2019-01-29

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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‘U’ remains open during hazardous weather, students voice concern

Community members question Adminstration’s decision to not cancel classes during snowstorm

Bursley bus crashes into tree during snow storm

M-bus slides off icy Fuller Road,no reported injuries after reported incident SAYALI AMIN

Daily News Editor

ALEX HARRING Daily Staff Reporter

MAX KUANG/Daily

Students, faculty and staff struggled to navigate campus Monday due to hazardous weather conditions.

BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter

Around 8 p.m. on Monday night, the Michigan Student Power Network created a petition called #UMichColdShoulder demanding the University of Michigan cancel classes.

“The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor must close campus during harsh weather conditions - not just in extreme circumstances,” the petition reads. “A refusal to do so is classist and ableist, with disproportionate effects on workers, low income community members, and community members who are not able-

bodied.”

The petition calls for students to email and call University President Mark Schlissel as well as sign the petition. As of 10 p.m Monday night — about two hours after its creation — the petition had 2,236 signatures.

Students say they’re cold and upset The petition came after students trudged through deep snow in an effort to make it to class on Monday. U-M students felt the effects of Winter Storm Jayden, facing a day of constant snow that accumulated quickly on University sidewalks and streets. The weather conditions caused many students to question

the University’s decision to remain fully operational.

According to the National Weather Service, a winter weather advisory was put into effect for the Ann Arbor area at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The advisory predicted two to four inches of snow to accumulate throughout the day.

LSA junior Rylei McAllister took to Facebook to express her opinions on the University not canceling classes on Monday.

“I understand why the University doesn’t cancel classes for weather,” McAllister wrote.

“But think of the kids who are already at a disadvantage because they are struggling to afford to

go here and are expected to walk long distances.”

Over the weekend, the University sent out multiple warnings regarding the severe cold, detailing remaining outside in subzero temperatures could result in frostbite in less than 10 minutes.

“The university released a statement telling these same students they will get frostbite if they are outside for longer than ten minutes,” McAllister wrote.

“But (the administration) knows misses (sic) classes can mean a lower grade for attendance and participation, which financial aid rides on.

See SNOW, Page 3

On Monday at approximately 2:30 p.m., a Bursley-Baits bus accident occurred at 1100 Block Fuller Road, according to Melissa Overton, deputy chief of police & public information officer for the University of Michigan Police Department.

About 20 passengers were aboard the bus and there were no reported injuries. “(The bus) slid off the road crashed into a small tree,” Overton wrote in an email response to The Daily.

Public Health senior Olajumoke Jegede was on the bus when the accident occurred.

Jegede told The Daily in a statement she fell out of her seat and was afraid the bus would tip over.

“Our bus hit a tree. It was scary because we were afraid the bus would tip over for a moment,” Jegede wrote. “I had fallen out of my seat whn the bus spun out and when I got back up, we were facing traffic on the side of the road, thankfully, and the windshield was cracked.

Thankfully no one was hurt, but someone definitely could have been. I think there needs to be more consideration for students

GOVERNMENT

Federal GEO Conference discusses improving shutdown transgender healthcare program hurts PSIP Trans Health Caucus proposes updates to GradCare, increases benefits members LIAT WEINSTEIN

University internship program in Washington, D.C. faces challenges BEN ROSENFIELD Daily Staff Reporter

On Friday, President Donald Trump passed a continuing resolution proposed by Congress announcing the federal government would reopen for three weeks while negotiations over immigration policy continue.

Since the initial shutdown on Dec. 22, the absence of government funding has impacted several programs and departments at the University of Michigan, specifically publicly funded research projects and other areas dependent on federal government support.

Another affected group at the University has been the Public Service Internship Program, or PSIP. Each year, the program accepts more than 100 students interested in government work, preparing them for summer internships in Washington, D.C. See PSIP, Page 3

GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

Daily Staff Reporter

Amid growing concerns over the lack of transgender voices in conversations about coverage plans, University of Michigan graduate employees met with human resources representatives and the

MHealthy Advisory Committee Friday to urge the University to cover gender-affirming surgeries.

Members of the Graduate Employee Organization’s Trans Health Caucus discussed potential improvement to GradCare, a healthcare plan for University graduate students

that covers most transgender surgeries yet deems certain ones, such as facial feminization surgery, as cosmetic and not medically necessary.

The conference was closed to the public, yet more than 50 GEO members and allies lined the hallways of Wolverine Tower holding signs of support that

read “Are you ready to listen?” and “Our lives are not cosmetic.”

University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the goal of the conference was for members of HR to better understand the perspectives and experiences of the Trans Health Caucus’ members.

See PROTEST, Page 3A

MAX KUANG/Daily

Protestors support the GEO Trans Health Committee Negotiators at Wolverine Tower Friday.

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INDEX

Vol. CXXVIII, No. 63 ©2019 The Michigan Daily

and other commuters in terms of travelling to class in weather like this.”

LSA sophomore Juliana Rose was on a different Bursley-Baits bus, which passed the scene of the accident earlier today. Rose said she saw police cars and tow trucks near the bus, and traffic was moving slowly in the area surrounding the crash.

“We just saw it on the side of the road,” Rose said. “There were tow trucks, police cars, all the traffic is moving slow … I was like, ‘Oh wow, I hope that doesn’t happen to me. I don’t want to be stuck out in the snow.’ (Our bus) was sliding a little bit when we were turning corners.”

LSA sophomore Grace Miller was on a Commuter North bus, which was stopped just before the crash. Miller watched tow trucks pull the bus back onto the street and said there were students, faculty and hospital workers on her bus, which stopped for approximately 10 minutes.

“We’re really quiet but this one lady asked to get off because we’re literally not moving,” Miller said. “We’re just stopped.

People are trying to get home from work before it gets worse.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

CAMPUS LIFE

Director talks water visibility and safety Texas A&M professor debates public-private infrastructure partnership MICHAEL ZHANG Daily Staff Reporter

On Monday, the Ford School of Public Policy hosted an event featuring Manny Teodoro, director of the Policy and Politics Program and associate professor at Texas A&M University, who has conducted significant research on the nation’s water systems. The event, titled “Water System Finance: the Political Pitfalls of PublicPrivate Partnerships,” covered the effects of public-private partnerships on water systems.

Teodoro started his talk by introducing a unique caveat in the water market — the disparity in the visibility of the price of water and its quality in the market.

“With water, the cost is much more visible than quality,” Teodoro said. “Most of the contaminants in water are invisible to us. However, the price of water is very easily See ACTIVISTS , Page 3

NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 CLASSIFIEDS................6

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ALEC COHEN/Daily Stars of Broadway’s Mean Girls and U-M alumni Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park and Erika Hennigsen answer questions at the Ann Arbor District Library Monday evening.

Editorial Staff FINNTAN STORER Managing Editor

Digital services officer talks gov tech changes Ford School hosts San Francisco official to discuss the three levels of media alterations and models of local communication in order to increase accessibility to residents at forum within a complex system. able to organize city forms Transformational changes themselves.

“Don’t ever think that if fundamentally alter the use you’re on a project redesigning of the media service.

On Monday evening, Carrie In addition to speaking a form for government that Bishop, chief digital services about the levels of media your work is unimportant officer for the City and County change, Bishop discussed because you are just designing of San Francisco, spoke on four main models for change a form, because this changes promoting technological in government media.. Each people’s lives,” Bishop said. change in government at the model has an increasingly “The idea of a form is that Ford School of Public Policy. higher level of financial it applies consistency and The talk was co-sponsored risk and more expenses, but fairness to a process. We’re by the Public Policy School’s Bishop said she has seen all asking everyone for the same Science, Technolog y and models result in positive information, we’re putting Public Policy program and them all through the same changes. the School of Information.

By the time she is finished process. Forms are incredibly Bishop moved to San in San Francisco, Bishop integral within government Francisco from the United hopes to have all city forms as an idea of fairness.”

Kingdom in 2017. Before Amelia Esenstad, a Public available to residents online. coming to the U.S., Bishop worked for local government Her team is currently creating Policy graduate student, said for four years until she forms that will eventually she learned the importance of helped create FutureGov, a allow cannabis distributors digitizing government forms to register their business from Bishop’s presentation. design consulting and service “I thought the talk was online and affordable company. Bishop currently very interesting because it housing applicants to submit works with improving the Sudoku Syndication http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ their applications directly is a good reminder of the web services provided by the through the city website. importance of changing how Bishop said this enables government works and serves accessibility to those who its residents to address a lot may have trouble traveling of the really challenging, to the location of the city difficult policy problems that department to turn in government has designed to MEDIUM be helping with,” Esenstad forms on time.

“We’re trying our said. “I think more cities and hardest to address income states should be doing similar disparity through our work to what San Francisco is work by making sure that doing.”

U-M alum Harsha Devaraj everything we’re designing is fully inclusive,” Bishop said he enjoyed learning said. “For example, a lot about the fairness of forms. of people think about Bishop’s new definition of media inf luenced accessibility as a disability, digital but I would encourage you Devaraj’s thoughts of media to widen your perspective services.

“I liked the general and think about it across the board. So not just definition of new digital because it’s making sure that our services website is ADA (Americans responding to 21st-century Devaraj said. with Disabilities Act)- tools,” compliant and fully “Initially, we used to think accessible to people with of customer services being in screen readers, but going the front end and everything beyond that to things like else was pushed to the back, but thinking about customer language access.”

In five years, Bishop said services as being the whole she is aiming for her team package, because people feel © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

BURRITOS puzzle by sudokusyndication.com and job to be irrelevant. the impact of the whole thing, She said she wants the should all be part of that city and department to be definition.”

Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com! city of San Francisco to be more user-friendly. She is a part of an effort to make all city forms available to users online.

“We know if something’s not aligned within an organization as a customer, and I think that is becoming more and more prevalent,” Bishop said.

“We need to think about customer experience as the entire endto-end, not just the bit that people experience when they call us or when they come on our website.”

Bishop explained the three levels of media change as transformational, transactional and tweaks.

She said tweaks are small changes made to websites while transactional changes make the websites easier for individuals to engage

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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275.

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SNOW From Page 1 And think of the students with disabilities or injuries that are going to have a hard time getting to and from classes this week.”

In an interview with The Daily, McAllister said she understands the difficult logistics behind canceling classes, but the University should take the safety of students and staff into account.

