2019-12-02

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Monday, December 2, 2019

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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No answers

Ohio State crushes Michigan, 56-27, handing Jim Harbaugh his fifth-straight loss in the rivalry.

» Page 1B

Recreational marijuana sales attract crowds on opening day Ann Arbor dispensaries opened Sunday following Prop. 1 passage ANGELINA LITTLE Daily Staff Reporter

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Ohio State’s defense held the Wolverines to just 111 second-half yards as the Buckeyes cruised to a 56-27 win over Michigan, their eighth straight in the rivalry.

Ohio State defeats Michigan for eighth year in a row in ‘The Game’

Buckeyes beat Wolverines 56-27 at the Big House, continue rivalry dominance ETHAN SEARS

Managing Sports Editor

On Jim Harbaugh’s fifth try, on Michigan’s eighth since it last won this matchup and on a day that, for a moment, seemed to have all the ingredients, it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. And after another year of coming up short against Ohio State, it seems like it might never be.

When Austin Mack delivered the last dagger to Michigan’s

hopes, running to the corner of the end zone after a 16-yard touchdown and celebrating with his teammates as the Buckeyes’ lead grew to 22 late in the fourth quarter, Harbaugh looked on with one hand on his hip. He slumped his shoulders, then started to walk up the sideline.

After the ensuing kickoff, Patterson had nothing left to do but trot back out onto the field. He took a first-down sack and was still on the ground as

four Buckeye defensive linemen celebrated behind him. What remained of the maize portion of a crowd of 112,071 headed towards the exits. Those in scarlet congregated in the lower level, knowing their school’s grip on the conscience of the Michigan football program would last another year.

No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 13 Michigan, 56-27, on Saturday in a game that felt inevitable even after the Wolverines injected

belief into it. The Buckeyes went for 577 total yards and 264 on the ground as, a year after giving up 62 points in Columbus, Michigan’s defense had just as many answers as it did in 2018.

“We gotta be so much better,” said sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. “There’s nothing we haven’t seen before, it was all as expected. We just gotta execute better and just all do our jobs. And we didn’t.”

See OSU PAGE 2A

Hundreds of people lined the blocks outside local marijuana dispensaries early Sunday morning as Ann Arbor businesses Exclusive Brands, Arbors Wellness and Greenstone Provisions opened sales of marijuana to recreational users for the first time. The stores are three of six retail shops in the state of Michigan licensed to sell recreational marijuana.

Michigan passed Proposal 18-1 last November, allowing adults over the age of 21 to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. The proposition also stipulated that recreational sales of marijuana be subject to a 10-percent excise tax in addition to Michigan’s sixpercent sales tax. Applications to sell recreational marijuana opened Nov. 1.

The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency announced Wednesday that licensed retailers may transfer up to 50 percent of

their medical inventory from the past month to their recreational inventory. Currently, six stores have received recreational licenses, four of which are located in Ann Arbor, one in Evart, and one in Morenci, though not all of them have opened sale to recreational users yet.

Al Moroz, manager of Arbors Wellness, said he wasn’t surprised by the number of people waiting to make recreational purchases, as consumers have been making their demand known.

“We’ve had phones literally calling about recreational sales of marijuana since the first of the year — ever since basically Michigan voted to allow recreational possession of cannabis, people have been expecting us to sell it,” Moroz said. “We’re very happy that we’re able to sell it today. We’ve been seeing a lot of interest all week, basically since they made the announcement about transferring inventory, so we’re not really surprised by the crowds, but it’s still a great thing to see.”

See MARIJUANA PAGE 2A

State legislators introduce bills to implement housing justice Laws would prevent landlords from denying housing based on tenant income JULIA RUBIN

Daily Staff Reporter

State Reps. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, and Robert Wittenberg, D-Huntington Woods, introduced legislation to prevent landlords in Michigan from denying tenants housing based on their source of income last month.

The Housing Choice Voucher Program is a federal program that supplements housing costs for low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities. In the state of Michigan, landlords are able to deny tenants housing based on their source of income, including housing choice vouchers and veterans’ benefits.

Rabhi said the source of rental payments should not matter if payments are able to be made.

“If you are able to pay for the rent, who cares where the money comes from?” Rabhi said.

By adding housing discrimination to the list of what the Michigan Civil Rights Commission can investigate, Rabhi hopes the bills will address the economic discrimination housing choice voucher users face.

“The landlords want to be able to push people out because there’s a certain stigma that comes with Section 8, there’s a certain stigma when it comes with being low-income,” Rabhi said. “And that’s the stigma that is as much created by the landlord, as it is a social stigma that exists out there that we need to break down.”

The city of Ann Arbor already has protections against economic discrimination in place, as illustrated in the Rights and Duties of Tenants pamphlet landlords are required to provide. The portion written by the city specifies “No lessor may refuse to rent to you or to discriminate in your rental agreement or privileges because” ... “(7) You get your income from welfare payments or any other legal source.”

Laura Rall, Social Work student and president of Affordable Michigan, said though Ann Arbor already has these protections, Rabhi’s bill will benefit low-income and veteran U-M students and staff on the Flint and Dearborn campuses.

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Washtenaw County approves $100k in funding for Title X services

Board of Commissioners authorize funds given to Planned Parenthood FRANCESCA DUONG Daily Staff Reporter

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved $100,000 in funding for Planned Parenthood of Michigan Title X Services to the community on Nov. 20. These services include breast cancer screenings, contraception education, sexually transmitted infection and HIV testing and other wellness exams.

Title X funds do not pay for abortion services.

According to the press release, Planned Parenthood of Michigan serves roughly 10,000 patients in Washtenaw County alone, and was recently stripped of its funding when the Trump administration

updated Title X regulations in March. Title X intends to provide health care services to lowincome and uninsured individuals at little to no costs.

District 8 Commissioner Jason Morgan said he strongly supported allocating the money to Planned Parenthood.

“We thought it was extremely important to ensure that these other services continue to be provided,” Morgan said. “I think everybody understood the topic that we were looking at. I had a conversation with some folks at Planned Parenthood who outlined the challenges for me.”

After that conversation with Planned Parenthood, Morgan brought in Lori Carpentier, the president of Planned Parenthood

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Michigan, to talk about funding with the Board of Commissioners at a meeting. The board realized that it needed to start providing these services to the county through the Washtenaw County Health Department, but it would take six months for the county to be ready to provide them.

“We decided we needed to help Planned Parenthood to help bridge that gap so we didn’t have any of these services cut off in the meantime,” Morgan said.

District 9 Commissioner Katie Scott said she was proud that these funds would continue giving women access to Title X services during this transition period to the Health Department.

“No women, regardless of economic conditions, should be

Vol. CXXIX, No. 38 ©2019 The Michigan Daily

denied services like STD testing and cancer screenings,” Scott said.

Without these funds, Morgan said he feared the negative impact in the community would be widespread.

“There are 10,000 (people) who would either not have access to these services or not be able to afford them, and we would have an increase in STD rates, and a potential increase in unplanned pregnancy,” Morgan said.

Scott noted there have been some concerns in the community about the funds being used to support abortion services.

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Editorial Staff

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily Students from conservation biology visit the Detroit Zoo as part of a class field trip to learn about conservation practices Saturday morning.

FINNTAN STORER Managing Editor

OSU From Page 1A Against an Ohio State team that left Ann Arbor 12-0, the College Football Playoff likely in front of it, the Wolverines (9-3 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) had to play a near-perfect game to keep up. All it took to put the game out of reach was a few mistakes.

Senior safety Josh Metellus let Buckeye receiver Chris Olave get a step on him late in the first quarter. Seconds later, Olave was streaking down the right sideline for a 57-yard touchdown, turning a 7-6 game into a 14-6 game.

A few drives later, with Michigan trying to cut into an eight-point deficit, Patterson dropped a snap in the red zone. It was the second of three firsthalf drives that got to the red zone.

Michigan got a combined nine points from them.

“We knew we were gonna have to put up points and we needed to score a couple touchdowns in the red area,” Patterson said. “... You can’t fumble the ball down there.”

Following the fumble, the Wolverines’ defense seemed to have secured a monumental stop, but senior VIPER Khaleke Hudson jumped Sudoku Syndication offsides on a punt. On the very next play, Ohio State quarterback Justin

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able to easily buy recreational GRACE KAY and ELIZABETH LAWRENCE products he enjoys.

MARIJUANA Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com “We love easy access to From Page 1A Senior News Editors: Sayali Amin, Rachel Cunningham, Remy Farkas, Leah Graham, Amara Shaikh edibles, it’s fantastic,” Ryan said.

Assistant News Editors: Barbara Collins, Julia Fanzeres, Claire Hao, Alex “It’s dope.”

Harring, Angelina Little, Madeline McLaughlin, Ben Rosenfeld, Emma Stein, Moroz sees both safety and Arbors Wellness opened its Zayna Syed, Liat Weinstein doors at 9 a.m. but prioritized economic benefits to legalizing JOEL DANILEWITZ and MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA medical patients before making recreational usage.

Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com “To be able to have an avenue its first recreational sales. The Senior Opinion Editors: Emily Considine, Krystal Hur, Ethan Kessler, Miles first sales were made to Lansing that is both regulated and safe Stephenson, Erin White resident Ryan Basore and Flint and controlled and provides MAX MARCOVITCH and ETHAN SEARS native John Sinclair, longtime revenue to the state is really Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com marijuana activists who have a great place to have as far as Senior Sports Editors: Anna Marcus, Aria Gerson, Ben Katz, Mark Calcagno, Theo Mackie, Tien Le both faced arrests for marijuana cannabis,” Moroz said. “It should Assistant Sports Editors: Bailey Johnson, Bennett Bramson, Connor Brennan, related charges. Sinclair’s 1969 be a great thing moving forward Jacob Kopnick, Jorge Cazares, Rian Ratnavale arrest for marijuana possession for our company as well as the ARYA NAIDU and VERITY STURM and subsequent 10 year sentence whole state of Michigan.”

Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com LSA senior Eric TerBush spurred protests, including a 1971 Senior Arts Editors: Clara Scott, Emma Chang, Cassandra Mansuetti, Sam concert held at the University of was a part of Green Wolverine, Della Fera, Trina Pal Arts Beat Editors: John Decker, Sayan Ghosh, Mike Watkins, Ally Owens, Michigan at which John Lennon a cannabis business student Stephen Satarino, Izzy Hasslund, Margaret Sheridan and Yoko Ono performed, entitled organization, when the group the John Sinclair Freedom Rally. worked with Matthew Abel, one ROSEANNE CHAO and JACK SILBERMAN Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com “The first few sales were to of the authors of Proposal 1, while Senior Design Editor: Sherry Chen very historic people that have the proposal was being drafted. been fighting prohibition for TerBush also currently works ALEXIS RANKIN and ALEC COHEN quite some time,” Moroz said. at Benzinga, a financial news Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com “I was really happy to be able company in Detroit, where he Senior Photo Editors: Alexandria Pompei, Natalie Stephens, Alice Liu, Allison Engkvist, Danyel Tharakan to provide them legal sales of manages their cannabis media.

