2018-11-16

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Friday, November 16, 2018

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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CRIME

‘U’ student charged with killing aunt

by Troy PD DANYEL THARAKAN/DAILY Alex Wind, high school senior and survivor of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, speaks about gun control and youth activism at an event hosted by Washtenaw Youth Initiative in The Neutral Zone Thursday evening.

Wallenberg Medal winners speak at panels throughout campus, Ann Arbor

Ford School and Washtenaw Youth Initiative host young anti-gun violence activists MELANIE TAYLOR & RIYAH BASHA For the Daily & Managing News Editor

Young people who captured the nation’s attention this spring rallying against gun control brought their energy and vision to students on and off campus Thursday evening, urging local

BUSINESS

Economic forum finds increase in Mich. jobs ‘U’ economic forecasters predict the state to increase jobs over next two years DANIELLE PASEKOFF Daily Staff Reporter

Economic forecasters at the University of Michigan released their economic forecast report on Friday morning.

According to the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, the Michigan economy is set to break its record of the longest period of job growth since World War II. Across the country, however, RSQE forecasters expect rapid economic growth to fade by the second quarter of the year.

These findings, as well as further data regarding population and job growth, are included in their annual analysis of the national and state economies, headed

by RSQE Director Gabriel Ehrlich. The report detailed uninterrupted job growth in Michigan spanning from the third quarter of 2009 to the third quarter of 2018. This See JOBS, Page 3A

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organizers to keep the movement alive. Members of March for Our Lives, a youth anti-gun violence group, and Bold Resistance Against Violence Everywhere, a Chicago-based youth advocacy

training program, participated in two events on and off campus after being awarded the Wallenberg Medal Wednesday See WALLENBERG, Page 3A

LSA junior Nayir Masrur reportedly beat family member to death with a dumbbell MOLLY NORRIS Daily Staff Reporter

LSA junior Nayir Masrur was charged with firstdegree murder Wednesday in connection with the death of his aunt, Rubab Huq. Huq was 55 years old, and a mother of two boys.

Masrur, 20, is accused of murdering Huq using a 15-pound dumbbell in the

basement of a home in Troy Monday afternoon, where both Masrur and Huq are from.

Police were called to Huq’s home in Troy around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. They were responding to a call from Masrur’s mother, who was reporting Masrur as a missing person in an agitated state, according to the Troy Police See MURDER, Page 3A

CSG workshop educates students on Bernstein financial health, importance of savings will lead GOVERNMENT

Event on literacy features speakers from Student Legal Services, credit union EMMA STEIN For the Daily

Central Student Government, Student Legal Services and the University of Michigan Credit Union hosted an interactive workshop Thursday to educate students on how to achieve financial health and security while at the University and after graduation.

CSG President Daniel Greene, a Public Policy senior, said the goal of the workshop was to give students access to underutilized resources on campus and to prepare them financially for the postgraduation world.

“This is part of Central Student Government’s new series of events and workshops to help ensure students are optimizing their Michigan experience and prepared to enter the real world,” Greene said.

“We’re hoping that we can provide events like ‘Achieving Financial Wellness’ that will provide information and skills and on-campus resources that students might not be aware of, or are unaware of all the resources they do provide, and we’re hoping to provide a mainstream platform for students to be able to navigate

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the Michigan experience.”

A survey conducted in 2017

by The Daily found students struggled with financial literacy, with 23 percent of students feeling financially unprepared for college The event started with Doug Lewis, director of Student Legal Services, warning attendees about scammers that use fake companies to hire students and commit financial crimes.

Mark Munzenberger, financial education specialist at the University of Michigan Credit Union, then began his presentation by comparing financial health to physical health. He discussed how if people are sick, there are behavioral actions they take to improve their well-being. He claimed the same philosophy applies to financial health and students should take four actions to improve their

financial wellness — spend, save, borrow and plan.

Munzenberger then discussed how both long-term and short-term savings are important.

Munzenberger said he wanted to place an emphasis on short-term saving in case of an emergency.

“There needs to be some sort of emphasis on shortterm saving,” Munzenberger See SAVINGS, Page 3A

MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily

Mark Munzenberger speaks at Achieving Financial Wellness, a program sponsored by Central Student Government at Palmer Commons Thursday evening.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXVIII, No. 33 ©2018 The Michigan Daily

Whitmer transition

Democrat Regent will help to create structure of new Michigan government RILEY LANGEFELD Daily Staff Reporter

Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer has selected University of Michigan Regent Mark Bernstein (D) as the leader of her gubernatorial transition team.

In this capacity, Bernstein will be responsible for overseeing the implementation of Whitmer’s governing infrastructure. This will include establishing senior leadership positions and key operators in the administration (including cabinet-level officials), building policy teams, conducting departmental reviews and generally ensuring that Whitmer and her team are ready to quickly begin effective work when she takes office on Jan. 1.

Bernstein was elected to the Board of Regents in 2012 with a campaign focused heavily on the high cost of college attendance at the University. This is a focus shared

by Whitmer, whose 2018 campaign included increased increasing funding for state public institutions.

See BERNSTEIN, Page 3A

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

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News

2A — Friday, November 16, 2018

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY:

By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

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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, Business freshman Michael Zhang covered “A Painful Hope,” a dialogue around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict featuring two speakers from the respective regions.

“I thought it was a really interesting experience. Obviously this one wa s bit different because I wasn’t allowed to record but I really enjoyed having a little wrench thrown in the process. It definitely helped me to learn how to report a bit better as well as helping me learn how to format the articles. I enjoyed getting to hear the actual speakers, which I found to be super interesting.”

Business freshman Michael Zhang, “‘A Painful Hope’ discusses middle ground of Israeli-Palestinian conflict”

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“The U.S. has found domestic ways to avoid the prohibition of separating children from their parents, to avoid the duty not to detain refugee claimants other than briefly and after showing it to be necessary in the individual case, and generally to give asylum to people who meet the agreed definition of a refugee, including all of the rights that go with it,” Hathaway said. “This is not just a series of acts that are internationally prohibited but they are acts that are fundamentally at odds with our own core values and with our own history.”

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RIYAH BASHA and SOPHIE SHERRY

University opens new research center to study lasting effects of concussions Biosciences Initiative will spend $5.6 million to focus on treatment, prevention Center’s structure will Chang wrote in an email revolve around three main interview with The Daily. “I For the Daily cores: research, clinical and would go as far as saying that outreach. To meet the needs my grade dropped due to my of the different cores, the concussion. I was lucky that The University of Michigan Biosciences Initiative recently center has pulled together it was a mild case and the faculty members from across sleepiness went away after a set aside $5.6 million to fund the creation of the Michigan different University campuses week. However, may it be the and disciplines. Andrea concussion or the sophomore Concussion Center.

The Almeida, clinical assistant slump, I have been finding it center, which will be led by Prof. Steven Broglio, director professor of Neurology, who harder to concentrate on work of the NeuroTrauma Lab, will co-direct the clinical afterwards.”

Even though Chang has will focus on understanding care core at the Michigan concussion prevention, Concussion Center, stressed recovered, he is still worried the collaborative nature of about the ways his injury treatment and long-term the project. She also cited the might continue to affect him. consequences.

“I am still worried to this Twenty years ago, center’s unique ability to draw on expertise from all over the day if I am experiencing concussions Sudoku Syndication were not taken http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ University to produce a more effects that I simply don’t seriously as a real injury. comprehensive line of know,” he said.

Chang is not alone in concussion research.

“The Michigan holding these concerns, and Concussion Center is long-term effects will be the exciting because it will primary focus of the Michigan allow us to build on Concussion Center, according HARD our strong foundation to Broglio.

“The big question everyone and enhance existing collaborations by is asking is, ‘What happens unifying diverse faculty 30 years later?’” Broglio said. and staff across the “We really want to get into University making U of what the long-term effects M an international leader are. And if there are longin the field of concussion term effects that we have to education, research and be worried about, how do we clinical care,” Almeida mitigate them, how do we wrote in an email to The prevent them, what can we do on the front end, to stop the Daily.

Getting a concussion things on the back end?”

Most long-term studies on can be scary. Business sophomore Kelvin concussion effects are still Chang suffered a mild in their initial stages. One concussion earlier this current study takes college semester after falling students and follows up with off his bike when his them every year for 30 years front mud-guard came after they graduate. The loose. He believes the study currently has 30 sites concussion negatively across the country and 45,000 affected his performance participants.

Thirty years is a long in school.

IT’S SNOWING puzzle by sudokusyndication.com “I felt constantly time to wait for results, © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. sleepy and lack of and Broglio said there are motivation afterwards,” See CONCUSSIONS, Page 3A Because there was so little information available on the nature and ramifications of the injury, it was common for football players who got knocked out during a game to be put back in 10 minutes later. Today, though, doctors and researchers have come a long way in understanding concussions, and strong efforts have been made to improve injury assessment and treatment. Still, there remain many unanswered questions, particularly in grasping what the long-term effects are.

The Michigan Concussion

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WALLENBERG From Page 1A evening: first, an afternoon panel facilitated by students of the Ford School of Public Policy to speak, and a larger event in the evening organized by Washtenaw Youth Initiative at the Neutral Zone in downtown Ann Arbor.

The University of Michigan awards the meda annually to individuals who have shown great bravery in the sphere of social justice. Student representatives from both groups were the youngest honorees in the award’s 28-year history.

B.R.A.V. E. violence prevention coordinator Lamar Johnson represented the Chicago-based youth advocacy training program at the events, and was joined by Alex Wind and Sofie Whitney from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., both survivors of the fatal shooting at their school last Feb. 14. March for Our Lives was born out of activism of students following the mass shooting, while B.R.A.V.E. was founded in 2009 by grassroots movements in Chicago united against local violence. The two organizations formed a coalition following the Parkland shooting in an attempt to take an intersectional approach to activism, and further highlighting the quotidian nature of of gun violence.

The three began the Ford event by lighting a candle in remembrance of the lives lost to gun violence. Then, they entered into a conversation about student activism: what it is, what it requires, why it’s important and how it looked when they did it.

“We like to create rooms that should have never existed and would have never existed before,” Whitney remarked.

All of the panelists emphasized the need to engage the whole of society in gun violence prevention in order to see salient change. Wind advised student activists to involve their friends, contact their congressional representatives and “keep the conversation going.”