“I think there’s a biased assumption that all students live very centrally … close to the Diag and so it’s not that big of a deal if there are bad conditions because it’s not that far to go, but that’s not the case,” McAllister said.

“I think that in the mix of it, we forget about students who live off campus or far from campus and have to commute; their lives are put in danger by having to drive in these conditions.

Students who are disabled have

ACTIVISTS From Page 1 and readily observable.”

As such, Teodoro argued if a water system is run by the local government, then it will naturally focus on reducing the price of water to appease residents — a stance that will also inadvertently lead to lower water quality.

“The goal of every politician who wants to get re-elected wants to minimize price and maximize quality,” Teodoro said. “However, because of how much more visible prices are than quality for water, the long-run outcome is low prices and low quality.”

PSIP From Page 1 Enrolled students are frequently put in contact with employers on Capitol Hill, the Smithsonian and within the federal bureaucracy.

According to PSIP Supervisor Lynn Halton, also an alum of the program, PSIP sees students all the way through the internship application process, and provides further guidance and accommodations once students begin their summer work.

“Once they’re hired for internships in D.C., they have housing, we connect them up with one-on-one alumni mentors and we plan policy talks and social events for them,” Halton said.

For undergraduates enrolled in PSIP, the first several

GEO From Page 1 “One of the purposes of the special conference on Friday was to hear directly from GEO members about this topic,” Fitzgerald said. “The University acknowledges the courage and commitment of those who shared their stories Friday afternoon and these stories have helped to inform the process in a productive way.”

In April 2017, members of the Trans Health Caucus threatened to walk out of contract negotiations with HR due to inadequate trans healthcare coverage. Since, the Trans Health Caucus and HR have been engaged in a series of special conferences as part of the collective bargaining process to address the GEO’s demands.

In March 2018, the GEO also raised awareness about trans healthcare coverage by hosting a Trans Day of Disposability rallyin the Diag.

The conferences and rally put pressure on the University to adapt their policies related to gender transition procedures, but many Trans Health Caucus members said they still felt unheard and ignored by HR. Ansel Neunzert, Rackham student and GEO member, stood outside of Friday’s

to find a way to get to campus through all of the mess as well.”

LSA junior Iman Elkahlah lives about 15 minutes away and commutes to campus. She said the University should value safety over classes as the roads she takes to get to school are not fully cleared of snow.

“I’m debating whether I’ll be able to go to class or not because my safety is my number one priority,” Elkahlah said. “The campus roads are clean, but the roads in downtown Ann Arbor are harsh. They are not taking into consideration the roads to come here.”

When asked about taking disabled and commuter students into consideration, the Office of Public Affairs declined to comment.

Blue busses face difficulties The University of Michigan Campus Bus System Facebook page posted Saturday about the predicted hazardous weather conditions in the coming week.

The post advised students of

Alternatively, in privaterun water systems, the price companies are allowed to charge for water is limited by how much they invest in their water infrastructure, which is a limit enforced by the public utilities commission. Because of this, they are incentivized to over-invest in their water infrastructure, which will lead to high quality water but also high prices.

“The goal of every company is to make profit,” Teodoro said.

“As such, they are incentivized to maximize investment so that the public utilities commission will allow them to raise prices in conjunction with their higher investments. As such, private water tends to be high price and high quality.”

News possible bus delays and warned of the chance of frostbite after 10 minutes of exposed skin under the current weather conditions.

On Monday afternoon, a Blue Bus slid off the road and hit a nearby tree.

Stephen Dolen, executive director of logistics, transportation and parking at the University, said the department is working to ensure buses run on schedule in this week’s snowy weather. He said there is an additional challenge making sure enough staff is able to safely get to work, and the department is trying their best to get as many overtime volunteers as possible.

“Any weather event has a huge impact on transit,” Dolen said. “Things are going slower, and our drivers are directed to not take any additional chances because they are trying to stay on time. When it comes to days like this, you have to be safe and do the best you can to stay as on time as possible. We’re very

However, Teodoro also argued public-private partnerships are not the solution to this dilemma.

“In public-private partnerships, the local government sets the price for the water and the private company has to figure out how to maximize its profits within that,” Teodoro said. “As such, the incentive for these private companies is to reduce operating costs. This results in low-priced water but also lowquality water.”

Furthermore, Teodoro disputed the perception that public-private partnerships are a solution for financially constrained water markets, emphasizing how they are a mechanism, not a self-

considerate of what’s going on with the cold.”

Other schools, businesses close for inclimate weather Multiple services and events on campus were closed or rescheduled Monday. The LSA Social Impact Fair, originally scheduled for Monday evening, was rescheduled for March 11. Center for Global and Intercultural Study closed at 3 p.m. and moved a First Step session to Tuesday afternoon.

The Fishbowl closed early Monday afternoon due to weather-based student safety concerns, and Espresso Royale on South University Avenue closed early at 8 p.m.

U-M Dearborn and U-M Flint both closed on Jan. 28. Eastern Michigan University canceled classes Jan. 28, and Wayne State University will close at 4 p.m. on Tuesday and reopen on Thursday. An additional 72 public schools in the Metro Detroit area are scheduled to close Tuesday.

sufficient source of revenue.

“Privatization of public partnerships are not sources of capital. In the end, the money’s coming from the same people,” Teodoro said.

“The rate increases are still going to be needed to upgrade infrastructure, or else they will continue to fail.”

After the talk, Sheny Puspita, a Public Policy graduate student, ref lected on her views of the water systems and her main takeaways from the talk.

She discussed how more successful systems tend to be small, privately-owned water plants, but improvements are needed in larger, public water systems.

“The private-owned model only works with small-scale

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 — 3 Michigan’s state government offices in the Lower Peninsula also shut down due to emergency snow conditions Monday morning. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a statement saying the offices plan to reopen Tuesday.

“This is about keeping all Michiganders safe,” Whitmer wrote in the statement. “All motorists are encouraged to stay off of the roads. If you must be out, please drive safely in these dangerous weather conditions and be respectful of road crews working to clear snow and ice.”

University to monitor weather conditions University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said the University is paying attention to the current situation. Going forward, Broekhuizen said administrators will make decisions about canceling classes accordingly.

“The university is closely monitoring the weather forecast for later this week,”

water plants, but we need to improve number of larger-scale water plants,” Puspita said.

Puspita also acknowledged private water plants do tend to produce higher quality water and operate more efficiently.

“I believe that private water plants will enhance the quality of water and efficiency of water plants,” she said.

Puspita spoke of her concern of how politicians would use public-private partnerships to shield themselves away from their responsibility for their constituencies’ water systems.

Marc Jaruzel, a Public Policy graduate student, echoed some of the skepticism for public-private water system partnerships.

“Public-private partnerships

Broekhuizen wrote in an email interview with The Daily.

Regardless of the University’s official decision, some students are considering staying home in the coming days as temperatures are predicted to plummet.

Engineering sophomore Jake Kovalic said none of his classes have been canceled, but he thinks the snowy and icy conditions will have an impact on campus operations. A low temperature of negative 17 degrees Fahrenheit is predicted for Wednesday with possible wind chills as low as 40 degrees below zero Tuesday night through Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

“Last week it was very icy, and at least one of the days, every surface was iced,” Kovalic said. “I would hope they cancel classes. I’ll see how the weather is on Wednesday, but I might not go either way.”

aren’t necessarily the fixall,” Jaruzel said. “There is some evidence that it may be beneficial, but we just can’t say definitively whether P3s will be beneficial or not.”

Jaruzel commented on how having competing public water systems would not be a feasible solution either.

“I think public competition would be really challenging because you would have to have different pipes laying in the ground from different companies,” Jaruzel said. “I think it would take a really creative solution to get utilities to compete in a similar way as other businesses.”

months of the year are typically when internship applications open up and students begin looking into job opportunities.

Due to the shutdown, Halton and other faculty advisors have been forced to contend with the difficulty of communicating with employers in the public sector.

“There isn’t staff there,” she said. “For the agencies that are closed, there is no one there to answer. If someone sends a resume, we don’t know if they’ve received it. The process has definitely been slowed by that.”

Ben Schuster, a Business sophomore in PSIP, has already submitted several applications through the University program. Schuster hopes to secure an internship in the Federal Reserve, a policy think tank or on Capitol Hill in the office of a U.S. senator.

“I’ve applied to a few places, and I haven’t heard back from one of them yet,” Schuster said.

“It’s a little concerning, but it’s understandable.”

Schuster thinks this lack of response is because maintaining internship programs is not necessarily the top priority for the countless government agencies PSIP partners with. Even with the newly passed continuing resolution, it still may take some time for agencies to pick up their work at full capacity.

Furthermore, it remains unclear if Democrats and Republicans will come to an agreement within the threeweek time period, failure of which would result in a continued shutdown.

Because of this, Schuster explains, many of his peers have had to work around gaps in the system to ensure their

applications reach the proper employers in Washington, D.C. “One of my friends knew a woman who had a connection to a certain agency that he wanted to work for,” Schuster explained. “She attempted to go into the agency’s site to let people know that he was applying, and she was unable to do that because of the shutdown. It’s small things like that. And in terms of priorities, when the government shuts down, it’s more important to make sure workers are getting paid.”

Another PSIP student, LSA sophomore Maeve Skelly, echoed Schuster’s disillusionment with the difficulty of communicating with employers in the public sector.

“There’s definitely been a slowdown in terms of response time,” Skelly said. “A lot of

students will email government programs about an internship and not hear back for a longer period of time.”

Nonetheless, during the last month, Halton and other faculty coordinators at PSIP were able to work around obstacles posed by the shutdown through the program’s numerous contacts in Washington, D.C. Perhaps the most helpful resource for PSIP students has been the program’s connections with alumni. According to Halton, during the last 50 years, a number of bureaucrats, politicians and public-sector employers have passed through PSIP as undergraduates at the University of Michigan.

“There are two representatives in the U.S. House that are Michigan PSIP alums: Lauren Underwood from Illinois and Ted Deutch from Florida,” Halton said.

“I’ve been in contact with both of their chiefs of staff and been trying to connect up so our students could be there. They both say that them being in public policy and the public arena has evolved from being in our program.”

Despite the uncertainty and obstacles faced during the last month, Halton remains optimistic. As she explains, the experience of working through roadblocks in government should be seen as a lesson for undergraduates heading down a career path in public service.

