2020-02-05

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Ann Arbor, Michigan

statement

michigandaily.com

From behind the screen

Whitmer in SOTU reply: ‘Democracy takes action’

In State of the Union response, MI Governor talks impeachment, voting JULIA FORREST Daily Staff Reporter

Climate activists criticize University’s endowment investments in fossil fuels

DESIGN BY LAUREN KUZEE

Report finds ‘U’ invested $26M in private equity fund financing conservative PAC KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter

A report from the Public Accountability Initiative has connected the University of Michigan to private equity fund Lime Rock Partners, which directly finances billionaire Texas oil-driver Tim Dunn and a far-right political action committee called Empower Texans.

With the growing traction of the fossil fuel divestment

movement on campus and greater emphasis on responsible investment, groups within the University of Michigan community feel more empowered to demand responsible investment that aligns with commonly-held values on campus.

Simultaneously, University officials have weighed distancing investments from the public eye.

In late September, the Public Accountability Initiative released a report showing that

$26 million of the University endowment was invested in private equity fund Lime Rock Partners as of October 2018.

The fund finances Dunn and Empower Texans, a conservative group that has a major role in supporting far-right rhetoric and legislation in Texas politics.

Climate activists on campus have rebuked the investment.

Law student Nash Hall, a member of Climate Action Movement, said the University’s financial support of political

organizations such as Empower Texans stands against the values of the University and democracy in general.

“It’s important to recognize when you’re talking about electoral politics that the same organizations or the same people who are pouring money into the Empower Texans organization are also affirmatively antidemocracy in their views,” Hall said.

See INVESTMENT, Page 3A

In her response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer emphasized civic engagement and her commitment to a hopeful future for America.

“We and all Americans might be weary of today’s politics, but we must stay engaged,” Whitmer said. “Our country, our democracy, our future demand it. We’re capable of great things when we work together.”

Whitmer gave the speech on Tuesday evening at her daughters’ school, East Lansing High School. Generally, the Democrat’s rebuttal has been given by rising politicians in the Democratic party, allowing them to present their opposition in front of the nation.

In a press release, Senate minority leader Chuck

LSA Dean Town hall talks carbon neutrality, examines solutions to improve sustainability fulfilling 15 campus, Ann Arbor organizations convene to discuss environment policy education ACADEMICS

PARNIA MAZHAR

Anne Curzan looks at future of liberal arts studies at RC lecture LOLA YANG For The Daily

Anne Curzan, the University of Michigan Literature, Science and the Arts dean, spoke about the value of a liberal arts education to a crowd of approximately 100 people Tuesday afternoon in Keene Theater. The speech was part of the The Residential College’s annual Robertson Lecture.

Curzan said she is constantly fascinated by the breadth of subjects students can explore in LSA and expressed her love for learning, especially about languages. She served as the Geneva Smitherman Collegiate Professor of English, Linguistics and Education prior to her appointment as dean.

“I went to college, and I didn’t even know what linguistics was,” Curzan said.

“How I’ve got from there, from going to college as a math major to becoming a linguistics major, is through a liberal arts degree.”

When discussing the importance of exploration, Curzan noted the social pressure that forces people to act as if they always know the answer to every question asked of them.

See EDUCATION, Page 3A

Daily Staff Reporter

Fifteen University of Michigan and Ann Arbor environmental and political advocacy groups attended the Campus Carbon Neutrality Communication and Culture Town Hall on Tuesday evening to discuss options for improving the University’s sustainability efforts. Approximately 25

people attended the town hall in West Hall.

The President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality led the event.

Joseph Trumpey, Art & Design associate professor, the host of the town hall, said its purpose was to focus on how student organizations cancan help achieve carbon neutrality within their own groups, but also across campus.

“I think the main question

here is, ‘What is the culture of U-M, the institution?

How does it relate to student organizations and student life on campus, and what can be improved to make carbon neutrality a mission that you feel is shared, that the University is supporting you, and you’re supporting the University, and everything moves forward?’” Trumpey said.

The PCCN highlighted some of its own

recommendations for the University. Trumpey said the group is encouraging fossil fuel divestment options for faculty and staff, as well as an institution-wide threecredit educational and training requirement on the environment, among other suggestions. He said a preliminary step in spreading educational awareness would be continuing Planet Blue, See CARBON, Page 3A

Schumer, D-NY, spoke about the various reasons for choosing Whitmer to give the speech.

“Governor Whitmer’s dedication to Michiganders is a model for public servants everywhere,” Schumer said in the press release. “Whether it’s pledging to ‘Fix the Damn Roads’ or investing in climate solutions, Governor Whitmer’s vision for the future is exactly what this country needs, and I’m thrilled she is giving the Democratic response.”

Michigan, Whitmer’s home state, is also considered a key battleground state in the upcoming 2020 election. Whitmer won her gubernatorial race by 10 points over former Republican State Attorney General Bill Schuette in 2018, two years after Trump won the state by a slight margin over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

See WHITMER, Page 3A

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

CSG gives exercise passes to students

Government provides ‘GroupX’ permit to Pell Grant recipients JULIA RUBIN

Daily Staff Reporter

In response to the rising cost of exercise classes in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government launched a program in conjunction with Michigan Recreational Sports last semester to eliminate barriers to physical and social wellness for low-income students.

CSG received more than 140 applications for the 75 passes for the winter semester.

In August, Central Student Government began subsidizing Group X passes for Pell Granteligible students. Last semester, CSG received 40 applications for the 75 available passes in fall.

Group X passes provide students access to all fitness classes on campus, totaling more than 100 classes per week. The group classes range include cycling, yoga and zumba.

CSG President Ben Gerstein, Public Policy junior, said when a member of the CSG Affordability Task Force and a member of Affordable Michigan recommended that CSG subsidize Group X passes, he integrated the policy into his campaign platform.

RUCHITA IYER/Daily Students focus on assessing carbon neutrality in student organizations at the Presidents Commission on Carbon Neutrality town hall in West Hall Tuesday evening.

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

Follow The Daily on Instagram, @michigandaily

For more stories and coverage, visit

michigandaily.com

INDEX

NEWS......................... 2A Vol. CXXIX, No. 63 OPINION.....................4A ©2019 The Michigan Daily C L A S S I F I E D S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 A

See PASSES, Page 3A

S TAT E M E N T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 B ARTS...................5A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A

News

2A — Wednesday, February 5, 2020

MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers

TUESDAY:

By Design

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

WEDNESDAY: This Week in History

THURSDAY: Twitter Talk

FRIDAY: Behind the Story

Feb. 5, 1970: Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs hits Students for a Democratic Society’s disruptive actions

The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA) yesterday condemned recent vandalism at the University and said it would not hesitate to recommend streng thening University disciplinary procedures if the present ones prove inadequate.

The statement approved unanimously at a special meeting of the faculty executive committee, came just one day after President Robben Fleming

announced a three-point disciplinary program aimed at persons involved in recent disruptions at the University.

SACUA’s statement expressed a concern about “the recent series of events involving violent tactics by a few persons at the University.”

In an apparent expression of concern with the harassment of corporation and military recruiters over the last two weeks. The release called on the University community

to reaffirm support and enforcement of the principle of academic freedom.

The special session was called by SACUA Chairman Joseph Payne, who said the group was concerned about the recent vandalism at North Hall and SDS demonstrations against the recruiters.

The three-point SACUA statement first calls upon “all elements in the University community to reaffirm and maintain their support of the

principle that the campus must be a free market place of ideas.”

It further asks that the “University resist the efforts of all outside and inside forces that would restrict its freedom, let alone the civil liberties of some of its members.”

The second section is concerned with the “Strain on the disciplinary and judicial processes of the University” created by disturbances. The statement said SACUA would

recommend new University judicial institutions if the present ones prove inadequate.

“No specific proposals were discussed,” said history Prof. Gerhard Weinberg.

“Just the feeling that the existing procedures will obviously be put to a severe test.”

“Those interested in maintaining a free University are concerned about seeing whether the existing institutions can

hold up,” he added.

The last section of the SACUA statement condemned the vandalism because of the expense it causes the University.

The statement charged that vandalism takes funds urgently needed “for the support of larger numbers of students from disadvantaged sectors of the population.”

The statement concludes by suggesting a “reordering of priorities right here and now.”

CORRECTION: In yesterday’s issue of The Michigan Daily, a graphic on Page 2 incorrectly stated that Rosa Park’s birthday was Feb. 13, 1913. Her birthday is Feb. 4, 1913.

F E AT U R E

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE

ANITA MICHAUD

Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 esla@michigandaily.com

Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 ammichau@michigandaily.com

NEWS TIPS

news@michigandaily.com

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR tothedaily@michigandaily.com

EDITORIAL PAGE

opinion@michigandaily.com

ARTS SECTION

PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION

arts@michigandaily.com

photo@michigandaily.com

SPORTS SECTION

NEWSROOM

sports@michigandaily.com

734-418-4115 opt. 3

ADVERTISING

CORRECTIONS

dailydisplay@gmail.com

corrections@michigandaily.com

Editorial Staff ERIN WHITE MADDIE FOX/Daily Stamps professor Catherine Van Voorhis exhibits her paintings in the Rotunda Gallery at the North Campus Research Complex Building 18 Tuesday afternoon.

Central Student Government President delivers State of the Students address Assembly hears from Ben Gerstein, congressional candidate Solomon Rajput at Tuesday meeting NAVYA GUPTA

Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan Central Student Government met in Pierpont Commons Tuesday night to appoint new representatives, discuss executive projects regarding mental health and student accessibility to campus resources, as well as accommodations for student absences on election days.

Kate Stenvig voiced concerns regarding deportations to Iraq during the community concerns portion of the meeting. She highlighted the urgency of CSG passing a resolution to mandate the University boycott its partnership with Delta Airlines in order to prevent deportation flights.

Stenvig also spoke about the deportation case of Oliver Awshana, who came to the U.S. as a teenage refugee. When immigration officials tried to deport him over the summer, the pilot refused to fly the plane. Awshana pleaded his case again, though he was directed to be deported again. Awshana lost the lawsuit, which Stenvig said she sees as a sign of what the Senate is planning to do in regard to President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

“We just got the decision today, and what that tells us is that the judge was waiting to

CARBON From Page 1A a University sustainability initiative.

“We’re looking at a spectrum of reinforcing the Planet Blue online system, as kind of the shallow end of the pool, to the deep end of the pool, where there’s an academic three-credit course

see what happened with the situation with Trump,” Stenvig said. “And it’s clear that what’s going to happen is that the Senate is going to acquit him and that he was going to get away with everything.”

Medical student Solomon Rajput, a Democrat running for U.S. Congress in the 12th District against incumbent Debbie Dingell, updated the Assembly on the progress of his campaign and his reasons for running.

“I feel like we are on the cusp of a huge moment in this country, where if we don’t mess up we could really address some of these human rights issues,” Rajput said. “At this point, it is clear to the American people that we can’t just abandon our political systems and expect there to be change. We need to go out there and fight for world policies that will solve problems at a fundamental level.”

CSG President Ben Gerstein, Public Policy junior, gave the biannual State of the Students report, informing the Assembly of the University’s Board of Regents’ creation of a $9.19 semesterly student fee to fund CSG. He noted students with certain financial aid packages would be exempt from these fees.

Gerstein also notified the Assembly of the progress of the Affordability Task Force’s five-year plan and their success in increasing advertising for

the Maize and Blue Cupboard, creating a microwave map and installing microwaves at campus cafes. He also mentioned the task force’s future plans of establishing how the housing cost of attendance is calculated and linking it to off-campus market situations.

Gerstein also spoke about CSG initiatives to increase accessibility and affordability for students such as discounted meal plans for off-campus students, funding microwaves in the Shapiro Library and the Michigan League and increasing MCard swiping hours.

His address highlighted CSG’s plans to provide students with a platform to acquire iClickers, calculators and textbooks as opposed to relying on Facebook.

Gerstein spoke about CSG’s agenda to create a guide for mental health services available on campus, creating a fund for the Spectrum Center to support the LGBTQ+ community and plans to increase the hours of the Oxford Housing shuttle to better accommodate students’ needs.

Gerstein discussed ongoing efforts to improve students’ lives.

“I am currently working with President Schlissel and a students’ round table to figure out better ways to enhance student well-being on campus,” Gerstein said.

The Assembly used a secret

ballot to elect the Chair of the Communications Committee.

Out of the two nominees, LSA representatives Drishaan Jain and Sam Burnstein, Jain was elected.

Additionally, the Assembly unanimously recalled Business representatives Jonah Cuenca and Mohamed Omran because of their excessive absences.

The Assembly also passed a resolution to support excused absences on election days and urge professors to amend syllabi to provide reasonable accommodations to students who do not attend class on election day provided that attendance in the course would restrict students’ participation in civic affairs.

Following a debate regarding CSG attendance, Treasurer Taylor Lansey, LSA junior, said it was important for committee members to be respectful of one another.

“We all have opinions here — opinions that matter — and other people also have the right to voice their opinions and be respected when they do so,” Lansey said. “I think that a lot of people might appreciate speaking a cordial tone. I think it might be beneficial for all of us to be a little bit, for lack of a better term, nicer to one another.”

Reporter Navya Gupta can be reached at itznavya@umich. edu.

for every school and college which would be difficult to implement, but could be really pivotal in changing the culture of the University,” Trumpey said.

Students at the town hall noted that it may be difficult for the University to require students to take a three-credit course. As an alternative, Rackham student Akash Shah, Climate Blue member, asked about adding a

sustainability curriculum into the mandatory online modules University freshmen have to complete on sexual assault and alcohol consumption.

Members of the audience nodded in response.

Students focused on the positive and negative aspects of both the top-down culture and the bottom-up culture at the University. The main issue they uncovered through these conversations was

a lack of communication among different student organizations, as well as a need for expanding educational efforts and overcoming institutional barriers across campus.

Specifically, several of the student groups expressed concerns about the administration’s sustainability efforts.