BERNSTEIN From Page 1A Last summer, many speculated Bernstein might runfor the governor’s seat himself, though he squashed these rumors by the time Whitmer’s campaign began to pick up steam.

Bernstein told The Michigan Daily he could not comment on his new role, instead referring The Daily to Michelle Grinnell, the communications director for the Whitmer transition team. In an interview, Grinnell pointed to Bernstein’s experience as a regent and education advocate as reasons for the choice.

“In addition to the shared values he has with Governorelect Whitmer, as director of the Transition Office, (Bernstein) brings a wealth of experience in addressing complex issues in a thoughtful, pragmatic way,” Grinnell said in an email. “This will be critical to accomplishing the significant work … in a very short amount of time.”

Bernstein’s record as an effective pragmatist is corroborated by his colleague on the board, Regent Ron Weiser (R).

Weiser has worked with Bernstein since he was elected to the board and knew him for years before then. Weiser, for his part, served on the finance team for Presisdent Donald Trump’s national campaignand inauguration committee.

CONCUSSIONS From Page 2A still a lot of questions to be answered in the short term.

Across campus, there are faculty members working on safer helmet technology, improving diagnostic tools, injury management and interventions. Broglio also thinks by the time the 30 years are over, people will

“We need to be the people who keep talking about it,” Wind said. “We need the people who are remembering the victims. We need to be the people that are really trying to fix the things that are wrong in this country.”

Wind and the others expressed frustration at the fact that coverage for instances of gun violence too often seems to be temporary or altogether nonexistent.

Endless work on such a heavy issue makes it difficult to keep a cheery disposition. Whitney recommended “finding those moments of light” by forging strong relationships with others in the field as a mechanism.

“I can’t get the best out of you if I don’t care about you,” Johnson added. Coming from the perspective of an adult and mentor, he emphasized the need to care “holistically” about your cohort.

Wind, too, said that the work itself contributes to the betterment of his own emotional state.

“This work is very healing for me because what I do is to try and ensure that no one else my age or even younger has to go through this trauma,” Wind said.

Wind, Whitney and Johnson implored attendees of the event to continue the momentum of activism present in the world today. Citing high turnout rates in youth voters in midterm elections last week, they predict that gun violence prevention will be something young people continue to push.

“Do two things: stay loud and stay impatient,” Johnson said.

“We cannot afford to wait for things to change.”

Public Policy graduate student Leah Squires, one of the event’s facilitators, said she appreciated hearing the different perspectives of the panelists.

“What I derived the greatest benefit from was hearing the varied perspectives of the speakers,” Squires said. “They represent and approach antigun violence activism from very different perspectives and concepts but are motivated by a shared vision.”

Just hours later, the panelists shifted down a few blocks to the Neutral Zone, a youth

News community organizing space in downtown Ann Arbor. There, they met with students from Washtenaw Youth Initiative who began organizing against gun violence in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Saline in March, inspired by March for Our Lives. WYI held rallies, a diein and a town hall in the spring, lobbied to get out the vote in the midterms and is now planning programming to activate local youth.

At Thursday’s event, students from more than six local high schools shared strategy with the visiting activists, and then faciliated a dialogue and Q&A afterwards attended by more than 150 people.

“We’re trying to force kids from the corners of the county to the center stage, to give them a platform,” Rosie Kendall, a student at Saline High School, said of WYI’s community work.

Every organizer agreed on the importance of electoral activism, even though many of them were too young ot vote themselves. They also noted, however, their work extended beyond any campaign or ballot.

“Now, it’s time to hold the people we elected accountable,” Whitney said.

Many of the local high schoolers emphasized the intersectionality at the center of WYI. “We have to acknowledge our predecessors who have been struggling for decades,” Zaynab Alkolaly, a student at Washtenaw Technical Middle College, shared. “This is not to erase peope, and you all do a great job of checking your privilege. But we have to lift all of us up.”

WYI organizer Mani Harrison agreed with Alkolaly, and is crafting a series of events to combat activism rife with racial myopia.

“In Ann Arbor, we aren’t centering Black and (people of color) voices enough,” she said.

The young activists connected over their shared vision nad hope for the future.

It is this foresight, they agreed, that is also a driving force in organizing movements.

“You kinda gotta have infinite hope, what Dr. King talked about,” Johnson said. “Be a prisoner of hope.”

Friday, November 16, 2018 — 3A

MURDER From Page 1A Department.

As officers searched for Masrur, he jumped from a second-story window and took off on foot, according to authorities.

About 15 minutes later after the initial call, authorities received another call for a woman who needed an ambulance. This call turned out to be for Huq. The officer arrived at the scene to family members performing CPR on Huq. Masrur was found about an hour later by officers hiding out in an area between a residential area and a golf course. He was

to have,” Kelly said. “One of the reasons we supported Gretchen Whitmer is that she supports students and has mentioned many times that affordable prices of colleges is one of her main priorities. So having someone like Regent Bernstein in her administration, we hope that they will keep students in mind while formulating policy.”

According to Grinnell, Bernstein has no plans for a permanent role in the Whitmer administration. His influence will nonetheless be felt as he helps craft the organizational structures that will shape the administration’s early days.

Whitmer and Bernstein also face the challenge of preparing to govern a state with centrist political tendencies. Though most statewide elected offices will be controlled by Democrats starting next year, Republicans hold majorities in both bodies of the state legislature, and the state’s delegation to the House of Representatives is split evenly between the two parties. Weiser, expressing further confidence in Bernstein’s abilities, said that his skills are well-suited to the divided government that Whitmer will face when she enters the office.

“I think he’ll do a fantastic job,” Weiser said. “He knows how to work with people, and he knows how to work across the aisle. And that’s going to be necessary for this new administration.”

generally have an idea of how concussions affect people down the line.

“It’s not going to be radio silence for 30 years and then one paper done,” Broglio said.

“Things will come out along the way. To be quite honest, by the time we get to year 30 we’ll probably pretty much know at that point.”

The research Broglio and other University faculty members have been working

on has already started to affect policy at the college football level. Broglio hopes that his research will continue to benefit sports.

“Some of the stuff we’ve done has already inf luenced preseason practice rules in college football,” Broglio said.

“I just think that will continue to grow, and that’s our goal. If we can’t inf luence sport in a positive way, then what’s the point?”

provided a loving home for us, filled with wisdom and love and support that knew no bounds,” Farhan wrote. “She was a phenomenal physician by day and a phenomenal mom by night. She was a real-life wonder woman who somehow, magically, could really do it all.”

“Her last words to me were, ‘Baba (my son), onik jothno korey tomake ar tomar bhai kea manush korechi,’” he continued. “ (Or) ‘I worked really hard to raise you and your brother.’

She was so inspirational that it drew me closer to God. She passed away as she lived - in the service of others.”

Huq ended the post by asking for prayers for his mother.

ITS A ZOO IN HERE!

ALEXANDRIA POMPEII/Daily The San Diego Zoo brings in animals fro mBinder Park Zoo for patients at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Thursday afternoon.

SAVINGS From Page 1A

“He’s very bright,” Weiser, the lone Republican on the Board of Regents, said. “He’s very articulate — very well spoken, and a very good advocate. He has a strong political center and I think that he will help them organize well and focus on things that are important for the future of the state. I think he does that at the (University).”

Public Policy junior Katie Kelly, the communications director of University chapter of College Democrats, expressed a similar confidence in Bernstein and a hope that he and Whitmer will continue their focus on education during the transition. “(College Democrats) have a lot of respect for Regent Bernstein,” Kelly said. “We hope by having somebody tied so closely to the University that the administration will have more affordable University cost at the forefront of their policy formulation.”

College Democrats worked extensively for the Whitmer campaign and hosted a rally on campus on Oct. 19 with Whitmer and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaking at the event. Kelly, who is among those who worked to elect Whitmer, emphasized the importance of an advocate for education such as Bernstein shaping administration policy.

“Just having someone who has the voices of students in mind having a direct connection to the administration — as students, that’s an invaluable connection

arraigned on Wednesday at the 52-4 District Court in Oakland County, and is being held without bail. If convicted with the charges as they stand, he faces life in prison.

Sergeant Meghan Lehman, public information officer for the Troy Police Department, said the incident appears to be a brutal, unprovoked attack.

In a Facebook post shared

by Rubab Huq’s eldest son, Farhan Huq, an alum of the University medical school, Rubab is described as a loving mother and physician, who was herself mourning the loss of her husband to lung cancer. In the post, Farhan said his mother was an inspiration.

“She finished her family medicine residency, she

said. “What would happen if you got sick or got in a car accident and you needed money quick? We need to have some short-term savings. It is not always for bad stuff, it could be for vacations or gifts. However, everyone in this room, having a focus on longer-term savings in your 20s once you finish here will make a huge difference.”

The conversation moved to the importance of utilizing a budget.

Munzenberger encouraged students to think of a budget like a tool.

“I really would prefer you to think of (a budget) like a tool, like a laptop or a Fitbit,” Munzenberger said. “That’s all a budget is, a financial tool to keep things organized.”

Munzenberger then

JOBS From Page 1A nine-year streak is tied only with the period ranging from the spring quarter in 1991 to spring 2000.

According to the report, job growth in the state is expected to continue to increase over the next two years, adding 35,800 jobs in 2019 and 39,300 more in 2020. By the end of 2020, Michigan is expected to recoup four of every five jobs lost since the mid-2000s.

From 2010 to 2017, Michigan saw a 29 percent rise in the number of college-educated 25 to 34-year-olds moving to the state. International migration also contributed to this population growth, expected to make up 55 percent of the state population by 2025.

In a press release, Ehrlich said international migration has a growing impact on the state’s population and will continue to increase.

A rise in college-educated

discussed how credit cards involve borrowing money, and how he has worked with many students who get in over their heads. Munzenberger recommended all students check their credit report every year to make sure it is accurate and in a good place and to avoid identity theft.

Lewis offered help from Student Legal Sevrices to any University student who finds a problem on their credit card, saying the office can dispute the issue.

“If you do find an error on your credit card, come to the office and we’ll challenge it,” Lewis said.