Assistant Photo Editors: Miles Macklin, Keemya Esmael, Madeline Hinkley, cannabis for something they had TerBush thinks the market for Ryan McLoughlin been working towards for years marijuana will not see many immediate changes. at this point.”

ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com “I think the most prominent Jacque Kyllonen, a Washtenaw County resident who arrived changes we’re going to see are Deputy Editors: Matthew Harmon, Shannon Ors exacerbated supply shortages. at 9 a.m. and had been waiting http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ SILAS LEE and EMILY STILLMAN for two hours outside Arbors Generally there’s been a lot of Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com Read more at Wellness, said she felt the first issues with supply shortages Senior Copy Editors: Dominick Sokotoff, Olivia Sedlacek, Reece Meyhoefer MichiganDaily.com day of legal recreational sales was in the past year,” TerBush CASEY TIN and HASSAAN ALI WATTOO an important historical moment. said. “LARA (Licensing and Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com “I’m here joining a part of Regulatory Affair) has really Senior Web Developers: Jonathon Liu, Abha Panda, Ryan Siu, David Talbot, Samantha Cohen history,” Kyllonen said. “I don’t dragged their toes as they slowly have a medical card, and I use grant licenses and slowly grant ELI SIDER EASY this as medicine, so it’s kind of renewal paperwork to people Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim cool. I have fibromyalgia, and … and (the limited number of I have chronic migraines, so it suppliers) has really not met up NA’KIA CHANNEY and CARLY RYAN Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com with demand.” definitely helps.”

Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Lorna Brown, Samuel So, Ana Maria TerBush said he imagines most Those who braved the cold Sanchez-Castillo, Efe Osagie, Danyel Tharakan were welcomed with free coffee students who are buying from Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Harnoor Singh, Nada Eldawy, Maya and donuts outside Arbors the black market will continue Mokh Wellness. Melissa Mueller, a sales to do so out of convenience until CATHERINE NOUHAN manager for the cannabis brand cannabis companies invest Managing Podcast Editor Mary’s Medicinals, which is more in cannabis production as MADALASA CHAUDHARI and HANNAH MESKIN Managing Social Media Editors sold at Arbors Wellness, walked they see increased profits. He Senior Social Media Editor: Allie Phillips down the line passing out donuts imagines a future decrease in to show the brand’s support for prices and increase in supply has the potential to decrease black Arbors Wellness.

“Arbors Wellness has market incentives.

MOLLY WU Creative Director “I think it sets up the initial supported us for a long time, so ZELJKO KOSPIC RYAN KELLY we’re just here passing out donuts stage for a black market to Special Projects Manager Sales Manager for the people who are waiting in decrease in size,” TerBush said.

ANITA MICHAUD ROBERT WAGMAN line this morning,” Mueller said. “The prices are going to suck for Brand Manager Marketing Consulting Manager Outside Greenstone a while, store openings are going Provisions, spirits were similarly to suck for a while, shortages are high. Sean Ryan, a senior at probably going to happen for a The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during Eastern Michigan University, had while. It’s a slow, gradual process the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is been in line for about 90 minutes that we’re working towards, but 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 and said he was excited to be in the moment it’s a bit rocky.”

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Fields sailed a 47-yard post route to Garrett Wilson, and on the play after that, running back J.K. Dobbins walked into the end zone for his third of four touchdowns on the day. At that point, with just over three minutes left in the first half, the Buckeyes led, 28-13. Michigan wouldn’t get within one score again.

Despite Patterson’s 300 yards on the day, and despite an offense that kept pace for as long as it could, that was all it took for the floodgates to open.

Dobbins opened the second half with a 41-yard run, then got 21 more when the Wolverines left him uncovered in the flat. On the sideline, Don Brown screamed and clapped his hands. It all built to a six-yard K.J. Hill touchdown to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 35-16, and all but ending the competitive portion of the afternoon.

As much as winning this game was an expectation few thought the Wolverines could meet, the sting will linger, just as it always does. Harbaugh is now 0-5 against the Buckeyes. Don Brown’s defense has given up 1,144 yards against them in the last two years.

Fields said afterwards that Ohio State takes this game more seriously, and true or not, Michigan can’t look to any on-field result to refute him.

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Michigan in Color

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Monday, December 2, 2019 — 3A

Dear Hasan, I’ve been meaning to reach out to you for a while now. I even contemplated writing you a very thoughtful instagram DM about how much I enjoy and appreciate your work and everything that you do to represent the Indian-American community. But the thought of sliding into your DM’s weirded me out a little. So instead, I’m going to let you know in the most normal and least awkward way possible: a very public Michigan Daily article. Plus I’ve missed a few meetings and haven’t written in a while, so this works on multiple fronts.

Funny enough, I was introduced to you by my Dad. For context, my Dad is a lot like Najme, in the sense that he’s a Dad, he’s Indian and still works with the intensity and passion that he had when he immigrated to America. He might be one of the hardest working people I know. Actually, on second thought, that might be my mom, considering that she had to raise me. But we digress. My Dad usually comes home from work and enters our house on what seems to be a very serious conference call, or he is just upset about something. Therefore, I was quite surprised and a little concerned when my Dad came home laughing on a fall day during my junior year of high school. He then told me to stop working on my math homework because he heard a really funny story on the Moth radio hour where the comedian was speaking Hindi and that I had to hear it. Now, for anyone who has parents who are engineers or maybe just Asian can appreciate the rarity of this moment. On most days, the opposite would happen and my dad would start teaching me how to do my math homework because of his lack of faith in my public school education.

He led me to our home office, found the story on the Moth’s website and soon enough, your voice started playing from our home computer as you told your prom story. On my first listen I remember thoroughly enjoying the story, but I remained skeptical. On one hand, there weren’t a lot Indian-Americans in show business. So as much as I enjoyed your story, I wasn’t sure if I’d hear anymore of your material in the future.

On the other hand, I was very convinced that our prom experiences would be entirely different and your story was just an outlier. And even though I didn’t have a “trusty huffy,” when I found myself driving back home in my mom’s Chevy Malibu at 2 a.m. in drenched clothes after playing hours of BeanBoozled in my friend’s basement, the only thing I thought about was your story (you can imagine how my prom night went).

Since my junior year, you’ve also delivered with your time on The Daily Show, your Netflix special Homecoming King and now with Patriot Act. Listening to your work eventually opened my eyes to something unique. It was the first time I had heard a

person talking about their cultural identity in such a confident and relatable way. And even though I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of my culture, I still had a really hard time trying to express it and talking about it with other people, especially when I started high school.

People don’t give you enough credit for how well you talk about your identity and the Indian American community. Being a second-generation immigrant is a very personal thing and can turn out to be an incredibly strange to talk about. Especially when you’re growing up and trying to figure it out for yourself. For example, in elementary school, one of the most common questions I’d get asked is why I didn’t eat beef. I’d also occasionally get made fun of whenever my mom would pack me Indian food for lunch while all of the cooler kids ate their Lunchables and wore clothes from the Gap. But in hindsight, you’ve got to give kids that age the benefit of the doubt. No matter how sensitive the topic, if an elementary schooler sees something they haven’t seen before, they’re going to ask you multiple inappropriate questions and throw tantrums for fun. They’re just curious kids who don’t know any better.

My dad’s job took my family to Bangalore, India for three years, which meant that I would attend middle school in India and move back to Ann Arbor halfway through the eighth grade. Questions of my cultural identity never really came up, because for once, I was part of a majority. I went to an international school where most of my issues came just from the experience that is middle school. Plus, I got really familiar with my culture and where my family was from. I got to experience a lot of the same things my parents did growing up. It was the first time I got to celebrate holidays with more family members than just my parents. When it was time for me to move back, I was a little nervous and sad because of the relationships I’d lose. But for the most part I knew moving back to Ann Arbor would be like a homecoming and that I could just pick up my life from where I had left it. However, I had not thought about how much living in another country for three years could change you.

I found this out in the most brutal and uncomfortable way possible. My very first class on arrival was Ms. Jender’s American History class. We were learning about the Trail of Tears and she asked the class for a volunteer to read a passage. Obviously, no one immediately volunteered and so Ms. Jender decided to wait until one of us did. I made the mistake of breaking the deadlock and read a passage that described some pretty horrifying things in a very thick Indian accent that I had picked up (Like, I’m talking multiple c’s guys). But by the time I was done reading,

I looked up and the whole class held in their laughter.

They all finally broke, when a guy from the back of the class said “Hey Apu! Thank you, come again!”. And at first I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But in hindsight, that guy was just a dick, there really isn’t a doubt in my mind about that.

In fact middle schoolers are probably the most terrifying people you could interact with. This isn’t solely from experience with dealing with other middle schoolers, it’s also from thinking about the stuff I was capable of doing myself. They’re at this weird age where we’d expect them to be at least a little mature, but anyone who does expect this is almost immediately disappointed.

Ironically, my first week in Ann Arbor was probably the week I felt most away from home. It was like everyone forgot that I had lived the majority of my life in Ann Arbor. Every teacher introduced themselves to me deliberately speaking in slow motion and overenunciating every word assuming I didn’t know English. A kid also told me they felt bad for me because they had seen Slumdog Millionaire. The funny thing is that when I had just moved to India and told people I was from America, everyone would look at me surprised that I wasn’t overweight because they had seen the movie Super-Size Me. When I then tried to explain to them that Ann Arbor was actually a nice place and that it was near Detroit, they would then respond in horrified expressions because the movie 8 Mile was somehow popular amongst middle schoolers in India. So the stereotypes really go both ways on this one.

When I talked to my parents about this, my dad didn’t really react and told me to just wait it out and that things would come around. My mom, on the other hand, reacted in a completely opposite way. We started listening to NPR a lot more in the car and she would often make me repeat sentences or short phrases in Terry Gross’s accent. Using this accent, she also refused to talk to me in Hindi around the house (this rule excluded my dad or relatives on the phone). She also bought me a lot of clothes from American Eagle because she thought that would help. And for my first two years of high school, it really became a situation where I’d leave my cultural identity behind at home and when I went to school I just tried to do normal high school activities and do anything I could to fit in.