“From a career perspective, I think it is a good point for students to realize that working in the private sector is different from working in the public sector,” Halton said. “It’s kind of a learning opportunity to realize when you’re a public servant, things can be different — these things

special conference in support of the Trans Health Caucus.

They said they hoped the conference would force University officials to acknowledge the experience of trans students when making decisions about healthcare coverage.

“I really hope that today they’re going to hear from a lot of trans people about the ways that this stuff impacts them, and get a sense of the fact that this isn’t an abstract discussion about the University’s bottom line — this is people’s lives,” Neunzert said. “I think it’s really valuable to get that first-hand information in a way that I don’t think HR and the MBAC (Medical Benefit Advisory Committee) have heard yet.”

According to Monica Lewis, Rackham student and chair of the Trans Health Caucus, the University agreed to convene every four months to discuss transgender healthcare coverage but has missed the deadline to arrange these meetings twice since April 2018.

“One of the major red f lags that they weren’t taking this seriously was that there was a contractual deadline violation, namely literally the only stipulation in the contract that sets out rules for these meetings is that we have to meet every four months, and

they missed the four-month deadline,” Lewis said. “In September, they missed the four-month deadline again. I think it was kind of over the summer of 2018 that we were like, yeah, this is not going anywhere and we’re going to have to get a little more aggressive with them.”

University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said the University is still discussing the healthcare concerns with GEO. “We have been meeting with GEO in good faith to discuss and review our transgender benefits,” Broekhuizen wrote.

Though asked about missing the four-month deadline for transgender healthcare, Kim did not comment on the allegation from Lewis.

To provide HR representatives with the medical background needed to participate in the special conferences, the University called two MBAC meetings in June and October 2018.

The meetings, which were led by Philip Zazove, chair of Family Medicine at Michigan Medicine, aimed to discuss healthcare coverage with medical professionals and advise HR about what procedures to cover under GradCare.

Zazove did not respond to request for comment.

Lewis said the details of

these meetings were not immediately available to the Trans Health Caucus, and the board members had little experience with trans healthcare before making their recommendations.

“The kind of people who were on this coverage review were primarily old-school physicians who don’t have any specialization in trans care whatsoever,” Lewis said. “So a bunch of cis people are going to meet behind closed doors and decide whether or not they feel these transition procedures are cosmetic and we don’t get any say in the matter?”

Fitzgerald said while the University is still in the process of negotiating more extensive transgender healthcare with the GEO, GradCare coverage includes many gender-affirming surgeries and is on par with most public institutions.

“The University’s coverage of gender-affirming services meets or exceeds that currently offered by the majority of our national peer institutions,” Fitzgerald said.

Lewis and Morgan Whitcomb, Rackham student and member of the Trans Health Caucus, said they took issue with how University officials seemed to exclude trans voices from the MBAC meetings and comply with insurance policies that do

not cover gender-affirming surgeries.

According to MBAC meeting notes from June 2018 the Trans Health Caucus obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and given to The Daily, the Michigan Medicine plastic surgery team deemed facial feminization and chondrolaryngoplasty (Adam’s apple reduction) medically necessary, but the insurance providers Blue Cross Blue Shield and Blue Care Network of Michigan identified them as cosmetic.

Whitcomb said the lack of trans people present in MBAC meetings contributed to this discrepancy.

“They don’t want to acknowledge that trans people are experts in their own healthcare,” Whitcomb said.

“They have this disconnect of ‘Well, there’s like doctors have trained for this.’ The difference is they haven’t trained to be experts in trans care — they’re experts in other fields and they’re trying to apply that knowledge to a different community and problem without consulting the community.”

The Trans Health Caucus has received support from transgender students, allies and the Rackham Student Government since the first special conference in December 2017. In a November

2018 letter obtained by The Daily that GEO sent to MBAC with 419 signatures, the organization urged MBAC to “act with compassion to those over whom you currently wield significant power.”

On Dec. 13, 2018, the RSG unanimously passed a resolution in support of expanding GradCare coverage for gender-affirming surgery.

10 representatives abstained from the vote.

Friday’s special conference, which included a personal perspectives section where Trans Health Caucus members recounted their experiences with gender dysphoria, persuaded HR to cover fertility preservation under GradCare.

Lewis said that while it was a victory for the Trans Health Caucus, the process to achieve it was a difficult one with more work to be done.

“It sucks that some people have to talk about suicidal ideation with HR representatives in order to get healthcare,” Lewis said.

“And it sucks that that’s where we are at in the process, is that is talking about graphic descriptions of gender dysphoria with HR and MBAC. It sucks that that’s what it took, but if that’s what makes progress, hopefully we don’t have to do it again.”

Opinion

4 — Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

DANA PIERANGELI | COLUMN

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CAROLINE LLANES | COLUMN

Widen the scope of sexual education

M

y sophomore year of high school, a guest speaker came to talk to us in our health class. She put a Hershey’s Kiss on each of our desks and told us that we could eat it whenever we wanted: now, later, or even with lunch! At this juncture, I opened mine up and popped it right into my mouth. She then proceeded to show us a PowerPoint detailing various STIs and how each of them could ruin our lives, how having multiple sexual partners would increase our risk of contracting an STI tenfold and how condoms were not 100 percent guaranteed to work, so why would we even be thinking about sex outside of marriage? Processing all this information, my classmates and I packed up our things to head to our next block. As I put my notebook back into my bag, she left us these parting words: “Oh, and for those of you who didn’t eat that Hershey’s Kiss just yet: Doesn’t it feel good to wait?”

Not to be dramatic, but thinking about that makes me feel terrible to this day. That little spiel — the little comment about the Hershey’s Kiss I couldn’t keep myself from eating — made up the entirety of my high school sex education. I was 15 at an all-girls Catholic school who barely interacted with any boys. I wasn’t “sexually active” and was probably nowhere near ready to be, but I still felt disgusting and guilty for having eaten that Hershey’s Kiss and for not waiting. There are a lot of things that I loved about my high school, but it was Catholic and predominantly pro-life, which made it near impossible to talk about sex, sexuality and reproductive rights without sparking great controversy among the militantly pro-life crowd. And in this current time period, I wish I had received a little more guidance. I wish I could have had guidance when navigating the world of contraception. I wish I could have had an adult to talk to whom I trusted, someone who had told me that I didn’t need to be ashamed of my body and my choices; someone to hold my hand and walk me through the process; someone who could give me an honest and frank education. I wish I had someone with me at Planned Parenthood when I started crying while trying to get birth control because I was overwhelmed and I had no idea what my options were or what to do. I am eternally grateful to the friend who came with me to Walgreens the morning I had to purchase Plan B, but I wish I had a grown-up I trusted to tell me that what I was doing was OK.

Having such a limited scope when it comes to sex education makes it difficult to really parse out the nuances that come up when we discuss reproductive rights. For instance, the guest speaker did insinuate to us that Planned Parenthood was lying to us, that there was no point in going to them for birth control or contraceptives because those were immoral, and besides, they provide abortions. She neglected to tell us about the litany of services provided other

And in this current time, I wish I had received a little more guidance

than abortion, even aside from contraceptives, and how the federal funding they receive doesn’t even pay for abortions. She told us life begins at conception, but there was no discussion of how a fetus doesn’t even feel pain until 20 to 26 weeks into a pregnancy and the complexity of ethics surrounding personhood.

She cheerfully assumed that we all had the eventual intention of becoming wives and mothers, without mentioning that abortions are statistically safer than carrying to term, and the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. is rising. In retrospect, it was odd for her to claim moral authority on behalf of the church when we could talk about how women terminating pregnancies without moral condemnation was incredibly common for a great deal of human history.

By not providing us with the information we need to make crucial decisions about our bodies — indeed, our health — the guest speaker my high school hired to handle our sex education was essentially telling us she didn’t trust us. She didn’t trust us with facts, and she didn’t trust us to use those facts to make informed decisions about our bodies.

As further efforts to restrict abortion are made by the government at the federal, state and local levels, it becomes clear the guest speaker is not the only one with the trust issue, but our nation as a whole is having trouble trusting women. It seems as though reproductive rights are constantly under attack, and women are often shamed and judged under the guise of concern. When we examine frankly how women’s

behavior is policed, it reveals the true patriarchal (and oftentimes racist and classist) nature of how we view women and their sexual behavior. If the concern was about the loss of fertilized eggs, then why do we not see more pro-life activists talking about and investing in attempts to prevent miscarriages? This is already an under-discussed issue, yet about 15-25 percent of recognized pregnancies end in miscarriage. When data show that access to comprehensive sex education and contraceptives decreases abortion rates, why does the pro-life movement insist on abstinence-only sex education and limiting access to contraceptives? To me, this serves to solely to police the behavior of women and to punish them for not adhering to arbitrary standards of sexual purity.

Why is society unable to trust women as rational, thoughtful, responsible moral agents, perfectly capable of weighing the moral decision of what to do when and while they’re pregnant? Using abortion laws and abstinence-only sex education to police women and their bodies prevents us from having open, honest discussions about the health and well-being of women and their families.

If we truly want reproductive justice, we need to shift the conversations we’re having about women and abortion from controlling, policing and judging to fact-based and honest conversations, and we need to start with young women.

My younger sister is a sophomore in high school now and she’s probably going to take a health class very similar to the one I took. The thought of her going out into a world where her reproductive rights are called into question; where she is so utterly without a clue that she, too, starts crying at Planned Parenthood because no one ever taught her how to be the authority on her own body. We need to trust women to be the authorities of their own bodies, but we need to give them the language, the confidence, the knowledge and the education to do so. Speak to young women candidly about their bodies and their reproductive choices.

Maybe then we can prevent at least one more girl from having a nervous breakdown at Planned Parenthood and from having Hershey’s Kisses ruined for her forever.

Caroline Llanes can be reached at cmllanes@umich.edu.

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W

As we march towards equality

aking up the March. The Women’s March is morning after the not just a women’s issue. With 2016 presidential the vast intersectionality election and present in such a hearing that large movement, Donald Trump won it has taken on was heartbreaking. broader challenges I had just started and issues plaguing getting ready for America. Signs and school when my protests from the mom, whom I march covered all have never seen kinds of issues, up before I leave from LGBTQ and except to get a disability rights to DANA first day of school immigration issues. picture, knocked PIERANGELI While admittedly on my door. She didn’t even lower in attendance than the have to say anything for me previous two, the fact that it’s to know what happened. I still happening is a triumph in walked into the other room itself. and hugged my younger sister, The march even withstood then I slowly began physically some of its leadership and mentally preparing for crumbling. There has been school. I was scared. I had much debate in recent months been following the election, I between some of the New knew what Trump said about York leaders of the march people of color, the LGBTQ over what the main goals community and women. I knew Trump’s lack of respect and how harmful it could be with his new position of authority. I was scared for my friends, for my country and for myself.

