

Sarkar said. “They were pretty informal rumors — people kept saying Michelle Obama, Oprah.

But I think they were pretty uninformed rumors.”

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter

In a video released Sunday, white supremacist Richard Spencer announced a halt to his national college tour amid clashes between protesters and police at his scheduled speech at Michigan State University last Monday.

“At least for the foreseeable future, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to host an event that’s wide open to the public, in which we name the date and the time,” Spencer said in his video. “Because if we do that in advance, Antifa are going to do their thing.”

Spencer’s legal team

announced a delay in Spencer’s potential visit to the University until a future semester, stating they would prefer to hold an event in the summer to draw larger crowds.

MSU allowed Spencer to speak at the school following a lawsuit filed by Attorney Kyle Bristow. Bristow has since announced he will no longer aid Spencer’s team.

Stop Spencer at Michigan State University celebrated the decision to halt the college tour, attributing the news to the joint effort of those in the community and the Stop Spencer movement.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

LEO discusses potential walkout in Obama-era LSA opens commerce salary negotiations with University humanities

GOVERNMENT

ACADEMICS

secretary talks trade

Meeting in Dearborn aims to secure job security contract for 1,700 members

Penny Pritzker says Trump’s steel tarifffs “screwing up” market

Members of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization gathered for a general membership meeting Friday on the University of MichiganDearborn campus to discuss the next step in their campaign to secure a contract granting them higher wages and enhanced job security.

Despite receiving what they called an “insulting” response to the union’s salary proposal last month, leaders remained optimistic, emphasizing the importance of involving both lecturers and allies in organizing efforts.

Representing nearly 1,700 non-tenure track faculty members across the University’s three campuses, LEO has been negotiatingsince October, asking for improved benefits, more full-time jobs and significant increases to minimum salaries.

Bargaining team manager and LEO Vice President Kirsten Herold, a lecturer at the School of Public Health, has been through five rounds of contract negotiations with LEO since the union’s inception in the early 2000s.

She said she has maintained a positive outlook, citing public school teachers’ successful statewide walkout in West Virginia and grassroots enthusiasm.

REFAEL KUBERSKY Daily Staff Reporter

Former Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, who worked under President Barack Obama and currently works as chairman of PSP Capital Partners and its affiliate, Pritzker Realty Group, spoke Friday in the Ford School of Public Policy’s Annenberg Auditorium. Dozens attended the event, titled “America’s Economic Future,” the first annual Vandenburg lecture.

The event was held as a discussion between Pritzker and Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, who was a Business adjunct professor before serving as chief economist at the Department of Commerce.

The Vandenburg lectures are sponsored by the Meijer family and honors late Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, R-Mich, who encouraged bipartisan support for consequential foreign policy issues such as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, NATO and the creation of the United Nations.

Pritzker began the speech See PRITZKER, Page 3A

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LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter

Check out the Daily’s News podcast, The Daily Weekly

“I really feel more optimistic this time than I otherwise have in terms of our shot at getting a real raise,” Herold said. “The University’s always been a little bit ahead of the curve on this front, and I really think this time we can do it. We just have to put everything into it.

We have so much great staff, so many great allies and so many members involved. I’m telling people, we’re going to

see a five-digit raise. If that’s not worth a few hours of your time, I don’t know what is.”

Under the union’s current contract, which expires April 20, the minimum salary for a full-time lecturer is $34,500 in Ann Arbor, $28,300 in Dearborn and $27,300 in Flint.

LEO’s salary proposal would have raised the minimum to $60,000 in Ann Arbor and to $56,000 in Dearborn and Flint in 2018, increasing by $2,000

at all three campuses in 2019 and again in 2020.

The University instead offered a $1,000 increase to the starting salary in 2019, $750 in 2020 and $500 in 2021. The deal also included a 1.5 percent annual raise for lecturers in Ann Arbor, but not those in Dearborn or Flint.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

fellowship to lecturers

New eight week program based on year-long version for tenure-track faculty SAYALI AMIN

Daily Staff Reporter

The Institute for the Humanities announced Thursday a new Summer Fellowship program for tenured/tenure-track faculty and lecturers II/III/IV. The program is eight weeks long with residence in the institute, and it will accept eight fellows this summer — four tenured/tenure-track faculty and four lecturers.

The institute also provides a year-long fellowship; however, that is open only to tenurestrain faculty and their graduate students. This summer program is meant to parallel the one held during the year but includes both lecturers and tenure-strain faculty.

Peggy McCracken, director of the Institute for the Humanities, said including lecturers and tenured faculty together is unique program for the humanities.

“I’m really happy we’ve been able to put together this program that includes both tenure-strain faculty and lecturers,” McCracken said.

CASEY TIN/Daily

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INDEX

Vol. CXXVII, No. 89 ©2018 The Michigan Daily

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

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

News

2A — Monday, March 12, 2018

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY:

By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

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Editorial Staff AHAD BOOTWALA/Daily Ross sophomore Nithya Ramesh, SMTD sophomore Zoha Bharwani, and Public Policy senior Aditi Katti address the crowd at Yoni Ki Baat’s 11th annual monologue show in Rackham Saturday.

government experience.

“I had the honor of a lifetime to serve our country and to represent the United States of America both in our country and around the world,” she said.

Cromwick then shifted the conversation to the United States’ struggle with protectionism, asking Pritzker how the U.S. should manage global free trade so that it does not hurt domestic businesses, such as the steel and aluminum industries.

Pritzker responded business owners around the country were most concerned with obtaining global market access. She strongly supported the need for open international trade but thought businesses should protect vulnerable American industries by putting international pressure on countries that cheat the

system. growth. Trump withdrew the Regarding steel, she United States from the pact on asserted while some tariffs the first day of his presidency, were necessary to implement, believing that the deal hurt the U.S. should focus on American industries. stating while she had reservations after being international cooperation for During the Q&A portion of offered the position of protecting the American steel the lecture, a student asked Obama’s campaign finance industry.

Pritzker what she would do chair, her family encouraged “We globally went to the differently if she had the her to accept the position. She OECD (Organisation for opportunity to return to would later serve on Obama’s Economic Co-operation and her position as commerce economic recovery advisory Development) and other global secretary. Pritzker responded board following his election organizations and said the saying she regretted the TPP as president, where Pritzker world needs to come together failed to be enacted. was responsible for advising and we need to fight whos “I had a leader of one of the the administration on ways to over producing steel, which TPP countries from Asia say recover from the 2007-2008 is China,” she said. “They are to me about three weeks ago, financial crisis. screwing up the steel market… ‘You know, America is off the “Our banking system was on but the way you address it is playing field in Asia,’” she the verge of collapse, the auto you have to have the world said. industry was bankrupt and come together.”

Pritzker concluded her our country was really near President Donald Trump thoughts by encouraging the collapse,” she said. recently imposed tariffs of students in the audience to Pritzker also served as 25 percent on imported steel volunteer on behalf of the an adviser on jobs, but later and 10 percent on imported country. was confirmed as commerce aluminum. The move was an “If you get the opportunity secretary June 2013. effort to protect the American to serve … do it,” she said. “And Sudoku Syndication in http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Pritzker had no previous steel industry but has been if you have the chance, even criticized as an attack on for a year or two to go and free trade. work in Washington, do it.

Pritzker also Because we need the talent, highlighted her efforts to we need the perspective, and promote free trade such as particularly folks that come opening markets in China, from these great research EASY elevating the commercial universities, you have a lot to relationship with India offer.” and increasing trade with Andrew Breed, a U-M Africa. She then discussed Dearborn alum, left the the importance of the talk believing Pritzker’s Trans-Pacific Partnership approach to tariffs would be and the necessity for more effective than Trump’s international cooperation approach. on commerce.

“The tariffs that President “You can’t do much Trump is talking about unilaterally … and imposing on aluminum and commerce is a great way steel … to me it’s really scary to develop multilateral the way he’s going about relationships,” Pritzker trying to fix our economic said. “And that’s what situation,” he said.

TPP is about. It’s about Business graduate student creating rules … that Parker Caldwell was also bring your countries captivated by Pritzker’s together.” story and her transition from The TPP is a pact signed business to government. by the United States and “I thought it was really 11 other countries in interesting her backstory February 2016 to improve — getting involved in the economic ties among the Obama campaign and getting © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

TWENTY FUN! puzzle by sudokusyndication.com countries by slashing started in the government,” he tariffs while increasing said. “It was surprising by how trade and promoting organic it was.”

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One second: Fighting my invisible pain

HANNAH QIN AND SHARON SHEN

HALIMAT OLANIYAN MiC Contributor

If my experiences during college have taught me anything, it is that writing is a powerful means of expression. Somehow, even when I don’t know what to say, I always have something to write. Last semester, and this one, was really rough for me healthwise. I grew quite frustrated and could not seem to express how I was feeling. So I wrote it down. And even though “One

Second” is a poetic rendering of my struggles, it still does not do me justice. I am so much more than my disease, but I am also a writer, and it feels incredibly empowering to say that. *** It’s amazing how long a second can feel.

At any time, in a matter of seconds, I could have a sickle cell attack.

As the crescent-shaped red blood cells coursing through my veins turn on me. They start to stick together and block the flow

of blood in my body.

It’s surprising, the sheer amount of pain caused by the lack of oxygen to an organ.

It happened today. Honestly, it happens every day but the attacks vary in severity and usually, I can suppress them.

I’m not the type to complain, ask for pity or even tell people it’s happening, but this one was different — it only lasted for a second.

Just one second that felt like an eternity.

I was in class and all of a

sudden felt I couldn’t breathe.

I resisted the urge to grasp my chest and fall back into my chair simply because I didn’t want to bring attention to myself.

Now I wonder if anyone would have even noticed. Would you?

And if you did, would you care? After all, there was nothing you could do.

It’s funny how stark the contrast is between my identities.

Most of the time I’m the only person like me in the room.

It’s like I have my own personal spotlight that follows me around.

I mean how many NigerianAmerican Muslim women with a chronic illness do you know?

One second, I’m the only Black person in a room and I feel as if all eyes are on me; the next, I’m gasping for air and though I’m surrounded by people, they don’t see my struggles.

