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Psi Upsilon criticized for Nassar sign on game day
Fraternity banner involving convicted felon draws backlash on social media
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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson disucsses thre state’s new strategy to redistricting in Weill Hall Monday afternoon.
Michigan’s Secretary of State discusses new approach to redistricting issues
Jocelyn Benson, experts discuss strategies which focus on ‘Communities of Interest’ SUNSKRITI PARANJAPE For The Daily
In November 2018, Michigan voters amended the Michigan Constitution by passing Proposal 2, which places legislative and congressional redistricting in the hands of a 13 member Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Monday night, the Ford School of Public Policy hosted a panel discussion with Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State, and other experts to discuss this new approach to redistricting and particularly focused on the role of “Communities of Interest” within this framework. COIs are a new concept for Michigan redistricting and
are described in Proposal 2 as communities that “share cultural or historical characteristics or economic interests, and do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.” They are high on the list of priorities in drawing new districts, after equal population, compliance with the Voting Rights Act and contiguity. The panel was moderated by Nancy Wang, executive director of Voters Not Politicians, a ballot initiative to end gerrymandering in Michigan. She began by touching on the motivations of Constitutional Amendment Proposal 2. “2018 was a historic election
for lots of reasons,” Wang said. “One big one was two and a half million citizens across the state of Michigan from all political parties, all across the state, voted in favor of Proposal 2, to take politicians out of our redistricting process. To make Michigan’s days as one of the most gerrymandered in the entire country, no more. And to put in its place a new, citizenled process.” Benson then delivered her opening remarks. She thanked the other panelists for their expertise and emphasized that she viewed her office from the point of view of an academic rather than a politician. “I know as an academic the best way to approach something is to collect data
and make informed decisions based on that,” Benson said. Benson further explained how important it is that the commission be independent, citizen-led and non-partisan in actuality. “This is not the time to take a victory lap,” Benson said. “This is the time to dig in and continue and really get to work in ensuring that this commission, that millions of citizens envisioned and made a reality, is a success. And we define success in our office as ensuring the process itself is truly citizen-led, is truly independent and non-partisan and is transparent every step of the way.” See REDISTRICTING, Page 3
On football game days at the University of Michigan, bed sheets hanging on the fronts of fraternity houses, spray painted with jokes about the visiting football team, are common. But last Saturday during the Michigan-Michigan State matchup, the Psi Upsilon fraternity at the University displayed one that many students deemed insensitive. The sign read, “ You can’t touch us @LarryNassar,” referencing the former MSU physician and USA national g ymnastics team doctor convicted of sexually assaulting over 250 young women between 1992 and 2016. Neither Psi Upsilson’s national headquarters nor the chapter’s leadership responded to The Daily’s request for comment by the time of publication. Saturday afternoon, Central Michigan
University senior Kirsten Lovely posted a tweet which included a picture of the banner. At the time of publication, the tweet had 875 retweets and more than 5,200 likes. Though Lovely does not attend either school, she wrote the “fans can poke fun at each other, but not at the expense of hundreds of survivors.” In an interview with The Daily, Lovely said she was not in Ann Arbor on the day of the game but saw a picture of the banner on an Instagram story. Lovely is involved in a group at CMU that runs a survivor crisis hotline and has had training on sexual aggression and survivor issues. She said she was familiar with the Nassar case and decided to post about the banner on Twitter because it bothered her. “I feel like there’s a lot of heat that goes into the (Michigan-Michigan State) game,” Lovely said. “We can make fun of each other and have banter See BANNER, Page 3
Students for Choice discussion LSA student loses emphasizes reproductive justice transferred GI GOVERNMENT
bill, faces debt Child of U.S. Navy veteran owes 20k after benefits were suddenly revoked KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
LSA junior Paige Dotson, a child of a U.S. Navy veteran, was only able to afford college because she was eligible for benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill as the dependent of a veteran. But two years ago, her benefits were unexpectedly revoked, leaving her $20,000 in debt, the Chicago Sun-Times originally reported on Nov. 8th. Paige’s father, Russell Dotson, served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, both reserve and active duty, and was deployed to war zones six times. When he initially enlisted, he gave the military a deduction from his salary towards the Montgomery GI bill, which covered a college bachelor’s degree. The transition to a Post-9/11 GI bill was signed into law in 2008 with an extended applicability to pay for graduate degrees or trade school and be transferable to dependants. According to Russell, this was a critical change for many officers. However, for him and others who had served in the long-term, Dotson had to re-enlist for another four years to qualify. He did so with the intent to transfer these benefits equally between his son and Paige. “It seems a little wrongheaded
to go to somebody who has already served 16, 18 years, and say ‘hey, we’re changing this GI bill you already paid for, the one that you gave us $1,200 for, to this new GI bill,” he said. “However, I know that you’ve served 16, 15, 10 years, we’re going to make you serve four more, and then you’ll be able to transfer it to your kids.” Paige enrolled at DePaul University in 2017 after her father finished the fouryear commitment, excited to explore life past her hometown of Birch Run, Michigan. She immediately used the GI Bill to enroll in the school and subsidize the high living cost in Chicago. When she didn’t receive her living stipend in the second quarter of her freshman year, she called the Veteran Affairs National Office and was told she was no longer eligible to receive benefits and would have to repay $20,000 to the government, including interest. She received student support services to enroll in the next quarter of her freshman year but took out extra loans to continue her sophomore year. “On the military end, they said we gave you all this money, you’re no longer eligible retroactively so you owe all that money back,” Paige said.
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See VETERAN, Page 3
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Panelists answers questions on origins of movement, sex education SAINI KETHIREDDY For The Daily
The Students for Choice organization at the University of Michigan hosted a panel on reproductive justice for a group of about 35 students on Monday night at the Ford School of Public Policy. Emily Peterson, lawyer and professor of sociolog y and women’s studies, began the discussion by explaining the origins of the term “reproductive justice.” “We all, regardless of
what our geopolitical boundaries are, have innate human rights,” Peterson said. “So they took that idea from the Human Rights Declaration from the UN and kind of encapsulated some of those concepts into a (reproductive justice) framework. But it was really founded by women of color, screaming you really need to be inclusive.” Community member Cassy Jones-McBryde, the first Black organizing program coordinator for Planned Parenthood, elaborated on the impact
of Black people on reproductive justice. “Faye Wattleton was the first Black President of Planned Parenthood,” Jones-McBryde said. “She, back in the early ‘90s… helped center the discussion around Black people having access to reproductive support.” After discussing its history, Peterson went on to define reproductive justice as having to do with more than just reproductive health. “You need to acknowledge that as many
people that tried not to reproduce, some were supposed to reproduce,” Peterson said. “Some have not had any control at all ever… it’s a very inclusive phrase for all types of recognition of bodily autonomy around reproduction.” Kate O’Connor, fourthyear graduate student of American Culture, said introducing universal health care to all will help alleviate fears of expenses that sway women away from reproducing. See REPRODUCTIVE , Page 3
OLIVIA CELL/Daily Guest speakers with different experiences in reproductive health related fields discuss reproductive justice in Weill Hall Monday evening.
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ASHA LEWIS/Daily State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor., discusses renewable energy laws at the Powering Michigan Forward Town Hall at Tappan Middle School Monday.
Politicians promote adoption of solar energy, talk city benefits
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, Senator Jeff Irwin lead discussion on sustainbility NEETI BHUTADA For The Daily
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi and state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, discussed the implications of solar energy generation Monday at a town hall meeting. More than 50 community members gathered to provide input on recent legislation regarding solar energy usage. Irwin began the event by explaining the background of clean energy and defining the concept of “net metering.” “What (net metering) basically meant is that if you wanted to generate energy at home for a solar panel or something else and you plug this energy back into the grid, the utilities would net the energy use,” Irwin said. “If you were generating more energy than they were using, they would bank it. If you were using more Sudoku Syndication Sudoku Syndication than you were generating, you’d
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They have also made the payback future. Afreekans Jr. said the Senior Opinion Editors: Emily Considine, Krystal Hur, Ethan Kessler, Miles of a solar energy investment bill eliminating the 1 percent Stephenson, Erin White more unpredictable, leading to cap extends benefits to more MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS uncertainty about investing, and low income individuals and Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com have decreased the price paid for individuals of color. Senior Sports Editors: Anna Marcus, Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Mark Calcagno, Theo Mackie, Tien Le “I think that in terms of the excess power. Assistant Sports Editors: Bailey Johnson, Bennett Bramson, Connor Brennan, “The long-term goal is to bills that I really like, I really like Jacob Kopnick, Jorge Cazares, Rian Ratnavale unshackle the Michigan residents the House Bill 5145, the one that ARYA NAIDU and VERITY STURM from fossil fuels,” Irwin said. “It’s eliminates the 1 percent cap,” Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com pretty absurd that we continue to Afreekans Jr. said. “Because Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam rely upon fuels that we import to if only 1 percent of people are Della Fera, Trina Pal Arts Beat Editors: John Decker, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, meet our energy needs. It would benefitting from the net metering Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan be much more environmentally cap that utilities companies have wise and in the long-term much out, it’s not really for the state. It’s ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com more economically wise if we just for a few select people…and Senior Design Editor: Sherry Chen were to develop and invest in that doesn’t really mean people home-grown clean renewable of color or people of low income.” ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN After the lecture portion of sources.” Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com In addressing these problems, the event wrapped up, Rabhi and Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Allison Engkvist, Danyel Tharakan Rabhi discussed the Energy Irwin answered questions about Assistant Photo Editors: Miles Macklin, Keemya Esmael, Madeline Hinkley, Freedom Package and Powering the need for emergency off-grid Ryan McLoughlin Michigan Forward Package energy sources in major buildings, — two sets of bills to tackle the importance of wind power in ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com resistance to solar energy use states like Michigan and the cost Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors in the community. Through the of energy for electric vehicles. Jay Nugen, a do-it-yourself Energy Freedom Package, more http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ SILAS LEE and EMILY STILLMAN conservative-minded libertarians hobbyist who has a passion for Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com may be drawn to the idea adopting solar energy sources in Senior Copy Editors: Dominick Sokotoff, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer of personal choice and his house, posed a question about CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO freedom of generating how DTE would benefit if the Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com entire state of Michigan were to power, Rabhi said. Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot, Samantha Cohen In the Powering adopt solar energy. Irwin said DTE would have Michigan Package, there ELI SIDER MEDIUM HARDare three bills. House the opportunity to fill the need Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim Bill 5143 discusses the for power grid backups. “I think there is a need for the importance of fair-value NA’KIA CHANNEY and CARLY RYAN Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com pricing by requiring grid to be managed and there Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria the MPSC to establish a will probably also be a need for Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan tariff that analyzes the power to be backed up and I think Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, Maya Mokh distribution of solar energy they have an opportunity to fill and compensates users on that need,” Irwin said. “They CATHERINE NOUHAN the net amount of energy could be the ones who lead this Managing Podcast Editor that they use. House Bill transition and I think there could MADALASA CHAUDHARI and HANNAH MESKIN Managing Social Media Editors 5144 eliminates the inflow/ be a tremendous amount for their Senior Social Media Editor: Allie Phillips outflow calculation in order shareholders to benefit if they to make paybacks for solar were to lead this transition for investment much more us.” In an interview with The Daily predictable. Finally, House MOLLY WU Creative Director Bill 5145 eliminates the after the event Rabhi and Irwin ZELJKO KOSPIC RYAN KELLY current 1 percent cap on noted their short-term and longSpecial Projects Manager Sales Manager the number of individuals term goals in making sure that ANITA MICHAUD ROBERT WAGMAN allowed to generate and the utility companies realize that Brand Manager Marketing Consulting Manager more people must start adopting contribute clean energy. Craig Afreekans Jr., a solar power. “I think it’s two-fold — one is fellow for the organization The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during “Friends of the Earth” reclaiming power for the people the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is and (the second) is ensuring that is studying community © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com mapping to discover who we have a clean and sustainable Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription is contributing to a cleaner energy future,” Rabhi said.