But something strange happened sometime between my senior year of high school and now. All of a sudden I’m really having my moment as a person of color. Going to college in Ann Arbor while also being from here has been a somewhat interesting experience.

Because besides being deprived of fun, spontaneous college memories because your parents want you

to live at home, I’ve been able to have very different relationships with this city as I age. And I don’t know if it just took 2-3 Indian restaurants or more hot yoga places to open up, but suddenly the cultural identity that I have worked to keep low-key has suddenly become very interesting to all of my friends. My friends come over to me and ask me questions about my culture (that aren’t offensive), like I’ve been leaving them out of the world’s best kept secret. Earlier this week in one of my classes, my friend asked me where’s the best place to get Samosas in a manner that someone would buy drugs at a public library.

Other questions/remarks include “Hey I love the food at Cardamom, you must be so lucky eating Indian food at home” (I am lucky to eat Indian food at home because my mom makes it. And according to her if your favorite Indian dish is “Chicken Tikka Masala” or “Butter Chicken” from Cardamom, then you really aren’t eating Indian food. I’ll let you figure the rest out).

“Where’s the best place to get Chai tea” (If you call it “Chai tea”, then you don’t deserve to know). “Is hot yoga, like, authentic?” (I don’t actually have an opinion on this one, so I guess the verdict is still out on this.)

Now that I’m writing all of this down, I’ve realized that I’ve really become a real life version of a Yelp page for all things Indian. And honestly, I don’t mind it that much. I love the fact that I can share my culture with different people. Just make sure to give my reviews 5 stars, don’t be shocked if I don’t know something and don’t be awkward about it. I’m not an encyclopaedia and nor should I or any other person of color be obligated to talk about their culture if they don’t want to. But I did start to sort of act like one. Maybe just a little.

Best,

Devak Nanua

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White-washed Behind the leaderless revolution ELIZABETH LE MiC Columnist

I don’t like the term “whitewashed” as it is applied to people of color. Sure, we can say that Hollywood is white-washed — PoC stories and characters are frequently replaced with white ones — but to say that PoC themselves are white-washed is degrading.

Many times I’ve heard remarks such as, “She’s in a sorority, so she’s basically white” and “He’s not one of us because he grew up in an all-white neighborhood.”

Once, I was called whitewashed by a classmate after she found out that I listened to punk rock (AKA “angry white boy music”). She was suggesting that only white people could enjoy that kind of music, which is a backward way of thinking.

Another time, I was called a “banana”— yellow on the outside, white on the inside — for liking Starbucks.

Although I was eventually able to make light of these experiences, I’m aware that others may take great offense to being called white-washed.

And on a more serious note, we shouldn’t think of people as having less of a claim to a certain identity just because they don’t conform to our stereotypes.

A problem that is particularly relevant to the Asian-American community is thinking that

someone isn’t “Asian enough,” or, in extreme cases, a culture traitor, if they don’t speak their immigrant parents’ native language. I worry that we are pressuring people to other themselves rather than establish a genuine connection to their heritage for the sake of being accepted by their fellow PoC. This business of calling people white-washed seems to stem at least in part from resentment.

I recognize that some PoC are more easily accepted by white America than others. Further, I admit that I would be frustrated if another Asian-American was treated better than I was because she appeared more aligned with white ideals. The situation would be unfair, but I would be wrong for being frustrated with her as an individual, especially if I didn’t know much else about her. I would be wrong to invalidate her experience. How she acts could be a result of her upbringing, over which she had little control (as little control as I did over my own upbringing), and I’m not even considering the possibility of cross-cultural adoption.

Instead of judging people for who we think they are, maybe we need to address the structures and practices that favor white normativity in the first place. Maybe we also need to address our internalized racism, including our biases about what belongs to whom.

ELIZABETH HO MiC Columnist

In 2014, the streets of Hong Kong erupted with the nascent Umbrella Revolution. Led by activist Joshua Wong and his student organization Scholarism, the protests consisted of the 79-day peaceful occupation of Central, an important financial and tourist district. The name of the movement is derived from the use of umbrellas as an adaptive measure for protestors to protect themselves from tear gas deployed by the police. The Umbrella Revolution demonstrated the lengths that the government would go to in order to suppress its people. The Umbrella Revolution protested Hong Kong’s lack of true universal suffrage: a new bill stated that the chief executive was to be elected from a collection of candidates approved by the Chinese Communist Party.

In June 2015, the electoral reform bill was rejected by the legislative council.

Four years later, the Hong Kong government presented another controversial bill: a new law that would allow Hong Kongers to be extradited to mainland China. The frightening implications that the extradition bill could quash future pro-democracy movements were all too real with the arrest of key pro-democracy activists earlier in the year. The people of Hong Kong joined together in protest,

including a record-breaking turnout of 2 million protestors (the region’s total population is 7 million).

The 2019 protests hinge on a common set of five demands: 1. Full withdrawal of the extradition bill.

2. A commission of inquiry into alleged police brutality.

3. Retracting the classification of protesters as “rioters.”

4. Amnesty for arrested protesters.

5. Dual universal suffrage, meaning for both the Legislative Council and the Chief Executive.

There is a key difference from the 2014 protests: these new protests are leaderless and, rather than a united movement, seem to be the result of several movements linked together by the same ideology. The protests vary in nature from peaceful and

authorized to civil disobedience to vandalism and violence against the police.

In a piece for Quartz, Wong writes, “Instead of rallying behind one leader or leading body, Hong Kong citizens are all working together. In real time, we’re coordinating using online forums, word of mouth and organic, collective action, without the impetus of traditional movement leaders.”

Much of the collaboration is through Chinese-language websites, but non-Chinese speakers can still view and participate in the movement through bilingual websites like the subreddit r/HongKong on the American social network Reddit.

Boasting a membership of over 230,000 users, the subreddit is frequently updated with photo and video evidence of incidents of police brutality. As in the 2014 Umbrella Revolution, this year’s protests have been marked with numerous cases of police reacting with increasing force. As a criticism of the police’s response to the protests, numerous groups have called for a “sixth demand”: the disbandment of Hong Kong’s police force. However, there are concerns that the protestors may have more to fear from the mainland government.

Carol Anne Goodwin Jones of the Hong Kong Free Press reports, “The violence in Hong Kong in recent weeks has led to fears that Beijing is gearing up for a

crackdown against the protesters.

Direct intervention by Chinese forces is permitted under the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s ‘miniconstitution’, if Hong Kong declares a state of emergency – which it hasn’t yet done. The garrison of China’s People’s Liberation Army stationed in central Hong Kong was recently reinforced and the People’s Armed Police has been seen massing and drilling just over the border in Shenzhen. This lends credence to what the protestors see as a ‘last stand’ to save the city they call home.”

Already in their 18th consecutive week, the 2019 protests show no sign of stopping.

On Oct. 6, 2019, Chief Executive Carrie Lam employed emergency legislation to enact a ban on face masks. The masks have thus far allowed many protestors to remain anonymous. Opposing this law as one that may cause the police to also target the ill and those with respiratory problems, the protestors continue to wear masks to their march. Many now sport signs or alternatives to the usual face mask that reference the ban.

The future of the protests remains uncertain, but Wong believes that no matter the circumstances, the protestors won’t stand down until their demands are met. Wong states, “Hong Kongers will never surrender, because we have nowhere else to turn.”

Arabic food... but make it vegan NOOR MOUGHNI MiC Columnist

A little over a year ago, I made the decision to switch to a vegan diet. This change has improved my mental and physical health, but it also had the people around me questioning my decision. My friends and family would ask me why I did it and how long I was doing it for, but my least favorite question of all is “what do you even eat?” These questions revealed to me that many of the people in my life thought that without animals,

I could not sustain myself. My family members even saw this lifestyle change as a threat to my culture. They believed that a vegan diet meant I could no longer enjoy my mom’s Arabic cooking and that it would take away from my “Arab-ness.”

All of these negative views of veganism are rooted in an innocent lack of knowledge, so in an attempt to combat that ignorance I will share some of my favorite Arabic vegan dishes that both sustain me and keep me in touch with my roots!

This is another classic dish with the central ingredient also being chickpeas. It is a great meat substitute and when paired with tahini sauce, its flavor is unmatched.

Photo Courtesy of Archana’s Kitchen

This classic dish is simply made of chickpeas, tahini, and garlic, making it vegan. It tastes amazing on its own, and even better with pita bread.

Photo Courtesy of Archana’s Kitchen

This dish, though typically stuffed with meat and rice, can also be made by stuffing the grape leaves with vegetables and rice. I prefer to eat this cold, however some eat it warm as well.

The list of vegan Arabic dishes does not end here.

There are so many vegan options in this cuisine, and even more options in other cuisines as well. Vegan food exists everywhere, you just have to look for it.

Opinion

4A — Monday, December 2, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

VARNA KODOTH | COLUMN

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ALANNA BERGER | COLUMN

I

How rehab facilities fail their patients

n her new podcast series “Last Day”, author and activist Stephanie Wittels Wachs introduces listeners to her younger brother, Harris Wittels. She begins by detailing Wittels’s almost meteoric rise to success as a comedy writer, beginning with his first major writing job at age 22 for “The Sarah Silverman Program.” From there, Wittels was hired as a staff writer for NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” where he eventually became executive producer. In this time period, he coined the term “humblebrag,” which eventually entered the dictionary and was the basis for a book he later published.

As “Parks and Recreation” approached its series finale, Wittels was set to move to New York City to co-star in and write for Aziz Ansari’s acclaimed series “Master of None.” But less than a week before the “Parks and Recreation” final episode aired, Wittels died of a heroin overdose at the age of 30.

What many in his life did not know was that throughout his various successes, Wittels had been struggling with substance abuse of opioids stemming from a previous back injury.

He had entered and completed a rehabilitation program, which was successful for some time before he suffered a relapse. Soon, Wittels turned to injecting heroin for a cheaper, stronger high. By the time of his death, Wittels had completed three stints in different rehabilitation facilities.

The three-time failure of rehabilitation facilities to provide lasting recovery for Wittels is not an isolated case. In fact, between 40 to 60 percent of those with substance abuse problems who enter treatment experience relapse. The reason for these failures is not because of an inability on the part of the patient to get clean, but an institutional failure on the part of the facility to provide therapeutic processes that actually work. In the United States today, rehabilitation for drug and alcohol abuse disorders is a multi-billion dollar industry, yet it is also an industry that fails in providing lasting recovery for those seeking help. In order to remedy this issue, society must look into why these facilities have been able to get away with their failures and hold them accountable for the lack of standards that lead to an ineffective system.

