2019-11-01

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Friday, November 1, 2019

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Student loan debt hits A2 hard, study says Ann Arbor ranks as number 15 in metro areas where residents are most affected, according to study BARBARA COLLINS Daily Staff Reporters

Ann Arbor ranks among U.S. metro areas most affected by student loan debt, according to a recent study conducted

by SmartAsset, a financial technology company.

The study put Ann Arbor as number 15 in metro areas where student loan debt hits the hardest, the number one area being Gainesville, Fla. The average student loan debt for an Ann Arbor citizen is $45,668, compared to $35,359 nationally.

A.J. Smith, vice president of financial education for SmartAsset, oversaw the research. In an interview with The Daily, Smith said SmartAsset used a team of data analysts and personal finance experts to look at 100 metro areas in the United States.

“Paying off loans can impact your financial life and your future financial goals,” Smith said. “This is the first year that we did this study to find where student loan debt hit the hardest.”

The research used five key metrics in determining the rankings. These included average student loan debt, median earnings for bachelor’s degree

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holders, average student debt as a percentage of median earnings for bachelor’s degree holders, percentage of tax return with student loan interest deduction and the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree,

GOVERNMENT

Legislators debate fate of marijuana convicts Michigan representatives consider steps to expunge records of people with criminal misdemeanor or felony non-assualt charges SAMANTHA SMALL & BEN ROSENFELD Daily Staff Reporters

Residents are still struggling to clear their records for marijuana convictions nearly a year after a ballot measure legalizing the drug passed statewide, and Ann Arbor, despite its historically progressive stance on the issue, is no exception.

In 1972, Ann Arbor City Council passed an ordinance that made the possession of small amounts of marijuana a civil infraction, or just a small fine. However, The Daily filed for a Freedom of Information Act and found there were 317 marijuana-related arrests made by the Ann Arbor Police Department between 2016 and 2018. There are still more than 235,000 Michigan residents with records relating to low-level marijuana use and possession.

After Michigan passed Proposal 1 last year legalizing recreational marijuana, some Michigan legislators have worked to ensure people with drug offenses do not continue to suffer the consequences.

Over the past few years, 15 states have passed bills

expunging minor marijuana convictions. In 2019 alone, Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire and Washington have all passed legislation that allows a person to petition their conviction. In some cases, like in Washington, misdemeanor charges are completely vacated.

Former Michigan state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, D-Detroit; state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor; and state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, have all been on the forefront of expanding criminal expungement for certain misdemeanor and felony charges that weren’t assaultive crimes, such as the possession of marijuana.

Other supporters of the bills include Reps. Eric Leutheuser, R-Hillsdale; Pauline Wendzel, R-Watervliet; David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids; and Luke Meerman, R-Coopersville.

In addition, Rabhi wrote part of a bipartisan expungement package in the House, which includes measures aimed at eliminating small-time drug offenses that could hurt one’s ability to get a well-paying job or apply for housing.

See MARIJUANA, Page 3

Smith said. The study also used data from Experian, the United States Census and the Internal Revenue Service in their research.

According to SmartAsset, student loan debt is the second-

largest form of consumer debt in the United States. Student loan debt reached $1.4 trillion, an all-time high, in the first three months of 2019, according to data from Experian. This is a 116 percent increase from 10 years

prior.

Engineering sophomore Gabi Tringali is an out-of-state student paying for her tuition entirely by herself. She has taken out federal student loans and said she will be taking out

more after this school year to cover the rest of her tuition.

Tringali said thinking about her future student loan debt is frightening.

See DEBT, Page 3

Notre Dame game brings recordbreaking number of Airbnb guests

Last weekend’s football game draws 2,390 people, brings in $735,000

DESIGN BY MICHELLE FAN

ANGELINA BREDE Daily Staff Reporter

In anticipation of the Michigan-Notre Dame football game last weekend, Airbnb welcomed 2,390 guests to Ann Arbor from Oct. 25 to 27, marking the largest influx of guests in Ann Arbor’s Airbnb history.

Hosts saw more than $735,000 in

supplemental income, according to a press release from Airbnb.

According to Airbnb spokesperson Sam Randall, the last time Ann Arbor saw a record-breaking number of guest arrivals was just over three weeks ago when Michigan played Iowa for the annual homecoming game.

The number of guests staying

in Ann Arbor through Airbnb has significantly increased over the past year. Last year’s 2018 homecoming game against Maryland brought in 1,450 guest arrivals, while this year’s homecoming game against Iowa brought in 2,260 guest arrivals, marking a 56 percent increase.

Comparing the 2018 Maryland game to the Notre Dame game

with 2,390 guests, this is a 65 percent increase overall, according to Randall. “(Iowa) would’ve been the second-highest guest arrival amount in Ann Arbor, but this weekend has eclipsed that by a few hundred guest arrivals,” Randall said.

See AIRBNB, Page 3

COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

Pseudo local news sites reveal nationally expanding network

Nearly 40 websites masquerade as community outlets across Michigan while promoting conservative views KATHERINA SOURINE & DOMINICK SOKOTOFF

Daily Staff Reporter & For The Daily

Following the 2016 election season, Americans realized the powerful inf luence of fake news, with the nation at large questioning the extent to which it may have swayed the election. With 2020 elections just around the

corner, Michigan’s critical role as a swing state has made the community especially wary of politically motivated news stories.

First reported Oct. 20 by the Lansing State Journal, nearly 40 websites have appeared this fall, masquerading as local Michigan news outlets and maintaining a conservative-leaning tone.

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The different websites are nearly indistinguishable, sharing identical stories and using regional titles such as the Ann Arbor Times, Grand Rapids Reporter and Lansing Sun. The only articles with named authors contain politically skewed content.

The rest of the articles on the sites are primarily composed of press releases from local

organizations and articles written by the Local Labs News Service.

Articles featured on the websites include a summary of a report by the conservative think-tank Heritage Foundation, a story about the failure of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s, D-Mich., to rally a crowd at a pro-impeachment event and a front-page piece

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INDEX

about Michigan Republicans supporting President Donald Trump.

Each site has an identical “About Us” page, explaining the site is “one of hundreds” being launched nationwide to allegedly “fill the void in local communities,” due to the steady decline of local reporting. “Our approach,” the page continues, “is to

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provide objective, datadriven information without personal or political bias.

We let the facts speak for themselves.”

Just this past week, additional statewide networks of these websites have sprung up in Montana and Iowa.

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News

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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY:

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WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

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THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

B EHIND THE STORY Every Friday, one Daily staffer will give a behind the scenes look at one of this week’s stories. This week, Engineering senior Alice Tracey reported on a new program created by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life to combat toxic masculinity.

“I was particularly interested in the aspect of the story that dealt with fraternities, because I always have this stereotype that frat guys are super masculine, unemotional, don’t care about talking about gender stereotypes. But talking to some frat guys for this story really disproved that for me. I found out that these guys are super interested in thinking about how their gender plays into their actions and how masculine socialization affects them. And I thought that was really powerful, it really proved me wrong.”

Alice Tracey, Daily Staff Reporter

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People in our communities have overcome redlining, systemic racism only to see their water shut off. Their homes taken away, simply because they’re too poor to afford shelter, or fell on hard times. We live in the Motor City, the region that gave the world the automobile, and yet many of us — many of us — cannot afford to insure the cars we drive because insurance companies are allowed to discriminate against us.”

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Editorial Staff FINNTAN STORER Managing Editor

Transfer students frustrated by difficulty finding housing On-campus living accommodations hard to come by for new arrivals in Ann Arbor communities — such as the Transfer Year Experience Theme Community at Northwood III apartments — are reserved exclusively for transfer students.

In an email to The Daily, Amir Baghdadchi, senior associate director of University Housing Administration, explained what housing options are available to transfer students.

“As soon as a transfer student takes care of their official enrollment, that automatically generates an invitation to apply for Housing,” Baghdachi wrote.

“Once you’ve filled that out and are in the system, you can check out the website over a period to check out what we

have. Our inventory changes ARJUN THAKKAR over spring and summer, so Daily Staff Reporter we typically invite transfer students to continually check from mid-March through With the official signing mid-August, to see what’s date for Sept. 1 leases new.” looming, many students When LSA senior Michael on campus are searching Koch’s transfer application to for places to live. But the the University was accepted housing hunt looks different in February 2017, he received for transfer students at the a link to an online web portal University of Michigan. to apply for on-campus According to University housing.

Though Koch Housing, 97 percent of wanted to live on-campus, he first-year students choose was unable to find space on to live on-campus for their first year. But transfer Central Campus and opted students are not guaranteed to live in University Towers instead. on-campus housing upon “I checked (the website) admission to the University every day from February to due to the limited number Sudoku maybe June, and the only of Syndication rooms and space available housing was available on for students. Some living North Campus,” Koch said. “But I had friends who went here and they said, ‘Whatever you do, do not live on North Campus if you’re in EASY LSA.’” LSA senior Megan Quayle transferred to Michigan as a sophomore and also wanted to live in on-campus housing on Central Campus. She said after she searched for a place to live, she ultimately decided on an off-campus apartment complex.