Munzenberger added that a low credit score can impact one’s insurance rates, loan applications, employment odds and experience renting apartments. He recommended students keep track of why,

where and how much they spend.

“Be careful of this — I told you houses and cars are expensive, sometimes it is little stuff, lunches, Starbucks, just tons and tons of this little stuff that adds up,” Munzenberger said.

Munzenberger ended the presentation by advising students to use cash if they are spending under $10 because they will end up spending less.

LSA sophomore Hershy Jalluri said she learned how much each individual payment can affect her credit score.

“I think the impact that small things that you do, day to day interactions, can have on your credit score,” Jalluri said.

“Since we’re college students, it seems like one payment isn’t going to be a big deal, but it can make a huge impact.”

residents could also accelerate popualation growth. According to the report, the state’s share of college-educated 25-to-34year-olds rose by 29 percent from 2010 to 2017. 13 of the 16 largest cities in the state also surpassed the national average growth rate in young adults with at least a bachelor’s degree.

“International migration is an especially important driver of Michigan’s population growth because without it, the state’s population aged 4 or younger is projected to shrink by 200,000 residents by 2025,” Ehrlich said.

Within the automotive sector, U.S. light vehicle sales are expected to decline in the next two years — Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler’s share of sales has decreased since last year, according to the report.

Leading sectors included in the report for this year are construction, professional and business services and health services. Low unemployment

rates have also contributed to Michigan’s recovering economy. The unemployment rate for the state this year averaged 4.4 percent and is projected to fall to 3.8 percent by 2020.

Zooming out to the national economic landscape, forecasters predict the benefits of President Donald Trump’s tax cuts will wear off in 2020, even as wage growth remains healthy.

“Wage growth—the one thing that had been missing from the full-employment labor market picture — finally appears to be picking up,” the report’s executive summary reads. “The October reading of average hourly earnings of workers in private nonfarm employment clocked in at a well-received 3.1 percent year-over-year rate, the first time since May 2009 that this measure of wage growth has exceeded 3 percent.”

Opinion

4A —Friday, November 16, 2018

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All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

DAVID HAYSE | COLUMN

“T

o demand that people take personal responsibility for their behavior is extremely difficult. It doesn’t come naturally to any of us. Perhaps the case for it can best be made by using other words to describe the assuming of personal responsibility.

Those words are ‘growing up.’” This quote from Dennis Prager captures a major societal problem today. People today, from young adults to politicians, too often make excuses for their negative behavior instead of owning up and trying to improve the way they act.

Taking responsibility for our actions was hammered into many of us by our parents and teachers when we were children. We learned to do our chores and homework, and that we are accountable for our behavior. My parents told me that my grades in school would ref lect the amount of work I put in. They did not consider that my teacher was bad, or that I’d be distracted by my friends, or that maybe I just didn’t like the subject or school in general. Those were not and are not adequate excuses. The lesson that your life is in your own hands is something lost by many today.

The conduct of many politicians today has, at times, sunk far below civility. Even some of the more reserved, professional representatives have had moments of weakness.

During the 2016 presidential primary race, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., responded poorly to outside stimuli but proved to be a perfect example of assuming sole responsibility for his conduct. Rubio, in response to Trump’s continued and relentless barbs and jokes

Growing up about the competition for the Republican nomination for the presidency, began to make the same type of jokes about Trump. He joked about Trump’s constant tweeting, his spelling mistakes and even his apparently small hands. Much of Rubio’s campaign, for a few weeks, became centered on “out-Trumping” Trump, during debates, speeches and rallies.

What is unique about this situation is that Rubio felt remorse, acknowledged his poor conduct and apologized to Trump for his jokes and comments. Rubio said, “I don’t want to be that. If that’s what it takes to become president of the United States, then I don’t want to be president.” It is refreshing to see a politician realize their misconduct instead of sweeping it under the rug or blaming someone else, like Rubio easily could have done here instead of accepting and apologizing for it. It shows true class from a man who understands what personal responsibility is. Instead of dwelling on politicians and their misdeeds, we should first look upon ourselves and fix our own character. Once we have done that, then we will be able to hold elected officials accountable.

Take this lesson and apply it to your own life: the way you act, your work ethic, the way you treat people. Those things are all completely, unquestionably in your control.

Don’t blame societal pressures, peer pressure, racism, sexism, tiredness, poverty, a busy schedule or anything else for disappointments or failures in your life. While these things can certainly, and often do, affect people in a myriad of serious ways, they do not determine anything on their own. The number one factor

in every event in your life is you. Accept that and embrace it. It does yourself no favors to attribute the ability to determine the outcome of your life to any outside inf luence.

Treat your life as if it is just that — yours. If you can do this, then you will be motivated to make the most of life’s many opportunities.

I understand that people don’t like to be told to “grow up” or to “take responsibility.”

It sounds authoritative and, in a way, scary. I think, however, that it is an empowering idea that especially applies to many of us as aspiring young adults.

Blaming supposed insurmountable barriers for our own lack of success may make us feel better about failure, but it does us no favors.

In high school, I saw plenty of the blame game. The “non-stop grind” of studentathletes being blamed for poor grades.

“Crappy” teachers who apparently didn’t teach the material, even though plenty of kids in class got As. Friends pressuring friends into making inadvisable decisions.

Personal responsibility and accountability is something I was raised to believe and that I believe in fervently. For that reason, when I graduated from high school and we were asked to pick a “senior quote” to accompany our picture in the yearbook, I chose one that embodied that belief. Former President Ronald Reagan said, “We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”

EMILY CONSIDINE | CONTACT EMILY AT EMCONSID@UMICH.EDU

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

A

few weeks ago, thousands of Google employees from across the globe staged what the media is calling a walkout. Employees refused to work as they protested the company’s treatment of sexual assault claims.

The walkout was in direct response to a scathing piece published by The New York Times which detailed Google’s track record of protecting high-profile executives, even after determining the sexual harassment claims against them were credible.

The piece looked closely at Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android mobile software.

An employee accused Rubin of sexual misconduct after he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013.

Google chose to investigate and ultimately concluded that her claim was credible.

Andy Rubin was subsequently asked to leave the firm — but not without a $90 million exit package. The Times reported in the same piece that Rubin was one of three executives that Google protected over the past decade after they were accused of sexual misconduct.

Employees, disappointed with a culture that they felt protected perpetrators of sexual misconduct, began communicating with each other to stage a protest. Walkout organizers generated a list of demands on how Google (which at one point in time boasted the motto: Don’t be evil) should not only handle sexual misconduct, but how it should also improve its culture.

The demands included ending the use of private arbitration in sexual misconduct issues and publicizing a transparency report which detailed instances of sexual harassment. Beyond issues relating specifically to sexual harassment (though they are complicatedly

intertwined), the organizers asked for an employee representative on Google’s Board of Directors and a chief diversity officer that to speak directly to the board.

The walkout at Google is the latest instance of the #MeToo movement’s effect on corporate America. Started 12 years ago

by Tarana Burke and having gained attention nearly a year ago with the public humiliation of film producer Harvey Weinstein after he was accused of rape and sexual harassment, the #MeToo movement has come a long way. Many powerful men have been forced out of their cushy executive-

Employees need to make it known that they are a stakeholder to be reckoned with level jobs. Just a few weeks ago, Leslie Moonves stepped down as CEO of CBS after accusations of sexual harassment were publicly disclosed.

The #MeToo movement has generated awareness regarding the prevalence and severity of sexual harassment in organizations spanning all sectors.

Organizations have been forced to either design or adopt mechanisms that minimize the amount of workplace harassment.

Many companies have set up independent, anonymous helplines that give employees the opportunity to report misconduct without fear of immediate repudiation. While these mechanisms may prove useful in the short term, The Economist suggests in a piece titled “American business and #MeToo” that sexual

harassment is “a symptom of bigger, subtler problems: unequal access to power and unaccountable cultures.”

The walkout organizers at Google had the right idea with their demands that extended beyond calling for change in how the company handles instances of sexual harassment.

Their last two demands (an employee representative on the board and a more inf luential chief diversity officer) work toward transforming the company’s culture — ideally making it more inclusive and accountable.

Greater employee input at the executive level would benefit not only individuals commonly associated with the #MeToo movement, but instead, a host of people with other identities found throughout the company’s ranks. Gillian White writes in The Atlantic that the #MeToo movement has “been centered on the experiences of white, aff luent and educated women.”

Avoiding this fault, the walkout organizers intelligently used the momentum generated from the #MeToo backlash over Andy Rubin to call for greater involvement from all employees — regardless of not only gender and rank, but of race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic class too.

While it is still uncertain to what demands Google will completely concede, the walkout should serve as an inspiration to employees seeking to work in safer, more accountable and more inclusive environments.

Employees, when acting together, can hold significant leverage over their employers. Employees need to make it known that they are a stakeholder to be reckoned with.

Erik Nesler can be reached at egnesler@umich.edu.

ELIAS KHOURY | COLUMN

Billionaires win the midterms... again

W

e are more than a week removed from the 2018 midterm elections, and basically everything to be said about the electoral side of things has been said. What was projected to be a “blue wave” for the Democratic party did not quite come to fruition. While the Democrats were able to f lip enough seats to take back the House of Representatives, their majority is slim and, in the process, they lost two valuable seats in the Senate.

Despite receiving a significant amount of criticism following the 2016 presidential election, the polls and prognosticators reaffirmed their legitimacy this time around.

Much was made of the gains of female candidates in the midterms as women were declared the real winners of the election. One notable female victor was Michigan’s now Governor-elect Gretchen Whitmer.

Furthermore, Representative-elect Ilhan Omar of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional district and Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib of Michigan’s 13th Congressional district made history by becoming the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.

And while female political empowerment is certainly a cause for celebration, now that we have had a week to bask in said victories, it is important that we turn our attention to something a little more unsavory. This cycle saw an unprecedented amount of money funneled into it.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, these midterm congressional campaigns cost a staggering $5.2 billion.

And while it is true that many campaigns — such as unsuccessful Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for Senate — were able to raise huge sums of money primarily through small-scale donors and contributions, to ignore the inf luence of the oligarchy in propping up candidates and pushing them to the finish

line would be foolish. The simple fact is that far too much of this money came from far too few people. The super PACs that the vast majority of Americans oppose are more inf luential than ever. In the month of October alone, the 10 highest-funded super PACs for each of the two major political parties raised a combined $174 million.