withdraw from that bank… and pay them for the excess.” The issue at hand is that major utility companies such as DTE are pushing for the shut-down of net metering, Irwin said. Irwin elaborated on the inability of individuals to adopt solar energy due to the desires of utility companies. After utility companies pushed for the elimination of net metering, the legislature ruled that the Michigan Public Service Commission would enforce an “inflow, outflow” policy. In other words, if one were to draw energy from the grid, they would pay full retail costs. On the other hand, by contributing excess energy to the grid, one would be paying back approximately half the amount of full retail. By this policy, the utility companies have slowed the development and deployment of solar in Michigan.
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VETERAN From Page 1 “On the front end, DePaul was like, you can’t register for classes, you don’t have the funding.” Russell technically owed an additional 89 days to his official service time in order to receive the benefits. Since he was a reservist, serving one weekend per month, this meant only needing 6 additional days of weekend service. The Board for Correction of Naval Records officials could change his retirement date in their records to make him eligible again or waive his retirement to allow him to complete the six days of service. However, they reviewed and rejected his request, which Rusell said was an arbitrary decision. So, Paige transferred to the University of Michigan, where she had received scholarships and could benefit from a lower cost of living. She said she is still harassed by private agencies, to whom the government sold portions of the debt, and carries the emotional weight of her past. “My family really struggled, and my dad, he got deployed again, and again, and again,” she said. “And then it was like now, the opportunity to go to college after the emotional and financial sacrifices, and then that’s taken away, and now I owe money back when I’m just trying to do my best. I’m just trying to get an education; I’m just trying to be a firstgeneration college student at the University of Michigan. All I did was show up to class.” With a lack of success in contacting various Navy bureaus, Paige and her father have both contacted several representatives to find
REDISTRICTING From Page 1 She said they plan on implementing the application process in several phases. The first phase, which they are currently in, is inviting Michigan residents to randomly serve on the 13 member commission. The second phase begins in June, when applications close. 200 semi-finalists will be randomly selected using geographic and demographic data, ensuring four Republicans, four Democrats and five unaffiliated voters are selected. Phase three will begin in fall 2020 when the committee is seated and will end in the fall of 2021 when the redistricting is complete. “The commission, once seated, will have one year from
support, which, according to the two, have been most effective after the Chicago Sun-Times article. Paige said a highlight was when Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-MI, retweeted her story, a traction which has motivated her to reach out further to local representatives. “Ultimately, moving forward, I’m going to be leveraging my coverage to try to gain congressional and senatorial support to try to drive change,” she said. “And hopefully along the way, I have a GoFundMe page set up to try to have resources for myself and other families, as much as I can contribute to them, so that in the event that this doesn’t change, it’s just not done.” Paige has also started a GoFundMe page for other children of veterans who have had their GI bill rescinded and for herself finding debt-relief grants. “I feel very privileged that I was on the face of this issue, it feels like there’s a lot of responsibility to move it forward, and that’s absolutely what I plan to do,” Paige Dotson said. “Knowing that there are other families experiencing it, now it’s almost like a fight for me. This is something that I absolutely have to more forward with.” Engineering senior John Iacovetta is the vice president of Student Veterans of America’s University chapter, and has been following the story closely. Iacovetta was himself in the Navy for 10 years and is waiting to use his GI bill for graduate school. “My opinion is that this is an admin issue, and that it’s a career counseling issue. Every navy unit is supposed to have a career counsellor
next fall to draw the maps that will be the next congressional, state legislative and state senate districts for the entire state,” Benson said. Wang then began the panel discussion with a question for panelist Chris Lamar, the legal counsel for redistricting with the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C.. Lamar mentioned the relative commonality of the COI and the importance of its use in this context. “The idea of COIs, while it sounds nebulous, is actually not a rare thing,” Lamar said. “Twenty four states consider COIs in various aspects. COIs generally include racial, social, economic considerations… COIs do not include relationships to political parties or to incumbents. And that’s very important to me.” Wang’s next question was for panelist Connie Malloy, chair
News and they’re supposed to help guide you through your navy career, and help you with advancement, retention and then general opportunities to really enhance your career,” Iacovetta said. Iacovetta said he believes this is an issue of the Navy’s administration and career counseling office whose job is to aid with advancement in the industry. “Additionally, they’re supposed to help you with your transition out of the military, and the other thing that they help you with is transitioning over your benefits to your dependents. My experience with career counsellors has been that they are not knowledgeable about this last subset, being transitioning out of the military or transferring your benefits.” Iacovetta worked as a career counselor himself for a year as a reservist, and said the job was difficult, largely because of the overly bureaucratic system. “It was hell because people ask you all these questions about, literally these are questions that are affecting the rest of their lives, and more often than not I did not know what the answers were,” he said. “But one thing about me is that I have no problem just telling people I don’t know the answer, right, and we’re going to go off to find the answer from somebody who does, but I think there are plenty of people who do not prescribe to that mindset, and are willing to just rattle off whatever answer gets them through the day.” Russell, however, emphasized there are many entities involved, and ref lected on how he could have verified the dates early on to avoid the
of the 2010 California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Wang asked Malloy about her experience as a part of California’s commission. Malloy emphasized the crucial role commission members play in offering more humanized information about a community. “There’s so much the census does not tell you about a community,” Malloy said. “It doesn’t give you any information about the economy, the geography, or the history of a place. And that is something where the testimony from the public and your lived experience is really critical to be able to inform how the commission takes these dry numbers and statistics from the census and makes it come alive into a set of fair maps that make sense for the community.” Panelist Christopher
Senate Assembly talks new sexual misconduct policy
Faculty meet to vote on issue, but do not have quorum ISABELLA PREISSLE For The Daily
The University of Michigan Faculty Senate Assembly met Monday to discuss and vote to implement the new umbrella sexual misconduct policy. However, because they didn’t have a quorum, they were unable to vote on any of the issues. Instead, the Senate Assembly and Faculty attending the meeting discussed questions regarding the policy. In response to a thirdparty review of past sexual misconduct procedures, the new policy would apply to the Dearborn, Flint and Ann Arbor campuses of the University. Sascha Matish, associate vice provost and senior director of Academic Human Resources, mentioned the new document is very similar to existing policies regarding sexual misconduct at the University. “They largely codify what we already have in place,” Matish said. “It’s putting basically our policies and procedures that existed in
a large number of places into one policy into the two procedures, the employee procedures, as well as the student procedures.” The new policy redefines prohibited conduct, which now includes sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, sexual and/ or gender-based stalking, intimate partner violence, sex and gender-based discrimination, retaliation and violation of protective measures. Several faculty members asked questions regarding the differences, inconsistencies and overlap between faculty and employees within the policy. A few staff comments targeted how this new umbrella is a consolidation of existing policies. LSA professor Marjorie Levinson focused on how the new umbrella policy could be an opportunity to innovate and create more fair practices. “Why did you undertake so modest of a task as to simply codify the existing practice
when we’re all aware of the need for implementing a much more sensitive and fairminded practices is widely felt?” Levinson asked. In an attempt to comply with a ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that requires students on both sides of a sexual misconduct policy to cross-examine each other while still protecting students from emotional hardship, Prof. Barry Belmont, the chairperson of the Committee on Civil Rights and Liberties, proposed a resolution to have third parties speak for students during cross-examination. “(We’d like) to have crossexamination but not to have it by a respondent directly questioning a complainant,” Belmont said. “But by having an advisor acting on either behalf or some representative hearing officer to serve in that cross-examination.” The Senate Assembly voted in favor of the resolution, but because they didn’t have a quorum the vote was invalid.
mistake. “I’m not going to sit here and put every bit of blame for this on the military. One of the military standard answers is what the military does like to say is your career, your responsibility,” he said. “I would tell somebody to trust but verify if somebody is telling them that they’ve completed an obligation, or that they’ve met all the requirements. I would recommend that they go talk to somebody else as well, just for a second opinion before they’ve made any life changes based on that.” Despite partial admission of this mistake on his end, Russell still has his GI bill, but has no plans to use the money himself. His family is still holding out to hopefully fix the mistake. Until then, they continue to reach out for help. “One of the things I’ve been pointing out is my GI bill is not gone, it’s still sitting right where it always was,” Russell said. “I could go use this GI bill for myself today if I wanted to. I’m not asking for money. The money is already sitting there. I’m simply asking to be able to transfer the money to my children.” Meanwhile, Paige has utilized the resources at the University to finish her degree, thankful especially for the support from faculty. “Equally among both schools, the faculty have been probably the most crucial piece of my success,” she said. “I do think the resources provided on campus, either through CAPS, or UHS, are so important, using those tools have helped me learn how to kind of deal with it on more a survival-based level. How do you just get through the now, and then we’ll worry about that stuff in a minute.”