“In general, it just felt like we got kind of thrown into housing because the University doesn’t guarantee any housing for transfer students, so you kind of need to figure out where you can fit into housing somewhere, whether that be on-campus if thereuse only. are openings or © sudokusolver.com. For personal off-campus and try to MANDY’S GOOD AS HELL puzzle by sudokusyndication.com navigate that,” Quayle

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said.

Senior Sports Editors: Anna Marcus, Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Mark Calcagno, Theo Mackie, Tien Le In addition to the housing Assistant Sports Editors: Bailey Johnson, Bennett Bramson, Connor Brennan, opportunities disparity, Jacob Kopnick, Jorge Cazares, Rian Ratnavale Quayle said her orientation ARYA NAIDU and VERITY STURM experience differed greatly Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com from regularly admitted Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam students.

According to Della Fera, Trina Pal Arts Beat Editors: John Decker, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, Quayle, orientation for Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan transfer students occurs on a single day in July or ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com August, partly because Senior Design Editor: Sherry Chen they had previously attended an institution of ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN higher education.

Their Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com orientation focused on Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Allison Engkvist, Danyel Tharakan becoming accustomed to the Assistant Photo Editors: Miles Macklin, Keemya Esmael, Madeline Hinkley, University and registering Ryan McLoughlin for classes, but Quayle felt that some assistance or ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com information on determining Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors housing also would have http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ been useful before attending SILAS LEE and EMILY STILLMAN orientation.

Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com “It was kind of too late Senior Copy Editors: Dominick Sokotoff, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer in the game to talk about CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO housing, but I wish there had Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com been something else before Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot, Samantha Cohen (orientation),” Quayle said.

LSA senior Skylar Carlson ELI SIDER transferred to the University Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim with her sister in the fall of 2018. She initially wanted NA’KIA CHANNEY and CARLY RYAN Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com to find a place to live offSenior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria campus, but because she was Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan accepted in the late spring Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, Maya of 2018, she said she found it Mokh difficult to find an available CATHERINE NOUHAN space in her price range.

Managing Podcast Editor “It was kind of MADALASA CHAUDHARI and HANNAH MESKIN Managing Social Media Editors overwhelming and kind of Senior Social Media Editor: Allie Phillips frustrating,” Carlson said.

“Everything in Ann Arbor is just super expensive, and it was my first time moving MOLLY WU Creative Director out and living on my own, ZELJKO KOSPIC RYAN KELLY so I guess it was hard to find Special Projects Manager Sales Manager resources to actually find ANITA MICHAUD ROBERT WAGMAN somewhere to live.”

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News University announces winter commencement speakers and honorary degree recipients

Friday, November 1, 2019 — 3

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Executive chairman of Meijer Inc., former Federal Reserve chair, to be honored Dec. 15 JULIA FANZERES Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan’s winter commencement speaker will be Hendrik (Hank) Meijer, executive chairman of Meijer Incorporated.

Commencement will be held Dec. 15 at the Crisler Center.

Meijer is the grandson of Hendrik Meijer, the original founder of Meijer Inc., a superstore retail chain founded and headquartered in Michigan. Hank Meijer became CEO of Meijer Inc.

SITES From Page 1 The websites were all published by Locality Labs, LLC on behalf of their client, the Metric Media Foundation, according to a Locality Labs employee who wished to remain anonymous. Locality Labs already operates its own networks of similar websites in Maryland and Florida.

The Metric Media Foundation, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization registered in Missouri earlier this year, only lists a Kansas City-based attorney on its filings, though an online biography lists Bradley Cameron as its CEO. The biography describes Cameron as being a strategist “presently retained by national conservative leaders to direct responses to government targeting of their operations and initiatives.”

Locality Labs, the company building the websites, emerged out of Journatic, LLC and BlockShopper, LLC — two now-defunct companies with histories mired in ethics concerns.

Tribune Media Company, a

DEBT From Page 1 “I know everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you’re going to get such a great job and pay off your loan,’ but you never know what’s going to happen, and it has put so much pressure on me to do well,” Tringali said. “You want to do well, but (having student loans) puts so much more pressure on doing well and getting internships just so you are sure that you’re going to get a job after college, or else you will be left with all of this debt and have to pay it off.”

Tringali works at Staples 16 hours a week to help pay for her tuition. She said having a job often makes it difficult to balance her time between studying and being involved with activities.

Like Tringali, LSA junior Victoria Sheetz has taken out student loans to pay for her tuition. She said she tries to keep the thought of her future student loan debt in the back of her mind.

AIRBNB From Page 1 “This is the highest ever in Ann Arbor.”

According to Airbnb, g uests from all over the country traveled to Ann Arbor for game day, with the highest number of g uests coming from the cities of Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Atlanta.

During big game weekends, hotels frequently reach peak occupancy, allowing Airbnb to sig nificantly expand its lodging capacit y through owner-occupied homes, where g uests will temporarily rent out a room or a certain amount of space.

This also allows these hosts to bring in extra income, as they can charge visitors

in 2001, and then became co-CEO and co-chairman in 2003. A U-M alum, Hank Meijer graduated in 1973 with a degree in literature.

From 1973 to 1979, Hank Meijer was a journalist, and his passion in the years following his graduation revolved around historical research and writing.

Hank Meijer is the author of two biographies: a biography of Arthur Vandenberg, a U.S. senator from Michigan during the mid-20th century, and a biography of his grandfather and namesake,

Hendrik Meijer, titled “Thrifty Years: The Life of Hendrik Meijer.” In addition to delivering a speech, Meijer will receive an honorary Doctor of the Science of Law degree.

The University also announced that it will be honoring four additional honorary degree recipients.

Lawrence Brilliant, founder of an international nonprofit to fight blindness, president of a fund to combat global threats and a former executive at Google, will be receiving a Doctor of Humane Letters. Roger

W. Ferg uson Jr., president and chief executive officer of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund will be awarded a Doctor of the Science of Law. Kenneth Fischer, Doctor of Fine Arts, president emeritus of the University Musical Society and a recipient of the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Janet L. Yellen, an economist and former chair of the Federal Reserve and the White House Council of Economic Advisers will be awarded a Doctor of Laws.

media conglomerate that once owned major outlets including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, invested in Journatic as a service to provide hyperlocal news coverage. Journatic reportedly distributed fabricated and plagiarized content and used workers in the Philippines writing under pseudonyms to remotely produce stories.

Due to these scandals, many outlets suspended their use of the service and stopped publishing Journatic articles.

Tribune Media has since been absorbed by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., the largest local television and media company in the U.S., but still has not fully divested from the venture, which has since reorganized as Locality Labs. The Daily requested comment from Gary Weitman, chief communications officer at Nexstar, regarding investment in Locality Labs, and was told Locality Labs was not a subsidiary. While acknowledging Nexstar does partially own Locality Labs, Weitman downplayed the inf luence of Nexstar’s investment.

“We have very, very, very small ownership stake in the

company,” Weitman wrote.

Locality Labs CEO Brian Timpone has a long history of facing ethical questions regarding his enterprises.

When asked about one of his ventures in 2004, he told the Washington Post, “I’m a biased guy. I’m a Republican.” Brian Timpone did not respond to a request for comment from The Daily.

Timpone is also the co-founder of Local Government Information Services, a network of more than 30 Illinois print and web publications that have been considered to propagate conservative news and hold an identical layout to Metric Media’s websites.

Before the conception of LGIS, Timpone founded Newsinator Receivable, LLC. Newsinator began producing publications LGIS has since acquired and has come under fire for engaging in paid political and marketing work.

In 2016, the Liberty Principles PAC, a conservative super PAC established by Dan Proft, a conservative radio personality and co-founder of LGIS, provided almost $200,000 to Newsinator for the sake of mailing print

publications to voters.

That same year, Think Freely Media, a nonprofit supporting “limited government” in which Proft has served as a consultant, funneled almost $350,000 to Newsinator to aid in the creation of their websites.

Think Freely is prohibited by law from spending on politicking due to its status as a nonprofit, but has described the articles it funded as strictly news content.

In addition to these enterprises, Timpone is associated with Franklin Archer, a publishing organization operated from Chicago. Franklin Archer hosts a similar network which consists of a set of nationwide business journals. Earlier this year, Franklin Archer published the Hinsdale School News — a publication that infringed upon the name and logo trademarks of Hinsdale High School District 86 in Illinois and potentially violated election law by attempting to inf luence the vote on a $140 million school district referendum.

“As of right now, I try not to think about it as much as I can,” Sheetz said. “But it is definitely something I will think about after school, and how I’m going to pay them off, and if I’m going to be able to do so with minimal impact to all the other things I will have to pay for.”

The study found college towns are disproportionately affected by student loan debt, Smith said. The majority of cities listed ahead of Ann Arbor are also college towns, such as Gainesville, Fla., Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C. and Colombia, Mo. Living in Ann Arbor, Tringali said she often sees issues with the cost of activities.