For individuals dealing with substance abuse disorders, rehabilitation centers are the first step on a difficult path to recovery. However, there is no nationally accepted definition of standards for rehabilitation facilities.

This lack of definition means that there are no federally regulated

standards that facilities have to meet to be considered a legally sanctioned rehabilitation center.

The field of treatment for addiction is overwhelmingly underregulated and undersupervised. In many states, the process of becoming an addiction counselor does not even require that one gets a high school degree or has any specialized training. As a result, rehabilitation centers continue using old treatment programs that do not have scientific evidence that supports their effectiveness.

To understand the programs that abound in most rehabilitation facilities, it is important to be familiar with the “12-step program.”

This program has been the gold standard in addiction treatment for decades.

In fact, the exact 12-step program used today in Alcoholics Anonymous was first developed more than 80 years ago, in a time when neuroscience was a f ledgling field of study. Additionally, the program was developed to largely serve alcohol abusers participating in Alcoholics Anonymous, not those with addictions to drugs. Ruben Baler, a health scientist for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, emphasizes the popularity of these 12-step programs but states there is no scientific evidence they actually work. Baler further explains the only evidence used by rehabilitation facilities to prove the efficacy of such treatment programs is purely anecdotal.

The widespread use of the often ineffective 12-step program is just one manifestation of failures in addiction treatment. A 2012 study from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that a low number of patients with alcohol or drug abuse disorders who seek treatment receive any care that even closely approximates evidencebased care. Instead, many rehabilitation facilities pour their budgets into treatments like equine therapy. While such facilities boast the benefits of equine therapy as stress-relieving and moodboosting, there is no empirical data to support claims that they help in substance abuse recovery.

In the face of antiquated treatment processes, it is no wonder why many patients at rehabilitation facilities relapse shortly after finishing treatment. However, many substance abuse treatment centers boast inf lated success rates. In fact, many assert success rates of over 80 percent for their patients.

Yet, when they are pushed to provide evidence to support these claims, they are unable

to do so. In more realistic terms, the generally prevailing success rate for treatment programs is about 30 percent. Even after the realization that 70 percent of patients receive no benefit from their time spent in rehabilitation centers, a figure many experts still believe is too low, the reality of rehabilitation treatment gets more abysmal. A 2015 study found that patients who solely received psychological support in their treatment program are twice as likely to die from overdoses than those who receive opioid replacement medications such as methadone. Despite this, three-quarters of substance abuse patients are treated without the use of replacement medications.

As the opioid epidemic continues to reach crisis proportions, the market for those in need of treatment is as large as ever. When done properly, rehabilitation centers have the power to change lives for the better.

But a lack of accountability and scientific evidence for treatment efficacy combined with a desire to maximize profits create an industry that fails its patients. Those with substance disorders are led to believe that these facilities prioritize patient recovery. Yet the fact remains that there is more money in recurrent patient relapses for rehabilitation facilities than there is in long-term patient recovery. Perhaps this is the reason why treatment centers continue to utilize programs with no scientific evidence of their efficacy and simply perpetuate a cycle of patient recovery and relapse.

It is a cycle that led to the death of Wittels, the famous musician Prince and millions of anonymous Americans seeking treatment.

If rehabilitation centers want to become more capable of providing lasting recovery, they must abandon the 12-step program as a one-size-fitsall model.

Additionally, they must increase access to medication-assisted treatment with drugs like methadone as an acceptable treatment model, allowing patients to ease themselves into a longer lasting recovery.

Finally, the American public must hold the rehabilitation industry accountable for its unethical practices and corruption. In its current form, rehabilitation processes provide inadequate care to give their patients lasting recovery. By implementing these changes to the system, those suffering from substance abuse disorders can access the recovery that is all too elusive to them today.

Alanna Berger can be reached at balanna@umich.edu.

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds.

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

“

We cannot continue to fail our suvivors

Now that we are speaking, let us never shut up about this kind of thing. I speak up to make certain that this is not the kind of misconduct that deserves a second chance. I speak up to contribute to the end of the conspiracy of silence.”

This is from the very end of actress Lupita Nyong’o’s op-ed on her one-on-one encounters with producer Harvey Weinstein in The New York Times published back in 2017. I reread it now and then to better understand her story, as it likely shaped her as a woman and actress. Maybe it’s because I feel that I owe her and all the women at least that much. No matter how many times I try to read it I find myself wondering: Where did we fail her? How do we continue to fail every single female warrior who has come forward with their truth? I struggle to read through all the #MeToo stories because I already know the sequence of events that follows extremely vulnerable, courageous acts like Nyong’o’s: The story gains plenty of traction, elicits a strong response (typically more so from women) but then is forgotten over time. Where is the justice in this? It is unimaginably difficult to offer the world your personal story and to speak up about a deeply personal experience.

More specifically, the female voices stepping forward from the film industry to share their harrowing experiences with Weinstein deserve justice.

There’s a power difference between these actresses and Weinstein here that cannot go unnoticed. It’s an unfortunate thematic element of most sexual assault narratives. So let’s call it exactly like it is: Harvey Weinstein is a white, heterosexual established male in a challenging industry who preys on young, earlyprofessional women. It brings to light the disadvantaged position women — and women of color in particular — are placed in from the moment they choose

to enter a career in Hollywood.

Every story I read, I am taken aback by the confidence Weinstein presumably held: the very same confidence that drove his ability to mentally manipulate budding stars and to toy with their passions and life paths. Based on the social identities he holds, it is not a coincidence that he also holds dominance in the industry and therefore he is cushioned by his success. The power dynamics are important here because what he did is worse than simply disrespecting women; he disrespected their hard work. It’s the same reason why Weinstein is able to plead

How do we continue to fail every single female warrior who has come forward? not guilty despite the damning evidence and the same reason why he’s comfortable making a public appearance though he is soon to be on trial and faces rape allegations.

Just the other week, at Rutgers University, a minor was arrested for sneaking into the Livingston dormitory on campus and sexually assaulting a college student. What scares me is that, as I read this, I didn’t feel phased by the story.

It wasn’t until I read a followup on the case a few days later that I reflected and began to feel disturbed by the young age of the assailant and the fact that this took place in what’s supposed to be a safe, on-campus location with card swipes and security. Stories like this are happening all the

time, all over the world, and while there is media coverage of higher-profile situations, it doesn’t seem there are any steps taken to prevent this from happening again and again. This is the crux of the situation. When, and how do we start making strides to fix it?

I particularly struggle to read the Weinstein-related sexual harassment stories because I always wonder how Weinstein changed the feelings of his victims toward their hard-earned work. I learn about the strong women behind the words and I want to help them in the only way that I can: I want their stories to be heard and I want it to be their narrative. Sharing stories is an incredible and powerful practice and I am proud that there are mediums and safe spaces for these stories to be shared, increasingly so in contrast to the rest of the world. Yet, there needs to be a purpose to sharing these stories. There needs to be some reciprocation from the social justice end.

We cannot afford to let Weinstein slip through the cracks. We cannot let Weinstein re-enter the public sphere. We cannot continuously fail the victims of sexual assault. We cannot continue to only listen to these voices and then not confront reality. The justice system is absolutely failing our victims, but so are we. We must actively support and advocate for the victims, as victims shouldn’t be the only advocates. So until Weinstein goes to trial on Jan. 6, 2020, don’t just sit back and watch what happens. Educate yourself on the allegations, read the victim cases and actively support the survivors who bravely share a piece of themselves with us.

Varna Kodoth can be reached at vkodoth@umich.edu.

MARISA WRIGHT | COLUMN

I

n early November, Michael Bloomberg, billionaire and former mayor of New York City, entered the 2020 Democratic primary for president of the United States. Bloomberg entered the race to add to the moderate lane because apparently one billionaire and another mayor of New York City just weren’t enough.

Bloomberg’s entry into the race could be motivated by concerns about the rise of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and her wealth tax, which would tax two cents on every dollar of one’s assets beyond $50 million. This policy would disproportionately affect billionaires, because billionaires own a disproportionate amount of wealth in the U.S. In fact, the top three richest men in America — Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett — own more wealth than the entire bottom 50 percent of the U.S. population, which is about 160 million people. It is important to note that gender and racial disparities in wealth inequality are particularly prevalent in the U.S. Yet, Bloomberg isn’t alone in attacking Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders’ stances against billionaires. In fact, Bloomberg’s fellow billionaires Leon Cooperman, Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Ken Lagone and Jamie Dimon have also criticized Warren and Sanders for their commentary on billionaires.

Coopeman came out in support of Bloomberg’s candidacy, saying: “He understands how the world works. He’s not a hater.”

Later in the month, Cooperman responded to an ad by Warren’s campaign that addressed billionaires, saying: “She’s disgraceful. She doesn’t know who the f*** she’s tweeting. I gave away more in the year than she has in her whole f***ing lifetime.”

The billionaire feels threatened.

Poor billionaires. Well, except for the fact that neither Warren nor Sanders’ tax policies for billionaires would substantially reduce their amount of money.

In response to the growing whining by billionaires, Warren released her billionaire tax calculator. It has ready calculations of how much billionaires like Bloomberg and Republican donor Charles Koch would pay under her

Billionaire tears wealth tax. Bloomberg’s estimated net worth is about $54 billion; he would pay about $3 billion in taxes, leaving him with a meager $51 billion. Gates, who recently complained about Warren taxing him $100 billion, would be taxed about $6 billion, leaving him with a paltry $101 billion.

Some argue that we should be thankful for philanthropic billionaires like Bill Gates. Gates, famous for being a co-founder of Microsoft, also co-founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It wasn’t for purely altruistic motives, though. Anand Giridharadas, author of “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World,” has said, “Gates was the first one who really started and shifted his image really drastically from sort of … well, Darth Vader (by engaging in philanthropy).”

Philanthropy is not a substitute for taxation.

To be fair, the Gates Foundation has done a lot of good in the public health realm — such as supporting efforts to eradicate malaria, improving access to vaccines and expanding access to contraception worldwide. Still, Bill and Melinda Gates donated only $4.78 billion in 2017, which is about a billion and a half less than what they would pay under Warren’s wealth tax. It is also important to note a billionaire’s philanthropic donations are not guaranteed; they could stop flowing or significantly decrease at any moment. Philanthropy is not a substitute for taxation. A plan like Warren’s or Sanders’ would guarantee they pay their fair share to society.

Warren’s wealth tax could be used to fund universal childcare, student loan debt cancellation, universal free college and more.