I feel that my pain is invisible.

But I’ve always known this.

You can’t tell, you can’t see my pain.

Yet, I wonder if you ever notice the subtle signs: The blank stare in my eyes, the quiet gasps I take, how I slur my words.

I know it’s not fair to expect that of you. I know it’s on me to teach you to look for these signs.

I know it’s on me to let you know I’m not okay.

But sometimes I wish you could just sense something was

Monday, March 12, 2018 — 3A off about me. Sometimes I wish you would just ask. Sometimes I wish I could take you with me, just to show you.

I don’t know how to describe what happens.

One second I’m fine and the next I feel like I might collapse.

One second passes and no one

“One second I’m fine and the next I feel like I might collapse.

One second passes and no one knows it ever even happened.”

knows it ever even happened.

One second and I feel all alone.

Today it was my ankle, a part of our bodies most of us ignore.

Today it demanded my attention as it burst into pain.

Every second was agonizing as I waited for the pain to go away, but the seconds continued to pass and the pain stayed.

Then it would stop and just as I would go to take a sigh of relief, I would be struck by pain again.

Today I limped home because

with every pang, I felt my ankle would give out and I would collapse.

Today I feared I wouldn’t be able to walk to class tomorrow, And worse yet, today I worried the world would not wait for me to heal.

Today became tomorrow and it happened again.

One second I was fine and the next, in pain.

I gripped my pen so tight not even the jaws of life could save it.

After several everlasting seconds, it stopped and I remembered I was still in class.

I try to refocus my attention and next thing I know it’s back.

I hold my breath so as to not scream.

I don’t know what to do.

I ask God for help, but as the seconds pass, I find myself still helpless.

As I walked across campus from class to class, I held back tears, As I was in so much pain but couldn’t explain, As I begged for someone, anyone to see my pain.

I guess I wrote this hoping I could get you to see a glimpse of what I feel.

But as I write, I realize nothing I do can adequately show you.

My story, this feeling, is just one moment of your day.

But I live my whole life this way.

Forgotten histories of people of color Reflections from the NMAAHC

SAM SO/Daily

MIC EDITORS During this past Spring Break, several Michigan in Color editors were given the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. to discover forgotten histories in our nation’s capital. From visits to the National Museum of African American History and Culture and National Portrait Gallery to traversing the now-gentrified streets of Chinatown, we were reminded of how dominant narratives in the United States erase the history and contributions of people of color and the resistance necessary to create a more equitable society.

At all of the museums we visited — and especially the National Museum of African American History and Culture — we were impressed by the focus on activists we never learned about before coming to the University of Michigan. While Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Ruby Bridges all undoubtedly played monumental roles in the ongoing struggle for racial equality, it was interesting and refreshing to learn about those who risked it all so we could live out their dreams, despite receiving little national recognition.

While the aforementioned key organizers had their space in the museum, the NMAAHC also had information about local organizers, students and brave families who had just as much to lose but were seemingly forgotten by history.

While learning about largerthan-life figures is important, it’s just as important to remember

the Civil Rights Movement — like all other social movements — was powered by individuals who put themselves on the line for the chance of a better future.

We were also impressed by how the museums we visited framed our narratives.

Oftentimes, people of color are portrayed as “sidekicks” or passive victims of greater societal events. The museums we visited told another story. In these spaces, POC were centered and portrayed as active agents in their own lives. For example, the National Museum of the American Indian emphasized Native Americans did not just passively agree to leave their land and walk what is now called the Trail of Tears — many fought against the colonizers and negotiated treaties that would’ve been mutually beneficial.

Additionally, we learned about many different instances when Native Americans used the American court system to reclaim the land that was stolen from them in the past. These examples highlight that history is not just what is taught to us in school: POC have always been and always will be powerful agents of change. Because our narratives are very rarely front and center in history lessons, visiting these museums — which highlighted the narratives of POC — was especially impactful to see.

One of the only aspects of social movements that we felt wasn’t properly displayed was the role of coalition building and alliances. When we walked through the museums, we struggled to find evidence of

the initiatives and impacts of coalitions and allies among different groups of POCs. However, just because the actions of allies were not highlighted, this does not remove their necessity nor their contributions.

Coalitions unify individuals and groups interested in a common goal, enabling them to adequately share resources, information and numbers. The call for coalitions is becoming even more significant, and we can see this being carried out on our own campus. Student organizations, such as MuJew, the BlackAsian Coalition and Leaders of Education, Advocacy, and Diversity are formal coalitionbuilding spaces focused on creating community and change across identity lines. Similarly, organizations like La Casa and the Muslim Students Association have made it a priority to facilitate cross-cultural sharing and to strengthen social change networks. Now more than ever, organizations are realizing the power that is made by establishing relationships across our communities.

Most importantly, the trip allowed for plentiful selfreflection. As MiC continues to grow, we strive to remain a platform that accurately showcases the myriad of experiences of POC. To focus on race in isolation — without discussion of how gender, sexuality, ability status and other social identities affect our experience — is to also promote a dominant narrative and forget the histories of students on this campus.

Love discussing pop culture? Michigan in Color is looking for blog writers!

If interested, please email us at michiganincolor@umich.com.

SAM SO/Daily

JASON ROWLAND Managing MiC Editor

My trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. was a poignant one. The visit started with an elevator ride down to the building’s lowest level. “1968” …

“1954” … “1948” … “1865” — the years on the wall counted down as the elevator descended. I knew each year must’ve been picked for a significant event that occurred — the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1968 or the end of the Civil War in 1865 — but for many of the years (especially the older ones), I didn’t know what specifically was being referenced. “1808”… “1776” … “1565.” Finally, the elevator stopped and the door opened. The wall read “1400”.

According to my most conservative estimates, 1400 is a good two centuries before any of my past American history courses began. As a result, I didn’t know exactly what I’d encounter, but I predicted it wouldn’t be positive.

My hunch was correct.

Immediately, I was greeted with information and beautiful artifacts from pre-Columbian Africa, but it didn’t take long before I was shown the horrors of the Middle Passage and slavelife in Colonial America. The next section focused on slavelife in the Antebellum South (which was marked by the same

savage treatment received by the slaves who came before) and life in the Jim Crow South. Finally, as I worked my way back up to the top of the museum, I walked through the exhibit about modern Black life in America. As “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five played in the background — a song my parents frequently played during my childhood — I read about the crack epidemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina

“There was no happy ending. As a Black American, that wasn’t comforting” and education inequalities.

There was no happy ending.

As a Black American, that wasn’t comforting — but it also wasn’t surprising. I went in knowing there’s still much work left to be done, and I didn’t leave any more optimistic for the future.

As I exited the exhibits, I entered the “Contemplative Court.” Earlier in the morning, the guide on the elevator told us about this room. In fact, she

recommended spending some time there to reflect on what we were about to see and learn.

In the center of the room sat a large, circular pool. Water rained down around the perimeter, and the drops lit up as they hit the water below. To me — and to many people, as I learned after conducting more research once I returned home — those drops symbolized the tears of those who came before me. The tears were from the people who suffered during the Middle Passage, the slave families separated on the auction block and the Black students who were denied an equal shot at education. However, as their tears hit the water, the light symbolized the progress made possible by their sacrifices — they didn’t suffer in vain.

As I looked up from the fountain, ready to leave the room, the quote on the wall caught my eye. Across from me, the wall read, “A change is gonna come” — a line from the chorus of Sam Cooke’s 1964 song with the same name.

With the negative mood left by the museum, I was particularly affected, almost relieved, by that line. While the exhibits offered little solace, the “Contemplative Court” and Sam Cooke’s quote gave me optimism for the future.

While I can’t go back to undo the suffering of the past, I can fight for a more just future — the only way to truly ensure that those tears weren’t cried in vain.

Opinion

4A— Monday, March 12, 2018

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MATTHEW FRIEND | COLUMN

O

The responsibility of the endowment

ver the past couple of months, a series of articles published by the Detroit Free Press has exposed several controversial practices regarding the University of Michigan’s endowment and its investment/ distribution. Some of the practices in question include potential conflicts of interest arising from the investment of endowment funds in large University donors, the decision-making process of how much of the endowment is annually allotted to the University and the lack of investment in businesses and funds located in the state of Michigan.

To address these issues and determine the validity of these concerns, I think it is important to better understand the purpose of the University’s endowment. Does the endowment, an $11 billion fund meant to support the University and its initiatives, exist solely for the purpose of maximizing financial returns, or does it have an additional responsibility?

According to materials provided by the University, the endowment’s mission is to create “a guaranteed, never-ending source of income to support student scholarships, professorships, innovative programs, learning opportunities and lifesaving research.” In other words, it exists to earn as much money as possible in the long-run, and to pump a portion of the earnings back into the school. I found no mention of any political or ethical guidelines for where the funds are invested or of any specific types of industries they choose to support. In fact, when the Central Student Government passed a resolution urging the University to consider divesting from groups that are associated with anti-Palestinian interests, the University responded by saying they “strongly oppose any action involving the boycott, divestment or sanction of Israel … (the University of Michigan) remain(s) committed to the University’s longstanding policy to shield the endowment from political pressures,” further reiterating their non-partisan stance regarding investment decisions.

Perhaps this singular focus on financial returns is justified, as the University’s finances are heavily dependent on the endowment and its performance. According to financial statements provided by the University, the endowment contributed over $300 million to all U-M campuses this past year, about 26 percent of all University revenue.

The endowment provides almost as much money to the University’s budget as is contributed by the state of Michigan. So yes, I do agree with the University’s stance that the

endowment’s primary purpose is to continue to grow at high levels, at least enough to support critical practices such as providing financial aid, paying competitive salaries to attract the best faculty and maintaining our beautiful campus.

I feel it would be ignorant, though, to end the conversation here and ignore the endowment’s secondary responsibilities. The University of Michigan is a public university with the purpose of educating the future leaders of Michigan and preparing the state for future success. From firsthand experience, I can state the University consistently preaches positive values and behaviors to the student body, including direct statements by University President Mark Schlissel denouncing acts of hate and violence that occur on campus and beyond.