But then a miracle happened. The day after Trump’s inauguration, protesters took to the streets of Washington D.C., and an estimated 4 million all across the U.S. joined in.

Even other countries joined and who the main leaders in the fight: There were 261 are going to be. There have marches all over the world been disagreements on the from Antarctica to Zimbabwe. leadership selection. While It was likely the largest Tamika Mallory, a Black gun single-day protest in history. control activist and Carmen People from all walks of life, Perez, a criminal justice all races, all ethnicities, all reform activist, were selected hometowns and all genders to run the march, many came together to protest this pitched for having Vanessa man who has done nothing Wruble, a white Jewish but belittle and disrespect woman, front the movement. the people he is supposed to Mallory and Perez believe serve. People from all over the that women of color should be world told the new president fronting the Women’s March this behavior would not because they have long been in stand and that there would the shadow of white feminists, be pushback against anything while Wruble wants to work unpresidential. alongside them because they And push back we did. all fight for the same cause.

Every year since Trump was These disagreements led elected, the Women’s March to Wruble splitting off and has paraded through the creating her own movement streets, working to make the and march called “March world a better place, even On.” Many were also angered with Trump trying to make and considered not marching it worse. Jan. 19, 2019 marked when it came out that Mallory the third annual Women’s praised Louis Farrakhan,

The Women’s March is a physical manifestation of the changing times

a well-known anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam.

The organization issued statements denouncing antiSemitism, but Mallory has not revoked her support of Farrakhan. However, most decided the movement is bigger than Mallory, Wruble or any discord among their leaders and came to show their support for a cause they believe in either way, leading to a small but successful statement.

Some protests are still scheduled to happen. Ann Arbor has its own “Women March On for Justice” on March 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Diag. Plenty of protests have taken place at the University of Michigan, many of which involved women’s rights.

Like many others all over the world, Ann Arbor held its own Women’s March on Jan. 21, 2017, in solidarity with the march in Washington, D.C. While the protest in Ann Arbor this year will not be on the same day, it will have the same message: We will stand together to make this world a better place.

Despite the demoralization in having a despicable president, the past few years have led to astronomical gains for women. Hundreds of women have run for office, stood up against sexual assault, registered to vote and fought injustice. Right now we have more women in Congress than ever before — many of whom are women of color. The Women’s March is a physical manifestation of the changing times. Women are gaining ground politically and socially, and however difficult the road to equality may be, it will pay off in the end. Though with split leadership, the cause has been more difficult to define, we all want the same thing in the end: equality for all. I hope when the next election’s results are announced, I will be proud of who our country has chosen, and I think the courage women have shown through these marches will get us there.

Dana Pierangeli can be reached at dmpier@umich.edu.

SAMANTHA SZUHAJ | COLUMN

“

Thank you for sharing

Thank you for sharing,” the expected to be prepared and class would say in robotic pleasant and to put our best face unison. The disgruntled forward. We are expected to student would then operate as young adults proceed to sit down — assertive, driven and back in the circle willing — and failing to and await the next be anything but would brave soul to share deem us incapable. This their feelings aloud amalgamation of great with the class. pressure and societal Yes, this was expectation has created how we spent a stigma around being every Wednesday anything but one who afternoon in my on a solely SAMANTHA operates fourth-grade positive autopilot.

SZUHAJ classroom. Sitting Has emotional cross-legged on the faded navy expression become synonymous carpet by the windows, we, at with weakness?

Yes. the young age of 10, became Wholeheartedly, I would argue accustomed to bearing ourselves that it has. What if we were to say and our feelings in a way that that we actually were not okay many college students, and when someone asked? Would we beyond, are incapable of. We become initially embarrassed would sit and practice this open for stepping into taboo territory, form of emotional expression or immediately apologize? What and receive an automated but if crying became something to valuable sense of validation from be proud of? What if it became our peers. an emotional release instead of As I eventually graduated a sign of vulnerability? This is past this judgment-free haven, not something there is a general I grew to understand that this cure-all for, as it evidently has candidness about how we feel larger societal implications. is frowned upon. We live in This fear of being vulnerable a society in which emotional exists in all avenues of my life. expression is a sign of being The other night, a friend of incapable, or something mine broke down with tears burdensome for those around us. welling in her eyes because of We are expected to operate under the pressure she feels regarding a guise of happiness and positivity what she wants to do with her and feel obligated to apologize life. Instead of allowing herself for anything else. Personally, I to wallow and then begin the have become so accustomed to process of validating her feelings, following my emotional tangents she apologized to me, the with the phrase, “I am so sorry,” consoler. In class, coincidentally instead of taking the time to on the same day, my professor acknowledge how I actually feel. shared an anecdote about how As college students, this a presidential hopeful in the detrimental attitude toward past faced dismal numbers after showing emotion has been being crucified in the press amplified by the hyper-connected, for allegedly crying during a high-stress environment we public address on an incredibly find ourselves in. We are always personal subject. This reticence

to show how we feel due to fear of breaking social norms or facing societal ridicule has taken a toll on our collective emotional wellbeing.

As a new semester takes hold — accompanied by stressors and pressures old and familiar — I bring a personal challenge to the table. Despite believing New Year’s resolutions to be absolutely pointless, I find now to be the time more than ever to work toward individual change. I challenge myself to be okay with discomfort; to allow myself to be upset; to show that maybe I am not always the passionate, attentive individual that students at the University of Michigan are expected to be.

Yes, crying in the UGLi may be considered taboo, but so what?

Sometimes I do not have the will to keep everything all zipped up — waiting to be expressed in a grand, incredibly private, outpouring of stale emotion. I challenge myself to challenge those around me as well.

I am not going to blatantly share how I feel to anyone I meet, but work to become comfortable with the discomfort and break the mold that society sees fit for us. I want to change the conversation around expressing how we feel, from something that is considered a weakness to just something. I want to change the conversation from every second thought being inherently apologetic, to accepting. I challenge us all to shift the dialogue surrounding emotional vulnerability from an “I’m sorry,” to a “Thank you for sharing,” as that’s how it should be.

Samantha Szuhaj can be reached at szuhajs@umich.edu.

Arts

5 — Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

‘We Cast a Shadow’ reminds us of family in divisive times SOPHIE WASLOWSKI Daily Arts Writer

The protagonist in Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s novel “We Cast A Shadow” does not have a name.

The absence of his name is hardly noticeable throughout the story, except for the first line in which he narrates, “My name doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that I’m a phantom, a figment, a man who was mistaken for waitstaff twice that night.” In many ways, his name really doesn’t matter.

It is his experiences as a Black American and a father with a white wife and biracial child, that help readers connect to him more than his name ever could. Without his name, the only thing readers have to judge him by are his thoughts and actions. Ruffin’s deliberate choice to leave his protagonist nameless places a focus on who he is and what he believes, giving the story a decidedly personal feel.

“We Cast A Shadow” is Ruffin’s debut novel, a project he has been working on since 2014.

An earlier version of the novel under the working title of “All of the Lights” won a gold medal in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom writing competition. His short story “The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You” received the 2014 Iowa Review award for fiction. He earned an MFA from the University of New Orleans Creative Writing Workshop and is also a member of the Peauxdunque Writers Alliance.

The novel, which is heavily

influenced by Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” revolves around the man, his wife and their son, Nigel, in an America where a procedure has been developed that gives “doctors” the power to make people white. Although the man and his family seem happy and content at first, it is soon revealed that the narrator is tormented with the knowledge of something he believes will bring endless pain and suffering to his

“We Cast a Shadow” Maurice Carlos Riffin One World Jan. 29, 2019

son’s life: Nigel is becoming Black.

It all started when Nigel was born and his father noticed a small black patch at the top of his eye.

The narrator’s life soon becomes a scramble to keep Nigel out of the sun and away from anything that could cause his skin to continue darkening. He soon realizes, however, that there is nothing he can do to stop the patch from spreading, so he turns to what he believes is the only answer he

has left: finding enough money to send his son in for the whitening procedure.

Ruffin has crafted a heavy, thought-provoking novel that leads readers to grapple with questions of race and social responsibility that are highly relevant to the current political climate. While the story deals with a range of issues, from corrupt law firms and politicians to the activist/terrorist group ADZE, it truly shines in the focus it places on the familial relationships within it. The narrator’s relationship with his wife is strained yet loving, a realistic example of two people struggling to care for their son and give him the best life they possibly can. His relationship with Nigel is even more complex and touching.

He claims he is determined and willing to do whatever he can to keep his son safe, but fails to realize the cost his actions will have on his son’s life, and eventually, his entire family.

The entire novel is narrated from the father’s point of view, and it is revealed in the later chapters that it is in fact an account of his time as a parent written for his son to read. It makes for a gripping and heart-wrenching story and a valuable addition to the fiction canon. But mostly, it serves as a reminder that at the heart of politics and turmoil there is family, and that is what motivates us and gives us hope.

EVENT REVIEW

ALEC COHEN / MICHIGAN DAILY

Ann Arbor Folk Festival full of heart and meaning The second night of the 42nd Ann Arbor Folk Festival at The Ark, a local music club dedicated to good music and good times, was nothing short of magical.

Maybe the magic came from the Narnian winter wonderland the audience found themselves in after leaving the warm embrace of the University’s Hill Auditorium postconcert, just before the clock struck midnight. Maybe it was The RFD Boys playing fiddle and singing some oldtime blues as if they were in a backalley rafting bar deep in southern West Virginia. Maybe it was AHI, standing there in a black rider’s cap he bought off the internet, soulfully singing of finding himself. Maybe it was Pokey LaFarge, standing solo stage, looking like Hank Williams fresh-off a concert at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.

Maybe it was everything combined–– and that was only the first half of the show, too.

But the magic in the room wasn’t only restrained to the stage, either.

On the left, an elderly couple danced lovingly to songs of fallen angels. To the right, a gentleman shot to his feet in standing ovation after every song.

Somewhere in the middle, two young writers blinked away rebellious tears in the safety of the dark.