The disproportionate impact of billionaires was also in full force during this election cycle. While I normally direct my criticism towards the Republican Party, this election cycle proved that both major parties are completely bought and sold.

Plutocrats drive the agenda, and I can prove it.

We might play the game but they make the rules

One example of this occurred in Tennessee. GOP mega-donor Charles Koch poured $5 million of his own money into the coffers of Trump-loyalist U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s campaign for Senate in Tennessee.

Maybe he was just really excited by her campaign. Or maybe he wants a piece of the corporate tax cuts and the repeal of the estate tax for which she has advocated for so long.

On the Democratic side, a particularly egregious example of electoral manipulation during this cycle by the ultra-rich took place in Nevada, in regards to what was known as “Question 3.”

The proposal asked voters whether or not they would want a constitutional amendment requiring

lawmakers to pass measures in an attempt to establish a competitive, free market for energ y. Investor Warren Buffett, one of the richest men on Earth, shelled out $63 million through Nevada Energ y to wage a propaganda campaign against the passing of the proposal. His motives could not have been clearer.

Buffett is the owner of Nevada Energ y, which is the current monopoly supplier of electricity in the state.

A man worth a whopping $86 billion was hellbent on protecting his profit margins at all costs — at the expense of the general public. He could not accept the prospect of Nevadians potentially seeing their energ y costs go down, so he put up an ungodly amount of cash to ensure that didn’t happen. Here’s the worst part — he got his way.

The disproportionate inf luence of those of astronomical means on our political system is nothing short of a disg race. It is an affront to democratic ideals and the idea of “one person, one vote.” While all of-age citizens — who aren’t convicted felons or being actively suppressed by racist voter ID and reg istration laws — have the right to voice their opinion at the ballot box, we must reckon with the fact that we are only g iven a choice within the conf ines of what the super-rich f ind acceptable. We might play the game, but they make the rules.

Now that the elections are over, it is incumbent upon all Americans to work to hold elected officials’ feet to the fire. One way to do this is to make sure they are accountable to the people, and not their mega-donors.

We have to bring campaign finance reform to the forefront if we wish to salvage democracy and respect the popular will.

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

Arts

5A — Friday, November 16, 2018

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

CONCERT REVIEW

ALBUM REVIEW

University Symphony’s ‘Candide’ scarily timeless understood the unrealistic humor of this perpetual death and violence.

In the end, as the pace of the story slowed, the emotional poignancy began to overtake the dark humor. The final scene, in which Candide and Cunégonde agree to marry and to plant a garden together, was beautifully complex and emotionally ambiguous. “Life is neither good nor bad,” the choir sings. “Life is life, and all we know.”

After this lengthy journey of faulty belief systems and

SAMMY SUSSMAN Daily Arts Writer

INTERSCOPE RECORDS

Imagine Dragons’s latest is unsurprisingly subpar JONAH MENDELSON Daily Arts Writer

Imagine Dragons has, in spite of their remarkable commercial success, become a bit of a joke in recent years. Their first album, Night Visions, was pretty good, but everything they’ve released since has felt like the lifeless results of a machine-learning algorithm designed to appeal to people who drink a lot of Amp. Their previous album, Evolve, was particularly guilty of this syndrome, sounding like a bizarro version of Night Visions where every song sucked.

So with Origins, I came in with low expectations.

The first half of the album is stronger, as Imagine Dragons floats with ease through pop clichés: a Phillip Phillips-esque folk pop revival on “West Coast,” electropop heavy with reverb on “Boomerang” and “Cool Out” and burning arena rock on “Machine.” By and large, these are well-executed and pleasant, if not remarkable. Dan Reynolds has a knack for catchy melodies, in particular soaring choruses. “Machine” is the best of this specific brand of ascendant commercial rock, a stomping

groove inexorably marching towards the Billboard Top 40.

“Bad Liar” is also a pretty strong cut, with one of the stickiest melodies on the album.

The second half of the album is much less enjoyable than the

Origins Imagine Dragons Interscope Records first. There are some moments of interest, but they fizzle out quickly.

There’s “Love,” whose chorus sounds a little too similar to “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz (but without the catchiness). In “Digital,” at one point, Dan starts yelling throatily over a hyperactive breakbeat drum loop, a development that is more surprising than good. At first I thought “Burn Out” would be a solid deep cut, and I kept waiting for the good part to kick in; it was only after the song ended did I realize that, in fact, there was no good part to be found.

Despite exceeding my low expectations, Origins is definitely subpar. Most of the songs on here will work well as music in car commercials or soundtracks to Fortnite compilations, but don’t have much musical value outside

of that. They suffer from the same lifeless corporate flavor that has been permeating Imagine Dragons’s music since the It’s Time (EP), but at least they seem self-aware at this point. There’s really no reason to go out of your way to listen to Origins outside of a couple of decent cuts (“Machine,” “Bad Liar”) that you’ll probably end up hearing anyway during an ad for Regions Bank or something.

Imagine Dragons suffers from the same phenomenon Nickelback did a decade or so back — undeserved commercial success has led to undeserved critical backlash. While the music of these bands isn’t particularly good, the fact that they are the prominent butt of critical derision would make you believe they are much worse than they really are. Origins is commercial and inconsequential, but it is far from unpleasant or incompetent, and I’ve heard much worse music from bands that don’t get a fraction of the hate. The average person who doesn’t pay much attention to music probably really likes Imagine Dragons. To capture that audience range takes talent, and just because it doesn’t resonate with snobbish critics (like me), does not mean that it’s not of worth.

DAILY GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN

She’s so lucky Britney Spears will always be an object of fascination for me.

Every time I go down a YouTube rabbit hole during slow nights in the comfort of my room, I always end up in the same place, watching early-aughts music videos until the sun comes up.

From the fringed crop tops of Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” to the motorized pianos of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” the era is truly iconic in the span of starlet culture as a whole. But there’s one video, Spears’s “Lucky,” that has stamped itself permanently in the history of pop music. The first time I watched it, deep into one of these binge video consumptions, I was taken aback. It seems as if Spears had predicted her downfall seven years in the future, a toxic mix of fame and negligence that would result in drastic change.

The lyrics of “Lucky” serve as a bizarre look into the future of Spears’s career, and the video echoes this even more. The starlet looks on at a fictionalized version of herself, reaching out to a depressed Lucky as she puts on a smile for the cameras and cries until she falls asleep.

Lucky is constantly looking into this tiny mirror throughout the video, trying to primp herself while sadness lurks behind her eyes. Though the song is supposedly a universal story of the dangers of fame, it seems to prophesize about Spears’s own breakdown in 2007, one that would be immortalized in pop culture forever. We’ve all seen the photos of her postbuzzcut, of her walking around looking like a shell of herself as she reeled in the wake of losing custody of her children and an extreme downturn of her career.

“If Britney survived 2007, you can survive today” is a sassy quip printed onto stickers and resting at the bottom of Instagram

posts. But underneath “Lucky” and Spears’s story at large is the sad reality behind Hollywood’s treatment of young starlets, a history that has affected women in the industry for decades.

Though I was slightly too young to understand Britney Spears’s downfall and rebound in its full glory, people like Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan served as examples of starlet culture and its dangers as I grew up. In fact, I wasn’t even allowed to listen to Britney as a kid

CLARA SCOTT because of how sexualized she was in the public eye, a pretty and perfect vision of feminine youth that found its way into the realm of Barbies and lunchboxes alike. My mother said that “Hit Me Baby One More Time” was vulgar for a six-year-old to be singing, and though I was angry at the time, I now agree with her in some ways. Our culture of idealism around these young girls forced them into boxes that were unrealistic and dangerous, placing them on a pedestal that was only waiting to crumble. In the past five years, many of the starlets of my childhood faced their own 2007s, trying to shed their sweetheart images with varying levels of success.

I can remember when Miley Cyrus was photographed shirtless for Vanity Fair at 15,

when she released “Can’t Be Tamed,” a video in which she prowls around a cage in skimpy, feathered clothing, when she danced around at the VMAs in nude spandex. I feel the same way about Cyrus’s reevolution that I do about that of Spears, both of them now seemingly happy and stable despite their struggles with fame. But there are those who weren’t so “Lucky” after all. Amanda Bynes’s battle with mistreatment by the industry and those around her resulted in a complete loss of self for the star. The fame machine sucks in and spits out young girls without giving them a note of how to navigate any of it all, and has since the days of Judy Garland.

While money and power can come with the visibility of being a starlet, many of these girls lost themselves in that pursuit, groomed by handlers to remain marketable as they battled to form strong identities.

We have no way of knowing if Britney Spears really felt the way that the character in “Lucky” does, but it’s easy to believe that she may have. “If there’s nothing missing in my life / Then why do these tears come at night?” she sings during the chorus, with the kind of bravado that seems true under the surface. At face value, the song and its accompanying video is a formulated example of pop perfection, but underneath it serves as a message of reality to what stardom’s consequences can bring. She might be lucky, but there’s something else there, lurking just under a pearly smile and immaculate makeup.

As Hollywood slowly becomes more self aware, there’s a chance for more young girls to grow up famous and not fall apart. But for now, the lessons of Spears’s 2000 song ring true: Even if you have everything, being a starlet is not all it’s chalked up to be.

Few shows so eloquently straddle the boundary between musical and operetta as “Candide,” Leonard Bernstein’s famed adaptation of Voltaire’s novel. This enigmatic work of theatre was first presented on Broadway before moving to opera houses, in which it has garnered great acclaim.

Initially conceived by Bernstein and Lillian Hellman as a play with incidental music meant to satirize the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee, the work’s lyrics have since been modified

by Stephen Sondheim, John LaTouche, Dorothy Parker and Richard Wilbur.

Last weekend, “Candide” was performed by the University Opera Theatre and the University Symphony Orchestra at the Power Center. It was an enthralling journey through the life of Candide on his lengthy quest to marry Cunégonde. It was also a biting satire on the failures of organized religion, philosophy, war, money and socioeconomic class structure.

Despite its antiquated setting, the work manages to remain frighteningly relevant. One can hear the echoes of modern political pessimism in the work’s criticism of 17th and 18th century aristocratic power structures, the cries of antiparty rhetoric reflected in the anti-government libretto.