See CARBON, Page 3A

Managing Editor

ekwhite@michigandaily.com

SAYALI AMIN and LEAH GRAHAM

Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com Senior News Editors: Barbara Collins, Claire Hao, Alex Harring, Ben Rosenfeld, Emma Stein, Liat Weinstein Assistant News Editors: Francesca Duong, Julia Forrest, Brayden Hirsh, Jasmin Lee, Hannah Mackay, Parnia Mazhar, Alyssa McMurtry, Emma Ruberg, Julia Rubin, Michal Ruprecht, Arjun Thakkar

EMILY CONSIDINE and MILES STEPHENSON

Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com Senior Opinion Editors: Alanna Berger, Brittany Bowman, Zack Blumberg, Timothy Spurlin, Joel Weiner

THEO MACKIE and ETHAN SEARS

Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Senior Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Bailey Johnson, Ben Katz, Jacob Kopnick, Anna Marcus, Rian Ratnavale Assistant Sports Editors: Connor Brennan, Lily Friedman, Lane Kizziah, Brendan Roose, Kent Schwartz, Molly Shea

JOHN DECKER and JULIANNA MORANO

Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Senior Arts Editors: Jo Chang, Elise Godfryd, Zoe Phillips, Jonah Mendelson, Ally Owens Arts Beat Editors: Samantha Cantie, Dana Pierangeli, Andrew Pluta, Cassandra Mansuetti, Anish Tamhaney, Sophia Yoon

SHERRY CHEN and CHRISTINE JEGARL

Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Senior Design Editor: Lizzy Rueppel

ALLISON ENGKVIST and ANNIE KLUSENDORF Managing Photo Editors

photo@michigandaily.com

Senior Photo Editors: Keemya Esmael, Asha Lewis, Miles Macklin Assistant Photo Editors: Olivia Cell, Ryan Little, Emma Mati, Alexandria Pompei, Alexis Rankin

MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA

Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Deputy Editors: Emily Stillman, Marisa Wright

MADISON GAGNE and SADIA JIBAN Managing Copy Editors

copydesk@michigandaily.com

Senior Copy Editors: Olivia Bradish, Sophie Kephart, Silas Lee, Olivia Sedlacek, Ellie Scott

TIM CHO and SIMRAN PUJJI

Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com Senior Web Developers: Parth Dhyani, Abha Panda, Rohan Prashant, Jonathan Liu

ALEC COHEN and ELI SIDER

Managing Video Editors video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim

MAYA MOKH and ANA MARIA SANCHEZ CASTILLO

Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Zoha Bharwani, Lora Faraj, Ayomide Okunade, Gabrijela Skoko Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Cheryn Hong, Anamkia Kannan, Vaishali Nambiar, Sean Tran, Angela Zhang

SAMANTHA SMALL and SONYA VOGEL Managing Podcast Editors

JACK GRIEVE and BEN KORN

Managing Social Media Editors Senior Social Media Editors: Jessie Norris, Mya Steir, Kristina Zheng

Business Staff MOLLY WU

Creative Director

RYAN KELLY Sales Manager

LILLY HANSON

Senior Account Executive

ANALISE DOORHY Senior Account Executive

TARA MOORE Senior Account Exeucutive

The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

INVESTMENT From Page 1A “ … Part of that vision is the removal of people’s power, of community power, and the vesting of it in a very select group of very wealthy individuals that make the decisions for most of our society, and it’s in their interest when communities accept that as the status quo, or the way it just is.”

In an email to The Daily, University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said it is not the University’s policy to comment on its investments.

“It is our normal practice, not to comment on the investment managers we work with or to discuss the university’s strategy of investments,” Fitzgerald wrote.

University President Mark Schlissel told The Daily in an interview last week that political ideology does not play a large role in the endowment.

“In general, the purpose of the endowment is to provide support for an area that we’ve agreed with a donor is an area that the University thinks is important and the donor wants to support,” Schlissel said. “We make a commitment to the donor to be a good steward of their money. So that means trying to generate the right mix of risk and return that sort of yield to the investment so that in perpetuity, we can support the thing that we agreed upon — students scholarships, for example — and have the endowment grow so that its value is not eroded with inflation through the years.”

Divestment from fossil fuels has remained at the forefront of campus discourse. Last year’s Climate Strike resulted in the arrest and subsequent court trials of six students. In December, the Board of Regents voted against a $50 million dollar investment in oil and gas company Vendera Resources amid pressure from CAM and the One University Campaign.

Conversations about divesting from political issues have arisen previously. In 2017, student activists pushed for the University to divest from companies that did business with Israel. The activists received Central Student Government’s support, though the University ultimately did not divest.

Activism for divestment, led by organizations such as CAM, have taken the form of written statements addressed to President Schlissel and events educating on divestment. In January at the Association of Big Ten Students Conference, student governments of each Big Ten school passed a unanimous resolution demanding their respective institutions freeze

CARBON From Page 2A LSA senior Kristen Hayden, Climate Action Movement

T h ursd ay, Fe bruary 6, 2020

fossil fuel investments.

However, the investment in question is not only pertinent to climate activists. Subsequent reports showed Michigan’s $26 million and Michigan State University’s $15.6 million investments to Lime Rock Partners owned by private equity firm Lime Rock Partners, which oversees and finances the business operations of CrownQuest, an oil drilling company owned by Tim Dunn.

With the money from his oil business, Dunn created and today bankrolls conservative political organization Empower Texans, having given over $7.6 million to the PAC since 2008.

Dunn and Farris Wilks, the co-founders of Empower Texans, have pushed for conservative and evangelical causes, such as anti-transgender bathroom legislation, opposition to marriage equality, blocking safe information on abortion clinics and supporting efforts to disenfranchise naturalized citizens under the guise of protecting against voter fraud.

They have donated $250,000 to the Trump administration in 2019.

LSA junior Isabel HedinUrrutia, executive board member of LGBT Michigan, said this investment does not surprise her, given that the University has made space for conservative speakers such as Ben Shapiro, who, according to Hedin-Urrutia, incite dangerous rhetoric. She emphasized the ideological differences between the University administration and the campus community.

“I’ve done a lot of research, and this University has a very rich history on queer activism, but a lot of the progressive activism has not come necessarily from the University itself, but it’s come from either its student body, or it’s come from faculty that have come from the outside that have somehow become involved with the University,” Hedin-Urrutia said. “I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not, because money, above all else, seems to be a primary concern for a lot of people who involve themselves in politics.”

As someone who works to pay for her out-of-state tuition, Hedin-Urrutia said she sees this investment — and the platform for conservative speakers — as an insult to the work she has put in to attend the University and create a welcoming, accessible environment.

In HedinUrrutia’s view, endowment money should be spent on supporting students, such as by helping to solve the Ann Arbor housing crisis or provide a better University healthcare system.

“They were literally thinking about cutting STD testing,

which none of us have forgotten.

It’s just insane because they said it would cost too much, but this is $26 million going to what exactly, oil drilling and far-right politics?” Hedin-Urrutia said.

LSA junior Solomon Medintz, CAM organizer, said there is a need for a sustained effort to incorporate greater student and faculty input on the endowment investments.

He criticized the way the investment was approved.

“This decision making is entirely composed of the nine people that make up the Regents, the president and the chief financial officer,” Medintz said. “That’s not the way a public institution should be run, and we should be incorporating more stakeholders.”

Rackham student Sasha Bishop, CAM member, explained a key goal of CAM is to promote transparency of University investments. Bishop added that while the University has to make money, bringing in revenue and investing responsibly are not mutually exclusive, especially when investments — like this one — can have political and social impacts.

“More and more people are questioning the bottom-line motivation of profit, especially when a lot of the other arguments you hear from the students is that profit isn’t actually going to directly benefit students and community members,” Bishop said. “When we see brand new buildings being built so that someone very wealthy can slap their name on it and get that honor, but low-income students aren’t being supported, and people can’t afford to live in the town — so basic needs aren’t being met — educators, instructors and students aren’t being prioritized, that motivation of profit dissolves in a lot of ways.”

Similarly, Medintz noted CAM’s work aims to promote transparency, but they need cooperation from the University administration.

He said finding information about the University’s finances should not be as difficult as it is so the public can hold the institution accountable.

“It takes a lot of research from specific people to find this information, and we’re grateful that they’re doing that, but what we’re asking for is to make it a little bit easier so that the amount of labor it takes to get this information and to try to do the work to actually have our institution support our communities,” Medintz said.

“People can do that.”

Reporter Katherina Sourine can be reached at ksourine@ umich.edu.

member, commented on a lack of transparency.

“Accountability and transparency are the two things that really hurt efforts around any student organizing,” Hayden said.

“Understanding how the University makes its decisions and who to contact to get things done, and why the University chooses to do things the way that it does (is important).”

These discussions led to attendees suggesting more than 50 new ideas on achieving carbon neutrality at the University. Hayden suggested integrating repair thrift shops to provide a sustainable solution for damaged items like furniture, and Shah encouraged the implementation of groceries close to campus.

“I find it quite absurd that I have to drive my 3,000pound car to go get a gallon of milk,” Shah said.

Hayden explained the importance of town halls like these in changing the conversation on sustainability and carbon neutrality at the University.

She said the school could be an inf luential model for other institutions.

“I think something that is also important to note about the University is that it’s a microcosm of the larger world and understanding that shifting the systems here can help shift the systems in the places where U-M has inf luence, systems being things that inf luence how students are recruited, who has power here, and how that power is used,” Hayden said.

Reporter Parnia Mazhar can be reached at parniam@ umich.edu

Weiser Hall, 10th Floor 4:00 p.m.

MATHEMATICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL ASPECTS OF IMAGING WITH

WAVES

News

Liliana Borcea Peter Field Collegiate Professor of Mathematics

A public lecture and reception.

For information please call (734) 615-6667.

A public lecture and reception. For information please call (734) 615-6667

EDUCATION From Page 1A

Curzan said there is excitement in discovering the answer.

“We need to give more credit to the courage it takes to say, ‘I don’t know,’” Curzan said. “You know, the moment I really came to respect you was the first time you said, ‘I don’t know.’”

Curzan then contemplated the future of undergraduate education and how it should be designed to ref lect real goals and aspirations. She encouraged students to think about how they can contribute to the common good through their studies.

She emphasized finding purpose through lifelong learning and said even though college can push

PASSES From Page 1A Gerstein said he has worked with the Dean of Students and Michigan Recreational Sports to eliminate barriers to physical fitness for students.

“In working with Financial Aid and Rec Sports, we tried to create something that made sure that access to something that’s as important as physical fitness wasn’t privileged based on socioeconomic background,” Gerstein said.

CSG has been criticized in the past for its actions surrounding affordability. In 2018, the organization released a campus affordability guide that was deemed “out of touch” by students and prompted the creation of the crowdsourced “Being Not-Rich at U-M” guide.

In an email to The Daily, Social Work student Laura Rall, Affordable Michigan president, said CSG subsidizing the $55 Group X pass can mitigate obstacles to physical fitness for students who need to first pay for food, tuition and bills. “(Group X is) a great program, in my experience, but

WHITMER From Page 1A Since being elected, Whitmer has worked across the aisle to expand affordable health care initiatives, create a task force committed to improve the state’s drinking water and invest billions of dollars to rebuild and improve Michigan’s infrastructure.

Whitmer opened her response by promising to stay focused on her and the Democratic Party’s commitment to issues in Michigan and the country as a whole.

“After all, you can listen to what someone says, but to know the truth, watch what they do,” Whitmer said.

“Michiganders are no different from Americans everywhere.

We love our families and want a good life today and a better life tomorrow for our kids.”

She shared the story of 13-year-old Monte Scott, who grew tired of waiting for politicians to fix the potholes in his Michigan hometown.

Whitmer said Scott grabbed a shovel to fill in the potholes himself and called on politicians to invest more in America’s infrastructure.

She next talked about her own troubling personal experiences with the U.S. health care system. Whitmer also expressed Democrats’ commitment to creating a stronger and more affordable health care system.

“For me, for so many Americans, health care is personal, not political,” Whitmer said. “I was holding down a new job, caring for my newborn daughter as well as my mom at the end of her brain cancer battle. It was hard. It exposed the harsh realities of our workplaces, our health care system, and our child care system, and it changed me.”

Whitmer next rebutted a claim Trump made during his

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 — 3A students to fixate on their grades, she hopes this isn’t the case for most students.

Near the end of her speech, Curzan underscored the importance of learning outside the classroom by sharing with the audience her story of teaching English in China, a trip she undertook despite objections from her friends and family.

“It fundamentally changed who I was as a person,” Curzan said. “These experiences are what help us learn. They are scary.

Real learning is scary, and real learning takes courage, because it is going into the unknown and exploring the unknown.”

After the talk, students and faculty headed to a zerowaste reception organized outside the Keene Theatre.

LSA freshman Marnie Guaman said she was excited

to hear the dean speak, adding that she enjoyed Curzan’s story about teaching in the Summer Bridge Scholars program.

“She said that her least favorite word was impactful, but her speech was very impactful for me,” Guaman said. “I was in the Summer Bridge program, so I could go back to that experience.”

LSA senior Mya Harris expressed her interest in learning about the future of liberal arts education.

“I really found her background interesting, how she got to where she was and her own experience with liberal arts education,” Harris said. “I also liked the way she talked about the future of the University.”

Lola Yang can be reached at lolayang@umich.edu.

the classes often leave out lowincome students because of the expense,” Rall wrote. “With CSG offering these subsidized passes, I feel as though the campus is becoming a more inclusive and welcoming to low-income students.”

While the program is currently only available to students who are eligible for Pell Grants, Gerstein said he recognizes there are other groups on campus who still find the cost of the Group X pass to be prohibitive.

“I want to look into how we can build this model out to include students who aren’t just necessarily on Pell Grants, but on other forms of financial aid, and then also to make sure we are including our undocumented students, international students who don’t have access to government financial aid in the United States, but still need access to these resources,” Gerstein said.

Mental health poses challenges of its own for students. Recreational Sports Director Mike Widen said the partnership between Recreational Sports and CSG to subsidize Group X passes is a proactive way to help

students improve mental health through physical activity.

“I would imagine that (students) are certainly thrilled with the ability to get a group exercise pass without having the barrier of finances coming in the way,” Widen said. “That allows them to be more physically active, allows them to connect with other students who have a likemindedness that, hey, I want to be physically active too, and that connection can help with the social component of the model of well-being.”

Widen touched on another component of the program’s efforts to be inclusive — the passes are no different than non-subsidized passes to protect the confidentiality of students. He said he sees the program as a partnership between two organizations dedicated to improving student wellness and accessibility. “(The program) has been a win-win,” Widen said. “And the more access (students) can get to more opportunities, I think everybody benefits.”

Reporter Julia Rubin can be reached at julrubin@umich. edu.

State of the Union address.

Trump said that the stock market has soared more than 70 percent and gained $12 trillion in value during his presidency.

“This is a record,” Trump said. “It is something every country in the world is looking up to.”

Fact-checkers at The New York Times rated the claim false, noting that since Trump won the presidency in 2016, the S&P 500-stock index and the Dow Jones industrial average were both up by approximately 60 percent.

Whitmer responded to this in her speech by emphasizing how much work still has to be done to build an economy that works for all Americans.

“It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market,” Whitmer said.

“What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don’t have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans or prescription drugs. …

So, when the president says the economy is strong, my question is: strong for whom?”

Next, Whitmer talked about the improvements in education that Democrats from various states have made in the last year and expressed her confidence in the next generation. She closed her speech by urging the American public to continue to pay attention to all the things going on in Washington.

“It’s not what those senators say,” Whitmer said. “Tomorrow, it’s about what they do that matters. Remember, listen to what people say but watch what they do. It’s time for action.

Generations of Americans are counting on us. Let’s not let them down.”