The RFD Boys opened up the night, treating Ann Arbor to some classic folk tunes. 50 years strong and still going, The RFD Boys are regulars at The Ark. Despite their long career (and advancing age), the group showed no signs of slowing down — the RFD boys,

if anything, have merely aged like some good whiskey (or moonshine). The entire performance was electrifying and delivered some much-needed, footstomping fiddle on a cold winter’s night.

Then, with his soul-bearing honesty, AHI was larger-than-life on stage, throwing his entire being into every moment. But what made the performance so captivating wasn’t just the lead singer himself, but rather the band’s group dynamic. One could see the inherent connection — musical and personal — between each musician on stage. It was this perfect cohesion between each band member that made the performance incredibly intimate and forged a sense of community between everyone in the room, musician and audience member alike.

To round out the first half of the festival, Pokey LaFarge walked on stage looking like he had just hopped out of the 1950s. LaFarge seemingly embodied a legacy of country and folk legends. Yet, his performance felt fresh, rather than overdone. More than his music, however, it was LaFarge’s vulnerability standing solo on stage and his immediate camaraderie with the audience that made his set stand out.

LaFarge’s performance was a perfect example of why the magic of live music is so tantalizing. To see LaFarge perform last night was the equivalent of walking into the famous Grand Ole Opry and watching Patsy Cline or Hank Williams back in an age gone by.

— Madeleine Virginia Gannon, Daily Arts Writer

JUSTIN BECK

Wilson talks links of racism, architecture BEN VASSAR

Daily Arts Writer

Educator, author and activist Mabel O. Wilson visited the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning this past Friday to give a lecture entitled “Memory/Race/Nation: The Politics of Modern Memorials” as the University of Michigan’s Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium guest lecturer this year.

Wilson currently teaches architectural history and theory at Columbia University and performs research as a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Research in African American Studies.

“The limits of traditional (architectural) practice couldn’t answer all of the questions I had,” said Wilson on her involvement in research and scholarly work on top of her design work.

Recently, Wilson became fascinated by Alexander Weheliye’s “Habeas Viscus,” a book on the centrality of race in what it means to be human. Wilson’s biggest takeaway from the book was Weheliye’s concept of “racial assemblages”: the historical outcome of the impact of race on our social order.

“What we take for public never has been. There have always been exclusions,” said Wilson.

Architecture has always been entangled with racial assemblages, from the design of slave ships to maximize the quantity of slaves that could make it to the New World to the design of contemporary public housing. This has never been more evident than today in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia (where Wilson attended for undergrad) and the “Unite the Right” Rally of August 2017, also known as the Charlottesville riots.

The University of Virginia (UVA) was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819.

In archived letters written

by Jefferson at the time

“If you can’t afford therapy, you might as well listen to folk.”

This is something I couldn’t get out of my head all of Saturday night, as I sat in the red velvet chairs of Hill Auditorium for the second night of this year’s Ann Arbor Folk Festival. It’s funny, but true — nothing can get you crying in public quite like hearing people bear their souls 50 feet away from you, singing their stories like it’s the last thing they’ll ever say.

The Festival is arguably one of the biggest music events in the metroDetroit area each year, a collection of folk and blues’s best and brightest for two nights in the cold January wind. 2019’s lineup was particularly striking, featuring huge acts like Brandi Carlile and Rufus Wainwright as headliners on Friday and Saturday.

Alongside them was a series of equally incredible musicians that made each night one for the ages. Although I can only speak for Saturday, I can honestly say the show was life-changing, and that’s not hyperbole. It is every year, and probably will be forever, if folk continues its 100-year roll through America.

The two secondary headliners for Jan. 26 were Joan Osborne and I’m With Her, a trio made up of folk stars Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz and

to friends and colleagues, Jefferson made it clear that he wanted strictly neoclassical architecture for the university to emulate the high times of democratic Rome and Greece.

What wasn’t spelled out quite so clearly in those letters was that, along with these ideas of an architecture of justice, liberty and equality was a history of slave building and the subsequent rejection of non-whites from those spaces.

The entirety of UVA’s campus built prior to the abolishment of slavery was made by slaves. The same can be said for Virginia’s state capitol, also designed

by Jefferson based on the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, France. In the central hall of the capitol, Jefferson wanted to dedicate a statue of George Washington so as to, among other reasons, instill the space

Architecture has always been entanlged with racial assemblages with a sense of “American virtue.” Such virtue at the time, unfortunately, did not include being Black.

While many dismiss slave owners’ support of or at least tacit acceptance of slavery as the result of the feelings of their time, Jefferson had some very particular problems with Black people.

Truthfully, he was viscerally and visually appalled by them.

He believed skin color was of divine causation, and that those bestowed with Black skin were inherently “dull, tasteless, and anomalous.”

So it’s no wonder that, in response to the “Unite the Right” rally of August, Black Lives Matter covered Jefferson’s statue at the center of campus with garbage

Sara Watkins. Osborne brought the Folk Festival’s audiences an inventive set of Bob Dylan classics along with guitarist and fellow vocalist Jackie Greene.

Called “Dylanology,” Osborne and friends brought the house down with their renditions of hits like “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” bringing new life to the timeless words. Afterward, I’m With Her took the stage, and also took the audience’s breath away — O’Donovan, Jarosz and Watkins are masters of their craft, weaving their voices together to absolutely stunning ends. They played an hour-long set, but it felt like minutes due to their music’s sheer, undeniable beauty. I can only explain it by asking anyone to drive out and hear them live if possible, because their music is nearly perfection.

And, of course, at the end of the night, came Wainwright. The composer, singer, songwriter extraordinaire is one of those people that don’t seem

bags and signs reading “TJ is a racist rapist” and “Black Lives Matter, Fuck White Supremacists.” The students wanted UVA to remove its historical connection to racism as many schools across the country had been doing since the 2000s. Since the protests, no news has surfaced as to the statue’s removal, although the Charlottesville city council did vote 3-2 in favor of the removal of a statue of confederate general Robert E. Lee at the city’s center back in 2017 (although for various reasons it remains up today).

However, Wilson’s talk was less about the logistics of removing existing memorials and more about humanizing the slaves of Charlottesville’s past by giving them their very own memorial. While about 4,000 slaves worked for UVA in its early history, only several hundred of their names are known due to mere lack of acknowledgment in the university’s historical record. At the end of her talk, Wilson unveiled renderings she had been working on of a planned Memorial to Enslaved Laborers just east of the campus’s central rotunda.

The memorial is designed as a ring of Virginia mist granite that slants down to envelope a grassy area surrounded by a mote. Along the inner wall of the granite, 4,000 blank spaces are allotted for names but only several hundred are filled. Engraved in the stone at the bottom of the mote are significant historical events of the era of slavery, many of which were brutally violent.

Despite this confrontation of the cold, hard truth, the monument offers hope above all else. The water that gently wafts through the mote symbolizes the passage of time and the escape from the horrific events of the past.

The grassy area at the center is a peaceful place of union where students and faculty may come together and relax, thankful that we’re better than we once were while acknowledging that we’re not perfect yet.

human because of their talent, yet, Wainwright’s biggest strength is the fact that he is so human. His lyrics read like ironic, funny, sharp poems on paper, but when Wainwright sings, all the listener can do is sit slack-jawed.

Venues like Hill Auditorium were built for musicians like Wainwright — there were moments during his set that the venue literally began to vibrate with the intensity of his voice and piano.

It was only when he brought out the rest of the night’s musicians for a group rendition of “Hallelujah” that I realized tears were streaming down my face. Through broken guitar strings, massage-parlor stories and a million little jokes, Wainwright closed the festival with the ease and familiarity that only true performers have, and a voice that can only be described as God-given.

— Clara Scott, Senior Arts Editor

Arts

6 — Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

DAILY HEALTH & WELLNESS COLUMN

ALBUM REVIEW

A world of flavor ELI RALLO

Daily Arts Writer

CAPITOL

‘Heard it in a Past Life’ rings in a space between opposites SAMANTHA CANTIE Daily Arts Writer

Maggie Rogers thrives in a space where elements oppose each other. Pair that with an ability to not only feel the world vehemently, but to recalibrate when life rapidly transfigures, and you get Heard it in a Past Life.

Life changed dramatically for Rogers in July of 2016, when Pharrell Williams held a surprise master class at NYU, where Rogers was completing her senior year as a music student.

Although Williams listened to multiple examples of student work, he quickly lionized Rogers within the classroom setting, heaping praise on her song “Alaska.” Williams noticed a match between Rogers’s description of her lived experience and the music. She described her sound as rooted in the folk from her youth (having grown up playing harp and banjo), but also as taking on a new life when she studied abroad and discovered the world of electronic dance music. Unknowingly to Rogers, Pharrell’s praises were recorded on video and uploaded to YouTube. Two million views later, and Rogers has achieved eminence in the music industry.

Following the viral video, Rogers launched a world tour, starred as a musical guest on “SNL” and opened

for Mumford and Sons, all after only releasing a five-song EP and a couple of singles. In her documentary published in March of 2018, she relayed the daunting notion of life spinning out of control, and the importance of creating a thoughtful, reflective space to artistically create on her own time. Heard it In a Past Life is Rogers’s proclamation of recapturing herself

Heard it in a Past Life Maggie Rogers Capitol and her story.

The album explores contradictions, particularly those that have emerged since Rogers’s rise to fame. Rogers creates a space that explores humanity with a lens that is both macroscopic and microscopic, a freedom that is exhilarating yet messy and a sense of self that is rapidly changing while also continuous. These opposing ideas fit perfectly into the contradiction that is Rogers: folk with slight southern twang, paired smoothly with electronic production.

Classifieds

The album intimately inspects a human’s ability to be a tiny speck among the immensity of Earth.

However, humans are simultaneously large-scale, inherently introspective, ever-changing while holding the ability to influence the world grandly. The track “Alaska” touches on the austere grandeur of Earth, as Rogers’s trip to Alaska after her freshman year of college illuminated the colossal size of the state’s mountain scenery. Such landscape makes one feel so small, like a gear in the bigger machine. Heard it In a Past Life weaves this macro feeling that the scenery of Alaska provides through each track. For example, the song “Overnight” uses samples from glacier and frog sounds. Moreover, when reflecting on the song “Alaska,” Rogers posted the following comment on Instagram about the process of naming the album: “There are so many aspects of this song that feel like they don’t belong to me, like it’s so much bigger than me. Like I heard it in a past life…”

But the album doesn’t just explore the human life as one piece among a much bigger puzzle. It also runs micro, touching on introspectively watching oneself change.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

DOWN 1 Señor’s wife 2 Stock market purchases 3 Furious with 4 Outer: Pref.