“On a social level, sometimes there’s times where everyone wants to go get food or go do this activity,” Tringali said.

“You don’t want to say ‘no’ and be a downer because it’s Ann Arbor; there’s so much to do.”

Ann Arbor also has a shortage of affordable housing. Sheetz said the high price of living in Ann Arbor is outrageous.

“The cost of living, including rent and bills and other groceries … just to get an education at a good school is kind of ridiculous,” Sheetz said.

The University of Michigan’s Office of Financial Aid website advises students to think ahead to the time they will begin to repay their student loans. The website also offers information on how to manage student loans after graduation, and the OFA offers walk-in appointments to help with financial planning.

Laura Rall, Rackham student and president of Affordable Michigan, will have taken out four student loans by the time she graduates with a master’s degree in May. She wrote in a statement to The Daily on behalf of herself, not Affordable Michigan, that she thought the University could play a bigger role in helping students financially plan and should put forth more effort in reaching out to students to discuss their loans and offer guidance.

“It’s easy for U-M to look

at the numbers and assume that because the majority of students come from wealthy family backgrounds, that students know and understand what they are doing with loans, but that is not always the case,” Rall wrote. “There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding loans and college finances and I do wish the University would take more action in educating and guiding students through the process.”

To help manage student loan debt, Smith said it is a good idea to talk to a financial adviser to create an overall financial picture. She said it is also important to set up an emergency fund before attacking student loan debt more aggressively.

“It’s very important to run the numbers and not hide from them,” Smith said. “It’s much more empowering to actually run the numbers, take a look at them, make a plan and start taking action towards that plan, even if it’s a very small amount each month.”

to stay in a part of their home that may t ypically be unoccupied.

The g uests don’t just provide a financial boon for their hosts. According to Airbnb data, visitors provide an economic boost to the g reater communit y, as they t ypically spend on average $110 per day at local restaurants and stores.

In a statement, Airbnb Midwest policy director Kelley Gossett said Airbnb was glad to help football fans find places to stay.

“It’s clear, both of these teams enjoy nationwide fan bases that will travel to see the game. Airbnb is proud to help facilitate that travel while providing an economic opportunit y for hosts and bringing revenue to the area,” Gossett said.

U-M football fan Casey Miranda traveled from Grand Rapids, Mich., and chose to stay with friends in an Airbnb for the weekend.

Miranda said the experience was more enjoyable than staying at a hotel.

“It’s been an awesome experience,” Miranda said. “We have g reat hosts; they’re amazing. Everything has been waiting for us, Michigan paraphernalia every where.

It was amazing.”

However, not all g uests said they preferred Airbnbs to traditional hotels. U-M football fan Bobby Cooke traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina and booked an Airbnb about five weeks in advance of his stay with several other g uests. He said he would t ypically try

to arrange a stay at a hotel but most had already been booked for the weekend.

“We chose an Airbnb just because we couldn’t find anything close to the downtown area,” Cooke said. “It was the only option we had. Normally, I would not go for that. I would go for something like a hotel or something closer to campus.”

He said the Airbnb he rented was inconvenient due to extra travel costs to get to campus.

“The Airbnb is about 30 minutes from here, which has not been very convenient because we’re having to Uber back and forth, and that’s expensive,” Cooke said. “I would say it’s been unremarkable at the most.”

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

TRANSFER From Page 2 “I feel like Northwood is kind of the only option, but the downfall is that it is on North Campus, and that’s not ideal for anyone who’s not an Engineering student,” Carlson added.

Baghdadchi wrote in his email that transfer students are given the freedom to pick the kind of housing that works for them.

“For all students across campus, space in residence halls and apartments is limited, so we don’t guarantee a room will be available,” Baghdadchi said. “‘Transfer students really have different needs based on where they are in their academic careers, and the kind of experience they are looking for. So in our process, transfer students

PETITION From Page 1 “Most of this applies to people who are no longer in jail or in a prison, people that have completed their sentences, that have completed their probation, that have completed their parole, but that still have those offenses on their record,” Rabhi said in an interview with The Daily.

“And that is problematic of course because when you apply for a job, when you apply for housing and you still have that crime on your record, it is nearly impossible to find a good job, or even to find good housing.”

Yet, even if Ann Arbor enacts these antidiscrimination regulations for housing companies, it’s unclear how city council will guarantee companies abide to the new protocol. City Councilmember Elizabeth Nelson, D-Ward 4, said ensuring housing companies do not discriminate can be difficult to enforce.

“The big challenge for us is enforcement,” Nelson said.

“So, any housing issue, we can make a rule about it, but how are we going to enforce it? We can make policies of anti-discrimination, but the question is, who’s going to come to us and say, ‘We experienced this, what’s the penalty?’ If I have a record and I’m going to rent an apartment and I get rejected, is there a process for me to go to the city and file a complaint? Is there a process for the city to impose some consequence on that landlord? That’s the challenge.”

Among the other bills in the package are measures that would expedite the otherwise lengthy and costly process of expungement.

There are many steps, such as notarizing an application and mailing copies to prosecutors and law enforcement, that prevent ex-offenders from even applying.

According to a 2019 study done by University of Michigan law professors Sonja B. Starr and J.J. Prescott, over 90 percent of people who qualify for expungement neglect to appeal their convictions.

Rabhi also noted how this is largely because expungement can currently cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars in legal fees. Rabhi said passing legislation on expungement would alleviate this problem.

“One of the biggest things is that a lot of people cannot afford to get their records expunged because it’s costly,” Rabhi said. “You have to go to an attorney and get them to help you, and obviously attorneys charge you for that, so the vast majority of people who are eligible to get their records expunged don’t.

And so one of the bills in the package creates an automatic expungement process, so that peoples’ records can be automatically expunged if they’re eligible, without them having to apply or petition for expungement.”

Rabhi also acknowledges

can browse online and select for themselves from what’s available.”

Koch commented on how students find a place to live for the following year during the fall of the previous year, wishing there was more transparency about that to transfer students.

“I think it’s very unusual that (in) Michigan and Ann Arbor in general, everybody knows where they’re living by mid-October,” Koch said.

“So when you’re accepted as a transfer student in February, you’re already months behind the game, and that expectation wasn’t made clear by the University.

At the same time, they don’t control when people get houses, like it’s not their job to regulate the off-campus housing market to make sure that transfer students can find a place.”

that in many cases, crimes like possession and sale of marijuana do not occur in a vacuum. Oftentimes, drugrelated crimes can occur in conjunction with other infractions — non-assaultive crimes or misdemeanors — a person may not have committed before, but that can permanently damage their record. According to Rabhi, the expungement package deals particularly with people who may only have committed one crime, like small time robbery, can be faced with dozens of various charges.

“Oftentimes what happens is, honestly — is the prosecutors overcharge,” Rabhi said. “They’ll find a bunch of different crimes that somebody did and they’ll heap them on.”

Rabhi used the personal example of his 2007 arrest for protesting the use of sweatshops in the production of U-M apparel. According to Rabhi, after he and a number of other protesters occupied a University building, he was faced with a multitude of various charges.

“They heaped up two misdemeanors on top of each other,” Rabhi said. “That’s what they do. And so this ‘One Bad Night’ bill, if I had been convicted of both misdemeanors, then those would count as one for the purposes of expungement.”

However, newly appointed Ann Arbor Police Chief Michael Cox said he does not know how much of an impact the new legislations would have on Ann Arbor, as cannabis has been “deemphasized” for almost 50 years within in Ann Arbor.

“Drugs in general have been deemphasized in a lot of ways, but some of the things that come around it, you know, whether the people who make money from it — not legally but illegally — they tend to do other things, too, whether it’s carry firearms illegally, maybe rob other people,” Cox said. “So, we still have to pay attention to that. I think personally, it just helps us focus more on real crime so to speak.”

Lily Tushman, LSA junior and president of the Prison Birth Project, is optimistic about the future of these bills, even though they might only affect a small number of people in Ann Arbor. She cited the fact that these effects would greatly aid people of color.

According to MLive, “black men age 18 to 24 are almost 10 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana offenses compared to white women that age, even though marijuana usages rates between the two groups are only fractionally different.”

“I think the expungement proposal is an important step towards addressing the racial disparities in marijuana charges and sentencing,” Tushman said. “Making it automatic also removes some of the cost and time barriers people face when they have to deal with the court system to get their record expunged.”

- Leah Graham contributed reporting to this article.

Opinion

4 — Friday, November 1, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

DIVYA GUMUDAVELLY | COLUMN

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RILEY DEHR | COLUMN

T

End the ban on gay blood

he confused and mildly embarrassed nurse rushed out of the tent.

“I’ve never seen this before.

Let me go get the doctor.”

The computer I was doing my health evaluation on the minute before now read, “Error.”

I had clicked through a few mundane questions to see if I could give blood in our high school’s annual blood drive, something of a senior class ritual.

“Male, Female, Other.”

Male.

“Are you on antibiotics?”

No. Then, it asked me a rather personal question.