Following Whitmer’s response, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., called for legislative action to address issues impacting working-class Americans on Twitter.

“I am worried about the State of our Union,” Dingell wrote.

“We have to find ways to come together for the working men and women of this country to lower cost of prescription drugs, ensure the people who have pre-existing conditions have access to quality, affordable healthcare, that our kids can get a good education, and people who have worked hard for a lifetime are able to have a safe and secure retirement.

Coming off the speech, we can’t afford to keep fighting from now until November. I hope there are areas where we can work together for the benefit of all Americans.”

Caroline Martin, member of the University’s chapter of College Republicans and LSA junior, spoke to The Daily about her thoughts on Whitmer’s response and its similarities to the State of the Union. “(Whitmer used) the same tactic honestly that the State of the Union used, which is hitting home, individuals and the ideas and the concepts of the American family,” Martin said. “They’re sort of good messages that she’s putting out and, you know, the idea of fixing the roads and improving the overall quality of life for American families. I just think the difference is the two parties obviously have differences on how to achieve that.”

LSA sophomore Regina Egan, College Democrats communications director, praised Whitmer’s speech.

“Governor Whitmer notably brought national attention to a critical question facing Americans: how well does our country’s infrastructure — in the form of roads, health care, education, etc. — serve the majority of Americans?” Egan said. “Like Governor Whitmer, College Democrats believes in a future of this country that serves each and every one of its constituents.”

Reporter Julia Forrest can be reached at juforrest@umich. edu.

Opinion

4A — Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ELIZABETH COOK | COLUMN

Why civility is critical in election season

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

ELIZABETH LAWRENCE Editor in Chief

ERIN WHITE

EMILY CONSIDINE AND MILES STEPHENSON

Managing Editor

Editorial Page Editors

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Alanna Berger Zack Blumberg Brittany Bowman Emily Considine Cheryn Hong

Krystal Hur Ethan Kessler Mary Rolfes Michael Russo

Timothy Spurlin Miles Stephenson Joel Weiner Erin White Lola Yang

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of The Daily’s Editorial Board.

All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

DAVID LISBONNE | COLUMN

I

Are we losing personal identity?

n 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard University and delivered an oration that ignited American intellectuals.

“The American Scholar” was highly controversial; it decried the American academic model of the times for its lack of originality and overdependence on its European predecessors. It championed the individual as the primary unit in society and sought to spur the best and brightest into action. The world is a much different place today, a place of constant discovery, innovation and creation. Yet I fear society may be silently sliding, endangering an integral part of American society: an ironclad faith in the value of the individual. But how can a 19th century thinker aid our modern dilemma? And what does a 183-year-old speech offer us? More than you might think.

Early in “The American Scholar,” we find Emerson praising the individual and discussing the role of the scholar in society. He addresses the scholar’s worstcase scenario, and says “in the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking.”

The notion of becoming another’s puppet by means of not thinking for oneself is appalling to Emerson. It’s the scholar’s worst act of treason: a conscious relinquishment of the mind. Sadly, today, I can think of several examples of this dynamic, everywhere from campus to the capital.

Later in the speech, Emerson gives his crux of individualism and says “the one thing in the world, of value, is the active soul. This every man is entitled to; this every man contains within him ... The soul active sees absolute truth; and utters truth, or creates. In this action, it is genius; not the privilege of here and there a favorite, but the sound estate of every man.” Emerson conveys his total belief in the ability of the individual. Everyone has the natural-born capacity to create, he argues, and that conviction – classified as the “active soul” – is the one thing

of true value. Further, he says this ability is “the sound estate of every man.” To my ear, this sounds eerily familiar to the American Dream, no? That’s because it is.

The American Dream is the purest modern concretization of individualism. It is a global notion that any individual can succeed in the United States through hard work, determination and integrity.

This belief has propelled our country forward throughout history and has created the most productive nation in human history. At its core lies an incorruptible faith in the value of the individual, and their ability to effect change by their own agency.

We’ve forgotten the importance of valuing the individual.

But what’s the problem here?

I mentioned earlier this silent regression occurring in society, and that Emerson’s wisdom might be able to help. Emerson outlines the paramount responsibility of the scholar “to resist the vulgar prosperity that retrogrades ever to barbarism, by preserving and communicating heroic sentiments, noble biographies, melodious verse, and the conclusions of history.” As students at this university, we are the scholars Emerson addresses, and he asks of us a great deal. Using the lessons history has afforded us, we must each recognize the wolf in sheep’s clothing – the “vulgar prosperity” – and by means of forging our own intellectual path, guide society away to safer ground. Emerson believed that “each age must write its own books,” and for this, the active soul is intrinsic.

As the American Dream illustrates, in emphasizing the individual you naturally emphasize ambition and incite a passion to succeed. The active soul and the ability to shape your future reinforce these notions. But equally

as important are the notions of equality, compassion and respect. Herein lies the true value in emphasizing the individual.

These interpersonal virtues break down when people are split into “us” and “them.” Instead, if we focus on each individual, we avoid such divisions and promote these indispensable virtues.

Society today has unfortunately accommodated a rise in populism and nationalism, both of which can be equally characterized as embodying an “us versus them” mentality, in one form or another. If you ask five people why this is the case, you’ll likely hear five different answers, but here’s mine: We’ve forgotten the importance of valuing the individual. We’re moving backward; slowly losing a connection with the notion that “the one thing in the world, of value, is the active soul ... (it) creates,” and that it belongs to every individual.

Emerson concluded his argument for the virtues of the individual with a prescient warning: “genius is always sufficiently the enemy of genius by over inf luence.”

When you’re confronted with a choice, I implore you to independently assess the quality of all decisions.

Don’t subscribe to an idea or movement on the grounds that someone you trust, or someone in authority, bought in and that’s good enough for you; that’s how any number of historical horrors originated.

Take a step back, think for yourself and act with purpose.

Consider your goals and identify whether they truly belong to you, or if they were set before you by someone else. Be ambitious in your intellectual and artistic endeavors – strive to create something new and personify originality.

And do so only if it is something that you truly seek. Emerson understood this on two levels: the individual and society. He felt society losing touch with the individual, and sought to breathe life once more into his breast. Now, 183 years later, we’re in dire need of that same breath.

David Lisbonne can be reached at lisbonne@umich.edu.

LEENA GHANNAM | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT LZGHANNA@UMICH.EDU.

O

n Nov. 9, 2016, there was a palpable feeling of agitation that weighed down on the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus.

The iconic rock on Hill Street brazenly displayed hate speech; the smell of fresh paint hovered like smog.

Conservative supporters of President Donald Trump reported feeling the need for “safe spaces” while progressive activists were quick to express their discontent with Trump’s regressive rhetoric when discussing gender and race.

Our Diag, typically traversed by tired students trekking to their classes, was overcome with vigils, protesters and counterprotesters and visibly presented the overall unrest and division that underpinned the 2016 presidential election. In a town perceived to be almost entirely liberal, the tension was still irrepressible.

While I was not yet on campus during the campaign and election of Trump, my community felt the tension as well. From a majorly conservative suburb of Grand Rapids, our political voice was expected to align with rightwing policies. Our vote went to whichever Republican made it past the primaries. Regardless of where I was — in church, at school or at work — there was a feeling of unspoken consensus from March until November.

While professed beliefs ranged from supporting Trump as the lesser of two evils, the tough candidate or the candidate who cares about the people, one could typically assume their neighbors supported him.

A handful of outspoken and passionate community members would voice their concerns about Trump’s alarming rhetoric regarding women and minorities. In class, after a

discussion of populism and fearmongering, I raised my hand and made the bold assertion Trump had utilized those strategies, citing multiple incidents of racialized fear tactics. Unease settled in the room, but no one challenged the idea. After class, I could hear “build that wall Liz, make America great again!” echoing down the hallways.

While there was an opportunity for discourse, it was swiftly dismissed as divisive and the chance for active listening, questioning or understanding went cold.

Throughout Trump and Hillary Clinton’s campaigns, the most frequently debated policy topics were the economy, terrorism, foreign policy, health care and guns. With increasing economic inequality in a vulnerable working and middle class, growing unease over nuclear warfare and global conflict, the stability of access to healthcare and the frequent news stories of gun violence, the uniting factor between policies becomes increasingly clear: fear. Deliberate tactics to garner support are woven throughout the rhetoric of both Trump’s campaign and tenure as president, which Clinton had to face and counter until she failed to secure enough electoral votes. At a time of economic uncertainty and frustration, fear of danger (both abroad and domestic) and political mudslinging, biases and identity-based insults stoked the flame of anger and fear.

Independently, as people living in this country, we cannot control or change how politicians utilize tactics of fear and division. But there is a radically simple solution of how to reconnect with our communities and face potentially toxic

positions of policy: discourse.

In my hometown, the unspoken homogeneity of political opinion created an atmosphere where I felt misunderstood, unheard and unvalued. Peers in school espoused extreme rightwing positions their parents supported, yet when we took a political aptitude test in AP U.S. Government and Politics class, the majority of the class fell beneath the category “new generation liberal.” The inability to truly listen to someone’s opinion you disagree with and the fear of asking genuine questions in an empathetic way creates an atmosphere of disillusion, isolation and contention. The toxicity of the current political sphere makes any conversation feel like it could be on the precipice of condescension and conflict.

Historically, it has been deemed impolite to discuss your political opinions — I believe in the opposite. Actively educate yourself on current events, political candidates and propositioned policies.

Engage with people who don’t see things your way, despite the comparative comforts of placing yourself within a like-minded community. Ask questions, aim to understand values rather than positions and empathize with people from different backgrounds. Political passion and investment are crucial to the commonwealth and learning how to listen, empathize and acknowledge mutual values should make 2020 transformative, not regressive.

Believe in our common humanity this upcoming election season — if we don’t, the results could tear us apart.

Elizabeth Cook can be reached at elizcook@umich.edu.

JENNY GURUNG | COLUMN

Spending all of my undergrad completing pre-requisites

I

came across a headline titled “University of Michigan pre-med program No. 1 in the country, according to rankings.” What does it mean to be a pre-medical student at the University, though? Of course, there is a plethora of resources available to students from the University Career Center’s prehealth directory, from wellequipped pre-health/pre-med fraternities to huge student organizations that centralize these resources. Students at the University of Michigan are definitely better equipped with advisers, mentors and other resources to be better applicants than students from other universities, but the problem lies with the pre-med system being inherently competitive and forcing students to make a commitment to the career early on.

I often hear people say, “I could never do pre-med because of the workload,” or, “If you can’t take the pressure/ workload, don’t be pre-med.”

The harsh reality is that these sentiments are true. The list of pre-med courses goes on and on. Prerequisites include rigorous and notoriously hard classes like Physics for the Life Sciences, Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry on top of others that help you prepare for topics tested on the MCAT, like physiology and anatomy.

These classes fill your schedule and take up almost all of your undergraduate credits to complete. The pressure to not just do well in these classes but excel in them constantly looms over your transcript. Applying to medical school is inherently competitive, with schools like New York University that started providing free medical school tuition, an applicant pool that nearly doubled with an average GPA of 3.87 and an acceptance rate of 1.6 percent.

When everyone in your classes is striving for an ‘A’ because they can’t afford to drop below that average, even if you’re getting the same grades as them, you feel like a mediocre student and applicant.

This is my pre-med dilemma.

Mediocre.

Commonplace.

Neither a success nor a failure.

Typical.

Normal is constantly feeling overworked and like there’s no time to do everything.

What does it mean to be a typical applicant though? The American Medical College Application Service, the Common App for medical schools, has multiple sections to include your GPA, MCAT score and extracurricular activities.

The Work and Activities section has up to 15 experiences from volunteer (medical and not medical) to employment to research that you can describe in up to 700 words. Pre-med students end up obsessing over filling their resumes with the usual medical and research experiences, such as shadowing or being a nurse’s assistant.

They chase after opportunities to shadow clinicians, race to get published in their research mentor’s next paper and vie for leadership opportunities in their student organization.

Pre-med students feel a relentless need to keep themselves extremely busy with extracurricular activities. On top of a heavy course load, premed students are pressured to fill up their free time doing

something. This is normal.

Normal is constantly feeling overworked and like there’s no time to do everything. Even as I am sitting down writing this, I am thinking about how to find the time next week to study for two exams, write a paper, juggle work and extracurriculars.

The worst part of the process: the sky-high application fees for medical school and the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt that medical students accumulate. Dedicating your entire undergraduate career to fulfilling pre-med prerequisites (you definitely won’t remember which functional group on a molecule contributes the most to resonance five years in the future) only to be left with thousands in debt is not very promising. This aspect has also pushed many people away from the profession altogether, because it forces people to commit to and decide if they want to pursue a career in medicine.

Asking undergraduate students to make a commitment to multiple sleepless nights, a stressful curriculum and countless extracurriculars is absurd. But there’s only so much students can single-handedly do about the rigorous nature of premed. In my own experience, it has helped me to know that other students are also struggling with classes and juggling (a bit clumsily) all of their work. I regularly try to step back from the overwhelming torrent of it all to remind myself that being pre-med isn’t an easy task — even though some people might make it look easy. At the end of the day, though, pre-med is a path I’ve currently chosen to go down, and I’ve found that the best way I deal with sleepless nights is a study break with coffee, snacks and good friends.

Jenny Gurung can be reached at jennygrg@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.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 — 5A

BOOK REVIEW

‘Long Bright River,’ a gutwrenching addiction story

TV REVIEW

EMMA DOETTLING For The Daily

NBC

‘The Good Place’ moves us past the afterlife in finale JUSTIN POLLACK Daily Arts Writer

This review contains spoilers.

Over the course of its four seasons, “The Good Place” kept its audience on the edge of their seats with one big plot twist after the next. While this unusual sitcom beautifully balanced high-stakes conf lict with individual character growth, the finale began with the show’s biggest questions already answered.

From redesigning the fundamentally f lawed afterlife to reorganizing The Good Place, all plot points had been resolved. All that was left was to spend a supersized episode with the people, demons and Janets we have grown to adore.

Showrunner and creator, Michael Schur, has only concluded one other show, “Parks and Recreation,” and the similarities between these two shows’ finales are undeniable. If you can recall, the “Parks and Recreation” finale served as an epilogue of sorts, giving viewers a preview into the future of each of the ensemble characters’ lives and careers. “The Good Place” replicates this formula, but on a more timeless scale. Rather than leaping ahead years, “The Good Place” reveals the countless “Bearamys” — how the show quantifies units of time in the afterlife — possible for the main characters. Still, the message remains the same: follow each character’s path to their specific happy endings.

The penultimate episode solved the final problem of The Good Place: Eternal happiness has no ending. Eventually, that happiness becomes mindless.

So, our favorite saviors of the afterlife created a way out — once you have completed everything you ever wished you could possibly do, you can peacefully end your existence — making an infinite afterlife

The Good Place Series Finale NBC Now Streaming

feel slightly less endless.