After a quick introduction to the optimism that so consumed the philosophers of Voltaire’s day, the operetta oscillates between violence and lucky escape.

To those unfamiliar with the book, the dark humor of this unrealistic plot can be hard to laugh at. Candide and his childhood friends travel all over the world, finding each other in the most unexpected of places and avoiding death by the narrowest of means.

I found myself struggling to laugh with some members of the audience at the first scene of mass casualty before I, too,

Despite its antiquated setting, the work manages to remain frighteningly relevant

strikingly immoral systems of cultural morality, the realist, almost nihilist simplicity of this resolution was astounding. The audience sat with rapt attention as Candide and Cunégonde exchanged promises to “do the best” they know in cultivating their garden and living a simple, agrarian life.

The simple ingenuity of the set contributed both to the fleeting absurdity of the plot and the poignant simplicity of the resolution. The entire operetta took place in front of a giant blackboard upon which Candide’s journey was illustrated in chalk. Smaller wheelable blackboards and simple wooden tables formed the changing scenery throughout the production while tablet-sized handheld blackboards formed the props.

These handheld blackboards frequently contributed to the humor with characters on stage

Classifieds

reacting in fright to blackboards with “GUN” written on them.

In the end, as Candide and Cunégonde decide to pursue a simple lifestyle, the blackboard in the back of the stage was erased and the tabletops were removed to uncover small, lush gardens.

The cast was quite impressive. They demonstrated the ease at which they sing English-language opera, and I found myself particularly impressed with the expressive singing of Candide and the colatura abilities of Cunégonde.

With great choreography and significant dialogue, I began to question whether this was not better classified as a musical than an operetta.

Bernstein’s career was based on the blending of genres: from the harmonic dissonance and operatic treatment of “West Side Story” to the popular influences in much of his concert music.

And this work was no exception, with Bernstein jumping from dissonant incidental music to operatic arias and Broadwayesque slow musical numbers.

I am always skeptical of movies and plays based on famous novels. To this end, I will admit that I was incredibly skeptical of Bernstein’s decision to adapt Voltaire’s novel. It would be hard, I thought, for the operetta to not be overshadowed by this incredibly influential novel. And though the overture is a staple of the Americancomposed concert repertoire, I had assumed that there was a reason I was unfamiliar with the operetta.

Yet despite my skepticism, the operetta lived up to the famed book after which it is based. Much like the book, it is a compelling criticism of wealth, power, religion and other constructs of cultural morality. And nothing felt more appropriate than the final words of the play, when Voltaire asks the audience if they have “Any questions?” For what is “Candide” if not a call for the audience to question, a protoNietzschean condemnation of current belief systems in favor of a new belief system?

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Release Date: Friday, November 16, 2018

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

SERVICES

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 “__ simple, duh!”

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27 Spot for a springbok 29 Allay 30 “Cats” source 31 Stopped working 33 Snarky retort 37 Cheshire can 38 Flipped ... and what four puzzle answers are?

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61 Digitize, in a way 62 Tenement for one on the lam?

65 Director Gus Van __ 66 Barb 67 “A Fish Called Wanda” Oscar winner 68 Petro-Canada competitor 69 Erelong 70 Worked with osier DOWN 1 Cornerback’s coups, briefly 2 One-third of a WWII film

3 Wrapping tightly 4 Got married 5 Olive __ 6 Acid type 7 Ivanhoe, e.g.

8 Post-OR stop 9 Nile biter 10 Cure-all 11 Bunch of baloney 12 Linguistic group that includes Zulu 13 Single-master 18 Silent 22 __ Palmas: Canary Islands city 24 Western tip of Alaska 25 Closing documents 26 Expressed, as farewell 27 Checks out 28 Oscar-winning director Kazan 31 Gives a hand 32 Press 34 Grad’s award 35 Nest egg choices 36 Bogs 39 Early Atari offering

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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

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11/16/18

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Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ANN ARBOR POLISH FILM FESTIVAL

Friday, November 16, 2018 — 6A

ANN ARBOR POLISH FILM FESTIVAL

ITCHY DOG FILMS

TFT STUDIO

‘Quiet Hours’ is a sullen ‘Universam’ bewilders, portrait of Donald Hall and ‘A Sky without Stars’ radiates with love & light SAMANTHA NELSON Daily Arts Writer

Though deceivingly similar in their structure and sound, the concepts of loneliness and being alone are completely different. The distinguishing feature between the two is often the element of choice. We choose to be alone, isolating ourselves from the outside world when we need a moment to breath or a beat to ref lect.

But to be lonely is another story entirely. In his brief yet striking documentary, “Quiet Hours,” Paul Szynol softly captures the concept of “loneliness” through sound, image and color, demonstrating its quiet grief as a tiresome burden.

Donald Hall is an 80-something widower living alone in a house seeping with nostalgia of memories past. An American Poet Laureate, National Medal of Arts winner and former University professor, Hall is far past his glory days and put

on vulnerable display for all to see. The film is composed of a mixture of f lashbacks, juxtaposing Hall’s former life in the literary spotlight with his current day-to-day routines of

“Quiet Hours” Michigan Theater Itchy Dog Films mild aerobic exercise, grocery trips accompanied by one of his several female caretakers and painful reminiscence over his deceased wife and lifelong love, Jane Kenyon.

The back-and-forth between moments of the past and present have the intended effect of filling the viewer with a sense of sullenness and almost-pity for Hall. Hall’s acknowledgement of his wife’s passing 20 years prior is paired with a numb sense of acceptance that he will never find real light or joy again.

This mood of numbness and gloom is intensified through the prominence of blues and

greys in the film’s color palate and a minimal soundtrack. In fact, the main source of sound in the film, other than Hall’s own voice, comes from the repetitive dripping of a faucet, a figurative, blinking reminder that just as the tap continues to drip unceasingly, Hall will never move on from his wife’s passing.

The one line of the film that best expresses its entirety is when Hall remarks that, “old age is a ceremony of losses.” The film is short, a mere 14 minutes long, yet it somehow manages to thoroughly personify this quote, crafting a strong sense of profundity and sympathy within viewers. Watching Hall onscreen, we can’t help but ponder the looming threat, not of aging, but of aging without companionship or love or something dear to us.

By showcasing a man who has had so much success and joy in his life in such a solemn light, Syznol urges audiences to consider the “quiet place” that loneliness has the power to create within us all.

STUDIO MUNKA

In ‘Cicha Noc,’ the holidays heighten familial tensions Daily Arts Writer

The chatter before a movie is always entertaining as people muse about the coming movie. This time, though, the people were talking in Polish as they waited for the start of “Cicha Noc,” or “Silent Night” in English.

The movie opens with a shaky shot from a home movie recorded

by Adam (Dawid Ogrodnik, “Life Feels Good”) as he returns home to his family and wife. Doubt about Adam’s intentions is sewn into the audience with every awkward hug and interaction that suggest he hasn’t been with his family in a long time. “Silent Night” created refreshingly real relationships between each family member that are often lacking in typical holiday movies where families fight, but everything works out in the end. Each one was tinged with the lingering feeling that Adam used to be the beloved eldest son, the golden boy of the family. But as the movie progresses, things have obviously changed, causing the kind of dynamic tension that is often rampant throughout families.

Predictably, “Silent Night” uses the iconic Christmas song as a theme throughout the movie. However, the name is also indicative of the

way the film creates drama and pressure. In moments where some movies may have inserted yelling or whispered arguments, “Silent Night” was simply silent. Looks are exchanged and bodies are rigid, but there is no outright yelling. It is the kind of understated judgment that often comes from family members,

“Cicha Noc” Michigan Theater Studio Munka and, when fighting does actually break out, it is a more dramatic, satisfying moment to watch the characters release their anger.

On the other hand, the movie establishes a balance between the family bickering and the love that is often times hidden underneath all the disagreements. The key here was the shots from Adam’s home movie camera. The movie periodically moves between bluetinted and stable scenes of the story to the shaky, more realistic view of the handheld camera. Off-kilter shots and candid moments capture the true nature of the family and, at the end, “Silent Night” compiles all of the different clips from the night to remind the audience that, though family is frustrating, it is also an important part of our lives,

Daily Arts Writer

“Universam Grochów” Tomasz Knittel’s documentary chronicling the life span of Universam Grochów, a supermarket in Warsaw, is not pretty, and it doesn’t try to be. However, such directorial prudence is the exception rather than the rule in “Universam Grochów.”

The filmmakers boldly endeavor to render a seemingly unextraordinary supermarket worthy of a documentary, but their argument in favor of Universam Grochów’s importance is never adequately

“Universam Grochów” Michigan Theater Striktfilm developed. So while audience members may remain intrigued by the compelling but disjointed scenes, they never know enough to feel persuaded.

Some of the arrangements of scenes in the film work. For instance, it shows its audience Universam Grochów first through the eyes of one of its most loyal employees, and then through a historical lens.

This ordering of encounters with the supermarket — subjective first, objective

ANN ARBOR POLISH FILM FESTIVAL

EMMA CHANG

JULIANNA MORANO

and, despite evidence suggesting otherwise, family members do what they do out of love.

“Silent Night” also touches on other subjects, such as abusive relationships, with Jolka — Adam’s sister (Maria Debska, “These Daughters of Mine) — and her husband, or the fight with alcoholism that plagues his father (Arkadiusz Jakubik, “The Art of Loving”) and mother (Agnieszka Suchora, “Off the Stretcher”).

There is a quick nod to racial tensions between those of Polish descent and the rest of Europe that is meant to explain Adam’s father’s reasoning for wanting to keep his son in Poland, but that feels a little forced, thrown into the end of the movie. Kasia, Adam’s youngest sister (Amelia Tyszkiewicz, “Planeta Singli”), is really the only put-together character in the whole movie and plays an integral in keeping the family grounded, reminding them of the growing up they all have to do.

One of the feature films of Ann Arbor’s 25th annual Polish Film Festival, “Silent Night” is a typical dramatization of the family tension that runs so high during the holiday season. It captures the diverse experiences that, though unique to each family in detail, are often universal in nature and is an entertaining experience.

By and large, the filmmakers place an inordinate portion of the burden of forging connections between scenes on their audience

second — successfully initiates the filmmakers’ argument in favor of the supermarket’s unlikely notability. Some of the interviews, especially with a younger shopper, further develop this argument.