Thomas, former director of elections for the State of Michigan, then weighed in by comparing the old Apol Standards of redistricting to the new standards set in 2018. “So (the Apol standards) looked at jurisdictional lines,” Thomas said. “So after you did the federal population and Voting Rights Act, and contiguity, you then drew a plan that split the fewest number of county lines, and that within those counties, split the fewest number of city and township lines. It sounded really neutral. There’s some consideration that it really didn’t turn out that neutral.” Wang then asked Malloy to explain in more detail the concept of drawing boundaries that align with community lines. Malloy explained that the California Citizens Redistricting Commission gave equal priority to city,
REPRODUCTIVE From Page 1 “One of the things about being pregnant or trying to become pregnant is infertility services are hard cover,” O’Connor said. “You can lose your job because you’re pregnant. Not legally, but if you are late two or three times in the morning because you are throwing up, then you can lose your job, which means you lose your health insurance if you have it through your job. If we move to a system of universal health insurance, some of those fears go away.” Peterson identified issues with some high schools’ sex education programs that don’t offer a sexual education course that incorporates sex and not just abstinence. Peterson finds this most detrimental for communities with a lack of access to other educational resources due to economic framework or systemic racial oppression. “One of the things that I think is really pressing is quite frankly, sex education and consent,” Peterson said. “Based on sex, I think that you need to start at the very beginning
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 — 3
BANNER From Page 1 back and forth, but not making fun of it in a way that includes a national tragedy and that heavily impacted survivors.” Lovely said she was not expecting the tweet to get the reaction that it did, but said she hopes it will start a conversation about how survivors should be treated. “I think it would be great if there was some education on the history of the case and what the survivors went through,” Lovely said. “I know there were victim impact statements that were bad at the trial, that would be a really great place to start.” Lovely was not the only person responding negatively to the banner online. Replies to Lovely’s original tweet called the banner “disg usting ” and “classless.” Olympic g ymnast Simone Biles retweeted the tweet, writing she hopes the University takes proper measures in investigating the banner. In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen said Fraternity and Sorority Life staff contacted the chapter president and advisors of the University’s Psi Upsilon chapter. Complaints against the chapter have been submitted by campus community members to the Greek Activities Review Panel, according to Broekhuizen. She said the matter was addressed
swiftly and appropriately by the fraternity involved and its national office. “FSL has learned that the chapter will be pursuing corrective action for those responsible for hanging the banners and those who failed to intervene before anyone could be negatively impacted,” Broekhuizen wrote. Additionally, Broekhuizen wrote that FSL supports students in their four councils to live more fully into the principles of their international organizations, campus core values and the FSL Statement for Human Dignity. LSA junior Mary McKillop, LSA Student Government vice president, first became aware of the banner after seeing Lovely’s tweet. She said she thought the banner was unnecessary and hurtful to see. “I think it’s really disappointing and sad that the survivors of that situation were turned into a joke for some stupid football rivalry,” McKillop said. “School rivalries are supposed to be fun, and that just really went somewhere it didn’t need to go.” McKillop said she thinks Psi Upsilon should release a public apolog y and be punished for hanging up the banner. “A lot of people I know are personally upset by (the banner),” McKillop said. “I can only imagine what being involved in that situation and seeing that would feel like.”
county and COI lines, but that this often came with trade-offs between them. “Given how rarely jurisdictional boundaries change,” Malloy said. “There’s times where they don’t actually ref lect the fabric of the community that has grown out organically around them.” Malloy further explained the process through which the California Commission took public opinion into account. “We had a set of (public) hearings,” she said. “(And we had) live visualizations that were always live-streamed or people could weigh in as we were actually in the mapmaking process.” Wang asked Benson to elaborate on the Michigan Commission’s actual process of redistricting. She emphasized the autonomy of the commission within Constitutional bounds and
the importance of citizen participation. “The commission will be autonomous. Our office will be focused on the citizen engagement component of this effort,” Benson said. “I think, at every point, it will be the voices of citizens who lead the way.” Information graduate student Bonnie White believes this is a positive initiative. “Prior to being a student I wasn’t aware (of ) the extent that Michigan was gerrymandered,” White said. “I think it’s a testament to the citizens of Michigan, that it’s voters and politicians, that the program has been so wellreceived, and implemented. It’s just really impressive. The impact that they’ve had state-wide. And I think it’s wonderful that citizens are being able to participate in democracy in this way.”
of training people how to have healthy or sexual conversations before we even start the reproducing part. So things as simple as a push for abstinenceonly education will have a snowball effect.”
reproductive justice at Planned Parenthood for Black women. “I was able to have our first training for our health center staff about the African Diaspora, what it actually is and talk about how there is implicit bias in the way that we treat our patients sometimes, and how to dismantle that,” Jones-McBryde said. Emily Statham, firstyear Law student, said the University can help foster reproductive justice and inclusiveness by emphasizing the marginto-center movement. “I really liked one of the ideas mentioned about focusing on the margin-tocenter movement,” Statham said. “So, this is the idea that reproductive justice as a movement was born out of the strife of Black women, and bringing people into the center of this conversation who currently exist on the margins. Whether, that be people who are LGBTQIA+ identifying, people who are racial and ethnic minorities, making sure that their own struggles when it comes to reproductive justice are informing the conversation, not reacting to the conversation, is I think the most important thing moving forward.”
This is the idea that reproductive justice as a movement was born out of the strife of Black women. and bringing people into the center of this conversation who currently exist on the margins.
Jones-McBryde mentioned some ways she is trying to help foster
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, November 19, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALLISON PUJOL | COLUMN
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SONEIDA RODRIGUEZ | COLUMN
I
College students should escape the vape
magine, for a second, that your health is your grade point average. Right now, regardless of how high or low your GPA is, it does not have an impact on your ability to meet your day-to-day needs. Your GPA doesn’t prohibit you from eating, sleeping or finding a decent parttime job. However, perhaps your first “Welcome Week” turned into a “Welcome Semester” and you ditched the library for tailgates. Whether it’s interviewing for your dream job or applying to graduate school later down the road, you are likely to face some regret and pain for the decisions you made when you were younger and less experienced. The same can be said about your health. Like your freshman year GPA, when it comes to your body’s health, there are no do-overs. Just as partying, skipping class and failing exams can take their toll on your GPA, habits such as vaping can come at a price. Vaping in recent years has grown in popularity and evolved into its own culture. The practice is no longer confined to smoking cessation; students taking a hit between classes or at the library are no longer an uncommon sight. As one VICE article explained, “vaping can mean different things to different people.” In essence, vaping is the inhalation of vaporized e-liquid using e-cigarettes, including JUULs and similar devices. E-liquid is either propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin mixed with nicotine or marijuana (THC or CBD) and can contain artificial flavoring. Vaping’s increasing popularity is not unique to the University of Michigan’s campus. The University’s national “Monitoring the Future” study found the percent of college students vaping marijuana and/ or nicotine doubled between 2017 and 2018. Unfortunately, we are just beginning to witness the impact that this cultural phenomenon is having on our short-term health. As of Sept. 2019, six people have died from lung illnesses related to vaping nicotine or THC. According to the same VICE article, about 450 cases of vaping-associated illness are suspected in hospitals across the United States. MeiLan K. Han, professor of internal medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Michigan Medicine, told VICE that “at this time there is no guaranteed ‘safe’ form of vaping,” because the cases have been linked to e-liquid containing marijuana and nicotine. Perhaps this growing epidemic can be traced to lack of regulation. As the VICE article states, currently there is no regulation or inspection of e-cigarette manufacturers or vape shops, so there is no way to
tell if a device or liquid is from a reputable source. Without regulation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, e-liquid manufacturers have free rein to mislabel the contents of their product and do not have to meet a single standard during the manufacturing process. Furthermore, the long-term health costs of vaping are just as steep as the short-term consequences. According to VICE, some studies have found vaping CBD can cause some users to experience irritability, lethargy, reduced appetite or urination, gastrointestinal distress, rashes, breathing issues, or in the worst instances, liver problems or exacerbations of mental health issues. Proponents of vaping often argue it’s a better alternative to smoking cigarettes and has enabled them to find a sense of community. However, a recent Stanford University investigation of flavored e-liquids found that even without nicotine e-cigarette use, flavorings may increase one’s heart disease risk. As important as it is to find a support group, it shouldn’t have to come at the expense of your health. While we should acknowledge that e-cigarette use has helped smokers reduce or eliminate their addiction, we can’t ignore the fact that vaping is also inspiring the next generation to become addicted to nicotine.