Naturally, this episode titled “Whenever You’re Ready” follows our characters’ voluntary, peaceful and chosen ends of their existences.

While the show’s premise was originally centered around protagonist Eleanor (Kristen Bell, “Frozen 2”) and her inadvertent placement into the Good Place, the show eventually evolved, following the main characters’ attempts to repair the inequalities present in the afterlife. Instead

of one big final plot twist, “The Good Place” returned to how it began, before the larger issues of humanity outweighed smaller developments like the romance of Jason and Janet. Endings reveal the true priorities of television shows.

“The Good Place” resolved the big questions first so it could return to where it has always belonged — with Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, Jason, Michael and Janet. Through its discussion of moral philosophy and exploration of ethics in a just society, “The Good Place” took an optimistic outlook on humanity: People can be selfcentered, indecisive, impulsive and arrogant, but given the chance they can also learn and grow. I’ll raise a margarita to that any day.

The final scene suggests the greatest reward for living on earth is the ability to continuously touch the lives of those we left behind. As individuals, we can only hope our actions will contribute to making the world a better place for those who still live in it. Yes, it may be as simple as deciding to take the garbage out or emptying the dishwasher when you know it’s not your turn. But maybe, just maybe, you were unconsciously inspired by some random spark of goodness by someone from your past. It makes sense that the character that underwent the most change gets to say the final words of the show. In the words of the demon-turnedhuman Michael, “with all the love in my heart and all the wisdom of the universe — take it sleazy.”

Needles littering the f loor, desperate addicts searching for a score, shuttered windows and crumbling homes; the opening picture author Liz Moore paints of Kensington conveys a relentlessly bleak and hopeless world. Moore’s new mystery thriller novel, “Long Bright River,” takes us into the underbelly of Philadelphia, into a once-respectable neighborhood now plagued by the opioid crisis. The sad reality of opioid addiction is a subject many authors shy away from in popular literature, but Moore digs deep without hesitation. In her new novel, Moore explores the harsh truth of addiction and weaves a gut-wrenching tale of familial devotion, poverty and crime.

Told in urgent and concise prose, “Long Bright River” follows the story of two sisters separated by circumstance.

The older of the two, Mickey Fitzpatrick, is a police officer charged with the impossible task of curbing crime in Kensington. Her sister, Kacey, surrendered to the temptation of narcotics at a young age like her mother before her and now lives out her days on the streets, doing just about anything for a score. Though inseparable growing up, the two sisters are estranged because Kacey is unable to get clean. When a string of murders racks Kensington just as Kacey goes missing, Mickey, motivated by sisterly devotion and love, goes looking for her.

One of Moore’s clearest strengths is the deliberate and carefully measured manner in which she constructs the narrative.

Moore expertly divulges just enough information in calculated increments to keep the reader hungry for more. The story is told from Mickey’s perspective on two alternating timelines, the girls’ childhood (“then”) and the present (“now”), where Mickey spends her days patrolling the streets with her irritating new partner Eddie Laffery. The beauty of this structure is the insight it offers into why Kacey is the way she is. We get to see young Kacey, a bubbly, fierce and passionate girl who “made friends every

‘As Far As My Fingertips Take Me’: A performance NINA MOLINA Daily Arts Writer

My fingertips were first rolled in what felt like an ink stamp pad. The artist then pressed a cold drawing utensil to the skin of my left arm.

I sat there, sterile, removed from my own body and experience. My left arm stuck through the wall, vulnerable to the gallery’s cool air.

Basel Zaraa’s “As Far As My Fingertips Take” is an artistic performance curated by UMS, a multi-disciplinary arts presenter affiliated with the University, in partnership with the University’s Institute for the Humanities.

“Fingertips” is one of four performance titles that comprises UMS’s “No Safety Net” festival. All of the performances in “No Safety Net” deal with socially or politically relevant issues. “Fingertips” runs from Jan. 23 to Feb. 9 at the U-M Institute for Humanities and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI. The motif of fingertips is inspired by the Dublin Regulation, an EU database that tracks refugees’ fingerprints.

Quite often, these refugees would be sent back to the last country their fingerprints were recorded in.

Zaraa is an artist and musician, and a Palestinian refugee born in Syria. He currently resides in Birmingham, UK. Tania El Khoury, a prolific contemporary experimental performer based in Beirut, commissioned Zaraa

My fingertips were first rolled in what felt like an ink stamp pad.

The artist then pressed a cold drawing utensil to the skin of my left arm. to create this intimate and empathy-building installation.

This performance is based on his sister’s refugee journey.

UMS programming director Mary Roeder described the performance as emotionally hefty

as it is physical, allowing audience members to understand the personal refugee journey.

Senior programming director at UMS, Marc Jacobson described the performance as an “intimate, one-on-one, performance experience that’s approximately 10 to 15 minutes” for “anyone who wants to become closer to the understanding of the refugee crisis globally.”

“Many of us in the West, me included, have a sympathetic response to the global crisis, but speaking for myself, I’m not readily in touch with members of this displaced global community.

After experiencing ‘Fingertips’, it becomes very personal, empathetic,” Jacobson said.

When my fifteen minutes arrived last Thursday night, the artist’s cold hands adjusted my arm and fingers for each part of the drawing. It felt like one of those childhood games or secret codes where you try to guess what word someone was writing on your thigh or back. The elongated lines and focused splotches of ink made me think it was a vine adorned with flowers and leaves.

As the artist drew on my exposed arm, old-fashioned headphones covered the entirety of my ears. I heard the waves first. The crashing

place she went” and who rose “ardently and often violently to the defense of those in her class who were lowest in the pecking order.” Comparing the bright teenage Kacey to the lifeless shell of a person that she becomes under the inf luence of drugs makes the emotional impact of her downfall all the

But the most powerful characteristic of “Long Bright River” is its depiction of the endless cycle of addiction. It both humanizes the victims and provides a raw, unembellished perspective into horror and hopelessness of narcotic dependence.

more searing.

The novel starts off slowly, and at first it is hard to acclimate to Mickey’s reserved and often pessimistic personality. However, as events unfold and the story picks up, the book becomes almost impossible to put down. Each chapter brings new suspects and a surprising turn of events, leaving us grasping at straws until the very last pages.

Mickey also blossoms into a three-dimensional character as the sacrifices she makes for her sister and son reveal the depth of her love for them. The reader is swept up in a gripping mystery, speculating alongside Mickey on who is responsible for the murders and why Kacey disappeared.

All of the elements of a good novel are there: suspense, love,

tragedy and intrigue. But the most powerful characteristic of “Long Bright River” is its depiction of the endless cycle of addiction. It both humanizes the victims and provides a raw, unembellished perspective into horror and hopelessness of narcotic dependence. As Moore beautifully puts is, addicts are trapped “in a river, no fount and no outlet, a long bright river of departed souls.” At times, fighting addiction seems futile. Nevertheless, small rays of hope shine through as Mickey tirelessly fights for her sister. The lengths she goes to find Kacey are heartening and inspiring.

A lot of buzz surrounded the release of “Long Bright River” in the literary community, and, without a doubt, the addictive tale lives up to the hype. The novel could ensnare the heart of any reader in its roller coaster of emotions. The story is real, raw and heartfelt, and Mickey unfolds into a threedimensional heroine before our eyes. It leaves the reader with a new perspective on addiction, the inevitability of it and the seemingly predestined fate of the addict. The novel also inspires sympathy for the victims, who, more often than not, turn to drugs as a result of environmental factors out of their control. We realize: It could be us, in other circumstances, in a parallel life. We avoided this wretched life through luck, because we didn’t have family members who pressured us into narcotic use or lived in an environment like Kensington where drugs are the norm. “Long Bright River” reminds us of the fragility of good fortune and to cherish what we have, because for some, even the simple act of experiencing life sober is a daily struggle.

Long Bright River Liz Moore Riverhead Books Jan. 7, 2020

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

COURTESY OF NINA MOLINA

waters of the Mediterreanian harmonized with the cawing of seagulls. Zaara’s voice crooned through my headphones, narrating the journey he and his sisters took through Europe.

He said he was going to play a song, the English translation written on the wall above my seat.

The song began with a traditional wail and instrumentation, then the artist transitioned into rapping the second half of the song.

The cold utensil sailing across my skin felt otherworldly, distant and sacred. We were offered to wash our arms and hands in a basin right after the experience. To rinse away the experience begged the question of how the rest of the world, not personally impacted by the refugee struggle, decides to respond to this suffering. It felt almost disrespectful to erase an experience like this. I felt that it

deserved to linger and be on the forefront of my mind for at least the time the ink remained on my skin.

After the performance, I told Zaraa that it felt like going to confession. Something about the separation with the white walls and the shadows of the room recalled a kind of spiritual cleansing, an acknowledgement of the vastness of the world and human experience.

In the days following “Fingertips,” I looked up how the refugee crisis has evolved in the past few years. I also lamented the drawing’s slow fade on my skin, saddened every time a shower or sweater rubbed a certain part away.

One of the most vulnerable parts of the experience was the drawing of a boat attached to a string drawn from the center of

my palm to the tip of my middle finger. My arm featured people all walking in a single direction carrying backpacks and suitcases, even the children. They all moved towards the crook of my elbow where a line was drawn around the circumference of my upper forearm. They seemed to be walking to the harshly drawn black line of discrimination and apathy they faced on their journey.

Roeder remarked on what lingers in the consciousnesses of those who participated in “Fingertips.”

“I think you can intellectualize things all day long and post on Facebook that ‘I feel so bad these things are happening,’ but what action are you taking? What impact is that ‘feeling bad’ having?

Does it take having this physical encounter with someone to find change in yourself?”

Arts

6A — Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ALBUM REVIEW

DAILY DIY COLUMN

Algiers lose themselves on Keith Latinen talks DIY, new LP ‘There Is No Year’ Counting Stars DREW GADBOIS For The Daily

After the release of their 2017 album, The Underside of Power, it was unclear which direction Algiers would take their music.

The only certainty was that their next full-length project would come with a lot of expectations.

With The Underside of Power, they managed to perfect the gospel and post-punk sound they flirted with on their debut record.

Many fans were simply hoping to hear more of the same. Others wanted more noise-rock and postrock influences in their repertoire.

Regardless, the anticipation was palpable. In late 2019, the fans finally got the news they wanted, as Algiers announced their next release for Matador Records, There Is No Year. The question now was whether they would expand on the sound of their last record or go in a completely different direction.

Unfortunately, we may have set our expectations too high.

This is clearly a new sonic direction for Algiers. The novel sound expresses a sentiment of dilapidation and exhaustion, which is best illustrated with their heavy use of synths. This is not to say that the project takes sounds from synth-wave or adds pop qualities to their music. In fact, most of the synth lies in the lower register which adds an ulcer-inducing tension with nearly every track. Often this record feels subterranean, like on the track “Wait for the Sound,” where the pulsing, synth bass mixed with the lead singer’s soulful crooning can

easily get under one’s skin. This track also exemplifies Algiers’ decision to make this record their least instrumentally dense, with the synth and vocals being the two primary forces of the song.

Quite poetically, There Is No Year tries to be the valley that comes after the mountain that was The Underside of Power. The problem surrounding the new record is the band’s inability to fully commit to this new style. Whether it’s on songs like the title track, or the

There Is No Year Algiers Matador Records

closer “Void,” or in other smaller moments, Algiers can’t seem to let go of their post-punk roots. They can’t fully rid themselves of the wall-punching, bombastic energy that has started to define them, and the lyrical content certainly proves the point.

Algiers have always embodied the spirit of protest. The genesis of their name ties back to the city itself, which is known for having a history of anti-colonial dissent.

Frontman Franklin James Fisher uses his powerful lyricism and forceful vocal prowess to create this atmosphere. In this particular album, he weaves a narrative

Sudoku Syndication

SUDOKU

EASY

3

9

7

8

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

2

7

5

2

1 of 1

4

3

5

1

54 Needed to skip work, perhaps 55 Closing documents 56 “Hey, you!”

57 Deity with a bow 58 Stare in amazement 59 Otherwise 60 “The best is yet to __” 61 Concert gear 63 Bit of body ink

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

8

7

6

7

34 Home run pace 35 Indecent matter 37 Stepped heavily 40 Without a musical key 41 Self-awareness 46 Piano __ 48 46-Down, often 50 Difficult move in a busy intersection 52 One leading a charmed life?

53 Made an attempt

9

7

8

4

Before I had even set foot in the Midwest, I felt like I had a bit of an idea what the Midwest sounded like. Discovering bands that were integral to the past, present and future of the DIY Midwest emo scene painted a picture in my mind about what growing up in the Midwest would be like. One of the first bands that really caught my attention was the group Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate). As I explored the scene more and more, I started to listen to other bands, like Into It, Over It., Snowing and even Ann Arbor’s Brave Bird. The one thing uniting all of these bands was their label: Count Your Lucky Stars (CYLS).

Started by members of Empire!

Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate), Keith and Cathy Latinen, CYLS started as a way for the band to release a 7” they originally recorded for a split with Florida’s Save Mexico. In a phone interview with The Daily, Keith Latinen talked about the independent label’s origin.

“I don’t think we started the label with any great aspirations,” Latinen said. “It was just a vehicle for us to put out our own band’s record, and then when we started touring more and more, we started to see all these incredible bands that were also in the same situation as us where no labels were paying attention to them and there was no way for people to hear those bands. So, we just

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

4

9

Daily DIY Columnist

Release Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2020

ACROSS 4 Welcome at the 1 Twinings door products 5 Snakes in 5 Wolf pack leader hieroglyphics 10 Oft-misused 6 Bodice trim pronoun 7 In favor of 14 Hall of Famer 8 Depend (on) Donovan, first 9 Daisylike fall woman to flowers coach a WNBA 10 Zoom (by) championship 11 Refine, as skills team 12 Open hearing, 15 One-piece in law dresses 13 “24K Magic” 16 Georgetown singer Bruno athlete 18 Familiar with 17 Compact 19 Force gas into 20 Outshine 23 Word-guessing 21 Codgers game 22 Shorthand writer, 25 Cobbler’s tool for short 26 Swell places?

23 Haus husband 28 Margarita garnish 24 “Apollo 11” org.

29 Goat with 27 Solution for recurved horns contacts 30 Start of many a 32 Decides workday 36 Attended, as 31 Revived Alton college, with “to” Brown cooking 38 Fibula neighbor show “Good __” 39 Compact 32 Rip-__: thefts 42 Thumb one’s 33 Olympic vaulter’s © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. nose at need 43 Air Quality Index factor puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com 44 Old flames Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!

45 Bench-clearing brawls, e.g.

47 Big fusses 49 Grammar, in grammar 51 Slices in a pie, often 56 Christmas show 60 Nutritionist’s unit 62 Compact 64 Soaks (up) 65 Aptly named 1955 and 2019 Disney dog 66 Oboe vibrator 67 Tupelo, e.g.

