2018-10-05

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Friday, October 5, 2018

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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FootballSaturday You don’t know Andrew Robinson. He’s fine with that.

» Page 1B

Stand With Survivors protests Kavanaugh nomination, calls for action against abuse Hundred gather for rally, protest in University Diag ahead of Senate confirmation vote Friday

CAMPUS LIFE

Snapchat exec talks future of technology VP of Tech Steve Horowitz address crowd of 250 at annual UMSI lecture ALEX HARRING For the Daily

DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily

Protestors march chanting pro-survivor and anti-Kavanaugh slogans at the Stand with Survivors rally against the Kavanaugh confirmation originating on the Diag Thursday.

SOPHIE SHERRY

Managing News Editor

More than 100 students and community members gathered in the Diag Thursday evening to stand with survivors and protest the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. The rally was one of dozens taking place

nationwide, all organized by the group Women’s March.

Thursday morning, the White House announced the FBI had concluded an investigation into accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against Kavanaugh. The investigation was launched following testimony by psychologist Christine Blasey Ford, who

asserts Kavanaugh assaulted her at a gathering in the summer of 1982. Ford is one of three women to publicly accuse Kavanaugh of sexual assault or misconduct.

Kavanagh has vehemently denied these accusations, claiming they are a partisan attack on his nomination.

At marches across the country, survivors and allies

cried out for justice. Lindsey Brown, a sophomore at Eastern Michigan University, came to Ann Arbor to be a part of the rally.

“I think when we look back we are going to see a clear divide of who was on the right side of history and who was on the side of history that didn’t want to listen to survivors and the people who have been

systematically oppressed,” Brown said.

Rally organizers LSA sophomore Michael Briggs, a member of Progressives at the University, and Washtenaw County Commissioner Michelle Deatrick, an organizer of Women’s March Ann Arbor, opened by

There were a few Snapchattable moments on campus Thursday.

One of them was a visit from University alum Steve Horowitz, vice president of technology at Snapchat, who gave the annual School of Information’s Homecoming lecture as part of the William Warner Bishop Lectureship Fund. Horowitz discussed the tech provider’s new advancements and his professional experience.

In his lecture, attended by more than 250 students, faculty, alumni and community members, Horowitz highlighted a continuous need for visual communication, the importance of creativity and innovation in technology, specifically with the camera.

“Showing is so much more compelling than telling someone something,” Horowitz said. “With a simple ‘snap,’ you can express far

See PROTEST, Page 3A See SNAPCHAT, Page 3A

Water tests show high lead levels at AAPS 13 public schools had at least one water source above EPA action level

CAMPUS LIFE

Schlissel announces $5 billion record Minority for 5-year Victors fundraising campaign orgs come

At annual Leadership Breakfast, pres. also vaguely commits to carbon neutrality LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan’s Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign has raised more

than $5 billion, University President Mark Schlissel announced Thursday to a crowd of about 200 people during his annual Leadership Breakfast at the Ross School of Business.

As Schlissel told the group,

the record is a nationwide first.

“I’m thrilled to announce here today that the University of Michigan is now the first public university ever to raise $5 billion in a fundraising campaign,” Schlissel said.

“It’s the most successful campaign in our history and in the history of public higher education.”

Schlissel’s predecessor, former University President Mary Sue

together at Crossroads La Casa, MSA, ASA, UAAO talk intersections in show of solidarity

See SCHLISSEL, Page 2A

RACHEL CUNNINGHAM

ANDREW HIYAMA & ZAYNA SYED

Daily Staff Reporter

Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporter

Schools in the Ann Arbor Public Schools district have been found to have elevated levels of lead in their drinking water.

Multiple schools measured well over 15 ppb, including sites at Angell Elementary School, Clague Middle School, Skyline High School, Forsythe Middle School and Burns Park Elementary School—the last two logging lead levels of 120 and 320 ppb, respectively. According to the Center for Disease Control, lead exposure can negatively impact the nervous system and brain development, especially in young children.

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that action be taken when there is more than 15 parts per billion of lead in water.

Jerome Nriagu, emeritus professor of Environmental See LEAD, Page 3A

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Nearly 200 students and representatives from four student organizations at the University of Michigan came together in Jeff T. Blau Hall Thursday night for “Cultural Crossroads,” an event designed to unite minority groups across lines of race, religion and cultural heritage. LSA senior Yezenia Sandoval, the external director for the Latinx Alliance for Community Action, Support and Advocacy, had the original idea for the event, which included a mixture of cultural foods, dances and dialogues.

“The main point of this event is to highlight the intersectionality between different communities on campus and just celebrate our cultural differences,” Sandoval said. “We thought it would

University President Mark Schlissel responds to questions at his Leadership Breakfast in the Ross School of Business Thursday morning.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXVIII, No. 5 ©2018 The Michigan Daily

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NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................5

SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................1B

News

2A — Friday, October 5, 2018

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY:

By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

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THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

BE HIND THE STORY Every Friday, one Daily news staffer will give a behind the scenes look at one of this week’s stories. This week, LSA sophomore Leah Graham covered President Schlissel’s Leadership Breakfast where he made major announcements on behalf of the University’s trajectory..

“The Leadership Breakfast was definitely a change of pace from other events, even ones involving other major university figures. It was fairly serious. Everybody was in business attire and they all had personalized name tags. President Schlissel’s remarks lasted for about an hour, and I sat at the back with the other reporters while photographers kind of milled around. Overall it was great a experience, and the event gave a pretty comprehensive survey of some of the main things that matter to the University right now, from fundraising efforts to fighting climate change.”

Leah Graham: “Schlissel announces Victors for Michigan meets $5 billion mark, eyes carbon neutrality for campus”

KATELYN MULCAHY/DAILY

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“

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

You should know that one neighbor spent nine months constantly, and I mean daily, dealing with city, University police and Greek life entities before one of these party houses set up by members of a banned fraternity was shut down. This is a real problem. Others in this neighborhood must constantly deal with trash, public drunkenness, loud music and other violations of city ordinances. Oversight of these groups is not done at the national level despite the claims of their attorneys.

Oversight by the University and the Office of Greek Life does not seem to make much difference.”

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RIYAH BASHA and SOPHIE SHERRY

center was renamed the Rogel Cancer Center in their honor.

Schlissel said the donation was the largest gift in the history of Michigan Medicine.

Eric R. Fearon, the center’s director, said the donation helped to advance cancer research and technology while providing support to hire new scientists and offer scholarships to medical students.

“Philanthropy is critical,” Fearon said. “It allows us to launch high-risk, highreward research and support promising young faculty, as well as senior faculty, to pursue new directions in their work.

It provides the foundation to generate the preliminary studies and data needed to be successful in obtaining federal grant funding.”

During a question-andanswer session, sociology lecturer Ian Robinson asked Schlissel about the possibility of including the University’s Flint and Dearborn campuses in the Go Blue Guarantee, which promises free tuition

for in-state students in Ann SCHLISSEL Arbor who have with family From Page 1A incomes under $65,000.

“I’m wondering with the kind of resources the Coleman, launched the University has, based on campaign in 2013, and more the capital campaign’s than 382,000 donors have extraordinary success, if it contributed since. The $5 wouldn’t be possible to do that, billion in funds includes $1.1 to extend the Go Blue promise billion for student support, to those campuses, where a surpassing the campaign’s much higher percentage of the designated $1 billion goal. students probably qualify for Schlissel emphasized the that,” Robinson said. importance of the school’s Schlissel said the Go Blue $11 billion endowment and Guarantee in Ann Arbor was fundraising efforts like the “driven by the fact that we Victors campaign to the don’t have nearly adequate University and its reputation. economic diversity on this “The difference between campus,” whereas the Flint Michigan being a very good and Dearborn campuses have public university in the Big higher levels of socioeconomic Ten and being one of the global diversity. He also said because leaders in higher education the three campuses have and research is the Victors separate finances, Ann Arbor campaign,” Schlissel said. did not have the financial Schlissel thanked donors means to extend the Go for their support, including Blue Guarantee to the other Richard and Susan Rogel, campuses. who committed $150 “What I think we need million to the University of to do together, to be honest, Michigan Comprehensive is the state of Michigan is Loading “Sudoku Syndication” Cancer Center in March. The 49th of the 50 states in their direct-to-student support for need-based student scholarships,” Schlissel said. “State governments have to step in and protect HARD and support their citizens, and even a great university like Michigan can’t replace the state government.”

Parity between campuses has been a longstanding source of tension. Last year, the University’s lecturers’ union lobbied for the same salary levels for members teaching on the Flint and Dearborn campuses.

Schlissel’s remarks about varying economic diversity is largely correct — students on the University’s other campuses come from lower-income backgrounds, according to data from the Equality of Opportunity project.

The medican household © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

HEAT WAVE puzzle by sudokusyndication.com incomes of students on the Flint campus is $105,200

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and $94,500 for students in Dearborn, as compared to the $154,000 median on the Ann Arbor campus.

The Thursday breakfast was Schlissel’s final formal leadership convening of his current term. Last month, the Regents voted to extend the president’s contract by another five years.

Schlissel’s pledge comes after the Regents meeting in September, where students criticized the University for the size of its carbon footprint and urged it to do more to combat climate change. Engineering junior Logan Vear is a member of the Climate Action Movement, which has been advocating for a commitment to carbon neutrality on campus since the beginning of the year by pressuring the Board of Regents and Schlissel to commit to carbon neutrality.

Vear said Schlissel’s commitment was a “great start” in the discussion of carbon neutrality, but noted 1/29/09 1:41 PM the lack of “minutiae” in his announcement.

“Within his comment, there was no explicit statement committing the University to carbon neutrality, but rather, commiting to ‘putting U-M on a trajectory towards carbon neutrality and levels of greenhouse gas release that are environmentally sustainable’ which does not clearly define what the exact scope of the reduction goal may be,” Vear wrote. “Additionally, he failed to present a deadline in which this ‘goal’ may be achieved.

Therefore, although we are gratified to see progress towards this complex issue, we will continue to push for a concrete date as well as the establishment of intermediate goals to get there. We are excited to continue this conversation.”

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

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Friday, October 5, 2018 — 3A

E M O R Y D O U G L A S AT S TA M P S SNAPCHAT From Page 1A

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily Emory Douglas, former resident Revolutionary Artist and Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party in the San Francisco Bay Area, discusses his artwork that depicts the reality of racial injustice in America and that promotes the Black Panther Party’s Ideologies in the Stamps Gallery Thursday.

PROTEST From Page 1A addressing the trauma of the past week.

“It’s been an emotional, difficult, and in many ways traumatizing week,” Briggs wrote in an email. “This underscores the need for the community (Ann Arbor and the University) to come together to show our emotional support for each other and to organize. We’re proud that the event connected community members to supportive resources, such as SAPAC (Sexual Assault and Prevention Awareness Center), and to multiple organizations that provide ways to protest and resist.”

As a survivor, LSA sophomore Morgan McCaul said this has been an immensely challenging time.

She spoke to the crowd at Thursday’s rally, stressing the importance of believing

LEAD From Page 1A Health Sciences at the University of Michigan, said lead exposure can lead to inattention and behavioral issues.

“Especially the neurocognition effects; I think that’s where everyone focuses their attention these days, again, which can lead to all inattention, (trouble in school) and so on,” Nriagu said.

The Detroit Public Schools district announced in August that it was shutting off its water sources because of high lead levels.

AAPS has voluntarily tested its water for lead annually since 2016.

According to 2016 and 2017

CROSSROADS From Page 1A be really powerful to have organizations that are leaders in their communities all in one room to celebrate different cultures, different food, different music.”

In April, along with PILOT, an organization for underrepresented and first-generation students, La Casa hosted its first joint cultural event with the Arab Student Association, providing their own unique cultural perspectives for prospective students visiting the University. Public Policy

survivors such as Ford, Deborah Ramirez, Julie Swetnick and Anita Hill.

