2019-04-03 by The Michigan Daily

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Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Repaint the wall, Annie Hall the

statement GOVERNMENT

Democratic debate to be held in Detroit this summer Presidential hopefuls to make case before Michigan audience prior to primaries

DESIGN BY WILLA HUA

Ann Arbor-based hate group sues AG, state civil rights department Advocacy group flags American Freedom Law Center for promoting anti-Muslim views BEN ROSENFELD Daily Staff Reporter

In March, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s released its annual Hate Group Report. Each year, the nonprofit civil rights organization releases a report on groups engaging in incisive or hateful political activity in the United States. This year, 31 Michigan-based

organizations were identified for white supremacist, antiMuslim, anti-LGBT or general hate activity, including one group from Ann Arbor — the American Freedom Law Center. The AFLC, a conservative law firm, was listed for its anti-Muslim stance, along with groups such as the Sharia Crime Stoppers and the

Southeast Michigan Tea Party. Ann Arbor lawyer Robert Muise, the co-founder and senior counsel for the AFLC, identifies as a “devout Catholic,” and his colleague and co-founder, David Yerushalmi, practices Orthodox Judaism. The two attorneys collectively founded the AFLC in January of 2012 after several years of collaborating on

Constitutional law cases regarding issues such as free speech and abortion. Following its foundation, the AFLC gained negative media attention as early as 2013 for representing conservative, anti-immigrant organizations such as the American Freedom Defense Initiative. See LAWSUIT, Page 3A

CALLIE TEITELBAUM Daily Staff Reporter

The second Democratic presidential debate will be hosted in Detroit on July 30 and 31. The Democratic National Convention approved 12 debates, which will start in June 2019. The DNC told the Detroit Free Press the primary debate will host approximately 20 candidates including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren. DNC Chairman Tom Perez told the Detroit Free Press the debate is being held in Detroit because of

the character of the city. “Detroit embodies the values and character of the Democratic Party,” said Perez. “It’s a city of grit and determination, a city that has gotten knocked down, only to get back up stronger … Detroit is the perfect place for our party’s second debate.” Camille Mancuso, LSA sophomore and communications director for the University of Michigan’s chapter of College Democrats, said the debate in Detroit is a ref lection of the state of Michigan’s important role in the upcoming election. See DEBATE, Page 3A

Ninth Assembly gathers for first CSG U-M alum Over 4,000 will serve as meeting, nominates committee chairs A2 residents

GOVERNMENT

next mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot to be first Black woman to occupy city’s highest elected office SAYALI AMIN & LEAH GRAHAM Daily News Editors

University of Michigan alum Lori Lightfoot won Chicago’s mayoral race Tuesday night, making her the first Black woman to be elected to the position. With Lightfoot’s victory, Chicago is now on track to become the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, beat out Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board president, in a landslide victory. The two emerged from a field of a dozen candidates to compete in Tuesday’s runoff election. Lightfoot, who has never held elected office, said she looked forward to taking on the role, noting Preckwinkle’s efforts to portray her as a political novice. “I feel very humbled and honored,” Lightfoot said. “I’m going to do everything I can to earn it. We were hoping, based on our polling, that we would do really well. But, this is amazing. More than I ever dreamed of.” See MAYOR, Page 3A

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Gerstein and Blanchard, CSG President and Vice President, give first communications BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporter

In the first meeting of the Ninth Assembly, the University of Michigan Central Student Government elected 15 members to different positions on the new assembly. CSG President Ben Gerstein, LSA sophomore, and CSG Vice President Isabelle Blanchard, LSA junior, were officially sworn into their positions and gave their first executive communications of the semester. The meeting began with Gerstein, Blanchard and new members of the Assembly

taking the Oath of Office. In the March 27 to 28 CSG election, Gerstein and Blanchard won executive seats as president and vice president, respectively. Both Gerstein and Blanchard ran with the Engage Michigan Party, which also elected 31 individuals to CSG representative positions. The Assembly then settled a tie between Education junior Cameron Keuning and Education junior Isra Elshafei for the School of Education representative, ultimately choosing Elshafei by a secret ballot vote. Both candidates had the opportunity to speak

to the Assembly for two minutes about why they chose to run as a representative. Keuning said he decided to run after discovering no one was running for the position. “I want to do this because I want to serve the other (School of Education) students because, like myself, they wouldn’t have gotten represented in this body,” Keuning said. “I like to hold high the democratic values that Central Student Government also holds up (and) to represent my fellow students and to serve them, just as you do to your classmates.”

Elshafei, who was unable to attend the meeting, wrote in a statement to the Assembly she believes the School of Education is underrepresented on campus and would love the opportunity to represent the school through CSG. “I am an Afro-Arab American who was born and raised in Ann Arbor to immigrant parents, so I was raised to be a Wolverine,” Elshafei wrote. “Truthfully, it was a little disheartening to see that there were not any candidates running for the position for the School’s assembly representative. See CSG, Page 3A

MICHAEL BAGAZINSKI/ DAILY

LSA sophomore Benjamin Gerstein is sworn in as the new CSG President at the Michigan League Tuesday evening.

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INDEX

In search of affordable living, applicants vie for government vouchers LIAT WEINSTEIN Daily Staff Reporter

In November 2018, about 4, 300 people f rom t he Wa shtenaw Count y a rea applied for 600 spots on t he A n n A rbor Housing Com m ission’s lim ited housing choice voucher wa it list, according to a n M Live repor t. Before November, when t he wa it list wa s ava ilable for f ive days, t he voucher wa it list had not been open since 201 2. The high dema nd for vouchers ref lects Ann A rbor ’s rising housing prices a nd t he increa sing desire for a f fordable housing solut ions. A repor t f rom t he U. S. Depa r t ment of Housing a nd Urba n Development found home sa les in t he cit y increa sed by 4 percent f rom Ja nua r y to December of 2015, w it h a n average home sa le price of $235, 200. Cur rent ly, t he media n home va lue in t he state of Michiga n is a round $150,000. See VOUCHERS, Page 3A

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

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News

2A — Wednesday, April 3, 2019

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY: By Design

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: HEALTH SERVICE TO OFFER FREE, ANONYMOUS AIDS TESTING April 2, 1987 In response to rising concern, University Health Service will offer anonymous testing for acquired immune deficiency syndrome beginning next week. Health Service Director Caesar Briefer said that, with anonymous testing, he expects the number of AIDS tests the service administers to increase dramatically.

Currently, Health Service tests about 30 people a week. Health Service developed the anonymous testing service to remove some of the fear of being identified with a high-risk group for AIDS. “There’s clearly a fair amount of sensitivity regarding this issue,” Briefer said. AIDS testing at Health Service

includes two blood tests which screen for the AIDS antibody. The testing is free for students but costs $35 for others. Students will have to identify themselves for the anonymous testing by showing an ID card or by putting the card in a cover which would show their eligibility but hide their name. Anonymous testing is used in

many clinics, Briefer said, but is not available in Washtenaw County or through most health services. Fourteen people are infected with the AIDS virus in Washtenaw County, including one University student, according to Briefer. Briefer said the anonymous testing program has been in the works for months.

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KELSEY PEASE/Daily The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) hosts an interactive opportunity for students to share ideas and experiences in improving DEI plans to better shape the future of the University in Rackham Assembly Hll Tuesday evening.

ON THE DAILY: SNL OFFERS ‘U’ MUG SHOT AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter

Over the weekend, a University of Michigan mug was spotted on the late night television show

“Saturday Night Live.” The March 30 episode was hosted by Sandra Oh. The University mug made its special appearance during a skit in which cast members, featuring cast member Kate

McKinnon, along with Oh, sat together around a table in an office kitchen setting. The mug was placed in front of McKinnon, and remained visible during the entirety of the skit.

Though neither the mug nor the University received any special shout out, questions have been raised regarding the reason behind featuring the maize and blue prop on the show.

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Diag event celebrating Israel Day draws pro-Palestinian students Annual commemoration of declaration of Israeli statehood prompts opposition Tilly Shames is the said the gathering was not Levinson said the event executive director of U-M formally planned, with this year highlighted Daily Staff Reporter elections and Hillel. Shames said she word spreading through Israeli On Tuesday afternoon, group chats. He said it provided an opportunity thinks it is positive that while pro-Israel and was intended to serve as a for students to write their pro-Palestinian students Jewish student groups held reminder of the Palestinian hopes for their futures on gathered on the Diag. She their annual Israel Day people and the oppression sheets of paper, which will said pro-Israel groups have be placed in the Western done the same in the past. on the Diag event, about they have suffered. “I think it’s positive 15 students in support of “There wasn’t much Wall in Jerusalem, a sacred that there are PalestinianPalestine gathered in the mobilization to this, there’s site for Jews. According to Levinson, identified students that are corner of the Diag and held no affiliation with any org a Palestinian f lag. The Diag — it’s just that we wanted Israel Day is a way to bring here, and I don’t see them negatively Day is centered around to be here to reaffirm people together. She also interacting the celebration of Israel, Palestine’s existence, its acknowledged there are with the students that are celebrating Israel,” existence, the diverse opinions of Israel. but dissenters arrived to people’s “We wanted to celebrate Shames said. “I see them represent Palestine. The struggle, the oppression, Israel, and we also have here to provide support for event prompted a passerby the occupation,” he said. to call the Division of Information sophomore a table where we’re their peers, possibly. When Public Safety and Security, Sofia Levinson serves hoping for a better Israel we at Hillel see that there despite the gathering as the Israel community in the future as well, is an anti-Israel display coordinator for the so acknowledging that on the Diag, often we will remaining peaceful. An LSA junior, who asked University of Michigan there are many different come so that students who of Israel,” are triggered by something to remain anonymous for Hillel, a Jewish student opinions Sudoku Syndication Levinson said. “I think that they see as anti-Israel, fear of being placed on group on campus, and http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ anti-Palestinian blacklists, organized the event. that any country can hope those students can come to to improve in the future, us when they’re concerned upset about what so we also recognize or that there is room for they’re seeing. I see this pro-Palestinian group as improvement.” Despite this attempt offering the same for their to bring people together community.” MEDIUM Shames said the proto celebrate Israel, many students supporting Palestinian group did not Palestine expressed disrupt the celebration, and she does not view the frustration at the event. One LSA sophomore sat gathering as a protest. DPSS received a call at the side of the Diag to a student that remind those celebrating from Israel Day of the human reported there was a between rights violations against confrontation Palestinians. The student student groups. However, spokeswoman also asked to remain DPSS anonymous for fear of Melissa Overton said there did not appear to be an getting blacklisted. “Never let them feel issue. Additionally, prolike there’s nothing going on over there,” he said. Palestinian students said “They can peacefully the decision to hold Israel three days after put up that f lag with no Day conf lict at all, as if it’s the murder of several civilians a completely peaceful Palestinian country that’s done showed what they claim nothing wrong. Because to be hypocrisy and a lack the human rights of willingness to engage in violations are going on real dialogue. © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. SPRINGS puzzle by sudokusyndication.com One LSA senior, every second, and people here today need to make who asked to remain that known to everyone.” anonymous for fear of ZAYNA SYED

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blacklists, called the decision “unconscionable.” “The state of Israel killed four Palestinians — three of them were under the age of 18,” she said. “They did that on Saturday, and today is Tuesday, and we’re celebrating the state that murdered four people just a few days ago… So even though I understand that this is an annual event, the audacity for them to still organize this event within that context, when Israel and IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers have been killing paramedics, children, amputees, people with disabilities, mothers, just blatantly and so aggressively within the past year is just unconscionable to me.” Another pro-Palestinian student, a recent University alum who identifies as Jewish and asked to remain

anonymous for fear of blacklists, said he believes the event worked to silence Palestinians. “Obviously you have to book the Diag well in advance — I don’t blame (Israel Day organizers) for coming out today, I just think it’s a little bit hypocritical, because when SAFE (Students Allied for Freedom and Equality) has events on the Diag, basically whenever SAFE does anything, that side calls them out for insensitivity or brings up recent events, that in some cases happened weeks beforehand,” he said. “So, for (Israel Day organizers) to be here so soon after four civilians were killed, it just shows that’s not really what they care about. They don’t care about sensitivity — they care about silencing Palestinians.”