Her six-cent tax on every dollar in net worth over $1 billion will

be used to pay for Medicare For All, which would guarantee health care to every single American as a basic human right.

What’s really frustrating about this entire conversation is that we are only listening to these people because they have a lot of money. Billionaire Tom Steyer has bought his place on to the Democratic debate stage — by spending $10 million dollars just to gain $1 from the required 130,000 donors — and continues to survive in the race because he can spend millions on TV ads. Being the CEO of a popular coffee company or being a hedge fund manager does not make you qualified to be president of the U.S. any more than being a reality TV host and fraudulent real estate businessman does.

Why aren’t we seeing the same amount of — or more — coverage of people whom these policies would help? Where are the interviews of people working three jobs to support their families or those who are being crushed with medical debt? Why do we care more about the opinions of a few rich people than the millions who are not insured at all or the 45 million people who would have their student loan debt canceled under Warren’s policy?

Well, Americans are particularly inclined to love ragsto-riches stories and find rich people aspirational. Millionaires and billionaires are ostensibly the American dream come true.

And yet, economic inequality hurts everyone, even the rich.

Bloomberg’s entry into the primary — and the collective tears of billionaires — is emblematic of how people who are empowered by the status quo will always work to maintain that status quo. Power is hard to let go. They’ll dig their heels in and clench their firsts, but we can change the systems that allow the rich to get richer while the rest of us get poorer. The billionaires are scared. And that’s how we know we’ve got ‘em.

Marisa Wright can be reached at marisadw@umich.edu.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Monday, December 2, 2019 — 5A

TV REVIEW

FILM REVIEW

A‘Broken’ industry Don’t let them in, don’t let them see: ‘Frozen 2’ is nothing like its mother SOPHIA YOON Daily Arts Writer

Big industry is broken. We all know that, and anyone that doesn’t is either a brainwashed minion for “the man” or not on social media, because exposing big industry is all anyone ever does these days.

Although this trend is justified, it has begun to grow repetitive in the echo chamber that is social media. The four-episode Netflix series “Broken” takes on the exact same role as these anti-industry social media accounts, but more in the form of an educational packet rather than a documentary film. Upon first watch, there isn’t anything particularly revolutionary about it — it’s a classic documentary you might watch in high school when there’s a substitute teacher in class, or if you need something to fall asleep to.

The topics are interesting and relevant enough, but the show doesn’t try to Season 1 make itself stand out as an investigative documentary.

Netflix Instead, it rides the coattails Streaming Now of these relevant topics to relay information that could likely be found on the internet with some light digging. The first season focuses on counterfeit cosmetics, big vape, poorly constructed dressers and single-use plastics.

The documentary never dives into deeper, darker parts of these industries, shying away from exposing them at their gritty core and the parts that consumers never could have imagined.

The documentary genre is one that’s difficult for filmmakers to navigate. Its intent is to inform, but it still has to tackle the same task of keeping the audience engaged and presenting their information in a stylistic way. “Broken” seems to avoid taking advantage of what new style and film technology has to offer and instead takes a traditional route, using dark filters and blue shading to indicate when something is supposed to be scary. My initial hopes for this documentary were reasonably high — after watching nature documentaries like “Blue Planet” and “Our Planet,” and touching into investigative documentaries, the genre that once was associated with boredom had slowly started to redeem itself. “Broken” is a reminder that the documentaries that stand out are just that — silver linings in a genre that remains mainly stagnant, struggling to find a balance between information and entertainment.

Like most informative materials these days, “Broken” also falls into the trap of being too preachy. While well-intentioned, it seems impossible to avoid feeling like you’re being lectured by some member of woke culture at every turn, and this intensified as I watched the counterfeit cosmetics episode of the documentary.

After being presented with all this information about counterfeit cosmetics, how and by whom they’re produced, the episode concludes by repeatedly emphasizing that “the hands are in the consumer” and nobody else to fix this problem. This led me to wonder whether we really need a documentary like this right now.

Exposure to the world’s larger-than-life and incredibly nuanced issues makes it easy for one to spiral into a fit of existential dread, and it doesn’t feel like another one of these woke culture preach sessions is really going to inspire the average consumer to change their habits more than they probably have already tried to for other pressing issues, such as climate change. It’s worth a try, perhaps, but again, “Broken” didn’t do enough to suddenly be “the one” that revolutionizes consumer behavior. There’s already so much shame against the consumer, can’t we hold producers just as responsible?

It’s a chicken or the egg question, and this documentary fails to answer it to any level of satisfaction.

Broken

SAMANTHA NELSON Daily Arts Writer

Disney had dipped its toes in the theme of girl-power before, with classics featuring strong leading ladies like “Mulan,” “Tangled” and “The Princess and the Frog,” but it wasn’t until the premiere of “Frozen” that the phenomenon of female empowerment in animated cinema was truly born. The release of “Frozen” sparked the demand for pale-blue, Elsaesque dresses and auburn, Anna-style braids and a record of “Let It Go” on a never-ending loop. A revolutionary tale, any “Frozen” sequel was destined to fall short of the original.

Despite its memorable, Broadway-quality voiced characters and inventive plotline, “Frozen 2” still feels repetitive and doesn’t quite live up to its iconic predecessor.

Picking up where “Frozen” left off, “Frozen 2” begins in the kingdom of Arendelle, where Elsa’s (Idina Menzel, “Rent”) powers have been embraced by the people, Anna (Kristen Bell, “Veronica Mars”) and Kristoff (Jonathan Groff, “Mindhunter”) are happily coupled and sidekicks Olaf (Josh Gad, “Pixels”) and Sven the reindeer are perfectly content. At first, it seems that happily ever after has finally arrived.

But when Elsa starts hearing mysterious voices calling to her in the night, it soon becomes clear that something isn’t right, and Arendelle is in jeopardy.

To save the Kingdom from impending doom, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven must journey to the enchanted forest, unveiling new truths about their pasts and setting the course for their futures with every step.

Central to the success of “Frozen” were Anna and Elsa’s contrasting personalities and familial tension. Anna was the

Frozen 2 Walt Disney Pictures Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX

fun-loving, optimistic and wide-eyed little sister who just wanted love and adoration from her elder sister, whereas Elsa was the troubled, more-seasoned one perpetually trapped in a hero’s journey archetype. While the clash between the sisters was acceptable in “Frozen,” their constant bickering about protecting one another from danger and overall misalignment is tiring in “Frozen 2.” Each sister is always trying to protect the other, justifying irrationality with love. Though at first touching, the back and forth “I love you more” narrative quickly wears down and ultimately weakens the pacing of the film.

Aside from the characters, what “Frozen” was known and loved for was its unforgettable music. Much like the other elements of the film, “Frozen 2” dropped the ball on the music, failing to distinguish any one song as a hit. Despite

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES

Menzel and Bell’s outstanding vocals, the majority of numbers throughout the film are, to our disappointment, relatively unmemorable. Only time will tell whether any of the songs will stick, but it doesn’t look like any tunes will be deposing “Let It Go” from its musical throne.

In truth, there wasn’t anything wrong with “Frozen 2.” But it didn’t wow, and that’s a standard all Disney sequels are (with good reason) expected to meet. More than anything, “Frozen 2” proves that it takes more than a new plotline and a fresh set of songs to craft an innovative sequel. While ages 10 and under will likely still appreciate the charm of Disney’s new release, older audiences will grimace at the lack of character evolution and catchy lyrics that it offers.

ALBUM REVIEW

Omar Souleyman shows us ‘Shlon,’ or how, to have fun DIANA YASSIN Daily Arts Writer

Prior to this week, I had no idea who Omar Souleyman was.

I found his name scrolling through Metacritic and thought it sounded like one out of my high school yearbooks or my mom’s soap operas (I’m Arab). I didn’t assume many Arab musicians were very popular in the West, much less Arabic music. But that’s specifically the case for Souleyman. Starting as a Syrian wedding performer in 1994, he has since amassed well over 500 albums over the course of his career. These records are a mix of live and studio recordings that gained traction across Northeastern Syria, and his stylings draw from a popular village folk music of the Levant called dabke, with a slight EDM-techno bend. He became a global force following his 2007 release Highway to Hissake (Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria) under American record label Sublime Frequencies. His reach has only expanded from there as he made waves at the 2011 Glastonbury Music Festival and collaborated with western artists from Bjork to Gorillaz. He has now returned to the scene with the release of Shlon.

To preface, I will not carry this review on as Pitchfork so pretentiously did with their review of 2017’s To Syria, With

Love, and credit his success as the result of any westernization track over subtle handclaps that beg us to clap and groove of his work. Nor will I so much as suggest that “his ignorance along. These lyrics comprise a love poem written by Moussa Al of dabke is a prerequisite for his success,” as DJ Rupture did in Mardood in one sitting during a recording session. Souleyman’s gruff, full recitation of the his 2016 novel “Uproot.” Just poem pairs well with the as American and European complex mesh of synth and artists found their fascination the fast-paced dabke and in the Japanese invention baladi on each track. This of synth-pop, the same goes only makes sense with dabke’s for Arabs in the Middle true niche at weddings and East. Rather, I will consider Omar Souleyman other celebrations of love.

Souleyman’s work as I would Unfortunately, these lyrics do any other work of dabke.

Mad Decent not translate well into English: Just as much as it is a genre “There are no eyebrows like of music, dabke is a form hers / They are drawn like of dance. The two work to swords” can only really keep reinforce one another, almost its true glamour in Arabic. inextricable in their pairing; Omar Souleyman strikes gold in combining the atmosphere there is no point to dabke music if you can’t dance to it. This idea radiates throughout Shlon. Clocking in with six songs in and energ y of an Arab wedding with the radiance of synthpop.

35 minutes, the album shouldn’t feel as long as it does. The By playing at the streng ths of both genres, he balances them effect is a result of placing the music and instruments at the over one another to give each a chance to shine. Every moment very center of a song. The album embodies the standard maqam of Shlon sparkles in awe and anticipation with a celebration and Bayati form with elaborate, layered introductions that can last party in mind. This extends to rank Souleyman not only as a over a minute long. The oud, mijwiz, tablah, daff and arghul dynamic wedding singer, but a deft producer who can wield two all cascade melodiously over the ambient worlds of music at once. synths that linger beneath, receding ever so seamlessly in succession between one another. This is alongside the contributions of other Syrian contemporaries, namely Hassan Alo on keyboard and Azad Salih on saz.