McCaul has been an outspoken advocate for survivors’ rights since her powerful impact statement at Larry Nassar’s trial in January.

“We live in a world that systematically oppresses victims who speak up, and we have a responsibility to change that,” McCaul said. “It is time to end victim shaming.

It is time to uplift survivors’ voices. It is time to start by believing.”

McCaul was followed

by Krystle Rose DuPree, a veteran and sexual assault survivor.

“We are the backbone that can’t be broken,” DuPree said.

“The sound that shall not be silenced. We have survived and we are empowered. Our black bodies matter and the amount of someone’s bank account does not determine their worth.”

Alethea Phillips, an indigenous peoples activist,

built upon DuPree’s discussion of race and assault, speaking on the varying ways sexual violence manifests itself in different communities.

Phillips is a member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and an advocate for missing and murdered indigenous women.

One in three Native American women is sexually assaulted in their lifetime — the highest of any ethnic group in the United States.

“I want you all to understand that when we talk about survivors, we mean to talk about survivors everywhere,” Phillips said.

Ypsilanti Township Trustee Monica Ross-Williams and LSA sophomore Dylan Gilbert were also featured speakers.

Gilbert, an award-winning slam poet, shared some of her work with the crowded.

Heidi Sproull, an area psychotherapist, educator and survivor, closed out the rally breaking two wooden blocks with the words “Kavanaugh Nomination,” written across

them.In Washington, D.C., protesters were arrested Thursday afternoon for occupying the Hart Senate Office Building. Ann Arbor organizers instructed marchers to remain peaceful following the route outlined by event leaders.

Marchers took to the sidewalk of State Street, chanting in unison, “What do we want? Respect. When do we want it? Now!” As the group made their way back to the Diag, LSA sophomore Anna Tropiano and Engineering sophomore Emily Bachwich took to the steps of Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library standing arm-in-arm.

Tropiano said she has run into men on campus who think Kavanaugh’s academic achieves make him worthy of “a pass.”

“I came here today to show my support for Dr. Ford and for all survivors and to show that empathy toward them should be our first instinct

rather than worrying about a man’s reputation,” Tropiano said.

Engineering freshman Lucas Crumb and Eastern Michigan sophomore Hunter Mellinger came to the rally to stand in solidarity with women and survivors.

“I think it’s important for everyone to stand for women’s rights, no matter if you’re a man, woman or other,” Mellinger said. “This is an important cause that needs to recognized.”

The full Senate is voting on a procedural motion on Kavanaugh’s nomination Friday morning. According to organizers, this rally served a moment to come together before Friday’s events.

“Tonight was a symbolic act of solidarity for Dr. Ford and survivors of all walks of life; I was honored to participate and grateful to the Women’s March and Progressives at Michigan for making space for our stories,” McCaul said.

water amendment reports, all AAPS schools excluding Huron High School had detectable amounts of lead in the water. Thirteen schools had at least one water source test above 15 parts per billion.

Nriagu said the Burns Park lead results are shocking.

“I’m shocked that we can let something like that happen,” Nriagu said. “The exposure in children in schools is such a high level of risk.”

This year’s lead testing began this week.

Christine Stead, president of the AAPS School Board, said buildings had not been in use at the time of testing and that could have contributed to the high lead readings.

“We did the testing when most of our buildings were not in use,” Stead said. “That was a timing issue that was a known

issue but unfortunately the water (intelligence) firm that we used could not do it any other time.”

According to Stead, faucets were replaced if a site tested above 15 parts per billion. The district is also adding new water bottle stations that have lead filters. Stead believes this is why Huron High School did not have detectable lead amounts.

“In 2016, we had two sites (at Huron) … one read high, so we replaced that faucet,” Stead said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t do something else in 2018. This is our commitment to monitor this and see how things go.”

“We would love to get to zero parts per billion because no lead in the water is good,” Stead added. “We also know that our city water is at least 3

ppb for lead … Each year we’ve expanded how many faucets or sites where water comes out that we’re testing.”

According to a statement by AAPS Superintendent Jeanice Swift on the district’s website, the district will implement protocol when lead levels in schools exceed 10 parts per billion.

“With the overall goal of the program to reduce exposure to lead, in this next round of testing we are also lowering the threshold for when we implement the AAPS protocol for addressing an issue,” the statement reads. “Starting this fall, remediation efforts will be implemented when lead levels are at >10 ppb.

Additional attention will be paid to water fixtures that are between 5 and 10 ppb.”

Nriagu said the state of

Michigan has changed testing requirements for lead and these are more accurate in determining lead levels in water.

“What they (the state) recommend now is they should collect the first 250 milliliters of water and then the (fifth) liter of water,” Nriagu said.

“Whichever one is higher (in lead content) is what they should use to determine what to do next.”

Area residents are also concerned with perf luoroalkyl and polyf luoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in the Huron River. The river serves as a main water source for the city.

junior Arwa Gayar, the director of community action for ASA, said the bond formed between the two organizations at that event was the impetus for “Cultural Crossroads,” which grew to include the Muslim Students’ Association and United Asian American Organizations.

“Ever since (the La Casa and ASA event), our communities have been really comfortable together and we’ve been able to do a lot,” Gayar said. “They’ve been really good allies for us.

This year we were like, ‘This is such a great relationship we have, and we need to expand it with other organizations and cultural groups on campus.’”

Previous collaborative events between student cultural organizations only involved two different groups, Sandoval said, and La Casa saw an opportunity for something bigger.

Engineering sophomore Taha Shaukat, outreach chair for MSA, said the food –– which included fried plantains with cream, samosas, Moroccan puff pastry and vegetarian spring rolls –– was one of the hardest parts of the event to organize, but still an essential piece.

“We had to figure out food –– ‘What’s something that’ll entice people into coming?’

And obviously, we’re college

kids, free food is always the way to go, so finding people to actually go out and get food, figuring out a budget for the food, all that kind of stuff was really important, and it was hard, I’ll tell you that right now,” Shaukat said. “The Muslim Student Association, it’s kind of like an umbrella group, and there’s so many different ethnicities underneath, so you can’t really have one single food for it, so we kind of let (the Arab Students Association) run that kind of stuff for us, because their food is really good anyway.”

LSA junior Dim Mang, co-external chair for UAAO, agreed solidarity was an

important function of the event, saying students of color often become isolated within their own communities.

“I would hope that after this event, people come out to support other people’s organizations because I think if you’re a part of a community –– for me, I do go to a lot of A/PIA community events but then I don’t attend a lot of other events in the Arab community, or Latinx community,” Mang said. “After this, I hope that people go and seek those events and make some friends.”

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more than you ever could in words.”

Snapchat was created in 2011 by CEO Evan Spiegel along with Reggie Brown and Bobby Murphy, and is now worth $2 billion.

Adweek named Snapchat as the fastest growing social media platform out of the big four networks in 2015 and a June study found the app has 188 million users.

He graduated from LSA with a degree in Art History and interned at Apple during his summers. Horowitz joined the Snapchat team in 2015 after working at Motorola, Apple, Microsoft and Google, among others.

Horowitz stressed the importance of passion in addition to a course of study.

“I would still argue that your Michigan degree is the most valuable thing you’ll have and will set you apart for sure,” Horowitz said. “But it’s also going to put you at the top of the stack, but it’s still not necessarily the thing that will put you over the top. If you have, or find your passion, pursue it, do it. Find something that you love to do. Find something that is fun. Don’t do it just to find a job, find something you enjoy doing.”

Since he came on board, Snapchat has made advances in body tracking, sky segmentation, real-time sky segmentation, contextual sequences and facial mapping.

Horowitz said Snapchat will continue to work on these features to make the user experience better and change how cameras are used.

LSA sophomore Aisling O’Donnell said she enjoyed Horowitz’s description of augmented reality and his take on Snapchat’s place in the world.

“It was interesting to learn from the perspective of Steve Horowitz and a big company that I use, like Snapchat, all the time,” O’Donnell said. “I really enjoyed how he went through his backstory and his history and described the future of Snapchat as well as his future ideas for the world.”

Horowitz said the evolution of technology will always happen, and in his experience with Android, he believes this constant change can push companies to make better products. From the first camera to the current era of Snapchat and the localization of content such as weather, location and music, Horowitz said he sees a potential to change how humans interact with each other, technology and the world.

“For better or worse — I’d like to think better — we are in an era where technology allows the transformation of the world around us,” Horowitz said.

“And I think the more we sort of adapt and focus on using that for good, the better it will be for society. I think if we are afraid of it, we are not going to be as well off. Everyone in the industry has a duty to and has a responsibility to use it for good.”

Lily Wang, School of Information development associate and member of the development and alumni relations team, said the goal in choosing a speaker is to find someone who would be interesting to both students and alumni and would be interested in coming to campus.

Wang said data science is one of the most popular fields in the School of Information.

This includes studying humancomputer interaction and augmented reality, which Wang said made Horowitz an appealing guest.

“It’s kind of a mix of seeing who would be interesting — the fields that they study — as well as how interested they are in coming,” Wang said. “Someone like Steve Horowitz, who works on Snapchat hardware, is really enticing to both alumni and current students.”

Opinion

4A — Friday, October 5, 2018

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MARGOT LIBERTINI | COLUMN

O

“Women are doing great”

n Tuesday afternoon, based violence and sexual trauma.

President Donald Trump Unfortunately, I have not gone an expressed his sympathy hour — waking or sleeping — since last Thursday morning for young men in without reliving those America while speaking experiences.

Last to reporters outside the Thursday morning White House. In his is when Stanford words: “It is a very scary University psychologist time for young men in Christine Blasey Ford America, where you can sat in front of the Senate be guilty of something Judiciary Committee you may not be guilty to provide testimony of.” His view represents a wider concern among MARGOT about her assault at some conservative LIBERTINI the hands of Brett Kavanaugh.

Americans in light of the I had a class with a no-screen accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and the policy for the first hour of the #MeToo movement at large. They hearings, so I sat in blissful are concerned with due process ignorance of the texts flying into and fear the rights of the accused my phone about the heartbreak that are being undermined in cases each of my loved ones felt watching of sexual assault. However, these Ford speak. Then I watched the worries are largely unfounded, as committee question her throughout study after study has confirmed my stats lecture, with the screen that false accusations are incredibly split on my laptop between notes uncommon. Thus, this line of and C-SPAN. I expected to feel backlash was predictable coming empathy for her — I was too a victim from Trump. He concluded his of sexual assault and I feel quite statements with a starkly less strongly about keeping abusers familiar sentiment; when asked if he away from power. I did not expect had any words for young American to leave the lecture hall in a panic, women, he responded, “Women are heart pounding and tears forming.

I had forgotten what a panic attack doing great.”

Maybe all of the women around felt like. It had been a year or so since me and I are anomalies, but it does I experienced one. But I sat on some not quite seem that women are concrete ledge outside the Modern doing great. On the contrary, the Languages Building and that Kavanaugh hearings have brought once familiar feeling of tightness back memories of sexual trauma in the chest, shortness of breath for many victims, who are mostly and desperate desire to escape women. I did not plan on writing overwhelmed me. I could only about Kavanaugh (again) this week. I think, “I was 15 too,” and about how had hoped my column this semester infantile my 15-year-old self seems would be centered around a topic of now. Ford’s testimony forced me to pure intellectual curiosity and not relive that experience in a new way. my own experiences with gender- Yes — I’d thought about my assaults,

I’d written about them, assessed them, but it was always from a numbed distance provided by the passed time. I had dealt with those experiences more as an onlooker.

But her words broke through that numbness, and as she described the night from her own point of view, I became able to access my own younger self’s point of view.

My friends expressed similar accounts of watching the hearings — that they were surprised by their own reactions. It led one friend to stay away from campus all day due to anxiety, and another friend to come to terms with her own experience — admitting to herself that she too had been assaulted. A close friend revealed how similar Kavanaugh was to her own abuser — a privileged, white, private school boy. My friends and I were not an anomaly, though. Rape, Incest and Abuse National Network had its busiest day on record last Thursday.