“Have you been sexually active in the past twelve months?”

I thought it was an oddly kinky question for the Red Cross, but I answered honestly.

Yes. The computer then began to hit on me: “Were you sexually active with men or women?”

I knew it wasn’t a good sign that they were asking the question. But, I had recently learned to be proud of my gayness (a skill in rural Nebraska) and clicked the “Men” box with butterf lies in my stomach. Immediately, the computer punished my honesty with “Please wait for a nurse.”

Now, as I sat waiting for the doctor, I wished I would have lied. After 10 minutes, a young blonde woman in a crisp, white uniform walked into the tent. “I’m sorry it took so long, we’ve been swamped.” She looked at the computer and then down at me. I blushed at my answers and tried to hide my nervousness as I prepared myself for her reaction.

Luckily, she was sympathetic and explained to me the government’s ban on drawing blood from men who have sex with men. “It’s stupid. I know.” I nodded, pretending to listen as I panicked over what I was going to tell my friends and classmates waiting outside. She apologized and ushered me back out into the g ymnasium, temporarily converted into a makeshift blood bank. My friends and classmates f locked around me, curious as to why I

wasn’t giving blood after enthusiastically talking about it all week.

“I forgot I’m on antibiotics!” I stammered as I chose a suitable lie to save me from the embarrassing truth.

I felt like I had been punished for trying to do a self less deed.

Even so, I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation as I remembered an episode of “Degrassi: The Next Generation” (the one with wheelchair Drake) I had seen as an angsty tween that almost perfectly ref lected my situation. The synopsis of the episode Moonlight Desires reads, “Marco is upset when he discovers he is unable to donate blood at the blood drive because he is gay and then catches Dylan in bed with another g uy.” I couldn’t believe that my life had temporarily become a 2005 episode of a Canadian teen drama.

This is an archaic rule that harms more than helps

The situation eventually lost its humor though, as it became replaced by a feeling of disbelief. Why was the government banning a high schooler from trying to donate blood? The ban’s roots can be found in today’s decade of problematic nostalgia: the ’80s.

In order to stop the spread of AIDS, then a mysterious epidemic disproportionally affecting gay men, the federal government enacted a lifetime ban on drawing blood from men who have had sex with men, also known as MSM. Intended as a temporary policy, it became a permanent rule as the AIDS epidemic continued to rage on through the ’90s, killing hundreds of thousands. By 2015, the U.S. replaced its lifetime ban with a ban on men who had been sexually active with other men in the past 12 months. While it seems like a giant leap in the

right direction (12 months is a lot shorter than a lifetime), it barely increased the number of eligible donors and amounted to a lifetime ban for most gay men.

After the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016, Orlando’s LGBTQ community rushed to donate blood for their friends and family only to find themselves barred from doing so. They protested the ban and pushed the Food and Drug Administration to review it, but as the article states, the FDA ultimately decided to keep it in place after deciding there “wasn’t enough evidence supporting the change.”

While proponents of the ban tout it as necessary for public health, it is an archaic rule that harms more than helps.

With mandatory HIV screening for all donated blood, modern technolog y has made the odds of a contaminated donation going undetected astronomically small. A blood transfusion is needed every two seconds in the United States, and with only 38 percent of Americans eligible to donate under the current ban, and other rules, blood shortages have become a frequent issue. Lifting the ban would alleviate this issue and increase the donor pool by about 130,000, potentially saving up to 390,000 lives every year.

As nations like Russia use bans like ours to further discriminate against their LGBTQ communities, the concept of limiting blood donations from MSM has become less of a public health issue and more of a civil rights one. By needlessly “otherizing ” gay and bisexual men, the United States is continuing its tradition of making HIV a point on which to stigmatize our com mu n it y a nd p er p et u at e d a ng erou s s t ere ot y p e s . It i s t i me for s c ience t o d r ive t he p ol ic y b eh i nd t h i s i s s ue, not on ly sav i ng l ive s , but sav i ng s t udent s l i ke me ne e d le s s sh a me a nd hu m i l iat ion .

L i ke mu l let s a nd L ong D u k D ong , t he g over n ment ’s g ay blo o d ba n b elong s i n t he ’8 0 s .

Riley Dehr can be reached at rdehr@umich.edu.

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Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

T

A single narrative’s danger

he power of The power of storytelling lies storytelling needs in the fact that narratives no introduction. capture our hearts by first attracting our Stories are the brains.

As they intergenerational continue to be links that keep processed in culture alive and multiple cortexes, transcend our they stick with us existences beyond forever. the biological The pitfalls of reactions that this phenomenon hold us together. emerge when we Stories make us misuse it. While multidimensional DIVYA some may know creatures — human GUMUDAVELLY that these stories in the truest sense.

They also allow us to are fake or misrepresentative, transmit information that our subconscious may believe cannot be communicated them to be real, which in turn through charts or graphs. inf luences how we perceive We’ve used stories to shape and behave. and build perspectives, assemble and dismantle beliefs and inf luence and control behaviors over the course of history. But what happens when stories (plural) become story (singular), and a host of intersectional narratives and stories are reduced to one facet of an individual’s identity? While the power of storytelling can be explained by basic neuroscience, its tremendous effects on our As celebrated author perception and understanding of the world are the result of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie sociology. But both of these artfully describes, “The single elements provide insight as story creates stereotypes, and to why propagating a single the problem with stereotypes narrative is dangerous, is not that they are untrue, but specifically with regard to that they are incomplete. They today’s sociopolitical climate. make one story become the Storytelling is powerful only story.” Each individual because it incites emotion life contains a heterogeneous and empathy.

Words — mix of stories. If people are when presented as facts or reduced to one, they are information — are processed stripped of their humanity.

Though this point was by regions in the temporal lobe called Broca’s area made nearly 10 years ago, and Wernicke’s area. Here, the notion of perpetuating words are simply decoded a single story is relevant into their meaning. When amid the current political strung with emotions and climate, specifically with the distinct imagery however, platforms of President Donald the brain behaves completely Trump and Sen. Bernie differently. Then, the sensory Sanders, I-Vt. Both have cortex is activated. As a result, systematically reduced the multiple regions of the brain complexities of the American are utilized in processing political landscape by either a story. Word choice and fixating on the perils of the rhetoric can all inf luence the “other” or on the tyranny of extent to which information the banks. Both candidates is processed in our brains, have essentially disregarded making it more important storylines that complicate the to deliver comprehensive, core stance they are assuming multidimensional stories that and contribute to a larger are representative of people, political issue linked with and not just the idea of them. civility. Polarization limits

One-dimensional stories are often rooted in biases

our ability to understand how multiple narratives about issues from immigration to universal health care may be simultaneously true.

The value of multiple narratives is that the stories begin to form an interconnected web and offer dimensionality to complicated issues. They allow us to see a larger picture, one that is beyond any individual discourse or opinion. Civility requires individuals to take each other and the narratives they bear seriously, to be perceived as fully realized global citizens with identities, needs and beliefs that deserve to be accommodated. Stories come with an immense neurological power, one unlike any other method of communicating information. As a result, those with the privilege of presenting other peoples’ stories are morally bound to do so representatively.

When narratives are solidified as the ubiquitous norms, or policies of society, there is a cascade of effects unleashed in the form of bias, prejudice and discrimination, which becomes exceedingly difficult to overcome. While individuals can renounce their prejudices, they are inevitably vulnerable to the habits of the mind. Intentions are not impact, and ultimately, what is neurally engrained is achieved. Onedimensional stories are often rooted in biases, and when consistent, they help shape prejudiced mindsets. When these are the only narratives that are represented systemically, they become acts of discrimination that are passed down to further generations.

The molecular mechanism of storytelling demonstrates just how powerful stories can be. It is a uniquely human ability that we have, and when given the opportunity to represent stories systemically, it is important to make sure that we are encompassing of a variety of different dimensions.

Divya Gumudavelly can be reached at gumudadi@umich.edu.

ISABELLE SCHINDLER | COLUMN

F

The need for UN funding

rom preserving peace in war-torn countries to providing a forum for diplomacy and helping to build a more sustainable future, the United Nations is a critically important organization.

However, the U.N.’s ability to do this work is threatened because the United States is refusing to pay its share of the U.N. budget.

The secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, announced that the U.N. is facing a severe budget shortfall that will impact it in a many ways. He warned that the U.N. might not be able to continue to pay its staff members and will have to cut back on many important programs and services.

The U.N.’s annual budget is supposed to be funded by the 193 member states.

Unfortunately, many members have not paid their annual dues and are pushing the U.N. toward financial crisis.

The United States owes about $1.055 billion in past and present dues.

The Trump administration has been a major factor in the accumulation of these debts. President Trump has repeatedly targeted the U.N. budget and has tried to cut funding in the past. One of his main complaints is that the United States pays too high a percentage of the U.N. budget.

The real contribution to the U.N. of each country depends on GDP, population and other factors. As the nation with the highest GDP in the world, it is only reasonable that the United States is asked to supply the largest share of the U.N. budget.