Money equals power and influence — a perhaps unfortunate but important truth. The University has nearly $11 billion worth of power and influence at its disposal via the endowment. Economic boycotts have the potential to be successful tools to enact change, as demonstrated by the successful divestment movement against apartheid-era South Africa in the 1980s. Positive change doesn’t just come from withholding capital from harmful movements, as investing money in struggling or capital-scarce communities has the potential to create good as well.

A close-to-home example of how investments can benefit communities can be seen through Shinola, a luxury goods retailer based out of Detroit.

Shinola performs the bulk of its manufacturing and operations locally, rather than pursuing lessexpensive alternatives outside of Detroit. This deliberate investment in the city of Detroit created hundreds of jobs during one of the most economically-trying times in the city’s history.

Admittedly, my experience and knowledge of investing are much less than that of the individuals in charge of our University’s endowment, and I don’t claim to possess a detailed plan about how to create the most good with the endowment funds.

With this said, I do believe there are plenty of opportunities for the University to pursue its primary goal of maximizing financial returns while making investment decisions that could benefit students, the state of Michigan and society as a whole.

One potential idea of how the endowment could achieve this is investing in socially responsible funds, which make the conscious decision to not invest in companies or ventures that they feel are

NIA LEE | CONTACT AT NIA AT LEENIA@UMICH.EDU.

harmful to the world. And yes, despite popular opinion, data exists demonstrating that socially responsible funds can in fact perform just as well as their “sinful” counterparts. With the continually growing concern surrounding gun control and school shootings, the University could at the very least consider ways to leverage their investing power to put pressure on firms related to firearms manufacturing and retail.

Creating a mandate requiring a certain portion of the endowment, no matter how nominal, to be invested in projects that create growth and employment in the state of Michigan is another option. There are many legitimate financial reasons for why the University invests its money globally, but I cannot imagine the state of Michigan lacks so greatly in economic activity that the endowment cannot find more investment opportunities to support the state while keeping their investment goals intact. It may take more effort, but I believe the duty the University has more than justifies this extra time.

Perhaps even exploring the idea of using endowment dollars to provide subsidized, low-interest loans for students as an avenue for making education more affordable while growing the endowment (albeit at a slightly lower rate) is a possibility the University could consider.

The endowment’s continued growth is crucial to the future success and stability of our University. Those in charge of the endowment hold a great responsibility, making decisions that will affect students, alumni, employees of the school and many other stakeholders for years to come. I believe the responsibility of the endowment extends beyond purely financial returns though. It is certainly up for debate how much those individuals in charge of the endowment can support these initiatives while achieving their primary objective of making money for the University, but it is a topic that requires further discussion. But all else equal, if we have the option to invest our money in ventures or funds that might make our state and the world better off, it is the responsibility of those in charge to make that happen, and for the University to put its money where its mouth is.

Matthew Friend can be reaached at mjfri@umich.edu.

D

A bright spot on the Bachelor

uring their respective seasons, I watch both “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” I’m pretty invested in the franchise. I love the drama, the mindlessness and the excuse to hang out with my friends, snack and procrastinate on a weeknight.

Last week brought us the finale of this season of “The Bachelor.”

If you don’t know the premise of the show, I’ll give you a quick rundown. The season starts with 29 women competing for a (supposedly) eligible bachelor’s attention. Each week, beginning with the very first episode, some women are eliminated while other women get roses and security until the next week. They travel to a few exotic locales all the while going on single and group dates and trying to deal with the fact they’re living with all of the other girls their love interest is dating. The show has its flaws, but I’m going to set them aside for this column to look at an unexpected positive.

The show, of course, focuses on the relationships between the individual women and the bachelor. It rarely shows the relationships among the women, unless the scene in some way contributes to some narrative of discontent.

The women as we see them are either indifferent toward each other or actively negative.

The network likes to show the audience instances of women mocking, doubting or trying to undermine others. The editing of the show often portrays the women in fierce competition; there are tears, gossip and aggressive confrontations.

There is always a villain who can be picked out right away by experienced viewers, and a significant portion of the show is always spent on encounters between the “bad guy” and the rest of the women. When she is finally sent home, often in a way that is designed to maximize her embarrassment, there is a sense of triumph.

HANK MINOR | COLUMN

T

The producers work for drama on “The Bachelorette” too, when the house is instead filled with men. However, the tone the drama takes is different. The anticipatory scenes suggest violent, physical altercations. The outcome of a disagreement is fists instead of tears. On both shows, you’ll see pettiness. You’ll see hurt feelings, gossip and contestants seizing opportunities to convince the love interest that someone else is there for the wrong reasons. Despite the similarity in behavior, it seems the way contestants are treated often suggests there are far more instances of animosity and personal attacks among the women.

There’s an underrated highlight that comes out of the show, and it’s a surprising one. You have to search outside the two-hour episodes to find it because the network won’t show you. If you turn to the social media accounts of the contestants on the show, you’ll find that strong friendships form over the course of their competition. You’ll find that, sure, not everyone was best friends — that never happens when you stick 20 strangers in a house together. But all of them emerge with bonds to the other women, those who they were supposed to view as an obstacle between them and their happy ending. The network edits in such a way that they show the most contention and drama possible — they do this because the audience asks for it.

The world outside the show reveals the women care deeply about each other. They travel together beyond the show, they encourage each other, they support each other. In this season’s heartbreaking finale, the bachelor, Arie, proposed to one woman, Becca, before calling it off for a second chance with the “runner-up,” Lauren.

The women banded together to show support for both Becca and Lauren and call out Arie’s immature and disrespectful behavior. It would have been easy in that moment to take sides and place blame on one of the women, but they didn’t.

They reminded the nation of viewers Lauren wasn’t to blame for Becca’s heartache, and Becca herself shared her well wishes for the couple.

It’s important to me because I, and many others, grew up with the narrative that women always had to be in competition. In movies, in TV shows, in whatever media, we so frequently see female characters tearing down other women. We see “frenemies” and mean girls. It’s refreshing to see the way that real women (even if they’re in an unrealistic situation) behave when they’re not directed by a writing team who suggests drama is the only highlight of women’s relationships. Here, in maybe the unlikeliest of circumstances, where the situation could excuse competition and high emotion, strong and lasting female friendships formed.

The friendships don’t exactly redeem the show. Seeing the relationships that come out of it doesn’t make me feel better about the way the shows rely on manipulation and necessitate heartbreak. But they do make me hopeful, in a way. On one side, you see the women as the network wants you to see them: petty, dramatic, emotional and hoping to get a proposal at the end of the show, no matter the cost. But on the other side, you see women who wanted an adventure, who really did sign up to find love and who found it, even if it wasn’t where they expected.

Danielle Colburn can be reaached at decol@umich.edu.

The FBI Man

he unusually persistent national focus on gun control has given rise to online satire of proposals — particularly in Florida — to arm teachers as a countermeasure for mass shootings. Twitter, as usual, delivered the most popular examples — all of which centered around the idea of how comical it would be for less-thanthreatening high school teachers to carry handguns.

This reaction doesn’t seem to be unique to the gun control discussion, though; we have a habit online of satirizing terrible things as a way of dealing with them. Trump becomes Drumpf, and his antics are exaggerated on “Saturday Night Live” every, well, Saturday night.

The “FBI man” — a fictional government agent watching you through your webcam, commenting on your life — became a joke earlier in the year, too, with some tweets on the topic reaching 100,000 or more retweets.

The worrying thing here is that all of these things are real — either as legislation, executive policy or political reality: The National Security Agency can watch you through your webcam; Floridan politicians are pushing a measure appropriating funds to arm teachers; and our president does actually say ridiculous, incoherent things on a daily basis.

I don’t think this is some coordinated effort to normalize shocking state action. I do, however, think that it’ll become increasingly damaging to our political environment to treat everything as an absurd joke. It’s a way of coping — and we certainly need ways of doing that — but it numbs us to the legitimate flaws of our government.

We can only joke about a guardian-angel-esque “FBI man” because Edward Snowden is in exile in Russia after leaking a cache of government documents, and because Chelsea Manning was tortured for doing the same only three years prior. Somewhat similarly, President Donald Trump’s strange way of speaking only matters because half of the electorate voted him into office. We’ve found this way of acclimating to dramatic change in our status quo, but I worry it comes at the cost of our ability to be genuinely outraged.

Sure, there’s the good side of this tendency — the way the Stoneman Douglas teens have managed to hold our attention on gun control is a fantastic example — but it seems like the majority of our outrage has come to resemble the two-minute hate from “1984.”

Liberal college students and the right wing alike fly into a fury for the weekend. Rick Gates pleads guilty to financial fraud and lying to investigators, and the left wing speculates on exactly when Trump will be put in handcuffs.

It’s not easy to find a solution, though. Satire is an arguably important part of political discourse; asking that we stop making light of political events is impractical and could take something away from the public dialogue — still, the risks remain. We could ask people to know more about their political system, but assuming everyone has the time to understand every issue that will be parodied is naïve. Satirical political content is widespread, because people don’t have the time to study the news in meticulous detail and want to consume it in a different medium.

Asking comedians and partisans to censor their content for the health of the system is borderline absurd, and legal regulation — if it was even possible — would be a solution worse than the problem it tries to solve.

What’s most likely to happen — and what happens most often now — is that partisan interests will conduct clarifying messaging out of self-interest.

Social movements have to be grown and encouraged by organizers, and parties filter their various factions through the primary process. Perhaps one of the responsibilities of evolving media is to clarify pop culture politics.

That said, I think it’s most likely nothing will happen, and there will be no significant reaction. Instinctual desire for social gratification will push people toward participation, and we will simply have to grapple with the consequences of a public discourse that treats everything as a joke by default.

I don’t want to emulate Fox News and come off as if I’m just complaining about the way Americans can’t name every state capitol or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Civic engagement is complicated, and lots of people live lives that don’t give them the luxury of sustained investment in daily political drama. That said, overcoming our growing tendency to cope with political problems by making them into comedy is going to be a major problem of future and current activists.

Hank Minor can be reached at hminor@umich.edu.