Survivors across the country were shaken by Ford’s tragedy, and by Kavanaugh’s vehement denial of it.

Watching her brokenness so clearly juxtaposed with his indignant rage was simply too close to home.

So, on Thursday, and in the days to follow, American women have not been gloating in our vengeful attempted takedown of a powerful man. We have been mourning for Ford, both now and at age 15, for each other and for ourselves.

Once again, we have been forced to wring out our trauma in the public sphere in a hopeless effort to stop our political institutions from further demise.

Margot Libertini can be reached at mlibertini@umich.edu.

ELIAS KHOURY | COLUMN

A

No war in Venezuela

s is often the case with these things, the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly raised more questions than answers. The two weeks were jam-packed with the events therein, churning out headline after headline.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embarrassed himself by way of his shameless hypocrisy and lies about Iran’s nonexistent “atomic warehouse.” Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Isse gave a powerful speech informing the assembly of the huge strides his country has taken on the path towards stability.

I could go on and on. The developments were plenty and to go through all of them would be, to put it simply, excessive. Rather, I would like to focus on what transpired during the course of the two weeks specifically in regard to United StatesVenezuela relations and what should be done going forward.

On Sept. 26, Nicolas Maduro shocked the world when, during a speech to the General Assembly, he stated that he is willing and ready to come to the table and meet with the Trump administration. Think of just how amazing that is. The Trump administration has been openly mulling the idea of invading Venezuela and overthrowing, and likely killing, Maduro since at least August 2017. While some might say he has been backed into a corner, to offer to speak with those who plot your demise is noteworthy, to say the least.

The Trump administration has yet to comment on the offer. To decline Maduro’s offer would only serve to expose the malevolence of their foreign policy even further. By all accounts, they are still set on the idea of a military intervention in the

South American nation. What did you expect with John “the earlier you strike, the more damage you can do” Bolton as national security adviser?

Keep in mind the current administration is engaged in active bombing campaigns of eight different countries. They have also expanded the war in Afghanistan, which is both the longest and most unpopular war in American history. Moreover, the administration has pursued what essentially amounts to a scorchedearth policy in Iraq and Syria, leading to record numbers of civilian casualties. All this is just scratching the surface as it pertains to the scope of their evil.

Nevertheless, as we see with the current rhetoric on Venezuela, it is clear that the administration is still hell-bent on spreading death and destruction abroad. When addressing anti-Maduro protesters outside the United Nations building, Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said, “We are not just going to let the Maduro regime backed by Cuba hurt the Venezuelan people anymore.” If she had even one iota of honesty to her being, she would have concluded that statement by saying “now it’s our turn.”

The simple truth is that this administration does not care about Venezuelan lives. If they did, they would not be banging the war drums and calling for a coup — a move that would unleash untold horrors on a country that has already been through hell. If they really cared about Venezuelan lives, they would lift their crippling sanctions regime that has done nothing to target corruption but only foment instability.

If you want to help, then help.

Invasion is not the way to do it.

Attacking the independence of a

sovereign nation-state is not the way to do it. It’s about time we start making friends instead of enemies.

This hypocrisy was addressed directly by none other than Maduro himself. He said, “Donald Trump said he was worried about Venezuela, he wanted to help Venezuela … I stand ready to talk with an open agenda on everything that he might wish to talk about with the United States of America.”

I must be honest, with the cast of characters currently running this country, prospects for peace do indeed look grim. I have little confidence in both bureaucrats and elected officials to do the right thing simply out of the goodness of their hearts. It is up to us — the people — to put pressure on them.

And so, I would like to conclude this column with a call to action. In the 1960s and early 1970s, college campuses were at the heart of the anti-war movement. University students across the nation stood up and protested against the immoral, unjust Vietnam War. The role this played in advancing the agenda of eventual disengagement cannot be underestimated.

Let those honorable men and women be our example. We need to rekindle that flame. I want to see students once again rise up in a public way to protest the horrors of war. As patriotic Americans, we cannot allow for our so-called leaders to drag us into another foreign conflict.

I say all of this with a tremendous amount of urgency. We must do something fast. And what better place to start than the University of Michigan, home of the leaders and the best? Organize!

Elias Khoury can be reached at ekhoury@umich.edu.

“S

What state elections?

tates are where all the news, along with those candidates action in domestic relying on TV ads to get their policymaking is.” messages out instead of interacting with the media.

This is what I learned Maybe the political from Jenna Bednar, a parties are at fault.

University of Michigan Another thing we political science learn in government is professor and specialist that the job of political on federalism, when parties is to get people I sat down with her elected. These parties this week. We agreed do a great job of raising that state elections money and spending are extraordinarily that money, but where? important and are DAVID If you watch TV, often underrepresented HAYSE you’ve almost certainly in our country. Much of our country’s policy either seen ads this election season for originates from or is informed by Senate and gubernatorial races. state and local policies. As Supreme What about the state House of Court Justice Louis Brandeis Representatives or state Senate? wrote in his dissent in New State Follow the money. More than $2 Ice Co. v. Liebmann, “it is one of billion was spent on the presidential the happy incidents of the federal race in 2016 and $4 billion was system, that a single courageous spent on all of the congressional state may, if its citizens choose, races combined.

Perhaps it is just the nature serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments of the local and state offices that without risk to the rest of the doesn’t attract this attention. One country.” TV comedian John point Bednar made was that at Oliver, in a 2014 episode, cited that lower levels of government there Congress passed 185 laws in that is a higher likelihood of deviation session. State legislatures, in the from party doctrines. If these same time frame, passed more than government officials are less likely 24,000. But why are state elections to follow strict party lines, then it underrepresented if that is where follows that parties would invest most domestic policy comes from? less money because they stand to get less in return.

Is there a certain group to blame?

It’d be easy to place the blame Some might jump to blaming the media, and they would have here on one single entity and move a few fair points. We learn in our on, but an issue like this isn’t that government classes in high school simple. There’s plenty of blame to go that elections are covered “like around and some of that rightly falls horse races.” It’s fun and exciting on us. What was the last state issue to track polling numbers up to you heard about? In Michigan, for election day, so that’s what the many, it is probably the Flint water media often focuses on. It also crisis. In this “information age” we makes sense for the national news have unprecedented access to so media to focus on national news much information, but often we are and elections, leaving states to only willing to take in so little. We fall by the wayside. Why should a stick to one cable news show or we person watching CNN in Florida have our favorite newspaper.

Election turnout is typically care about Massachusetts’s state legislature election? Between 2003 around 60 percent for presidential and 2012, the newspaper workforce elections, but only 40 percent dropped 30 percent, including for midterms. It is even lower a significant cutback in those for primary, local and off-year covering local and state politics for elections. For example, in Dallas, both local and national news. This only 6.1 percent of eligible voters has had several effects, including participated in the mayoral candidates less engaged with local election in May 2015. Turnout

is less than 20 percent for 15 of the 30 most populous cities in the country in mayoral elections.

Even in gubernatorial election years, turnout is low. In every gubernatorial election year since 1970, except for 2006, turnout was below 50 percent in Michigan. Most of the time the majority of people don’t vote if it isn’t a presidential election year. Generally speaking, in only one year out of every four does more than half of the electorate make their way to a ballot box.

Over the past few weeks, many of my professors have encouraged students to register by the Oct. 9 deadline. One of these professors told us that her opinion is that “if you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain.” I would go further.

If you don’t cast an informed vote, then you should not feel comfortable commenting at all.

Take a minute to research the candidates on every level. You should know who is running for office in your community and have a general idea what they believe in, beyond the “R” or “D” next to their name. My father, for example, gets an absentee ballot, so he can sit at home with his laptop and research each candidate’s platform online as he fills in the bubbles.

We could blame the media, or political parties, or candidates, or some idea that our votes don’t matter, for why people can’t find their way to the ballot box and why many don’t have a strong grasp of the politics of their local community. I’d rather take the blame and the responsibility on myself to get informed and to do my part in deciding the future of this country. It’s just as easy to lie to yourself and say you’ll put effort into getting informed as it is to tell yourself that you’re going to start going to the gym. However, we have more to lose in our elections if we don’t get informed than we do if we skip the gym a few times, so please, find the ballot box but only after doing some research.

David Hayse can be reached at dhayse@umich.edu.

MILES STEPHENSON | COLUMN

A

Can disaffiliated Greek life save itself ?

s the fall 2018 Greek life rush continues across campus, disaffiliated fraternities and their relationships with incoming students are left in an uncertain purgatory.

Fraternities officially affiliated with the University of Michigan operate under a well-defined framework of rules. They’re geared to further focus on charitable work, inclusion and academic performance. Even the signing of bids for students chosen fraternities is administered through Interfraternity Council personnel. Recently, however, six fraternities (some of which with strong national charters and a large student base) have chosen to divorce themselves from the University and its IFC regulations.

This separation raises more questions than it answers. How will these disaffiliated fraternities continue to operate in the University’s social ecosystem? How will students perceive this new type of underground fraternity?

And how will these disaffiliated fraternities impact the University’s Greek life that is already under siege for hazing, alcohol-related harm and sexual misconduct incidents?

The answers to these questions might be within the fraternities themselves.

Colleges and universities across the United States have recently been grappling with how to regulate Greek life in the wake of a series of incidents. U.S. News and World Report has reported that American campuses have experienced at least one student death by hazing every year since 1959. Universities are meant to be crucibles of knowledge and selfexploration, not pitfalls where students are sent into potentially life-threatening situations. The University of Michigan, with its tradition of solving complex social and organizational problems since its founding in 1817, and as a university with one of the oldest and richest Greek communities in the country, must take a national leadership role in forging a lasting and workable solution to this problem. It is important to note that fraternities, just like the students that compose the memberships, are individual and

widely varying. Disaffiliating so-called “bad actor” fraternities under this “eviction” system only treats the symptoms and not the root causes of isolated, erratic behavior, and may exacerbate the dangerous situations. And the prospect of creating a new, disaffiliated category of offcampus housing could cultivate a “Wild West” dynamic and compound the issues the University seeks to control.

The University boasts some of the brightest minds in the world, which should be called to action to craft a solution that involves input from fraternity and sorority leadership, university administration and functional academics.

Instituting rules designed to “bring the frats into compliance,” for instance, new zoning ordinances that shackle fraternities to policy without due process, will result in rebellion, witnessed by the recent disaffiliations of six fraternities due to a zoning code restriction passed by the Ann Arbor City Council this summer. Surely there is a solution that doesn’t “evict” fraternities, but instead empowers them to self-regulate within a system that challenges them to meet the standards of the community. This would allow them to operate and manage themselves appropriately, while still proving to the University’s community that they are a force of good. They could meet challenges of financial performance (houses remain solvent and self-paying), academic performance and volunteering and charitable work.

Under this proposal, the IFC would function less as university adults imposing arbitrary rules and more as an apparatus working more closely with the fraternities to better manage their houses, their safety and their success.

Not only would this allow the fraternities to have more accountability, but it also might enliven chapters to run with their new personal responsibility.

Greek rushing is up 45 percent at universities around the country since 2006, and a system like this at the University could pave the way for self-regulated fraternities

across the United States.

But why do we have Greek life anyway? It’s flawed at its core and we should just ban the whole thing, some will argue. Greek life at the University constitutes 22 percent of the undergraduate student population (that’s more than 6,200 students) and generates millions of dollars annually for the Ann Arbor economy. The chapters hire cooks, cleaners, sanitation workers and repairmen to maintain their houses, buy bulk food and provide amenities for the residential students.

Fraternities and sororities, social and otherwise, are woven into the fabric of the university’s social, academic and charitable life. Furthermore, these Greek life organizations have connections all throughout the private business sector and even the political sphere. U.S. News and World Report reports that 44 percent of the U.S. presidents, 35 members of the U.S. Senate, and 60 members of the U.S. House have held fraternity memberships.