68 Chips in a chip 69 Mixes in

8

5

RYAN COX

http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/

SUDOKU

8

addressing the disintegration of society and the individuals that inhabit it. On the track “Dispossession,” he aims his crosshairs directly at the current state of America and how it has developed from a place that once offered so much, to one that takes as much as it can. Each track develops its own idea that ultimately contributes to the overarching narrative in a way that feels uninterrupted. Perhaps it’s not so surprising that nearly every word on this album comes from an epic poem Fisher wrote titled “Misophonia.” The poetry on this record is almost breathtaking at times, but it never aligns with the music playing beneath it.

Ultimately, this conflict between verse and music demonstrates a fundamental issue surrounding the band. It feels like they haven’t located their identity yet. Embracing their post-punk roots would mean having to forgo the less-is-more approach they have towards instrumentals; favoring this new meditative and gloomy atmosphere would require the lyrical content to complement this dourness better.

It seems like they are struggling to make this decision, which is strange considering how confident they sounded on their previous release. It could be that There Is No Year is actually an admission of this apparent lack of direction.

The album cover even alludes to this — large block letters spelling out the name of the band are depicted tumbling above the picture of a man falling through the sky. Perhaps Algiers feels as though they are the man tumbling through the sky, powerless in their movement.

1

4

As a newcomer to the Midwest, I asked Latinen about how he thought the Midwest impacted his music and the DIY community.

Latinen emphasized how with increased connection to the internet, “it’s a lot easier to connect with people, and invite those people to shows. A lot of places that we played in Michigan, the Midwest and on tour … I never would have known about it if it wasn’t for someone from that DIY community reaching out to me.”

Along with the internet, he also believes that tolerance and openness play a large role in DIY ethics and its growth, and because of that mentality, “if one DIY venue ended up shutting down, there will be somebody else that would pick that slack up and there’d be a new place for bands to play.”

As a newcomer to the Midwest, I asked Latinen about how he thought the Midwest impacted his music and the DIY community.

“I think the term Midwest emo comes from living in these wide open spaces, long drives, and the earnestness and honesty that you’d associate with the Midwest too,” Latinen said. “And I think that has something to do with the openness and patience in my music. And that’s part of being a Michigander too — it’s that

patience and sort of appreciating beauty for what it is.”

Latinen talked about how these characteristics of the Midwestern scene helped Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate) back when they first started playing shows, saying that one of their first shows in Ypsilanti “was with a bunch of screamo bands.”

And that local DIY support doesn’t just stop in southeastern Michigan — it’s global. Because of their connections with labels across the world, the band was able to have international pressings of their records and even play a series of shows in Japan and Europe.

“It’s surreal,” Latinen said. “I think every local scene sort of chains together to the larger DIY scene, and it makes you feel at home wherever you play.”

In early 2016, the band decided to call it quits, and Latinen took a break from signing new bands onto CYLS. However, towards the end of 2019, CYLS announced the signing of their newest group in quite some time, Overo, along with the release of the group’s debut album. Shortly after, the label announced the signing of another new group, Singing Lungs, along with a new EP they would be putting out. Then, on Nov. 4, CYLS announced the album Tomorrow I Will Take a Knife to Your Confidence from a band called Anna Flyaway.

Started over 14 years ago, the group was originally a solo project by Latinen in college, but later went on to include many of his friends. Towards the end of recording their debut album, a series of lineup changes and the loss of their recording engineer indicated that the band might not have the longevity to finish the project. So, Latinen took matters into his own hands, learning to record on his own and in turn starting a new project, Empire!

Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate), just as the band broke up.

“It took years and years but we finally ended up doing it. I do sort of a stereotypical list of New Year’s Resolutions every year, and every year ‘Finish Anna Flyaway’ was at the top of that list. So I finally got to cross that off this year,” Latinen said.

The amount of care put into the album really shows. Between the sincere lyrics and harmonically rich arrangements, the album reminded me of why I began romanticizing the Midwest, and the magic of this music. Check out Anna Flyaway’s album, or any of the other new bands on CYLS, and you’ll see what I mean. It’s Midwestern magic.

1

Upcoming Shows

9

8

started putting out those bands, and it just kind of evolved from there.”

Latinen described how entering the age of the internet changed everything for smaller DIY bands, especially for CYLS. “We get orders from all over the world, and there’s no way those people would have ever heard of us without the internet,” Latinen said. “It connects everything.”

Latinen talked about initially messaging people on Myspace to promote the label, and said “when we first started getting orders from anywhere we were really excited, but when we started getting orders from overseas, it really kind of blew our minds.”

(courtesy of Outta This World Booking):

6

DOWN 1 Subdues 2 Make into law 3 Common sprain site

02/05/20

Feb. 6 Thank You, I’m Sorry (CYLS band) Ness Lake Boyfrienders Something Missing Button & Bella’s Music Box (Ypsilanti) Feb. 8 Ship & Sail Young Ritual Holy Profane In A Daydream

By MaryEllen 3/23/09Uthlaut 11:17 AM ©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

02/05/20

Button & Bella’s Music Box (Ypsilanti) Feb. 9

WHISPER

Dogleg Mover Shaker Niiice BPD

“mitchel mingi hong.”

Boyfrienders The Sanctuary (Hamtramck)

Sports

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 — 7A

After years of turmoil, longtime Michigan State coach Dantonio retires ARIA GERSON

Daily Sports Editor

Mark Dantonio, who brought Michigan State football back to prominence in the Big Ten, announced Tuesday that he would be stepping down as head coach of the Spartans.

“Today makes one of the most difficult decisions that I have ever made here at Michigan State,” he said in a statement on his Twitter account. “ … I will miss it all but feel the sacrifices that I have made away from my family must now become my priority at this time in my life.”

Dantonio also announced that he will transition into a role with the athletic department as a special projects adviser.

In 13 seasons, Dantonio went 114-57, won three Big Ten championships and led the Spartans to 12 bowl games, including a Rose Bowl win in 2013 and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2015. He revived the Michigan-Michigan State rivalry, going 8-5 against the Wolverines.

However, things had been trending down both on and off the field in recent years. The Spartans finished 7-6 each of the past two seasons while the program was mired in scandal.

In a lawsuit against Dantonio and other top Michigan State officials, former recruiting director Curtis Blackwell accused Dantonio of ignoring reports of sexual assault against former player Auston Robertson dating back to his highschool days, then scapegoating Blackwell. According to a Detroit News report released Tuesday, Blackwell’s lawyers also accused Dantonio of committing recruiting-related NCAA violations, giving employment to parents of recruits and making home visits with staffers who were not authorized to do so.

Before that, a 2018 ESPN Outside the Lines report found that 16 Spartan football players had been accused of sexual misconduct during Dantonio’s tenure and

that the school attempted to suppress those records. Dantonio and other coaches were accused of mishandling the allegations, though were never punished for doing so.

Despite these issues, the athletic department stood by Dantonio throughout the 2019 season. Early in November, Michigan State athletic director Bill Beekman told reporters that firing Dantonio was “not even a discussion.”

Dantonio had a $4.3 million retention bonus in his contract — which has essentially been a lifetime contract since 2011 — that vested on Jan. 15.

His retirement also came a day before National Signing Day, which could throw the Spartans’ recruiting situation into flux — something they can ill afford, given that their 2020 recruiting class is ranked just 10th out of 14 Big Ten teams, per 247Sports. All but three of their commits signed letters of intent on early signing day in December.

The program has announced that Mike Tressel, previously the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, will serve as the interim head coach. Tressel worked on the same staff as Dantonio for the last 15 seasons.

Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell has been named in multiple reports as a potential full-time replacement.

ARIA GERSON

Daily Sports Editor

EAST LANSING — Mark Dantonio spent the past few weeks hitting the recruiting trail as always, visiting schools and talking to high school prospects.

He realized that it was getting increasingly hard to promise kids that he would still be the coach when they came in 2022. The nonstop grind began to weigh on him. He realized he was 50/50 on what to do about his future. As he explained this all at a press conference on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center, the former Michigan State football coach extended his hand out to his right.

“In the end, if you’re 50/50 on something, you need to be over here, because this job demands 100 percent,” he said.

As Dantonio flew back and forth from those visits, he began to draft a statement about why he wanted to step away, a decision he announced Tuesday afternoon.

The timing is awkward, to put it generously. The coaching carousel has long since come to a halt, and many of the top young coaching candidates already have new jobs. Dantonio announced his decision the day before National Signing Day, after all but three of his 2020 recruits

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio announced his retirement Tuesday.

have signed National Letters of Intent, binding themselves to a program that is suddenly without a coach. The Detroit News reported earlier in the day that, in an ongoing lawsuit filed by former recruiting director Curtis Blackwell, Dantonio was alleged to have committed multiple recruiting violations in his time with the Spartans. And Dantonio recently earned a $4.3 million retention bonus for remaining with the team through Jan. 15.

Dantonio offered up his own justification for the timing, explaining the many cycles of being a college football coach, including the one every February where he resets his football team, saying goodbye to the seniors and bringing in the rookies, in preparation for spring ball.

“As I’ve gone into schools in the last week or two weeks, these last two weeks of the dead period ... I would find myself saying, there’s gonna be a gap,” Dantonio said. “There’s gonna be a gap created if I don’t stay, if I leave after next season, it’s gonna be a gap in recruiting. And the best time, I felt, to step away, when you reset your football team.”

Meanwhile, Dantonio denied that his decision had anything to do with the Blackwell lawsuit or the recent deposition he was required to give. When pressed further, he said, “We’re not talking about this. This is a celebration.” Athletic director Bill Beekman later derided the allegations as “patently false.”

Dantonio waxed poetic about the three Big Ten championships, the Rose Bowl, the Playoff appearance and the players he’d gotten to work with. That was the best part of the job for him, he said, and there was no doubt he’d left the program in better shape than he’d found it.

Still, that program is now on a downward trajectory, having finished the last two seasons

7-6 with losses to Michigan in both. The Spartans have the 10th-best 2020 recruiting class in the Big Ten, per 247Sports, and haven’t secured a single commitment for 2021. Now, Beekman has to find a coach who can restock the Spartans’ cupboard while also competing in the difficult Big Ten East.

“I don’t know that there’s ever a good time (to retire),” Beekman said. “There are times that are better than other times.

But I think that when you’ve won 114 games and you’re the all-time winningest coach and you’ve taken us to the places Mark’s taken us, you’ve set the bar where Mark’s set it, that I was comfortable operating on his timeline, whatever that would be, and I think that we’ll find a very good coach.”

Dantonio and Beekman both reflected on what they wanted in a new coach and were largely in agreement: someone who is familiar with the Midwest, knows Michigan State’s history and culture and has a high character. The Spartans’ top candidates are reported to be Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell and Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi.

But Dantonio isn’t worried about finding the right candidate.

“Are you kidding me?”

Dantonio said. “People will run here. They’ll crawl here.

Michigan State will get an outstanding coach that will care about young people.

They have a great foundation coming back. This program has won a lot more than it’s lost, as indicated by 13 years of what has been. … My hope for anybody who’s choosing to coach, I may be involved a little bit, maybe not, but that they hire somebody who will be here 13 or 14 years and win 114-plus games.”

Meanwhile, Dantonio plans to move into a special ambassador role with the athletic department, a

provision that was afforded him in his contract. Beekman and Dantonio haven’t quite decided what that role will be yet, but Beekman offered up a few possibilities they’ve tossed around, such as alumni and donor engagement and perhaps teaching a class on leadership.

For Dantonio, it’s the best of both worlds. He gets to stay involved with the program while cutting back on his workload, allowing him to spend more time with family and developing hobbies he’d never had the capacity to explore.

When asked to define his legacy, Dantonio said it wasn’t about the wins and losses, “although there’s a lot of them.” When he looks back on his career, Dantonio will remember the people he got to work with and the careers he helped shape. More than most other coaches, Dantonio has come to define Michigan State football — for better and for worse. He was the coach who brought the Spartans back to prominence, redefined the rivalry with Michigan and made a Big Ten laughingstock into a powerhouse. He’s also the coach who showed arguably undeserved loyalty to his assistants after down seasons and the coach who allegedly mishandled sexual assault allegations.

It’s hard to envision Michigan State without him, but that’s exactly the task the athletic department now has on its hands. He may have defined the program as it is today, but now, Dantonio wants more than just the program to define him.

“I’ve told my players on many occasions that Michigan State is bigger than any one person,” Dantonio said.

“It’s the program that’s so important. Someday there will be someone else talking to you from this podium. That day has come.”

Mayotte revitalizing penalty kill Sidor gets confidence boost vs. Iowa BAILEY JOHNSON

KENT SCHWARTZ

A backdoor rebound on a five-on-three advantage and a perfectly placed shot at Penn State. A bounce off a Michigan defenseman’s stick in front of the net against Ohio State. A wide-open forward sniping over Mann’s shoulder from the slot against those same Buckeyes.

These are the only three power play goals the Wolverines have allowed to start the second half of the season. Michigan has killed off 18 other penalties, two of them five-minute majors, without allowing a goal.

Only one of them came off a true breakdown in the penalty kill. A five-on-three is one of the toughest tasks for a penalty-killing unit, and an unlucky bounce off a defenseman’s stick is just that — unlucky.

Friday night against Ohio State, the Wolverines gave up two goals to Ohio State on the power play. Saturday night, Michigan turned around and killed all three of the Buckeyes’ power plays — including killing two five-minute major penalties.

“We didn’t change anything,” assistant coach Kris Mayotte said Monday. “I just think we simply didn’t execute who we’ve been on the kill recently on Friday. I thought we got a little too aggressive, and while we’re a kill that likes to pressure in certain spots, we still have to be under control.”

On Saturday, freshman forward Johnny Beecher was ejected early in the second period, putting the Wolverines on the penalty kill for five minutes, regardless of if a goal was scored.

Michigan allowed the Buckeyes only one shot, while taking two shots of its own shorthanded.

Sophomore forward Garrett Van Wyhe — one of the Wolverines’ main penalty killers — was ejected late in the second, bringing another five-

Michigan came out of the timeout up by eight over Iowa. With the massive lead that it had built up over the first 13 minutes of the game dwindling, it needed a momentum changer.

Michelle Sidor caught a pass at the 3-point line, her space disappearing as a defender sprinted toward her, brief ly thought of a shot — and passed.

The freshman guard’s decision to give up an open look is the culmination of a month-long onslaught of missed shots and diminished playing time. She’s no longer the first player off the bench, or even the second. Her last points came in a Jan. 12 loss to No. 17 Maryland, where she hit a single 3-pointer.

Her first Big Ten season has taken its toll.

Sidor offers something that can make this team go from good to great: the 3-pointer. Whether it’s Sidor, junior forward Hailey Brown or sophomore guard Amy Dilk, Michigan’s offense is nearly unstoppable when it gets an outside threat. Its dismantlings of Penn State and Michigan State show how when its offense diversifies, the sky is the limit.