JOIN OUR EDITORIAL BOARD Our Editorial Board meets Mondays and Wednesdays 7:15-8:45 PM at our newsroom at 420 Maynard Street. All are welcome to come discuss national, state and campus affairs.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Monday, March 12, 2018 — 5A

DAILY WORLD MUSIC COLUMN

BOOK REVIEW

‘All the Beautiful Girls’ is too beautiful to be good ARYA NAIDU

Senior Arts Editor

Following the indie success of her first novel, “The Atomic Weight of Love,” Elizabeth Church returns with “All the Beautiful Girls,” a coming-ofage story about the resilience of a 1960s Las Vegas showgirl.

There’s a lot to unpack here.

After surviving a car crash that kills her parents and sister,

“All the Beautiful Girls” Elizabeth Church Mar. 6, 2018 Ballantine Books Lily Decker moves in with her aunt and uncle. At just eightyears-old, her life is molded by this tragedy, this accident.

She befriends “the Aviator,” the man who killed her family.

He’s a good man who made a mistake, and he’s pretty much the only person on her team, helping her to navigate what I can only categorize as The Worst Childhood Ever.

She grows up with her heart set on leaving her hometown the second she can, and that’s exactly what she does. She gives herself a new name, transforming into Ruby Wilde over the course of a bus ride to Sin City. She’s on her way to be a troupe dancer, and she ends up working as a showgirl. After spending her childhood pining for a version of the American dream, she spends her adult career tripping over the many disillusions of it.

Most of Ruby’s story reads like this — a series of missteps on a road paved with

imperfections. I had trouble holding her close to my heart, and I think it’s because she’s too beautiful. She’s a manicpixie-dream showgirl, and in all of her faults and failures, she’s f lawless. Church created a character that doesn’t just inhabit the traits she was given — she drips with them. Ruby is soaked in ephemerality, constantly lusted after, and it makes it hard to place her in our own world. Church writes her heroine to be graceful in a blustering town, resilient in a marred home, stunning as she goes through puberty. She isn’t real.

That’s my biggest beef with the book: It’s not real.

Ruby gets breaks when she needs them, not a moment too soon or a beat too late. She befriends a man on her ride to Vegas who, if he existed in any other story (and especially our own world), would have been creepy with her. But instead of predatory advances and suggestive conversations, Ruby gets an immediate safety net upon her arrival in the city.

Church builds her life to be hard, but not too hard. She pads it, making it just horrifying enough for us to sympathize with Ruby but embellished enough for us to realize that we could never be Ruby.

The novel’s dialogue is no different.

It’s unnaturally eloquent and blasphemously f luid. The conclusions Ruby comes to and her delivery of them are far too astute and smooth to ever emerge from an actual person. When she finally arises healed from a cruel relationship with photographer and all-around lowlife Javier, she pours herself out to the Aviator.

She gives him everything —

Classifieds

the nights with her uncle, the days with her aunt, the evenings with Javier — only to end by saying, “That’s what I’ve learned lately. Javier. My accident. Everything — it’s just life.”

Yeah, it’s life, but people don’t speak like this. Even in her pain and her mistakes, she still comes across as impeccable, figuring out life at an unrealistically fast pace. Ruby is so gorgeous and

That’s my biggest beef with the book: It’s not real so striking that it’s hard to read her as anything short of heartbreaking — a version of a character who only slightly resembles pieces of the people we strive to be.

And maybe the point is supposed to live somewhere along these lines, somewhere in the moments where Ruby is so damaged by the world around her and punished for her porcelain prowess that she can’t help but shine in her provocative resilience. And maybe I’m just jealous. I have a hunch, though, that Ruby’s perfection is more a product of her maker than a consequence of her misfortunes. That being said, “All the Beautiful Girls” was an entertaining read. It took me to an era I’ve always wanted to see in a city I never dreamed of seeing it in. Church wrote a big world for a girl who was always made to feel small, and she gave her growing room. It was fun — albeit a little too beautiful.

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FOR RENT RELEASE DATE– Monday, March 12, 2018

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

ACROSS 1 Medicare section for doctors’ services 6 Number of sides on most game cubes 9 Fit of __: irritated state 14 Western neighbor of Wyoming 15 Omelet meat 16 Finnish hot spot 17 Deck 18 Some Little League eligibility rules 20 *Samsung Galaxy, e.g.

22 Aberdeen native 23 Salty waters 24 Eastern neighbor of Wyoming: Abbr.

26 Sewn loosely 29 Put together, as IKEA furniture 33 Pale 34 Urge forward 35 Curtain holder 36 Reggae relative 37 *Trick that’s “pulled” 39 Bit of energy 40 Capek sci-fi play 41 Jerk 42 Taxi meter amount 43 Tickle the fancy of 45 Puts up with 47 Big name in banking 48 “So that’s it!” cries 49 Heavy hammer 51 *Optimist’s perspective 57 Barbra with Oscars 59 Ballet skirts 60 Donates 61 NHL surface 62 Layered cookies 63 With 21-Down, dictation taker’s need 64 Bobbsey girl 65 Group described by the starts of the answers to starred clues

DOWN 1 Apple seeds 2 “The Voice” judge Levine 3 Pro __: in proportion 4 Needing a drink 5 Crocheted baby shoe 6 Persian monarchs 7 “Othello” villain 8 Marvel Comics mutants 9 Pitchfork-shaped Greek letter 10 Sean Penn film with a Seussian title 11 *Yeast-free bakery product 12 “Do __ others ... ” 13 Dawn direction 19 Reduce 21 See 63-Across 25 What a stet cancels 26 Iraqi port 27 Invite to one’s penthouse 28 *Hairpin turn, e.g.

29 “Are not!” response

30 Dalmatian mark 31 Sitcom producer Chuck 32 Boundaries 34 “__ just me ... ?”

37 Royal decree 38 Goes off script 42 Narrow crack 44 Astronaut Collins 45 “That feels good!”

46 Inning half 48 Poet Nash

49 Inbox list: Abbr.

50 Going __: fighting 52 Reason to roll out the tarp 53 Peruvian native 54 Cal.-to-Fla. highway 55 Couples 56 She, in Sicily 58 Prefix with -bar or -tope

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

On Françoise Hardy’s rich and complex ‘La question’ SAYAN GHOSH

Daily World Music Columnist

Mick Jagger called her his “ideal woman.” Carly Simon always “tried to dress like her.”

Alexa Chung and Rei Kawakubo cite her as inspirations. Françoise Hardy’s long and prolific career has transcended the French music world, transforming her into a global icon of music and fashion. Her breezy ode to youth “Le temps de l’amour” is featured in “Moonrise Kingdom,” and for the most part, represents what most people — including me at one point — recognize from her vast discography. Yet her first departure from her trademark catchy, but disposable, style of pop remains my favorite and her musical peak.

The increased musical maturity in Hardy’s 1971 album La question is a result of her collaboration with a Brazilian guitarist named Tuca. While it is not exactly a bossa nova album per se, the somewhat subdued and melancholic nature of the Brazilian genre permeates the album. Tuca’s orchestral compositions in songs like “La question” and “Mer” avoid being overtly sappy and sentimental, and subtly complement the sparse, minimalist instrumental arrangements.

Compared with her poppier previous output, the melodies on

La question are noticeably richer and more complex. While Hardy does not showcase much vocal range, her incredibly soothing, rather restrained voice is given a wider variety of tones and

On La question, Hardy’s voice lives up to its full potential with Tuca’s delicate yet emotive arrangements

textures to explore. At its core, much of the album deals with the idea of longing, and that idea is never more apparent than when Hardy simply extends a word or phrase, such as “viens” (“Come”) or “mer” (“Sea”) in her trademark, breathy manner.

Hardy’s lyrics on La question range from sensual to wistful,

but never overwrought. The title track is a beautiful meditation on what could be interpreted as a dying relationship, with Hardy singing: “Je ne sais pas pourquoi je reste dans une mer où je me noie” (“I don’t know why I’m staying in a sea which I’ll drown in”), but also confessing to her lover: “Tu es ma question sans réponse, mon cri muet et mon silence” (“You are my question without an answer, my mute cry and my silence”).

On “Mer,” another lyrical standout, Hardy paints a poetic picture of the sea, ultimately saying: “Mon amour est si lourd à porter, je voudrais doucement me coucher dans le mer” (“My love is too heavy to bear, I want to softly sleep in the sea”).

However, she can be equally frank as poetic, as evident on the following track, “Oui je dis adieu,” in which she tells a former lover: “Avec toi la vie est pleine de saudades tout le temps, ça ne me dit plus rien, cette perte de mon temps” (“With you life is full of saudade, this waste of time means nothing to me anymore”), using the Portuguese word “saudade.”

On La question, Hardy’s voice lives up to its full potential with Tuca’s delicate yet emotive arrangements, creating a unique melancholic atmosphere. Four decades after its release, it remains a perfect soundtrack to a reflective rainy day.

FILM NOTEBOOK

Michael Stuhlbarg and the Oscar-worthy cameo BECKY PORTMAN Senior Arts Editor

Remember the name Michael Stuhlbarg. Since starring as Larry Gopnik in the Coen brothers’ 2009 Best Picture nominee, “A Serious Man,” Stuhlbarg has made more of a face than a name for himself. He is the guy that people can point to as looking vaguely familiar, but that’s the extent of it. Since starring as an intellectual, neurotic Jew in the Coen brothers’ drama, Stuhlbarg has been type-cast as a character actor with a knack for filling the archetype of the intellectual, neurotic Jew. He is great actor who exemplifies what my high school theatre teacher constantly reminded me: There are no small roles, only small actors. Stuhlbarg certainly proves that no role is too small. He moved viewers (including Frank Ocean) as Professor Perlman in the Oscarwinning film “Call Me by Your Name,” with his emotional and expertly delivered monologue.

In a way, Michael Stuhlbarg is to Oscar-bait movies as Judy Greer (“13 Going on 30”) is to romcoms: Essential, familiar and under-utilized.