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LAWSUIT From Page 1A In 2013, the AFDI sued King County, Washington, for refusing to post a bus advertisement titled “The Faces of Global Terrorism.” Another branch of the AFDI called “Stop Islamization of America,” had already been blocked from attempting to post similar advertisements a year earlier in New York City’s subway system. By 2015, the case was brought to the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals, where Muise and Yerushalmi claimed the AFDI had the First Amendment right to advertise its views freely. Following the court’s siding with King County, the AFLC attempted to appeal and take the case to the Supreme Court, though their request to be heard by the court was rejected 7-2 in 2016. Within the SPLC, Yerushalmi is listed as “a key figure in the U.S. anti-Muslim hate movement,” and has been monitored by the SPLC for the past several years. According to SPLC Communications Director Rebecca Sturtevant, the group has gathered a significant amount of information on Yerushalmi and his legal and political activity. In a 2017 video interview cited by the SPLC, Yerushalmi explicitly stated his views toward the Muslim community and its presence in America. “I don’t have a problem saying that Western cultural and civilization is simply supreme,” Yerushalmi said. “It’s superior to that which is conquered, and I have no problem with saying that Islamic culture is violent, it’s misogynist, it’s discriminatory and it’s backward, and all I have to do is point to the entire Muslim world.” According to the SPLC, Yerushalmi is also the founder of the Society of Americans for National Existence, which was established in the wake of

MAYOR From Page 1A Lightfoot received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University, graduating with honors in 1984. According to her campaign website, Lightfoot “paid her own way through college with loans and a series of work-study jobs” and went on to get her law degree from the University of Chicago. Law professor Barbara McQuade tweeted her support, noting Lightfoot’s time as a resident adviser at Bursley Hall in the 1980s. “Hey, Chicago! Here’s your chance to elect a tremendous leader, @LightfootForChi,” McQuade tweeted. “I have known and respected Lori Lightfoot since she was an RA in Bursley Hall at @Umich. She solved problems with great integrity then, and has spent 3 decades learning and serving. Vote for Lori.” University spokesman Rick

CSG From Page 1A The School of Education has been my window of opportunity to pursue my passions of making a difference in the education system.” Following Elshafei’s election, Law student Victoria Allen gave a final report on the CSG election. In her presentation, Allen addressed concerns regarding Engineering sophomore Dylan HaughEwald’s presidential candidacy, of which he previously told The Daily he was uninformed. According to Allen, HaughEwald turned in an election packet with multiple items filled out incorrectly, which were not initially caught by the Election Commission. She said she did not hear of any changes that needed to be made to the candidate list when she sent it out March 13. Allen said Haugh-Ewald reached out to her March 21 regarding his name on the ballot. She changed his election status, but failed to respond to him to inform him of the change. Haugh-Ewald filled out a filler platform on the

News

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 — 3A

the 9/11 attacks and promoted the idea that Islamic religious law is “a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government.” The AFLC’s work for antiimmigrant causes and its founders’ anti-Muslim views brought it to the SPLC’s attention. Following the SPLC’s report released in March, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel established a unit to investigate and prosecute Michigan organizations perpetuating hate crimes. Muise is currently in the midst of ongoing litigation with Nessel and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights over the unit. After filing an initial lawsuit on Feb. 28, the AFLC filed its first amended complaint on March 12 against Nessel and MDCR Director Agustin Arbulu. The legal document cited First and 14th Amendment violations in Nessel and Arbulu’s conduct toward the AFLC in recent weeks. According to Muise, while the hate crimes unit has yet to prosecute the AFLC for hate crimes, Nessel’s inclusion of the AFLC as a potential hate group represents an infringement on the group’s Constitutional freedoms. “(The attorney general’s office) is a government agency that has law enforcement authority, targeting us as engaging in illegal conduct against minority organizations,” Muise said. “Now that the state is involved, the government is involved, that’s triggered our constitutional protections. And we seek to protect those in federal court by a court declaration that protects us, that keeps us from being a target of the attorney general and the Department of Civil Rights.” According to Muise, none of AFLC’s past or current actions would justify prosecutorial measures by the Office of the Attorney General. As he explains, the AFLC classifies itself as “a public interest law

firm defending the rights of those who promote JudeoChristian values.” Regarding the case against the state of Michigan, however, Muise argues that defense of civil liberties against government infringement remains the sole rationale of the AFLC’s legal argument. “I took an oath as a marine officer to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic and that’s what I do,” Muise said. “And right now, I consider the Michigan AG’s office to be a domestic enemy, because of what they’re doing in violating our Constitutional rights.” Furthermore, Muise claims the MDCR and attorney general’s use of information from the Southern Poverty Law Center is not only inaccurate, but represents a problematic use of information from a partisan group by a government agency. “You have the attorney general, who’s weaponizing that office in a way that they’re targeting political opponents,” Muise said. “So now in the mind of the public, the American Freedom Law Center is a criminal organization operating here in Michigan, and that’s just plainly wrong, it’s illegal for the government to do that.” The AFLC built on this argument in its first amended complaint, writing, “Defendants and SPLC are conspiring and working jointly to promote SPLC’s radical political agenda, by targeting political opponents, such as plaintiff, for investigations, surveillance, public condemnation, public scorn, and other efforts designed to harm their work.” In response to the accusations against the attorney general, state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, said the AFLC’s decision to sue the state was not a surprise, considering the group’s past actions and the progressive goals outlined by the MDCR. “It’s not surprising to me

that an organization like the American Freedom Law Center or other far-right organizations would attack them, because what they’re doing is actually protecting marginalized communities,” Rabhi said. “They’re protecting people of color, they’re protecting the LGBTQ community and these are people that these groups are coming after actively. If you have an organization like the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Commission that’s helping to protect them, of course they’re going to come after them.” Rabhi explained that the AFLC’s legal action against Nessel not only represents opposition to the progressive measures she has pursued during the first three months of her term, but also demonstrates opposition to the potential for social change her recent election proved to the people of Michigan. “They also came after our attorney general as well, Dana Nessel, who is the first openly LGBT attorney general of our state, and so of course they’re going after her,” Rabhi said. “She is a champion of the people, she’s done amazing work already in the first three months, standing up for the people of this state and protecting people’s rights. It’s not surprising that far-right organizations would come after her and sue her in her pursuit of having a more just and equitable society here in the state of Michigan.” AFLC’s lawsuit against the attorney general and MDCR made reference to several state and federal statutes permitting free expression and open legal representation. Law student Kevin Deutsch explained the basis of the AFLC’s lawsuit against the attorney general’s office, as set out in the organization’s first amended complaint.

Fitzgerald congratulated Lightfoot on her victory. “It’s always gratifying to see our graduates succeed at the highest levels, especially for those who choose public service,” Fitzgerald said. LSA senior Maddie Sinder, a resident of Chicago, said Lightfoot’s win has the ability to inspire change in the city. “This is an exciting time in Chicago politics,” Singler said. “In such a competitive mayoral race, it is remarkable that a candidate willing to stick to her convictions could rise to victory. I believe that Lightfoot has the political ability and determination to make a positive difference in Chicago… Her focus on inclusion and helping the underserved will promote substantive progress for our city.” The election saw low voter turnout, with only 35 percent of registered voters showing up to the polls. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Lightfoot won over a majority of demographics, including

white, Black and Hispanic voters, a group reminiscent of the “rainbow coalition” that helped elect the city’s first Black mayor, Harold Washington, in 1983. Business sophomore Hollya Israil, a resident of Chicago, said she was excited to see Lightfoot win. “I think electing Lori Lightfoot is significant for Chicago, especially for a city that is stereotypically known to be segregated, and feel as if her strong background as a diverse lawyer resonates with residents concerned with City Hall corruption and lowincome/working class minority groups being left behind in political decision-making because she is a supporter of neighborhood school improvements, expanding housing affordability, job expansions and other social issues that divide the population,” Israil said. Lightfoot will succeed twoterm mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former chief of staff to

President Barack Obama. Emanuel decided not to seek re-election as his approval ratings dropped in recent years, due in large part to anger over the city’s response to the 2014 police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. During Emanuel’s tenure, Lightfoot led a task force that pushed for broad changes to the Chicago Police Department to combat discrimination. On the campaign trail, she pledged to reform policing in the city and root out abuses of power by law enforcement. She also touted her understanding of the inner workings of city government. “I think I’ve had a lot of experience in helping run most challenging city agencies,” Lightfoot said. “I have a very deep knowledge of how the city works, both from that experience, and also I helped a lot of different individuals in business navigate a lot of byzantine processes in the city.”

sample ballot, and Allen said he asked her if he could change it once he saw his name on the presidential ticket. “(Haugh-Ewald) reached out to me about (the filler platform) on March 27, which was when the election ballot was live, and it would’ve been inappropriate to change it,” Allen said. “I note that in my report that it was an error on my end and I did not follow up with him, but at the same time he had four days to change his platform and review the sample ballot, so that’s human error on both sides.” The Assembly then nominated Whit Froehlich, third-year medical student, for speaker of the Ninth Assembly. Assembly members also nominated LSA sophomore Ben Glass to serve as vice speaker. For the next portion of the meeting, the Assembly nominated members to serve as chairs and vice chairs of each of the six CSG committees. The Assembly nominated Rackham student Austin Glass for chair and Engineering freshman Carla Voigt for vice chair of the Rules Committee.

LSA freshman Joey Schrayer was elected as chair and Engineering sophomore Sandra Dubaisi as vice chair of the Communications Committee. In addition, the Assembly voted Engineering junior Mario Galindez as chair and LSA freshman Marwan Bazzi as vice chair of the Finance Committee. LSA freshman Sujin Kim became chair and LSA sophomore Selena Bazzi became vice chair of the Resolutions Committee, and Rackham student Hayden Jackson was elected chair and LSA sophomore Audrey Lynch was elected vice chair of the Executive Nominations Committee. Lastly, Law student Martese Johnson became chair and Engineering junior Zeke Majeske became vice chair of the Ethics Committee, and LSA sophomore Mia Kalt became the Bystander Intervention Training liaison. At the conclusion of the meeting, Gerstein and Blanchard gave their first executive communications of the semester. Gerstein discussed the privilege of his

position as CSG president and said he and Blanchard hope to serve as a valuable resource to the Assembly and University students. “During the election, we all ran with the individual promises and action to make a change on campus, being a voice for the student body and an advocate to the University administration,” Gerstein said. “This responsibility shouldn’t be taken lightly, and our collective mission to encourage students in civic engagement, to voice student concerns and actively welfare the Michigan experience for everyone is a task we will all hold ourselves accountable for.” In her statement, Blanchard encouraged Assembly members to find topics they believe are important to address through CSG on campus during their last weeks of the semester on campus. “Your time spent in this organization ... it does not go unnoticed and it’s greatly appreciated,” Blanchard said. “… I hope you find what you’re passionate about as well as the resources you need to accomplish those goals.”