Shlon takes these ritual elements of dabke up a notch by way of unbridled delight and ecstasy. Its title translates literally to “what color,” or more colloquially as “how,” as the overarching theme of the album is love and how it works. Souleyman takes dabke and warps it into his own brand, every song loud, energetic and punchy. It never feels contrived or aggressive, and Souleyman leaves ample room for more sparse moments. Most notably there is “Mawwal,” with its subtle, all-encompassing synth glowing throughout the entire track. Oud and mijwiz alternate with one f lowing into the other to sustain the song ’s energ y throughout Souleyman’s singing until a daf solo that ends the song on a comforting note.

Alternatively, its successor “Abou Zilif ” radiates pure jubilance and enthusiasm, a pounding tablah and sharp arghul notes animating every moment.

Souleyman croons short, f lowery YOUTUBE proclamations of love throughout every

Shlon

Omar Souleyman strikes gold in combining the atmosphere and energy of an Arab wedding with the radiance of synthpop.

By playing at the strengths of both genres, he balances them over one another to give each a chance to shine.

Arts

6A — Monday, December 2, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

Mark Kozelek chronicles decade of lyrical progression LUKAS TAYLOR Daily Arts Writer

If anyone’s lyrical progression throughout the decade warrants a chronological volume, it’s Mark Kozelek’s. “Nights of Passed Over II” collects the words from the singersong writer’s prolific musical career over the past 10 years.

The book picks up where his first previous collection left off.

The cutoff point between the two anthologies may at first seem arbitrary, though Kozelek’s decision to begin in 2010 makes “Nights” an excellent documentation of arguably the most controversial lyrical progression of the decade. Love it or hate it, the collection is the best showcase of the artist’s singular lyrical journey.

Kozelek got his start in the late ’80s as the lead singer and song writer in Red House Painters. The group was as close to a boy band as a band could get and still be beloved by future Elliott Smith fans. Kozelek left Red House Painters and started releasing songs under the name Sun Kil Moon in 2002.

If any of those original Red House Painters fans were still on board by 2010, it’s hard to imagine they’re still here a decade later.

This antholog y shows Kozelek’s contentious lyrical shift from traditional poetry laden with metaphor to increasingly literal accounts of his daily life. After a brief prologue, the book begins with Sun Kil Moon’s Admiral Fell Promises. The traditional poetic style of the lyrics sticks out when compared with the following works, but the contrast makes provides a nice pivot point. Jumpstarting the change is 2012’s Among The Leaves. Lyrics from “Sunshine In Chicago” and “I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was The Best Night Of My Life” show Kozelek writing episodic accounts of experiences during tour.

It’s hard to say anything about 2014’s Benji — Kozelek’s next album — that hasn’t already been said, including the lament that there’s nothing left to say. The album showcases the power of direct nonfictional storytelling in addressing loss. Prompted by his aunt losing her father and daughter in two unrelated freak explosions of aerosol cans, the album is Kozelek’s tribute to his original home in lower-class Ohio.

Without instrumentals, not one lyric’s gut punch is lost: “Was it even you who mistakenly put f lammables in the trash? / Was

each other, the stories lament that humans’ fragile, expiring bodies are categorically underqualified to hold the lives that permeate through them.

The lyrics in Universal Themes, when pushed onto paper, seem to stray further away from poetry and toward prose.

But without the heav y subject matter of the preceding Benji, the stories feel inconsequential at times. Kozelek allegedly spent much of the album writing bored on a film set, and the resulting lyrics are about as fun to read as Mark is having

writing them. “This is My First Day and I’m Indian and I Work at a Gas Station” is a highlight. The lyrics read much like the title: a long, drawn out account of random life moments. The song and all its sporadic lyrics really shouldn’t work, but it’s hard not to love something so unf linchingly unique.

2017’s Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood should also, not by any means, work. Perhaps it only does due to its varied subjects: the 2016 election, the mysterious death of Canadian Elisa Lam and g un control (to name a few). By this point, the poetry of Admiral has all but disappeared and has made room for long, winding prose. Kozelek reads full letters from fans or promoters, which are less surprising in book form. In theory, the last thing the world needed was another take on 2016 politics. And yet, Kozelek himself is the reason these long diatribes stay interesting. The appeal of his work beyond 2017 is similar to the appeal of blogging. This is especially true in book form, without the varying instrumentation with each record. Song topics drift further and further into Kozelek’s daily life. The long, dairy-like entries will be too much for some. For those who have already put in the time to get to know Kozelek through his earlier releases, the records can feel like catching up with a new friend.

Increasingly, Kozelek’s avoidance of poetry and metaphor works to his favor: their presentation with daily subject matter would enter melodramatic territory.

One issue of the book’s form that does hurt the experience

is the lack of true cohesion. The book makes sense as a memoir which doubles as an account of artistic progression.

However, there’s a certain amount of whiplash from putting the disparate albums together. Without walling off each album, there’s too much proximity between a lyrics like “she wanted love like anyone else … she had dreams like anyone else” and a song called “Suck My Cock War On Drugs.”

The latter song came from one of Kozelek’s rants, which vary from defending transgender rights to critiquing music bloggers. The over-aggression of some of these songs is established by Kozelek’s grounding of the majority of them in sympathy with the experiences of his friends and family. These often come alongside the rants, like linking his disdain for San Francisco techies with gentrification and aggression towards homeless people.

In “Shut Up and Play the Hits,” James Murphy highlights the surrealism of popular artists like David Bowie: “In my mind he was from outer space, like, he’s not a person.

Like this isn’t a person that would wake up and whose foot would hurt because they kicked a couch the night before … The best you could do is just act like them … But you couldn’t be that.” It’s often jarring to find art that solely expresses themes contained in everyday life. Perhaps because popular artists don’t lead “normal” lives, or perhaps because people aren’t interested in the ones that do.

But daily life outside of tragedy also should have its place in the artistic canon.

By removing the artistic musical st yle, the bare lyrics depict daily life in a tone that ref lects what it actually feels like for most people. Many people will find these lyrics GETTY IMAGES self-indulgent. And perhaps they are. But it also allows Kozelek to touch on important subjects that wouldn’t otherwise be addressed. Life isn’t lived in the grand, memorable outliers expressed in most art. For the most part, it’s lived in the moments in between them. “Nights of Passed Over II” is a progression of an artist learning to express those moments.

Nights of Passed Over II Mark Kozelek Carlo Verde Records October 27, 2019

it your kids just being kids? / If so oh the guilt that they will carry around forever.” The brilliance of Benji is in its ability to focus on diary-like accounts of life when affected by tragedy.

Even as the lyrics forgo analysis for direct accounts, the choice in which stories will be told says everything. Alongside Release Date: Monday, December 2, 2019

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

ACROSS 1 Peruvian home 5 German philosopher who wrote “The Phenomenology of Spirit” 10 Microsoft Surface competitor 14 Chopped down 15 Amazon assistant 16 Italia’s capital 17 Imperfection 18 *Lucrative business 20 Mai __: cocktail 22 Hard to erase, as markers 23 *Medieval entertainer 26 Ave. and tpk.

27 Hard to believe 28 Word with York or Jersey 30 In shape 31 Forgetful moment 35 First part of a play 39 Doing as told, in the military ... or what the starts of the answers to starred clues can literally have?

43 Mario Kart console, initially 44 “__, but no cigar” 45 Pencil eraser, e.g.

46 Christen, as a knight 49 Hurry up 51 ISP option 54 *Hostel audience?

58 How chops or ribs are served 60 That girl 61 *Comedian’s suppliers 63 Modern in-flight amenity 66 Earl __ tea 67 Etsy’s biz, e.g.

68 Supply-anddemand sci.

69 Cravings 70 With a long face 71 Stink DOWN 1 Campus eatery, for short 2 Guns N’ Roses frontman Rose

3 Slow-moving coastal critter 4 Bothersome browser apps 5 __ and eggs 6 Slip out to tie the knot 7 Heredity units 8 Apply, as pressure 9 Joes who aren’t pros 10 Persia, now 11 Rod for stirring a fire 12 Change for the better 13 Pub game 19 Former filly 21 Prefix for Venice’s country 23 Perp’s restraints 24 Bagel flavoring 25 “The Hunger Games” star, to fans 29 Roll of bills 32 Insta upload 33 NBC late-night weekend staple, familiarly 34 Freudian focus 36 Heart of the rink

37 More faithful 38 13-digit pub. codes 40 ’60s hallucinogen 41 Org. providing workplace safety posters 42 Attain 47 Lyft competitor 48 Bottle-fed tykes 50 Backyard chef’s stick 51 Pooch, to a tyke

52 Drum type 53 Three-star mil. officer 55 Panna __: Italian dessert 56 Work with dough 57 Danger 59 “I-” rds., e.g.

62 Crafty 64 Hardly a friend 65 Confident crossword solver’s choice

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Adam Vincent ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

12/02/19

12/02/19

CARLO VERDE RECORDS

WORLD MUSIC COLUMN

The deep, dark pleasure of gqom SAYAN GHOSH

Daily World Music Columnist

South Africa (as I covered in a previous profile of House producer Black Coffee) has cemented its place as one of the world’s most innovative producers and exporters of dance music.

By now, the particular brand of deep house championed by the aforementioned Black Coffee as well as producers such as Da Capo are mainstays at clubs pretty much everywhere. One of the newest and most exciting waves of music coming from the country, in particular the coastal metropolis of Durban, is a genre called gqom.

Gqom, roughly pronounced “qwom” (although it involves a click sound present in the Zulu language), is one of those forms of brilliant dance music that harkens and celebrates an apocalypse or impending doom, a far cry from the sunny House of an Ibiza dancefloor. A typical gqom track builds around only a few elements, typically a single synth pattern or mangled sample as well as a powerful, decidedly atypical 4/4 drum pattern. The latter in particular creates a lack of stability that gives rise to a rather hypnotic and disorienting feeling, one unlike any other I’ve ever heard or experienced. While UK Garage is notable for its rhythmic “pushes,” even it has a very solid and noticeable rhythmic core. Gqom, on the other hand, features a similar type of “broken” beat but with a more intricate system of polyrhythms floating in and out and interacting with each other all at once.

The sounds of gqom were discovered and developed by teenagers in these Durban townships (apparently often using cracked copies of FruityLoops production software) and spread in a labyrinthine network of music hosting sites, Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

In some instances, tracks spread without the help of the internet

by just being played by groups of people out and about or even in taxis. With regards to the latter, DJ Lag, one of the genre’s most successful practitioners, mentions that “If a track is being played in a taxi, you should know that your track is a hit,” since “taxis are a symbol of dancing mood, especially taxis that work in the heart of Durban. And taxis actually are the heart of Durban especially in promoting gqom music.” One of the most intriguing and appealing aspects of the genre is the fact it is, for all intents and purposes, completely organic and DIY, a rarity in a world of industry plants and mega-studios.