5 Video conferencing choice 6 Carrot or turnip 7 Dominant dogs 8 Wintry pellets 9 Marx brother with a horn 10 Mete out, as PEZ candy 11 Hidden, as motives 12 Publishing family 14 __ Wonder: Robin 17 Note-taking aid 21 Classic ’30s-’50s vocal quartet, with “the” 23 Lake on the border of Bolivia and Peru 26 Critical-care ctrs.

27 Release

30 Queen’s “Another __ Bites the Dust” 31 Shares again on Twitter, briefly 32 Set a match to 33 Befitting 34 Love handles?

35 Grand Prix, e.g.

36 Han and Leia’s son Kylo __ 37 Loathe 40 14-legged crustacean

42 Nova __ 43 Mother or father 44 Gooey campfire treats 46 For face value 47 Song syllables 48 NRC forerunner 49 Hair salon staple 51 Winery prefix 52 Opposite of post56 Shirt with a V-neck, perhaps

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Frank Virzi ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

FILM REVIEW

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

SUBLETS

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis 61 Swiss watch brand 62 Trial rounds

themselves toward the wood fire, doughy-yetcrispy heart of an authentic Italian pizza, something I could devour in moments while burning the roof of my mouth on stringy cheese and tangy sauce. Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina is definitely challenging themselves to incorporate more authentic Italian flavors in their trendy upscale pizza joint, which features tons of hip finger foods and a too-good-to-betrue gluten free crust. When I am pining after the pizza of my childhood, or the pizza of any cafe in Naples, I am quick to order Bigalora — a place I know I can trust to deliver flavors that put me on a plane to Italy within a matter of moments.

Ann Arbor has created a diverse flavor personality, not pigeonholing itself to be one specific flavor or cuisine.

It ignores the conventional wisdom behind Midwestern cities and food, pushing itself to find an idiosyncratic culinary persona. Ann Arbor is breakfast food. It is really good burgers and the perfect menu that combines some of the sunny West Coast with a New York state of mind.

Fleetwood Diner and Blimpy Burger are Ann Arbor classics that are perfectly suited for a city with such quirks and non-conventional taste.

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

Release Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2019

ACROSS 1 Tricky road curves 6 Too hasty 10 “Boy, am I dumb!”

13 Bowl over 14 Valpolicella wine brand 15 Suffix with project or percent 16 *Killjoy 18 Metro stop: Abbr.

19 State south of Wash.

20 *Face consequences for poor decisions 22 Like Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial 24 Yom Kippur observers 25 Italian wine hub 26 South African golfer Ernie 28 Make a wool cap, say 29 MLB exec Joe who was the Yankees’ manager for 12 seasons 32 Wrangler’s ropes 34 *Furniture restorer’s chemical 37 Wild cards, maybe 38 Arrive at 39 “At Last” singer James 40 Charged particle 41 Recipe amts.

45 Polar expedition vehicles 48 ’70s-’80s FBI sting 50 *Airborne unit member 53 Tijuana gold 54 “__ little teapot ... ” 55 Stationery supply with a blade ... and a hint to the answers to starred clues 57 Min. part 58 Companionless 59 Quai d’Orsay’s river 60 WNW opposite

It is the second semester of my junior year in college and everyone has left Ann Arbor. Maybe they were smart to leave, as temperatures become negative and the possibility that the administration might actually cancel classes for the first time in five years looms. Whatever the reason, the second semester of junior year is a time where a lot of us choose to study abroad. For foodies, this means endless gastronomically diverse culinary experiences around the globe — spicy, fresh paella served in a sizzling carbon steel pan in Spain, all the textbook cacio e pepe in Rome, round crackling Napoli pizzas with fresh basil leaves and gobs of warm mozzarella swimming in the perfect smear of grassy tomato sauce, paper thin crepes exploding with swirls of nutella and sliced banana on the streets of Paris, glasses of chilled French white wine and dark moody Italian reds, cappuccinos and espressos and nutty biscottis.

The knowledge of the culinary world outstretched before me for thousands of miles in every direction has put me in a food lover’s rut. I am sick with envy knowing what culinary experiences lie waiting overseas, experiences that my classmates and friends who traveled this semester

are currently discovering.

The Instagram photos of their sensational meals in Europe, South America, Asia and Israel just don’t satisfy the craving I have to travel in pursuit of discoveries through the diverse culture of food.

In all my envy — filling notebook pages with wishes and woes of meals in the Italian countryside and cafes with views of the Eiffel Tower, staring at Snapchat stories and photographs of every towering hazelnut ice cream in Prague and pool of hummus accented with a swirl of olive oil, imagining myself sipping the perfect midday aperol spritz over a copy of an old Faulkner I’ve read twice already — I lost what the city that I call home means to me.

Ann Arbor, despite being a classic university town, houses more than your typical college food spots. It has a grown-up, culturally diverse, spirited food scene — one that has been curated by a forward thinking community of intellects who constantly push the boundaries of the expected in all realms of life.

The culinary spirit of our city spans miles and countries, time and space, all within walking distance and for far less than the cost of a plane ticket to leave Michigan.

Though I’m one to argue the Midwest doesn’t know a thing about pizza, there are certainly some Italian restaurants pushing

01/29/19

01/29/19

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NETFLIX

‘IO’ should remain in Jupiter’s moon system ANISH TAMHANEY Daily Arts Writer

“IO” is the latest film in a series of Netflix misfires.

The low-budget, sci-fi drama directed by Jonathan Helpert (“House of Time”) involves only a duo of characters and limited sets to convey profound (but actually unoriginal) observations about humanity, and crumples quickly under atrocious writing and an exhausting narrative structure.

The story takes place years after a catastrophic environmental collapse on Earth made the planet uninhabitable, forcing most of the population to relocate to a space station on Io, a moon of Jupiter. Sam, a biologist played by Margaret Qualley (“The Nice Guys”), searches for possibilities of continuing human life back on Earth, while Micah (Anthony Mackie, “Avengers: Infinity War”), another straggler on the planet, implores her to board the last shuttle to Io. Unfortunately, the most notable aspect of the movie is just how boring the concept is. Sam’s research project is laden with melodramatic, blunt voiceover that sounds neither scientific nor moving.

Her character is so passively written that it’s a wonder Qualley is able to breath any

life into the character at all.

The actress does her best to read these lines of voiceover and dialogue with nuance, but they are still rarely more than robotic.

These missteps make up the entire first half of the film, after which point a viewer may find it difficult to stay conscious. The introduction of Mackie’s character, despite providing the film with some momentum, only makes the conversations more ridiculous. The two start quoting Plato and Homer

‘IO’ Netflix to each other verbatim and analyze the human condition in laughably heavy-handed ways. Without a modicum of chemistry, they are inexplicably drawn toward each other simply to advance the story. They both lose their agency to the whim of the screenwriters, flipping on decisions and convictions that were apparently central to their actions. It’s simultaneously perplexing and miserable to behold.

After what feels like decades of this empty philosophical jargon echoing around, it becomes clear that the filmmakers have no idea how to end the trainwreck in

a climactic way. What ensues is, shockingly, a conflict that emerges from thin air and resolves itself with more conjured melodrama. It’s akin to 2016’s “Passengers,” another contained sci-fi film with a halfway-intriguing premise and a bungled finale.

In the end, “IO” plays out as if it were conceived as a TV show, with disconnected plot points that resolve whenever convenient for the writer. The conflicts are so disjointedly episodic that the film is unsure of its own identity, leaping from survivalist drama to romance to science fiction.

Even the 96 minute runtime drags beyond belief.

There is truthfully little reason to put oneself through this mess at all. Most casual moviegoers have likely already seen the tropes “IO” has to offer, whether in the abandonment of Earth as a viable home in “Interstellar” or the esoteric fascination of a lone scientist in an unfamiliar environment in “The Martian.” In fact, it might just be easier to believe “IO” is the work of aliens whose only knowledge of humans is sci-fi films from the 21st century rather than a product of actual humans.

And with that ludicrous theory in mind, maybe there’s one legitimate reason to watch “IO.”

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Sports

This one could have been huge

W

and a huge statement on behalf Brown said. “So, I mean, that’s ing quarter, senior guard ith less than two Nicole Munger collided with of their fallen teammate. minutes left in the only positive we have. defenders while driving A win would have been huge We’ll go back and regroup as the game, freshfor Brown, too. In the last hard to the basket. She went man forward a team, get some couple wins rivalry meeting, in East Landown immediately, had to be Naz Hillmon on our belt and then we’ll play helped off the court and never sing, she experienced a season- them again on their home notched a returned. ending lower left leg injury and court.” crucial layup her team lost the game.

“I mean, right when it hapto give the Prior to the game, ESPN’s This time around, she got pened we knew it was gonna be Michigan Charlie Creme projected something that would take her off to a hot start by grabbing women’s basMichigan as a bubble team for out of the game completely,” multiple rebounds and sinkketball team the NCAA Tournament. A win said sophomore forward Haiing shots early on. She looked hope. against a ranked Michigan ROHAN set to make an extra impact to ley Brown. “Munger is a very The State team would have sharpKUMAR tough player, so when she goes compensate for what happened ened the Wolverines’ resume bucket cut down she’s not gonna come last season. But with the loss, the Wolver— giving them a quality victory back in the game. But, when we she too missed out. ines’ deficit in a season that’s more than “It’s a rivalry game and we were huddling we were saying, against No. 23 Michigan State halfway through. had them at home, so it’s a lityou know, ‘We gotta bounce to just four points. That defiNow, Michigan’s tournaback from this, like regroup tle bit different, but of course cit had reached as high as 15 ment hopes have suffered yet and do this for Munger.’ She’s I was fired up to play,” Brown in the third quarter, and thus another deafening blow. Now, one of our hustlers.” said. “I feel like I missed out Michigan’s comeback seemed the Wolverines must think a little bit last Munger’s destined for about adjustdeparture shook season with completion. ing if Munger’s that. But it was the WolverThe Wolverinjury is seriines, as they a great atmoines, though, ous. sphere to play, soon gave up a couldn’t finAnd now, it’s just we fell 13-2 run. They ish the job and they’ll think did regroup short on the outmissed out on about what and fight back come.” what would could have been with sparks of When asked have been a if they’d won about positive promising play, huge win — for this game. takeaways, but ultimately a variety of reamissed out on Brown was forsons.