“A lot of times people try to pack the paint on us,” sophomore forward Naz Hillmon said. “But when we have the shooters that we have, and they’re on and they’re hot, it’s really hard to pack the paint. You have to get out to those shooters, and then when you do that, they kick it back in.”

Coming into the season, Sidor’s shooting ability was highly touted and she’s shown she’s an impact player in spurts, with 16 points against Morgan State and seven against Syracuse.

Then she started missing.

She’d rush her shooting motion, shots bounced off the rim and her defense — still not developed — was a liability.

Daily Sports Editor

Daily Sports Writer

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily

Kris Mayotte has brought a stellar penalty kill from Providence to Michigan.

minute power play for Ohio State. This time, the Buckeyes managed four shots, but none were particularly dangerous scoring chances.

“We just knew we had to be more composed,” sophomore defenseman Nick Blankenburg said. “That was the biggest thing we talked about was we were playing well, and we did good things on the penalty kill, but we just kinda got overextended at times. I feel like on Saturday, we were kinda a lot more compressed and more of a cohesive unit, all four of us working together, so I feel like that helped out a lot.”

Michigan trailed throughout Saturday’s game, and the two major penalties presented an opportunity for the Buckeyes to fully put the game away.

Instead, the Wolverines built momentum on the kill and stayed within a goal until Ohio State made it 3-1 with nine minutes remaining.

“I think we saw it as an opportunity,” Mayotte said.

“We felt like it was one of those spots where we didn’t like the way it was going, whether it was on the refs or on us, but an opportunity to gain momentum and break their will a little bit.

“I think we took it more as, ‘Let’s be great here and really

try to demoralize them,’ rather than us getting down and thinking we have this massive challenge ahead of us. Kinda put the onus on them to make them beat us.”

Mayotte was brought in from Providence in the offseason in large part to improve the Wolverines’ penalty kill. Last year, Michigan finished 46th of 60 teams with a 78.5 kill percentage. The unit Mayotte ran with the Friars, meanwhile, ranked sixth, killing penalties 86.6 percent of the time.

Just about three quarters of the way through the season, the Wolverines now come in at No. 17 in the nation with an 84 percent kill rate, and Michigan has started to take ownership over Mayotte’s system and find its stride on the kill.

“You know what, it has the potential to be better,” Mayotte said when asked how Michigan’s unit stacks up with others he’s coached. “... Early in the year, it’s me getting used to them, them getting used to me. Now, instead of — you see it with them. They’re not thinking, ‘Well, what does Mayo want me to do here?’

They’re just playing hockey.

They’re making the reads.

When you get guys into that position, that’s when you’re successful.”

They’re just playing hockey.

They’re making the reads.

Against the Hawkeyes, one of the last players off the bench and her main weapon missing, Sidor came onto the court. And she passed, when she may not have earlier this year.

Five seconds later, standing in the same spot and no defenders around her, she received another pass. Iowa’s Makenzie Meyer didn’t close out and Sidor launched a 3-pointer, barely any pressure in her face.

She nailed it, the bench celebrating as she ran back to play defense.

The next possession, the Hawkeyes were forced to respect her shot and when she got the ball, she drew out two defenders from the paint. Sidor found Hillmon in the vacated space, getting an assist.

On Sunday, Sidor was the sparkplug Michigan needed her to be all season. In just over a minute of play, she contributed five points. And she wasn’t done.

For a third-straight possession, the offense ran through Sidor. She gathered a pass on the opposite side of the arc from her first possession, but this time she didn’t need an open look to launch a shot.

Her confidence — the biggest weapon in the arsenal of a shooter — was back. She was back.

That’s why Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico pumped her fists across the court, why the bench celebrated a second quarter 3-pointer like a buzzer beater. Why, when a stoppage of play occurred seconds later, chests were thumped in Sidor’s direction and everyone patted her on the back.

“She was due to hit a couple shots,” sophomore guard Amy Dilk said. “And once you see that first shot go in, you keep shooting, and she found two really good looks, and that really put us over the edge of that close score.”

Freshman year is hard, and while Sidor has struggled to make an impact of late, there’s a reason Barnes Arico compared her to Katelynn Flaherty before the season began. Sidor is a shooter, just like Flaherty, and even the program’s best-ever player struggled her freshman year. Perhaps all Sidor needed was a boost of confidence to get her season back on track, and she got that bout of confidence Sunday.

Once you see that first shot go in, you keep shooting.

DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily

Freshman guard Michelle Sidor scored her first points in three weeks Sunday.

Sports

8A — Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Torn apart

Michigan loses to Ohio State, 61-58, falls to 4-7 in Big Ten after Simpson commits costly flagrant foul in last minute CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer

Whenever Wolverines and Buckeyes collide, sparks fly — and not in a sentimental way. That’s to be expected from two bitter rivals.

But the significance of Tuesday’s clash between the Michigan men’s basketball team and Ohio State extended far beyond any semblance of bragging rights for both teams, who entered the game tied for 12th in the Big Ten standings.

Despite recent two-game win streaks, postseason aspirations were also on the line.

Ultimately, behind 23 points from their best player, Kaleb Wesson, and a controversial flagrant foul in the closing moments, the Buckeyes (15-7 overall, 5-6 Big Ten) extended their run, beating the Wolverines (13-9, 4-7), 61-58.

A sense of urgency characterized the early going as both squads looked to jump out to hot starts. Instead of catching fire, though, both Michigan and Ohio State saw a slew of illadvised shots clank off the rim.

Ten minutes into the game and the teams had combined for just 20 points — the Buckeyes holding the narrow 13-7 lead.

“I believe we got some really good shots that just didn’t go in,” freshman forward Franz Wagner said. “Had some good looks at the rim that we didn’t make. Lack of focus maybe, something like that hurts in these types of games. You need every point.”

Ohio State’s Kaleb Wesson was the game’s most potent scorer, knocking down fadeaway jumpers and 3-pointers in the face of the Wolverines’ big men. His 15 first-half points were counteracted primarily by Michigan’s sophomore forward Brandon Johns Jr., who led the Wolverines with eight points.

At the end of a largely

inefficient but industrious first 20 minutes, where neither team shot better than 40 percent from the field, Ohio State led by just one.

The shooting woes carried over into the second half. In the rare case a 3-pointer or layup would fall, the other team would match it on the other end. At the 9:40 mark, both teams were knotted up at 38.

Wesson continued to go to work on the Wolverines’ defense as the half persisted, though. Now, instead of drawing Michigan’s bigs out to the perimeter, he was bodying them down low.

“I thought Kaleb was fantastic tonight,” Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann said. “I thought he imposed himself in a lot of ways … we thought he was going to be able to get some open threes. He also made some tough fadeaway shots. I think he was just playing with a lot of confidence today.”

On the other end, Ohio native and senior center Jon Teske struggled to get anything going.

A point-blank miss off an alleyoop feed from senior point guard Zavier Simpson encapsulated his 1-for-7 performance from the field.

It was Simpson, though, who almost single-handedly carried the load for Michigan in the second half. With his team down by four after yielding yet another layup in the paint, Simpson was left alone on the wing and hit his third 3-pointer of the game.

Mere seconds later, he finished a contested finger roll off an Ohio State turnover.

While Teske proved ineffective, senior forward Austin Davis gave the Wolverines critical minutes down the stretch. He collected an offensive rebound and tied the game at 51 with four minutes remaining, before completing a rim-running dive to the basket off an assist from Simpson.

Then, with things all square at 53, the sparks flew.

Wesson inched the Buckeyes ahead from the foul line. After

the two teams traded 3-pointers, Simpson took matters into his own hands — he drove the lane and drew a foul on Ohio State’s Kyle Young. The ensuing cheers from Michigan fans were cut short as the referees conferred at the monitor and slapped Simpson with a flagrant-1 for dragging Young down with him after the foul.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Howard said. “It was explained like, Zavier went up for a layup, and as he was coming down, he grabbed his jersey and ripped it. And then I said ‘Well, if he’s going up and he’s falling, did he grab him to brace his fall?’ And (the referee) said ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Well, I guess that means that you know, he needed some help.’ He did not want to absorb the contact on that momentum of hitting the floor.

At the end of the day, we have to respect their call that was made.

Unfortunately, I didn’t see it.”

Simpson calmly knocked down both from the foul line increasing his total 15 points and temporarily giving the Wolverines a 58-57 advantage.

But Young immediately followed suit on the other end.

Per the flagrant, the Buckeyes — now up by one with 23 seconds left — retained possession, forcing Michigan to foul again.

All of a sudden, the one point lead that Simpson had earned dissolved into a three-point deficit.

On the Wolverines’ final possession, Simpson again found himself at the center of attention, finding junior guard Eli Brooks wide open in the corner for a last-second chance to tie.

Just like most of Michigan’s 3-point looks, it didn’t fall, cementing a heartbreaking home loss.

“I’m sure I’m going to replay it over and over,” Howard said.

“It’s a tough one to swallow, I swear. This — like all the losses — but this one hurts a lot. It was a very hard-fought game.”

2 02 0 TA N N E R L E C T U R E O N H U M A N VA L U E S

DANIEL DASH

Daily Sports Writer

For the second time in as many games at Crisler Center, the game still hung in the balance as the clock wound down.

After squandering a twopoint lead with less than a minute to play against Illinois last week, the Michigan men’s basketball team (13-9 overall, 4-7 Big Ten) appeared to find its footing. A long-awaited road win at Nebraska and a successful dispatching of Rutgers in New York made the loss to the Fighting Illini look like an inf lection point in hindsight. A lesson learned.

But when the Wolverines found themselves in a nearly identical setting against Ohio State on Tuesday night, there was no sign of progress. After junior guard Eli Brooks gave Michigan a two-point lead with 1:21 left to play, the Buckeyes (15-7, 5-6) closed the game on a 7-2 run, ultimately escaping with a 61-58 win.

In a Big Ten season defined by conference-wide road struggles, the Wolverines have now dropped their last three games in Ann Arbor. All of them were there for the taking.

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Missed shots a familiar refrain Daily Sports Editor

The City University of New York

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 4–6pm | Rackham Auditorium

lsa.umich.edu/philosophy Lecture is free and open to the public

A look that Brooks had buried from the opposite corner less than two minutes prior. A look that would’ve tied the game.

A look that ultimately clanked off the back iron.

“We were in the game the whole game,” freshman wing Franz Wagner said. “We didn’t play exceptionally well.

Sometimes that just happens, but you’ve got to be able to still win the game, especially at home. It hurts a lot.”

Especially at home. Those words brought the most strain to his voice.

Over the last few weeks, home is where the Wolverines have struggled most.

From knowing the arena lighting and practicing on the rims daily, there are a number of advantages to playing at home.

Yet during this three-game losing streak at Crisler Center, Michigan hasn’t shot above 40 percent in a single game.

And even though open looks aren’t falling, Howard’s unwavering green light persists.

At this point, it’s difficult for anyone in the Wolverines’ locker room to put a finger on the root of the problem.

Slumped against the wall in a scrum of reporters following the game, Wagner tried to gauge the situation.

“I think we got some really good shots that didn’t go in,” Wagner said. “We got some good shots at the rim we didn’t make. Lack of focus maybe — I don’t know. Stuff like that hurts in these types of games.

You need every point.”

With its last two losses coming at the final buzzer, Michigan has learned that final lesson the hard way.

We didn’t play exceptionally well. ... It hurts a lot.

Zavier Simpson committed a crucial flagrant foul in Michigan’s loss Tuesday.

JACOB KOPNICK

CHARLES W. MILLS

In the only game Michigan didn’t hold a late lead, it was down by just five points with four minutes to play against Penn State on Jan. 22.

The most recent two, however, have each come at the buzzer. Against Illinois, the Wolverines missed five consecutive free throws down the stretch in what could’ve been a win over the conference’s hottest team, culminating in Ayo Dosunmu’s eventual gamewinning pull-up jumper.

Tuesday proved to be a different story, though, as Michigan was the team with the ball as the clock ticked down in a one-possession game.

With over 39 grueling minutes of physical basketball already in the books, Juwan Howard huddled the Wolverines around their bench. He spent back-to-back timeouts furiously scribbling and pointing, whiteboard and marker in hand the entire time.

The result was an open look for Brooks from the left corner.

For all the romanticized and clichéd reasons to love sports, seeing a buzzer-beating 3-pointer hit nothing but net has to be near the top of the list. It’s pure anticipation as the shooter pulls up and attempts to carve themselves in the history books of their program.

That’s the exact opportunity junior guard Eli Brooks had in the waning moments on Tuesday against Ohio State.

As each second escaped forever off the clock, the Wolverines were running one final play to tie the game and salvage a win at Crisler Center.

Like most late-game scenarios, senior guard Zavier Simpson drove to the basket where he looked to find the open shooter.

There sat Brooks, alone in the corner with his defender desperately trying to get in position to make the stop. The junior caught the ball, rose up as he has done thousands of times and … the ball clanged off the back rim.

Michigan got the look it wanted — a wide-open shot in the corner from one of its best shooters — and just flat out missed it, giving Ohio State a 61-58 win.

So why didn’t it go in?

Not only that, why didn’t all of the Wolverines’ wide-open shots find nylon? Michigan’s shooters consistently found themselves staring at an unobstructed view of the basket in its entirety — a bright green light screaming at the ball handler to let it fly.

This tendency has done nothing but grow under coach Juwan Howard, whose policy since Day One has been: If you’re open, make it rain.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, there’s been a drought in Ann Arbor.

“I know we missed a ton of layups,” Howard said. “We missed a ton of open shots.

We just have to finish, it’s that simple. We have to finish games.

We have to win games at home.

We started off with a pretty good run in the beginning of the

season by winning some home games, and our first loss ended up being against Oregon, but we haven’t gotten back to that basketball that we were playing in the beginning of the year.”

Perhaps no one player has struggled more to hit open looks than freshman forward Franz Wagner.

Tuesday, the freshman went just 2-for-8 from 3-point range and 2-for-12 from the floor. That’s good for a 25 percent 3-point percentage — a disappointing mark to say the least.

But the German will be the first to tell you that these misfires are not the result of a mental hurdle needing to be conquered. Often times, pundits and onlookers alike suggest this could be the reason for a shooting drought. If a player is not shooting well, the thinking goes, they just must not be shooting confidently.

“It’s not, ‘I’m goin’ bad, I need to fix my shot,’ ” Wagner said.

“I’m confident in my shot, I think you can see that. I’ll continue to do that. We got good shots. A couple shots felt really good, but they didn’t go in. Sometimes my wrist doesn’t flex in the direction I want it to, so that’s why you gotta keep working on it, but it’s not that I’m not confident.”

Rather, it could boil down to slight alterations in how the ball leaves his hands.