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When “Get Out” hit theaters two years ago, people were pretty confused: Why is the guy from “Key and Peele” making a scary movie? What does a comedian know about horror? After I saw “Us” last weekend, I started to contemplate how a comedic mind could leap over to the dark side. The film — as unsettling and horrifying as it was — provoked moments of chuckles from the audience. I couldn’t help but wonder (cue Carrie Bradshaw’s contemplative pose) what is the connection between horror and humor? I immediately thought of Mel Brooks. In my mind, horror and humor had one place and one place only, in Mel Brooks’s “Young Frankenstein.” The monster made the film “scary,” but overall the film is a comedy. Brooks and the late Gene Wilder sprinkled horror tropes throughout the film by mocking them, from dance numbers to Frau Blucher (neigh!). Yet, Brooks and Wilder’s parody of old monster horror is just that, a parody. The same goes for “Scary Movie,” “Shaun of the Dead” etc. So where does horror and humor lie for Jordan Peele? Has comedy inf luenced his horror? What about vice versa? Are they connected at all? Did he have a midlife crisis and realize comedy was dead? How did this sketch comedian turn into a master of fear? And most importantly, is the continental breakfast sketch a spiritual prequel to “Get Out”? For answers, I turned to the true master of horror himself, Stephen King. King does a good job at explaining the overlap of humor and horror in a 1993 CBS interview. “It’s a childish thing the way that humor is the two (humor and horror) closely allied,” he explained, “They both elicit — when they work to their best — a vocal reaction in the audience.” According to King, there is a connection between horror and humor because they both create some sort of eruption within us, one of fear or amusement, respectively. Personally, I can’t stand being scared. In fact, I actively do things to avoid being scared. I will not enter my bathroom if the shower curtain is closed because there is a 1000 percent chance someone is in there, trying to kill me. Additionally, I distrust any mirrored medicine cabinet, because I know for a fact when I open the cabinet no one is behind me, but when I close that cabinet

there will be a murderer and I will not be prepared. I detest surprises so much that when I was thrown a surprise party I cried because I thought I was getting kidnapped and I never fully recovered. Obviously, if you like being scared you’re

BECKY PORTMAN probably not OK, but I get it if you follow Stephen King’s logic. The same way I like to be amused by comedy and elicit a vocal reaction, also known as laughter, you may like to get the shit scared out of you to elicit a vocal reaction AKA bloodcurdling screams — if you’re into that kind of thing. In an interview with Cinemablend back in 2017, Eric Eisenberg asked Jordan Peele about the relationship between comedy and horror. “They’re two sides of the same coin,” Peele said, “Any really successful or great horror movie, you go and see an audience there’s going to be laughter from nervousness. They’re both about building the tension and releasing in some way.” For Peele’s horror, it’s all about building tension. Look at “Us” and “Get Out,” they build in tension, making the audience physically uncomfortable and nervous. I swear, after I saw “Us,” I didn’t have any fingernails, meaning I bit them all off from the anxiety the movie caused me. Similarly, look at humor from the perspective of tension. Comedy asks the same questions as horror, just with a lighter take. The building tension in comedy is the setup, a question to be answered, a premise to explore; the answer is the punchline. Like in horror, the question begs the audience to wonder, what’s going to happen? The changing answers in both genres elicit different reactions in us based on how those answers make us feel. They keep us on the edge of our seats with fear or leaning back in stitches. I started thinking about what makes things scary versus funny. If the setup is a question and the answer is the punchline is the answer,

what is the horror equivalent? And what makes something scary instead of funny? If building tension creates questions, then the answer has to be the thing that elicits our reactions. For example, in “The Shining” the question is, what is in room 237? If the answer was a walrus with a British accent instead of a rotting corpse, does that make it funny? What if in the SNL digital short “D*** in a Box” Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake revealed that the thing inside the box was a hungry poisonous tarantula? Is that scary? If a family identical to your own showed up in your driveway but the only difference was that they all wore bowties, is that still scary? All this tension makes me think of the 2014 “Key and Peele” short titled “Aerobics Meltdown.” The sketch is an old video from the 1987 Jazz Fit Championship. The video opens with a line of text that reads: “Everything you are about to see is true.” A line of spandex-clad women with big hair stretch as two male dancers, Flash and Lighting, played by Peele and Key respectively, enter in similarly shiny purple costumes. All is well in this aerobics video until the video cuts into behind the scenes footage that displays itself more clearly. The news is given to Lighting through various cue cards that his wife and daughter have been hospitalized from a hit and run. Between pieces of bad news, cards are interlaced to remind Lighting to “Keep dancing.” Lighting’s face falls as he continues to dance. The tension builds as the director asks if Lighting would know anyone that might want to hurt him or his family. The recognition comes to Lighting as he looks over to his competitor and Flash gives him a sadistic wink. The clip ends with Lighting strangling Flash and the video cutting out. But the reason I bring this sketch up is it is a perfect example of the building tension that Peele loves to utilize in both his humor and horror. This sketch, albeit dark, provokes a shocked kind of laughter that can only be attributed to the genius tension-building of Jordan Peele. I think the answer to the horror and humor conundrum lies in the answers themselves. If the answer makes us laugh, it’s comedy. If the answer makes us shit our pants, odds are it’s a horror film (or you need to get your bowels checked).

ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL COVERAGE

For ‘Animation,’ weird doesn’t feel like the right word JULIANNA MORANO Daily Arts Writer

About 20 minutes past the intended start time, we still stood outside the Michigan Theater’s screening room in claustrophobic gridlock. I realized I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Welcome to the Ann Arbor Film Festival’s ‘Films in Competition 9: Animation.’ My editors and fellow film writers warned me, an AAFF firsttimer, these films would be weird. Fourteen animated shorts and countless emotions, all derivatives of discomfort, later, I don’t know if “weird” is the right word. They kicked off the competition with a 1975 animated short, “Quasi at the Quackadero.” Anthropomorphic ducks go to an amusement park, the one named Anita repeatedly croons the name “Quasi” in a bone-chilling way, and I can’t tell you much more than that because I think I’ve blocked it out. I learned two things. First, this festival attracts a crowd. I’m talking an eventual 30-minute delay to the start-time, due to the monumental task of getting everyone into the theater. I’m talking energy: The AAFF title sequence began, and someone clapped along to the moderately catchy backing tune. Someone shouted, “Oh, Quasi!” Oh, Quasi. I did not laugh once. My reaction was fight or f light. As I registered laughter around me, I came to a second understanding: This festival attracts a subcommunity, one I am not a part of, and don’t plan on joining. It felt like one of those scenarios where you’re sitting among a group of friends, closer to each other than you are to them. They’re laughing at something and you only vaguely understand it, let alone find it funny, so you

experience this discomfort — equal parts pain and longing — not so much for inclusion but for the vexation to cease. As my level of discomfort became unbearable, I began to coach myself through it. Yes, a few of the shorts were so thoroughly, unproductively disturbing, that I had to go to my happy place. I think “Hedge” did the most damage: Child leashes, squadrons of women kissing each other nonstop, and again, I can’t tell you much more than that because I’ve blocked it out.

Films in Competition 9: Animation The Michigan Theatre

I wasn’t the only one who reacted this way. During one of several films that should have come with a warning for those with photosensitivity (but didn’t), consisting of a stream of f lashing shapes, I glanced over, and my fellow moviegoer’s face encapsulated everything I now try to render in words. Her mouth was slightly open: Shock. It was shaped in a partial smirk: Slight bemusement, or the facial version of Where am I? Her eyes were wide: What am I looking at? When I realized I had over an hour of this ahead of me still, I attempted a change in mindset. To try and find it funny, too.

Resign to the absurdity. Stop expecting art to have a purpose and seek pleasure alone. It didn’t work. I still saw text used profusely and always for the purpose of propagandistic, stale messages. I saw halfassed, hypocritical criticisms of human dependence on religion, technology and other familiar targets. Underneath it all, I saw a troubling idleness that shrugged and said, yes, this is enough. Flash some shocking graphics, prop up the images with recycled critiques, pepper it with opaque, self-indulgent tidbits and you’ve got yourself a work of art. What about the audience? What do we have to gain from that? There was one, f leeting moment of reprieve in the competition: “Sun Zoom Spark.” Containing some of the most stunning graphics of the night, the film alternated between images of industrialized and untainted geography, appearing like blotted graphite compositions. A poetic, mesmerizing voiceover stitched the scenes together, providing compelling commentary on our changing notion of mistakes in a world with the CTRL + z function. At times, the speech felt stilted, but I’ll take preachy over pointless any day. At least the former is direct and aware of the communicative potential of art, rather than smugly selfcontent. Granted, I did experience some version of the subcommunity I spoke about. Leaving the theater with my friends, we debriefed on our almost synonymous experience of the shorts as a bad omen of a direction artists are moving in. We had the same questions for each other: What was that? What was that for? And I’m still not convinced that weird is the right word. I’d say puzzling at best, dispiriting at worst.

Arts

6A — Wednesday, April 3, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

TV INTERVIEW: BILL HADER

Bill Hader talks confronting the past in ‘Barry’ LAURA DZUBAY Daily Arts Writer

What is a man to do after he kills off his friend and former fellow Marine, most of the leaders of a Chechen crime ring and (probably) the cop who was dating his acting teacher? These are just some of the questions that the titular protagonist faces in the early episodes of season two of “Barry.” They’re also some of the many questions Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”) faced in his development of the second season, as writer, director and star of the show. Hader and Alec Berg (“Silicon Valley”) created “Barry” as a dark comedy about a Midwestern hitman who travels to Los Angeles, where he finds himself joining an acting class and beginning to question the nature of his profession. By the end of season one, Barry (played by Hader) knows he wants to leave his violent past behind him, but can’t seem to escape his entanglements with criminals like his handler, Fuches (Stephen Root, “On the Basis of Sex”), and Chechen mobster NoHo Hank (Anthony Carrigan, “Gotham”). In the second season, these conflicts are only going to ramp up, as well as the internal moralistic conflict that Barry now has to address head-on. “In the first season, he would have these daydreams about what he wanted, and what he thinks his life could be,” Hader said to The Daily in a group interview. “And we were thinking, in season two, instead of daydreams about what his future could be — in order to have those things, you have to kind of reconcile your past.” For Barry, this means looking back to his time spent as a Marine in Afghanistan: the place where he learned how to kill. Barry’s approach to remembering the war seems to carry traces of posttraumatic stress disorder, but Hader says the writer’s room was more focused on Barry having to confront his current relationship to killing. “It was more about Barry’s current position as a contract killer, and him realizing, ‘Oh, I actually, the first time I killed someone, at war, was the first time I ever felt any sense of community in my life,’” Hader said. “It was less about PTSD, and more about this question of, ‘What happens when I get angry, and am I evil?’” Barry isn’t the only one forced to reflect on his past in season two. In fact, it seems poised to become one of the season’s central trends. The violence of Barry’s past and the tension of his present collide in his acting class, taught by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, “Arrested Development”). At the end of season two, Gene has to deal with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend, Detective Moss (Paula Newsome, “Chicago Med”). According to Hader, we can expect Gene to “look inward” in the episodes to come and consider whether he is really “just a narcissistic idiot.” Meanwhile, the nature of Moss’s disappearance — other than that Barry had a hand in it — is still unresolved. “We had no idea what happened to her,” Hader said. “That was the very first day of writing season two. I said, ‘What do you guys think happened to Moss?’ and everyone started laughing.” Whatever direction the show takes with Moss, we can expect it to be deeply significant for Gene’s development as a character — as well as for Barry, who we know is responsible for whatever