Furthermore, in the past year, the Interfraternity Council grade point average was higher than the all-male average for University students, underscoring that Greek life membership and academic performance are not mutually exclusive. A solution to the disaffiliated fraternity issue must recognize that Greek life is an overwhelmingly positive force at the University, offering relationships, housing, social experiences and networking for thousands of students each year.

Hazing and underage binge drinking are exceptions to the rule, and the University and local law enforcement must be uncompromising in attending to these situations. Working from the excellent, albeit imperfect framework and organization of the existing IFC, the University must challenge and empower fraternity and sorority leadership to collaborate on policies, rules and procedures designed to better police themselves.

Miles Stephenson can be reached at mvsteph@umich.edu.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ALBUM REVIEW

Loretta Lynn remains the queen of classic country MADELEINE GANNON For the Daily

After a nearly yearlong setback from a stroke, Loretta Lynn released her latest album, Wouldn’t It Be Great, this past Friday, Sept. 28th; It was everything a Lynn fan could hope for, and more. The album features 13 songs, with a welcome mix of new material, like the title track and “Ruby’s Stool,” and updated classics, like her hallmark “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “Don’t Come Home a’ Drinkin’.” Those who are diehard, old-fashioned classic country fans can rest assured that Lynn compromises none of her usual flair and style in her latest release, preserving both her own musical integrity and the history and culture of the classic country genre as a whole.

A master of her craft, Lynn’s album is like a warm welcome home, never losing the characteristic twang or no-nonsense candor of the genre. Yet while every song has a distinctive sense of familiarity, from Lynn’s usual sass in “Ruby Stool” to the lonesome cry of “I’m Dying for Someone to Live For,” the material never feels lazy or reused. Rising to stardom much later in life — already a wife and mother by the time she was a household name — Lynn broke barriers by writing songs about her experiences as a housewife. Her blunt honesty and oddly matched innocence made her songs stand out in a genre dominated by the same rough-and-tough men she sang of in her music. Lynn touched upon everything from her marital conflicts with her husband, Oliver “Doo” Lynn, in songs such as “Don’t Come Home a’ Drinkin’,” to showing her feisty personality and the feminine perspective, in songs like “You Ain’t Woman Enough.”

Once again, Lynn’s songs hit home in her new album.

Lynn’s opening song “Wouldn’t it be Great” is almost chilling, the repetition of the lyrics emphasizing the underlying sense of bitterness and loss as Lynn laments love lost to vice. Lynn’s inspiration came primarily from her own life and relationships — an acknowledgement that makes her song even more cutting. Lines such as: “The bottle took my place, love went to waste” transcend beyond the genre and the artist,

Wouldn’t It Be Great Loretta Lynn Legacy Recordings and prove to be a stark reminder of how the intimacy of Lynn’s music captures the hearts and minds of millions. “Ruby Stool” brings some relief as Lynn is pitted against a troublesome young rival, and defiantly decides to put her in her place by “sittin’ on Ruby’s stool” — a song reminiscent of her classic “You Ain’t Woman Enough.” Finally, “Darkest Day,” “The Big Man” and “These Old Blues” harken to the heyday of classic country, reminiscent of both Lynn’s earlier career hits and those of her contemporaries.

Lynn branches out stylistically with songs like “God Makes No Mistakes,” where her age and experience are more tangible in her somber reflection on the cruelties of life in reconciliation with her faith. “Ain’t No Time To Go” similarly displays a heavier, more weary tone in its intro and subject matter, addressing the idea of losing a partner or loved one and having to live on without them — a possible reference to the death of Lynn’s first husband, whom she had been married to since she was 13 years old. These songs strike a strong contrast to feisty numbers like “Ruby’s Stool” and previous hits like “Honky Tonk Girl” — both of which capitalized on Lynn’s image as a spirited young

woman. While Lynn doesn’t show any hint of slowing down, these songs convey a distinct change in style brought on by her long life and advancing age. Much of her album focuses on central themes of loss and running out of time, with some songs in her album reminiscent of the legendary Johnny Cash’s later recording sessions. However, Lynn avoids the bone-weary attitude of Cash in her album, instead matching her powerful voice with the sense of self-reflection that comes from experience.

The album ends with Lynn’s crowd-pleasers “Don’t Come Home a’ Drinkin’” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Lynn shows that despite the years that have past, she’s never lost her touch. Her revamp of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” stays true to the original, with a slightly brighter tune from a busier instrumentation — a change which adds a subtle touch of modernity without losing the true spirit of the song. Often referred to simply as The Coal Miner’s Daughter, the album’s finale is a testament to Lynn’s career, and reminds the world that Loretta Lynn isn’t going anywhere just yet. As Lynn sings “Well a lot of things have changed since wayback-when” it feels as if she has come full-circle, a reflection on her career, which spanned decades, and going back even farther to the young girl from Butcher’s Hollow who had never dreamed of such stardom. Just as Lynn wrote herself, “It’s so good to be back home again,” her album certainly feels like a homecoming.

But, more importantly, the survival of Lynn’s career into the 21st century can also be seen as a beacon of hope — a rallying point — for the struggling working class of Coal Country, U.S.A. While this Coal Miner’s Daughter stands loud and proud, so too can the communities of rural Appalachia retain their own pride and dignity in an era that wishes to forget them.

Release Date: Friday, October 5, 2018

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis 77 Med. show locales 78 Serve sparingly, with “out”

DOWN 1 “Say what?”

2 Dedicatee of Lennon’s “Woman” 3 McCartney’s title 4 Checkup 5 Applying a temporary tattoo 6 Boiling state 7 Scotch serving 8 Seven Wonders lighthouse 9 One from town 10 “Yada yada yada” letters 11 Jack-in-the-pulpit family 12 Fair 13 First place?

21 Mideast capital 23 Faulkner’s “__ Lay Dying” 25 Pageant toppers 26 It may be unsolicited 27 Daybreak?

29 Agile deer 31 Norse patron 34 Hard work

FILM REVIEW

IFC FILMS

MEGHAN CHOU Daily Arts Writer

Who would have thought the mousy blond boy in “Dead Poets Society” would go on to have a multifaceted, successful career? After proving his caliber in the acting realm, Ethan Hawke has moved on to writing and directing.

“Blaze,” his latest writerdirector project, showcases an astounding command of language, music and film.

“Blaze” follows the short-lived but passionate relationship between forgotten singer-songwriter Michael David Fuller (Ben Dickey) — stage name Blaze Foley — and his ex-wife Sybil Rosen (Alia Shawkat, “The Intervention”).

As Foley strove to create a legacy, he cast aside the love of his life and descended into a state of loneliness, even as his following of admirers grew.

Foley’s alcoholism and general self-destructive behavior allowed an unmatched rawness to seep into his music, ultimately leading to his downfall.

Few musical movies accomplish what Hawke crafts in “Blaze”: a symbiosis between soundtrack and image. Often, in other attempts, the music takes over, turning the film into an extended music video.

Or, the film overpowers a score that lacks, simply put, good

music. In “Blaze,” though, the music and the filmic elements are both stars and neither fade to the background.

“Blaze” hops between a radio show discussing Foley’s legacy, a recreation of Foley’s

“Blaze” IFC Films State Theatre final performance and snippets of his relationship with Rosen.

Rosen’s book “Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze” and co-writer credit on the film lends authority and intimacy to the story. Her and Hawke’s screenplay reads like a constant f low of poetic lyrics with countless moments that induce snaps of appreciation.

The scenes are choreographed with breathtaking precision and a whimsical wandering that keeps the story human and not the larger-than-life, unrealistic dream-reaching narrative of other musical movies. Montages of Foley and Rosen’s time in the woods display the deep connection the two shared, which makes their parting from one another all the more tragic.

Despite the beautiful and structured shots, Hawke’s overall style verges on a documentary. He pans over

the indifferent faces of the audience at the bar, unaware they are witnessing the final hours of Blaze Foley’s life. They are oblivious of the genius before them. The detached directing plays off the stripped and tender songs with potent results.

The casting decision to use real musicians who can act, rather than teach actors how to be musicians, allows the soundtrack to work its magic: with authenticity and no distractions. Dickey and Charlie Sexton (“Boyhood”), in the role of friend and fellow songwriting icon Townes Van Zandt, as well as Kris Kristofferson (“A Star is Born”) don’t have to fake play the guitar or lip sync. Sexton has performed with Bob Dylan, Kristofferson was a member of The Highwaymen with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash and Dickey has his own album. Together, they provide convincing and moving renditions of folk music that defined an era.

Hawke could have chosen celebrity, trained actors for the main roles (as the cameos from award-winners Sam Rockwell, Richard Linklater and Hawke himself show), but using actual musicians reinforces the poetry and realness of the film. His instincts result in a profound and sensational film in “Blaze,” confirming Hawke as a triple threat.

BOOKS THAT BUILT US

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 1 Take to the cleaners 5 Lay low 8 Pretty companion?

14 Windows alternative 15 Drop the ball 16 Dragster’s wheels 17 Wedding ring?

18 Class-conscious org.?

19 Charge 20 “Wow!” (2) 22 Actress Kate (2) 24 Cal. column (2) 25 Univ. aides (1) 28 Damage (1) 30 Helpless? (1) 32 Infamous Amin 33 Constriction of the eye’s pupil 35 Apple’s apple, e.g.

39 Hail, to Hadrian 40 All over again 41 “I’ll second that” 42 Result of polar ice melt graphically shown by the second part of six two-part puzzle answers 47 Isn’t idle 48 Deep blue 49 Track meet segment 50 Authenticity emblem 51 Parlor furniture item 53 Hot time in Haiti 54 Sinusitis docs (2) 56 Author Fleming (2) 57 Sign of nerves, maybe (2) 58 Happy hour spot (1) 61 Many an Omani (1) 63 Remaining loan amt. (1) 65 Individually 67 Dug, with “up” 69 Big times 73 A through E, at times 74 Sprout 75 Courteous 76 Snares with a loop

Friday, October 5, 2018 — 5A

36 Fare filled and folded 37 Trattoria desserts 38 With no guarantee of payment 43 Cartography dot 44 Against 45 Reluctant risers 46 Barack’s 2010 High Court appointee 51 Emphasize 52 That, in Tijuana

55 Snack chip 58 Much more than a sniffle 59 Samoa’s capital 60 Purges (of) 62 One may be stored in a barn 64 Advance 66 Sci-fi staples 68 Blacken, in a way 70 Copacabana city 71 Commonly torn ligament, briefly 72 Note

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Paul Coulter ©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

10/05/18

10/05/18

What ‘The Book Thief’ taught me about death TRINA PAL

Daily Arts Writer

Jul. 2009: I’m lying in the scratchy sheets of a hotel bed in the Grand Oasis, Cancun, Mexico. It’s past midnight, too late for a 10-year-old girl to be awake. I can hear the rustling leaves of the palm trees along the ocean shore, yells of springbreakers running through the sand and the breathing of my mother sleeping beside me. But I don’t listen to them, really. My world is consumed by the book I hold in front of me, staring back with its dark brown cover of destruction and harsh black lines scrawled on top of the chaos. They read, “The Book Thief.”

I’m not sure who told me to read the “The Book Thief” as a fifth-grader with frizzy black hair tied into a messy ponytail, who had lost all her baby teeth and confidently labeled herself as a bookworm but knew nothing about death. And very little about Nazi Germany, for that matter. Regardless, here I was on a fun family vacation crying my heart out after frantically flipping over the last page of the novel and realizing that the ending was just as painful as I had dreaded.

For those unfamiliar with the novel, “The Book Thief” follows the story of nine-yearold Liesel Meminger, an orphan taken in by a German couple, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, during the height of Hitler’s reign. Traumatized by the death of her younger brother and shocked at the state of

the country, Liesel turns to reading. Stealing books from the mayor’s library becomes a ritual undertaken with her partner-in-crime Rudy Steiner, who falls in love with Leisel within days of meeting her.

