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Health care experts talk election year
Discussions of reform will be of major significance, panelists say VARSHA VEDAPUDI Daily Staff Reporter
KELSEY PEASE/Daily Cura Partners’ Jason White discusses his career, culture, and commerce at the Yaffe Digital Media Initiative Speaker Series Thursday evening in the Ross School of Business.
Jason White explores advertising, disrupting the marketing world Yaffe Speaker Series brings in Curaleaf Executive, details career ALYSSA MCMURTRY Daily Staff Reporter
Jason White, chief marketing officer of the cannabis company Curaleaf, shared his favorite quote by playwright George Bernard Shaw at the Ross School of Business on Thursday to a crowd of about 100 people. White said it related to an overall theme of disruption in the marketing world.
“A reasonable man adapts himself to the world; an unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to his,” White quoted. “Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” The Yaffe Speaker Series was co-founded by marketing lecturer Marcus Collins in 2018 to invite various individuals to speak with students about pioneering change in the marketing industry. Collins
spoke with The Daily before the Yaffe Speaker Series about why he felt White was a good choice for the series. “So the Yaffe Speaker Series … is essentially an initiative at the Ross School of Business where the focus is to create programming to help prepare our students for the changes in the evolving media landscape,” Collins told The Daily. “Jason had a very glowing career. He
has not only been navigating the digital landscape, he has been rewriting the rules and reimagining it.” White’s career started at Wieden+Kennedy, an advertising agency that works with large companies like Nike, when he was 28 years old. From the moment he walked in the doors, his White felt he had found his passion. See YAFFE, Page 3A
The University of Michigan School of Public Health and Healthy Policy Student Association hosted a panel discussion focusing on the importance of health care policy in the context of the election year on Thursday afternoon. About 50 students and community members attended the event. The panelists included Jonathan Cohn, senior national correspondent at HuffPost; Charles Gaba, health care analyst and founder of ACAsignups. net; and Marianne UdowPhillips, founding executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation at the University. The discussion was moderated by Daniel Lee, associate chair of health management and policy. Gaba discussed how health care policy has changed over the years with each election cycle in the context of divided opinions
Students 30th annual Environmental Justice examine Summit highlights intersectionality fears over Speakers address importance of future activism, policy changes epidemic CAMPUS LIFE
Conversations touch on racially-charged hysteria about coronavirus, roots in historic discrimination
on the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare,” a health care reform law enacted under former President Barack Obama’s administration. According to Gaba, the repeal of Obamacare would be inefficient. “We are spending as much money to put in the administrative oversight of work requirements as it would cost to just cover the people who would get kicked off of the program because of it,” Gaba said. In the case of pharmaceutical drugs, Udow-Phillips said intense pressure from the public to target individual drugs in an effort to lower prices might be more effective than legislation. She stressed the power of pharmaceutical lobbyists and their ties to both the Democratic Party and Republican Party. “This is not a party issue, this is an issue of how powerful that lobby is,” she said. See HEALTH CARE, Page 3A
RESEARCH
Grant to support 3 projects in Detroit
$79,500 will go toward research on alleviating urban poverty through programs and policies
SARAH ZHAO
JULIA RUBIN
For The Daily
Approximately 30 students gathered in the Yuri Kochiyama Lounge in the South Quad Thursday evening to attend “From Fear to Reality: Yellow Peril Anxieties Over Coronavirus,” hosted by the United Asian American Organizations. This event was designed to educate students about how diseases have historically propagated discrimination against Asian Americans and address how racially charged anxieties due to the coronavirus outbreak ref lect American ideals on health and immigration. LSA sophomore Victoria Minka, an intern for UA AO, opened up the presentation by discussing the role of modern pop culture on the frenzy surrounding coronavirus. Minka emphasized the importance of understanding how and why the spread of misinformation online led to the spread and normalization of xenophobia stemming from coronavirus. See CORONAVIRUS, Page 2A
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DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily The University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability hosted the 2020 Michigan Environmental Justice Summit at Rackham Auditorium Thursday.