happened to her. After his military friend Chris (Chris Marquette, “All Wrong”), Moss marks the second major character that Barry has unwillingly attacked out of his own self-interest, despite knowing her and liking her. The fatal actions he’s taken to hold onto his new life leave Barry “trying to forgive himself,” but also “in massive, massive denial.” “We’ve come to this place where the main character is the one that’s right,” Hader said. “The main character is us, that’s the audience surrogate. And I like movies and books and stuff where the main character’s really flawed, but he thinks he’s right … He’s lying to himself on this big thing, but hopefully it’s a thing that can be really relatable to people.” The goal is that these complicated levels of reflection will extend to the audience, as the show offers new and deeper ways of understanding each character. Another compelling character is Sally, played by Sarah Goldberg (“The Report”), whose relationship with Barry hinges on, as Hader put it, the two of them “giving each other what the other one wants” when it comes to emotional support. This relationship is likely to become rockier following her season one finale revelation about her abusive and violent ex-husband. “You meet Sally, and she seems like this sweet actress that cares about him, and then you see her turn. You try to play both sides of it, and say, ‘I totally get why she doesn’t like Barry, but I also think she’s a little narcissistic,’” Hader said. “So then, this season, it was kind of like: I’ve gotten to know you. I’ve hung out with you for a year. And now these are the kind of things that you would find out about people. People opening up about an abusive ex-husband or the time they were in Afghanistan, or these sorts of things. And then also, when you’re in an acting class, that stuff comes up a lot.” The irony of Hader playing a bad actor in an acting class has been one of the show’s strengths from the beginning, creating plenty of opportunities for comedy and allowing Hader to stretch and expand his own acting talent. He received an Emmy last year for his portrayal of Barry, who struggles in his acting class with awkward and sometimes emotionless delivery. Hader himself has taken improv classes, but never the type of acting classes portrayed in the show. “Improv acting classes is like, you just have to go up and trust your instincts, and kind of play off the other person, and you’re creating a scene up on stage,” Hader said. “Alec and I sat in on an acting class, on a couple of acting classes, before we wrote the pilot. And that’s the only real acting classes I’ve seen. A lot of it is actually asking the actors on the show. Like, ‘Is this what they would do?’” In season one, the acting class became the perfect arena for central characters working through their personal issues. In a season likely to turn its attention toward the repercussions of the past, it will be intriguing to see how characters like Barry, Gene and Sally further evolve, reveal themselves and come into conflict within the walls of Gene’s acting studio. And then there’s NoHo Hank. The audience favorite played by Anthony Carrigan has become the stand-in representative for the other side of Barry’s life, the one Barry is trying so desperately to escape. Yet it’s hard to watch the show and not want to see even

more of Hank — which the show’s creators luckily realized early on, scrapping their decision to kill Hank off at the end of the pilot. “Initially, that character was supposed to die in the pilot. That’s why he gets shot in the car,” Hader said. “And then when the show got picked up, Alec and I both were like, we can’t let that guy die. He was so funny. And then every writer we hired when we were staffing the show went, ‘You’re not getting rid of that guy, right? ’Cause that guy was amazing.’” The mobster character was originally inspired by a Genius Bar employee who helped Hader at an Apple store. Since the initial conception of a “nice” and “polite” henchman for season one villain Goran Pazar (Glenn Fleshler), NoHo Hank has grown into a compelling onscreen presence and a crucial part of the show. “Anthony owns that character,” Hader said. “We try to find funny positions for him to be in, and his apparent kind of love for Cristobal, and this kind of love triangle that he has going on. But then Anthony takes it and runs with it.” Even Hank, who often bears the role of comic relief, may be grappling further with the contradictions of his own identity in season two. “Everyone’s kind of fighting their nature, and I think he wants to be a villain,” Hader said of NoHo Hank. “He wants to be a badass kind of tough guy. But his nature, I think, is that he’s very sweet and polite, and only sees the good in people, which is ironic for what he does for a living.” The show so far has done a spellbinding job of weaving together comedy and drama using dark irony, sometimes on a broader scale — some of the heaviest moments come from the acting class, while genuine (albeit morbid) humor is gleaned from Barry’s endeavors as a hitman — and sometimes on the level of individual lines. The further Barry tries to distance himself from his violent past, the darker the show seems to get, all while keeping its comedic integrity intact. “That’s always the hard thing about the show, is going too far one way or the other. But what we end up doing so we don’t overthink it is, you just try to follow the truth of the character. You try to be as honest as you can with all of the characters, and just say, well, what would they do right here? And sometimes that can lend itself to being funny, and sometimes it can be really sad,” Hader said. “It kind of works, because we’ll write it straight for so long, and Alec and I are comedy people, so then we start to get bored and we’ll start making fun of our own writing, and then that’s where a lot of the comedy will come in.” It’s hard to describe Barry as anything other than a tightlyproduced show: The writing is sharp on both the comedic and the dramatic ends, each scene is packed with conflict, and the characters are expertly conceived and rendered. Season one developed at an mastered pace, aided on its way by captivating acting and an almost total absence of filler, and season two is set to continue along the same masterful trajectory, featuring even darker ventures into these characters’ psyches. “A lot of shows or stories … you want to do 20 seasons of these things, you know? And so you try to let that happen slowly. But I think that’s why television, sometimes, for me, I get really exasperated,” Hader said. “For us, it was like, no, let’s just let that happen now. What are we waiting on?”

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

On improvisational folk Classifieds EMILY YANG

Daily Arts Writer

The opening track of The Hands Free’s selftitled debut, “ Yes/No,” starts with an explosion of instrumental sound, pulling in ever y direction at once. It almost sounds like a folk festival band warming up — the g roup’s instrumentation of violin, accordion, banjo/g uitar and double bass is usually employed for things much more t wang y and downhome — until it’s repeated, and spins out into a frenetic phrase that collapses almost as soon as it gets going. The rest of the track is no less of an onslaught, at times coalescing into frag ments of melody before dissolving into the joyous chaos of the opening. Af ter the agg ression of “ Yes/No,” the second track, “Kellam’s Reel/ Rust y Gully,” is a comforting relief. A jaunt y melody is passed from the accordion to the g uitar, the other instruments sometimes joining in on reg ular accompaniment and sometimes just smearing chords around the edges of the ensemble. The effect is breezy and nostalg ic. The Hands Free, whose members have backg rounds in classical music composition, chamber music and musical theater, are a g roup that focuses on structured improvisation. In the liner notes to their debut, they write that they “incorporate elements of improvisation, making ever y performance unique.” The performers are able to draw on their extensive knowledge and experience of performing music to re-interpret what they have inherited in an open-ended, playf ul way, in the moment. The album is in dialog ue with

several intersecting musical traditions, but it splits them open and rummages around for usef ul material, adding the performer’s unique sensibilities. In particular, the composer and violinist Caroline Shaw contributes the sense of suspension she’s known for, with the hovering harmonics and f inely-sketched melodies she contributes forming a sort of ceiling for the g roup. The g uitarist James Moore contributes at times a quasiminimalist f low and at times a pointillistic stream of consciousness, which also characterizes his work with the electric g uitar quartet Dither. More than any thing, what one gets out of this album is a sense of several personalities colliding, a conversation bet ween friends about a familiar topic with natural ebb and f low. The g roup references the “late-night folk jams” that formed the g roup, and one gets the sense that the g roup’s backbone is somewhere bet ween their respective classical backg rounds and blueg rass and folk music. There’s a dialog ue bet ween sense and nonsense, structure and freedom, agg ression and suspension. One gets the sense that were all of this to be written down, a lot of the spontaneit y that makes this album so stunning would be lost — trailing off and trailing bet ween is baked into even the most structured music that the g roup plays. There’s a recombinant sensibilit y to this music, like a collection of half-remembered songs. Mar y Halvorson and Robbie Lee’s album Seed Triang ular is much more open-ended than The Hands Free’s debut. There are much fewer reference points, and the music seems to be instead built from the sounds of their instruments themselves: Halvorson’s

18-string (!) harp g uitar and Lee’s collection of unusual woodwind instruments, including several from the Renaissance and the Baroque. Halvorson and Lee seem intent on playing their instruments in strange, extreme ways. The g uitar snaps and buzzes and at times makes thunderous sounds, Lee bends pitch and overblows, producing all kinds of noisy, out-oftune sounds that he uses for striking expressive effect. At times it’s hard to tell how the t wo musicians are relating their material to each other and the listener is lef t with a ner vous composite. As daunting as Seed Triang ular is for people not accustomed to freelyimprovised music, it’s also a remarkably organic and instinctive album. It’s the chaos of an overg rown lot in the middle of summer, dust y and wide open. Their music can accumulate astonishing amounts of tension before empt ying out into a few lang uid plucks and long bending notes. As avantgarde as the music sounds, Halvorson’s g uitar can be almost folk-ish at times, and Lee’s old instruments, played in markedly unconventional ways, combine to g ive the album a distinctly ancient feeling. It feels like stumbling on an abandoned house being reclaimed by nature, wir y plants forcing their way through the brick. The avant-garde is so frequently about tr ying to make music take on abstract shapes and structures. What improvisation allows for these t wo albums is instead a kind of exploration of musical space: Both in the sense of the instruments used and what they’re capable of producing in the hands of a skilled player, but also an exploration of material, of tradition as interpreted in ever y direction at once.

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

FOR RENT

Release Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2019

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

ACROSS 1 Specially formed 6 Suffix with Jumbo 10 Outback 14 Avian crops 15 Disney film set in Polynesia 16 “Fancy meeting you here!” 17 When the dot-com bubble began 19 Prompted on stage 20 Energy Star co-mgr. 21 Backless slippers 22 Country’s Haggard 23 Form of the game of tag 27 River formations 29 Kiwi-shaped 30 Eye-opener? 31 Aplomb 34 Hieroglyphics bird 38 Court figs. 39 Small Apple tablet 42 D-Day vessel 43 Uninvited picnic arrivals 45 Short or tall thing (and neither refers to height) 46 Zany 48 Soupçon 50 Acme’s best customer? 51 Ad boast for a relaunched product 57 Hoover rival 58 Patterned fabric 59 Fuel for the fire 62 Almond __ 63 Trait for an evil genius ... and a hint to what can literally be found in 17-, 23-, 39and 51-Across 66 Censorshipfighting org. 67 __ Hawkins Day 68 Ancient Greek region 69 Abrasive tool 70 Proof word 71 Itsy-bitsy DOWN 1 Pinnacle 2 Water waster 3 Whooped it up 4 Dominate

5 Forensic TV spin-off 6 Carved emblem 7 Mrs. Gorbachev 8 Number of gods worshipped in Zoroastrianism 9 “Stillmatic” rapper 10 Italian tenor Andrea 11 Swahili for “freedom” 12 Walmart stock holder? 13 HDTV part, for short 15 Mix together 18 Many “Call the Midwife” characters 22 CFO’s degree 24 USPS unit 25 Private reply? 26 “Frozen” reindeer 27 Bit of baby talk 28 Pizazz 31 Start of a series 32 A little bit off 33 “__ Mine”: Beatles song 35 Sequence of direct ancestors 36 “Freedom __ free”: salute to military sacrifice

37 Ocular malady 40 Spot for a koi or a decoy 41 “That was awesome!” 44 Move in together 47 “Listen up,” to Luis 49 Pen filler 50 King with a pipe 51 SportsNet LA analyst Garciaparra 52 Writer Jong

53 Water sources 54 Crete peak: Abbr. 55 Put forth 56 Solemn ceremony 60 “Come __!” 61 Outback greeting 63 Mao __-tung 64 “__Games”: 1983 Matthew Broderick film 65 Curly associate