Reading is Liesel’s everything: her joy, her sadness, her escape from the crumbling world around her.

Crouched in a shelter, Liesel reads to her neighborhood while the bombs fall around them. When Liesel’s foster family safeguards Max, a Jew, in their basement for years, Liesel reads to him. Every time I closed my eyes and thought of Liesel, I saw myself. We were the same age. Had the same curiosity about the world.

Wanted everything to be fair and grew frustrated when it wasn’t. But Liesel would experience death. Real, heart wrenching death. My only concern at the time was how I looked in the neon purple onepiece swimsuit I had bought the week before, and why my parents didn’t let me near the water bar when everyone else was allowed to be there.

Spoiler alert: Everyone in “The Book Thief” dies at the end. At least, to my 10-year-old self, everyone that mattered.

In fact, the whole novel is narrated by Death, who claims within the first few pages that he will “take us all” in the end.

He hints that major characters like Hans and Rosa will be no more by the last page. That Rudy will never get a kiss from Liesel as long as he lives. But I just couldn’t believe it. Death was pushed right in front of my face, narrating Liesel and

Rudy’s world, and I wasn’t convinced for a second.

Something had to give eventually, and the final straw came in the form of Rudy’s lifeless body lying on the street after the final air raid. Rudy, the boy whose biggest ambition was to run in the Olympics as fast as Jesse Owens, and painted his body with black paint while running laps around the neighborhood track one night to prove it. I cried for Rudy, Liesel’s other half, the childish antics to her calm composure. I cried because Death had taken Rudy unfairly; he was only really a kid; he was really just like me.

Oct. 2018: nine years later, I’m glad that my inauguration to the idea of death happened the way it did. Liesel and Max, the Jew hidden in the basement, were the only survivors of the bombing on Himmel Street. And let me tell you, I woke the hell up. Ever since that night at Cancun I’ve known that death is sudden, never predictable. It can take people with whole lives ahead of them. Even those that you think could never be affected by it are.

This isn’t meant to be a sob fest. Death is inevitable, but also highly stigmatized.

I would love to see a world where death is accepted as a necessary tradeoff for living a beautiful life. Death can be seen warmly as a celebration of living, a memoir of the story of an individual. Liesel and Rudy shared their story with me through ink on soft pages. One day we’ll all have our stories to pass on, too.

Arts

6A — Friday, October 5, 2018

FESTIVAL REVIEW

SAM ROSENBERG / DAILY

Pride & positivity abound at RuPaul’s 2018 DragCon SAM ROSENBERG Senior Arts Editor

Walking into the Javits Center, I immediately felt safe. There was something oddly comforting about this year’s location of RuPaul’s DragCon, an annual convention that caters toward fans of VH1’s award-winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and general devotees to drag culture. Enclosed within Javits’s glass walls and industrial architecture were conventiongoers of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, dressed to the tens in multicolored attire.

For those familiar with drag icon RuPaul’s immensely successful reality competition show — or for anyone who has participated in or watched live drag shows — the aesthetic forwardness and diverse array of people shouldn’t come as a surprise. Both “Drag Race” and drag culture are known for championing boldness and queerness through their emphasis on high fashion, self-love and extravagant, campy performances.

With its origins dating back centuries ago, the drag movement has always encouraged people within the LGBTQ+ community and beyond to challenge preconceived notions of gender, as well as to express themselves regardless of whatever judgment may come their way. “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which premiered on Logo TV in 2009 and recently received two Emmys for Outstanding Reality Competition Program and Outstanding Reality Host, remains an important and influential staple in maintaining that doctrine by making drag more accessible to modern audiences. After a record-breaking 40,000 attendees gathered at last year’s DragCon in Los Angeles, DragCon’s expansion to New York City seemed like the perfect way to continue establishing drag’s legacy in pop culture.

On Friday, Sept. 28, day one of DragCon, my friend Ariel Friedlander — a Stamps junior and local Ann Arbor drag queen who goes by the stage name Daya BeeDee — and I arrived at the Javits Center at exactly 2:00 p.m. As we waited to check in for our tickets, I noted that almost everyone in

our line adorned elaborate garbs, colorful costumes, outlandish outfits and lavish dresses. Once we made our way onto the upper level, the atmosphere was welcoming and unexpectedly calm for such a highly anticipated event, though it gradually became more overwhelming on day two when attendance nearly doubled.

Fortunately, the vastness of the Javits Center allowed for easy navigation. To help orient people through the gaudy spectacle of DragCon, the main floor was divided into avenues with tonguein-cheek street names: 500 Death Drop Alley, 600 Backrolls Blvd, 700 Charisma Court. In the middle of the room laid a long, wide pink carpet, which operated as both a convenient refuge away from the controlled chaos and a runway for “Drag Race” queens and fans alike to serve sickening looks.

Beside the carpet and “Drag Race” meet-and-greet stations stood rows of booths that sported jewelry, gloves, twunk trunks, leather tights, fetish accessories, stripper poles, makeup and, perhaps most importantly, wigs.

Classic bops by Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga blared from overhead speakers, echoing throughout the room. On the far left side, a multitude of posts featuring artists like NYC-based designer, author and personal hero of mine Adam J. Kurtz offered a selection of queer artwork and other knick-knacks to purchase.

Even the younger attendees had their own “Kid’s Zone,” a space that consisted of a bouncy house and a large green foam mat, where children and their parents sat and listened to drag queens read picture books with messages about self-acceptance. This was queer heaven if I ever saw one.

Throughout the weekend, the convention radiated relentless positivity and support from every direction. Walking around with Ariel, I couldn’t help but notice the frequent rate at which compliments — namely “Yas!” and “Love your makeup!” and “Slay, mama!” — and Instagram handles were exchanged between ourselves and other DragCon attendees. Each convention-goer we met were not only friendly, but acted as if we were already friends.

The first person we greeted was

Desmond is Amazing, an adorable, up-and-coming child drag star who flaunted a patriotic outfit with strawberry-colored jellies.

While waiting in line for season 10 fan favorite Miz Cracker, we came across Miss Sherry Pie, a jubilant New York queen dressed in an “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired get-up. Later on, we met Double O Sexy, a flashy drag queen duo from Westchester, Pa. comprised of Ophelia Hotass and Onyx Black.

“DragCon means a collective group of creative individuals and inspiring people joining and banding together and slaying the world,” said Ophelia, who, along with Onyx, was dressed as a hybrid of a pink-and-yellow Troll doll and a zombie with eyelashes as flamboyant as Esma’s from “The Emperor’s New Groove.” “People are coming here and just being themselves, being whoever they want to be.”

Indeed, all walks of life seemed to be present at DragCon, including a few notable standouts.

Among the varied streams of regal, spooky and silly personalities were muscular, scantily clad men in assless chaps and neon speedos — known on the show as the “Pit Crew” — while “Adventure Time,” “Rugrats,” “Clueless,” “It” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” cosplayers strutted around. Casual encounters with popular queens, like season 10 winner Aquaria and season six contestant Gia Gunn, made for pleasant surprises.

RuPaul himself remained an elusive figure during DragCon, but as serendipity would have it, he strode past us on day three, decked out in a pink vest and white shirt. A throng of followers tailed behind his slender, formidable figure, as he carried a sign that said #TakeBackTheHouse and waved hello to fawning fans basking in his glory.

Even with the non-stop promise of fun festivities and queer liberation, DragCon wasn’t without its faults: Merch was expensive, certain vendors were overeager, lines to meet “Drag Race” contestants were long and time-consuming. In one particular instance, Ariel and I waited four hours to see season seven and All-Stars season two favorite Katya, whose line extended for what seemed like miles but whose Red Room-styled station made the trip worthwhile. Though most of the meet-and-greets were free, taking a picture with more top-tier queens like Detox and All-Stars season 3 winner Trixie Mattel required paying a ridiculous cost. Even non-“Drag Race” contestants like Nikki Blonsky, the lead actress from “Hairspray,” were trying to make a quick buck; an autograph was worth $20 and a picture with Blonsky was $30.

The absurdity of these incentives — and the general exhaustion that comes with an event as spectacle-heavy and pricey as DragCon — was lost on neither of us, nor on other drag queens present. “(DragCon) is like a drag queen’s shopping mall. It’s basically where all get to come together,” Onyx said. “It’s like a family reunion, but also like, ‘Girl, I wanna get this makeup. I need a corset. I need some lashes.’ It’s so easy to get everything.”

“For me, (DragCon) is a pleasure, but it’s also an assault on the body,” said season nine contestant and University alum Alexis Michelle, who wore a stylish black-and-silver dress with a matching feather and

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

jewel-encrusted crown. “These convention centers are made of concrete, so stepping on this cement floor is really, really painful for the body. When you spend two days setting up and then three days, all day on your feet, a lot of the time in heels, the body hurts.

But it’s great other than that.”

In addition to the economic and physical fatigue that comes with the DragCon experience, the notion of gender and trans inclusivity posed as a prominent yet barely discussed issue. Inclusion is, by and large, a central theme of both drag culture and “Drag Race,” but it’s often dismissed in the case of anyone who isn’t a gay man.

In the words of Evah Destruction, an Atlanta-based drag queen who dressed as Elphaba in “Wicked” for DragCon, the biggest misconception about drag is “that it’s a boys game. That it’s all just a man’s world because as of now, it’s so much more than that.”

“I know that we need more people on the front lines that are genderqueer, cis-female,” Evah

continued. “Anyone that wants to do drag should be able to do drag the way that they want, but also have the exposure just as much as everyone else gets. We’re not in the ’70s anymore. It’s not just for men.

We need to do better.”

This problem directly affects RuPaul, who became the subject of discourse last May after making a series of controversial comments about prohibiting openly transgender queens from competing on his show. Given the disproportionate rates of violence and murder against the trans community, proper representation of queer non-cisgender folk in both straight and queer media remains to be seen, which is why events like DragCon provide a potential beacon of hope for those who feel excluded from their own community.

“There’s still so many people that are confused as to what drag is and how the line is drawn between being a drag queen or a transgender individual or genderfluid or anything in between,” Ophelia

remarked.

Even with the immense progress made in the growing mainstream exposure of drag culture, there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of making it even more accessible for more marginalized sects of the queer community. As Alexis Michelle pointed out, DragCon will hopefully keep getting bigger and fill up entire convention centers in the years ahead. Onyx joked that she wants DragCon to transform into “RuPaul’s Drag Resort.” For now, though, the size and scope of DragCon represent a radical example of celebrating drag culture and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” for what they are and the potential for what they can become.

“It’s so big for the LGBTQ community and everybody within that spectrum,” Ophelia said. “It gives a place where everyone can come together and not be judged or picked on. There’s no issues here.

Everybody is happy and friendly and living their best life and living their truth.”

DAILY GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN

The ‘A Star is Born’ formula & why it works

WARNER BROS.

Everyone loves a diva. From Mae West to Marilyn Monroe to Aretha, Céline, Madonna, Beyoncé and more, the poise and inimitable power of the diva archetype continues to proliferate through time. Arguably the most memorable and unique diva of our time is Lady Gaga, an artist who has fused visual culture, the avant-garde and her singular voice into a brand which changes with the wind, but always maintains its originality. Gaga’s music alone is a celebration of individuality, and combined with her experimentation in fashion, she consistently creates art that will last the test of time. She is truly an idol, a perfect example of American iconography and pop culture at its finest. For these reasons, she is heralded as an innovator in the public eye, but it is also why her upcoming film “A Star is Born” is already so successful at its release — seeing Gaga bare-faced and raw highlights the soul at the heart of her fame, the thing that makes her different from the rest.