Just like your freshman year GPA, your body’s health doesn’t get a “do-over” When it comes to preventing the practice of vaping in the first place, the work of state governments is worrisome at best. As long as our state governments continue to generate revenue from tobacco product sales, the idea of states running and funding tobacco prevention programs seem to be a complete conflict of interest. During the 2019 fiscal year, all 50 states will collect over 27 billion dollars in total revenue from tobacco settlements and tobacco taxes. However, only 2.4 percent of this revenue will go towards tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Michigan’s tobacco prevention program funding currently ranks 45th out of all 50 states with a budget that is only 1.5 percent of the funding levels recommended by the CDC. The reality is that tobacco products are a significant source of revenue for the state; from
a fiscal standpoint, why would the state fully fund prevention programs that jeopardize a revenue source? Placing the responsibility of preventing drug use in the hands of the same institution that is profiting from it doesn’t make sense. Luckily for college students at the University and across the country, there are ample resources available on campus to help students with substance abuse. Programs are in place within the University Health System to break down financial and immigration status barriers that might impede access to these resources for students. However, this is only accessible if students are willing to ask for help. Nevertheless, the resources available on campus represent a reactive solution to this growing epidemic. Students often do not access these resources until after vaping has become a substantial problem. As vaping continues to grow in popularity, resisting peer pressure to start vaping regularly will only prove more difficult. Consequently, high school students on their way to college do not fully grasp these consequences of vaping. If we want to make sure students are making an educated choice to vape and discourage students from starting in the first place, we need a proactive solution. As college students, our firsthand experience navigating the stressors and social pressure of college life makes us uniquely qualified to educate students on how to avoid or reduce consumption of e-liquids. College students should take the lead on educating the next generation on the consequences of vaping. As the leaders and the best, we have a responsibility to educate the next generation of college students about the reality of substance use and consequences on campus. In life, rarely do we ever purchase something without knowing its price. By failing to properly educate youth on vaping and its potential health risks, we are allowing young vapers to blindly jeopardize their health, both long term and short term. Just like your freshman year GPA, your body’s health doesn’t get a “do-over.” As a student body, we have a responsibility to take advantage of the resources available to curb vaping for those who do not believe it’s worth the expense to one’s health. We also have a responsibility to educate the next generation of college students about the consequences of vaping and the resources available to help them quit. Vaping should not be a blind choice: It should be an educated choice. Soneida Rodriguez can be reached at soneida@umich.edu.
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S
Isolating Venezuela is a dangerous game
oon after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro secured a second term in an election that has since been widely regarded as rigged, the president enthusiastically greeted crowds of Venezuelans gathered outside the presidential palace in Caracas for an election night celebration. “This was a historic day! The day of a heroic victory! The day of a beautiful victory — of a truly popular victory,” Maduro said. But other countries don’t exactly share Maduro’s gusto for those re-election results. The Venezuelan leader has faced international backlash in the past year because he had intimidated or barred opponents from running. In January, opposition leader Juan Guaido assumed an interim presidency amid public outcry against the corrupt Maduro regime, advocating for free and fair elections. The United States, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Britain, Germany, France, Spain and more than a dozen other members of the European Union have all recognized Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, and there are indications of rising military defections from Venezuela. Less than a week ago, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele announced that the country would be severing diplomatic relations with Venezuela. As part of this decision, Venezuelan diplomats were given 48 hours to vacate the Venezuelan embassy. In retaliation, Maduro chose to expel the El Salvadorian diplomats from Venezuela, making it clear that relations between the two countries reached an all-time low. The abrupt diplomatic shift has caught the attention of other countries; Guatemala’s government has since indicated an interest in breaking ties with Maduro’s government on Twitter as well. Why all the hostility around Maduro’s election and past political position? Venezuela’s political stability has been the center of international conversation as a result of former President Hugo Chavez
and Nicolás Maduro’s recent terms, which have spurred what some have termed the country’s “free fall”: Hyperinf lation, food shortages, stif led dissent and mass migrations out of the country have led many to believe that the ongoing systemic crisis in Venezuela is exacerbated by an unresponsive and corrupt president. In particular, the recent waves of food and water shortages have had devastating effects on Venezuelans. Earlier this summer, BBC reported on power cuts throughout the country that forced some families in Venezuela to forgo cool air in the summer and eat rotting meat that decomposed in no-longer-cool fridges. Thus, El Salvador’s government has maintained the claim it is no longer worth it to continue diplomatic negotiations with a country whose leadership has shown an unwillingness to change its disturbing behavior.
It would be wise to exercise some restraint in any decision to cut off negotiating efforts However, it would be wise to exercise some restraint in any decision to cut off negotiating efforts. Even if El Salvador has decided to cut ties with Venezuela, the United States should carefully consider its own posture towards the increasingly dictatorial regime. One relevant consideration is that sanctions and embargoes have mixed legacies both in the United States and abroad; empirical studies have shown that these policy tools are more likely to create economic pressure without the necessary political pressure to spur regime change. Failing sanctions on Iran have correlated with
increasing Iranian violations of the nuclear deal, and the Cuban embargo has only further cemented the rift between Cuba and the United States, without much political progress. Democratic countries should recall that attempts to isolate other governments can only further drive Venezuela away from the ideals they wish to uphold. Even if we believe that Maduro is to blame for the crisis in Venezuela — even if we choose to forget the oft-forgotten history of U.S. meddling in South and Central America — Maduro’s claim that the West has acted to intervene in Latin American politics for personal imperialist gain certainly becomes much more persuasive when other countries refuse to make deals with Venezuela. Abandoning diplomacy only risks further pushing Venezuela into the arms of countries that will allow further oppression at Maduro’s hands. Indeed, Maduro’s solid grip on political power in Venezuela despite the mass unrest within the country has been sustained by close ties to allies such as Russia. Russia’s overall motivations in Venezuela are likely too complex to fully explore here (oil plays a large role in the two countries’ relation), but a side effect (intentional or otherwise) of the recent RussianVenezuelan alliance is its effect as a “spoiler” for United Statesbased efforts in Latin America. Even if negotiations between the United States and Venezuela are difficult, the risk of some political deal remains possible yet distant given the right positive incentives. But El Salvador’s decision has closed that future off entirely, as well as attracted the ire of a country already teetering on domestic pressures and instability. The United States should be wary of attaining the same result: After all, it’s conventional wisdom, and perhaps intuitive political reasoning, that honey works better than vinegar. Allison Pujol can be reached at ampmich@umich.edu.
JARED STOLOVE | COLUMN
Addressing racial disparities within the student debt crisis
O
ver the past 17 years, the amount of outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. has increased more than sixfold, from less than $240 billion to $1.46 trillion. As the value of student loan debt has increased, so has the longevity of the loans. More than 7 million Americans over the age of 50 were still paying off their student loans in 2017, as compared to less than 5 million in 2007. With college tuition continuing to outpace inflation year after year, this trajectory is set to continue. In response to this crisis, almost all of the Democratic presidential candidates have proposed some sort of student debt forgiveness policy. For example, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has proposed cancelling up to $50,000 in student loan debt for over 40 million Americans who qualify based on their income. More radically, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has proposed forgiving all student loan debt, even for the very rich. While many of the other candidates’ plans are less ambitious than those of Warren and Sanders, all remaining candidates have identified student loan debt alleviation as an important issue. These policies are much more than “handouts” to individuals who took on more debt than they could possibly repay. While the causes of the student loan crisis are complex, it’s undeniable that government policies, such as the deregulation of for-profit colleges and the utilization of private student loan servicers, have greatly exacerbated the issue. Given the federal government’s role in causing this crisis, it has a responsibility to address its consequences. Moreover, the negative consequences of excessive student debt affect all Americans, not just debtors. Studies have shown that excessive student debt dampens wealth accumulation, hampers the
growth of small businesses and pushes individuals out of lowerpaying public service professions. The explanation here is simple: College graduates with large amounts of student loan debt are forced to take jobs that maximize their ability to meet their debt payments, reducing their ability to take risks or invest in long-term careers. Forgiving the existing pool of student debt is therefore in the interest of all Americans. While the Democratic candidates should be praised for their ambitious plans to tackle this issue, each of their proposals fail to address the way that the student loan crisis has disproportionately affected people of color. Data released by the Department of Education in 2017 revealed that the student debt crisis has affected Black and white Americans significantly differently. Most shockingly, the data shows that, 12 years after taking out student loans, the average African American borrower owes 12 percent more than they initially borrowed. In contrast, the average white borrower is three times more likely to have paid off their debt at that same 12-year mark. These numbers aren’t simply reflective of the correlation between race and other factors, such as income and geography; they reflect additional challenges that Black students face at every stage of their loan’s life cycle. Lawsuits against for-profit colleges that have defrauded their students have revealed that these businesses intentionally target minority students through their branding. For example, Ashford University, a largely online forprofit university with a 16 percent graduation rate, bragged in a 2018 press release that it had been recognized as a “Top 100 Minority Degree Producer.” Moreover, Black borrowers may be pushed into paying higher interest rates on their student loans than their white peers.