Kumar can ward-looking. what would For starters, be reached “We play them again,” have been a momentous victory it was a rivalry game — and at kumarrp@umich.edu. that rivalry has been lopsided.

Entering Sunday’s contest, the Spartans led the all-time battle 68-19 and were 9-4 since Michigan hired coach Kim Barnes Arico. Thus, winning the close game would have given the Wolverines some much-needed momentum for the rivalry.

Instead, Barnes Arico and Michigan have now lost five of the last six meetings.

Additionally, Big Ten play has troubled the Wolverines so far, so a win on Sunday would have been helpful. But now, Michigan stands 10th in the conference with a 3-6 record and is no longer undefeated at home. The team has yet to pick up a conference victory on the road and has now lost four out MILES MACKLIN/Daily of its last five games.

Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico’s team squandered a key opportunity to bolster its resume against Michigan State.

Midway through the open-

We play them again. That’s the only positive we have.

When (Munger) goes down, she’s not gonna come back.

Freshmen provide glimpse of future DANIEL DASH

Daily Sports Writer

When Andrew Fenty and Patrick Maloney inked their letters of intent to play tennis for Michigan coach Adam Steinberg, the two freshmen had all the boxes checked. That is, except for one.

Fenty — who enters the season as the No. 4 youth player in the nation — has put his skills to the test both at home and abroad, competing in the U.S. Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Australian Open junior draws last year. Maloney, meanwhile, took home last year’s New York State singles title, earning All-American honors in the process. With a combined 19-5 record against other five-star recruits in the 2018 cycle, the duo headlines the NCAA’s fifth-ranked class. At an initial glance, it’s tough to find a flaw in the talented tandem’s paths to Ann Arbor.

The missing element? Teamstyle tennis.

“It’s no longer about me, it’s about the team,” Fenty said. “I have to push the guy next to me.

And that’s what (Maloney and I) do — that’s why we’re different than other (freshmen).”

After a long fall of individual competition, the 24th-ranked Wolverines entered the team season with their sights sets on Saturday’s ITA Kick-Off. Thanks to last year’s Sweet Sixteen run — Michigan’s first since 2008 — the team earned the right to host the tournament for the first time in program history, drawing national attention to Fenty and Maloney’s home debut.

The two new kids on the block didn’t disappoint.

Fenty and Maloney showed flashes of maturity beyond their years Saturday, adding to their cumulative 4-1 record in the process. Given the program’s

MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily

Freshman Andrew Fenty helped spearhead improvement for Michigan doubles.

heavy emphasis on energy and leadership, Fenty and Maloney’s dominant team start is more than just impressive — it’s a sign that they can become program cornerstones.

After falling short in a pair of doubles tiebreakers against No. 22 Alabama last weekend, Fenty and Maloney spearheaded the team’s significant improvement in its 4-1 win over North Carolina State. Fenty and sophomore Mattias Siimar cruised to a 6-1 victory, while Maloney and senior Myles Schalet captured a 6-2 win to grab the morning’s first point at the Varsity Tennis Center, where the Wolverines boast a 37-3 record since 2016.

Fenty and Maloney’s singles prowess, coupled with their willingness to adapt, have made it easy for Steinberg to welcome them into the doubles fold immediately.

On the singles court, the tandem’s debut nearly ignited a comeback in Tuscaloosa when Fenty shocked Patrick Kaukovalta — the country’s No. 41 player — 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, while Maloney held on against Alexey Nesterov for a gripping 7-6, 6-4 win. Despite building upon those performances by securing their respective first sets against the Wolfpack

(Andrew Fenty and Pat Maloney) are unbelievable.

on Saturday, neither of their would-be singles victories counted once Michigan earned the clinching point.

With two strong outings now in the books, Steinberg is starting to see the resemblance between his newcomers and last year’s graduating class. “(Fenty and Maloney) are unbelievable,” Steinberg said.

“They’ve become a lot more aggressive at this level. They’re such great competitors and they’re loving every minute of it. Besides being good players, they’re experienced and they know pressure. The two of them have been a spark for our team for sure. It’s always tough when you lose four seniors and bring in new guys hoping they’ll fit in well, but they’re doing great.”

From the rookies’ perspective, they’re not here to devote their freshmen seasons to learning the ropes — rather, they’ve put in the work to help propel this year’s group to its full potential.

“We have to grow up fast,” Fenty said. “I don’t think of myself as ‘the freshman’ on the team, I think of myself as a leader, and I know (Maloney) does too. We try to push the guys and do our job.”

If Fenty and Maloney continue to do their jobs at this level, last year’s Sweet Sixteen appearance won’t be a fluke. And, after watching his youngsters prosper in their first two team matches, it’s safe to say Steinberg can check off that final box.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 — 7

Michigan starts year by beating Minnesota LILY ALEXANDER For the Daily

Cameron Bock took a deep breath as he dangled from the parallel bars.

The sophomore rolled his feet forward and remained calm as he swung his body above the wooden beams.

His teammates on the No. 3 Michigan men’s gymnastics team went wild as he dismounted, f lipping through the air with his legs held at a seamless 90-degree angle in front of his body. The board f lashed 14.700, earning Bock the second-highest parallel bar score in the country this season.

Bock’s performance aided the Wolverines Saturday in their 413.150-408.300 defeat of powerhouse No. 7 Minnesota.

When asked if the unfamiliar matchup — Michigan’s first competition against the Golden Gophers in 12 years — added any stress, Michigan coach Kurt Golder said that he thought it was more so an exciting experience for the athletes.

“None of the guys have ever been there,” Golder said.

“They are used to Ohio State and Illinois. I think it was something they were looking forward to.”

The Wolverines’ triumph landed them the title of being the second highest-scoring team in the Big Ten. Michigan was especially forceful on the vault in the final rotation of the afternoon, with sophomore Emyre Cole rating 14.850 alongside sophomore

Anthony McCallum’s 14.750.

“It was great sticking my f loor dismount,” Cole said.

“I didn’t have a lot of events today, so I could really focus on the three (events), which helped my mental state.”

Cole shined all afternoon, scoring 13.250 on the pommel horse and 14.300 on the f loor.

After gliding into a mid-air body rotation, his body went to the f loor. Cole’s handstand fell forward as he rolled upwards to finish the f loor routine with an elegant f lip. He left the mat and was greeted by excited teammates that cheered throughout his routine.

“It feels like the team is your anchor in that moment,” Cole said. “Them being that anchor is really amazing because you just want to run back there and get all that validation.”

Despite ripping his grip before his routine on the still rings, sophomore Matt Whitaker defied gravity with an in-air middle split that progressed into a balanced handstand. He dismounted with a f lip and a perfect landing.

“I had to go behind the last guy and redo my set because of the grip problem,” Whittaker said. “To handle the adversity and come out strong was great.”

This is the first year where performance in dual meets determines who competes in the championship. The meet against Minnesota was one with enormous implications, as the Wolverines opened up with a big win.

“The next meet should be easy compared to this,” Golder said. “Because it is at home against Ohio State.”

It feels like the team is your anchor in that moment.

Sports

8 — Tuesday, January 29, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Michigan falls to Baylor Three takeaways from a split against Penn State ABBY SNYDER

Daily Sports Writer

Applause and cries of “Go Blue!” echo off the walls of the Varsity Tennis Center. All eyes are on Court 2 as Michigan’s Connor Johnston and Harrison Brown face off against Baylor’s Roy Smith and Sven Lah. Coaches murmur words of advice to their players, while teammates shout words of encouragement from the sidelines. Then, all at once, the crowd retreats into silence.

There’s a loud pop as the ball is hit into play. A smacking sound as Brown returns the serve. Then, once again, the crowd erupts into cheers, as Brown’s shot flies past Smith’s outstretched racket and the ball bounces once, then twice, off the court, lifting the Wolverines past the Bears to earn Michigan the doubles point of the contest.

The No. 24 Wolverines (1-2) won two out of three doubles matches Sunday, a bright spot in a disheartening loss to No. 11 Baylor, who will move forward to the ITA tournament following Sunday’s win and a win Saturday over No. 12 Georgia.

“It was great that we were able to win the doubles on a tiebreaker,” said Michigan coach Adam Steinberg. “That’s really important to us going forward.”

In singles, Michigan was not able to put on as strong a showing, losing four of their

six matches to the Bears. The Wolverines got off to a strong start, with four of the singles players winning the first set of their respective matches, but they could not hold onto the lead.

Freshman Andrew Fenty lost to Baylor’s Johannes Schretter 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; Senior Myles Schalet lost to Will Little of the Bears 7-6 (9), 6-0; Johnston lost to Matias Soto of Baylor 6-2, 2-6, 6-3; and freshman Patrick Maloney lost to Lah 6-4, 7-6 (4).

“We just have to work on being more aggressive at important times in the match,” Steinberg said. “We kind of sit back and hope and wait and wish the other team will miss. And it just doesn’t work that way against these top-ranked teams.”

Michigan’s technical prowess was on full display on Sunday, as the Wolverines often used shots with a manipulated spin on the ball to win points against the Bears, especially during the singles matches. The Wolverines were also very successful when they attacked at the net. The volley game was mostly a factor in the doubles, helping the Wolverines to win their two out of three matches.

“Some of the guys who have a good feel for the ball can manipulate it, and that’s an advantage,” Steinberg said.

“Some of our guys are talented enough to do that.”

MIKE ZLONKEVICZ/Daily

Michigan’s doubles play was a bright spot in its loss to Baylor.

D

TIEN LE

Daily Sports Writer

After beating Penn State on Thursday, the Michigan hockey team went to New York City looking to build off momentum. It did the exact opposite, losing 5-2.

Here are the takeaways.

Strauss Mann is still a viable option After five goals through two periods, junior goaltender Hayden Lavigne was pulled in favor of Strauss Mann. The freshman, with 13 games under his belt, was put in the game for a change of pace. Up until that point, every breakaway, odd man rush or defensive breakdown for the Wolverines resulted in a dangerous scoring opportunity for the Nittany Lions ALEX POMPEI/Daily — which more often than not Freshman goaltender Strauss Mann recorded 19 saves after replacing Hayden Lavigne in Michigan’s loss on Saturday. resulted in a score.

While the circumstances one especially prevalent reason we wanted. Very frustrating coaching career.