Yet, in the nine short years since Stuhlbarg has entered Hollywood’s pearly white gates, he has been in seven Best Picture nominees. I mean, wow. The actor is the second person to

have appeared in three Best Picture nominees of the same year. The first to do so was John C. Reilly (“Kong: Skull Island”) who appeared in three out of the five 2003 Best Picture nominees: “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York” and “The Hours” (all three were produced by Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax).

Reilly was nominated for his supporting role in “Chicago,” which won Best Picture in 2003.

Stuhlbarg appeared in 2018’s Best Picture winner, “The Shape of Water,” as a Soviet spy, brought audiences to tears in “Call Me by Your Name” and made a minor but crucial appearance in “The Post” as New York Times editor Abe Rosenthal.

However, Stuhlbarg is not the only actor this year to make appearances in several Oscarnominated films. His on-screen son, Timothée Chalamet, starred in two Best Picture nominees (“Lady Bird” and “Call Me by Your Name”), putting his beautiful face on the map. Chalamet’s co-star in “Lady Bird,” Lucas Hedges, played Frances McDormand’s son in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

Hedges’s fellow ginger in “Three Billboards,” Red, played by Caleb Landry Jones, also starred in multiple nominated films. Before he got the shit kicked out of him in Best Picture nominee “Three Billboards” by Sam Rockwell, he got the shit kicked out him

in Best Picture nominee “Get Out” by Daniel Kaluuya (not to mention a brief appearance alongside Willem Defoe in the colossal Oscar snub, “The Florida Project”). Bradley Whitford and Tracy Letts both appeared in “The Post” in addition to their fatherly performances in “Get Out” and “Lady Bird,” respectively. Alison Brie and Bob Odenkirk also had starring roles in “The Post,” in addition to their minor roles in Best Adapted Screenplay nominee “The Disaster Artist.” Lily James starred in Best Picture nominee “Darkest Hour,” as well as the fast-paced, action-packed Edgar Wright film “Baby Driver,” which was nominated for Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing.

Hollywood is not afraid to reduce, reuse and recycle actors when it comes to awards season.

Perhaps the good actors in Hollywood today are too few to spread the wealth or maybe these guys just have really good agents. Regardless, Michael Stuhlbarg is but one Kevin Bacon in the massive web of degrees of separation that is Hollywood.

Therefore, the art of the cameo is no longer reserved for the Hitchcock’s and the Stan Lee’s of the world, actors can cameo as well. So, keep your eyes peeled for the new star of cinema, the supporting, supporting role: the cameo.

Arts

6A — Monday, March 12, 2018

TV REVIEW

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

‘Life Sentence’ is a cancer story without any conflict SAMANTHA DELLA FERA Daily Arts Writer

It’s a question that circulates through middle school sleepovers, long car rides and uncomfortable dinner parties: If you knew you are going to die tomorrow, what would you do today? For most people, this question is just a fun party game, something to think about that you will never really have to face. But for others, like Stella Abbott (Lucy Hale, “Pretty Little Liars”), who have their death (supposedly) set in stone, this question drives the daily choices that they make, for better or for worse.

In the case of Stella in “Life Sentence,” it’s definitely for

“Life Sentence” Series premiere The CW Wednesdays 9 p.m.

worse. After eight years of battling terminal cancer and living her life as if each day was her last, Stella is cured of her disease and must face the reality of a world that is much harsher than she once believed.

As soon as Stella tells friends and family that she is healthy, her parents split up, her brother (Jayson Blair, “Unforgettable”) turns out to be a low-life who impregnates married women and her beautiful British husband (Elliot Knight, “Once Upon A Time”) tells her that he has only been pretending to love all of the same things she does because he didn’t think she’d be around long enough to figure out otherwise.

It’s certainly a lot to handle at once, yet none of these represent a main conflict in the show. In fact, “Life Sentence” is pretty much void of conflict all together. How can anything seem so significant and overwhelming to Stella after she literally beats cancer? This girl stared certain death in the face for eight years and came out alive on the other side, but somehow we are supposed to believe that finding out that her husband’s favorite movie isn’t “Love Actually” is somehow going to push her over the edge.

And it’s this equating everyday inconveniences with fighting a terminal disease that also raises some concern.

Dealing with cancer as both a patient and a loved one of a patient is painful, frustrating and often times overwhelming.

Yet in “Life Sentence,” Stella’s years of cancer seem as breezy and adventurous as a study abroad trip to Paris. “Life Sentence” had the opportunity to make a poignant statement on restarting life after putting it on hold for so long, but instead they made cancer as easy to get over as a common cold and directed focus at mundane issues.

Obviously, people are still allowed to have normal problems and feelings after surviving a tragedy, but Hale’s quirky, boho-princess character goes about dealing with hers in a way that is so unlikeable you find yourself scoffing at everything she says or does.

Not only are Hale’s unnecessary voiceovers sickly sweet, but her wide-eyed innocence is more childish than endearing. This is essentially a coming-of-age story for a married woman who is well into her 20s and carries a Danny Tanner-esque desire to fix everyone else’s problems.

The most redeemable scene

of the show comes at the end, and is delivered not by lookat-how-cute-my-moped-is Stella, but rather her JimHarbaugh-looking father (Dylan Walsh,”Longmire”). At a backyard family party, Mr. Abbott breaks down, crying out to his family that he’s been scared everyday for the past eight years that he was going to lose his little girl, but knew he had to be strong for the family and couldn’t show that he was hurting. It is the only instance in “Life Sentence” in which there is any real substance, and that demonstrates the ugly, devastating truth about

Much like its main character, “Life Sentence” is going to need a miracle to stay alive

cancer that the rest of the show willingly skips over.

Much like its main character, “Life Sentence” is going to need a miracle to stay alive. While other shows have mastered the art of turning normal people’s problems into exciting and emotional shows, “Life Sentence” just feels empty and confused. Stella Abbott has a lot of growing up to do, but she’s already won one of life’s biggest, hardest battles. The rest should be easy, so really, there’s no point in sticking around to find out.

THE CW

ATLANTIC RECORDS

Ed Sheeran & music snobs SAM LU

Daily Arts Writer

The first Ed Sheeran song I ever heard was “Lego House,” way back in 2012 at the peak of the piece’s radio fame. Before high school, I wasn’t really one for music; I listened to the radio, sure, but because I didn’t have an iPod — I didn’t have the easy portability that most kids my age did. In regards to music, I was a late bloomer.

Sheeran’s voice enthralled me. It was smoother than the pop music I was used to hearing on 98.7 (the local hits station) and far easier on the ears than the rap that I absolutely hated.

Something about the way he drew out the word “for” right before the chorus ramped up made my heart swell. How would I show off my newfound love? A Facebook like, of course. I clicked the button, excited to show my love to the world.

The next day, one of my friends confronted me.

“Since when do you listen to Ed Sheeran?” she asked, in a somewhat accusatory tone. “ ... Yesterday?” I responded, confused.

“Why did you like him on Facebook? You can’t do that if you’ve only heard two of his songs,” she continued, leaving abruptly once she had said her due.

Since then, I’ve been more and more tentative about who

I share my music tastes with and why. It sounds stupid, of course, the age old “you’re not a real fan unless you’ve listened to their entire discography 69 times.” Even then, your fanship is only valid if you can stand up to impromptu quizzes from any and all members of the artist’s legion of fellow fanatics. Why can’t music just be music? Why can’t Swifties just listen to good ol’ Taylor in peace? Why can’t I like Ed Sheeran on Facebook after only listening to two of his songs?

Music is never just music. That’s the problem

Music is never just music.

That’s the problem.

To have music, you must have musicians, and in this day and age, musicians are celebrities — and celebrities are politicians, entrepreneurs, chefs and models. Telling a musician to “stay in their lane” is futile because musicians rarely only have one lane — not to mention the concept itself is usually a bad humored attempt to shut someone up. In regards to the general scale of fame and social leverage, musicians

are among the most powerful sociocultural figures in the modern era. Each band and solo artist influences a tremendous audience of listeners, some of whom are young and especially impressionable. If an artist draws attention to a specific political movement, people are going to take notice. If an artist doesn’t, people will notice that, too.

With social media’s prolific presence, it has become easier than ever for artists to communicate with their fans. Eat something tasty?

Tweet about it. Fly out to LA? Instagram it. Not mentioning something as significant as politics has to be an intentional oversight, and even staying silent in such a politicallycharged environment is a statement rather than a neutral stance.

To a certain degree, my friend had a point. Making up my mind about an artist after only hearing two of his songs was rather short-sighted. Could I form a conclusive impression of Ed Sheeran only from his voice? Probably not. Maybe the irritating sphere of music snobs has a point. Whether you purchase an artist’s music or you listen to them via a music streaming service, you’re supporting them. As long as we stay aware of what that support entails, there’s no need to be a music snob — love for music isn’t something that can be quantified in minutes.

SPORTSMONDAY

TEST IN THE WEST Section B | The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | March 12, 2018

#3 MARCH 15, 9:50 P.M.

Evan Aaron / Daily

MONTANA

WICHITA, KS

#14

Design by Jack Silberman

Beilein, Michigan facing Montana in West Region ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Editor

Before Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show, John Beilein stood up from his chair and addressed a crowd of Maize Rage students.

“In 2008-09, we broke the streak,” Beilein said. “There had been 11 years where Michigan hadn’t been in the tournament. And it was very different than this atmosphere because we didn’t know if we were in or not. … It never gets old.

“We don’t know where we’re gonna go, we don’t really care.

We don’t care where we seeded, that we’re Big Ten champions again.”

Beilein spoke with a businesslike intonation. The upcoming hour, though — when Michigan would learn

Streaking Carol Hutchins and the Michigan softball team are off to a quick start with a 12-game win streak

» Page 3B

of its matchup as a No. 3 seed against No. 14 seed Montana in Wichita, Kan. — would be playful and animated.

Michigan State was placed as a No. 3 seed in the final spot in Detroit, and boos cascaded forward. When the final spot for Boise, Id. was decided, freshman forward Isaiah Livers grabbed his chest in relief. The team smiled and chattered.

Then, the Wolverines learned their tournament fate would begin in Wichita with a Thursday 9:50 p.m. tipoff, and John Beilein high-fived his players. Almost all of the roster has never been to Wichita — Beilein included — and they too switched to a businesslike demeanor.