While relatively little is known about discrimination in student loan markets, many studies have found that Black borrowers are discriminated against when they apply for credit cards, auto loans and mortgages. For example, one study found that African Americans are twice as likely as whites with similar risk profiles to be charged a subjective “markup” over their base interest rate on auto loans. However, emerging evidence shows that the largest divergence between Black and white student debt burden appears after college. A Brookings Institution study found that, at graduation, Black students owe $7,400 more than their white counterparts, a number that balloons to over $25,000 in the next four years. The study found that a quarter of this difference was attributable to lower repayment rates, which partly reflects the large degree of racial discrimination present in the labor market. However, most of the postgraduate increase in the Black-white debt gap stemmed from African Americans attending for-profit graduate schools at higher rates, suggesting that for-profit colleges also target minorities for graduate school enrollment. Each Democratic presidential candidate has attempted to position himself or herself as an advocate for people of color. Yet, no Democratic candidate has addressed any of these widespread issues in their student debt policies thus far. If Democrats are to truly enact social justice, they need to engage with the ways that every policy is filtered through a structure of intentional and unintentional racial discrimination. The existing plans, which only forgive loans based on income and attempt to control costs, will simply leave this structure intact. Jared Stolove can be reached at jstolove@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
What I’m listening to: The epic of ‘RINA’ Sawayama DYLAN YONO Daily Arts Writer
UK singer Rina Sawayama’s mini-album RINA is conspicuously missing from the 2017 editions of those top-50 album lists every major publication puts out at the end of each year: Not Pitchfork, not Rolling Stone, not NPR, Billboard, SPIN, Consequence of Sound, nothing. Maybe it’s just a side effect of writers on mainstream outlets only listening to mainstream music. I can’t really knock them for it. I didn’t listen to RINA myself until it started picking up steam almost a year later, but it quickly cemented itself as one of my favorite records ever. So I wonder if, when Rina eventually (inevitably) skyrockets into pop superstardom, those same critics will go back and retroactively cite it as one of 2017’s best albums. I call Rina’s superstardom inevitable because there is no keeping talent that enormous under wraps for long. Her songwriting puts a spotlight on some seriously relevant shit right from the get-go, with the hilariously titled “Ordinary Superstar” calling out celebrities that pretend to be normal people through a highly curated performance on social media. Her woke lyricism on the ordinary superstar phenomenon pairs well with her own rise to fame. She brings this same savvy wit when she sings on everything from East Asian media fetishization to the anxiety of face-toface interaction in the digital era. No subject is safe when Rina is shredding it in song. What other pop artist can so deftly discuss the pressure on marginalized identities and sexualities — Rina is a Japanese immigrant to the UK and identifies as pansexual — while still making every song a total slapper? My most personal connection to the writing on RINA comes on the song “10-20-40.” It delves into Rina’s experience with antidepressants, specifically citalopram (as identified in her interview with The Guardian), a drug prescribed in dosages of 10, 20 or 40. Her lyrics speak to my own experience taking citalopram with startling precision: “Wanted to feel you but I’m numb / Don’t even realize who I’ve become.” Most unsettling is the way she captures such a specific, hard-to-explain experience of citalopram, something only another SSRI-taker could understand. I felt misunderstood, yet at the same time, I couldn’t find clarity in my own feelings. “See they don’t understand / Don’t know who I am / But do I?” brings to life that paradoxical sense of selfmisunderstanding. There’s a sweeping connection in the image Rina paints on “Cyber Stockholm Syndrome,” a pithy song title that invokes a psychological trauma in her relationship with social media. Such an invocation is not uncalled for: An endless pool of scholarly sources show just how much social media users feel like shit when they use social media but we keep doing it. It’s a disturbing and anxiety-inducing subject — I wrote a ten-page term paper on the dystopia that is social media, so naturally, I
was intrigued when I saw “Cyber Stockholm Syndrome” show up on my Spotify. Rina pulls listeners in with a vivid oral illustration — “Girl in the corner / Stirring her soda / Biting the shit out of her straw” — then amps the track up with a quaking drop to the chorus. It’s gorgeous and sticky and addictive and that beat drop feels like a blast of dopamine to the brain, probably not unlike what actually happens in our heads when we are validated on social media. From the very first time I heard “Cyber Stockholm Syndrome,” something about Rina’s music felt incredibly close to home, like overnight nostalgia. It was only just last month when the synaptic connection finally struck: RINA is caked in the influence of Japanese pop icon Utada Hikaru, an inspiration so clear in Rina’s ’90s-R&Bvibe voice that the Utada superfan in me felt stupid for not noticing it before. (Sure enough, the day after my realization, Rina tweeted about meeting Utada for the first time.) I don’t think Rina ever eclipses Utada’s superhuman singing talent — Heart Station remains unrivaled in that regard — but Rina has an ace up her sleeve. A ref lection on RINA wouldn’t be complete without crediting Clarence Clarity, a mysterious and mostly anonymous UK musician whose experimental solo material seems stolen from an elevated plane of existence. His bizarre brilliance will inevitably be a future subject of my own overanalysis, and I will probably only scratch the surface of his wicked musical wizardry. For now, it’s enough to know that his creativity shines just as strong beneath Rina’s vocals. Her smooth diva performance glows over Clarence’s cosmic beats. If I were to DIRTY HIT inappropriately compare his production on RINA to a natural wonder of the United States, I would compare it to none other than Crater Lake in Oregon: Pretty and shiny on the surface, with layers upon layers of depth beneath it (The retro-textured beat on “Alterlife” is surely 1,949 feet deep). Clarence left his glitchy footprints all over RINA — fellow UK producer HOOST produced “Tunnel Vision” and “Through The Wire Interlude,” and the two collaborated for “Cyber Stockholm Syndrome,” but the rest of the album is all Clarence. As long as Rina has his Midas touch backing her up, she is going places. It’s a mystery to me how Rina can be so full of wit in her writing, and how she managed to connect with an enigmatic musical savantlike Clarence Clarity, but thank the Lord that she is a goddess with the pen and she did make a match in heaven with one of the most interesting producers in the game. RINA is a tongue-incheek take on the digital landscape’s destruction of interpersonal relationships. It’ll stay relevant until societ y overthrows its cyber oppression, a revolution I have no faith in, so RINA might just be — dare I say it — a timeless record.
Her woke lyricism on the ordinary superstar phenomenon pairs well with her own rise to fame. She brings this same savvy wit when she sings on everything from East Asian fetishization to the anxiety of face-to-face interaction in the digital era. No subject is safe when Rina is shredding in song.
RINA is a tongue-in-cheek take on the digital landscape’s destruction of interpersonal relationships. It’ll stay relevant until society overthrows its cyber oppression, a revolution I have no faith in, so RINA might just be — dare I say it — a timeless record.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 — 5
TV NOTEBOOK
AMC
‘Preppy Murder’ carefully reopens an infamous case they felt the murder of a white female was more “interesting” than crimes against minorities, Daily Arts Writer which were often assumed to be drug-related. Reporters also jumped on the sexual element AMC’s five-part documentary miniseries of the case and put emphasis on Jennifer’s, not “The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park” Robert’s, social history. “The Preppy Murder” uses its first two parts examines Jennifer Levin’s murder, a case made infamous by the media circus surrounding the to make its purpose clear: Depict Jennifer Levin trial of her killer. The docuseries retraces how as she was, not as she was portrayed by the one murder came to represent an entire decade defense, and ask how a seemingly open-andand illustrate the role of class and racial privilege shut case became one of the most controversial trials of the decade. Intertwined with the facts in the justice system. In the early morning of Aug. 26th, 1986, a of the case, the experiences of family members, bicyclist discovered an 18-year-old woman’s friends, police officers, lawyers and reporters body under a tree in Central Park. Later identified connected to Jennifer’s story are included as Jennifer Levin, the victim was assaulted and in order to emphasize the importance of the strangled to death some time after she was crime’s social and political context. In addition seen leaving popular teen hangout, Dorrian’s to the grisly details of Levin’s injuries, one of Red Hand. The crime rate in New York was the most disturbing features of the docuseries is reaching new heights due to the crack epidemic, how familiar the whole case feels. The current social but the circumstances conversation about of Jennifer’s death acknowledging were unlike the drugprivilege has made related murders the case of Jennifer the NYPD had Levin one of a host investigated. A young of other examples of white woman found what happens when dead in Central Park actions are rarely immediately piqued met with appropriate police interest, and Season 1, Parts 1 and 2 consequences. An air made Levin’s case a of entitlement infects top priority. AMC every aspect of the case Within hours, and is most evident in police had identified Nov. 13-15 at 9 p.m. footage of Chambers’s the popular and interrogation wealthy 19-year-old and subsequent Robert Chambers as confession. In every a person of interest in her murder. Although police first approached alteration to his story, every denigration of him as a potential witness, Chambers appeared Jennifer’s character, every outburst against to have multiple injuries consistent with Levin’s his interviewers, Chambers oozes the smug, attack and later confessed to accidentally killing sociopathic confidence of a man who thinks her after rejecting her advances. He quickly the investigation is beneath him. This attitude hired lawyers who built their defense around is hauntingly reminiscent of the arrogance Chambers’ claim that Levin died as a result of exhibited by many of the men facing accusations him accidentally injuring her when he rejected of sexual assault in the #MeToo era. Like many other recent true crime her attempt to initiate “rough sex.” Much of the series consists of personal documentaries, “The Preppy Murder” knows interviews with Jennifer’s close friends and that just acknowledging what went wrong in family who describe how she came to enter the this case has not and will not change things. prep school social circles as an outsider. The The manipulation of the media and pervasive documentary also interviews various tabloid bias in favor of Chambers cannot be undone writers and field reporters who followed the or erased. However, for “The Preppy Murder,” case from its start and were largely responsible understanding the injustice and prejudice of this for creating public interest in the killing. Many case will remind the American public of what it of these media representatives explicitly stated still owes Jennifer Levin and victims like her. ANYA SOLLER
The Preppy Murder: Death in Central Park
AMB A S S ADOR
AMB A S S ADOR
AMB A S S ADOR
GERALD FEIERSTEIN
RONALD NEUMANN
PATRICK THEROS
WEISER DIPLOMACY CENTER LAUNCH SERIES
The U.S., Iran, and Security in the Persian Gulf American Academy of Diplomacy Thursday, November 21, 2019 4:00 - 5:30 pm Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Annenberg Auditorium, 1120 Weill Hall 735 S. State Street
MODERATOR: AMBASSADOR DEBORAH MCCARTHY
Free and open to the public. Reception to follow. Info: fspp-events@umich.edu fordschool.umich.edu
@fordschool #policytalks
Hosted as part of the Ford School's Conversations Across Difference Initiative.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, November 19, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
BOOK REVIEW
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