Additionally, the argument that the United States pays too much for the U.N. is undercut

when looking at how much money the U.S. government spends on other things. The roughly $1 billion that the United States owes the U.N. is 0.1355 percent of the U.S. military’s $738 billion fiscal year 2020 budget. If we can commit so much money to our military, there is no excuse for not committing such a proportionately small amount to foster peace and prosperity around the world.

The United States is refusing to pay its share of the U.N. budget One of the most costly and disruptive cuts the U.N. is facing is the slashing of the hours when meetings can be held. International crises do not run on a 9-to-5 schedule.

If committees needed to meet after hours, they would have to do so without the necessary support staff, as there would be no money to pay for overtime.

One of the key global issues the U.N. works on is the fight against climate change. They have done everything from promoting sustainable development goals to hosting a youth climate summit with youth activist Greta Thunberg. The U.N. also runs other important programs, such as the World Health Organization, which helps fight the spread of disease. The ability to run these important programs is severely threatened by the

U.N.’s budget crisis.

In addition to withholding funds for the U.N. general budget, the U.S. is also withholding some funds for the U.N. peacekeeping program. The peacekeeping program is one of the most important U.N. initiatives, sending experts to promote peace in some of the world’s most volatile regions. The United States is supposed to provide over 28 percent of the annual peacekeeping budget. However, the United States is now only paying 25 percent. While this 3 percent difference may not seem like much, 3 percent can translate to a significant amount of money.

Moreover, even though the United States is asked to give the largest amount to the peacekeeping budget, other countries pay by contributing peacekeepers. In 2019, only 35 peacekeepers came from the United States. This is a minimal amount compared to many other nations, such as the 7,052 from Ethiopia and the 5,668 from Nepal. These peacekeepers put themselves in harm’s way, and at least 3,866 peacekeepers have been killed since the founding of the program in 1948.

As students, there are many things that we can do to try to push the United States to meet its full funding commitment to the U.N. You can call your congressional representative and ask them to commit to advocating for U.N. funding. You also can also join the University of Michigan UNAUSA club, which works to promote the work of the U.N. on campus.

Isabelle Schindler can be reached at ischind@umich.edu.

Arts

6 — Friday, November 1, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

GENDER & MEDIA COLUMN

MUSIC SINGLE REVIEW

Clara Scott: Playing the game of lifelong dress up CLARA SCOTT

Daily Gender & Media Columnist

GETTY IMAGES

‘DHL’ & the end of ‘Blonde’

circulated. The singles abandoned the sound of Blonde but tugged at the same ideas, most notably “Chanel” in which Ocean croons “My guy pretty like a girl / And he got fight I don’t know how to explain his return other than to stories to tell / I see both sides like Chanel.”

Frank released “DHL” two years following the release start where I found him: I discovered Frank Ocean while watching the VMAs when I was 13. He crooned “Thinkin of “Provider” on Blonded Radio and over three years since Bout You” seated on a rock on a stage that was dark save the debut of Blonde, almost the same span of time it took for for the light of a faux campfire — a tame departure for the him to follow up Channel Orange.

And “DHL”’s time and space only leaves Frank fans VMAs. I had no idea who he was, but his music was unlike anything I’d heard before, his airy neo soul unfamiliar to eager for more. From the get-go, the song is a significant my tween pop taste. I read his infamous open letter on departure from previous work. Whereas “Ivy” radiates tumblr, though I didn’t understand his love language yet. a contemplative aura, “DHL” is about the present. It I’d desperately like to say this was the moment I became a balances itself on warped, misshapen synths that chug and mesh into one another under woozy mumble raps. fan, but I didn’t know who I was at thirteen years old.

I needed Frank Ocean when I was 17 and still had no Former tracks and singles carried themselves on sparse, idea who I was. Blonde approached me my senior year breezy instrumentals with every note clear and apparent, of high school as my interiority strained between what I every lyric bare and vulnerable. “DHL” is not one of these wanted of myself and what other people wanted of me. songs. Beyond its sonic aesthetics, it presents Frank in a I waded in a normalcy that perceptions of my Arabness braggadocious mood. He doesn’t croon; he raps, and he permitted. My shyness was a membrane between who raps about “diamonds,” “Starbucks” and being “rich as I knew myself to be and a community where everyone fuck” as he’s “sellin’ records out the truck.” He no longer feels like his lover “see(s) me looked like me. Normalcy, as I like a UFO,” and he wants knew it, was the strangeness the world to know that he’s I felt around other people.

“Got my partner in the front, It was the way time passed been my BF for a month/ But like water through fingers Frank Ocean we been fuckin’ from the around the boys and girls Blonded jump.” who would never feel, never The flows themselves are know what I felt towards a bit woozy, almost fumbling them. The words, “Maybe I’m a fool / maybe I should move / and settle, two kids over each other as narratives of sex and money weave with a swimming pool / I’m not brave,” radiated through a story together. It never feels contrived though, and my headphones in the hallways. Blonde compacted the never messy or unfocused. It plays out almost like a set of inumerable situations and feelings that deviate from mantras “I got a pack, came from the DHL / Just caught up normalcy into an album that eschews such a concept, its with a pack” loops over and over again at the end. Rather ambiguity and duality part and parcel to the very sound it than pinpointing these moments individually, they gather together, layered to create a complex sound and energy. embodies.

Every piece comes together to usher in a new Frank Blonde, stylized “blond” on the cover, blurs differentiations of gender and sexuality into an ether of era that marks the end of Blonde. Debuting with the feeling, an internalized understanding of self through return of Blonded Radio after his “PrEP+” club night external love and reflection. It defines an era, its contents and two previews for new vinyl tracks, the single pushes carefully curated around an amalgamation of emotions a new age of Frank’s music. Whereas Blonde is strong felt in that four year gap between Blonde and Channel in its vulnerability, “DHL” exists in a period in which Orange. For a public that wanted more following his Frank expresses a need for artists to decide on their own popularity in 2012, Frank only found it appropriate to whether to be strong and vulnerable. The sparseness experience different things and create different music. and painstaking detail of Blonde is dissolved into beats Such a departure from the spotlight would leave most that better suit Frank’s current appreciation for the club artists forgotten and anticipation for new work dead. The scene. For an artist defined by the impact and meaning of opposite played and still plays true for Frank. His enigma his music, this is monumental, signifying not only a new breeds anticipation. Every track he drops is a landmark sound but a new reach. As someone who has grown both moment of force that needs reckoning. The year following from and through Blonde throughout college, I’m eager to Blonde’s release unfolded over Blonded Radio, and Frank see how the next project will define a new generation for singles dropped sporadically, unannounced but widely longtime fans and brand new ones.

DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer

DHL

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

Release Date: Friday, November 1, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

HELP WANTED

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis 31 Move like a hummingbird 32 Pan pooch 33 Peripatetic bell ringer 34 Breaks for sitters 38 “The Blacklist” star 39 Calif. barrio region 40 Jazz fan?

41 Problem in an ensemble

42 Tailgating sight 43 Stuck out 45 Seek out water 46 Actor/rapper Smith 48 Dovetail 49 First name in smelly romantics 51 __ Geo: cable channel 52 Denver-to-Vegas dir.

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Ed Sessa ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

11/01/19

11/01/19

BIOCHEM 212 TUTOR WANTED Text Judy (312)‑678‑6736

GO BLUE

DOWN 1 Place to go fly a kite 2 Like some hearings 3 Cause of purring?

4 Words of sympathy 5 Parts of gigs 6 Lemon finish 7 Follows directions?

8 Ban competitor 9 One in a jury box 10 Equivocate 11 They give lessons in French 12 Permits 13 Neutralize 14 Uplifting things 17 30-Across catchphrase 22 Trail mix?

23 Marvel doctor 25 Competed 26 Simon with songs 28 __ ride 29 Waikiki neckwear

TV REVIEW

TBS

Classifieds ACROSS 1 Kia sedan 7 Nincompoop 14 Made dapper, with “up” 15 Syrupy stuff 16 1957 title role for Michael Landon 18 Lays to rest 19 Recipient of unearned income, perhaps 20 Teammate of Babe 21 Lash with a bullwhip 22 Like jawbreakers 23 Mountain __: soft drinks 24 “Wheel” deal 25 November honorees 26 Range rovers?

27 Sub mission site 28 Law __ 29 Mekong River native 30 One on many covers since 1954 35 Showed the way 36 Cry 37 Some govt. hospitals 39 Eponymous musical revue of 1978 42 Downsides 43 1995 comet spotter Thomas 44 In a tussle 45 10-year-old adventurer who was 7 when she debuted in 2000 46 Group taking power by force 47 Sink 48 Othello, for one 49 Lacking color 50 Show that has appeared in various versions for six decades 53 “Pork fat rules!” chef 54 Smokey’s target 55 One way alternative?