Durban itself is the third largest city in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Like many large South African cities, the horrors of apartheid still remain under the surface, and many of the “townships” surrounding the city remain, on average, much poorer and less developed.

However, they remain a source of much of the new music being produced in the countries and provide an invaluable audience and party scene for dance music producers. Many producers note that the inherent darkness of their music reflects the uneasy tension between the desire to celebrate and the poverty, violence and lack of opportunity that are widespread in the areas they grow up in.

Gqom’s spread outside of South Africa, on the other hand, was facilitated in largely by a Rome-based DJ named Nan Kolè, who helped start a label called Gqom Oh! that released a compilation of gqom music created in the Durban townships for audiences outside of South Africa that doesn’t involve navigating the genre’s complex, fast-changing online ecosystem.

Its success has even spawned the birth of new fusions of disparate sounds elsewhere in the continent, and points to an exciting future in which more unconventional sounds are played in clubs around the world.

Gqom is one of those forms of brilliant dance music that harkens and celebrates an apocalypse or impending doom

Monday, December 2, 2019 | michigandaily.com

Alec Cohen & Alexis Rankin / Daily

Design by Jack Silberman

FOR JIM HARBAUGH, THE QUESTIONS ARE THE INSULTS MAX MARCOVITCH Managing Sports Editor

As the seconds continued to churn off the second-half clock Saturday, a sea of red began to funnel down the rows of Michigan Stadium. Chants of O-H-I-O from the traveling fan base rained down, and the locals filed for the exits.

The scoreboard was lopsided, and it would only grow moreso. The visiting sideline stayed composed because they’ve got more business to attend to in the coming weeks, and because nearly every one of them had been in this spot before, trouncing their supposed archrival.

It was a scene that could’ve been ripped straight from last year’s script, nearly verbatim.

After a 33-yard touchdown extended the Buckeyes’ lead to 56-27, where it would stay when the clock hit zero, sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson walked off the field, arms to his side, fists balled in rage, screaming

to everyone and no one in particular. He looked up at the sky and screamed there, too.

“I didn’t see this coming,” Hutchinson would say later, choking back those emotions after Michigan’s 15th loss to the Buckeyes in 16 years.

“No one’s happy,” added senior tight end Sean McKeon. “(It’s) definitely really frustrating, especially for the seniors. It’s just kind of the same thing every year.

Gotta execute better, and yeah it gets old, but just gotta play better against them.”

It’s easy to sit here and quibble about the particulars — about how three mistakes in the second quarter potentially accounted for an 18-point swing; about how senior quarterback Shea Patterson completed just four of 24 second-half passes; about how the defense relented 577 yards and 56 points a year after allowed 567 yards and 62 points; about a fourth-and-1 play call, and about nearly 100 before it; about how a team that fleetingly looked like it could compete was instead run off the field and shoved into another offseason of

unanswerable questions.

But those would be mere quibbles, drowned out by the cacophony of reality, which is as follows: This fanbase and this program measures itself against one program.

That program is one of the three best programs in the country. Michigan is not.

Ohio State recruits at a higher level.

It executes at a higher level. And for now, it is the singular force keeping the Wolverines from contending for titles most fans expect. That “level” is a nearly-impossible one to reach, and the Wolverines have found themselves hitting a really-good-but-not-great plateau in their attempts to climb there.

Twisting the dynamic of the “rivalry” into any other framework would be willful self-delusion.

Asked if that chasm instills a mental hurdle in Michigan’s players — some of whom have experienced just two wins over Ohio State in their lives — fifth-year senior Jordan Glasgow rebuffed.

“I can’t really speak for the other

players, only myself in that aspect, but personally I don’t feel like that’s the case,” Glasgow said. “There’s a streak.

It’s a bunch of individual games and they’ve been able to continue it on for the last 7-8 years. We just weren’t able to execute. As you said, execution plays a big role, the biggest role in every game.

We just weren’t able to do that today.”

Today, or 15 of the last 16 tries.

Ultimately, trekking that steep mountain falls on Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh — who now drops to 0-5 in his tenure against the team he’s paid a hefty sum to beat. It would be wrong to insinuate he’s been complacent in those attempts. After being gashed for 369 rushing yards in 2015, Harbaugh turned around and hired Don Brown, who held the Buckeyes at bay in 2016.

After watching Ohio State’s offense gash Michigan with quick tempo and alarming ease, he went out and entrusted an offensive overhaul to Josh Gattis, who hoped to mirror those traits. There will surely be changes in the offing, attempts to remedy yet another deep wound.

Every week-to-week tweak, every wholesale change, every bit of evolution comes with one goal in mind.

When that goal never comes to fruition, vexation builds.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” Patterson said. “What we do all year leading to this game is for them. We know it’s an emotional game.”

Then he glanced to his left, peering at sophomore running back Hassan Haskins: “Luckily Hassan’s got a few more shots at them.”

After the game, a reporter asked if the disparity between the programs was the result of “a talent gap, a preparation gap, a coaching gap” or another factor.

Harbaugh glanced straight ahead and shot back.

“I’ll answer your questions, not your insults.”

At this point, they’re one and the same.

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

SportsMonday

2B — Monday, December 2, 2019

W

hen it all ended, when the blowout was codified and the Michigan football team was taking a never-ending walk up the tunnel, Ohio State ran to the nearest end zone.

They linked arms and ETHAN swayed, the band giving SEARS the music, a sea of fans clad in red — the only ones still left in Michigan Stadium — supplying the vocals to “Carmen Ohio.”

It all felt like a repeat, because it was. A repeat of last year, when “Harbaugh sucks” chants rattled around the Horseshoe after a 62-39 Ohio State blowout win.

A repeat of the year before that, when the Wolverines let Dwayne Haskins take control after coming into the game as a backup and walk out with a 31-20 win. A repeat of the last eight years, over which Ohio State has outscored Michigan a combined 331-216 without dropping a single edition of this now-annual ruination. A repeat of the last 16 years, over which the Buckeyes have won 15 of these, the only loss coming in a transition year between scarlet and gray dynasties.

This is what this rivalry is.

This is what Ohio State is, and this is what Michigan is. A 56-27 drubbing. Jim Harbaugh sitting at one podium saying, “They played better today.” Ryan Day sitting at the other saying, “In games like this, it comes down to players. Our big-time players played well.” The Wolverines slowly walking off the field.

The Buckeyes linking arms and singing their alma mater.

If you think it’s any different, you haven’t been paying attention.

This isn’t a Jim Harbaugh

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

This is what Michigan is problem, a Shea Patterson problem or a Don Brown problem. Harbaugh brought Michigan to 10 wins in three of his first four years and still has a chance to do it for a fourth time — more than on par with what the Wolverines did regularly before a six-year Rich Rodriguez/Brady Hoke odyssey sunk the program to new depths. Patterson set a record on Saturday for the most passing yards a Michigan quarterback has ever had over three games.

Brown’s defense has been top10 in SP+ every year since he’s come to Ann Arbor, and even after Saturday, it’s on pace to do so again.

Since 1969, the start of the Bo Schembechler era, Michigan has averaged 9.44 wins per year.

Harbaugh has 47 in five years — 9.4 per year. You want him to restore this program to what it was under Bo? Check. Harbaugh has the Wolverines right where they’ve always been.

It’s not Michigan that’s changed. It’s Ohio State.

In that same 50-year span, the Buckeyes have averaged 9.78 wins per year. Since Jim Tressel took over the program in 2001, that number has rocketed up to an even 11. Since Harbaugh took over Michigan in 2015, that number is at 11.8. It’s a whole different stratosphere than Michigan, and it’s been borne out on the field.

“It’s just kind of the same thing every year,” senior tight end Sean McKeon said. “Gotta execute better, and yeah it gets old, but just gotta play better against them.”

But the gap goes beyond execution and just playing better. In the Harbaugh era, the Buckeyes have out-recruited Michigan in all but one year, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

They’ve landed four top-five classes (including 2020). The Wolverines have landed one, in 2017, and failed to get the

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

The Michigan football team lost its eighth-straight game against Ohio State on Saturday, a marker of the level of both programs over the last 15 years.

production they could have out of it. Want to find the difference on the field Saturday? Look there.

On defense, the Buckeyes landed five-stars Chase Young and Jeffrey Okudah, two future top-10 picks in the NFL Draft.

Young didn’t fill the statsheet on Saturday, but set an Ohio State record with 16.5 sacks this year and will likely be a Heisman Trophy finalist. Okudah held Nico Collins, Michigan’s best receiver, to two catches for 42 yards. On offense, the Buckeyes also landed J.K. Dobbins, who ran for 211 yards, and three starters on an offensive line that paved the Wolverines all day long.

Michigan got two five-stars in that class: Donovan PeoplesJones, who caught three balls for 69 yards and accounted for a number of second-half drops on Saturday, and Aubrey Solomon,

who transferred to Tennessee before the season. Of its 19 fourstars in 2017, just three — Collins, cornerback Ambry Thomas and center Cesar Ruiz — started and made a tangible impact on Saturday. Eight are no longer with the program.

The 2016 season and that next recruiting class was the Wolverines’ chance to narrow the gap, to capitalize on two years of building hype around Harbaugh and position themselves as real contenders to the Buckeyes. Instead, they were inches from beating Ohio State, failed to get everything they could from the next recruiting class, and now, this is just reality.

Ohio State is one of the best three or four programs in the country every year. Michigan is one of the best 14 or 15 every year. Harbaugh is a very good football coach who got the

Wolverines back to this level. But there’s only so many Jim Tressels and Urban Meyers.

Before them, both programs could count themselves in that tier of programs good enough to get nine or 10 wins annually and compete for a title every so often.

Then the Buckeyes took a leap.

The Wolverines couldn’t make the same jump.

Saturday is just what generally happens when a top-four team plays a top-15 team. So is nearly every iteration of this game in the 21st century.

“We knew we had the athletes and the players to get the job done,” former Ohio State receiver Parris Campbell told The Daily a month ago.

He was talking about the 2018 game, when the Buckeyes gashed Brown’s corners with crossing routes for 396 passing yards. He might as well have been talking

about most of the 15 games prior, or predicting the future.

This isn’t a gap that gets bridged in one year. It’s one that takes a recruiting cycle, and maybe more than one, to mend.

And to get that kind of recruiting cycle, the kind it takes to beat Ohio State, Harbaugh needs to … beat Ohio State. Thus is borne the never-ending cycle Michigan finds itself facing. Get lucky once, or find itself unable to meet an impossible expectation.