‘Family Upstairs’ is more than an everyday thriller man. They were dressed in black, hands clasped together. Upstairs, a baby was Daily Arts Writer crying. According to the police report, their deaths have been deemed a suicide, but the I know mysteries. I read them all the time. circumstances are strange. Why hasn’t the Before applying my Origins overnight face family been seen in public for months? Who mask, I might sneak in a couple of pages of took care of the baby weeks after the parents Ruth Ware’s latest release. At airports, I make died? And, most importantly, where are the it my tradition to stop at Hudson Booksellers other four children who supposedly lived in to grab a New York Times best-selling the Chelsea house? The novel is told in three perspectives thriller to keep me preoccupied during my — Libby Jones, Lucy f light. They’re easy. and Henry — during They’re formulaic. the past and present. There’s that mantra of “not everything Whenever I’m is as it seems” immersed in the pointembedded in each of-views of several page. There’s the characters early in unreliable narrator the novel, I tend to get and, if we’re lucky, distracted. I’m usually the alcoholic not invested enough detective. To top in each character to it off, there’s the continue reading. I clichéd twist at the didn’t feel that with very end. I know “The Family Upstairs.” what to expect. Each character offered “The Family relevant information Upstairs” is that served to spur my different. The curiosity more. Libby, novel opens from Lucy and Henry could the perspective of have easily been written Libby, phoning her as plot devices solely to mother to reveal heighten the stakes of news that she’s the mystery. Instead, been waiting for we delve deeply into her 25th birthday their personal history to announce. Libby and characterizations. simply tells her Certainly, they ATRIA BOOKS mom, “They’ve are related to the left me the house.” mysterious Chelsea Hidden in this seemingly blasé report is deaths in some way, but we’re only given bits the news that Libby has transitioned from and crumbs in each chapter. In the process, a woman that splurged on inconsequential we learn the ways that Lucy juggles life as cosmetics and saved up six months of her a homeless single mother and, in the past, hard-earned money for a weekend trip to Henry’s tumultuous relationship with his Barcelona to the owner of a multi-million father as well as his burgeoning romance dollar mansion on Sixteen Cheyne Walk, with a lanky blond-haired boy. Even as I SW3 Chelsea. It’s easy to understand the approached the half-way point of the novel, magnitude of her transformation by her own I couldn’t have predicted where it would thoughts: “Now she owns a house in Chelsea end up. Deliciously cult-ish, dark and and the proportions of her existence have surprisingly touching, “The Family Upstairs” been blown subverts the apart.” traditional Indeed, mysteryLibby’s thriller, “existence has blending been blown together apart,” but not multiple in the way that genres. Don’t Lisa Jewell she thinks. In get me wrong, Atria Books the process “The Family of becoming Upstairs” Nov. 5, 2019 a very rich is still the woman, Libby perfect book investigates to grab in the sinister between origins of the layovers, Chelsea house. though at Twenty-five years earlier, police were called the same time, the mystery tropes are not by a “concerned” neighbor to 16 Cheyne overwrought. This attentive style and plot Walk. There, in the kitchen, were three dead that Jewell has crafted will leave even a bodies: An elegant woman, a man with salt- jaded mystery expert like myself guessing and-pepper hair and another unidentifiable until the very end. SARAH SALMAN
POSTMODERN JUKEBOX PRODUCTIONS
Time to swing into 2020 MADELEINE VIRGINIA GANNON Daily Arts Writer
Billie Holiday once famously sang, “Autumn in New York, why does it seem so inviting?” Indeed, there’s a certain magic inherent to the fall season. But, while New York holds an alluring sway (I’m a New Yorker myself ), I would argue that there’s a greater force at work than the call of the Big Apple when the leaves change color. Holiday is right about one thing: Fall is the season of jazz and swing. Think about it — there’s something incredibly fitting about embracing the music of an age gone by as nature sheds it summer green in exchange for autumnal reds and golds. There’s just something about the gravelly voice of Louis Armstrong when the wind howls, the warmth of a blazing saxophone solo and the romance of the music combining with that of the season. But listening to swing doesn’t mean you have to barrel back into the past. The old hits are classics, but it’s time to make some room on the stage for new artists to continue the grand tradition of the genre. Here are a handful of contemporary bands who might just bring forth the new “Roaring ’20s” — after all, 2020 sits on the horizon, and history tends to repeat itself. Postmodern Jukebox, or PMJ, is an interesting beast. Created from the musical imagination of Scott Bradlee with the intent to bring “classic sounds (he) loved back into the mainstream,” PMJ quickly grew in scope, talent and popularity. The PMJ roster hosts nearly 100 musicians in all, including both vocalists and instrumentalists. Rather than a traditional band with the same members performing every track, PMJ “rotates” their musicians, with every song, album, or live performance offering a different musical combination, or as Bradlee puts it, a “rotating collective of musical outcasts.” The most fun thing about PMJ, however, is that they don’t just cover classic swing or jazz songs, or even write their own — no, they take modern, contemporary hits from any and every genre, and reshape them into vintage-style jazz/swing tracks. Like, for instance, a swing cover of Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over,” or a smokey jazz-club version of Radiohead’s “Creep.” Pink Martini, founded by politician Thomas Lauderdale, started as a musical group meant to
provide entertainment to lackluster fundraisers and political events. Then, Lauderdale met vocalist China Forbes, and thus Lauderdale’s “little orchestra” became the multilingual jazz band Pink Martini we know today. To jump into the world of Pink Martini, start with their original hit “Hang on Little Tomato.” Not only is it a fun song — as the title suggests, about a lonely tomato who’s stuck in the rain — but the track works as a great example that not everything has been done before. When it comes to revitalizing genres whose heyday has come and past, there tends to be a general sense of “Well, what left is there to do?” Pink Martini’s answer: Sing about vegetables. And you know what? It works. Garden veggies aside, the band is unique in its strong dose of “international f lavor.” Lead singer China Forbes regularly performs in various languages, including tracks (and even entire albums) sung in French or Spanish. Take “Sympathique,” a song composed in the traditional style of old-French music. Pink Martini, like many modern groups who foray into jazz and swing, do not limit themselves solely to those two genres. A characteristic that makes them even more fun to listen to — you never know exactly what to expect, but secure in the knowledge that disappointment is a nonplayer. One would think Madeleine Peyroux had hopped right out of Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” if common sense didn’t reason better. Her voice, slow and hypnotic, was born to be matched with the slow beat of a double bass and easy improvisation of the piano. Notable songs include her cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Dance Me to the End of Love,” her take on Frank Sinatra’s beloved “The Summer Wind,” and more. Yet her songs, while seemingly timeless, still contain a modern touch in the lilt of her voice. Her songs also lack the busy instrumentation characteristic of classic swing or jazz bands, but this absence allows Peyroux to maximize the charm of her voice, as if she’s a snake charmer and we’re the coiled serpent rising to her coaxing song. A special mention for Jeff Goldblum, too — but read our latest review of Goldblum’s new album for the full scoop. Take a chance to see how different the streets of Ann Arbor feel on a blisteringly cold evening with a well-formed swing playlist to keep you company on the journey.
COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
Release Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Longstocking of kiddie lit 6 “Jason Bourne” star Damon 10 Shell rowers 14 Biting, as criticism 15 Sound reduced by carpeting 16 Hill worker 17 Earl Grey relative 18 Old Roman fiddler 19 Buttonlike earring 20 #1 in Major League Baseball career earnings 23 Puppy’s cry 24 Chaney of “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925) 25 Acidity nos. 28 1970s joint U.S.Soviet space flight 35 Function 37 Actors’ union, briefly 38 Remove from office 39 Fortified city of Castile and León 41 Diamond stat 43 “MASH” corporal 44 “Cape Fear” star 46 Spinning toy 48 Building bricks brand 49 Math class surprise 52 Arles article 53 Salad dressing ingredient 54 Sis or bro 56 Musical genre of Tito Puente and Dizzy Gillespie 63 “See ya!” 65 Acting independently 66 “For real!” 67 “Um, that’s fine” 68 Villainous 69 Par-three clubs, often 70 Route-finding app 71 Risqué message 72 Common teen phase DOWN 1 Hemingway moniker
2 Eur. island country 3 Chow kin, briefly 4 Voting substitute 5 Spanish airline 6 Darn 7 Asian PC brand 8 Really excite 9 “I can’t top that” 10 Job for a judge 11 Upscale hotel 12 LSU URL letters 13 Elope, say 21 They sometimes attract: Abbr. 22 Racing giant Bobby 25 Italian fashion house 26 Crude abode 27 David’s weapon 29 10-Across tool 30 Rainbow flag letters 31 National gemstone of Australia 32 Alpine melody 33 Customary practice 34 Binary system digits 36 Peace Nobelist Wiesel
40 Ann __, Michigan 42 Debtor’s promise 45 Team nicknamed the Birds 47 Italian tower town 50 Niche 51 Alphabetically last flower on a list of familiar ones 55 Tennis great Borg
56 All-inclusive, and a hint to 20-, 28-, 49- and 56-Across 57 The Piltdown Man, notably 58 Operating system since the ’60s 59 Orion’s __ 60 Sleep like __ 61 Cab alternatives 62 Lemon peel 63 AAA service 64 “Eureka!”
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
By Susan Smolinsky and C.C. Burnikel ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
The Family Upstairs
11/19/19
11/19/19
SMTD’s Creative Arts Orchestra improvises within set constraints ZACHARY M.S. WAARALA Daily Arts Writer
This past Thursday evening, Hankinson Rehearsal Hall hosted an improvisational performance from the Creative Arts Orchestra. The orchestra consisted of SMTD students with a combination of violin, viola, trumpet, piano, melodica, voice and various percussion instruments. The element of improvisation is what sets the Creative Arts Orchestra apart from other musical groups at SMTD. Improvisation involves a lack of musical guidance — no conductors, sheet music or organized practicing — in addition to the creative use of instruments, such as banging on stringed instruments or applying paper to piano strings for a crunch-like sound. Each of the six musicians were free to play whatever they pleased, with no prior restrictions on what to play. That said, for some pieces there were certain “filters,” as SMTD professor Mark Kirschenmann called them, in place for the orchestra to fall in line with. For one set, Kirschenmann informed the audience, “We will all play keyboard instruments, and we are all going to sing, other than that I have no idea what is going to happen.” For another set, Weston Gilbert, the orchestra’s violinist, presented the orchestra with a brief sheet of music with certain chords and soloing sections for the individual musicians to follow. Outside of the framework of pitches for each musician to choose from, the rest of the set was all improvisational. In fact, I had a chance to take a look at the sheet of musical frameworks written by Gilbert. It was a sparse piece of music with only a few
complex chord progressions. The final measure featured a single note for each musician to aim for as an end goal. Outside of the musical framework, I was curious as to how each musician decided what to play and what noises to make. After the show, I spoke with Maya Johnson, an SMTD composition Master’s student, who was on the viola for the group. “I pay attention to what is or is not being done,” Johnson said when asked how she decided what to play. “If everyone is playing long notes, I tend to do the opposite.” It is this sense of opposites attracting that I believe made the show so interesting. “I also have my bag of tricks ... I’m the only viola, so a low C is never a bad move.” Johnson took into account the unique properties of her own instrument and used these properties to add a new dimension to the improvisational work. The improvisation involved little harmonization and few instances of synchronized sound. However, the few moments of resolve were welcomed, like an oasis in a sea of musical confusion. I found that I wanted to keep listening in hopes of hearing such a satisfying resolve or a discernable melody. In terms of the sounds themselves, much of the improvisation actually had repeating tropes. Much of the concert sounded very “L.A. Noire” or like “The Twilight Zone,” an eerie and unsettling soundtrack for a winter night. With a muted trumpet and a ringing vibraphone, I felt as though I was supposed to be solving a mystery. I felt unsettled, discontented with the music being played and what I was hearing, which is perhaps the purpose behind this improvisational method. The dissonance and discomfort builds to a point of relief, when the sounds finally assemble and come to a close.