“I don’t know too much,” said freshman guard Jordan Poole. “Obviously, it’s a place where we can go, we can lock in

and do anything and get some wins.

“Being able to go out there and see a team like a Montana — this is our job, and this is what we’re here for, so we’ve got a lot of confidence.”

Following a few minutes of repartee after the announcement, the Michigan players huddled around Beilein to discuss their next steps. For the first time in over a week, the Wolverines could get ready with a studiable opponent in mind.

For junior forward Moritz Wagner, it’s the last piece of the puzzle to start a tournament run.

“You kinda know each other

so well it’s hard to take that next step,” he said of the team’s practices. “I know Jon Teske, I know everything he does. …

(Preparing for an opponent is) more specific and more interesting.

Being on the road is fun too for a cool event.”

Wagner, though, will be back in unfamiliar territory.

“I know it’s in Kansas. I know Kansas and Missouri have something going on there with Kansas City, right?” Wagner said. “I just got to know that their names were the Montana Grizzlies. I just don’t know them at all. They’re very good probably because they’re in the Tournament,

“... Hopefully we can keep it going as long as possible.”

they’ve got 26 wins. That’s a lot of wins. You’ve gotta respect that, approach it like it’s the last game of the season.”

For fifth-year Duncan Robinson, he approaches it like it’s the last game of his collegiate career. In his first season with the Wolverines in 2015-16, they were bounced in the Round of 64. Then last year came Michigan’s surprise run to the Sweet Sixteen. Now, it’s about an Elite Eight appearance or better.

“The first few years — it’s kinda funny my first two years, I got my feet wet,” Robinson said. “But now in my final year, I don’t want it to end so hopefully we can keep it going as long as possible.”

As for Beilein, his attitude was mainly level throughout the evening. A man with little concern about the exact

opponent or seed or location.

He knows the danger of sleeping on a double-digit seeded team — his 14-seeded Richmond team topped No. 3 South Carolina in 1997.

His stoic outlook, of course, didn’t mean he wasn’t pleased. Beilein is happy that the Wolverines will play on Thursday instead of Friday — one less day his team has to wait after an extended break.

The No. 3 seed, he believes, validates the progression his team experienced throughout the season.

But Beilein can only smile for so long before he drinks his 7:30 a.m. coffee tomorrow morning and game-plans for the Grizzlies himself.

“I try to answer most texts,” he said. “Any congratulations coming in will have to wait. I’ll be focused on Montana.”

Bowed out The Michigan men’s hockey team was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament with a loss to Ohio State

» Page 4B

SportsMonday

2B — Monday, March 12, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN

In Montana, Beilein faces a familiarly unfamiliar challenge

I

t began with the obvious.

Michigan was the 17th team to have its name called, but everyone in the room knew that would happen eight days ago. The cheers came anyway.

Then Saddi Washington started clapping as CBS prepared to announce the No. 2 seed in the East.

KEVIN It would SANTO have landed Michigan in Detroit.

But Purdue’s name was called, and that same enthusiasm was brought to a halt.

Then the three seeds started dwindling.

Eventually, though, the Wolverines were given theirs. Now a date with Montana in Wichita, Kan. awaits.

It’s no secret that it took a lot of change to get here.

Moritz Wagner needed to start Moritz Wagnering. Zavier Simpson needed to clear every hurdle to become this team’s starting point guard. And Michigan needed to follow his lead en route to becoming a defensive nightmare.

The list could go on.

But now John Beilein has a new challenge on his hands. He needs to prepare for a team that he admittedly knows very little about. He jokes his players will have the easy part of it in the next 24 hours. Wagner jokes that, with no disrespect, all he knows is that Montana’s mascot is the Grizzlies — which is “pretty cool.”

And yet, the situation isn’t entirely foreign.

“This happened a few years ago when we played the South Dakota (State) Jackrabbits,” Beilein said. “We knew very little about them. We sorta had to figure a few things out. I’m

EVAN AARON/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein admitted he knows very little about Montana, equating it to when the Wolverines faced South Dakota State in the 2012-13 tournament.

much more familiar with some of the other teams that we could’ve played. That doesn’t mean anything. We’ll get as ready as we can.” *** At this point, it may be worth bringing up the scrimmage — not because of what happened in it, but because of who was on the other sideline.

It was closed to media and fans, but marked the first time the Wolverines played anyone but themselves this year. Toledo was their opponent and their host, and the matchup was as official as it could be without it counting on either team’s résumé.

It’s where you could have found Kyle Barlow — Toledo’s assistant coach and a former

graduate manager for John Beilein.

Barlow moved to Toledo as the director of operations after the 2014 season before being promoted to assistant coach this past year. He still exchanges texts with Beilein now and then, and they often see each other on the recruiting trail.

And it just so happens Barlow’s first year under Beilein came in 2012-13. I think you remember how that season ended.

“That was very lucky,” Barlow said over the phone Friday afternoon, “and good timing.”

What you may not remember is who Michigan played in the first round that year — none other than South Dakota State.

As Barlow recalled, he had

two major responsibilities that year. The first was overseeing the manager program. The second was opponent scouting. He, along with a video coordinator, would “do a lot of the leg work”— cutting clips and generating scouting reports before presenting it to the coaching staff for further tweaking.

“That was probably my favorite part,” Barlow says, “was just the film study and growing in that aspect.”

It’s in Barlow that you can find one of the plenty third-party observers that have found themselves a part of Beilein’s coaching tree.

Though he was unable to speak on record about the scrimmage itself, he says he tries to

Michigan set to challenge in manageable West MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor

After a week-long respite following its Big Ten Tournament championship, the Michigan men’s basketball team finally has its NCAA Tournament path.

The 3rd-seeded Wolverines will face No. 14 seed Montana on Thursday afternoon in Wichita, Kan. Michigan will be in the West Region, with Xavier and North Carolina as the two higher-seeded teams, respectively.

“We’re flattered that we have a 3 seed,” Michigan coach John Beilein told reporters shortly after the bracket was unveiled Sunday evening, “but as I said to everybody, a 2, 3, 4 seed doesn’t make a difference because who can tell what the 12, 13, 14, 15 seeds are like? They’re all the same, too. They’ve got to put some numbers into a hat and see how it’ll all look.”

Beilein said his assistants and staff would be up late into the night trying to learn about the Grizzlies.

“Nothing,” Beilein said with a few chuckles when asked what he knows about his opponent. “We played them when I was at West Virginia in a tournament, but it was many coaches ago.

“I guarantee I will not be laughing (tomorrow).”

Montana is ranked 71st according to KenPom.com, and was 0-4 against teams in the KenPom.com top 100.

It finished 26-7, winning the Big Sky regular season and tournament title.

If Michigan is able to take care of Montana, it would face the winner of No. 6 seed Houston and No. 11 seed San Diego State. The Cougars currently sit at 17th in the KenPom.com rankings, the highest of any 6 seed in the field. They fell just a point shy of winning the American Athletic Conference Tournament, losing 56-55 to Cincinnati in the tournament final on Sunday. On short rest, they

would indisputably present a challenge before perhaps the most highly-anticipated matchup in the region.

But if both teams take care of their lower-seeded first weekend opponents, Michigan and North Carolina would square off in Los Angeles for a spot in the Elite Eight. The game would be a rematch of an early November contest that the Tar Heels won handily, 86-71.

North Carolina forward Luke Maye imposed his will on fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson in that one, scoring 27 points.

After that contest, a disappointed John Beilein told the media “(North Carolina) might be that good, but we’re definitely not that bad.

“Just watch this team grow, you’ll like what they do.”

Following an embarassing loss, that statement was met with ambivalence. But it has proven true throughout the progression of the season.

Since then, the Tar Heels have played up to snuff, fighting at or near the top of the ACC as

a defending national champion is expected to do. They won 25 games — including two over arch-rival Duke — and lost in the ACC Tournament final Saturday night.

Michigan, of course, has flipped the script just as Beilein foretold.

The Wolverines improved steadily, reaching a crescendo at the Big Ten Tournament, where they ripped off four wins in four days, including two against top-5 opponents. For many reasons, a rematch would be a whole different ballgame. And junior center Moritz Wagner would like to find out.

“We were a different team back then,” Wagner said. “That’s definitely something, as a competitor, you would look forward to.”

And if it were to advance past North Carolina, Michigan would need to win one more

game — possibly against Atlantic 10 regular season champion Xavier or West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga — to make the onceunimaginable trip to San Antonio for the Final Four.

It’s no longer unimaginable.

Beilein and his team would never entertain those chances, of course. But the Wolverines are one of the hottest teams in the country, riding a ninegame winning streak into the Big Dance.

Michigan will be a trendy pick in your bracket pool. It currently has the fifth-best odds to win the national title at 10/1, according to Westgate Las Vegas.

And it avoided the gauntlet of, say, the South Region, filled with heavyweights like Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona, Cincinnati and Tennessee.

The bracket is set. Let the madness begin.

The bracket is set. Let the madness begin.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Junior forward Moritz Wagner is intrigued by a potential rematch against North Carolina.

watch the Wolverines as much as he can.

He even admits Toledo’s offense does similar things to Michigan’s.

“Honestly,” he joked, “I try to steal a lot of stuff that they do and kind of make it our own.”

That, along with plenty of the staff’s own work, clearly worked out. The Rockets finished 23-11, and they came 10 points shy of earning an automatic bid in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship. *** But let’s return to 2013 for a moment.

There aren’t many parallels you can find between this year’s iteration of Michigan and one that had a roster with six future

NBA draft picks, other than both being pegged to make a run in March.

As Barlow recalls, the first took pride in being flat-out talented. It helped that they had Naismith winner Trey Burke, too. This year, though, Barlow sees something different.

“I think they have more of a chip on their shoulder,” he says.

“And that starts with Zavier Simpson, that they take pride in defense and really just shutting opponents down and almost like embarrassing the opponents — not embarrassing them in a bad way, but just shutting them down to the point where they don’t look like (themselves).”

For Barlow, though, there is one parallel worth noting.