But the Gaga phenomenon is not new, even if this version of the movie is: “A Star is Born” has been made and remade three times before the current iteration, the first being released in 1937. The original version starring Janet Gaynor and its first remake in 1954 with Judy Garland follow the classic storyline that all of the films share; a washed-up alcoholic male star stumbles upon a budding female talent, and with his help she becomes famous. These first two movies ran with the framework to create full classic musicals — Judy Garland’s film was almost three hours of dance numbers and Old Hollywood songs — drawing on the allure of a rags-to-riches narrative to highlight young starlets in typical Tinseltown fashion. But the most recent versions — Barbra Streisand’s epic rock musical in 1976 and the Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper behemoth this year — take a different approach to the conceit, instead focusing in on the grit and reality behind the shiny image of stardom. In both, a well-known star is momentarily stripped down to her base, allowing an eager audience to see the woman behind the diva.

When I first saw the trailer for this year’s “A Star is Born,” I was more excited than I think I’ve ever been for a movie release. 2018 is the year of great music movies, “A Star is Born” is among great company, like Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and others. The teaser itself is a great film, full of emotion and a crescendoing close that emphasizes the serious approach Cooper made as a director to

CLARA SCOTT fill his movie with music that actually holds up alone. I’ve listened to the soundtrack’s first single, “Shallow,” probably more than is healthy. Anyone who lives in my dorm has definitely heard me screaming it in the shower — “I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in, I’ll never meet the ground!” This is a testament to the power of Lady Gaga; I haven’t even seen the movie, but the clip of her, no makeup, t-shirt and jeans, singing her heart out has lodged itself in my mind permanently. Many of my friends have also fallen prey to the trailer, and I assume they too are screaming that song in the shower. Above my own personal excitement, this is evidence of why “A Star is Born” has been remade three times: It’s not just a movie, it’s a phenomenon, one that audiences will always love.

But why do we love it so much?

At the core, “A Star is Born” is all about the diva in question.

Audiences are always a sucker for a transformation, whether it be in the purest circumstances (à la “The Princess Diaries”) or in classic rom-coms like “She’s All That.” But “A Star is Born” does this in a different way, showing the artist as a real woman at the beginning of her career, being brought up the ranks into the star we know and love. In this year’s version, Lady Gaga is stripped

down to her roots, upholding the conceit of remakes past but enhancing it even further. From the promotional material and her press interviews alone, it is clear that the movie is an opportunity for fans and the masses alike to see Gaga in a new light. This is the most obvious draw of the film, to take a glimpse behind the mask of extravagant excess that the singer often creates around herself, but the plotline of “A Star is Born” adds to its status as a phenomenon just as much. It’s an interesting take on the American Dream, but through the eyes of a woman, a relationship and the failure of a famous man. In that, audiences are given a chance to dream for themselves and ruminate on the inherent luck of fame, stardom and talent in the American music industry through an interesting lens.

The gender dynamics of “A Star is Born” are not uncommon in the business, as many women in the past have been guided to fame by self-destructive men over the years. So it’s even more powerful to imagine yourself in Lady Gaga’s place, knowing that her character’s story is not so unique in the scape of history. It is not all glitz and glamour, and “A Star is Born” doesn’t ignore this: The film’s common plot instead uses the male character’s alcoholism as a device to bring realism and candor into an otherwise fairytale story. That realism is ultimately what makes the movie’s formula work time and time again, and why a fourth rendition is popular before it has even been released.

The combination of a common story, the allure of seeing the diva stripped and a balance between the joys and darknesses of success allow the viewer to simultaneously place themselves in the movie and watch as it unfolds at the same time. At its foundation, “A Star is Born” is about rebirth, something that through the prism of fame becomes vastly more powerful than it already is. We all search for a sort of rebirth in our lives, but it is often hard to tell if you are enough to achieve it. The success of “A Star is Born” tells us that we are enough, and that even a diva doesn’t need anything but herself to be seen.

OCTOBER 5, 2018

KATELYN MULCAHY / DAILY

DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN

MARYLAND

2018 Schedule

The Michigan football team dropped its season opener to Notre Dame, falling to the No. 12 Fighting Irish, 24-17. Since then, the Wolverines have remained unbeaten, closing out a three-game home streak unscathed and notching a 20-17 comeback win at Northwestern. Now, Michigan returns to Ann Arbor for a home matchup with Maryland on Saturday before taking on Wisconsin next week.

3 4 6 8

TABLE OF CONTENTS Andy Kostka, a student football beat writer for The Diamondback, gives his take.

Long snapper is an anonymous position, but that’s how senior Andrew Robinson wants it.

The Daily breaks down how the Wolverines will fare against the Terrapins.

The Daily presents storylines that you should watch for during the Maryland game.

Notre Dame (Sept. 1): Touchdown Jesus?

Where is Touchdown Moses?

Wisconsin (Oct. 13): There’s no “I” in Chryst.

Western Michigan (Sept. 8): Row the NOPE! (please don’t sue us PJ)

Michigan State (Oct. 20): The Michigan Daily has beaten the State News 13 years in a row.

SMU (Sept. 15): More like Methodisn’t

Penn State (Nov. 3): The App State game gave us flashbacks even without the 7,000 replays on BTN.

Nebraska (Sept. 22): Wendy’s wrote a much better joke than we ever could.

Rutgers (Nov. 10): Seriously, someone needs to drain the hot tub.

Northwestern (Sept. 29): Darren Rovell is your most famous alum.

Indiana (Nov. 17): We spent 5 minutes debating who their coach was.

Maryland (Oct. 6): They need more swing sets in College Park.

Ohio State (Nov. 24): Brett XcXurphy

STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers pick against the spread for top-25 and Big Ten teams.

Mike Persak

Max Marcovitch

Mark Calcagno

Alexis,

Ethan Wolfe

Managing Photo Editor, takes really good photos

No. 1 Alabama (-35) at Arkansas

Alabama

Alabama

Arkansas

Alabama

Alabama

Vanderbilt at No. 2 Georgia (-27)

Georgia

Georgia

Vanderbilt

Georgia

Georgia

Indiana at No. 3 Ohio State (-26)

Ohio State

Ohio State

Indiana

Ohio State

Ohio State

No. 4 Clemson (-20) at Wake Forest

Wake Forest

Clemson

Clemson

Clemson

Clemson

No. 5 LSU (-2.5) at No. 22 Florida

LSU

LSU

LSU

Florida

LSU

No. 6 Notre Dame (-7) at No. 24 Virginia Tech

Notre Dame

Virginia Tech

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

No. 19 Texas at No. 7 Oklahoma (-7)

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Texas

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

No. 8 Auburn (-4) at Mississippi State

Auburn

Auburn

Auburn

Auburn

Auburn

Kansas at No. 9 West Virginia (-28.5)

West Virginia

Kansas

West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia

No. 10 Washington (-21) at UCLA

Washington

Washington

Washington

Washington

Washington

SMU at No. 12 UCF (-24)

UCF

UCF

UCF

UCF

UCF

No. 13 Kentucky at Texas A&M (-6)

Kentucky

Kentucky

Texas A&M

Kentucky

Kentucky

Utah at No. 14 Stanford (-5.5)

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

Maryland at No. 15 Michigan (-17.5)

Michigan

Michigan

Michigan

Michigan

Michigan

Nebraska at No. 16 Wisconsin (-17)

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Florida State at No. 17 Miami (-13.5)

Miami

Miami

Miami

Miami

Miami

Northwestern at No. 20 Michigan State (-10)

Michigan State

Michigan State

Northwestern

Michigan State

Michigan State

Arizona State at No. 21 Colorado (-2.5)

Colorado

Colorado

Colorado

Colorado

Colorado

Boston College at No. 23 NC State (-5.5)

Boston College

NC State

Boston College

NC State

Boston College

Iowa State at No. 25 Oklahoma State (-9.5)

Oklahoma State

Iowa State

Iowa State

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State

Illinois (-5.5) at Rutgers

Illinois

Illinois

Rutgers

Rutgers

Illinois

Iowa (-7) at Minnesota

Iowa

Minnesota

Iowa

Iowa

Minnesota

Georgia Tech (-4.5) at Louisville

Georgia Tech

Louisville

Louisville

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech

Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan (-4)

Eastern Michigan

Western Michigan

Western Michigan

Western Michigan

Eastern Michigan

California (-2) at Arizona

California

Arizona

Arizona

California

California

Overall

35-40

41-34

41-34

40-35

0-0

2B

FootballSaturday, October 5, 2018

Behind Enemy Lines: A conversation with a Maryland football beat writer

By MIKE PERSAK Managing Sports Editor

The Michigan football team did what it was supposed to over its last four games.

Against Western Michigan, SMU, Nebraska and Northwestern, the 15th-ranked Wolverines (4-1 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) took care of business, though last week’s win over the Wildcats was closer than most expected.

Either way, a 4-1 record is Maryland at a 4-1 record.

Michigan Now Matchup: Michigan turns its Maryland 3-1; attention to Michigan 4-1 Maryland (3-1, When: Saturday 1-0), which 12 P.M. has been hot Where: and cold this Michigan season.

The Stadium Terrapins TV/Radio: ABC started their season with a promising win over No. 19 Texas, but then dropped a game to Temple.

Even with that tumultuousness, it pales in comparison to what happened in the program this offseason.

Head coach D.J. Durkin, who was the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator in 2015, is currently on administrative leave after Jordan McNair, an offensive lineman, suffered a heat stroke during a summer workout and died. Since, there has been a series of investigations into Maryland’s treatment of McNair during and after the incident that may have led to his death.

That has been the central storyline surrounding the Terrapins, and rightfully so.

But there is still football to be played, and Maryland may be the most talented team Michigan has seen since the Fighting Irish.

Quarterback Kasim Hill isn’t a world beater, but he has shown promise, especially with his legs. Hill is joined by running backs Ty Johnson and Anthony McFarland, who may turn out to be one of the better

backfield duos in the conference this season.

Additionally, the Terrapins’ defense has improved this season, albeit against weaker offenses like Bowling Green and Minnesota.

Ultimately, the Wolverines are heavily favored once again, but they were against the Wildcats too, and we know how that ended up.

The Daily spoke with Andy Kostka, a football beat reporter for The Diamondback — Marlyand’s student newspaper — to ask about the state of Maryland’s program and its progress on the field this season.

The Michigan Daily: Obviously a tumultuous offseason for the program. I’m curious, with all that happened, what is the current feeling towards the program and also Durkin in particular? Do people think Durkin will survive this?

Andy Kostka: There are mixed feelings toward coach D.J. Durkin at this point, and it depends on who you ask.

Certainly some students and others who watch the team aren’t as supportive of Durkin, and possibly the team, after allegations of a “toxic” team culture. But others, such as high-level Maryland boosters, are firmly in Durkin’s court and believe there is no toxic culture despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Those donors feel Durkin should return, but it’s fair to say there is quite a split in that department.

TMD: How would you categorize Maryland’s on-field performance so far, with a win over Texas but also the loss to Temple?

AK: Maryland’s loss to Temple was somewhat baff ling at the time. The week prior, the Terps accumulated 444 yards on the ground to beat Bowling Green, and then managed just 195 total yards in the homeopening loss to Temple. One reason that may have happened was because Maryland’s starting tackles, Derwin Gray and Damian Prince, both missed the game through injury. That performance was very much

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is undefeated at Michigan Stadium with wins over WMU, SMU and Nebraska this season.

an anomaly, and Gray and Prince should both be healthy this weekend. Throughout the year, Maryland has relied on its running game and picked its spots for throws. When the running game isn’t able to function to full effect, there may be issues, like there were against Temple.

TMD: Maryland’s defense seems to have been a bit hitor-miss this season. How do you expect them to hold up on Saturday?

AK: The Terps’ defense has played better overall than last year, even with lapses against Temple. But it remains to be seen how Maryland will respond on the road against, statistically, the highest-ranked offense it has seen this year.

The Terps held Minnesota and Bowling Green — ranked No. 109 and 112 in total offense this year, respectively — to 27 combined points. But then Maryland allowed 35 to Temple, who ranks at 105. So, while

Michigan isn’t an offensive juggernaut, it should be a bigger test against the No. 66 total offense Saturday.