Kirschenmann informed the audience, “We will all play keyboard instruments, and we are all going to sing, other than that I have no idea what is going to happen”
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 — 7
‘This is like giving CPR to my basketball career’ Juwan Howard impacting David DeJulius, other sophomores, with new confidence and energy DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
Juwan Howard has already been the Michigan basketball coach for nearly six months, and you’d still be hard-pressed to find a day that’s gone by without him mentioning confidence. A 19-year NBA veteran himself, Howard understands the value of confidence better than most. Though he’s a firsttime head coach, he saw it first-hand during his six-year stint as an assistant with the Miami Heat. Now, he’s applying it in Ann Arbor. Sophomore guard David DeJulius is the perfect case study. As a high school senior, the Detroit native averaged 26.3 points, 8.1 assists and 7.7 rebounds en route to a thirdplace finish in Michigan’s Mr. Basketball voting. Fast forward to the next year, when he played a grand total of just five minutes in the Wolverines’ eight January games and didn’t score a point. “Last year, you might get a few minutes at a time, so you’re trying to make sure that you make a basket or something,” DeJulius said. “(It) was really, really rough for me because I really spent a lot of time devoting my life to basketball, so it was really tough not playing.” That’s no longer the case, and DeJulius has Howard to thank. DeJulius has posted a combined 19 points and 15 rebounds on 60-percent shooting across the last two games. He hasn’t hesitated to let it fly from beyond the arc, with seven of his 10 shots during that span coming from deep. Despite barely scraping the six-foot mark, DeJulius ranks second on the team in
rebounds, trailing only 7-foot-1 center Jon Teske. So far this season, DeJulius has been visibly more comfortable with the ball in his hands, especially in transition. Though a three-game stretch is a small sample size, he’s played at least 30 more minutes than any other reserve. “This is like giving CPR to my basketball career,” DeJulius said. Under Howard, DeJulius’ fellow sophomores are undergoing a similar renaissance. Forwards Brandon Johns Jr. and Colin Castleton have provided a combined 82 frontcourt minutes off the bench, while sophomore guard Adrien Nunez, who saw more than five minutes of action in only one game last season, has started each of Michigan’s first three contests. “I feel confident out there on the offensive floor,” Castleton said. “(Howard) is just saying the same things everyday, preaching the same things into our ears everyday so we hear
it every single day whether it’s film, walkthroughs, practice or even (when he) sees us outside of practice, just implementing that into our heads so we can hear positive things, positive thoughts no matter what it is on the court. (He’s) telling us that he trusts us, and having a coach that trusts you gives you a lot of confidence. For a Michigan program that could’ve easily spent the first month of the season reeling from the departures of former coach John Beilein and last year’s three leading scorers, the emergence of the sophomore class has provided a much-needed spine. Even with prized freshman wing Franz Wagner on the shelf due to a wrist fracture, the earlyseason confidence appears contagious. With the Wolverines nearing a stretch of games against ranked opponents, they might just score a few resumébuilding wins if the confidence Howard has instilled continues giving way to on-court results.
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
Half of Michigan’s backcourt for the season has never been in doubt. Zavier Simpson, senior point guard and leader of the Michigan men’s basketball team, has had his starting spot locked up since before Juwan Howard came on as head coach. The other guard, though, has been a question mark since an injury to freshman forward Franz Wagner has forced Eli Brooks into starting at the ‘3.’ For the beginning of the season, Howard has turned to sophomore guard Adrien Nunez to complete his starting five. But as Nunez has struggled on both ends of the court, Howard has relied increasingly on another sophomore guard: David DeJulius. Usually the first off the bench, DeJulius has embraced his sixthman role on this team. “That’s kind of my identity,” DeJulius said. “Before the season, we had our meeting to make sure
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Sophomore guard David DeJulius is shooting 46.2 percent from the field after a strong performance against Elon.
I can affect the game, and make sure that I’m improving and getting to another level, so that’s my job. That’s my main focus. “I just try to be aggressive — take what the defense gives me, and at the same time, defend. I don’t get any plays ran for me, really, but I just continue to stay aggressive. I just play my role and do whatever I can to stay out there on the floor.” But he may not be the sixth man for long. Despite having started in all three of the Wolverines’ games this season, Nunez has only played 41 minutes —the other four starters average 98.5. As it stands now, DeJulius ranks fifth on the team in minutes played, with 81 on the season, followed sophomore forward Brandon Johns Jr., and then Nunez. In crunch time during the season opener against Appalachian State, when the Mountaineers whittled the Wolverines’ 30-point lead to a slim four-point margin, DeJulius — not Nunez – was Michigan’s second guard. Howard, it seems, trusts DeJulius, and is leaning on him more and more. “He’s super confident, and that’s great – he’s a competitor,” Howard said after Michigan’s 20-point defeat over Elon on Friday. “David wants it. He puts in a lot of work – comes in at practice, comes in on off days. Now he’s just getting up shots, but he’s also getting into the film, learning the game, and that’s some of the best teaching right there, so overall, I’m so happy for him.” DeJulius has not let his coach down. He’s shooting 46.2 percent from the field, and an impressive
37.5 percent on his three-point attempts. In statistic after statistic, he leads the bench. His rebounding — a favorite point of Howard’s — has looked better and better over each game, notching 17 on the season so far, second-highest on the team behind only Teske. “We talk about rebounding a lot, but that’s just something that I do, because every game, I don’t hit shots – that’s just kind of how it is – but at the end of the game, I want to know that I affected the game defensively, and rebounded the ball,” DeJulius said. “You can’t be mad at yourself if you know you gave it your all at the end of the game.” Nunez, though, has been less than stellar, shooting 41.7 percent from the field, and 30 percent from the arc. At times, he’s appeared to struggle defensively, playing just 11 minutes in last Tuesday’s game against Creighton, easily the most talented competition this Michigan team has faced so far this season. More and more, it seems that DeJulius is the natural choice to start, and that it’s only a matter of time before he does. After riding the bench for much of his freshman year, looking up to and learning from Simpson, it’s a challenge DeJulius is ready for. “Every game, I’m just trying to continue to grow, I’m continuing to grow,” DeJulius said. “I’m still going through growing pains, getting more experience, so I try not to rush anything. I just try to take whatever the defense gives me. “Each and every game, I watch film, and see where I can be more aggressive, and I just feel like it’s more of a feeling thing.”
I just play my role and do whatever I can to stay out there.
Lambert’s woes emblematic of team Wolverines drop Big Ten final on PKs BAILEY JOHNSON
OLIVIA MCKENZIE
With one quick look up the ice, Cam York knew his teammate had a chance to make a game-tying play. The freshman defenseman saw sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert streaking through the neutral zone and fired a stretch pass from blueline to blueline, right to the tape on Lambert’s stick. Lambert had a step on defenseman Jerad Rosburg, and freshman forward Nick Granowicz was just behind Lambert coming down the right side of the ice. Lambert had a split second to decide whether to shoot the puck himself or pass across to Granowicz on the backdoor. That split second grew into a full second, then two. The hesitation gave Rosburg a chance to sprawl across the ice to block the shot he thought was coming — but it never came. As he searched for the right decision, Lambert overhandled the puck and lost control of it. A brief moment of lost control led to a neutralized scoring chance. Instantly, Michigan’s chance to tie the game was gone. “He was trying to rush and then whether to shoot or pass, I think he was in between and he just lost control of it,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson on Monday. “That sort of sums up not only how the weekend went but how our season is going right now. We get a great play, great stretch pass coming in and then you get overthinking and you overhandle it and the next thing you know, you’re losing the puck.” It wasn’t the first time in the Wolverines’ seven-game winless skid that Lambert has missed on a Grade-A scoring chance. On Nov. 8 against Minnesota, freshman forward Johnny
It took penalties to decide the winner of the Big Ten Tournament. A high-intensity Big Ten championship match resulted in a battle between Michigan (114-5 overall, 4-1-3 Big Ten) and Indiana’s (14-2-4, 7-1-0) freshmen goalkeepers. The Wolverines ultimately fell to the eighthranked Hoosiers 4-3 during penalty kicks. “I’m really, really proud of their effort, their commitment, their quality today, and certainly we’re disappointed,” said Michigan coach Chaka Daley. “We thought that we could be champions. PKs is a harsh way to lose, but at some point you gotta decide the game.” At the start of the game, Indiana had control of the midfield, using its physicality to block off Michigan players from the ball and aggressively maintain possession. The Wolverines’ midfielders’ attempts to push back were often thwarted. However, Michigan’s back line proved to be its reliable strength as the defense limited Indiana’s opportunities on goal. Freshman goalkeeper Owen Finnerty made an impressive save 14 minutes into the half to stop Indiana forward Victor Bezerra’s powerful shot from just outside of the box. Finnerty deflected the
Daily Sports Writer
For The Daily
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore forward Jimmy Lambert has struggled to generate offense.