LOLA YANG For The Daily
The School for Environment and Sustainability hosted its annual Michigan Environmental Justice Summit on Thursday. About 700 students, faculty and Ann Arbor residents gathered in the Rackham Auditorium to honor the 30th Anniversary of the “Incidence of Environmental Hazards Conference,” the 1990 conference that sparked high-level government meetings and contributed to the formation of an Environmental Protection
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Agency special task force under the Clinton administration. The panelists on the National Panel of EJ Game Changers began by recognizing and celebrating the progress that environmental justice has made over time. While the movement first gained traction in 1982 through an Black community’s protest against a local waste landfill, it has now been expanded nationwide as more marginalized communities began to fight for their environmental rights. Panelist Charles Lee, a senior policy adviser at
the EPA, mentioned that the issue of environmental justice did not have a name when he first started working, but as communities have empowered themselves, real changes have been made and more scholarly work has been produced in the area. Beverly Wright, panelist and founder of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, also commented on how advocates and scholars have sparked policy changes that aid communities nationwide. “If you think nothing has changed, this is light years
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in terms of the difference between the way we interact with government,” Wright said. “We literally had to lock EPA people in a room to listen to us. It was tough.” Wright recounted how she first made a connection between justice and activism when she first witnessed the effects of local pollution on Black communities and pointed to racial segregation as one of the causes of such suffering. “Why are we the only ones living fence line with
For the fourth year in a row, the Detroit CommunityAcademic Urban Research Center has partnered with Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan to provide funding for projects seeking to develop policy to alleviate urban poverty. The Detroit URC is a community and academic partnership working to improve health for Detroit residents through community-based research. Barbara Israel, professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education and director of the Detroit URC, said the URC partnership with Poverty Solutions is beneficial. It combines Poverty Solutions’ resources with the URC’s expertise in funding seed projects, which are projects that are launched with a small amount of funding. Israel said Poverty Solutions and Detroit URC selected projects based on how equitably they involved community and
See SUMMIT, Page 3A
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MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers
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B EHIND THE STORY Every Friday, one Daily staffer will give a behind-the-scenes look at one of this week’s stories. This week, LSA sophomore Calder Lewis on his story “U-M Flint, Dearborn students push for University health services”: “I started out with just one student source, which was the leader in the U of M Dearborn student government and through her, she was able to connect me with student government leaders from Flint and Dearborn, and also leaders in the One University campaign. And so together with all those sources, I put together a pretty complete picture of how students were feeling about the healthcare situation at the satellite campuses. The most interesting finding to me was that the University claims on their Public Affairs website that student populations are so different at U of M Ann Arbor versus the satellite campuses, that the satellite campuses don’t need on-campus healthcare; they say that the satellite campuses have more commuter students, more students who are close to their home doctor. But the responses I got from the students at those satellite campuses is that they’re also disadvantaged in a lot of ways. They often come from lower socioeconomic statuses. They have to work while they’re in school. And so healthcare without it being provided to them is just an extra burden on them.”
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Trump is using this re-definition of anti-Semitism, fairly explicitly, as a means to silence political speech that seeks to draw attention to human rights violations in Israel. Critique of a state — indeed, any state — must be protected and not be seen as a critique of the people of that state.”