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04/03/19

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 — 7A

Putting things in perspective

hat will we remember about the 2018-19 Michigan men’s basketball team? Like, really remember? I only ask because .... in terms of memories, Wolverines fans have had it pretty darn JACOB good lately. You’re SHAMES going to be telling your grandchildren about 2013 and Trey Burke toppling mighty Kansas. Your heart’s probably still racing from that wild 2017 run triggered by near-disaster. You’re never going to forget where you were last year when Jordan Poole ran laps around the arena in Wichita, Kan. But when you look back on Michigan’s 2018-19 season, which ended with a 63-44 loss to Texas Tech in the Sweet Sixteen last week, there likely won’t be a specific game, moment or player that sticks under your eyelids above any other. Maybe it’s Charles Matthews roaring as he hung on the rim at Villanova. Maybe it’s the Wolverines running North Carolina and Purdue out of the gym. That all happened by December. And sure, Michigan started out a program-record 17-0, but you can learn that in a book. That torrid start was certainly impressive. In terms of banners, championships or indelible moments, though, it ultimately meant little. It might sound like I’m about to imply that a lack of memorable moments makes a season disappointing. That’s hardly the case, and I’ll get to that later. But it can serve as something of a proxy for how we view the Wolverines’ most

recent campaign, and it’s especially key in understanding the ending. On Jan. 13, when Michigan rolled Northwestern behind a barrage of Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske 3-pointers, it looked almost invincible. That was its 17th win, and at the time, everything was seemingly in play — promised, even. John Beilein’s teams don’t start out like this team did. There were blemishes like always, but fixing them is exactly what the Wolverines do under Beilein. Who could even imagine how good they would be in March — and maybe April? The games, players and plays that are a part of recent Michigan lore were accompanied by triumphs both expected or improbable. The Wolverines played for a national championship in 2013. They hung Big Ten banners in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The symbols of those successes are easily brought to memory, and they happened when it mattered most. This season had none of that. That historic start was the high point, and while it wasn’t all downhill from there, Michigan never made it back. Its depth issues were never fully resolved. The question of who would score when the Wolverines needed a bucket was never litigated to satisfaction. In the Sweet Sixteen, they were beaten by the Red Raiders and their top-ranked defense with almost eerie ease. The season’s first three months set up the potential for a supernova. Instead, Michigan, on that court in Anaheim, Calif., more closely resembled a candle being blown out swiftly and simply. Is that a disappointment? Thirty wins? A school-record start? A Sweet Sixteen run? The answer to that question depends a lot on the person

being asked. But the fact that it’s even being asked is a bellwether for where the Wolverines are right now. And your answer says a lot about the memories you’ve made over the last few years and before then. I’ve only lived in Michigan since I’ve been in college, so I’m not going to pretend to totally understand this part. But when Beilein was hired in 2007, Michigan hadn’t made an NCAA Tournament in nine years. It won 10 games his first season. Even in 2012, Beilein’s future with the Wolverines wasn’t entirely certain. Now he’s headed for the Hall of Fame and he’ll be Michigan’s coach until he doesn’t want to be anymore. It’s easy to overlook how this reality was hardly fathomable less than a decade ago. This next part, though, is much easier for me to understand: 2019 was supposed to be something of a rebuilding year. The Wolverines lost Moritz Wagner, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson from what already wasn’t the most talented Michigan team in history. Even with the addition of Ignas Brazdekis, a brash freshman from Ontario, this was still a limited roster, as every key player suffered from some glaring deficiency. But somehow — despite Simpson and Matthews’ comeand-go shooting, Brazdeikis’ inability to pass, Teske’s stilldeveloping offensive game, Jordan Poole’s wildness, Isaiah Livers’ passiveness — that roster came together to the point where a third-place finish in the Big Ten feels lacking. The Wolverines were greater than the sum of their parts, but their deficiencies were still present. And when Michigan lost, it was easy to see why. Everything went wrong against Texas Tech, yes, but in ways

that weren’t hard to see coming — only one 3-pointer in 19 tries, for instance — even if it was to a much greater extent than predicted. It was simply a loss to a better team. “How many wins, 28 wins, right?” Beilein asked after the Wolverines lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament championship game on March 14. “We lost four pretty good players from last year, that took us to the Final Four and now all of a sudden, we’re not a new team, but we’re not an experienced team in playing games like this.” Beilein expressed that sentiment more frequently as the

season drew to a close. Through all of Michigan’s shakiness in Big Ten play, dwelling too much on that could feel like nitpicking. This was still a top-10 team that few people outside of the program saw coming. Taken by itself, there’s no reason to regard the 2018-19 season as a disappointment. But with the way it began — and the years that preceded it — it’s easy to be left wanting more. It’s natural to be yearning for the indelible memories and unforgettable successes of years past that didn’t come this season but often felt like they should have. So if we don’t remember

the 2018-19 Wolverines in the same way we remember other great Wolverine teams of recent years, we’ll still remember them. Not as a moment, necessarily, but as a group of the greatest era of Michigan basketball history. Even without the titles. Even without the single enduring image. Even without NCAA Tournament glory. This was a damn good Michigan basketball team. It deserves to be remembered that way. Shames can be reached at jacosham@umich.edu or on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein led the Wolverines to a 30-7 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance this season.

Michigan’s leading goal scorer Will WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Deja Church to leave U-M program Lockwood returning for senior year TEDDY GUTKIN BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer

Michigan’s leading goal scorer from the 2018-19 season will return for his senior year, a team spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday morning. Junior forward Will Lockwood was in discussion with the Vancouver Canucks to forego his senior year and join the professional ranks, but he elected to return to the Wolverines for a final year. The Canucks drafted Lockwood in the third round of the 2016 entry draft with the 64th overall pick. In his first two years at Michigan, Lockwood battled shoulder injuries that left him unable to reach his full potential. A dislocated shoulder his freshman season caused him trouble for most

of the second half of that year. In his sophomore year, Lockwood suffered a seasonending shoulder injury while competing for the United States at the World Junior Championships in January of 2018. But in his third season, Lockwood worked his way back to full health and was a valuable offensive threat for the Wolverines. He played in all 36 games and tallied 31 points, good for second on the team and just two points behind Quinn Hughes, who signed with Vancouver on March 10. Lockwood’s 16 goals — five more than junior forwards Nick Pastujov and Jake Slaker, who tied for second in goal scoring — led the team. Six of those tallies came on the power play, which made Lockwood the team’s leader in man-advantage goals.

His goal-scoring acumen also left him ranked second on the team in plus-minus with a plus-eight rating, just behind freshman defenseman Nick Blankenburg at plus-11. After the Wolverines’ season ended in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, attention turned to Michigan’s group of underclassmen NHL draft picks and their imminent decisions. Hughes chose to depart after his sophomore season for the NHL, but Lockwood returning gives the Wolverines one of their top offensive threats back for next season. If junior defenseman Luke Martin and sophomore forward Josh Norris also choose to return, Michigan could be in position to return to its form from the 2017-18 season — when the Wolverines made the Frozen Four.

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Junior forward Will Lockwood led the Wolverines in 2018-19 with 16 goals, and will return for his senior season.

Daily Sports Writer

In a stunning turn of events, sophomore guard Deja Church announced via Twitter that she will not be returning to the Michigan women’s basketball team for next season. “Thank you to The University Of Michigan!” Church said on a tweet shared on her official account. “I appreciate all your support and for accepting me with open arms! However I will not be returning to UM next season. Forever will love UM, but I know God has something else special planned for me! Go blue forever” Church was the Wolverines’

starting shooting guard this season after spending much of her freshman campaign serving as the team’s backup point guard to Katelynn Flaherty. Playing off the ball allowed her to attack the rim more frequently and emphasize her skill as a driver. The position switch helped Church average career bests of 8.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, in addition to routinely dominating on the defensive end, averaging just over one steal per game. Most recently, Church displayed her value to a relatively young Wolverines squad in the NCAA Tournament, when she posted

I know God has something special planned for me!

12 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in a 84-54 first-round win over Kansas State. Even as the seconds dwindled down to zero in the final moments of Michigan’s season-ending defeat to Louisville, the future for next season’s campaign appeared bright, and Church was expected to be among the team’s key pieces. Now, the Wolverines will march into 2019 without one of its starters and biggest personalities both on and off the court. While the loss will be a tough one, senior guard Akienreh Johnson will likely be more than ready to step into Church’s shoes as the team’s starting shooting guard after an impressive run to close out the season’s second half. When asked for comment, a U-M spokesperson directed The Daily to Church’s aforementioned tweet.

Sports

8A — Wednesday, April 3, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Position review: Offensive line After starting the year as a supposed weakness, Michigan’s offensive line grew into a strength. What’s next in 2019? ARIA GERSON

Daily Sports Writer

The Michigan football team’s most important addition for 2018 likely wasn’t a new recruit or even junior quarterback Shea Patterson. Instead, it was new offensive line coach Ed Warinner, hired to fix what was a major area of weakness in the Wolverines’ 8-5 season in 2017. While the beginning of the 2018 season made the muchmaligned offensive line seem like more of the same, the unit improved throughout the year under Warinner’s tutelage. And though the season ended with a thud in losses to Ohio State and Florida, the offensive line’s growth under Warinner bodes well for the future. Junior guard Ben Bredeson became a leader on the line. Elected a captain by his teammates, Bredeson ended up an All-Big Ten Second Team selection. Bredeson flirted with entering the NFL Draft but ultimately told reporters at a prebowl press conference that he planned to return for his senior year. Redshirt junior offensive tackle Jon Runyan — who made his first career start at left tackle in the season opener — was named to the coaches’ All-Big Ten First Team and joined his father in winning the team’s award for best offensive lineman after steadily improving through the course of the season. Junior guard Michael Onwenu was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection. Though Michigan loses Bushell-Beatty to graduation, Runyan, Bredeson and sophomore center Cesar Ruiz — an All-Big Ten Third Team honoree — will be back to anchor the unit in 2019. Warinner returns as well, hoping to bring consistency back to a program once known for its bruising offensive linemen.

CARTER FOX/Daily

Junior guard Ben Bredeson is returning to Michigan for his senior season after a year which saw his unit steadily improve from a team weakness to a strength.

HIGH POINT: Karan Higdon sat at the podium and made a bold declaration. “No question, we have the best offensive line in the country.” Three times in eight minutes, the senior running back gave a variation of that quote. To be clear, the Wolverines didn’t and don’t have the best offensive line in the country. But the fact that Higdon — Michigan’s top running back — felt like he could make that proclamation, after all the criticism the line received, spoke volumes. The Wolverines were fresh off a win over then-No. 15 Wisconsin on Oct. 15. Higdon ran for 105 yards, partly thanks to the push

generated by the offensive line. The unit had shown improvement in earlier games, but those were against far inferior opponents. This game was a sign that the improvement was the real deal. For an offensive line that just a month before had to defend itself against all kinds of social media backlash after a season-opening loss to Notre Dame, Higdon’s declaration was a vindication. LOW POINT: Michigan’s

offensive linemen promised before the season kicked off that the unit would be a strength. Because the unit had notably lacked production the year before and needed replacements at both tackle spots, many were incredulous. After the first game of the season — a 24-17 loss to the Fighting Irish — the incredulity reached a fever pitch. The running game struggled, gaining just 58 yards. Patterson

No question, we have the best offensive line in the country.