In several segments of her interview interwoven throughout the documentary, this younger shopper makes a fascinating argument: A person’s possessions have an immortalizing function, for perhaps they do not merely outlive their owners but allow their owners to live on in them.

Other arrangements in the film, however, simply don’t work, undermining those that do. For instance, the documentarians only hint intermittently at the historical importance of the supermarket, which is an especially surprising absence given the context of Poland’s history of communism. As another example, several transitional

montages are set to the songs of a troubadour who performs regularly just outside the supermarket, but the film does not dive into the questions his role in the film raises (e.g. as an outsider, as a man struggling financially). By and large, the filmmakers place an inordinate portion of the burden of forging connections between scenes on their audience.

On top of that, mere accumulation of scenes that address the documentarians’ driving question does little to advance an argument, and this disconnect will likely confuse and frustrate viewers.

He’s talented, but why are you showing me the troubadour who sings outside the marketplace? Their dialogue is vivacious, but why do you keep showing me the elderly women gossiping before they shop? Such questions run the risk of congealing into the last question a documentarian ever wants to hear their audience ask: Why does this topic warrant a documentary?

The closing sequence of the film summarizes the missed potential of “Universam Grochów.” The documentary captures the life span of the beloved supermarket, so the finale rightly showcases its closing — its death, so to speak. The scene can only be described as a supermarket’s memorial, complete with a crowd of mourners and a eulogy delivered by the same adoring employee who opened the film. If the filmmakers had committed more fully to personifying Unviersam Grochów, perhaps this scene would have felt climactic instead of disconcertingly cultlike. And perhaps audiences would have felt something other than bewilderment with respect to the subject of this documentary, too.

“A Sky without Stars” How does a father love his son?

Let Katarzyna Dabkowska-Kułacz (“Between the Worlds”) count the ways.

For while in theory, her majestic documentary “A Sky without Stars” is about Robert, father of five-year-old Gabriel, losing his sense of sight, the father’s disability never overshadows the father-son relationship at its crux. What results from these fastidious efforts on Dabkowska-Kułacz’s part is a testament to the strength and adaptability humans claim when buoyed by unconditional love.

The opening sequence alone accounts for the luminescence of this documentary. In this sequence, we witness multiple incarnations of the impossible tenderness between Robert and his son. Perhaps the most stunning among these opening scenes captures the two seated in their backyard swing set, Robert cradling Gabe while Gabe puts eyedrops in his own eyes.

Aside from its beauty, this scene introduces two points Dabkowska-Kułacz develops throughout the remainder of her film. On one hand, it addresses a harsh reality the documentary does not shy away from yet still approaches with

ample compassion: Robert’s disease is genetic, and his son will likely lose his vision the same way his father has. We also see in this scene that Robert’s relationship with his son would be better approximated by the term “partnership.” Fiveyear-old Gabe, is, of course, dependent on his father. As Robert’s vision deteriorates, however, he becomes more dependent on Gabe. But as the abundant affection in the scene illustrates, neither of the two see their codependence as weakness; instead, it is portrayed as an incomparable source of strength.

The opening sequence alone accounts for the luminescence of this documentary

Though “A Sky without Stars” sets a high bar for itself with this opening sequence, the film hardly ever departs from that standard. An example of a subsequent triumph of the film lies in the singular sensory experience it forges.

In several shots, the camera is claustrophobically close to Robert and Gabe, so we see them only in part but hear them

“A Sky without Stars” Michigan Theater TFT Studio in full. In a display of directorial wisdom, Dabkowska-Kułacz appreciates that there are times when it is more effective to speak through silences. In a particularly heartrending scene following a checkup with his doctor, Robert is filmed undertaking a vigorous exercise routine. The subtext is that in a previous scene, his doctor recommended exercise to prolong his ability to see after Robert lamented the prospect of never being able to see his son’s face again. DabkowskaKułacz is wise enough to let the emotional complexity contained in this scene speak for itself.

These sensory overloads and deprivations remind able-bodied viewers not only how much they take for granted but also how much Robert maintains despite his disability. In a prime example, Dabkowska-Kułacz lets the sound of Gabe’s laughter steals several scenes, reinforcing the fact that nothing can steal that sound from his father.

The same can be said of the unrelenting love viewers witness every second of the film. Highlighting this love, “A Sky without Stars” radiates its own inimitable light.

INDIANA November 16, 2018

FILE PHOTO / DAILY

DESIGN BY KATE GLAD

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 rolled through their next nine games undefeated.

Now ranked fourth, Michigan will host the Hoosiers in its final home game of the 2018 season. After that, the Wolverines will travel two hours south to Columbus, where they’ll face Ohio State in their final game before the postseason.

3 4 6 8

TABLE OF CONTENTS Eddie Cotton, founder of Hoosier Network, gives his opinion ahead of Saturday’s game.

Jon Runyan Jr., has grown since the beginning of the season and is staring down the expectations thrust upon him.

Chris Partridge has grown comfortable in his role on Michigan’s coaching staff.

What to watch for ahead of the Wolverines matchup with Indiana on Saturday.

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 14 years in a row.

SMU (Sept. 15): More like Methodisn’t

Penn State (Nov. 3): James Franklin? More like a really bad football coach.

Nebraska (Sept. 22): Nebraska is undeniably the worst state to drive through.

Rutgers (Nov. 10): Isiah Pacheco for Heisman.

Northwestern (Sept. 29): No. No one cares that you went to Medill. Crawl back in your hole.

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

Maryland (Oct. 6): Leave it to a coach with the last name CANADA to lead a team that is *kind of* good but mostly irrelevant.

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

Laney Byler

The Citadel at No. 1 Alabama (-28)

Alabama

The Citadel

Alexa,

Ethan Wolfe Alabama

Editor in Chief

Alabama

Alabama

Duke at No. 2 Clemson (-28)

Clemson

Duke

Clemson

Duke

Duke

No. 3 Notre Dame (-10.5) at No. 12 Syracuse

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Syracuse

Syracuse

Syracuse

Indiana at No. 4 Michigan (-28)

Indiana

Michigan

Michigan

Michigan

Michigan

UMass at No. 5 Georgia (-41)

UMass

Georgia

UMass

Georgia

Georgia

Kansas at No. 6 Oklahoma (-35.5)

Kansas

Kansas

Kansas

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Rice at No. 7 LSU (-42)

Rice

Rice

Rice

LSU

LSU

Arizona at No. 8 Washington State (-10.5)

Arizona

Arizona

Washington State

Washington State

Washington State

No. 9 West Virginia (-4.5) at Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State

West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia

No. 10 Ohio State (-14.5) at Maryland

Maryland

Ohio State

Ohio State

Maryland

Ohio State

No. 24 Cincinnati at No. 11 UCF

UCF

UCF

UCF

UCF

UCF

Idaho at No. 13 Florida

Florida

Florida

Florida

Florida

Florida

No. 14 Penn State (-27) at Rutgers

Rutgers

Penn State

Penn State

Penn State

Penn State

No. 16 Iowa State as No. 15 Texas (-2.5)

Iowa State

Iowa State

Texas

Texas

Texas

Middle Tennessee at No. 17 Kentucky (-16)

Middle Tennessee

Middle Tennessee

Kentucky

Kentucky

Kentucky

Oregon State at No. 18 Washington (-33.5)

Oregon State

Oregon State

Oregon State

Washington

Oregon State

No. 19 Utah (-7) at Colorado

Colorado

Colorado

Colorado

Utah

Utah

No. 20 Boston College (-1.5) at Florida State

Florida State

Florida State

Boston College

Boston College

Boston College

Arkansas at No. 21 Mississippi State (-21.5)

Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas State

Mississippi State

Mississippi State

No. 22 Northwestern at Minnesota (-2)

Northwestern

Minnesota

Minnesota

Northwestern

Minnesota

No. 23 Utah State (-28) at Col. State

Colorado State

Colorado State

Colorado State

Utah State

Utah State

No. 25 Boise State (-19.5) at New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico

Boise State

Boise State

Michigan State (-1.5) at Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska

Michigan State

Michigan State

2B

Iowa (-14.5) at Illinois

Illinois

Illinois

Iowa

Iowa

Iowa

Wisconsin at Purdue (-4.5)

Wisconsin

Purdue

Purdue

Purdue

Purdue

Overall

0-0

56-44

58-42

57-43

0-0

FootballSaturday, November 16, 2018

Behind Enemy Lines: Founder of Hoosier Network and WIUX caster Eddie Cotton ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer

With College Football Playoff hopes, the No. 4 Michigan football team (7-0 Big Ten, 9-1 overall) is looking for that top-four spot in the Cotton Bowl or Orange Bowl.

Indiana (2-5, 5-5) needs a win just to be bowl eligible.

Though the two teams have vastly different season trajectories, the narratives have largely been left to the wayside in their matchup since Jim Harbaugh started coaching the Wolverines.

Indiana at In 2015, Michigan Michigan Matchup: escaped Indiana 5-5; Bloomington with a 48-41 Michigan 9-1 shootout victory When: Saturday in double 4 P.M. overtime. The Where: following year Michigan sang a different Stadium tune, with the TV/Radio: FS1 Wolverines winning, 20-10, in the snow.

And last season, another overtime game in favor of Michigan. While this year projects to be a blowout, the past says otherwise.

The Daily spoke with Eddie Cotton, a founder of The Hoosier Network and broadcaster for WIUX, to learn about Indiana’s challenges and opportunities ahead of Saturday’s game at Michigan Stadium.

The Michigan Daily: From a pure record standpoint, has Indiana performed above, at or below expectations?

Eddie Cotton: Oh God, that’s a tough question. I would say at expectations. The expectation every season at this point for Indiana football is 6-6. If you go 6-6, that’s kind of a win because bowl games are not exactly rich in the program’s history. So the fact that the program has two games remaining and is one win away from a bowl game is exactly the expectation. Potentially better than expectations, but the way that it’s happen has been kind of poor.

TMD: Given where the team is at right now, where do you think the fanbase stands with Tom Allen in his second year?

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Senior running back Karan Higdon passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season last Saturday in Michigan’s 42-7 victory over Rutgers in Piscataway.