56 Square-burgers server

There’s something really magical about being a different person for a day. Whether it’s just you but fancier or a complete disguise, dressing up in any way is generally a hoot, no matter the time of the year. Of course, with Halloween this week, I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot. What should I dress up as? What incredible costume could I take pictures of and post on Instagram, proving my loyalty to the holiday beyond simple recognition? Halloween has always been my favorite day of the year — I love spooky things, jack-o-lanterns and I probably have a medical-grade addiction to sugar that at this point in my life is no longer cute. But I realize, now, that the reason Halloween is so important to me is that it offers an excuse to break out of the conventions of everyday life, without anyone really caring. For one day of the year, you can be anything or anyone. It’s a day that’s full of potential and fun, and you don’t have to be a child to appreciate that.

In fact, I don’t think I really started to appreciate Halloween until I got a little bit older than its target demographic. I remember my mom helping me to hand-make my costumes as a child, with feather boas and bears and different slices of fabric strewn across our house for weeks before the special day.

The costumes she made for me were handed down to my siblings as they grew, and then to our younger cousins. Halloween was always a family affair for us.

But the joy of putting on my own costume that I had come up with myself and even bled on a little bit while I tried to sew it by hand was like something I had never experienced before. Somewhere in the middle school haze of adolescence, I was finally able to be what I really wanted to be, to dress up like a princess or Mother Earth or an ill-prepared bumblebee with a broken wing. I had an excuse to wear the makeup I wanted to, to dress like an adult when I was really

just a thirteen-year-old with dreams too big for her britches. Nonetheless, my love of Halloween developed as I grew up, instead of fading like I imagine most childrens’ do.

The thing is, as much as I love Halloween, the holiday excitement of looking how you dreamed you would is easily translatable into everyday life. Sure, I really go all out on October 31st, but I also dress the way that I want to for the rest of the year, now. I wear at least business casual on any given day. I really like dresses, doing my hair, makeup, looking nice and wearing nice things that I have picked out for myself.

It took me until almost high school, but I realized then that you didn’t have to wait until one day of the year to accept yourself as you wanted to look, not as the world wanted you to. For so long, I only dressed up when I had implied permission from others as to not draw suspicion or judgy glances when I came to class in heels and an elaborate braided hairdo. But what’s the point of saving all that energy for a certain time of year when you can integrate that joy into the mundanity of daily life?

I challenge you to try the same thing — to bring one part of Halloween or a costume or even something you wore for a special event into your normal day.

What I found with dressing up, and still continue to feel today, is that everything seems brighter when you’re happy with how you look. It might be a little bit uncomfortable and take a little longer in the morning, but the confidence and strength that comes with feeling happy in your own skin is worth it by far. This doesn’t just apply to clothes, or even anything I’ve suggested. It can start with small things, with that nice hairclip you like, or a perfect shade of lipstick, your favorite shoes that you’re worried you’ll ruin if you wear them too much. There isn’t only one day to pull out the stops from your look and make yourself truly happy on more levels than just the aesthetic.

The spirit of Halloween (no pun intended) is not meant to stay within 24 hours of the year — it can last as long as you want it to.

‘The Misery Index’ is a sorry go at a game show the player with the closest guess. The stars of “Impractical Jokers,” whose only purpose Daily Arts Writer appears to be adding some entertainment to an otherwise non-skillful game show, are divided A combination of “America’s Funniest Home between the teams. The contestant that outVideos” and game show prize money is how guesses their opponent moves to the final I would describe TBS’s “The Misery Index.” round with a shot at the grand prize of $30,000.

Relishing in the pain of others has always There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with this format, aside from the overall lack of been popular entertainment on television, “game” in the game show. “The Misery Index” but the game itself is dull. The questions lack boasts a talented cast from top to bottom: It’s variety and are nearly identical to one another. hosted by the always entertaining Jameela I would have stopped watching after the first Jamil, star of NBC’s “The Good Place,” and commercial break had I not been obligated to supplemented by James Murray, Brian Quinn, see the program through.

Not all is lost, Sal Vulcano and however, as the Joe Gatto, unlikely pairing better known as of Jamil and members of the the Tenderloins hilarious cast supplements what of “Impractical Series Premiere would otherwise Jokers” or, The TBS be a failed Tenderloins. experiment.

It Unfortunately, Tuesdays at 10 p.m. was the standout the clear performances of chemistry these individuals, between the not the questions, cast can only do that triggered the so much for the most laughter. weak concept Jamil’s capacity of the actual to remain relevant when she could have easily game.

The show’s creator, Andy Breckman, based been overpowered by four standout comedians the program around the card game “Shit speaks to her own talent.

If you are a fan of game shows, this is not for Happens.” Two contestants compete head-tohead for the chance to win money by correctly you. I would recommend sticking to “Ellen’s identifying how miserable an incident is. Each Game of Games” if you would like to see real event, from being breastfed until the age of comedic misery. If you like “Impractical nine to falling 30 f lights down an elevator shaft Jokers,” give this a shot — the show features and surviving, is rated by psychologists on a the same outrageous and cumbersome comedy. scale of one to 100 — the higher the number, Personally, I will not be spending next Tuesday the more painful and traumatic the experience. night watching “The Misery Index,” but if I The contestants must guess the number of ever am feeling bad about myself, this program each experience, and the prize money goes to will surely put things in perspective.

JUSTIN POLLACK

The Misery Index

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Sports

Friday, November 1, 2019 — 7

Michigan looking forward to season York bringing stability after injury BAILEY JOHNSON Daily Sports Writer

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Michigan coach Juwan Howard will be on the sidelines for the first time Friday for the Wolverines’ exhibition game.

CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer

On April 9 of last year, Jordan Poole, Ignas Brazdeikis and Charles Matthews all decided to forgo their remaining college eligibility and declare for the NBA Draft. From that moment on, the Michigan basketball program was launched into an offseason of uncertainty and overhaul.

John Beilein jumped to the professional ranks. Nine days later, Fab Five member Juwan Howard returned to Ann Arbor as the Wolverines’ head coach. From there, assistant coaches Luke Yaklich and DeAndre Haynes moved on, while Phil Martelli and Howard Eisley moved in. On July 6, Franz Wagner committed to Michigan — giving a needed boost on the wing. And finally, just two weeks ago, Howard landed his first five-star recruit, 2020 forward Isaiah Todd.

On Friday night, the Wolverines will finally play a basketball game.

Granted, that game is an exhibition against Saginaw Valley State. But, with all that’s taken place since its Sweet Sixteen loss to Texas Tech last March, Michigan is ready to tip-off.

“We’re really excited,” said

sophomore guard David DeJulius.

“There was a lot of talk around us, having a new coaching staff but we were just kinda mature about it. We just stayed down, stayed humble and worked hard.”

Even freshman guard Cole Bajema, who stayed committed to the program throughout the coaching search, is itching to get his first taste of gametime at Crisler Center.

“I’m definitely a little nervous,” Bajema said. “I feel like that’s normal for a first-year player though. Overall, I’m super excited.

I’ve been practicing since I got here in June, so it’s been a while.

I’m ready to get out there.”

With the exception of a sparselyattended open scrimmage last Thursday, the matchup against the Cardinals will be the first time fans get a glimpse of the newlook Wolverines under Howard.

Without as many pure scorers as a season ago, they should expect a Michigan squad heavily dependent on defensive intensity, especially in the early going.

“Our identity is going to be extremely competitive,” Howard said. “We’re going to play hardnosed basketball, where we defend… Our defense has picked up strong in practice but offensively,

we still have a lot of work to do and some things to clean up.”

It will likely take some time for the Wolverines to sort out the offensive kinks with Howard’s new system. Losing Wagner, who’s been praised for his offensive skillset, to a broken hand before the season even starts, doesn’t help that cause.

How smoothly that offensive transition goes though is not a question that will be answered tomorrow night. Michigan will undoubtedly put up a lopsided number against a team that finished 6-14 last season in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

Still, Howard can at least glean some details from his team’s performance.

“We’re going to treat it as a regular season game,” Howard said. “I’m not looking at it as a game that doesn’t count. We’re going to compete like we’re playing against the number-one ranked team in college basketball.”

For a team loaded with new faces and revised expectations, any game is an opportunity to prove themselves.

“Am I going to have some butterflies? Of course I will,” Howard said. “But I am going to be pumped.”

Cam York wasn’t happy.

He sat in the press box, five floors above the ice, watching his team warm up below him to finish the series against Lake Superior State.

A week and a day earlier, against Clarkson, the freshman defenseman played 27 minutes in his Michigan debut. But he suffered an ankle injury in that game, and he missed the next game — and the two that followed.

So, on Oct. 19, York’s face said it all as he sat with the rest of Michigan’s non-dressers. He wanted to be down with his team, and the disappointment was evident.

In York’s two years at the U.S. National Team Development Program, he played in 122 games and never missed more than two games in a row. In the first month of his career with the Wolverines, York missed three games straight.

Michigan coach Mel Pearson knew that York had never suffered an injury of this type before — the kind where your pain tolerance and confidence dictate whether you can or can’t play. Finding the balance between healing and pushing to get back in the lineup is tricky for anyone, and it was especially tricky for the 18-year-old freshman dealing with it for the first time.