Culture key to season turnaround

Nelson’s fight for a starting spot

AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA

KENT SCHWARTZ

This past weekend, the Michigan softball team was scheduled to play a threegame series spread out over the course of three days at Rutgers. Instead, the coaches from both teams decided to schedule a doubleheader for Saturday, providing Michigan the opportunity to fly home Saturday night and have an extra day in Ann Arbor to relax and catch up on homework. But instead of adjusting their travel plans, the Wolverines stuck with their original itinerary and spent Sunday on an impromptu trip to New York City. Generally, events like these are meant for players and coaches alike to bond in hopes of building team morale and chemistry. And it was evident at the beginning of the season that Michigan was one of the most talented teams in the country that also placed a premium on team culture. “I think our team especially has fantastic chemistry this year,” said senior second baseman Faith Canfield on Feb. 5. “There’s definitely a great dynamic among our players, our staff, our coaches, and our locker room and everything. Everyone works hard and everyone’s really excited to be here every day. “I think this program has always had, traditionally, a strong culture. Our main word this year was ‘respect.’ Respect Team 42. Whether that’s respect individually and how we treat people or just saying things that need to be said because we’re respecting the goals that we’re going after.” After an uncharacteristic 9-9 start that included Michigan dropping out of the top-25 rankings for the first time in

This season, senior infielder Blake Nelson has the secondbest batting average, the third most doubles and is tied for the fewest walks from batters with more than 50 at-bats on the Michigan baseball team. Though Nelson was the opening-day starter at third base after playing at that position most of last year, he had a flaw — his defense. In just the second game of the season, Nelson made a mistake. And then another, and another, and another; he had four errors that day — two throwing, two fielding. He was a liability. That liability was quickly taken care of. Nelson didn’t play the next game, and was the designated hitter for the next series, a placeholder while junior outfielder Dominic Clementi was recovering from an abdominal sprain he suffered early in the season. When Clementi returned, Nelson had one pinch-hitting opportunity in seven games and he struck out. Nelson was relegated to

Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Senior second baseman Faith Canfield currently has a .383 batting average and a .970 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

several years, however, the Wolverines’ tried-and-true morale was tested. Veterans struggled during crucial moments and lineup changes happened on a game-by-game basis, especially in the infield – resulting in sloppy play and fielding errors. “(The infield) is as good as just about anyone,” said sophomore first baseman Taylor Bump after the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Feb. 19. “They don’t make it easy for me over there, but I know what to expect from them and whenever they mess up, I’m owning that it’s my job to try and help them out. So, I think our entire infield is working on the trust relationship. “I think that’s something we’ll get toward by the end of the season.” However, it seems like the

This program has always had... a strong culture.

team has already gotten there, and it’s only halfway through the season. The veterans are finally stepping up to the box and swinging with confidence, providing stability to a oncevolatile batting order. But what’s been more evident is that the team’s culture and chemistry has given Michigan something to fall back on throughout this unusual season. This culture has given freshman outfielder Lexie Blair the confidence to take the No. 3 spot in the batting order and hit at a .407 clip – which leads the team. This culture has allowed freshman right-hander Alex Storako to look up to and learn from an All-American pitcher in sophomore Meghan Beaubien without feeling any pressure. This culture has given direction to a team that seemed like it was it in reverse. So the next time the Wolverines spend a day or two during their road trips to travel, know that this isn’t anything new. They’re just following the Michigan way.

was sacked three times — one of those a strip sack that resulted in a lost fumble. Even when he got the ball off, Patterson constantly had defenders in his face, and his highly anticipated Wolverine debut ended with a thud. After the game, the offensive line got the lion’s share of the blame. Fans blasted it on Twitter, laughing at the idea that this unit could ever be considered a strength. After a season when two quarterbacks got hurt behind a lacking line, it seemed like this would be more of the same. Linemen defended themselves, maintaining that fans didn’t understand the full story. But skepticism persisted until

Michigan finally demonstrated improvement on the field against a quality opponent. THE FUTURE: When fifthyear senior offensive tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty got injured near the end of the season, he sat out both the Ohio State game and the Peach Bowl. The unit sagged a bit in his absence, leaving some question marks in the future. However, Runyan will return for his final season, providing stability and leadership at left tackle. Sophomore offensive tackle Andrew Stuber earned the start at right tackle against the Gators, indicating that he could be the next man up. Freshman offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield, who saw limited snaps in 2018, is another who will fight for the open tackle job. With an extra year of development under their belts, the two former four-star recruits have plenty to potentially contribute. Ruiz, Bredeson and Onwenu return for another year to anchor the interior offensive line. Their experience should help onboard younger and less experienced starters, and if Ruiz and Bredeson can continue the momentum from their breakout seasons, it could be a boon for the Wolverines. Michigan also landed three four-star offensive line recruits in tackles Trente Jones and Trevor Keegan and guard Nolan Rumler. None are likely to start right away, but they give the line more depth and high potential for years to come. Warinner, too, will coach the offensive line again in 2019. His results in 2018 — taking a unit that was a liability the year before and producing four All-Big Ten linemen — were promising for the future. This time, with the Wolverines going into the season saying their offensive line is a strength, it’s a lot easier to believe them.

covering shifts. He didn’t play in big games and only got the opportunity to prove himself when senior infielder Ako Thomas’ nagging injury deemed that the second baseman would need a weekend to rest. In his first game in two weeks against Manhattan, he went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles. “He had a great night,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich after the game against the Jaspers. “It’s even more special because he hasn’t played in a while and it would be very easy for him to come out and use the lack of playing time as a reason for not being in a rhythm to do well, but he’s been a great teammate even when he’s not in there. It’s great for a guy to have success because of the type of teammate that he is.” Added Nelson: “It starts with our team. We’re all bought in for win. Whether that’s warming up with the outfielders, doing the chart or playing in the game. It doesn’t really matter, we all know our roles and we’re all ready to come in when our number is called.”

It wasn’t a fluke. Over the next three games, Nelson hit at a .583 clip with five RBIs. “We saw that this weekend, he’s going to be a hard guy to keep out of the lineup,” Bakich said. “I really like what Blake brings from an energy standpoint, and offensively he just brings a knack for quality at-bats and making hard contacts. He delivered some clutch hits.” Unless Nelson experiences another drastic collapse of defensive competence, a replacement won’t be needed for a while. His two competitors — Thomas and Clementi — have two of the worst batting and slugging percentages on the team and are both plagued by injuries, the same reason Nelson got his chance in the first place. Meanwhile, Nelson has been firing on all cylinders. His defense has been nearly impeccable — just two more errors — and his offense has been invaluable, hitting .377 with 14 RBIs since the game against Manhattan. Even if there were people to take his spot they would be hard pressed to replicate his performances.

EVAN AARON/Daily

Senior infielder Blake Nelson earned his starting third base job back after hitting .377 with 14 RBIs since Mar. 15.

statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | A PR I L 3 , 2019

Repaint the wall, Annie Hall: Rethinking Ann Arborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bookstore mural

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRISTINE JEGARL Alexis Rankin/Daily

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 // The Statement

Managing Statement Editor Andrea Pérez Balderrama

Designers Liz Bigham Kate Glad

statement The economics of joy T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | A PR I L 3 , 2019

or the past few months, my column has covered hefty topics such as Facebook data breaches, Blackberry’s pivotal strategy and Bud Light’s false advertising. This week, I am switching things up and digging into the economics of something worth far more than the multibillion dollar bottom lines of corporations: joy. It’s been a while since many of us took Economics 101, but most remember the first fundamental pillar of microeconomics: supply and demand. Demand illustrates how much of a product or service is wanted by consumers at a certain price, and supply represents how much the market can offer. When consumers buy more electric vehicles, the demand for gas decreases. When a drought ruins a strawberry harvest, consumer demand is often higher than the number of strawberries available, and the price of strawberries jumps. But what happens when supply is infinite and the price is $0? An economist’s nightmare and a consumer’s dream, this is a commodity named joy. o, what exactly is joy? A barista who compliments your haircut. The sun peeking out on a cloudy day. “Congratulations” in the subject line at the top of your inbox. At a university that demands enduring focus and a pervasive culture of “multi-taskers or nothing,” our minds gravitate to things outside of our control in order to find what we call joy. After all, we don’t have time on our calendars to pursue grandiose activities with the sole purpose of comfort. And the world isn’t wrong when it tells us that there is joy in the little things. But the problem with “the little things,” or even the big things that bring us happiness, is that they are circumstances often out of our control. While I admit to euphoria in the face of a sunny day and an unhesitating grin in exchange for a compliment, I believe there is a sizable concept we miss in our quest for joy: joy in perspective. But what does economics have to do with it? Take mornings, for example. Many of us wake up to our alarms with two goals in mind: maximize sleep and get to class on time. Every hindrance along the way contributes to our vexation,

Deputy Editors Matthew Harmon Shannon Ors

Copy Editors Miriam Francisco Madeline Turner

Photo Editor Annie Klusendorf Editor in Chief Maya Goldman Managing Editor Finntan Storer

BY ROMY SHARMA, STATEMENT COLUMNIST

and our unrelenting focal point is to simply beat the clock. One missed breakfast too many, and we find ourselves confronting what inevitably becomes a bad day. Welcome to marginal analysis. In economics, marginal analysis examines the benefits of an activity compared to the additional costs incurred of continuing that activity. In the pursuit of joy, positivity can often prove to be the more expensive option compared to pessimism. When positive, perspective takes on a snowball effect. One positive thought prompts our brains to seek another, and we watch our attitude build on optimism as the snowball runs its course. This illustrates increasing marginal returns. But the hardest part is packing the first snowball, or rather, seeking out our first positive thought. This is an upfront cost to consider in our marginal analysis of joy. Yet when a perspective is negative, the opposite of the snowball effect occurs: The domino effect. Since negative thoughts are easier to conjure, they reproduce in our brains quicker causing us to seek out complaints more frequently. Unlike the snowball effect which reaps positive marginal effects as positive thoughts gain momentum, negative thinking occurs quickly and effortlessly — like standing dominoes. To understand the human tendency to pursue the cheaper, negative perspective, consider common conversation: “It’s finally nice outside.” “My day has been good, can’t complain.” Can’t complain. This is our tainted rendition of positivity — a mere extension of negativity. Because joy comes at a cost measured by the currency of our effort, marginal analysis deems negativity to be cheaper. There is no upfront cost to set the domino effect in motion. Just as we can’t control positive occurrences, we can’t con-

trol their negative counterparts either. Economics shows us that negativity is easier, but one concept trumps any temptation to abandon joy in perspective: opportunity cost. When we choose joy, we trade in effort to focus on what is going right. We choose celebration and we choose organic energy. We abandon the easy and elect the challenge to reap its subsequent benefits. On hard days, it is a hefty price to pay. Complaint runs in our culture and we aren’t trained to run against the grain. But the fruits of this labor are generous; when we choose optimism, we develop the capability to control the definition of our good and bad days.

At the heart of economics rests the acknowledgement that human behavior can only be modeled into supply and demand graphs to an extent. Ultimately, we are irrational. We make decisions spontaneously and sometimes need a day to relish in gloom. But the value is found in taking the variable cost of positive thought into a long-term consideration. The practice of continually choosing joy will pay higher dividends than continuing our rituals of negativity. The supply of both is perpetually in surplus, but it is up to us to fuel our demand of joy. In support of Stress Awareness Month, happy April.

ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN KUZEE

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 // The Statement 3B

Do you know your options?