EC: I think there are two sides of the coin. The more radical Indiana fan is genuinely frustrated with Tom Allen. There were calls for him to get fired after the Minnesota game, which to me is absurd because he’s in his second season. But there are concerns because he’s never been a head coach before this and he’s made some mistakes in terms of game management and head coaching type things. But the rational fan understands it’s only his second year, he brought in one of the best recruiting classes Indiana has brought in last year. That’s why we’ve seen so many young players playing for Indiana and why there are reasons for hope — all the players that are vital for Indiana are so young and will be here for a few years. Especially with the quarterback situation. Michael Penix looks like a star, he’s out for the season, but he’ll get a redshirt.

The rational fan looks at that and is okay with it and sees that Tom Allen still has potential.

TMD: Coming off a win against Maryland, what has the vibe been around the team this week

being one game away from bowl eligibility? Do they sound like a hungrier team?

EC: I don’t know what to say about the vibe out of the team. I can say the vibe of the coach has been very adamant about that sixth win. He said after the last win against Maryland that they absolutely squeaked out, Tom was very adamant that they knew how much the win was because it was all about a bowl game, so that kind of pushed them to win.

The fan base themselves are more self-deprecating about it. They’re kinda just like “Yeah, yeah this season is kinda over.”

TMD: Michigan opened as 26.5-point favorites. Do you agree or disagree with that spread?

EC: I disagree with that spread because Indiana historically, as in just the recent history, has kept it close against Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and then completely lost it in the third and fourth quarter. Indiana will do the same thing again and keep it close for a half, and stay within 26 points.

TMD: Two overtimes and

a 10-point game the past three meetings. Even with talent mismatches, can you pinpoint a particular reason why this game can be competitive?

EC: They can stay competitive in this game because it’s a trap game. Realistically, it’s easy to overlook Indiana and then you start playing them in real life and it’s like “Hey, they’re not that bad.” To stay competitive in this game, they’ll need to be aggressive offensively, which I don’t think they will be. If (quarterback) Peyton Ramsey doesn’t make any mistakes, seemingly he’s very good at being conservative and managing a game, they can stick around.

TMD: For an offense largely dependent on Ramsey and running back Stevie Scott, how do you think they will fare against Michigan’s defense?

EC: Not great. You mention Stevie Scott and Indiana has this issue where they seem statistically to rely on Stevie Scott. But every big game they play against a good run defense, they give up on the run after about eight carries. I

think Scott had about 11 carries against Ohio State, and against Michigan State he didn’t touch it more than five times. It’s a bit hyperbolic, but once the second half came they stopped running the football. Don’t be surprised if Michigan’s defense forces Indiana to throw the football downfield five yards every play.

TMD: Indiana doesn’t have a strong pass defense, but the run game is more of Michigan’s bread and butter. Who do you think their x-factor is offensively?

EC: The whole key is (Karan) Higdon. The biggest problem for Indiana defensively all year has been being able to handle RPO, because they don’t have the manto-man talent. If Michigan can establish Higdon early, then the idea of just having Higdon on a play-action play — or maybe his running will force Indiana’s defense into situations that they’re not comfortable with, because they have no idea what they’re doing in an RPO situation.

TMD: Prediction?

EC: 27-13 Michigan. It feels right. It’s on the books.

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

3B

JON RUNYAN JR. is staring down pressure just as always.

ETHAN WOLFE / DAILY SPORTS WRITER KATELYN MULCAHY/DAILY

EVAN AARON / DAILY

Jon Runyan Jr. was a household name among the Michigan offensive line. But along that front, being talked about is everything to avoid.

Runyan was the obvious scapegoat after the redshirt junior’s first collegiate start at left tackle Sept. 1 at Notre Dame. Michigan’s offensive line wholly struggled keeping its f lashy, new quarterback upright. His shortcomings headlined the Wolverines’ only loss to date.

Runyan, one of two new starters on offense, got the preponderance of f lack.

During Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference following the game, he fielded four questions about offensive line play. Harbaugh said his line looked improved and

4B

FootballSaturday, November 2, 2018

expressed confidence in his starting five.

Elsewhere, Runyan and the rest of his line were pilloried. Messages from angry fans f looded Runyan’s social media profiles, and there was plenty more said indirectly about his play.

“It was difficult, there were people coming after me from all angles,” Runyan said. “For two or three weeks after the Notre Dame game, I put my phone down and took (social media) off my phone and tried not to pay attention to it.”

He remembers the number of fans who directly messaged him online with harsh criticisms — four people on Facebook, five on Twitter, 10 on Instagram.

As much as Runyan attempted to avoid that noise and move on, he still knew his performance wasn’t adequate.

“It was a little bit rough, and I told him right after the game,” said his father, Jon Runyan

Sr. “He played high because he wasn’t used to it. (He needed) better footwork, footwork with purpose so he didn’t have to rely on his athletic ability to recover.”

Added the younger Runyan: “I felt sick because, going back and watching it, it was just kinda a bad grade — like you don’t want to show your parents. But you know that it’s there and they’re going to find out. You try to hide from them but you can’t because you know that it’s there.”

For most student-athletes, parental advice is complementary to the day-today grind. When your father is a former All-American lineman at Michigan, NFL Pro Bowler and New Jersey state representative, the advice is gospel.

So with Runyan Jr. finding himself on the wrong end of football commentary, change was needed — an especially tall order for a veteran.

But it wasn’t an unusual task. *** Behind the fame of his father, he’s been doing it his whole football life.

He starred as an offensive lineman at St. Joseph’s Preparatory High School in Philadelphia, catalyzing an offensive line and team that celebrated two Pennsylvania Interstate Athletic Association state championships.

It was a drop in the bucket for Runyan.

“Jon, despite coming from a dad with such success, was a shy kid,” said his high school coach, Gabe Infante. “I think it was really big shoes to fit into. I think everyone expects a young man like that to be his father from the moment he steps

on a football field. But Jon was like any other 14- or 15-year old kid: basically a boy trapped in a man’s body.”

No accolades would help Runyan escape the shadow cast by his father.

Not coaches’ visits, state titles or even the popularity of being attached with football notoriety.

The weight of the last name on the back of his jersey was an insult f lung in the middle of games, a foot-in-the-door for an opponent’s animus.

“People like to talk about me as a sophomore, junior in high school how I’d never live up to my dad,” Runyan said, ref lecting on a Catholic League championship game. “Stuff like that just in the game. It didn’t confuse me, but it kinda angered me. Coach Infante was always there telling me that I’m not my dad, I’m my own person. It’s not fair to judge someone like me going off what my dad has done.

“Judge me off what I’m doing, not what — like I’m my own measuring stick.

You don’t have to measure me up to my dad because he’s a completely different person and player than me.”

To call it a burden would be a mischaracterization. He plays in the footsteps of his very father after all.

Winning can solve problems, too.

It seems like an obvious observation: the son of Jon Runyan Sr. is not Jon Runyan Sr., and that’s not a bad thing. The sooner that Runyan Jr. reconciled that, the more he stood out on his own. ***

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Runyan can point to the exact moment things changed for him this year.

It was on an outside zone play during Michigan’s second drive on week four against Nebraska. Runyan pinned his matchup and knocked the Cornhusker defensive end backwards and into the ground before Karan Higdon even approached the line of scrimmage. And when Higdon did, Runyan and junior guard Ben Bredeson had created such a massive gap opening to nothing but turf — and the endzone — in front of the senior running back.

“Ever since then, I’ve really started feeling good in the left tackle spot in the run and pass game,” Runyan said. “I can really narrow it down to that play.”

It was a welcome realization for Runyan, beyond performing at a career-best level.

His first career start was in the Outback Bowl loss last season. The three games after falling short in a prove-yourself start in South Bend stood to mend a broken reputation. Breaking through against Nebraska displayed what being a collegiate standout could be like.

Runyan pinpoints that game as when the switch f lipped. But the ghosts of the season opener still find themselves cozy in Runyan’s mind. Through four more weeks without a hiccup in his play, including benchmark wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State, Runyan took time to look directly into his mistakes.

He was off to the film room.

“And going back into it, I watched that because it was during the bye week,” Runyan said. “I just wanted to remind myself where I started and where I’m going to go, and how I don’t want to have that feeling anymore that I had with the Notre Dame game.”

With two weeks left in the regular season, the feeling hasn’t seemed to return.

Through 10 weeks, Higdon is the first Michigan running back to reach 1,000 yards since 2011. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson has only been sacked once a game on average, and boasts the second best passer rating in the Big Ten. First year offensive line coach Ed Warinner has garnered much of the praise for the resurgence of an oft-criticized front. The simplification of schemes that Warinner has introduced have been crucial according to Runyan. Warinner just calls it focusing on each of the lineman’s strengths.

“We ask him to do what he’s really good at and do it really hard,” Warinner said. “And so that’s made him a very confident player.

There’s nothing more defeating as a player than to ask me to do something I know he can’t do.”

Fans can surely look for a scapegoat, but there isn’t one. ***

Jon Runyan Sr. was known for his roughhouse attitude on the field.

His son being bullied by the Fighting Irish could certainly besmirch the family name.

But Runyan Jr.’s skill sets vary from his father’s; it’s consistently reinforced.

“As a parent, you understand the pressure, how he’s going to compare,” Runyan Sr. said. “But I feel he has his head on straight.

He blazes his own trail, and we’re all different and we have different talents. I’ve told him since he was in high school, he is a better athlete than I was.”

Added Runyan Jr.: “My dad was known as one of the nastiest people. I try to emulate that watching little clips of him knocking Michael Strahan down. I don’t know if I’m there, but hopefully I’ll be able to get there.”

In his fourth season, walking back-andforth in front of images of his father

plastered in Schembechler Hall, the road following his father’s legacy seems to be winding down.

Contingent on College Football Playoff or Big Ten championship success, Runyan Jr. could be known just for anchoring the left side of the line.

He isn’t his father, and that doesn’t bother him. He’s been berated in high school because of it, despite success. He was put on a stake after Notre Dame, and silenced critics for the next 11 weeks.

It doesn’t mean the pressure of being a Runyan is gone. It just means Jon Runyan Jr. is being himself.