TMD: Ty Johnson and Anthony McFarland have been very solid this season. What, in your eyes, makes them a threat?

AK: Both backs have big-play ability. Ty Johnson broke off an 81-yard touchdown run last week and Anthony McFarland scored on a 64-yard carry.

Both tailbacks seem to have another gear in space and they have each used that well so far.

Their success will dictate how Maryland will play.

TMD: How has Kasim Hill performed compared to expectations? And is he talented enough to carry the offense if the run game isn’t clicking?

AK: Kasim Hill isn’t likely to lead Maryland to victory solely through the air. He needs a running game to open up passing lanes, and has shown a tendency at times, especially on deep throws, to miss the mark.

He’s completing 55 percent of his passes. Hill’s best attribute, perhaps, is that he doesn’t seem to have a knack of turning the ball over and he can be relied upon to hit targets from short or medium range. I think he has matched expectations so far. He probably won’t pick apart Michigan’s secondary, but it will be imperative that he does enough through the air to prevent the Wolverines from stacking the box to stop the run.

TMD: Maryland wins if...

AK: It has a positive turnover ratio and both McFarland and Johnson find ample running room — and the end zone a few times.

TMD: Michigan wins if...

AK: The above doesn’t happen.

The Wolverines’ defense will likely make moving the football somewhat of a challenge.

TMD: Score prediction?

AK: Michigan 32, Maryland 17.

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

3B

ETHAN WOLFE DAILY SPORTS WRITER

A

ndrew Robinson remembers his debut for the Michigan football team. You probably don’t.

In the penultimate game of the 2015 regular season at Penn State, starting long snapper Scott Sypniewski was sidelined with an injury. So it was Robinson, then a redshirt freshman, who quietly filled in and executed — his first of just five career appearances.

The fifth-year senior walk-on knows recognition is hard to come by as a backup, let alone as a long snapper, perhaps the most anonymous position in football.

Being seen was never his concern.

Praise and frustration are heaped upon guys like Rashan Gary and Shea Patterson. Their potential lies in making the NFL — the NCAA being a given. But Robinson, like so many on the Wolverines’ roster, has an unnoticeable career.

“I remember seeing a tweet and someone said ‘Oh, Sypniewski’s been banged up, they might get Andrew Robinson a chance,’ ” he recalled.

“And someone tweeted, ‘Who is Andrew Robinson? I’ve never heard of him.’ And I was like, ‘Exactly.’

“You don’t want to be known.” *** Andrew admits that long snapping wasn’t his, nor frankly anyone’s, first choice. But it was his ticket to accomplishing what seemed unimaginable — playing college 4B

FootballSaturday, October 5, 2018

football. Choosing which school to play for was a far-flung, second objective.

At Athens High School in Troy, Mich., Andrew played football and lacrosse. His younger brother by two years, Bradley, played the same positions, and his father, Brad, was an assistant coach for the football team.

“Bradley and Andrew always worked their tail off in the weight room for me, dedicated to the program,” said Josh Heppner, the brothers’ high school coach. “They worked hard, played offensive line, did some things on defensive line for us, but they found their niche with long snapping.”

Starting in youth leagues, Andrew played as an offensive lineman.

But his short stature — currently at 6-feet and 218 pounds — was an early indicator that he wouldn’t fit the prototypical lineman build. None of Michigan’s scholarship linemen weigh under 300 pounds.

He also started long snapping in eighth grade. His coach didn’t like his form, but Andrew was the only one who could snap the ball at least 13 yards. So he assumed the role, and it stuck when Heppner needed a long snapper.

During his sophomore year of high school, rotating between offensive lineman and long snapper, collegiate aspirations weren’t gaining traction.

Thus began the reckoning of an uncertain future.

“I wanted to play college football, so I knew I needed a niche,”

Andrew said. “My dad had done a bunch of research and saw a (long snapper) had gotten a scholarship offer from Notre Dame, Nebraska. So he’s like, ‘Okay, let me figure out more about this.’

And then next thing you know, I got a Twitter (direct message) from Chris Rubio and he just said ‘Hey, my name is Chris Rubio, check out Rubio Long Snapping.’ So I checked it out and was like ‘Let’s go to a camp.’ ” Added Brad: “We came back from the Chicago trip and he sat down with his mom and myself and said ‘I want to do this. I want to do more camps, get better at it.’ And that’s what we did.”

The Rubio Long Snapping camp began 14 years ago, starting with six participants and growing to as many as 300 at the most recent camp.

Six years since their first meeting, Rubio — a former long snapper at UCLA — still has lasting impressions of Andrew.

“Honestly, one of my top snappers,” Rubio said. “He wasn’t silent, I’m a big fan of that because I don’t like when long snappers are tense. When they’re tense they never do well. … If he never hears his name, he’s done a great job.”

And being heard was difficult, anyway. Rubio compiled film and offered a communication channel for his long snappers to find open roster spots at the collegiate level.

Andrew sent his own edited tapes to schools, even making a trick shot video in 2013 — a YouTube clip that still rouses laughter amongst his teammates.

He doesn’t mind them poking fun. How else was a long snapper

supposed to make himself known when doing so is the very antithesis of the position? *** Andrew traveled to Grand Valley State and Ferris State. Lehigh called.

Then Butler and Central Michigan.

Michigan State inquired, followed by radio silence. The attention he finally earned was humdrum.

Then, Brady Hoke and Michigan — which hadn’t recruited a player from Troy Athens since 2002 — chimed in.

“One day, I got a text message from Allen Trieu from Scout.com and he said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to jinx it, but Michigan just called me about you. They’re coming to visit you tomorrow.’ ” Andrew remembered.

“And I was like, ‘You know this is Andrew Robinson, right?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I know.’ I was starstruck. I was like, ‘Really? I got on Michigan’s radar?’

“I remember running down into the basement where my dad was. I told him, ‘Hey, I just got told Michigan is gonna come visit me tomorrow.’ He was like ‘Yeah, right. You’re kidding.’ … I got called out of class and people are like, ‘A-Rob’s meeting with Michigan?’ It was a big joke, like, ‘Oh, it’s snapper Rob.’ No one thought that I’d end up where I was.”

Neither did his father. He never envisioned Andrew making it to the next level. Both Andrew and Bradley making it as long snappers was unthinkable.

But when Andrew got his walk-on offer from Michigan shortly after, it also represented a foot in the door for Bradley.

Between the two brothers, Bradley is the taller, leaner one. It’s why

Andrew only calls him his “baby brother” instead of “little brother.”

It’s also why, with Andrew’s experience to guide him, Bradley’s D-I offers were proactive and not reactive — Illinois, Louisville, Auburn, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State all reached out.

The attention gives Brad and Andrew a laugh — Bradley didn’t even want to long snap. He wanted to be a quarterback. His stature said otherwise.

“He really fell in love with it when he first met Chris

Rubio,” Brad said. “Andrew’s participating (at a camp) and Bradley’s going, ‘I could do this.’ …

On his way home from camp he says, ‘I want to do this too. I want to start going to camps.’ ” From there, the “consistency” of the Robinson brothers, as Heppner puts it, elevated Bradley into a greater spotlight. After wading through offers and one year as a Spartan,

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

And someone tweeted, ‘Who is Andrew Robinson? I’ve never heard of him.’ And I was like, ‘Exactly.’ “You don’t want to be known.”

You don’t know Andrew Robinson -

he’s fine with that.

DESIGN BY JACK SILBERMAN

Bradley, encouraged by his brother, found a home at Ohio State where he’s now a junior.

For two brothers at rival schools — with a father who is a Michigan State grad, nonetheless — their bond is less competitive than imagined.

“They both compete with each other, but they’re also super close and they mentor each other,” Brad said. “A lot of things Andrew has gone through, Bradley has been able to grow and see how it is.”

There are exceptions, of course, like how Andrew and Bradley have the same haircut — what Andrew calls the “Conor McGregor fade.” They have a bet: whichever team loses the Michigan-Ohio State game this year, the losing brother shaves their head and stays bald the rest of the year. *** As Andrew reflects during his fifth and final year, he talks with veteran confidence.

When he was hanging out with

the Wolverine specialists at Northwestern this past weekend, his teammates discussed Devin Gardner like an ancient relic of Michigan football history. He was Andrew’s freshman year teammate.

Former classmates of his who have transferred or graduated like Drake Harris, Moe Ways, Ian Bunting and Wilton Speight make his final year quieter. Dymonte Thomas, who used to pray in the north end zone of Michigan Stadium with Andrew before games, is now in his second season with the Denver Broncos.

Now, Andrew’s pregame praying ritual is back to a familiar spot off the field. He kneels facing north, alone, by the left hash that he has snapped from for five years. Now Bradley prays with his classmate, running back Master Teague, before games.

Off the field and out of mind, it’s hard to imagine Andrew’s journey as a whirlwind, but that’s exactly how it is. Does he wish he played more? Of course. But he doesn’t think about it. Starting long snapper Camaron Cheeseman is one of his good friends. Andrew actually likes being one of the first guys to congratulate the special teams unit after a play.

Being a Michigan football player — the rah-rah and tradition that trumped any other D-I or D-II offer he got — is forever inscribed in his identity.

“I’ll never forget when I met (former kicker) Kenny Allen’s mom the first time, and she told me at our first game, that when you see your kid running out of that field to touch that banner, you will cry, you will tear up,” Brad said. “Ever since that happened, I do. I get a little tightness in the chest because of that tradition, and I love it and it’s the greatest feeling.”

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KATELYN MULCAHY / DAILY

And when Andrew has gotten that rare chance to go into a game, the tear ducts well up. But if you’re not paying attention, he’s happier. Since 2015, Andrew has only seen game action in 2016 against Hawaii and Rutgers and in 2017 against Wisconsin and Ohio State.

“I want to get thrown in the game and I almost don’t want Coach (Jim) Harbaugh to know I was in the game until he watches film, because I want to be the best I could be,” Andrew said. “It’s one of those things that you don’t wanna be known until someone puts on the tape and sees 49 was in.”

Added Rubio: “A good long snapper is like a Honda Accord. It’s not the flashiest car in the world, but it’ll get you from point A to point B. …

On fourth down, (a coach) wants to yell at his linebacker to get him the ball back or at his quarterback for throwing an interception or whatever.

“Long snapping is one of those things he doesn’t want to think about.”

The age-old adages of reflection surface when talking to Robinson.

There are no regrets going to Michigan and getting his degree in movement science. As of this fall, he’s applied to physical therapy schools and is even weighing participating in Michigan’s pro day.

A long snapper who has played in five games making it to the NFL seems like a pipe dream, but it doesn’t faze Andrew. He references Detroit Lions’ long snapper Don Muhlbach, who played only one season in college and is now a 15-year vet. To prepare, Andrew works with former NFL special teams coach Greg Zauner on his snapping.

With a degree in his back pocket, he

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ROBINSON FAMILY

says it’s better than never trying. *** On Nov. 23, Brad and his wife Susanna will drive down to Columbus, Ohio in their pickup truck in anticipation for what is to come the next day. Their sons probably won’t see the field, but who knows that over a month away? Either way, they’ll be proud.

It’ll be their first and only game they attend together this college football season, just as planned. Normally, they “divide and conquer.” Just this past weekend, Brad traveled to Evanston to see Andrew and Michigan, while Susanna ventured to Happy Valley to see Bradley and Ohio State. In Columbus, it’ll be the last time the two brothers will share a field.

Like any other fan would do, the couple will set up to tailgate with friends and family and let loose before another iteration of one of the sport’s greatest rivalries.

Neither of them really care who wins, if they’re being honest. And

they may not be congratulated for their kids’ on-field performance.

They’ll just be thinking about how they’ll celebrate with their sons after the game.

It won’t be their last post-game celebration together, though. It’ll be their first.

“We’ve made it a goal that when they’re done with their college careers and have families,” Brad said, “on Thanksgiving weekends we’ll either be at Ohio State or (Michigan) and that’ll be our tradition.”