“I think any time you have your

first injury of any sort and you’ve never missed games before, you just don’t know how to handle it and the pain tolerance,” Pearson said Wednesday. “Because I’m having some soreness, should I play, should I not play? Obviously, he had a lot of people tell him a lot of different things, but he’s the only guy who can tell how he felt.”

Once York was cleared to get back on the ice, it wasn’t a smooth path to returning to the lineup, either.

“It was a lengthy process,” York said. “It was only two weeks, but it felt like a year. … Mentally, it sucks just because you want to be out there with your brothers battling and you’re stuck watching. That was tough.”

The week leading into the Lake Superior State series, York skated once on his own and practiced partially with the team before deciding he wasn’t fully ready to be back. It took another week for him to test things again — this time on the Wednesday before Western Michigan came to town last Friday.

Two practices later and two full weeks after the injury, York’s name was called as one of Michigan’s starters against the Broncos on Oct. 25. By the end of the night, York had picked up his first — and second — collegiate points with two assists and had a plus-3 rating in the Wolverines’ 4-0 win.

“Great, excellent, just so smart, so smooth and so easy,” Pearson said after the game. “He got

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily

Freshman defenseman Cam York missed three games this month.

through the game pretty good, we’ll see how he feels, we’ll see if he can go back to back, but it’s hard.

You haven’t played many games and you have to come off an injury.

I thought he was a warrior and he did a great job.”

The following night, when Michigan went to Kalamazoo to face Western Michigan on the road, York remained in the starting lineup. Pearson had been unsure how he’d do in back-to-back games, but as the game began, it was clear that the concern for York wasn’t his physical readiness to play.

The road crowd rattled the freshman early, and it took him most of the first period to settle in. But by the time the Wolverines were on the power play in the second period, York was back to his usual self and picked up his third point of the year — a secondary assist on senior forward Will Lockwood’s power-play goal.

“They had some interesting chants that were coming at me, but it was fun,” York said. “Every time you get to go into another Michigan school’s barn, it’s always special.”

York still isn’t 100 percent, but he got a full week of practice this week in preparation for his second road trip — this time to No. 13 Ohio State. The atmosphere at the Schottenstein Center is unlikely to replicate Lawson Ice Arena, but starting a road swing with a volatile crowd in Kalamazoo isn’t a bad thing as it set a high bar for what young players like York should expect on the road.

As Michigan tries to get its first road sweep since Jan. 2018 this weekend, the stability York brings will be key for the Wolverines.

“He just adds so much, just as far as breakouts,” Pearson said Wednesday. “He’s so smooth, he makes a great first pass, so he’s going to take a lot of pressure off of us in our own zone and then on the power play, he’s the quarterback.

“He is the quarterback of the power play and he just settles everything down. To have him available is — can’t put a price on it.

It’s huge.”

How do you build a Division I athlete? Just ask the novice rowing team LANE KIZZIAH Daily Sports Writer

What makes a Division I athlete?

Enthusiasm for improvement, a mindset for work, physiology — one thing is noticeably absent from Dan Harrison’s list: any skill in the sport.

This year, the majority of the 36 novice rowers on the Wolverines’ team have no experience with an oar. While this isn’t unheard of for collegiate rowing, Harrison, Michigan’s novice rowing coach, has led a concerted effort over the past few years to recruit inexperienced athletes from across the state.

Harrison and his coaching staff travel throughout Michigan, going to high school tournaments and practices in every sport, looking for their next championship boat.

Getting the word out through coaches and even the current Michigan rowers, Harrison finds driven high school high school athletes and encourages them to check out the team.

The theory behind the strategy is that Michigan is looking at a pool of untapped potential — future DI rowers who’ve never gotten the opportunity to get on the water.

“I think the reason it’s such a big walk-on opportunity is that it’s not a sport you can just pick up as a little kid,” said assistant coach Liz Tuppen. “You can’t just walk outside your house and go play. It’s not offered in all communities and so that’s why it’s an opportunity later at a place like Michigan where athletics is so prominent and well supported.”

The sport does come with a hefty price tag. A competitive boat alone can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 — a cost most high school athletic programs can’t swing, particularly in lower socioeconomic areas. There are

just 18 high school programs across the state, leading Harrison to look elsewhere for new talent.

Even if kids do have access to a program, very few start rowing before their freshman year because of how physically taxing it can be. For those not starting until college, it’s easy to make up the ground.

“I think within the state, there are a lot of athletes who have that physiology and just haven’t found their sport yet,” Harrison said. “They might be playing basketball, but just have too much slow-twitch.

They might be running cross country, but they’re six feet tall. They should probably be rowers.”

Six-footone freshman Olivia McMullen fit the bill perfectly. A former three-sport athlete, McMullen heard about the opportunity from her high school volleyball coach. She knew she wasn’t going to get the option to continue with either of her first loves — volleyball and basketball — collegiately, but she didn’t want to give up hope of being a Division-I athlete.

She already had the height and athleticism, and after talking to Harrison, she decided to give rowing a try.

“I love that you have individual goals and you’re trying to get faster individually, but it’s so much of a team sport too,” McMullen said. “It’s just a cool sport and I just couldn’t wait to try it out.”

But, it takes much more than the right physique to do well on Michigan’s team. As physically demanding as rowing is, it may be more a test of determination than strength. Repeating the same motion over and over, perfectly in sync with the other seven athletes in your boat, takes willpower, teamwork and a strong competitive drive — all things McMullen learned from

(Rowing is) not a sport you can just pick up as a little kid.

ALEC COHEN/Daily

The Michigan rowing team recruits athletes who haven’t rowed for its novice team as a way of getting around socioeconomic barriers to entering the sport.

her previous team experiences.

When she made the decision to try collegiate rowing, McMullen spent the rest of her senior year building up her fitness using a training plan Harrison gave her.

Counterintuitively, he advised her against one thing: joining her high school’s rowing team.

“We want them to be a part of their (original) teams,” Harrison said. “I think a big part of it is it’s important to be part of your community, be part of the program that you were with.

To abruptly switch away from your team, I don’t think is a great practice and we preach team here, so it would be pretty hypocritical for us to say, ‘We want you to abandon the teammates you’ve had for the last three years for this one

pursuit,’.”

Beyond that aspect, there’s an argument to be made about form.

Harrison doesn’t want to his future rowers developing poor technique before coming to Ann Arbor. Rowing is an extremely technically refined, repetitive sport — once bad habits are learned, they’re hard to break.

When Harrison meets his team at the first day of practice, he wants to be working with a clean slate.

In fact, the new novices don’t even touch an oar on the first day. Instead, they do a twomile run and circuit workout.

While Harrison is looking to see who stands out, he knows a team isn’t built in a day.

“When it does get challenging, that is when you see the true

With rowing, what you put in is what you get out.

character of someone,” Harrison said. “When the fatigue builds up, when we’re doing lots of volume, it’s dark out, that’s when you see the true character of the rowers come out.”

Understandably, not all the novices make it through. As winter season gets into full gear with demanding indoor workouts, at least a few novices each year decide rowing isn’t for them. In Harrison’s mind, one thing differentiates the ones who stay from those who don’t: an enthusiasm, almost love, for hard work.

“There’s definitely a level of motivation and adherence to the idea of excellence (at Michigan),” Harrison said. “When you want to set that standard, they’re really excited about it and it’s not intimidating. Being a Michigan student athlete is a big deal. The expectation is high and you don’t have to sell that. It’s just known.

So, when people join, they understand what they’re getting

into.”

For those who stick it out, the rewards are worth the work. Last year’s top novice eight came in first at the Big Ten Championships and some members of that boat are already starting to make a name for themselves on the varsity team.

Sophomore Elizabeth Schlyer rowed in the second varsity eight at the largest race of the season, the Head of the Charles.

Harrison has seen many of his former novice athletes climb the ranks of the varsity team, starting in one of the lower boats and working their way up to the top eights, becoming team leaders and even reaching All-American status. While this may seem daunting to someone joining the team, novices like McMullen aren’t scared off by the challenge.

“With rowing,” McMullen said, “what you put in is what you get into it is what you’ll get out.”

And McMullen is all in.

Sports

8 — Friday, November 1, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Scattered thoughts ahead of the stretch run

As Michigan prepares for its last four games of the season, The Daily lays out some random thoughts

T

he thoughts are scattered. Let’s get right to it.

1. I’m not sure I’d rush to anoint Hassan Haskins the bellcow back just yet. Haskins’ 20-carry, 148-yard performance against Notre Dame was revelatory — it was MAX the highest MARCOVITCH rushing total by a Michigan back since Karan Higdon tallied 156 yards 419 days ago. But Zach Charbonnet continues to quietly pace himself as the second-best freshman running back in school history. Tru Wilson’s pass-protection (and rush prowess!) make getting a handful of snaps absolutely worthwhile. Not to mention, save a Higdon-esque back in a Higdon-esque 2018 situation, Jim Harbaugh tends to shy away from workhorse backs.