“It’s frustrating –– chances weren’t pretty, Mann took his for the defensive meltdown was in the locker room because we know we’re a better team. We at the open net, our defenseman chance and showcased a good mentality. argument for why he is still a viable After hitting the post four times, beat ourselves tonight, plain and ices the puck when we had an opportunity to make a play,” unable to convert any chances simple.” option.

Defensemen pushing further Pearson said about his feelings in In his start in net Jan. 8 in the first period, frustration against Merrimack — his last mounted. As Pearson noted, the than they needed to be. Players the last stretch of the Notre Dame appearance before Saturday — team outplayed Penn State in the being less than careful with outdoor game. “And they score on Mann allowed three goals on a initial period yet found itself in a the puck. Allowing breakaways the faceoff. … It’s a rush, and there’s due to poor positioning. These nothing like it when you’re playing .889 save percentage, and Lavigne three-goal deficit.

“I think we got a little on-ice mistakes were caused by sports at a high-intensity level.” was subsequently chosen to start That stress came despite a win. the following back-to-back games frustrated with that,” said redshirt the mental mistake of being too Throughout the season, he had sophomore Luke Morgan on the frustrated. Every player wanted against Ohio State.

However, when given the team’s inability to break open to end the unlucky streak of bad expressed his concerns as a coach. opportunity against Penn State, scoring in the first frame. “When bounces, and that ended up costing After extended breaks or holidays, he might mention in passing Mann recorded 19 saves, prevent that happens, it led to mental them.

“We didn’t play on the right side about worries on players’ focus or any further Nittany Lion goals and mistakes and some of it we can gave Michigan a chance to come work on, but sometimes it’s just the of the puck,” Pearson said. “We did preparedness.

On Saturday, he made it clear his not sense danger –– and I don’t back. His performance included way the game goes.”

The team made a mental want to say our whole team, but concerns on his decisions leading stops on breakaways, one-onnone looks and defensive-zone adjustment to play differently due a few individuals. We just didn’t to the New York experience.

“I second guess myself as a to its circumstances. As Pearson sense that urgency or the danger turnovers. coach all the time,” Pearson said.

“We really like him as a put it, the Wolverines didn’t play and they made us pay.”

Added Morgan: “Coach said, “You’re always worried. We didn’t goaltender, and we think he has a their game. And it was initiated bright future at Michigan,” said by the new aggression they played ‘We can’t outscore our mistakes, get to skate on Friday. Should Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “I with after conceding the first goal we have to play a solid 60 (minutes) we have practice on Friday? We skated this morning, did that have the whole way through.’ ” didn’t want to have to get him in to Penn State. anything to do with it? We gave Michigan became desperate for Pearson doubts decisions like we did but he went in and I give Pearson had his doubts in his them a lot of free time yesterday him credit, that’s a tough situation goals, and it caused the Wolverines decisions. Being a coach is never in New York, did they go around to go in and he played extremely to make defensive mistakes.

“Some of that could have been easy — it requires all sorts of and do their thing? Did that throw well. He gave us an opportunity to the frustration because the puck decision-making. Against Notre some guys off?” try and get back into the game.”

Coaches have their fair share wasn’t going in the net and it Dame on Jan. 5, he made it clear Mentality breakdown The Wolverines committed a doesn’t work that way,” Pearson just how stressful it can be, jokingly of worries, but these worries have plethora of errors Saturday, but said. “... We did not get the result telling people to turn away from a weight.

Excuses and reasons

uring the first quarter of Sunday’s game at Crisler Center, Nicole Munger fell to the floor, only getting up with the aid of her teammates and the Michigan training staff.

The senior guard Munger sat out the remainder of the contest against instate rival, No. 23 Michigan State, with an CONNOR undisclosed BRENNAN injury. The Wolverines struggled in her absence, eventually digging themselves deeper into a hole they couldn’t climb out of, losing 77-73.

With the defeat, Michigan fell to 3-6 in conference play — tied for 10th in the Big Ten. Though the Wolverines are out of the running for a regular-season crown and are unlikely to win the Big Ten Tournament beginning in just over a month, viewing the team’s struggles in a vacuum yields an incomplete assessment of their season.

Munger’s injury is just another line on a laundry list of adversities Michigan has faced.

Most Big Ten programs went through turnover following last season. Five of the conference’s top seven scorers moved on from college. With that said, only one of them finished first on their program’s all-time leading scorer list: Michigan’s Katelynn Flaherty.

Coming into the season, most of the talk centered around Flaherty’s departure, and rightly so. Replacing your primary ball-handler and a three-time All Big Ten first team

selection, with a freshman in Amy Dilk — albeit a five-star recruit — is clearly an adjustment and shouldn’t be overlooked.

The Wolverines are also extremely young. Of the eight players comprising the primary rotation, five are underclassmen. While “one-and-dones” have become commonplace and seniors unusual in men’s college basketball, this isn’t the case on the women’s side. So, when Michigan trots out a largely inexperienced lineup, growing pains should be expected.

The Wolverines’ chances are hindered even more when their veterans, like Munger, are sidelined due to injury. The notion that injuries can be used to explain a team’s struggles over the course of a season is widely discredited by the general sports populace. Every team deals with injuries, they say. While this is true to a degree, within the context of their season, the injuries faced by Michigan are important to mention.

When Munger went down on Sunday, the Spartans capitalized and their lead ballooned to double digits.

“In the locker room, we talked about the importance of understanding situations in the game,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico told reporters after the loss.

“Whether it’s the first quarter, end of the second quarter or end of the game. Without your leadership and experience out on the floor though, they’re kinda learning on the job. These are some new situations that Amy is in, Deja (Church) is in. Even (sophomore forward Hailey Brown), who had to play outside a bit more. Michigan State had the experience edge over us

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Senior guard Nicole Munger was helped off the floor during Sunday’s game.

for sure.”

Injuries have also hampered senior center Hallie Thome, the team’s second-leading scorer from last year. She experienced back spasms in early December and played limited minutes in the three games leading up to conference play.

Acclaimed resources define the word “excuse” as “to try and remove blame from.” Alternatively, a “reason” is a “statement offered in explanation or justification.” It is easy to label the above “adversities” as excuses for Michigan’s struggles this season. But if we’re being impartial, they’re better characterized as reasons.

The Wolverines’ 12-9 overall record through 21 games is far from inspiring, but within the context of this season specifically, it shouldn’t be all that surprising.

Moreover, a majority of these losses have come by narrow margins. With the exception of losses to No. 10 Texas, No. 22 Marquette and No. 12 Minnesota, Michigan has been within double digits in the fourth quarter. Despite the adversity, the team has continued to fight. Michigan’s performance following Munger’s injury exemplified this fight. The team cut the Spartans’ lead to just four points multiple times in the fourth quarter. The desired results may have been lacking at times this season, but a positive mentality has been maintained throughout.

“Obviously we have a lot of fight,” Dilk said. “Like you said, it was a rivalry game, everybody was fired up to play. I think it shows a lot of growth too. We were down by a lot in the Ohio State game, too, and we came back to win.

Unfortunately, today that didn’t happen, but we don’t give up. We’ll continue to fight.”

Back in November, Munger expressed aspirations of winning the program’s first Big Ten Championship. That dream is now all but unattainable. Still criticizing this year’s Wolverines without realizing the reasons behind their struggles isn’t fair to anyone.

Brennan can be reached at conbrenn@umich.edu or on Twitter @connrbrennan.

With “a little bit of cannibalism going on,” ‘M’ stays above the fray

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein has kept Michigan safely above the Big Ten’s middle ground with an 8-1 conference record.

ETHAN SEARS

Managing Sports Editor

The Big Ten is eating itself alive.

That’s clear to anyone who’s watching. Including Michigan coach John Beilein.

“There’s a little bit of cannibalism going on right now between the teams — it just happened Saturday with some of these away teams winning,” Beilein said on a conference call with reporters Monday. “That was something we wanted to stay from when we were at home, for sure.”

Those road wins on Saturday — Ohio State beating Nebraska and Rutgers beating Penn State — were far from the least-surprising results in the conference over the weekend. That same day, Illinois took down No. 13 Maryland, and the next day, No. 9 Michigan State went to Purdue and fell by 10 points.

One of few teams to stay removed from the chaos resides in Ann Arbor, as Michigan has started Big Ten play with an 8-1 record. And the Wolverines would like it to stay that way.

“I definitely would have taken that (at the beginning of the season),” Beilein said.

The other coaches in the conference can’t boast quite as sunny dispositions.

“Our team in general right now is soft,” Indiana’s Archie Miller said Friday night after Michigan went into Assembly Hall and blew out the Hoosiers, 69-46.

“And we’re also for whatever reason right now scared, and you can just tell by the way that we played.

“The fight isn’t there right now, and the confidence isn’t there on either end of the floor to be able to capitalize on any type of opportunity that we have, to be honest with you. There’s nothing we’re doing well.

“You know, there’s nowhere to go. You just move on to the next step, try to figure it out, and you’ve got to find a way to get some confidence in yourself, which for us is a preparation to go on the road and play Rutgers, so that’s what we’re worried about right now. But playing against the level of competition in this league right now and what we’ve got going on, we’re just not playing at a high enough level, and that really, really to be honest with you, bothers me.”

But Indiana isn’t the only team that will look back at the month of January as one filled with squandered opportunities. The Big Ten can boast depth right now — only four of its teams are out of tournament contention — yet, outside of the Wolverines and Spartans, who suffered their

first conference loss Saturday, no team feels like a lock to make the NCAA Tournament right now.

Things will be better for the conference, undoubtedly, than last year, when just four teams made it. Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology on ESPN.com has 10 Big Ten teams making it, more than any other conference.

But cannibalism has its downsides, and discomfort is one. Well, for everyone but Michigan, that is.

Instead of fretting about actually playing in March, as the Wolverines were at this time last year, they can go into Tuesday’s contest against Ohio State — and the final five weeks of the regular season — worrying only about playing at their best when they get there.

“Sunday we had a really good workout,” Beilein said. “We spent some time lifting weights.

Spent time on Michigan instead of worrying quite as much about the next opponent.”

Three days earlier, Beilein had been asked about the challenge in front of Miller — building Indiana back into a perennial contender, as Beilein had to do for Michigan. To some degree, though, you could replace the Hoosiers with 11 other Big Ten teams in that question.

But the Wolverines are above the fray.