So when they park at Ohio Stadium and prepare to tailgate and watch the game, the routine is the same.

The faces of passersby will tense up seeing the back of their truck — sideby-side Michigan and Ohio State football stickers.

Brad has heard the question often: “What’s up with that?”

“It’s a unique situation,” he explains.

Breakdown: Michigan vs. Maryland

By MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor

There is quite a bit of noise swirling around Maryland football right now. This preview will choose to focus on the field, aimed at the team that will be traveling to Ann Arbor to play Michigan on Saturday. But there is plenty to read about the rest, most of which is not good.

The Terrapins come into the game a confounding 3-1 team.

They notched a statement 34-29 win at Texas in week two, before losing by 21 points the next week against Temple. They then responded with a 42-13 trampling of Minnesota, and are on the fringe of the AP Top 25, receiving 10 votes in this week’s poll.

Maryland will be the most complete team the Wolverines have faced since Notre Dame, and thus an adequate tuneup ahead of the daunting four weeks that loom on the horizon.

The Daily breaks down what to expect in this week’s Big Ten bout: Maryland passing game vs.

Michigan defense The first thing you’ll notice about Maryland’s offense is the regular motion. On nearly every play, a player comes across the formation, whether the quarterback is under center or in the shotgun. Sometimes this is designed to cause misdirection, in the form of a jet sweep or another creative run. Often, it’s just used to get the linebackers moving and the defense scrambling.

It allows several different options off those looks. The Terrapins like to get their quarterbacks on the move as often as possible. Notice the plural.

Redshirt freshman Kasim Hill will start and play most of the game. He’s the better passer, and a far more well-rounded quarterback.

He’s also shown a solid ability to navigate the pocket. Tyrrell Pigrome might also get some time under center. Pigrome is the dual-threat option, as he’s only thrown eight passes on the season and completed just four.

More often than not, when he’s in the game, it’s a running play in some form. Both Pigrome 6B

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Senior running back Karan Higdon notched 30 carries in a single game, helping the Wolverines to a 20-17 comeback win last week at Northwestern.

and Hill suffered season-ending ACL injuries last season that decimated Maryland’s season.

Hill will get the majority of the snaps, but don’t be surprised to see Pigrome play for a few series’.

It’s not the most prolific passing game the Wolverines will face this season — but it’s formidable and poses a test, nonetheless. In the Terrapins’ loss to Temple this season, Pigrome and Hill combined to complete just eight of their 21 passes for 63 yards and two interceptions. On the f lip side, in their win over Texas, the duo was a combined 20-for-33 for 244 yards and a touchdown.

If Maryland can establish the run early and keep Michigan’s pass-rushers off balance, its

FootballSaturday, October 5, 2018

passing game can pick its spots effectively. The Terrapins’ best shot is in a close, low-scoring game.

If not? Well, ask Adrian Martinez what can happen to a freshman quarterback on the road in a spread offense playing against the top-ranked defense in the country.

Maryland running game vs.

Michigan defense Again, it all starts with the motion. The Terrapins will run jet sweeps, counters off those jet sweeps, then play action off that.

Whether it’s the best approach against the Wolverines’ defense — with one of the most athletic linebacking corps in the country — remains to be seen. But it is

the look Maryland will come out with.

For that reason, it’s a rushing attack predicated on balance.

The Terrapins’ leading rusher, Ty Johnson, has just 40 carries on the season. Michigan senior running back Karan Higdon tallied 30 carries last week alone. For Maryland, 13 players have registered at least one carry this season; five have a per carry average over seven yards, and the same five have rushed for at least one touchdown over 20 yards. That’s where the majority of the big plays in this offense will come from.

Michigan allows just 86 yards per game on the ground, good for seventh in the nation. But the Terrapins’ running game might pose the most well-rounded test

yet.

Michigan passing game vs.

Maryland pass defense Lost a bit in the f lair of junior quarterback Shea Patterson’s comeback last week against Northwestern: Michigan’s passing game is far from clicking on all cylinders.

Patterson missed open receivers on numerous occasions, despite having arguably the best pass protection of the season.

For in-game updates

Follow @MikeDPersak, @ethanewolfe, @Max_Marcovitch and @MWCalcagno on Twitter during Saturday’s game.

Playing at home this weekend will likely help cure some of those struggles. In three home games, Patterson has completed 72 percent of his passes, totaling 482 yards and seven touchdown passes. In two road games, he’s yet to throw for a touchdown.

Some of that may be contingent on strength of opponent, sure.

This weekend will help answer as to how much. Maryland’s pass defense allows roughly 210 yards per game, a respectable 50th nationally. In general, the Terrapins will be the best defense to come into Michigan Stadium thus far this season.

One of the best determinants of how effective the passing game will be — and can continue to be going forward — is the continued improvement of the pass protection.

“Pass protection is going pretty well,” redshirt junior left tackle Jon Runyan said on Monday. “… Shea’s had time, and when he has time, he can make

unbelievable plays with his arm.”

Maryland comes into the game with 11 sacks on the season, and will put Runyan’s words to the test, especially with big matchups against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State looming.

Michigan running game vs.

Maryland run defense If junior Chris Evans (listed as questionable) is able to play Saturday, it will be the first time both he and Higdon have played since week two against Western Michigan. In that game, both got double-digit carries, combining for an efficient 23-carry, 245yard performance, adding three touchdowns. It’s the duo that compelled many to think Michigan’s running game could be a pillar of this team.

So far this season, results have been uneven. Against the Broncos, the Wolverines racked up 308 yards on the ground.

Against Notre Dame, that number was just 58. If Michigan is to accomplish its goals this season — beating rivals, competing for the Big Ten, etc.

— it will have to do so with the foundation of an above-average running game.

While Maryland isn’t quite at the level of an Ohio State or Michigan State, it’s a step in that direction. The Terrapins allow just 104 yards on the ground per game, good for 18th nationally.

Special teams There’s a real argument to be made that the biggest strength of this Michigan team is not its topranked defense, but its special teams. Suddenly, junior Will Hart is one of the best punters in the country, averaging a staggering 52.1 yards per punt. It’s just one of the ways the Wolverines’ special teams continue to give them a subtle advantage week in, week out. Punt and kick coverage

included.

“It’s been a big deal for us,” said fifth-year senior special teams extraordinaire Joe Hewlett. “We really want to be aggressive and we really kind of take that to heart. … Going 85-90 yards on our defense is not going to really happen that often.”

Hewlett also said the group has been setting — and meeting — goals. Hewlett said those goals include giving the offense an average drive start past the 30-yard line, hold the opposing team to fewer than 15 yards per return, and meeting a certain net punt yards measurement.

After week three, Hewlett says, the group evaluated all these measures. They’ve met them all.

That, of course, goes without mentioning redshirt sophomore kicker Quinn Nordin, who has now hit six of his seven field goal attempts this season, with a seemingly limitless leg.

Breakdown Excluding Notre Dame, Maryland will be the best team Michigan has faced this season.

It has offensive balance and defensive talent. If the game is close, the Terrapins’ rushing attack could control the game.

It’s not a game the Wolverines should lose, but it’s absolutely one they could.

That being said, Jim Harbaugh is 20-4 at home in his time at Michigan for a reason. The Wolverines are hard to beat at Michigan Stadium. After a lackluster first half against Northwestern, expect defensive coordinator Don Brown to have his defense ready to wreak havoc early and often.

Michigan takes an early, commanding lead and never looks back.

Prediction: Maryland 13

Michigan

31,

CAMERON HUNT/Daily

Junior Will Hart is averaging 52.1 yards per punt so far this season as one of the best punters in the nation, giving the Wolverines’ special teams unit a subtle advantage during matchups.

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

7B

What to Watch For: Maryland

By MARK CALCAGNO Daily Sports Editor

On Saturday, the Michigan football team is back home, where it has dominated all three of its opponents this season.

The last of these opponents was Nebraska, which the Wolverines drubbed, 56-10, in a game that was essentially over half way through the first quarter. But last week, Michigan traveled to Northwestern — a team coming off a bye — and nearly threw away its season before coming back to win, 20-17.

The Wolverines’ opponent this weekend is also coming off a bye and has the capabilit y to give them challenges.

Maryland defeated now-No.19 Texas in its season opener and is 3-1 to start the year.

That’s all under interim coach Matt Canada, who took over for D.J. Durkin in Aug ust after the tragic death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair. Durkin was Michigan’s defensive coordinator in 2015 before leaving for the Terrapins.

With Durkin still on administrative leave, the only other focus is Saturday’s game.

Here’s what to watch for.

Slants Just as they did against SMU, the Wolverines struggled against the slant and mesh patterns last week. According to defensive coordinator Don Brown, Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson went 3-of-5 for 23 yards in the first half and 2-of-4 for 22 yards on such plays.

The key difference is that Michigan was able to st ymie Thorson as the game went on.

The Wildcats didn’t score after jumping out to a 17-0 lead, as the Wolverines allowed just 119 yards the last three quarters.

Still, teams have smartly looked to take advantage of those slants against Michigan.

Brown’s defense is predicated on getting free rushers on the quarterback, which often requires linebackers to push rush, leaving the middle of the field open. The slant is 8B

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Junior defensive end Rashan Gary earned his first sack of the 2018 season in the first quarter of Michigan’s 56-10 win over Nebraska two weeks ago in Ann Arbor.

the perfect pattern to take advantage.

But Brown isn’t all too concerned, noting Thorson’s abilit y to fit passes into tight spots.

“I thought Thorson was prett y good,” Brown said Wednesday. “He’s going to end up g raduating, I would bet, as one of the top-25 throwers probably in the history of the Big Ten. There are two catches … where he puts it into a window about this big. (But) I’m not going to stand here and say, ‘Jeez, we did a g reat job.’ ” Though the Wolverines found success with more press coverage later on against the Wildcats, slants could be a large part of Maryland’s game plan Saturday.

Rashan Gary’s health Like the team itself, Rashan Gary had one of his best quarters of the season two weeks ago. The junior defensive end manhandled Nebraska’s offensive tackles and earned his first sack of the season in

FootballSaturday, October 5, 2018

the first quarter.

But he left the game soon after and didn’t return. Based upon exercises he did with trainers on the sideline, it looked to be a shoulder or arm injury.

Gary brushed it off publicly last week, but the injury bug bit him again in Evanston. He left the game and went to the locker room during the third quarter — though he did return eventually.

Gary is “questionable” to play Saturday.

“He’s day-to-day, so we’ll see,” Brown said. “Not really sure right now. (We’ll) let the trainers see if they can put him back together for the weekend.”

If Gary can’t go, sophomore Kwit y Paye or freshman Aidan Hutchinson would likely earn their first career starts. Both have played well recently: Paye collected two sacks last week, while Hutchinson earned three tackles — one for a loss — against the Cornhuskers.

“Kwit y Paye certainly has stood up when we’ve needed him to stand up, along with the

other g uys,” Brown said.

Receiver depth It was interesting to see Ronnie Bell receive a jet sweep on Michigan’s second play from scrimmage last week. The freshman receiver had been previously featured mostly in the second half of blowouts, with redshirt freshman Dylan McCaffery under center instead of junior Shea Patterson.

But Bell played ahead of redshirt freshman Oliver Martin on Saturday — a major surprise considering Bell had no Division I football offers at this time last year.

Elsewhere in the position g roup, Harbaugh said he hopes to get junior receiver Nate Schoenle back this weekend.

Schoenle earned a scholarship at the end of fall camp after catching four passes for 41 yards in 2017.

Though he’s unlikely to play this week, freshman Michael Barrett has moved to receiver after practicing at VIPER during fall camp, according to

coach Jim Harbaugh.

Prediction Michigan 31, Maryland 17

BY THE NUMBERS Michigan vs. Northwestern

180

Rushing yards by Michigan against Northwestern

6

Sacks recorded by Michigan against Northwestern

174

Recieving yards by Northwestern against Michigan

1

Sack by Northwestern against Michigan