“This name kinda carries a lot of weight,” Runyan Jr. said. “I’m proud to have it, and I don’t pay too much attention to what everybody says about me. I received a lot of criticism from people on the outside after the Notre Dame game. But my father was right there backing me

up. A bunch of my friends I went to high school with, my teammates, they would lift me up.

“We’ve been having a good season, and those people talking trash about us at the beginning (have) all come crawling back like, ‘Oh, maybe this offensive line is good. Maybe Juwann Bushell-Beatty, Jon Runyan Jr. are good tackles.’ I just take it all with a grain of salt.

“I don’t really care. I just stay levelheaded and don’t let it faze me at all.”

Daily Sports Editor Mark Calcagno contributed to the reporting of this story.

DESIGN BY KATE GLAD

Partridge feeling right at home in fourth season with Michigan MIKE PERSAK

Managing Sports Editor

Chris Partridge didn’t know Jim Harbaugh when he was hired.

Partridge had coached college football before, at his alma mater, Lafayette College, and at The Citadel, but prior to joining the Michigan football team, he spent the five seasons in the high-school ranks, coaching Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey.

The huge amount of success Partridge had in those years — he estimates they had 17 Division I athletes on the roster his last season — was enough to get him noticed. It was also enough to give him the feeling that it was time to move on.

That’s when a mutual friend got Partridge in touch with Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh.

“Tom Gamble, who is coincidentally working here now, was working for (Harbaugh) at the 49ers,” Partridge told The Daily on Nov. 7. “… And then, so, Jim got the job here, and Tom said, ‘Hey, I’m gonna call him and see if he needs somebody, you know, out of the high school ranks.’ “… And then, just one day, Jim just called me on the cell phone.”

That was that. Partridge f lew out for an interview and was hired as the director of player personnel in recruiting.

The move made sense. It was as meteoric a rise as Partridge could have expected at that time, and it put someone who was familiar with the New Jersey recruiting pipeline in a primary recruiting position.

A season later, Partridge got a promotion to the coaching staff, becoming the linebackers coach. At that same time, Harbaugh’s investment in Partridge paid off on the recruiting trail.

The No. 1 player in the 2016 recruiting class, Rashan Gary, 6B

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Safeties and special teams coach Chris Partridge has become comfortable as his role has expanded on the coaching staff of the Michigan football team.

committed to Michigan that season. He had played high school at Paramus Catholic.

“It played a role, I feel like, in terms of being comfortable and having a familiar face — having somebody to talk to,” Gary said of Partridge’s role in his commitment.

“But I told Rashan, and I told his mother, that, you know, I’m at Michigan, but I’m not going to try to g uide you anywhere,” Partridge added.

“You know, I’m gonna be there as a support, because I’ve known you prior. And with Michigan, yeah, you come

FootballSaturday, November 16, 2018

up, you visit, you meet with everybody else, and I’m just gonna try to g uide that decision wherever it might be. So I really never gave them this hard sell or anything like that. I just tried to give them facts.”

In part because of Gary’s commitment, Partridge was named the 2016 Recruiter of the Year by Scout.

The next season, Partridge

won the same distinction from 247Sports.

It was no coincidence, then, that Partridge helped develop a strong base of players from New Jersey.

VIPER Jabrill Peppers and offensive tackle Juwann BushellBeatty came to Michigan the year before Partridge’s arrival, and though they didn’t play for Partridge per say,

“I look at him as one of my family members.”

there are seven New Jerseyans other than Gary and BushellBeatty on the 2018 roster.

“He values family,” Gary told The Daily. “I don’t look at him as a coach. I look at him as one of my family members.

And, you know, he values family a lot. And when you’re around family, it makes you comfortable. So I feel like me coming here with Juwann and before when Jabrill was here, it’s just a whole big family. We still have a lot of g uys from Jersey, so that whole Jersey group, we’re all together as See PARTRIDGE, Page 7B

PARTRIDGE From Page 6B family.”

That’s an aspect of his coaching that Partridge, now the safeties coach and special teams coordinator, takes pride in — and it stretches beyond the players from the Garden State.

Fifth-year senior safety Tyree Kinnel watches film with Partridge every Sunday.

Another group of players meets with Partridge at 7:30 a.m.

The conversations are about football, sure, but Partridge says he feels he has a bigger responsibility than simply coaching Xs and Os. He feels he needs to “guide” his players.

“We either talk about family or football when it’s me and him,” Kinnel said. “That’s the thing I love about him.”

“I remember last week, a couple weeks ago, I talked to

him, like, three times in one week and it didn’t matter,” added Gary. “We were here late night talking about personal things going on and how I should feel about that and what I should do to make me feel better.”

The closeness Partridge has with his players came in handy this past offseason.

Alabama came calling, and rumors suddenly swirled about the potential of Partridge departing for greener pastures.

“I didn’t want that,” Partridge said.

“Especially since my intent was always to stay here. You know, you don’t want people to say, ‘He’s looking to leave,’ or, ‘He’s looking around.’

Obviously

there’s a component to your career and your path there, but, you know, I always felt that, with guys like Rashan, guys that I’ve recruited, I wanted to stick it out for that and not just jump.

“Because, in reality, we can do anything we want to do here.

What’s the reason to go somewhere else.”

Gary heard the rumors too, and at first, he was concerned.

But Partridge assured Gary of his intentions to stay. With the trust the two had built up to that point, there was no real reason for Gary to doubt him.

“He loves us, and we love him,” Gary said. “He feels like it’s family here, so there’s no reason to leave family.”

“We either talk about family or football when it’s me and him.”

Even prior to that, when Partridge first got the call from the Crimson Tide, he felt he needed to tell one person right away: Harbaugh.

The coach had taken a chance on Partridge four years earlier.

As Partridge puts it, he deserved the respect it took to go to him before doing anything else. “(He was) like, ‘Hey, great. This is really good for you. It’s great for your career,’ ” Partridge said. “I think I remember, I said, ‘Hey, do you want me to stay here?’ And he said yes, and that was the end of it.

You know, Jim is really good, because you feel like you can go talk to him about something like that, and you feel like he’s

going to guide you in the right way, whether it’s the best way for him or not. “… I think that’s one of the things I respect the most out of him.”

Perhaps that’s what made Partridge and Harbaugh — and Michigan by proxy — a match made in heaven.

Harbaugh commands the respect of his coaches by being approachable.

That same style can be seen in Partridge.

In his recruiting, coaching and relationship-building.

Maybe that’s why all it took for Partridge to prove a good enough fit for the program was a mutual friend and a phone call.

“I think that’s one of the things I respect most out of him.”

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior defensive end Rashan Gary says Chris Partridge has made Michigan easier on him because “(Partridge) loves us, and we love him. He feels like it’s family here, so there’s no reason to leave family.”

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

7B

What to Watch For: Indiana

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will likely rest or protect his players when possible on Saturday to avoid potential injury ahead of the Wolverines’ biggest game of the season against Ohio State.

MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor

It’s the game before The Game.

To most, Indiana is but a nameless, faceless blip on this path inevitably destined for a clash next Saturday. This game holds little big-picture meaning so long as the Michigan football team takes care of business and emerges with its health intact.

This is college football, though.

Crazier things have happened — crazier things happen nearly every week — which helps bring into focus Michigan’s laser-like, week-to-week external mentality.

Next week means far, far less if the Wolverines don’t beat the Hoosiers on Saturday.

Here’s what you should be watching for in a game most expect to be a rout: 1) Health There are real pre-emptive measures the coaches can (and will) take to ensure maximal health for next Saturday. For one, as was the case last week, junior 8B

quarterback Shea Patterson almost assuredly will not be running the ball — or taking any unnecessary hits. Patterson getting hurt against a .500 Indiana team would either be a result of tremendously bad unluck or malpractice.

That being said, football is football. Players have instincts they can’t — and shouldn’t — simply turn off. As in most games, a player might leave the game in the second quarter and questions will fly about why he was still playing.

Things happen.

For Michigan, emerging from this game as healthy as possible is the top priority ahead of next week’s showdown.

2) Can Indiana move the ball?

Ah, the matter of the game.

There will be football played Saturday, and if the players and coaches are to be believed, it has

FootballSaturday, November 16, 2018

their undivided attention. Indiana isn’t the pushover Rutgers was — nor quite the challenge Michigan State or Penn State presented on paper. After last week’s 34-32 win over Maryland, the Hoosiers are averaging 31 points over their last three games. In that span, Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey has thrown for 711 yards and five touchdowns, while completing 66 percent of his passes.

Partially a product of a weaker defense, the Hoosiers are just 1-2 in that span. Still, this is an offense capable of stringing together chunks — and points — if Michigan has one eye on next week already.

The top-ranked defense in the country should have no problems taking care of Indiana.

But again, crazier things happen.

Here’s what you should be watching for Saturday.

3) An early lull?

It’s cliche, sure. And if you listen to 10 seconds of what this coaching staff is saying — or have watched this team play all year — it seems outlandish. But we’re talking about 18-22 year-old kids one week away from one of the biggest games of their lives.

Indiana has two conference wins. The Wolverines are 23-4 in the Harbaugh era. The line for this game appears to be settling around four touchdowns.

All of this creates a presumption that has undoubtedly seeped into the players. Whether they pay it mind is certainly a different question; but there’s no doubt they’re thinking about what a win over Ohio State would mean, what a Big Ten title would mean. It’s human nature.

It seems likely that will be evident, one way or another, early on. If Michigan starts slow, that could indicate an unexpectedly ardous afternoon. If not, the “Revenge Tour” party bus should cruise onto Columbus.

4) Tarik Black’s emergence?

Barring disaster, Michigan is going to go to Columbus next week at near full strength. Two weeks ago, fifth-year senior Chase Winovich referred to the Wolverines as a, “battleship,” in saying how they plan to go to Ohio State.

Well, that battleship is nearing full ammo.

Sophomore wide receiver Tarik Black returned to the field two weeks ago against Penn State, catching a touchdown that was nullified by a penalty. He hasn’t officially caught a pass yet. If he is able to reach the form expected out of him — the form seen in short windows between injuries during his career — that battleship will look all the more terrifying.

This would be the week to re-integrate Black fully with fellow sophomore receivers Nico Collins and Donovan PeoplesJones, a real chance to continue to smooth that rapport between Black and Patterson in what will likely be a blowout victory.