“To be honest, the only similarity I’ve seen is that they’ve continually gotten better,” he said.

He added: “You know, it’s hard to find (a team’s strength) sometimes at the beginning of the year. But in the middle of the year and toward the end of the year, he always seems to find it and they play to their potential — and probably above their potential.”

That progress, as always, traces back to Beilein.

With examples abound, Barlow’s experience as a self-admitted “fly on the wall” serves as one instance within a collective.

“He would listen to everybody,” Barlow recalls. “He was like a mad scientist when it came to that. … I bet he does practice plans four or five different times before he actually settles on a final one. He’s just that kind of guy.”

Victor Frankenstein had his monster. Beilein, again, has his.

He may know little to nothing about Montana. But that hasn’t been a problem before.

Santo can be reached at kmsanto@umich.edu or on Twitter at @Kevin_M_Santo.

SportsMonday

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Monday, March 12, 2018 — 3B

Bakich, Michigan plagued by errors in series loss to Lipscomb JACOB KOPNICK Daily Sports Writer

There’s no sugarcoating it.

The Wolverines are rebuilding.

“We’d like to think that coming into this season that we’ve put ourselves into a position to reload and not rebuild,” said Michigan coach Erik Baikich, “but clearly we’re rebuilding right now.”

There was plenty of buzz surrounding the young Michigan baseball team heading into the season, but after a series 2-1 loss to Lipscomb, the team’s ability is beginning to be questioned.

All weekend, the Wolverines (4-10) struggled to find a groove offensively and committed a total of seven defensive errors over the three contests.

The defense this season is particularly troubling, as Michigan boasted one of the best defensive squads in the country a year ago. The dip in defensive prowess could be attributed to youth and the adjustment to the pace of college ball, or even to the challenges of consistently playing on the road.

Nevertheless, it exists.

“There are no strengths when you’re 4-10,” Bakich said. “We need to get better at everything.

It’s the little things that are turning into big things. You don’t collect outs on a bunt, you don’t communicate and throw to the wrong base. Things that don’t always show up in the scorebook.”

Heading into the series against the Bison, Michigan was looking to bounce back from a demoralizing spring break road trip. Winning only one of eight games in California, a big game was needed.

That’s exactly what it got on Friday, although not without some major hiccups. Junior Jonathan Engelmann led the offensive charge as the Wolverines’ bats were hot early.

FILE PHOTO

Junior outfielder Jonathan Engelmann led Michigan to a quick offensive start in its series-opening win, securing three hits in six at-bats.

Securing three hits off six at-bats, Engelmann drove three batters in and did his part to secure the win.

The scoring climaxed in a fiverun fifth inning, propelling the Wolverines to a commanding 13-1 lead. Then complacency kicked in with Michigan’s pitching and defense, allowing Lipscomb to score 10 runs in the last four innings.

The comeback surge wasn’t enough, as the Wolverines closed out just well enough to

secure the victory.

“The best part of the weekend was the way we came out on Friday and scored in the first five innings and had a lot of quality at-bats,” Bakich said.

“Then, after those first five innings, we just got sloppy and continued to progressively get sloppy throughout the rest of the time.”

After that monumental fifth inning Friday, Michigan could not catch a break. The Wolverines had gone 4-0 in all previous matchups against Lipscomb, yet

“There are no strengths when you’re 4-10.”

SOFTBALL

‘M’ sweeps Florida Atlantic Tournament RIAN RATNAVALE Daily Sports Writer

It might have taken sun-soaked trips to Florida and California to get there, but the No. 22 Michigan softball team is hitting, pitching and winning at a red-hot rate.

At the FAU Parents’ Weekend Tournament, the Wolverines swept their five-game slate, beating Stony Brook, Florida Atlantic, Ball State, Pittsburgh and Florida A&M, to bring their win streak to 12 games.

From the outset against Stony Brook, Michigan looked like a team riding a seven-game win streak. Though the Wolverines had some trouble earlier in the season capitalizing with runners in scoring position, this was not the case Friday in a 7-0 win. Junior third baseman Alex Sobczak etched the ball along the first baseline with two outs in the second inning, allowing Michigan to score.

The Wolverines never looked back on Friday, riding the bats of second baseman Faith Canfield and right-hander/first baseman Tera Blanco. Blanco hit a sac fly against the Sea Wolves in the fifth inning and Canfield followed that with a three-run double an inning later.

Blanco followed up her play against Stony Brook with a home run on the first pitch of the sixth inning against Florida Atlantic, and Canfield followed her up at the end

of the inning with a two-run mash of her own. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins noticed a more confident batting lineup throughout the tournament and in the 7-1 win.

“Honestly, I notice when we’re confident as a team, when we’re all together,” Hutchins said. “There’s only one player batting at a time but the entire dugout has to bat with every player every pitch.

When the entire dugout is locked in every pitch, I see a lot more success offensively.”

That’s not to say, though, that the tournament was a complete walk in the park for the Michigan.

If Friday was a sunny day at the beach, Saturday was more like a roller-coaster ride at Disney World or Busch Gardens with a pair of 3-2 wins.

Against Ball State, Michigan was instead anchored by freshman righthander Meghan Beaubien. The ace tossed a careerhigh 16 strikeouts.

Even though the Wolverines never trailed in the game, the Cardinals put some pressure on Michigan by launching a two-run home run in the sixth inning.

In the seventh inning the Wolverines loaded the bases, putting sophomore third baseman

Madison Uden on the plate. Uden, who has been hitting a teamleading .396, drew a walk-off walk to give Michigan the victory.

“I was really just looking to drive the ball, hit a really good pitch,” Uden said. “Just looking to throw my backside hard and just focusing on what I know and trusting my mechanics.”

Beaubien followed her career outing with a similarly dominant performance against Pittsburgh.

With the Wolverines leading 3-2 coming into the fifth inning, the ace took over and retired the Panthers’ last nine batters to close out the game. On a day where Michigan recorded twenty hits but only scored six runs, her arm was the difference, and remains a constant for the Wolverines in the circle.

“Well, it is important to win close games,” Hutchins said.

“It’s great for our pitching to be tough and solid under perceived pressure, and definitely you wanna come up on the winning side of it because that gives you confidence that you can win those games and you don’t want the kids just focused on winning but ultimately we all know that when the game gets tight is when the kids get tight.”

Just like it has over the course of the season, Michigan improved on its hitting inconsistencies on Sunday against Florida A&M, combining those improvements with the as-usual stellar pitching to notch a 6-2 win over the Rattlesnakes. Uden went 4-for-4 with two runs and Blanco notched a season high seven strikeouts.

Florida A&M might not be the most intimidating opponent, but the Wolverines’ performance against them, and the rest of the unranked teams in Boca Raton, bodes well for their upcoming conference slate. If they can do it thousands of miles away from home, they can bring some sunshine back to Ann Arbor, too.

“It’s great for our pitching to be tough and solid ... ”

FILE PHOTO

Second baseman Faith Canfield had another big weekend as Michigan went 5-0.

dropped the next two games.

Saturday’s contest began optimistically for the Wolverines.

After three scoreless innings, Michigan exploded onto the scoreboard, securing four runs off three hits.

But this marked the last time the Wolverines would lead in the game.

Despite a strong start, sophomore right-hander Karl Kauffman gave up five runs to the Bison in the bottom of the fifth. Heading into this reckoning, Kauffman had tossed eight strikeouts and held Lipscomb to only one run.

Michigan then sent in freshman left-hander Ben Dragani in relief. A rare bright spot on the squad, Dragani

pitched three scoreless innings after closing out the brutal fifth inning for Kauffman.

Dragani’s last two outings have been incredibly strong, labeling him as one of the team’s premier relievers.

“He’s had success because he’s been aggressive with all of his pitches in the strike zone,” Bakich said. “He’s been consistently a strike-thrower every time he’s been out there and he’s executed the pitch call and game plan. He’s done a nice job. He’ll continue to

get more opportunities and he may have his role expanded.”

Despite Dragani’s valiant effort, the Wolverines’ fate had already been sealed. A sluggish offense held Michigan down all game. It failed to record a hit in the last four innings, ending their undefeated reign over the Bison.

Sunday’s matchup was much of the same. The Wolverines started hot, recording two runs in the top of the first, but ultimately succumbed to defensive errors and ineffective bats.

Lipscomb ostensibly ended things in the third by scoring three runs and holding onto its lead.

If nothing else, the latter two games in the series will teach the young team a lesson in what it takes to dig out of a deficit.

“Well, you just gotta string the positives together,” Bakich said. “On offense, it’s quality at bats and it’s passing the baton to the next guy and just everybody trying to get on base. Defensively, it’s just being consistent in making routine plays and communicating.”

This series marks the end of Michigan’s road tour. It will now enjoy the comfort of playing in its own stadium as the 24-game home schedule begins on Tuesday.

“There’s always an advantage to being at home,” Bakich said. “But, good teams play well on the road too and we haven’t played well on the road, and if we want to be a good team then we have to be better on the road.”

It remains to be seen whether the Wolverines can turn things around, but so far one sentiment is clear: prepare for a rebuild.

“There’s always an advantage to being at home.”

SportsMonday

4B — Monday, March 12, 2018

Michigan falls to Ohio State, 3-2, in overtime thriller

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SOFTBALL

Uden’s hard work pays off JORGE CAZARES Daily Sports Writer

MAX KUANG/Daily

Junior forward Cooper Marody tied the game at two with a goal in the second period of Michigan’s 3-2 overtime loss to Ohio State this past weekend.

ROBERT HEFTER Daily Sports Editor

COLUMBUS — The Big Ten semifinal had all of the ingredients for a classic showdown. There was an NHL arena, a streaking Michigan team and a consistently powerful Buckeye offense that has managed to prevail in all four of the teams’ matchups this season.

The No. 11 Wolverines (1111-3 Big Ten, 20-14-3 overall) — coming off a late-season push — had the chance to claim a win over the only Big Ten team they hadn’t been able to topple to date.

With neither team finding the advantage in regulation, it would take a wrist shot from Ohio State center Matthew Weis in overtime to lock the win, 3-2.