John Cheney-Lippold, American Culture professor, on President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13899 meant to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses
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Professor presents on the history of female enrollment in universities Event hosted in honor of the 150th anniversary of ‘U’ beginning to admit women scholars NAVYA GUPTA
Daily Staff Reporter
Andrea Turpin, associate professor of history at Baylor University, presented a lecture on changes in views on the admission of women into institutions for higher education. Organized by the Bentley Historical Library, about 30 students and professors attended the event on Wednesday night in honor of the 150th anniversary of the admission of women to the University of Michigan. Turpin, author of the award-winning book “A New Moral Vision: Gender, Religion and the Changing Purposes of American Higher Education, 1837-1917,” spoke about women’s struggle for admission at the University and their experiences with coeducation. Turpin began the lecture by speaking about Alice Freeman Palmer, a student who enrolled at the University two years after it began admitting women in 1870. Turpin said Palmer convinced her parents to let her attend
college as it would help her become a teacher, one of the few occupations widely open to women at the time. “Alice Freeman Palmer’s inf luence winds through the development of three of the most prominent universities of that era, Michigan, Chicago and California, and two of the most prominent women’s colleges, Wellesley and Radcliffe,” said Turpin. “In other words, the advent of coeducation at Michigan mattered. It mattered a lot, not only for American higher education but also for American higher society.” Turpin said women did not usually attend college during the 1800s due to societal norms and expectations. “w” According to Turpin, different views regarding the purpose of higher education shaped people’s opinions on women’s education. “If serving the church meant only training ministers and most of the churches didn’t allow female ministers, it wouldn’t make sense to educate women,” said Turpin. “If serving the church was
to educate as many people as possible to communicate the Christian message as intelligently as possible then it would make sense to educate women. In other words, it made sense to admit women to college if you believed that social change came from the bottom up.” Turpin also said educating women was seen as a financial burden to some at the time. “It was, like many things, a question of money,” said Turpin. “You either had to raise the money to found entirely new colleges for them or you had to build more classrooms and dormitories for them at existing colleges whose funds were originally intended to educate society’s most inf luential leaders. Was it worth it?” University alum Christina Karas said she attended the event to learn more about the history of women at the University and thought Turpin’s lecture was eyeopening. “I like how (Turpin) brought out things that I didn’t already know about the overall history of women’s
lives at the U of M,” said Turpin. “We hear a lot about some certain specific women like Madelon Stockwell or, you know, Eliza Mosher, but I didn’t actually know as much about the broader student population and how they lived their lives.” LSA freshman Rachna Iyer said she found it commendable that the University supported coeducation in the 1800s at a time when many other places around the globe had contrasting views. “As someone minoring in women’s studies, I learned so much about the history of the women preceding me at this university and their impact all around the world,” Iyer said. “It’s crazy to think that only 150 years ago I would not be able to join this university. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come as a society, and although I know we still have got a long way to go, it is important to recognize the work of the women before us.” Reporter Navya Gupta can be reached at itznavya@ umich.edu
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CORONAVIRUS From Page 1 “Where this started was with some false claims being made about coronavirus ... information was spread without all the facts, so this has led to a sort of hysteria around this topic, which as we know is often more harmful than helpful and can feed into xenophobia,” Minka stated,
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“I know that memes can be funny, but when we start to normalize coronavirus ... then we start to also say that the reactions and the xenophobia off of those is also normal.” Minka then discussed other reasons behind the widespread panic, such as the lack of a vaccine and its spread outside of mainland China while reminding the audience to put coronavirus in perspective to other, more
prevalent diseases such as the common f lu. LSA senior James Lee expanded on the history of Yellow Peril. Yellow Peril was the nationwide fear and systemic scapegoating of Asian Americans that emerged in the 19th century in response to large numbers of Chinese railroad workers immigrating to the American West. He also discussed how laws such as the 1882 Chinese
Exclusion Act were created during this time period to specifically discriminate against the Asian American community. Lee then spoke on how these laws were created to deny the Asian American community power as well as how this fear of marginalized communities continues to have an effect. “All of this (the laws) is really about the preservation of power not given to the See CORONAVIRUS, Page 3
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YAFFE From Page 1 “The first time I walked into Wieden+Kennedy, that was when I understood passion,” White said. “That was when I understood a place that everything they do is about creativity. Everything they do is about enabling incredible creatives to do incredible creative things in the world.” White told students he worked as the managing director for Nike’s Shanghai office during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. White and his team worked on “launching the sports culture in Shanghai.” They centered their campaigns around Kobe Bryant and 100meter hurdler Liu Xiang. “Our job was to get the Chinese athlete to think about really competing,” White said. “We came in with Nike and our job … was to let people see sports in a different way. Our
CORONAVIRUS From Page 2 other,” Lee said. “In the American context, it is entrenched in our system to fear the other, so anyone who isn’t (obviously) ‘American.’ Any medical outbreak seems to justify already existing fears in the American body.” Engineering senior Kathie Wu compared reactions to the coronavirus outbreak to other prominent health outbreaks such as SARS, HIV and Ebola. Wu noted how common efforts to contain these diseases such as quarantine and marginalization are ineffective and ultimately only serve to hurt and ostracize the affected populations rather than help the general public. “A lot of the state responses to handling the spread of coronavirus and other diseases in the past have been to quarantine residents … but that isn’t the solution and it honestly just scapegoats already marginalized populations and intensifies the panic that already
HEALTH CARE From Page 1 Gaba, however, said he believed in the power of legislation and said he is optimistic of achieving universal health care in
DETROIT from Page 1 academic partners and how much potential they had for growth and sustainability. Projects were also evaluated on how well they improved the efficacy of programs and policies alleviating poverty. “Part of our work has always been the importance of having community and academic partnerships do the research,” Israel said. “If we promote co-learning and capacity building of all the partners involved, the research needs to benefit the community as well as the academic partners.” Carol Gray, center manager of the Detroit URC, said the URC has worked as a matchmaker to create mutually beneficial research partnerships between academic researchers and community actors for over two decades.