“We didn’t really put them in a position to be of pressure on them,” Harbaugh said. “And they played really well. They made those plays, they made those drives, they got those stops.”

If he wants to fix that, it’ll take far more than a few adjustments on a whiteboard.

Sears can be reached at searseth@ umich.edu or on Twitter @ethan_sears.

Offense goes quiet in second half Once again, ‘M’ defense falls flat ARIA GERSON

THEO MACKIE

Shea Patterson took the snap at Ohio State’s 16 early in the second quarter, hoping to convert third down and potentially bring Michigan within two points.

But he dropped the ball, and a Buckeye fell on it. You’ve seen that before.

What happened next should be familiar, too.

After staying with Ohio State in the first quarter, trading blow for blow, the offense went quiet. Mistakes piled up.

The Wolverines scored just 11 points in the second half.

Jim Harbaugh spent nearly two minutes after the game diagnosing the problems: red zone issues, lack of momentum, not making plays.

But the phrase everyone who spoke to the media used more than any other was we didn’t execute. That about summed it up.

When the dust cleared on a 56-27 loss, Michigan’s eighthstraight to the Buckeyes, it was clear: the Wolverines may have had a new look offense complete with a flashy hashtag and some gaudy stats against mid-tier teams, but it wasn’t good enough to keep up with Ohio State. Again.

“It was in just the second half, a few errors,” Patterson said. “ … You just gotta play the same way for four quarters, not just two or three.”

At the end of the second half, Patterson found junior receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in the end zone for a would-be touchdown — would be, if Peoples-Jones hadn’t dropped it. Michigan was forced to kick a field goal.

Peoples-Jones had two more drops in the third quarter.

Sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell had one, too, when a catch would’ve converted thirdand-16. Even when Patterson tried to put the team on his back, the receivers didn’t hold up their end of the deal.

“Just made too many mistakes. Too many drops,”

Jim Harbaugh brought his hands to hips, an empty stare glued to his face.

If he had looked forward, he would’ve seen Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins leaping into the end zone, sparking pandemonium from the sea of red behind him.

Instead, Harbaugh looked down, training his eyes toward his playbook, seemingly in search of answers.

For the eighth-straight year — and fifth in Harbaugh’s five seasons — there were none. Just a 56-27 defeat, further cementing the balance of power in a rivalry that leaves Michigan searching for its soul every November.

It’s a program that, as long as Harbaugh has been here, has hung its identity on its defense. Every year, its defense is lauded as one of the nation’s best. Every year, its defense is the reason it thinks it can beat Ohio State. Every year, the stats back those assertions up through 11 weeks.

And then this game comes, obliterating those misconceptions and exposing the talent gap that the Wolverines spend three months dismissing.

“They’re a very talented team, obviously, (have been) throughout the entire year,” said fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow.

“But we’re just as talented, I feel like.”

Minutes earlier, sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson

Daily Sports Editor

Daily Sports Editor

ALEC COHEN/Daily

Shea Patterson said Michigan struggled to keep the same level all game.

said senior tight end Sean McKeon. “ … Just gotta be confident in catching the ball.

Gotta make the tough plays, the one-one-one matchups.”

Other times, the Buckeyes simply made plays.

The Wolverines’ receivers are big, strong, athletic.

But they hadn’t faced a secondary like Ohio State’s, either. And when it came to 50-50 balls, for the first time all season, Michigan was on the wrong side of the coin.

And that’s not even to speak for the run game.

The Wolverines rushed for just 91 yards and struggled to get anything going on that side of the ball the entire game. No play was more emblematic of that than an attempted fourth-and-1 conversion in the fourth quarter, when Michigan attempted to run a wildcat play and opened a gaping hole for Hassan Haskins — but Haskins didn’t see it and got stuffed.

With the run game struggling to get off the ground and the Wolverines down big in the second half, the Buckeyes could focus their game plan on trying to stop Michigan’s receivers.

They did just that.

“Just gotta find a way to get

on top and play with a lead if they allow you to on offense,” McKeon said. “… Can’t afford to throw the ball every play. It closes off half our offense.”

Meanwhile, on the other end of the field, Ohio State put star running back J.K. Dobbins in a position to run wild. Quarterback Justin Fields picked his spots and took his shots and converted every time.

The Buckeyes were a more talented team, yes — with three legit Heisman candidates and a glut of fivestar talent.

They didn’t get ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff poll for nothing.

But on Saturday, they were also the better team. The team that made fewer mistakes.

“They definitely made deep shots when we didn’t, took more deep shots, coverage on those, it was kinda deflating to our defense,” McKeon said.

“They converted on all of their red zone drives, converted touchdowns. We didn’t.”

Ohio State executed, plain and simple — and in doing so, showed Michigan what its offense wants to be, but has never quite actually been.

You’ve seen that before.

Just made too many mistakes.

Too many drops.

sat in the same seat, rejecting the notion that defensive coordinator Don Brown’s scheme was at fault.

“It’s not scheme, we just gotta execute,” Hutchinson said. “That’s it.”

The answer most likely lies between scheme and talent. Per 247’s composite rankings, Ohio State’s roster has 13 former fivestar recruits to Michigan’s four.

For four-stars, the gap is 47 to 36.

None of that is insurmountable, but it creates an uphill battle.

A year ago, that talent gap was evident when Dwayne Haskins shredded Michigan for 396 yards and six touchdowns. In that game, though, Brown stood at the center of criticism for his inability to scheme against the Buckeyes’ crossing routes. This year, there was no single weakness that stood out so glaringly.

Dobbins piled on 211 rushing yards, quarterback Justin Fields passed for 301 and four scores and, once again, Ohio State did whatever it wanted to the Wolverines.

By the time the Buckeyes congregated in the south end zone, dancing on the maize ‘M’ while Michigan trudged down the tunnel, they had scored more points than they did against Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, Indiana, Nebraska, Michigan State and Northwestern.

“We gotta dig down next year, see what we got,” Hutchinson said.

“You’re not gonna win ballgames when you’re letting up 50 to 60 points. It’s not gonna happen. So,

we gotta be better.”

It’s an eerily similar sentiment to the one the Wolverines preached a year ago, with an identical silence enveloping Ohio Stadium’s auxiliary media room.

“We’ll come back motivated and make darn sure it doesn’t happen again,” Harbaugh said then.

To make sure he stayed true to his word, Harbaugh went out and hired a young, forwardthinking offensive coordinator, relinquishing the keys to his offense for the first time in his coaching career. But on the defensive side, his only changes came when his hand was forced by these Buckeyes poaching two of his most respected assistant coaches.

So a year later, when a nearcarbon copy of that game unfolded in Ann Arbor, there were more questions than answers.

“I’m not going into the criticizing, and blaming and things like that,” Harbaugh said.

He doesn’t need to — the stat sheet does it for him. Ohio State’s composite offensive line over these past two versions of The Game: 118 points, 1,144 yards.

Minutes later, as Hutchinson stared at that stat sheet, all he could do was pause and shake his head in disbelief.

“It’s hard to look at,” Hutchinson said. “We’re just a better defense than this, we’re a better team than this.”

For the second year in a row, they’ll have to wait 12 months to prove it.

ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily

Michigan’s defense gave up 56 points to Ohio State on Saturday a year after giving up 62 to the Buckeyes.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SportsMonday

December 2, 2019 — 3B

SportsMonday

4B — December 2, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wolverines topple No. 8 Gonzaga, 82-64, win Battle 4 Atlantis title ABBY SNYDER

Daily Sports Writer

Nobody thought much of this Michigan team.

Nobody thought they would finish beyond the middle of the pack in their conference.

Nobody thought they would go to the Bahamas and come back with a trophy.

Three days and three quality wins later, the Wolverines are proving that they have a lot more potential than anyone was giving them credit for. They defeated No. 8 Gonzaga, 82-64, on Friday in the championship of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament

in the Bahamas, their second win over a top-10 team in as many days, as their defense stifled the Bulldogs’ imposing transition offense.

“We’re here to win,” said Michigan coach Juwan Howard.

“They believe in it, they trust in it, and it worked. At the end of the day, I’m just so proud of this group, and how they competed throughout the weekend.”

The Wolverines started the game playing from behind, as Gonzaga’s size and speed up front helped the Bulldogs out to a quick start, but Michigan seem to find its composure around the 13-minute mark, going on a

10-0 run and eventually taking the lead as their shots started to fall and their defense started to have more success.

From there, the game was closely matched, but the Wolverines were much more confident than they had initially, contesting more rebounds and playing more aggressively in their frontcourt. It was most notable in senior center Jon Teske, who was visibly fired up as his shots kept finding the net late in the first half, and especially after he tipped in a rebound of a missed three-point attempt from junior guard Eli Brooks to put Michigan up by

eleven going into the halftime break.

“As a senior now, I gotta be a leader,” Teske, who finished with 19 points, said. “I came in and I knew my role. Everyone knows their role at a certain point, and now there’s been a chance as I’ve gotten older, as a junior and senior, where I just gotta lead the younger guys, and just try and help the team win, and we’re having fun doing it.”

Sophomore guard David DeJulius also looked good for Michigan on Friday, moving nicely inside the paint and passing well. He has seen more minutes recently, playing 66 minutes over the three tournament games in the Bahamas, and has flourished in the sixth-man role, leading the

bench all season.

The Wolverines started slow again coming out of the break, not scoring until three and a half minutes into the second half, giving the Zags a chance to go on a 10-0 run of their own. Michigan did eventually warm back up, though, and seized control of the game around the 14-minute mark, taking a 12-point lead on backto-back threes from freshman guard Franz Wagner and junior forward Isaiah Livers and then expanding it to a 19-point margin around the 11-minute mark. From there, the game and the championship were never in question.

Michigan is as of yet unranked, something that is likely to change after

tournament wins over the Bulldogs as well as Iowa State on Wednesday and No. 6 North Carolina on Thursday. The Wolverines head into a tough midweek away game against potential No. 1 Louisville on Tuesday, another chance to prove themselves against highlevel competition, but the top priority for now is staying in the rhythm they’ve found these last few games.

“We just keep grinding,” Livers said. “We don’t really pay attention to all the media stuff. We want to play Michigan basketball, and that’s all – that’s all – we’re going to be focused on. We’re not focused on any rankings, or any of that outside mess that people want to talk about. We play for each other.”

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Senior center Jon Teske scored 19 points against Gonzaga in Battle 4 Atlantis final as Michigan won, 82-64.

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