“We won’t find many teams better than Ohio State,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “So, I think we can really take some positives from this game. We’re not happy about the outcome, but we’re happy with some of the things we did in the game.”

At the outset of the game’s highly-anticipated faceoff, it wasn’t entirely clear which team would assert the upper hand.

“We knew what we had to do coming in,” said senior right wing Tony Calderone. “We had to get pucks behind them and get their defensemen working.”

The Wolverines let loose the first six shots of the game, and while they successfully claimed the momentum early, it would be the sixth-ranked Buckeyes (15-8-2, 24-8-5) that would go on to counter those early efforts, outshooting Michigan 35-31.

After a called-off goal due to a delayed penalty around seven minutes into play that saw Ohio State forward John Wiitala punch the puck past sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne, it was evident that Ohio State was starting to flex its touted highoutput offense.

Buckeye forwards Mason Jobst — who has a team-leading 41 points — Brendon Kearney and Wiitala spearheaded the aforementioned early pressure, producing numerous gasps from the crowd as Lavigne’s saves were seemingly too close for comfort.

And with 3:58 remaining in the first period, Ohio State defenseman Gordi Myer blasted the puck up and over Lavigne’s glove on the man advantage to

take first blood, showing off why the Buckeyes’ power play is ranked eighth in the nation.

But while their stat sheet at the end of the first would suggest complete dominance, freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes drove down the ice halfway through the period and loosed a wristshot that ricocheted off the post, proving that the Wolverines were within reach of slipping one past Sean Romero.

Michigan spent the first ten minutes of the second period relentlessly chipping away at the Ohio State defense, and its efforts finally yielded fruit thanks to a diving Cooper Marody who patted a loose puck down and flipped it past Romero.

The junior center’s equalizer clearly helped change the tide of the game, completely reversing the trend in momentum that was formerly in the Buckeyes’ favor.

But just as the Wolverines could have ridden a scoring wave to take the upper hand, Calderone committed a holding penalty that saw a subsequent onslaught of shots from Jobst and others, which Lavigne barely staved off.

Hughes, along with senior left wing Dexter Dancs and the rest

of the Wolverines’ attacking arm, continued applying pressure to the stalwart Buckeye defense at the outset of the third period, but Romero and his back line kept shrugging off shots and cross-ice passes with ease. “(Hughes is) worth the price of admission,” Pearson said. “It was one of those games, he had a couple post, crossbar, one of those goes in it could change the outcome of the game because it came down to one shot.”

And with four penalties to Ohio State’s one — the most recent being a holding-the-stick call on Hughes — Buckeye center Dakota Joshua made Michigan pay on the power play with a deflection over Lavigne’s head to give them a 2-1 lead.

Ohio State’s euphoria was short-lived, though, as Marody graciously spun through the slot on the man advantage, slipping the puck right past Romero’s left blocker to tie the game at two apiece.

But in the end, Weis found the back of the net for the Buckeyes.

They upheld their winning streak against the Wolverines and earned a place in the Big Ten Tournament final.

The work done by athletes behind the scenes and in the offseason pays dividends throughout the course of a season for both the player and the team. The latest example of this for the No. 22 Michigan softball team took place in the bottom of the seventh inning against Ball State this past Saturday.

The bases were loaded with two outs in a game tied at two.

Sophomore infielder Madison Uden stepped up to the plate — hitless on the day.

In the game’s key at-bat, Uden focused on remaining relaxed, looking for a good pitch to hit. She didn’t get the pitch she was looking for, but instead drew the count full before watching ball four miss the zone.

The final play of the game was by no means a glamorous walk-off. However, it demonstrated the progress Uden has made since last season and earned the win for her team.

“I commended her after that Ball State walk-off walk because last year’s (Uden) might have torn herself out of the at-bat,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins.

“I think she’s matured.”

Last year, Uden was a .255 hitter who appeared in fewer than half of the team’s games.

This year, she is hitting a teamhigh .396 over 48 at-bats and has played in 19 of 24 games thus far. Over the weekend, she tallied nine hits in five games and has recorded a hit in six

of the last seven games. Her recent hot streak, however, didn’t come overnight.

“I did a lot of vision training in the offseason,” Uden said.

“Just focusing on getting better pitches and being consistent with my mechanics and really working on my timing.”

Her offseason focus on a more patient approach and the emphasis on vision training clearly showed in the victory over the Cardinals. In the biggest at-bat of the game, Uden remained cool and collected, unfazed by the heat of the moment — a testament to her offseason training.

The work put in throughout the offseason paid off, resulting in a win for the team and more playing time at third base for Uden.

“I think she’s done a nice job of staying within herself,” Hutchins said. “We’re not asking her to do any more than she’s ever been capable of doing. I’m pleased with the progress, and we’re giving her some looks at third base.”

Uden’s emergence as an offensive threat was a big part of the Wolverines’ perfect weekend and current 12-game winning streak. With Big Ten play less than two weeks away, Uden is hitting her stride right in time as her confidence and focus is at a season-high.

“We’re trying to find who’s gonna lead us and who’s gonna step up when we need them,” Hutchins said.

“Who can we count on to get things done for us and ultimately, we’re just trying to create a trust within the entire unit and it takes all of them to win.”

“I think she’s done a nice job of staying within herself.”

Wolverines learn from loss, prepare for NCAA Tournament Michigan looks forward after a 3-2 overtime loss to Ohio State on Saturday eliminated it from the Big Ten Tournament BENJAMIN KATZ Daily Sports Writer

COLUMBUS — Barring unforeseen circumstances, the No. 11 Michigan hockey team has punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

The berth comes despite a 3-2 overtime loss to No. 6 Ohio State in Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

The Wolverines (20-14-3) fell just three spots to No. 10 in the PairWise rankings, still safely within the top 16 teams to receive at-large bids to the postseason tournament.

A victory in Columbus would’ve added to Michigan’s seven-game winning streak and a chance at the conference title.

It also would have elevated the team’s pride for defeating its rival after bowing in all four regular-season showdowns.

The first single-elimination loss of the season sent the Wolverines home for an idle week before learning about their tournament fate. But Michigan experienced the perfect precursor to playoff hockey against a Buckeyes team (248-5) with the nation’s fourthbest offense and power play and college hockey’s best penalty kill.

Now, Michigan coach Mel Pearson’s squad has time to iron out the kinks.

“I’ve liked the growth of our team,” he said after the game. “If we’re fortunate to get into that (NCAA) Tournament, this is a good warmup for that because you won’t find many teams better than Ohio State.

“We’re not happy about the outcome, but we’re happy with some of the things we did in the game. Things to build on and improve on.”

First, the positives.

Outscored 15-6 in the first four duels against the Buckeyes, the Wolverines were one shot away from tying — or upsetting — the host team. The first two

MAX KUANG/Daily

Freshman defenseman Quinn Hughes drew praise from his teammate, senior forward Cooper Marody, for his play against Ohio State.

Ohio State goals were answered

by Michigan, both off the stick of junior forward Cooper Marody.

After allowing a power play goal late in the first period, the Wolverines responded halfway through the second to momentarily silence Nationwide Arena.

They maintained pressure in the zone with three shots on net in a minute, before a loose rebound batted around in the crease. Finding the puck in front of him, Marody grabbed it in the air, placed it at his feet and, while falling, flipped a wobbler past Buckeye goaltender

Sean Romero to tie the game at one apiece.

Early in the third frame, Ohio State would regain the one-goal lead — again on the man advantage — when a shot from the point was redirected off three skaters and crept past sophomore goaltender Hayden Lavigne.

But Marody was back at it again just three minutes later.

Seven seconds into a Wolverines’ power play, he produced another highlight goal. Entering the slot, his body spun toward the goal, and he ripped the puck past Romero’s left pad for the

Now, Mel Pearson’s squad has time to iron out the kinks.

equalizer with 12:33 remaining.

Despite generating both goals, Marody instead credited his teammates.

“That was just showing how great (freshman defenseman) Quinn Hughes is,” Marody said.

“He was weaving inside, outside and all over the zone. We had (senior forwards Dexter Dancs and Tony Calderone) working really hard, and I just tried to bang it in. It shows you how good my linemates are.”

Hughes also added three shots, two assists and two clean looks at the net that blitzed Romero, but both were stopped by the post. The youngest player in college hockey evaded defenders with wizardly stickhandling to establish quality scoring chances.

But there were also negatives.

It started with untimely and avoidable penalties. Four shorthanded sequences against a destructive power play spelled disaster for Michigan’s penalty kill, the nation’s fourthworst with just a 75.34 percent success rate.

After outplaying Ohio State at even strength, the Buckeyes would convert on two of four man advantages.

Pearson also cited faceoffs as an area to be stressed in preparation for the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes won a lopsided 35 draws to the Wolverines’ 22.

“That’s just an indication of the urgency and the desperation, and the will and the want and the intensity,” Pearson said.

“We’ve got to be better there.”

With 16 players on the Wolverine roster without NCAA Tournament experience, Pearson is hyper-focused on injecting an extreme desire to fend elimination.

“You have to make sure you’re absolutely ready, do everything in your power to be ready to play,” Pearson said. “I’ve been through it for 22 years at Michigan, and I’ve been through a couple of last years in other schools so I get it, I’ve seen it and I think I’ve got a good idea of what it takes to prepare. But our players, you can’t give them that experience.”

Going into Saturday night’s contest, Pearson told his skaters they weren’t attending a ballet, but instead a boxing match.

The same mantra applies to the rest of the postseason.

During the second half of the season, Michigan went 7-0-1 in its last eight entering Saturday and 8-3-1-1 to end the conference season. It gracefully leapt from win to win down the stretch — save three losses to Ohio State and one to Wisconsin — but is resolute to exchange slippers for boxing gloves to stand a chance in the ring against hockey’s best teams ahead.

No matter its status as one of the hottest teams, Michigan learned Saturday night that one loss in a singleelimination scenario brings the end to its comefrom-behind, storybook season. And Pearson knows it.

“The next time we won’t get a next time,” he said. “You can call that pressure or you can call it opportunity, but you can’t hide from it.”

“The next time we won’t get a next time.”