After a win against Nebraska on Jan. 28, Wagner — who had just gone 1-for-5 from beyond the arc — assured the public that the coaching staff insisted there was nothing mechanically wrong with his shot. The dang thing

just needed to fall in the hoop.

“I talked to the coaches, and we think there’s nothing wrong with my shot,” Wagner said in Lincoln. “We’re just gonna keep working on it, and you can ask anybody. I’m trying to work on it and get my reps up, during the game and just trust it and believe that it’s going in.”

So how does Wagner address this problem in practice?

He does not attempt to correct the trajectory of his previous miss. Say he’s too strong on one of his shots and the ball pops off the back of the rim. Instead of attempting to put less muscle on his shot, Wagner holds fast in his approach, refusing to cave to the pressure that he overcorrect the amount of force put into the shot. The opposite is true for balls that fall just short of the basket.

Given the secrecy that typically surrounds players shooting mechanics, Wagner’s approach may be unique among his teammates.

But for someone shooting under 30 percent from 3-point land while attempting five longrange bombs a game, a change to his shooting mechanics in some form may be on the horizon.

Either that, or Wagner’s persistence pays off and open looks may no longer be a gaping hole in Michigan’s offensive inefficiencies.

Because if a team can’t figure out the little things in a wideopen shot over the course of a regulation game, how could it be expected to hit it with the game on the line?

MILES MACKLIN/Daily

Freshman wing Franz Wagner has struggled from 3-point range recently.

statement T H E M I C H I G A N DA I LY | F E B R UA RY 5 , 2020

From behind the screen “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.�

2B Wednesday, February 5, 2020 // The Statement

statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | FE B RUA RY 5 , 2020

Managing Statement Editor Magdalena Mihaylova Deputy Editors Emily Stillman Marisa Wright

Designers Liz Bigham Kate Glad Copy Editors Madison Gagne Sadia Jiban

Associate Editor Reece Meyhoefer

Photo Editor Keemya Esmael Editor in Chief Elizabeth Lawrence Managing Editor Erin White

Making new sacrifices for our country BY EMILY RUSSELL, STATEMENT COLUMNIST N

o good college seduction routine would be complete without a pre-coital ideological disagreement. One October night, I cozied into the well-decorated attic of a friend who serenaded me by playing the bass before broaching the topic of conscription, a subject which, until recently, seemed largely obsolete in the post-interstate-war world.

He said to me that being forced to sign up for the draft when he turned 18 seemed like a good system: While he otherwise would not have, he felt if the country called on him to go to war, he would do so gladly.

I pressed him about the causes for which he would be willing to fight violently and he could list none. Blind acceptance of the country’s demands — for which we are offered no justification — reveals that we are overdue for a paradigm shift in the perception of the value we carry for our country and our world.

For many, the choice to serve in the military is born of fiscal need: Students and young people from lower socioeconomic statuses put their own Americanist ideals of individualism on hold while they serve their the country. In the armed forces, they exchange their time — and potentially their lives — for future fiscal sponsorship to attend college or own a home.

For many, education and property are pipe dreams that make the military compelling or necessary. At my former public high school where matriculation rates were low, it was common to see my peers sign up for military service. Recruiters from the Army, Air Force and Navy stationed tables around our cafeteria for weeks on end. They selected students to do pull-ups on the bars and rewarded them with glamorous pamphlets of honor and glory.

Those peers of mine who did not have the opportunity to go to college — due primarily to financial limitations — had to listen quietly while the rest of us talked about our futures. While I and others planned to go to college and daydreamed about the careers we would pursue, others in my class prepared nothing beyond graduation.

When they emotionlessly chose to join the

armed forces, I wondered if it was a choice at all. If all options were equally available to each of us, how many would choose to endure the hardships of military service. Knowing that the resources spent on defense could instead provide for the education of America’s young people, the coercion underlying military servitude becomes evident. If a choice is made with coercion, is it really a choice?

Suppose, in examining the justice of conscription, we exclude those who have been coerced into service.

I have to imagine for all those who are coerced in some manner to join the military, there exists a significant number who join not from need, but from desire. Some feel indebted to the public services the country has provided. In looking to reciprocate all they’ve been given by the nation, many turn to offer themselves to it, believing that if they must give up their lives so that the country can persist, it will be the least they could offer. I have respect for veterans and understand the inclination to give ourselves in servitude. Those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country and its people deserve, in fact, to be treated far better by that country than they are.

But what if the country made no such demands on its people? What if, instead, the way we served a country was by serving its people? What if we were not asked to lay down our lives, but simply to live them to their fullest — leaving behind contributions to the nation in the form of ideas, families, art or scientific discoveries? What if the country called upon us to contribute daily to causes beyond our-

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE FAN

selves? And what if the value of our lives was not measured in their cessation? That is to say: Can’t the country respect our potential contributions without robbing us of our chance to fulfill them? A painting, the creation of a new vaccine, the cleaning of a national park or the teaching of young people are each productive contributions one could provide, or value, in the nation.

Recently, a Swiss friend came to visit me and laughed about his trip being made possible by his exemption from the required military service he would otherwise have to enlist in. I scoffed. Switzerland is known for its neutrality! In what army would all of its young people serve? They had a choice, he told me, between militarism and civil services: Two years in the

military could be exchanged for lifelong, occasional assistance on fire services, flood damage repairs and other emergency responses to natural disasters. His choice of civil service provision should have been obvious. “I mean, can you picture me holding a gun?”

Conscription is, by accident or force of habit, a topic of conversation I often have with my friends from around the globe, one which has shown me how non-ubiquitously the armed forces are approached in distinct nations of the world. Reframing the notion of servitude to focus on the ways we create and care for one another each day is nothing more than a respect for life from our nation to us, just as we’re promised.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 // The Statement

3B 3B

Dining alone, or maybe not

BY CHELSEA PADILLA, STATEMENT COLUMNIST

I

t was Friday, Jan. 24. I was laying in my bed, only awake because of the sunlight streaming in through my dorm window. After a while, I decided it was time to finally get up, so I rolled over and reached for my phone sitting atop my desk. A calendar event notification topped the screen.

It read: “Tomorrow, Lunar New Year.”

My family has always loosely followed typical Lunar New Year traditions. We have a straightforward way of celebrating: We clean to get rid of any bad luck and make space for good luck. My brother and I receive red envelopes from relatives, usually sent in the mail or as electronic money transfers. My mom cooks us dinner, supplementing our meal with a few boxes of take-out from the dim sum restaurant and an order of noodles from our favorite Vietnamese place. “This is for longevity,” my mom always said.

We’ve never had a big family reunion dinner like we’re supposed to in order to celebrate the holiday. Traditionally, the New Year dinner is special, mainly because it’s a big occasion for families to reunite with family members who live far from home. It’s supposed to be an intimate setting; families sit around the table for hours catching up with relatives they don’t often see. Normally, the food is entirely home-cooked, and there are often fireworks later in the night. For my family, there are no fireworks, and dinner is usually just the four of us — my parents, my brother and myself. A “reunion” with our other family members is usually out of the picture as most of our extended family lives in the Philippines.

Regardless of how small or simple or unconventional my family’s Lunar New Year activities have been, it’s always felt like a tradition for me, made even more special because it’s a time of closeness with my immediate family. On this one particular day every year, it’s what I’m used to.

As I stared down at my phone screen alerting me of the upcoming holiday, I knew there was nothing traditional about how I’d be celebrating this Lunar New Year. It’d be the first one I’d spend away from home. For the first time, I wouldn’t be cleaning with my family.

I wouldn’t be comparing red envelope money with my brother. I wouldn’t be sitting at the dinner table among plates

and trays of noodles. I would be alone, hours away from any of them.

This realization stuck with me as my day went on. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and the event on my phone calendar kept the thought of the Lunar New Year in the back of my head.

Remembering all the things I’d miss doing with my family brought back a wave of nostalgia and yearning that I hadn’t prepared for. I was left feeling homesick on the holiday during which I was meant to be surrounded by those I love and those who love me.

Of course, it’s not like Ann Arbor is completely devoid of any Lunar New Year celebrations.

There were various Lunar New Year celebrations being held across campus that weekend — the Chinese department was holding an event that Friday afternoon and a couple of student organizations were holding events on the actual holiday. After looking through a couple of the f lyers and invitations online though, I decided not to attend any of these events. The idea of going to them felt weird. They couldn’t offer what I was used to. The Lunar New Year is a holiday that has become deeply personal to me — so simply going to a substitute event felt too removed.

Ignoring the Lunar New Year entirely wasn’t an option either, because that felt strange, too. If I did that, I felt like I was letting go of the tradition of celebrating entirely, something I wasn’t prepared to do.

Even if I wasn’t spending the New Year with my family, I still wanted to celebrate it. I’d just celebrate it in my own new way.

Instead, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I convinced three of my

friends to go out for dinner to eat ramen on State Street, with my mother’s words about noodles and longevity swimming around in the back of my mind. Once we arrived at the restaurant, it was clear I wasn’t the only one who had this idea. It was packed, and the waiter informed us it would most likely be a 45-minute wait.

At that, my friends turned to me, looked at me as if to ask, “Well?”

It was up to me.

“I want noodles,” I said.

In the end, I did get the noodles I wanted. The steam from my bowl of ramen fogged my glasses as I sat at a table of four, surrounded by my friends. For a moment, I thought about my parents and brother back home. I thought about the cleaning, the red

ILLUSTRATION BY TAYLOR SCHOTT

envelopes and the family dinners.

Then, I looked down at my noodles and figured that I was definitely going to be OK, even if I wasn’t spending the Lunar New Year with my family. Even when I’m separated from them, I can still practice and experience little pieces of the traditions we’d created.

As a freshman in college, I’ve slowly been learning that this is something that I’m going to have to get used to. The Lunar New Year isn’t the only occasion I’ll spend away from my family. As students moving away from our childhood homes, we naturally grow into more independent lives: Learning to create our own traditions is simply a part of the process of growing up.

4B Wednesday, February 5, 2020 // The Statement

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 // The Statement 5B

BY ANDREA PÉREZ BALDERRAMA, STATEMENT CONTRIBUTOR

I

n the 1970s and ’80s, most major United States orchestras changed their audition policies in an attempt to eliminate their bias toward hiring male candidates. The new procedures included advertising the positions more widely, restructuring admissions committees to also include members of the orchestra and most importantly, the introduction of “blind” or “screen” auditions in which the identity of the player was hidden from the jury.

By doing this, they increased female representation from 10 percent in the early 1970s to 35 percent in the mid-1990s.

The screen, meant to address gender discrimination within the hiring process of orchestras, had allegedly achieved its purpose. But as they gained representation, women musicians who were auditioning for orchestras also lost something: their right to perform gender and to own and show their bodies in the ways they pleased.

Anne Phillips, London School of Economics Gender and Theory professor, argues in her book, “The Politics of the Human”, that women had to become “disembodied abstractions” in order to be considered as musicians of equal merit to their male counterparts.

Phillips’s notion of disembodied abstractions stuck with me, because it suggests that women need to surrender their bodies to claim their equal place in the world. To be considered as humans, we would need to give up the gendered particularities that make us women.

As I paged through “The Politics of the Human”, all I could think about was my body: my brown hair, flexible legs, uncoordinated arms and face. It looks different from any other body I’ve ever seen. It shapes how I see and experience the world, and also affects how others see me.

It is a woman’s body. It is an immigrant’s body. It is a body that carries stress and grief, but also happiness.

In a lot of ways, my body makes me who I am. Was it possible for me to think of myself, a human and a woman, without considering the particularities of my body?

For me, the answer was no.

The more I read, the more I came to understand that Phillips’s feminist argument was based on something much deeper than equal gender representation for musicians in orchestras. Although representation is an important step in achieving equality, Phillips was attempting

to attack the problem at its root. In her view, the origin of gender inequality does not come from simply from genitalia.

It can be explained, at its core, by the essence of personhood.

“We make up people,” she writes in “The Politics of the Human”. “When we decide that the crucial distinction is that between a man and a woman, or human and animal, or heterosexual and gay, we settle on definitions and boundaries that then mark our ways of thinking and living.”

So, if women musicians auditioning for orchestras in the U.S. were forced to surrender their bodies to be considered worthy of a position, then what does that say about their status as people? he United Nations proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 aiming to protect the universal human rights of all people on Earth. It was, according to them, a groundbreaking moment that marked a milestone in the fight for human rights.

For the first time, they say, all people were recognized as having a personhood worth protecting, no matter what their nationality was. For the first time, there was a governing body whose goal was to see everyone and prevent them from being acted against, no matter their societal status.

Article 2 of the UDHR reads like this: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-selfgoverning or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”

All is well and good, until one realizes that the word gender does not make the cut for the “distinctions of any kind” protected by the UDHR. Sex is there, but the contrast between the two is an important one.

Sex is a biological state, it is a non-binary designation of male or female based on sex organs. Gender is the attributes and behaviors that are socially assigned to sex categories. It is also non-binary, and there is no assumed correspondence between gender and sex. The two are undeniably linked for some people, but irrevocably

T

I

disjointed for others. n her book, “Inventing Human Rights”, University of California, Los Angeles history professor Lynn Hunt argues that human rights are given under three distinctions only.

“Human rights require three interlocking qualities: rights must be natural (inherent in human beings); equal (the same for everyone); and universal (applicable everywhere),” Hunt writes.

But as the women musicians showed, our categorical human looks a very specific way and not everyone is protected equally within their societies, or by the UDHR. In fact, I would argue people are placed into

categories based on the particularities of their bodies, and this affects the degree of protection they receive.

The women auditioning behind the screen became “disembodied abstractions” because their bodies looked different than those of the male players. Their bodies were different, and the attributes and behaviors associated with their female bodies — their gender — clearly showed. For example, despite knowing they would play behind a screen, women musicians who auditioned for orchestras still dressed for the occasion and often wore heels.

Phillips writes that representation of women rose further when a carpet was

added to disguise the sound of women players walking across the stage. She further states blind selection and screen auditions as “an indictment of the nature of our prejudices.”

It is — the forced distinction between gendered bodies places us on a balance that often tips toward cisgender men. The screen may have increased representation, but it also enhanced gender as an innate difference and did little to address the root problem of gender discrimination.

Being placed behind a screen forces people to assert their humanity through factors other than their bodies, which play a key part on how they view themselves.

The screen demonstrates that the fullness of women, their gender performance, identities and physical

From behind

attributes — their humanity — could not be on the stage. They had to be considered only on one aspect, their musical abilities, but they could not be accepted on their assertion of personhood.

In other words, the women who played behind a curtain were not being considered as people because of the way they showed up in the world and how they chose to adorn and portray their bodies. he way our society categorizes personhood is ascribed in these so-called solutions to inequality and discrimination. “Blind” or “screen” auditions inadvertently categorized women as “lesser than” by forcing them to hide their bodies and identities in the same way Article 2 of the UDHR completely ignored gender and failed to protect those whose sex organs don’t necessarily dictate their

T

the screen

ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE WIEBE

identities.