entire strategy was what we called ‘dare to compete.’ If we could start with showing kids the self-expression and the fun that is sport … we can get them to actually think about competing.” When Xiang withdrew from the race during the first heat, White and his colleagues reworked their message and released an ad with the message to “love sport even when it breaks your heart.” “That came from focus,” White said. “That came from not walking away from the strategy. We told people to compete. That’s what we said and this is where we landed and it went everywhere.” White also worked with Tiger Woods’ campaign after his scandal in 2009. Again, he implemented his ideas of reworking the message to tell the personal story behind the athlete. He worked with the creative director of Wieden+Kennedy to create a close-up of Woods with audio
exists,” Wu said. “Airport (temperature) screening of at least 2.4 million Americans and Canadians coming in did not catch a single case of SARS.” LSA junior Anna Dang concluded the presentation by highlighting how we can approach the discourse surrounding coronavirus moving forward. “To talk about resisting the resurgence of Yellow Peril, in the U.S., rather than warning people about coronavirus, (we can) warn them about antiAsian rhetoric,” Dang said. Dang also reminded the audience to keep in mind the exact statistics of the outbreak may be unknown given that the Chinese Government historically withheld information from the public during the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s. In an interview with The Daily after the event, LSA freshman Rose Waas said the event was an opportunity to learn about the different viewpoints on coronavirus as well as how to approach the coronavirus discussion
News from his late father, Earl Woods, in the background. “We were just thinking, ‘what would Earl say? What would his dad say?’” White said. “We took the last shot (of previous footage), the truth, the authenticity in his eyes, and we found audio from Earl.” White was also the former executive vice president and global head of marketing for Beats by Dre and was there when the company partnered with Apple. As the pioneer for the #StraightOutta campaign in 2015, White was in charge of sharing Dre’s story of being proud of where one is from. “The power in Straight Outta Compton is they owned Compton,” White said. “We got to this thought of that’s just a human truth, if you can own your past, if you can own where you’re from, that becomes power. That becomes control, that becomes reassurance in who you are. We knew we wanted
without unintentionally promoting xenophobia. “I think it was really insightful. It really allowed us to explore a lot of perspectives that are behind coronavirus and other epidemics that have happened in the past and ways that we can stop the spread of hate and racism,” Waas said. When asked what he hoped the audience learned from the event, James Lee once again stressed why people must carefully walk the line between justifiable fear over a global health crisis and the xenophobia that may stem from that fear. “A good synthesis that we want people to take away is ... any medical outbreak is not to be taken lightly, but at the same time, we have to recognize how it could contribute to further yellow peril discourse,” Lee said. The fear of the virus really ends up justifying not a fear of medical outbreak … but rather a resurgence of fear that already exists.” Contributor Sarah Zhao can be reached at srahzhao@ umich.edu
people to claim where they were from.” He invited various artists and athletes, such as Kehlani and Lebron James, to take photos with famous hiphop photographer Jonathan Mannion. Using this footage, White and his team released the photos with the “Straight Outta” tag and included the city the celebrity was from. The biggest jump in White’s career happened in 2019 when he left Beats by Dre to work with the growing cannabis company Select Oil and CBD. White said the transition was not wellreceived by everyone. “That wasn’t a very popular decision at the time,” White said. “CBD had just become legal and there were a lot of people that thought that was a bad decision.” White defended his decision by saying he wanted to create his own legacy like legendary music executive Jimmy Iovine.