Reporting sexual misconduct on campus BY NADIA FINKEL, STATEMENT CONTRIBUTOR

rom the viral spread of the #MeToo movement to the brave testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, it’s not a secret that sexual violence is pervasive in our society. However, we are now living in a political and social climate where many survivors of sexual violence are feeling a sense of empowerment to speak up about their experiences. It’s a time of increased awareness, accountability and ultimately, a call for change. Living during this important time for social change, I began wondering how my own community, the University of Michigan, can better inform students about this situation. While organizations that you may be familiar with (e.g. the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center) and the University administration should continue to focus on preventative efforts, it’s equally important for these institutions to understand that sexual violence on college campuses is indeed a widespread issue that students and universities must be equipped to handle. The addition of an in-person hearing — a process that allows students who have been involved in sexual misconduct allegations to ask questions of each other and witnesses — to the Student Sexual Misconduct Policy motivated me to write my senior honors thesis titled “Legal Underpinnings and Implications of Sexual Assault on College Campuses: Perceptions, Attitudes and Policy Recommendations.” My thesis focused on the potential implications of the changes to the SSMP and student’s knowledge about reporting sexual misconduct on

this campus. Are these changes helpful? Are students informed about them? Are these attempts by the University to reform reporting sexual misconduct enough? Prior to the adoption of this interim policy, students were able to circumvent many of these legal proceedings, including an in-person hearing, and report directly to the University. When I began at the University of Michigan, survivors had the option to report to the University about their experiences. In response to these allegations, the University may have responded by changing a student’s classes or moving their dorm. In contrast, students could report to law enforcement where they would have a formal trial. However, the adoption of this policy blurs the line between the traditional criminal justice system and the ways the University approaches sexual misconduct. With this policy change, in the eyes of many, what was once two distinct ways of reporting sexual misconduct coalesces into two indistinguishable options. As such, with the number of reported incidents expected to decrease, I wanted to collect data surrounding students’ perceptions of reporting and adjudicating sexual misconduct on campus. To gain an understanding of what is currently available to survivors, I had conversations with various offices on campus (i.e., SAPAC, Counseling and Psychological Services, Ann Arbor Police Department and Division of Public Safety and Security). My goal with these conversations was to identify what makes their office unique and especially valuable to

survivors. For example, CAPS is geared toward creating positive mental pathways while SAPAC services can help with crisis intervention and can help survivors formulate an individualized healing plan. Building off of these conversations with campus officials, I interviewed students across all three University of Michigan campuses—Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint. I asked students various questions including what resources they would recommend if a friend came to them after experiencing intimate partner violence or sexual assault. The results from a sample of 32 participants indicated that half of the participants said they did not know of any on or off campus resources to which they would direct a friend. The lack of awareness of the interviewed students was disturbing and perplexing. For many students, reporting is not an option they are interested in pursuing. However, for those who are interested in exploring their options, how can students feel safe when they don’t even know where to report their grievances or seek resources? Currently, the University has various prevention programs in place. U-M Ann Arbor offers a three-step process for all incoming undergraduates. This includes an online module about alcohol and sexual violence; the peer-delivered program Relationship Remix, aimed at teaching college freshmen about consent, personal values, and healthy relationships; and a bystander intervention program called Change it Up!, which is delivered as a skit-based performance by students.

U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn also offer online programs to educate their incoming students. The University needs to consider whether efforts solely targeting incoming students (freshmen and transfer students) are sufficient to provide education related to campus misconduct policies and reporting options. At least from a reporting standpoint, with 50 percent of my sample unclear of where to report, it seems that these educational programs are clearly not sufficient. It’s difficult to say with certainty how the new policy will be embraced by students on campus. However, what is clear is that students do not have adequate knowledge of current campus resources. It might be instinctual to blame the University for these lapses in knowledge, as many students in my sample did. However, it is also equally likely that students are part of the problem. Despite the known prevalence of sexual misconduct on college campuses, no student wants to think that they or someone they know will ever be in need of reporting sexual misconduct or of survivor-centered services. A knowledgeable and aware student body requires the efforts of both students and the University. As a tangible product of my thesis and in hopes that my research will help students understand what resources exist on our campus, I created a graphic. My hope is that this resource will educate students, emphasize the importance of knowing your options, and prove that you are never alone at the University of Michigan. INFOGRAPHIC BY NADIA FINKEL

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 // The Statement

Wednesday, April 3. 2019 // The Statement

Repaint the wall, Annie Hall: Rethinking Ann Arbor’s bookstore mural

BY ERIN WHITE, SENIOR OPINION EDITOR

have walked past the “Bookstore Mural” hundreds of times during my two years living in Ann Arbor. Whenever my errands drag me across the Diag, my heels instinctively turn the corner and put me onto the perpetually busy street of East Liberty. I find myself momentarily distracted from whatever music I have blaring through my earphones, and I glance up to see it, exactly where it has been since 1984. Situated kitty-cornered from the fluorescent glow of the State Theatre and just down the way from the light-bulb encrusted Michigan Theater sign, it looms over downtown as one of the city’s most prominent pieces of public art. Beautiful and deliberate strokes of red, yellow and blue accentuate the features of the five portraits that are laid upon a contrasting black background, coming together to create what is colloquially known as the “Bookstore Mural.” The memorialized are writers Anaïs Nin, Franz Kafka, Hermann Hesse and Edgar Allan Poe — as well as screenwriter and filmmaker Woody Allen. Painted in 1984 by artist Richard Wolk, a University of Michigan alum, the mural stands on the side of what was originally David’s Books and Discount Records. Later, Borders Books was located next to the mural. As reported by The Michigan Daily during the mural’s production, Wolk had previous experience creating public art, having painted a mural of famous figures on a record store on South University Avenue the year before. He then took his talents to the owner of David’s Books, Ed Koster, who commissioned the piece in order to replace an existing mural that was deemed unsatisfactory by the State Street Area Association, a merchant group that aimed to increase business in the area. After the mural’s completion, however, this same group of critics did not give the replacement much praise. As it was put by Ann Arbor News reporter Charles Child in a July 8, 1984 report, “Oftentimes, years must pass before great art is finally appreciated by the public. Perhaps the mural needs more time.” It has been 34 years since its creation, and the “Bookstore Mural” remains one of Ann Arbor’s most symbolic images. Appearing on seemingly every promotional video, social media post or Ann Arbor must-see list, the mural has become visually synonymous with downtown and the Ann Arbor community. This recognizability has increased since its 2010 restoration, when Wolk estimated it would not need to be re-touched for another 10 years. Wolk claimed he would again do the restoration, but also noted that if Oxford Property Management — the owner of the

building the mural is on — wanted to replace it with another mural in the future, he would pass the opportunity on to a new, younger artist. It’s been nine years since this restoration, and maybe it is time for the Ann Arbor community to start thinking about the mural’s next touch-up. When looking at the authors included in the mural, Woody Allen stands out for more than his film career. Having been accused of sexually assaulting a minor, he was thrown into a controversy that involved his image, work and influence on the film industry. Is this something Ann Arbor wants to promote through its public art? he allegations against Woody Allen date back to Aug 5, 1992 when he was accused of molesting his 7-year-old adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. The allegation came to light along with the revelation of his affair with the adopted daughter of his long-term partner Mia Farrow, 21 year-old Soon-Yi Previn. This affair is claimed to have begun when Allen was 56 years old. He confirmed the relationship in a press release on August 18, 1992 — the same day the Connecticut State Police announced an investigation regarding Dylan’s abuse allegations. Four days before, Allen had filed a lawsuit for custody of his and Farrow’s three children — the mutually adopted Moses and Dylan Farrow, as well as their biological son Ronan Farrow. After seven months of inquiry, Allen’s lawyers announced on March 19, 1993 that he was cleared of the molestation charges, despite Farrow’s lawyer claiming the report, done by a team of child abuse investigators from Yale-New Haven Hospital that were brought in by Connecticut State Police, to be “incomplete and inaccurate.” The custody battle began the next day, which led to over two months of trial, until its verdict in Mia Farrow’s favor on June 7, 1993. Acting Justice Elliott Wilk claimed Allen is “self-absorbed, untrustworthy and insensitive,” also denying him visitation with Dylan. Frank Maco, a state’s attorney from Connecticut, announced he would not further try Allen for the abuse against Dylan despite probable cause, as he did not want to subject her to further trauma through the trial. Over the next 26 years, these allegations continued to be supported by the Farrow family. Dylan went on the record for the first time in 2013. “There’s a lot I don’t remember,” she told Vanity Fair, “but what happened in the attic I remember. I remember what I was wearing and what I wasn’t wearing.” Since this interview, Dylan has consistently and publicly supported her accusa-

tions through an open letter to The New York Times in 2014 and an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times in 2017. Both Mia and Ronan Farrow have shown public support for Dylan’s story, questioning the lack of accountability toward Allen and writing their own pieces in defense of her, like Ronan’s 2016 guest column for The Hollywood Reporter asserting his belief in his sister and documenting her struggles. he downtown mural featuring Allen and his controversy was an early part of the mental map I began building for myself when I first came to the University. As an amateur artist and someone who finds joy in the works of others, this piece used to mean a quick smile and feeling of warmth. The stark contrast of light and dark, white and color would lift my mood and prompt my admiration before I was again bopping along, my music intact. But early this semester, my friend Sophie ReVeal, an LSA sophomore studying Film, Television and Media, began a conversation with me about the impact of having certain idealized images within our community — like this glorified portrait of Woody Allen. The question of how to regard influential artists after allegations of sexual misconduct has become a difficult debate in recent years, especially when their body of work is signified as having notable cultural capital. At the time of the mural’s creation, Woody Allen was regarded as the hip, progressive and culturally relevant filmmaker — and even today, he maintains recognition in the film industry. His 1977 Academy-Award-winning “Annie Hall” is considered one of the earliest and most successful romantic comedies, and his emphasis on incorporating nervous humor into his films has made him one of the most well-known and appealing filmmakers of the modern era. With these oustanding allegations against him, the question, Can you separate the artist from the art? is more than warranted. And this question is doubled when referring to the mural, as it layers the issue by having to think not only of Wolk and his art, but the lives and artistic work of the five featured artists as well. This question becomes difficult to answer when an artist has made notable cultural and academic influences. And this same argument stands for Woody Allen, whose cultural influence on American cinema seems to be unignorable. A 24-time Oscar nominee and a four-time winner, Allen has been charming audiences since his emergence in the 1970s. However, is there a way to acknowledge this historical importance without creating public glorifications of him?

The subjects of the “Bookstore Mural” are understandably linked to the piece, as each is a prominent author. However, Woody Allen has more of an industrial connection to the mural, which is placed within sight of both the Michigan and State theaters. But is his image truly the best representation of what the film industry is? And if this image were to be changed, would that be erasing history, or simply avoiding a personal glorification of him? LSA senior Sophia Georginis is studying both communication studies and Film, Television and Media. She is currently one of the general managers of WOLV TV, a studentproduced television network on campus, and works with Sisters in Cinema, an organization intending to give female and non-binary filmmakers a chance to tell their stories. She said she is in favor of erasing Allen from the mural due to the abundance of other film icons without assault allegations. “I don’t think it’s erasing him from history as much as it is putting people up on that mural who haven’t sexually assaulted somebody. There’s so many people that have impacted film — there’s so many women, so many people of color that have impacted film and have made changes. Greta Gerwig, Spike Lee, so many people that I can just name here.” She also spoke on Allen’s existing influence on the film industry, stating that his position in academia is secure regardless of his place on a piece of public art. “Yes, he has made impacts to the film industry,” Georginis said. “But it’s also like so many people have who haven’t done these disgusting things. And we’re not erasing him by taking him off that mural, he’s very much so in people’s memory. But it’s like putting somebody up on that mural that shows what the film industry is and where we’re moving.” This attitude toward academic acknowledgement is echoed by another LSA senior studying Film, Television and Media, Maria Mikhailova, who works as outreach coordinator for Sisters in Cinema. In terms of the academic uses of film, Mikhailova said there is a way to keep relevant directors in the conversation without glorifying them and keeping them in positions of power. “It’s just a matter of being transparent and saying, ‘This is why I want to show this film,’” Mikhailova said. “It’s not because this person in particular did it, it’s because this particular scene is relevant to what we’re studying right now. If we eliminate everyone who’s ever had allegations against them or anything like that, then we don’t have anything to study.” This academic debate around the relevance