Liv Naimi (they/them), an LSA senior studying social theory and practice commented on the potential harmful nature of these exclusions.

“When it is women being discriminated against in (orchestras), that is interesting, because they are being discriminated against for the way they are showing up in the world,” they said.

“There is a lot of beauty in (their identities), and a lot of parts of themselves that they don’t get to show when they have to hide behind a curtain. They could still (play), and it could be really good, but I think that it says a lot to take away the outside of yourself. It says a lot about how other people can’t take all of you in and about why you can’t be yourself, and it can be really harmful.”

Naimi argued that the way we show up and present ourselves matters because it is a choice.

“My queer and also, at times, gender identity are things that I could hide if I wanted to,” they said. “But the opportunity to show them matters a lot to me, because they change the way that I can show up and be understood in space, and they change the way that I feel authentic.”

They also stated that language matters in recognizing someone’s personhood.

“When someone looks at me and uses ‘she’ pronouns, I get why. The culture we live in automatically genders the shape of my body. But being misunderstood in this way is harmful, because I am not being seen as how I feel,” they said.

“I do enjoy femininity somedays, and looking like I would like to involves many steps. What I want changes. It’s not that I am not human when people see me as a woman, but it is that I am not the specific and unique human that I am. I am not me to them,” Naimi added.

The metaphorical screen being built around people whose gender identities do not conform to our normative idea of personhood can be harmful and, despite increasing representation, it can lead to the vindication of difference and to a lack of understanding and empathy across gender.

Andrew Miller (he/him), an LSA senior studying film, television, and media had a similar opinion. “(Being put behind a curtain) sounds like a scary proposition,” he said. “It is hard, because when it comes to art, you want the best product to be shown; but

when it comes to humans, you want people to like you and for there to not be that much hidden about you.”

Miller said the ability to be recognized holistically matters and that compartmentalizing the self could lead to ingenuine interaction.

“I want people to like me for everything about me. I want people to see me. In an ideal world, I would like to think that my character would really speak for itself, but I’d like everything I can to be upfront and present.”

Miller also said he believes that if art is left to what he called a “free market ideology,” gender and race discrepancies in terms or representation and acceptance will always exist.

“There’s a whole movement in Hollywood that put more minorities and women into films,” he said. “I don’t know if (representation) would fix the problem. I think if you gave people who are different and who have different experiences a chance to tell their own stories, instead of just inserting them like paste into films, that would be very interesting.”

Both Naimi and Miller agreed in saying that the UDHR’s exclusion of gender is important and can lead to misunderstanding about the difference between gender and sex. They also agreed in believing that the right to express gender freely should be protected as its own entity. henever I walk into a room, I am aware of the particularities of my body. I know that the makeup on my face and my long hair are the normative symbols recognizable to others as femininity. “I feel like a woman,” these features say. “This is who I am.”

I know that one day, I will inevitably be asked to go behind a metaphorical screen to attain equal status to my male counterparts. I know that every day, even now, as I write this, people are forced to go behind a screen because of their gender.

It is not representation that we need, it is empathy. We need to recognize gender performance as a human right, and all gendered bodies as people first.

W

Andrea Pérez Balderrama is a senior studying Communications and International Studies and is the former Managing Statement Editor. She can be reached at andreapb@umich.edu.

6B

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 // The Statement

The girl with the plant tattoo

BY MEGHANN NORDEN-BRIGHT, STATEMENT COLUMNIST

A

s I enter the second semester of my senior year of college, I’ve found that one of the most wonderful parts of this era of life is the evenings spent on friends’ couches drinking wine, surrounded by people I’ve grown close to over the past years. As the chaos, deadlines, anxiety of forming new bonds and all the noise of the first few years of college die down, this stage of life feels like a comfortable, much-needed settling in.

During one of these evenings, this time in the form of a book club, friends I’ve known since week one of college and we found ourselves reflecting on how we’ve changed from those wide-eyed freshmen carting their belongings up to South Quad Residence Hall’s dorm rooms almost four years ago, to the seniors now sitting around with mugs of wine, discussing our favorite books of the moment, collectively playing adults.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about this evolution, which is perhaps a natural consequence of being toward the end of a major phase of life and on the cusp of something different and unknown. I’ve been comparing the image of myself now to the girl who showed up on campus in what feels like another lifetime — a girl who seems worlds removed from the person I am today.

As much as I try to conceptualize how I’ve changed, the physical changes tend to feel the easiest to focus on.

I now have bangs and a nose ring. I dress differently — wearing more thrifted sweaters and big earrings. I’ve certainly learned not to shy away from stereotypes, leaning more and more into the vaguely-artsy liberal college student persona as each year of college passes.

But bangs can grow out, nose piercings can close up

adornment once edgy and taboo now making its way into the cultural mainstream.

But my shift in opinion was also a more fundamental change than that: it was the result of watching myself change over the past years of my life. I’d realized — through years of friendships that waxed and waned, passing relationships and countless reinventions of myself — that the person I am is never going to be a fixed entity, and that the skin I walk around in is never going to carry the same person from day to day.

When I first came to college, if I got a tattoo, it probably would have been something stereotypically Californian. During that stage of my life, I was living away from home for the first time and being from California felt like the most fundamental part of my identity. A year ago, when I was studying abroad in Paris, I mused over getting my favorite French artist’s work inked into my skin. So really, it was just an accident of time that my first tattoo ended up being a tribute to folk music.

And while my constantly changing sense of self-perception might seem a reason to never get a tattoo, it ended up being the reason I got one. I can feel myself changing and evolving with every passing semester and life experience. This feels wonderful and needed and exciting, but I also don’t want to forget who I am now, at 21. I don’t want to forget PHOTO COURTESY OF MEGHANN NORDEN-BRIGHT what feels important to me right now, at this moment — so much so that I want it etched on my skin. and clothes can be donated to Goodwill. There’s one As I’m on the verge of leaving college, I realize that change, however, that’s going to be a bit more difficult to leave behind — the tattoo inked onto the skin above a few years down the road I might not even like Simon and Garfunkel. The herbs on my side could feel like a my left rib cage.

The tattoo — four sprigs of herbs, all in a row cliché, a byproduct of an era where every other woman — didn’t feel like a big deal to get at the time. This I meet seems to have some form of flora inked on her is strange, as my mother had spent years warning body.

But I’m OK with that, because 10, 20 or 30 years me about the permanence of tattoos, and I’d spent the same amount of time believing I would never in the future, I’ll have this reminder of what 21 was get one. I don’t know myself well enough for that, I like. I’ll remember what it was like to be a senior in would think. I reasoned: Very few people really know college and walk through the snow and ice of Michigan themselves that well, right? Those who say they do winter listening to “Cloudy” and “A Simple Desultory are usually only kidding themselves. These people Philippic,” thinking about my home in California and will grow, change and look back at the ink on their my home in Michigan and all the ups and downs this bodies with regret. They’ll realize their tattoo doesn’t music has carried me through.

At this particular moment in time, more than represent who they are anymore and have to live the rest of their lives in a body that’s untrue to the person ever before, I’m realizing just how much I’m a conglomeration of all the different things and people they’ve become.

Yet, despite all this thoroughly thought-out that have felt most important to me during the stages reasoning, in mid-November of last year, I decided to of my life, constantly building upon past versions of hell with all that. I’d had a spark of inspiration the night myself to present some cohesive image to the outside before, and less than 24 hours later, walked out of Name world.

Of course, that image isn’t ever going to align Brand Tattoo with a patch covering the smarting, red skin on my left rib cage, freshly emblazoned with four completely or comprehensively with how I perceive herbs in a row: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. I’d myself or how I want to be perceived, but maybe that’s been raised on Simon and Garfunkel, and this visual OK. By commemorating moments and feelings on my representation of my favorite album of theirs felt right. skin and attempting to chronicle versions of my past It was generically pretty, yet still felt personal, like a self, I’m holding on to some building block of the person piece of my identity projected upon the surface of my I’m becoming. I recognize that the person I am now — one who is coming upon the end of her college career body.

I don’t know when I stopped taking tattoos less — is only going to stick around in her current form for seriously. Maybe it was an aftereffect of seeing so so long. But I embrace that person, and her particular many people around me sport ink casually, a form of affinity for Simon and Garfunkel, all the same.

Dating along partisan lines

Wednesday,January February 2020////The The Statement 7B 7B Wednesday, 16,5,2019 Statement

BY ELI RALLO, STATEMENT COLUMNIST

have such a relevant stake in fighting for what she believes in and stimulating progress, there must be a way I could do the same for my own beliefs.

Advocating for reproductive rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment is intrinsic to me in a way that I feel in my bones. I want to share that message, and explore its implications.

For me, this amounts to my words — my writing. It has become important to me that I can explore these topics in the lines of my articles, plays and poetry in order to open a dialogue between myself and, hopefully, my readers and peers.

Surrounding myself with friends and acquaintances who share my views on women’s rights and other hotbed social-political policies is not difficult on a campus like the University of Michigan. In 2017, after the divisive election season and Trump’s inauguration, the Freshman Survey, a survey run by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute, stratified and released results on students’ political affiliation per University. They found that 34.1 percent of U-M students identified as middle of the road politically, 43.7 percent identified as liberals and 15.4 percent identified as conservative. In comparison ILLUSTRATION BY DORY TUNG to previous years, the number finished the book “Make Trouble” of left-leaning students on campus in 2017

by Planned Parenthood president had grown.

I never thought much about the polarCecile Richards on a flight back to Ann Arbor from my hometown in New ity between political parties until I was a Jersey. As I closed the back cover of a freshman. The climate in my hometown, memoir following Richards’s rise in the Rumson, New Jersey, is relatively even ranks from seven-year-old daughter of split and slightly right leaning. I did not politician Ann Richards to president of witness much animosity between parties growing up: 52.5 percent of Rumson resiPlanned Parenthood, I began to cry.

I was overwhelmingly fervent about dents voted Republican in the last elecwomen’s reproductive rights prior to tion and 43.2 percent voted Democrat. stumbling upon the memoir, but with the On Michigan’s campus, and specifically closing remarks of the book, I felt tears in 2016 when I arrived as a freshman, I prick suddenly at my eyes. I equated the realized that politics are divisive and emotion to being moved fiercely by a significant, being a consistently popular, woman who is dedicating her whole life important topic of conversation. Someto fighting for equality and choice. I was thing that was never immediately relevant met with an incredible awareness of my to me — bipartisanship, animosity over potential place in the fight — perhaps like political affiliation and alignment — sudRichards once experienced. Her story of denly became meaningful in my life. Upon working from young, punchy activist to President Trump’s inauguration, the crippresident of an esteemed nonprofit ignit- pling political polarity both on campus ed a hunger in me. If one woman could and nationally showed its face. Amiable

I

bipartisanism seemed further away from us than ever.

When I began to date someone I quickly learned was Republican, I initially didn’t give much importance to the probable differences in our political values. In fact, we didn’t talk politics often — almost as if to avoid confrontation. It’s easier to be agreeable in conversation and avoid antipathy than to challenge someone, especially in the early stages of a relationship. We dated for a year, edging on political debate a few times, only to extinguish the conversations if they neared argumentative, as if we both feared we’d squander the chance at our happy relationship if we revealed our startling polarity on social-political policy and news bites.

Finally, near nine months into our relationship, I wanted to hear out loud what I already knew was true: I asked if he was pro-life or pro-choice — a simple question. I knew what he’d say before he said it, and he was aware of my zeal regarding reproductive rights. We’d been awkwardly shielding the truth of our viewpoints instead of allowing the other to see what the other believed.

I don’t care for his opinion, and I do not agree with it, but that doesn’t make his having it invalid. His contrasting viewpoint, or his being pro-life, doesn’t make him a bad person. It doesn’t make him a monster, it doesn’t make him cruel, or horrible. It makes him a human being with an opinion, just as I am. We were simply two mutually respectful individuals with deeply different moral values.

We both had our feet firmly planted on either side of so many issues: gun control, abortion and the Colorado baker who refused a wedding cake to a gay couple.

Political polarity couldn’t break us up — or could it?

Our political affiliation wasn’t the reason for the relationship’s demise. But what did end the relationship was a stark difference in moral values and personal ethics — something closely tied to the heart and at core of the aforementioned issues. Since handling the disagreement on the basis of so many political issues with a serious significant other, I’ve been wondering about bipartisan relationships in 2020. As we near another intense election season, I kept asking myself: Can millennials/Gen Zers date over party lines? Do we even want to?

I never personally anticipated someone’s political affiliation would influence my relationship with them, either romantic or otherwise, unless their opinions were severe or hateful. Upon explicitly conversing about politics with the ex-boyfriend who stood on the complete opposite end as I do on social issues, I recognized

perhaps I have a threshold of tolerance, in regards to social politics, when it comes to the political ideology of my significant others.

I put out a poll on my Instagram story –– a quick, efficient way to gauge ideas on the topics from acquaintances, friends and strangers who fall in the 16 to 24 age range — and was impressed by the 300 responses I received. Most of the respondents were middle-class, Caucasian females, leaving about 33 percent of the respondents as male.

I am aware that the results of this poll cannot be fully relied on as any concrete data, as it is a biased sample from only my Instagram followers who participated. I am aware that different communities may have varied reactions to the same questions asked, therefore, it is necessary to keep in mind that the survey merely disclosed the opinion of the group of peers I have myself. That being said, the results provide an interesting look into the minds of my peers.

I asked a series of questions, all with the intention of uncovering my peers’ dating experience among party lines. The first “would you date someone with extreme, absolute opposing political views from your own?” received 244 answers for no, and 69 answers for yes. This means about 80 percent of the participants stated they wouldn’t be interested in involvement with someone romantically of their opposing political opinion.

When asked if they would be open to dating someone with extremely different social-political values, 235 people said no, and 78 people said yes. Conversely, to the question “would you date someone with extremely different fiscal political values?” 106 people said no, and 207 people said yes. The overwhelming majority are willing to write off fiscal political differences, yet would be uninterested on the basis of social-political differences.

One of my final questions asked if politics are a relationship dealbreaker, broadly, to which 217 said no, and 96 said yes.

The results confirmed what I’d already anticipated: My peers valued social-political values to a point of unwillingness to pursue someone intimately and valued having similar political values to a significant other. That being said, politics aren’t a relationship dealbreaker to those who took the poll, meaning there is a happy medium of space where we can coexist and even have the chance to enjoy those with differing political beliefs.

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

8B Wednesday, February 5, 2020 // The Statement

VISUAL STATEMENT: THE TIBETAN TRADITION OF BASKETBALL PHOTOS BY EMMA MATI

READ MORE ABOUT THE TRADITION ONLINE AT MICHIGANDAILY.COM