Friday, February 14, 2020 — 3A
“I want to build what Jimmy built,” White said. “I want my shot. I thought about Jimmy Iovine who’s always said, ‘Ma ke fea r the tailwind instead of a headwind.’ That has been my motivation since I got to this business, that has been what ’s driven me since I lef t ever y thing that was importa nt to me.” White ended his talk with a f inal message of listening to yourself. “My message to you today is there a re zero rules,” White said. “I think that you have to stop a nd you have to listen to your voice.” Collins then facilitated a Q& A with White. Collins asked what was the huma n stor y of Jason White. White said stor y centers a round him tr ying to pay it for wa rd. “I think what we’re doing in the social justice space with ca nnabis a nd tr ying to expunge records a nd reunite fa milies a nd g ive people second cha nces,” White said.
SUMMIT From Page 1 these (chemical plants)? That’s when I made the justice connection,” Wright said. “I was always upset, but then I got angry.” The panelists said some environmental activists failed to identify the racial and social facets of their movement. Rhiana GunnWright, panelist and a lead architect of the Green New Deal, remarked on the prevalence of such a norm during her experience working on the Green New Deal. “I started truly seeing how much people wanted to combat the climate crisis without ever touching justice,” GunnWright said. “And I didn’t realize that that tendency was so deep.” In an interview with The Daily, SEAS professor Paul Mohai, an organizer
of the 1990 conference, gave the opening remarks for the panel, discussed how while the first conference 30 years ago focused on bringing attention to the issue, the current conference does more to examine the disproportionate health effects between different communities. Robert Bullard, known as the “Father of Environmental Justice,” expressed his confidence in students as changemakers in the future and expanded on the focusing on inequalities in environment justice to The Daily. “This country is segregated, and so is pollution,” Bullard said. “What we have been fighting for in environmental justice is to make sure that no community is disproportionately impacted by pollution.” Michelle Martinez, who served as the moderator
“The wa r on drugs ruined fa milies a nd neighborhoods for generations. For me, to be able to now be a pa rt of f ixing that is … unreal.” Business seniors Sofía Ondina a nd Kush Choksey at tended White’s talk to lea rn from his experiences. Ordina found the talk enjoyable a nd insightf ul. “I thought it was ver y enjoyable. Just lea rning about his ca reer, get ting his advice a nd his insights of so ma ny yea rs in the industr y,” Ondina said. Choksey said he liked how White was spea king from personal knowledge in va rious f ields. “I thought it was really authentic a nd he told his stories really well a nd seemed ver y passionate about what he was doing, like the social impact his work has,” Choksey said. Reporter Alyssa McMurtry can be reached amcmurt@ umich.edu
for the panel, touched on her work as an activist and highlighted the importance of action to The Daily. “Communities make change. Communities change laws. Mobilizations change laws,” Martinez said. “The big things that happen in the United States all were because of people, not because somebody in the capital had a good idea.” After the talk, Rackham student Stephanie Szemetylo expressed her enthusiasm to integrate more about sustainability into her own discipline. “It was energizing to see the connectivity between the different panelists, the embeddedness of the field,” Szemetylo said. “Hopefully I can bring design into that environmental justice space.” Contributor Lola Yang can be reached at lolayang@umich.edu
some form in the near future. According to Gaba, perspectives on the issue have already shifted from more conservative approaches in the past. “The greatest success of the ACA had to do with the philosophical mentality
change that no one should be denied health care, which was not the default mindset 25 years ago,” Gaba said. Erica Hernandez, a firstyear Public Health graduate student, said learning about what is happening in Congress, especially regarding drug
pricing, surprised her. “A couple of classmates and I attended the National Health Policy Conference in D.C., and this event was a nice complement in understanding the day-to-day changes being made for health care tomorrow,” she said.