An aside: It’s unfathomable to me that this staff ever thought Haskins should be a linebacker.

2. This would seem an opportune week to get Dylan McCaffery and/or Joe Milton some quality time. Everything now should be viewed through the lens of gearing up for Ohio State. There is no world in which the Wolverines are best positioned to compete against the Buckeyes if Shea Patterson is, in any way, ailing. Not to mention, the McCaffery/Milton battle will be “a thing” quite soon — might as well have some

real-game, semi-meaningful snaps to harken back to.

Speaking of hiding in a shell until Ohio State …

3. It’s not hard to imagine Michigan’s offense dialing up a relatively vanilla gameplan.

This rushing attack seems to be real, and not rooted in much deception. If the Wolverines have anything up their sleeves, they surely won’t pull it out in College Park against a reeling Maryland team. There are more important games coming soon.

Run the ball 45 times. Control the clock. Win by a few touchdowns. Get out healthy.

4. Snap counts are not publicly available, but Dax Hill should continue to see them rise. You aren’t beating Ohio State unless you match — or at least mitigate — its speed.

It’s no secret Hill will be an asset in doing so. Cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich practically foamed at the mouth this week when asked whether Hill could play corner for him. It’s time to gradually turn the keys over to the kids. Keeping with that metaphor, Hill is the Golden Child.

5. Zordich also said this week he saw a real team hiding under … whatever’s going on in Maryland. “I think they’re scary, because I think there’s a lot of talent there.

I watched the Howard game, just got done watching the Syracuse game, they’ve just missing a click somewhere,” he said. “…Underneath whatever happened to them, there’s a good football team underneath that.

We just have to come out of the locker room swinging and get ready to play a good game.”

The McCaffery/ Milton battle will be A Thing.

ALEC COHEN/Daily

The Michigan football team beat Notre Dame last week and is expected to win easily on Saturday when it goes to College Park to play a reeling 3-5 Maryland

Is he being diplomatic? Absolutely. Do I believe him? Not entirely. Is there at least a possibility this staff is a hint more concerned than the general public about going on the road and playing a team with nothing to lose? Yes. To that point ...

6. Quarterback Tyrell Pigrome appears likely to play Saturday. Ann Arbor native Josh Jackson will also certainly have some added incentive to play well. Neither of them should stoke fear in a Michigan defense that has held Ian Book to 2.9 yards per attempt. But,

again, weirder things have happened.

7. Ronnie Bell’s injury has been kept mysteriously under the radar this week. Harbaugh did not entertain an update Monday. The media (yes, fingers pointed inward) have offered little interest. Call me crazy, but I think losing your leading receiver — in both catches and yards — during the stretch run of the season should cause some concern. Perhaps Bell will suit up Saturday and none of it will matter. Regardless, that’s a concerning development worth monitoring.

8. Is Josh Ross healthy?

Run the ball 45 times. Control the clock. Win by a few (TDs).

Do we have an answer as to whether he will re-assume a major role? Can he possibly play with Cam McGrone?

Is this all weirdly quiet? It’s relatively clear that McGrone just Wally Pipp’d his elder at the MIKE linebacker spot, but Ross is not the kind of player worth deliberately alienating.

Finding a way to get both on the field seems feasible, and Don Brown has never shied away from too much speed or physicality.

I think those thoughts are scattered enough for today.

Should the Wolverines take care of business on the eastern sea-

board this weekend (stunningly inconsiderate to traveling student newspapers to add a team to the Big Ten that geographically does not belong, but I digress), we’ll all be gearing up for an emotion-filled MichiganMichigan State game soon. The Spartans appear on the verge of catastrophe, but, as we all know, that all goes out the window when Mark Dantonio gets his annual shot at Harbaugh.

First, though, a leisurely trek down to College Park.

Can (Josh Ross) possibly play with Cam McGrone.

Marcovitch can be reached at maxmarco@umich.edu or on Twitter @Max_Marcovitch.

What to watch for: No. 14 Michigan at Maryland THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Editor

For Michigan football, the next three weeks should serve as a steady march to the one that really matters — No. 3 Ohio State’s visit to Ann Arbor on November 30.

Until then, it’s a simple matter of proving that the Wolverines’ last six quarters — in which they’ve outscored a pair of top-10 opponents, 59-21 — are no mirage and that maybe, somehow, this is the year Michigan can finally take down the vaunted Buckeyes.

Against Michigan State and a quietly 6-2 Indiana, that will be a challenge. Both teams, despite their flaws, carry enough weaponry to challenge the Wolverines’ presumed growth, even in losses.

Against Maryland, there should be no such troubles. Once the surprise of early September behind an unexpectedly explosive offense, the Terrapins have lost five of their last six games, their starting quarterback and any positivity this season once carried.

But in Michigan’s three road games this season, reality has rarely matched lofty expectations. Even as a 20-point favorite at Illinois three weeks ago, the Wolverines nearly squandered a 28-point second-quarter lead, leaving Champaign with more questions than answers.

As Michigan looks to avoid doing the same in College Park on Saturday, The Daily breaks down what to watch for: Michigan’s offensive balance All offseason, the promise for Michigan’s offense was “speed in space.”

The Wolverines’ pound-itdown-your-throat, pro-style offense from Jim Harbaugh’s first four years was dismissed as the antiquated style of football that could win you 10 games, but carried a capped ceiling. With Shea Patterson under center and a trio of supremely talented junior receivers catching the ball, the personnel was perfect

to install a spread offense and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, newly arrived from Alabama, was just the man to carry it out.

So, naturally, Michigan’s run/ pass split in last week’s 45-14 win over Notre Dame — easily its most impressive performance of the season — was 14 pass attempts, 57 carries. That game, of course, carried the caveat of starting in a torrential downpour and finishing with the Wolverines running out the clock on a shocking blowout.

The trend, though, has footing in the beginning of Michigan’s recent turnaround.

After attempting 12 passes and six carries in the first quarter against Penn State two weeks ago, the Wolverines ran more times than they passed in the second half, even as they attempted to climb out of a 21-0 hole.

Against Maryland, the final split will likely match last

week’s imbalance regardless of gameplan, thanks to game script. But in the first quarter, before the game devolves into a blowout, watch for Michigan’s new-meets-old offensive identity.

Hassan Haskins’ growth At the center of Michigan’s reborn faith in its run game is redshirt freshman running back Hassan Haskins.

All season, the headlines — at least when it comes to the Wolverines’ running backs — have surrounded Zach Charbonnet, the freshman sensation whose nine touchdowns are tied-most for a Michigan freshman. And Charbonnet, regardless of how this season ends, is the future at the position.

But despite Charbonnet’s 4.9 yards per carry, Michigan’s coaches have continually expressed a desire to share the workload at running back. The problem through five games was

that no one stepped up.

Tru Wilson broke his hand in the season-opener and has struggled to regain form. Christian Turner lost the coaching staff’s faith in pass protection, regained it and started fumbling. Ben VanSumeren has nine carries for 20 yards.

Now, in Haskins, the Wolverines finally seem to have found a viable second option, punctuated by two 100-yard performances in his last three games.

And that, as good as Charbonnet may be, is what makes running 50 times a game possible.

Can the defense get its second shutout of the year?

Normally, in this section, I write something about what Michigan can prove going forward.

The problem is, playing Maryland doesn’t provide the opportunity to do much of

that. The Terrapins are missing starting quarterback Josh Jackson and have scored more than 17 points just twice in their last six games.

To really prove something against Maryland, the Wolverines will have to do something that’s eluded them in back-to-back impressive performances: avoid mistakes and shut out the opposition.

And sure, the Terrapins’ offense isn’t the same as Penn State’s or Notre Dame’s, but neither is Illinois’ and Michigan gave up 25 points to the Fighting Illini.

The common thread between all three of those games has been minor defensive lapses — such as the missed communication on Penn State’s game-winning touchdown — that sullied the final scores of otherwiseshutdown showings.

Doing the same thing against Maryland won’t spell disaster.

Winning 49-0 or 49-14 means little in the grand scheme of

things. Doing the same thing a month from now — or even against Indiana’s potent offense — could bring the same ending as it did in State College.

Score Prediction Michigan, as has been established by now, should have little trouble taking care of Maryland. The question for the Wolverines is where Saturday afternoon falls on the spectrum of a 42-25 escape against Illinois to a 52-0 rout over Rutgers.

Given the dominance this team has displayed on both sides of the ball over its last six quarters, I’m taking the latter.

Prediction: Michigan 45-3

BY THE NUMBERS

Michigan football

57/14

Michigan’s run/ pass split in the rain against Notre Dame last weekend.

302

Hassan Haskins rushing yards in Michigan’s last three games.

10 Defensive categories in which Michigan ranks in the top 25 nationally.

1.59

Yards per carry allowed

by Michigan over its last five games.

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Redshirt freshman running back Hassan Haskins ran for 149 yards last Saturday against Notre Dame as the Wolverines dominated the Irish, 45-14.