Beecher sent a pass to a wideopen Lambert on the doorstep of the net. Lambert fanned on his attempt at a shot before tumbling onto the ice, his chance at a game-winning goal gone. “Good opportunity coming down the slot, just whiffs on it,” Pearson said after that game. “He had three or four (whiffs). Once you’re not scoring and you’re a forward, you really start to press. ... It can get in your head, and we’ve got to get somebody in here to calm these guys and have them relax and not worry about that, because it’ll come.” For Lambert, so far, it hasn’t. He has been held without a point since Oct. 19 and has only one goal and one assist all season. “I don’t really care, honestly,” Lambert said. “I’ve been getting chances every night, so — a lot of people in my life have always told me that if you’re not getting chances, then it’s time to be worried. But I’ve been getting chances every night, so sooner or later, it’s going to go in.” And while Lambert’s offensive slump stands out after he led all freshmen in points last year with four goals and nine assists, his difficulties are only one example of a problem
Once you’re not scoring ... you really start to press.
that’s spread throughout the locker room for Michigan. In the Wolverines’ seven-game skid, they’ve scored two or more goals in a game just twice and have been shut out once. “I think we’re so uptight right now,” Pearson said. “Just relax and be the player you are and just simplify it. We are overhandling the puck. The more you handle it, the more opportunity you have to lose it or to miscue with it. Just keep it simple.” No one around the program seems overly concerned about the lack of offensive output. The common refrain is that Michigan is getting chances and working hard, and eventually the Wolverines’ luck will turn and pucks will go in the net. But through 12 games, Michigan ranks 43rd of 60 teams in the nation with 23 total goals and 51st in goals per game at 1.92. The Wolverines are dead last in the Big Ten standings with only one point of the 18 possible. If Michigan is going to turn this around, players like Lambert will need to step up and become consistent contributors. But as Lambert has shown lately, getting opportunities isn’t enough. Games aren’t decided by shot differential, they’re decided by goals scored — and the Wolverines have demonstrated an inability to put the puck in the net. And there’s no prize at the end of the season for the team with the most opportunities.
shot for a corner kick, showing that he has what it takes to fill the cleats of Big Ten goalkeeper of the year, Michigan senior Andrew Verdi, who has been out since October 25 after suffering an injury against Wisconsin. The Wolverines’ front line was finally able to ramp up the pressure on the Indiana goal in the final two minutes of the first half, and they kept that aggressive mentality in the second half when they started to dominate possession. The Wolverines earned their spot in Sunday’s championship after defeating Penn State 1-0 in the semifinals Friday afternoon, when senior forward Jack Hallahan scored a strong free kick shot up and over the wall of Penn State defenders and chipped off the post before connecting inside the net. Sophomore forward Derick Broche continued to be involved in plays towards the box during Friday’s semifinal, being one of the main point-producers for the team overall this season with six goals and three assists. But in Sunday’s championship, Broche missed a golden opportunity in the second half for the Wolverines to secure a goal in the second half inside the six-yard box when his attempt to hit the far post missed over the net. The Wolverines had other
opportunities during the second half with six shots on goal, while the Hoosiers had zero — a surprise, considering Indiana had 22 shots during its semifinal matchup against Maryland. Michigan’s final fate would have been different if it could have capitalized on one of its chances on goal during the second half. In the penalty shootout, Finnerty was unable to make a second save to maintain the 3-3 tie and the Hoosiers celebrated their second straight Big Ten Tournament victory. The Wolverines held the No. 8 team to just four shots during the match. Despite the loss, this championship game marked their 10th shut-out of the season, a program record. Now, Michigan awaits the announcement of the NCAA DI men’s soccer bracket on Monday. The top-16 teams will host the opening rounds of the tournament. “We’ll play another home game at Michigan in the near future, hopefully it’s Sunday so our guys can get a little bit of rest and we’ll go from there. But I think we’re definitely deserving of a top-16 seed,” Daley said. “It’s the first time in our program’s history we’ve gone for three NCAA Tournaments in a row, so it’s an exciting time for the growth of our program.”
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
The Michigan men’s soccer team lost to Indiana, 4-3, in the Big Ten Tournament final on Sunday afternoon.
Sports
8 — Tuesday, November 19, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Ahead of matchup with Hoosiers, Wolverines shrug off ‘trap game’ cliche MAX MARCOVITCH Managing Sports Editor
There are tropes that should naturally come along with this week, narratives pre-constructed to fill a certain template. The week after… The week before… Trap game in between… In the aftermath of a 44-10 drubbing of in-state rival Michigan State and less than two weeks from The Game, there is a propensity to look past Indiana — the foe sandwiched in between. That’s also, in some ways, become an expired cliché. In the four times the Wolverines have played the Hoosiers in the Jim Harbaugh era, two of those matchups have ended in overtime. The other two were close games in which the host pulled away late. At Monday’s press availability, reporters thus lined up to ask how Michigan would avoid looking past its opponent. What was lacking was the natural followup: Is it really a trap game if the players and coaches pretty clearly see the bait? “I don’t think it’s difficult to look past this week at all,” said fifth-year senior left tackle Jon
Runyan. “Indiana was ranked in the AP Poll last week, they were down by three to Penn State with, I think, nine minutes to go. ... They’re a good offense, kind of similar to what we do. It’ll be fun to see how they match up with our defense, but definitely can’t look past this Indiana team. Last few times we’ve been to Bloomington and gone to overtime. “There’s just something about them that they kind of always get the best of us.” This year, in particular, few in and around Schembechler Hall are under any illusions about the challenge of going to Indiana. The Hoosiers boast the top passing offense in the Big Ten, now led by senior quarterback Peyton Ramsey, who has completed over 72 percent of his passes and tossed 10 touchdowns to just three interceptions in five games this year. Indiana has totaled at least 27 points in each of its last six games. The Hoosiers will be one of the most difficult offenses — schematically and talent-wise — Michigan faces all year. That’s the only real trap here. “Sometimes, the Indiana
offenses have been a little bit of a departure from what we’ve played throughout the year — the potential of hurry-up, the threat of that,” said fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow. “Obviously spacing you out as much as they can. We need to prepare for that.” Added Harbaugh: “I think it’s challenging as any offense in the Big Ten. Receivers that are dynamic and can make plays down the field. Fast. Catch the ball and run with it.” For now, the Wolverines are riding high, undoubtedly playing their best football of the season. Saturday’s win marked the high point for an offense that had slowly grown from its early season mishaps. In an honest moment, players would admit the rest of this season boils down to the outcome of the Ohio State game. As that allure draws closer — the chance to re-configure narratives and dynamics — it’s mere human nature to prepare. That’s accentuated in a year where the self-assigned “game-by-game” mentality is cheapened by a lack of viable postseason aspirations.
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
The Michigan football team plays Indiana between two rivalry games, against Michigan State and Ohio State.
Asked whether suppressing that foresight needs to be expressed verbally, Harbaugh did not even entertain the premise. “Yeah, I mean, we come off a big game against Michigan State,” he said, “and you come back to work, regroup, refit, retool, get ready for your next opponent.” It just so turns out that the
next opponent comes with a set of challenges all its own. A game that could sneakily make the case for most impressive road win of the Harbaugh era, were it to come to fruition. “They kind of have this momentum carrying them, having a good season,” Runyan said. “I’m sure they’re going to
have a lot of fans come out, more than usual. I haven’t watched too much film on them yet, but I know there’s something really special going on over there.” Which is to say, if anyone’s peering down the track past Saturday, they sure seem cognizant of the hurdle waiting in between.
RIVALRY EDITION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN x OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
GET HYPE BY SNAGGING A COPY OF THE RIVALRY EDITION BEGINNING 11.26.19 Cam McGrone growing beyond speed
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone has become a focal point of Michigan’s defense in recent weeks.
THEO MACKIE Daily Sports Editor
AN EVENING WITH SAFA AL AHMAD NOVEMBER 19, 2019 | 7:30 P.M. | RACKHAM AUDITORIUM
FREE | NO REGISTRATION | WALLENBERG.UMICH.EDU
Every time Cam McGrone took to the practice field during the week leading up to Michigan’s game against Rutgers, his body shook with nerves. A few days earlier, junior linebacker Josh Ross went down with an injury against Wisconsin, thrusting the Wolverines’ established starting linebacker trio into peril. As the top choice to step in for Ross, McGrone’s first impressions weren’t resoundingly positive — his highlight-reel goal-line stuff contrasted missed assignments in a 35-14 loss to the Badgers. Still, the redshirt freshman linebacker was the clear choice to take over as Michigan’s starting middle linebacker when Ross’ injury developed into a multiweek absence. The message from defensive coordinator Don Brown was simple: Just be ready. Two months later, McGrone has done that and then some, developing into a permanent starter as a now-healthy Ross watches from the sidelines to preserve his redshirt. “(McGrone brings) physicality, speed,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh. “And getting better and better with understanding all the
adjustments to the defensive calls. His responsibilities and the others around him. Just playing really good football.” Those attributes — namely his speed — are what pop off the field on Saturdays. They’re what draw comparisons to Devin Bush and have the Wolverines salivating about what McGrone could become. To get there, he had to become more than just speed. “Seeing him as a freshman, I thought that he was very mature for where he stood when he came in,” said fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow. “I felt, physically and mentally, that he was at a pretty high level already. And then he made a big improvement from freshman to sophomore year. And obviously you can see how good of a player he is now.” As the MIKE linebacker in Brown’s defense, McGrone is sandwiched between the experienced duo of Glasgow and senior VIPER Khaleke Hudson. And yet, he carries the most responsibility, diagnosing an offense’s formation as it unfolds. “As a MIKE linebacker, you have everything on your shoulders,” McGrone said. “So it hasn’t gotten any worse, any better. But it’s definitely just been fun to be there, kinda like the middle of the defense, helping everybody out.”
It’s a responsibility seemingly at odds with McGrone’s inexperience, but through seven career starts, that’s the marriage he’s making. “Just being out there, running the plays that I’ve been running for over a year and really seeing it in real time on the big stage, it kinda clicks like that,” McGrone said. “Because it has to because the next play, it could be the same thing.” Ask McGrone himself and he’ll tell you he’s a slow learner — the type of player who needs a year of experience before being ready to jump into heavy playing time. Ask anyone else and they’ll extoll his ability to step in for Ross and immediately become the linchpin of Michigan’s defense. It’s why, when Glasgow — a Butkus Award semifinalist for the nation’s best linebacker — was asked about his personal accolades, he deflected, saying, “I feel like I play with better linebackers than myself.” Throughout his career, that’s been true because of players more experienced than him — players who were expected to be stars entering the season. Now, it’s true because of a redshirt freshman. “Cam, if he started all the games,” Glasgow said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was up there instead of myself.”