Nursing freshman Josiah Ratts, a member of the Health Policy Student Association, said he found it interesting to hear experts in the field of health care policy talk about the future of health care. “As someone entering the health care world, I want
to stay informed on what’s happening, so this was all really new to me, especially the different options that the United States is going to have since this is an election year,” Ratts said. Reporter Varsha Vedapudi can be reached at varshakv@
“We’re celebrating 25 years of partnership,” Gray said. “The Detroit Urban Research Center is one of the longest communitybased participatory research partnerships in the country if not the world. And we’re very proud of reaching that milestone.” This year, Poverty Solutions and the Detroit URC gave $26,500 each to three projects: a team building a greenhouse combining technolog y with African traditions, an experiment in food delivery for low-income mothers and a study on entrepreneurship programs and socioeconomic mobility. Tammy Chang, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and researcher for the food delivery experiment, said her team partnered with the Women, Infants & Children program in Washtenaw County to deliver healthy
groceries to young and lowincome mothers. According to Chang, these mothers often face significant logistical barriers to finding and buying healthy food despite qualifying for government food benefit programs. She said her team sought to help communities often underrepresented or ignored in research. “It’s our job as community members and physicians and researchers to be out there in the community so that we can seek out people and be ready to listen,” Chang said. “And provide opportunities for people who typically don’t or can’t voice issues, and then create programs and projects and studies around those people.” She said her project works to create evidence to show government agencies that an investment of $100 or less on mothers during pregnancy can greatly improve maternal and child health over their
lifetimes. Ron Eglash, professor at the School of Information and at the School of Art & Design, said his team is working to build a hightech greenhouse next to the Detroit MBAD African Bead Museum that combines cutting-edge technolog y with African economic and ecological traditions. He said his team was inspired by research he conducted on West African societies using bottom-up, generative economic models to keep wealth in local communities. Typically, Eglash said Western economic models include state or private corporations which extract and keep value from individuals. Eglash said the team intends for the project to be both educationally and economically beneficial. “If we can have robotic systems, automated systems in the greenhouse, we can
have digital sensors, if we can have AI do some pattern recognition, it’ll not only benefit the greenhouse, but help educate University of Michigan students, who are right now asking themselves, how do I get to the cutting edge in robotics or AI, oh, I know, I’ll do some work for the military or I’ll work for this giant corporation and make some billionaires even wealthier,” Eglash said. Audrey Bennett, professor in the School of Art & Design, said the project demonstrates the role design thinking can play in generative justice. She works with a team of students across a variety of disciplines in design to teach how technolog y can augment African traditions of generative justice to improve communities. “(The students) have to work with the community to see how design could help the community to alleviate poverty,” Bennett said.
One of those students is Art & Design graduate student Keesa Johnson. She said discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion, often ignore or neglect to talk about equity. “This project for me centers around equity,” Johnson said. “Generative justice … speaks to that healing that I’ve been looking for when it comes to equity.” Johnson said her work on the project connected concepts she’s learning in class about complex systems design to broader lessons about community. “It’s really about building community for the whole of society,” she said. “I’m not extracting anything from anybody, we’re building and we’re making and we’re exchanging, and it all goes back to one thing.” Reporter Julia Rubin be reached juliaru@umich.edu
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Timothy Spurlin Miles Stephenson Joel Weiner Erin White
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.
JESS D’AGOSTINO | COLUMN
Why nobody cares about Trump’s impeachment
L
et’s face it: Trump got impeached and nobody cared. The 45th President of the United States was investigated through multiple committees in the House of Representatives and impeached by a House vote of 230 to 197 and 229 to 198 on each Article, respectively. For the third time in American history, the commander in chief went through this careful constitutional process and was voted to stand trial in the Senate. How much of Americans collectively deciding not to care can be attributed to the symbiotic relationship between news coverage and viewer opinions? How much of it speaks to the divisive nature of Congress and politics in general? Through our academic journeys, we learn about the constructs of American government. My U.S. History teachers emphasized the severity of impeachment. When a sitting president’s actions warrant impeachment talks, it should be treated as serious by both the media and the average American citizen. But this whole impeachment was just another unread story, another neglected piece of history. The prior two times presidents have been impeached were in 1868 when Andrew Johnson violated a “tenure of office law” and also arguably “undermined the cause of racial equality” established by former President Abraham Lincoln only years earlier. President Bill Clinton’s impeachment in 1998 holds precedence as what most modern Americans associate with impeachment. Although the Articles of Impeachment were passed for Clinton’s dishonesty under oath, the Senate voted across party lines to acquit him, noting the overly-politicized charges. Why did people care so much more about Clinton’s impeachment than Trump’s? It can be argued that it is because Trump’s impeachment
dealt with legitimate foreign policy concerns as opposed to lying about sexual relations under oath — much less juicy. Is that what we care about, entertainment and drama more than abiding by the Constitution? It isn’t that this wasn’t interesting enough to care about; it was the generallyaccepted assumption that Congressional party lines are drawn with a thick Sharpie and this undeniable division made way for a predictable outcome. The Democratic House would impeach, the Republican Senate would acquit. It is important to recognize Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who went against the Republican party by voting to impeach Trump,