and usability of Allen’s work remains justifiable, but this doesn’t seem to reflect directly on the use of his imagery and personal brand as a cultural symbol. To that point, Mikhailova also spoke in support of the idea of more worthy subjects for the community. “It’s not erasure of history, it’s just making way of better history, for celebration of better history,” Mikhailova said. These questions of erasure versus glorification were touched upon in a conversation I had with Tara Ward, a lecturer in the History of Art Department, who also has vested interest in gender issues. Ward said the battle between these combating ideas is a complicated conversation that should be dealt with seriously. “(This) essentially (is) the debate. Is this about history, or is this about our contemporary values?” Ward said. “And it’s a hard call, and you know, it’s unclear what’s broadly the right thing to do politically. White-washing history doesn’t stop it from happening it again, but allowing for a celebration of problematic figures is equally an issue. And so it does become, I think, a case-by-case choice.” And in terms of a case-by-case decision, Ward said it is important to look at both the historical and modern context surrounding a piece of discussion in order to come to measured choices. n the fall of 2017, #MeToo was pushed to the forefront of societal conversation as the hashtag gained a strong following on Twitter, revitalizing the movement that activist Tarana Burke began in 2006. This then spurred the Time’s Up movement, which was created with the intention of stopping widespread abuse by men in the workplace. The growth of these movements has increased social awareness of sexual assault and harassment, publicly challenging powerful, influential men who exploit their positions of power, and sometimes are still able to retain strong levels of cultural weight after allegations become public. Also during the fall of 2017, strong investigative reporting uncovered suppressed stories of abuse and brought survivors of assault to the public eye, playing a crucial role in increasing public awareness of institutional issues like sexual assault. One of these reporters is Ronan Farrow, Woody Allen’s son, who broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal in October 2017 in a piece for The New Yorker. His reporting opened the floodgates for a series of journalistic pieces regarding similar systems of abuse. Farrow and Ken Auletta visited the University on March 19 for a Wallace House event. Auletta, another reporter for The New Yorker, took a moment during the event to

briefly comment on Farrow’s connection to Woody Allen, citing it as his initial concern over Farrow’s motivations to pursue these stories. Farrow’s response to these claims, then and now, is that his sister’s abuse functioned as a contribution to his passion, not a conflict of interest. Farrow used the event to speak to the big strides that were made in these movements, but referenced the remaining changes that need to occur. “I don’t think we’ve achieved accountability … I don’t think we’ve extended the tentative steps towards accountability to all the segments of society that desperately need it,” Farrow said. And in order to promote that much-needed accountability, Farrow claimed we need to “keep holding their feet to the fire.” nd how do we do that? A clear place to start seems to be one’s own community. It’s easy enough to broadly and indirectly recognize the existence of power structures and imbalances that give certain people greater authority. It’s more difficult to look internally and see the ways one’s own city is supporting problematic people, like Ann Arbor’s inclusion of Woody Allen in the “Bookstore Mural.” But this type of identification takes self-reflective work that is often strenuous to community memories and values. While speaking with Ysabel Bautista, an Ann Arborite and LSA sophomore studying biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience, she reflected on her experiences seeing the mural as a staple piece of public art in Ann Arbor. “My mom and I used to go (to Borders bookstore) every weekend to get books, and then we’d walk down to Ben and Jerry’s and get ice cream, so when you’d turn that corner you’d see that mural,” Bautista said. “Every time I think of that mural I think of … going to Borders to buy books with my mom.” This type of emotional attachment enhances the need for productive community dialogue about questionable public works in order to understand dissenting opinions. Bautista did, however, note her understanding of community concerns after reflecting on her new perspective as a student rather than a local Ann Arbor resident. “I feel like everyone who’s lived in Ann Arbor who goes to the University of Michigan, you just see Ann Arbor in a different light when you’re living on campus because now you see perspectives of people who aren’t from Ann Arbor,” Bautista said. “And you’re like, ‘Oh wow, maybe Ann Arbor’s not as picture-perfect as I thought it was before.’” Public art can act as a representation of

a community, blending together an artist’s intention and the values of the place where their art resides, seemingly bringing the residents of an area together in acceptance of an image. But this does not necessarily need to be a permanent assertion of personal or community value. As perceived by Art and Design freshman Gabe Consiglio, art is allowed to change with the times given our new cultural landscape. “With learning of allegations like the ones against Woody Allen, I don’t think an artist should be obligated to keep that stance that they had when they originally made the piece,” Consiglio said. “So I think if they wanted to, they definitely should be able to go in and change it based on new information that they learned. Because opinions on that should be ever-changing, you know, you shouldn’t ever need to hold the same stance on one issue. So I think definitely art is something that can be revisited and tweaked.” Making a point of calling out damaging imagery or perpetuations of unfair power structures, like those that allow for the exaltation of prominent men like Woody Allen, is how community perceptions can be adjusted to champion more conscientious values. Being able to rally behind a change, or at the very least, generate a greater conversation about what our art says about our community, is how a community is able to challenge its own internalization of social hierarchies. By continuing to talk to ReVeal, it has become clear that a conversation needs to be had about the art that is so prominently displayed in Ann Arbor. “If we’re allowing someone who has horrible allegations against them in this public space, we’re perpetuating this idea that men who have done things like this can remain in power because of (professional) things that they’ve done, and we’re not taking into account the whole picture,” ReVeal said. ReVeal and I are now in the early stages of reaching out to property owners and affiliates with the mural to start a broader conversation within the Ann Arbor community about the type of imagery that we promote. Woody Allen’s history of abuse exists clearly in downtown, but remains ignored in favor of an artistic glorification of his cultural impact. What exactly should happen to the mural is unclear, and requires the engagement and perspectives of the entire Ann Arbor community. But the city must take some agency over what is being displayed in their own backyard, because, in the words of lecturer Ward, “No painting, no film, no technical ability should let you get out of the ethical rules of humanity.”

Wednesday, April 3, 2019// The Statement

The fifth batch a short story

BY JESSICA GARDINER, STATEMENT CONTRIBUTOR

isa nearly dropped the plate she was cleaning when she heard a large truck door slam shut. It was the new neighbors at last. She opened her curtains wide, allowing sunshine to burn the dark, dustless countertops, and peered out of her kitchen window. They were a typical young family: a husband, a pregnant wife and a toddler in a stroller. They looked nice enough, but she couldn’t tell much about them yet. She just hoped that they wouldn’t be anything like the last ones. The husband put his arm around the wife. He stood half a foot above her, just enough so that she could place her perfect, brown curls on his perfect, sturdy shoulder and look longingly at their new house together. They stared at the two-story house, and Lisa stared too. It was similar to Lisa’s house, just like all the houses in the neighborhood. The outsides looked different of course: different colored brick, different shapes of windows and sometimes a different colored door. Yet, the insides were all the same. The staircase was on the right just as you got in, the living room on the left and the kitchen straightforward. All relatively the same size and structure, but you wouldn’t know from looking at just the outside. The husband and the wife turned back to facing each other. They stared longingly at each other, stared longingly for their future together. Lisa stared, too. When Jill and Todd, the old neighbors, moved out, she was so relieved. She could breathe the fresh, free-of-Jill-and-Toddair now when she stepped outside. The new “sold” sign in front of their house cre-

ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN KUZEE

ated such an excitement in Lisa that she made cookies to welcome the new neighbors. So far, she had made four batches. Batches one and three were too burnt, batch two had fallen to the ground and batch four was perfect but made prematurely. This fourth batch had been sitting in a Tupperware bowl waiting for the new neighbors for three weeks until they got stale and it was time for them to be thrown away. Now, after six weeks, the neighbors were here, but she had no cookies for them. A new list of priorities instantly appeared in Lisa’s mind. Her unfinished dishes fell to the bottom of the list and a fifth batch of cookies for the new neighbors rose urgently to the top. She gathered the materials, followed her recipe, and mixed the ingredients together while looking outside her kitchen window. Light from the outside could barely sneak past the thick curtains of Lisa’s window into her dimly lit kitchen, but she adjusted them just enough so she could peek through and watch the neighbors move in. The stacks of boxes getting unpacked made her question if moving was ever really worth it. There was the physical labor of moving everything, of course, but there was also the mental labor. Leaving a place that’s comfortable, a place that makes sense, and going to a place where your whole life just becomes about trying to adjust to it. She was just happy that Jill and Todd made this sacrifice. The neighbors were on a break now. She watched them chat and monitored their expressions. The couple was socializing with the movers. They all had bright

eyes, glowing faces, shining smiles. When they laughed it looked genuine, like they were actually enjoying themselves. The wife’s hair would fly through the wind as she threw her head forward with laughter. The husband’s strong hands would slap his thighs as if the laughter was too much for him. She wondered what kind of jokes existed that would create so much laughter when first meeting someone. The neighbors began to point out things to the movers, asking them questions, or something, but suddenly they looked at Lisa like they could see her right through her window. She could swear right then that their laughter turned to frowns, disgust and irritation. The sun burned their faces. Their skin turned a bright red. Maybe they knew this was her fifth batch and the cookies weren’t ready on time. Whatever it was, Lisa knew she made a bad first impression and all she could hope for was that the cookies would taste good enough to make up for it. When the neighbors turned back away, Lisa closed the curtains and began to mix with more fury. Soon enough all the ingredients became one consistent bowl of dough ready to again be separated from the rest onto a pan. Lisa scooped the mixture out, making several even piles of dough one and half inches in diameter. She had such a good eye for measurements that she didn’t need a ruler anymore while she baked, but at that moment she was having trouble seeing. The brightness of the sun was still affecting her vision, creating more and more dark spots every time she blinked. Lisa placed the spoon down back into the

bowl and pressed her fingers to her eyes trying to get them to adjust. Each time she closed her eyes for too long, the sight of the neighbor’s frowns would appear and take over her vision. She had trouble remembering the size of their noses or the width of their eyes, but she knew exactly what their frowns looked like.Judging frowns, hateful frowns, they burned her brain. She opened her eyes back up and felt adjusted to the comfortable, dim lighting of her kitchen. However, even when she went back to scooping, she couldn’t get the image of their frowns out of her mind. With each scoop, Lisa couldn’t help but continue to ponder the details of the interaction she just had with the new neighbors. With each scoop she became more anxious to know why on Earth her new neighbors reacted this way. By the time she was at the scoop that ended the third row of cookies, Lisa knew why the neighbors were disgusted by her. She started to slam the cookie dough onto the pan, careless about the evenness, and imagined each one as the heads of Jill and Todd. Every other scoop would be Jill then Todd, Jill then Todd, getting what they deserve. Because Lisa knew it was their fault. They had told the neighbors every bad thing about her, lies about her, just to get back at her. This infuriated Lisa, but still, she had hope that the sweetness of the cookies would change their mind about her. She quickly fixed the unevenness in the last row and threw the pan into the oven. The question continued to pound inside Lisa’s head. She didn’t actually know what Jill and Todd would’ve told the new neighbors, since she rarely allowed herself to be seen by them. But maybe Lisa was a bad neighbor in ways that she didn’t even realize. Maybe they could hear her TV playing too loud, too late on those nights when she couldn’t sleep or they could tell when she was late mowing her lawn and her grass had grown too long next to theirs. Every morning when she left early for work, she could see their lights turn on as she pulled out of the driveway as if the sound of her car had woken them up. And every night when she came back home late and they were sitting on their porch, Jill and Todd would wave to her. The wave itself was like any friendly, neighborly wave, but their eyes were squinted as if they were focused on something else. Sometimes it was staring at her grass that was too long, or her car that was too loud, and sometimes it was just an exhausted look that told Lisa that their misery was her fault.