The media should help the public understand what impeachment means. and who is now receiving a great deal of ostracism and hate for it. Whether you love “The Donald” or hate him, every American should hope for a less predictable outcome in important governmental processes like impeachment. I do not have a law degree (yet), nor can I sit here and write about the intricacies of the Constitution. I just wish we, could have more trust in the government, look past party lines and take an impeachment seriously. It is depressing, especially as a political science student, to see George Washington’s worst fears about a two-party system come true through such turbulent political parties. The news, generally speaking, has made things
worse. I distinctly remember the notification popping up on my phone from The New York Times saying something like: “President Donald Trump has just been impeached by the House of Representatives.” News has a large impact on what we prioritize and how we think. So instead of aesthetically pleasing graphics and pop culture perspectives, the media should help the public understand what impeachment means. People may not think their opinions matter, a feeling I relate to. Despite my excitement to partake in my first presidential election this year, I know my vote won’t make a difference (especially since New Jersey and I share the same political affiliation). However, I refuse to believe that we have done everything we can. We, meaning all of us: Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and Green Party members alike can and must do more if we expect more from the government we put our faith in. Call your senators, stand up for what you believe in and demand your representatives find a balance between being a delegate working with their constituents and a trustee working for their constituents. Through all of American history, things have only changed because of passionate people who are not afraid to wait or to work. We shouldn’t have seen an impeachment trial pass us by, seemingly scripted as it went perfectly to plan. I know it’s naive to think partisanship will ever fully disappear — and frankly it shouldn’t — but next time something as important as an impeachment happens, no matter your political affiliation, care. Jess D’Agostino can be reached at jessdag@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. LEENA GHANNAM | CONTACT CARTOONIST AT LZGHANNA@UMICH.EDU
T
The student vote in 2020
his March, the presidential race will come to Michigan and allow University of Michigan students to raise our voices and exercise our civic duty. Both the Democrats and Republicans are holding their primaries on March 10. This provides a unique opportunity for people to choose the direction of their party and who they want to see on the ballot in November. The primary is also extremely unique because it marks the first major election since the passage of Michigan’s Proposal 3, which made it significantly easier to register and vote in Michigan. Some of the most exciting aspects of Proposal 3 include online registration, sameday registration at the clerk’s office and no-excuse-needed absentee voting. These laws will make it much easier for Michigan students and residents to vote. If you have a Michigan driver’s license or ID card you can now register to vote online. This process is extremely quick and easy. So today, whether you are on a Blue Bus, waiting for your class to start or studying in the library, take five minutes and register to vote. If you are an out-of-state student you can choose to register in Michigan or your home state. Out-of-state students cannot register online in Michigan, but the process is still fairly simple: All you have to do is fill out a voter registration form and mail or deliver it to the local county, city or township clerk’s office. If you want to easily register, there are many organizations around campus holding voter registration drives, which are an easy way to get registered. The deadline to register both online and by mail is Feb. 24 — after that, you can still register in person up until and on
election day at the clerk’s office. For information about registering to vote and deadlines, govote.umich. edu has important information compiled by the Ginsburg Center for Community Service Learning.
Honor the memory and courage of the Suffragettes who refused to give up. Another exciting part of Proposal 3 is it now allows no-excuse-needed absentee voting. This means that students who feel they will be too busy to vote in person on election day can request an absentee ballot. There are so many reasons why students should go out and vote. Voting is one of our fundamental civic duties. There are people around the world who would give anything to have the right to live in a nation where they can vote in fair and free elections. By voting, you are recognizing these people, as well as honoring those who have fought and won the right to vote. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. One of the reasons why I vote is to honor the memory and courage of the suffragettes who refused to give up until women had a right to the ballot box. Every student at U-M is passionate about something. Whether it be health care, the environment, funding for STEM research or federal support for the
arts, every student has an issue that mobilizes them. We are fortunate to live in an age where information is available at the tips of our fingers and it’s never been easier to find information on prospective candidates and their platforms. Even if you don’t know much about politics, spend five minutes on Google and find a candidate who aligns with your views. Voting in the primary is especially exciting because it allows students to have a say in the future of their party. Unlike a general election with two stark choices, the primary allows people to choose among many candidates. As we saw in Iowa, the difference between first and second place came down to just a handful of votes. Your vote is so important, especially in a primary. As young people, we often feel unheard. We see the government taking actions we disagree with, and we feel frustrated and forgotten. One of the reasons for this is because politicians know many young people do not vote. In 2018, 41 percent of U-M students went to the polls. If young people want a seat at the table, we need to have strong showings at the polls and show that our voices cannot be ignored. Registering to vote has never been easier and voting has never been more important. That’s why all of us in the U-M community should head to the polls and make our voices heard in this primary and in the future general election. Isabelle Schindler can be reached at ischind@umich.edu.
CONRAD PENTALERI | CONTRIBUTOR
The state of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
A
s President Donald Trump took to the House of Representatives dais, grinned in encouragement along with his Republican colleagues’ “four more years” chant and refused a handshake from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, it became readily apparent that this year’s State of the Union address was going to be unlike any in recent history. Customary to tradition, President Trump made frequent appeals to his administration’s achievements throughout his speech by honoring individuals whom he had invited to attend. However, Trump blatantly disgraced American democratic values and attacked his political opponents in deciding to honor conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his address to the nation. Limbaugh has made his career as a political commentator with little regard for the unbiased scrutiny of facts or issues. Instead, Limbaugh approaches political discourse with a conservative outcome in mind and will find any means necessary to justif y. He dictates his justifications to his listeners and instructs them on how they should think about political issues. This framework was evident
in the “birther” movement when Limbaugh greatly contributed to the spread of a conspiracy theory that President Obama was born in Kenya, and thus, was not an American citizen. This style of press is a threat to American democracy as it promotes groupthink and false truths. In a December 2016 discussion of President Obama’s legacy, Limbaugh states that any “legitimate criticism” of the former President was “paralyzed” by his race, giving rise to what Limbaugh calls a “thugocracy.” This example along with many others demonstrates that Limbaugh has not hesitated to incite racism, misogyny and utter disrespect in justifying his conservative point of view. Honoring Limbaugh with the highest American civilian honor legitimizes his means of informing the American public. Limbaugh’s award is not only a humiliation of the prior award winners, such as Rosa Parks and Harper Lee, but more importantly is a reproach to fact-seeking journalists, who are vital to our country’s democratic prosperity. The objective of the independent press should not be to laud politicians without question. A well and accurately informed electorate is a basic requirement for a democratic republic.
With Limbaugh over the radio waves and Fox News television, Trump has staunch supporters in the media who will rarely, if ever, criticize him. Meanwhile, he excludes left-leaning networks like CNN from coverage. Trump also exploits social media to denigrate any Republican who steps out of line with his agenda. This uniformity is unhealthy for American democracy, which is reliant upon the free expression of ideas, debate and compromise. Former Republican party leaders, like Mitt Romney, who are brave enough to stand up against the President find themselves mostly ostracized from the party. President Trump’s State of the Union was, in essence, a campaign rally. His choice to present the award during his address to the nation was a deliberate attempt to vex his opponents and to rally his base. He used surprise events like awarding Limbaugh and a returning soldier from war as reality television-type reveals. It will be interesting to see who Trump decides to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the future — possibly the entire “Fox & Friends” cast? Conrad Pentaleri is a junior in the Ross School of Business and can be reached at jcpental@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, February 14, 2020 — 5A
VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL EDITION: MUSIC NOTEBOOK
TV REVIEW
For love and heartbreak: Music for your Valentine’s Day DAILY MUSIC WRITERS For The Daily
Valentine’s Day has some claim on sentimentality. It launches love into the spotlight, or at least into your peripheral; it pits love and loneliness against each other, these umbrella terms used as placeholders to describe the diversity of feeling that actually overcomes us. These albums claim that sentimentality back. They let your love, heartbreak, or anything in between be yours, be more than just a refined, courtly love. We hope in these albums you find that indistinguishable, overwhelming feeling, the one you thought no one else could feel or put into words and sounds. Stick with us on these albums, in all their glorious contradictions, and hopefully they seep and settle into your 2020 Valentine’s Day. Sam Cantie — Daily Music Editor For Love: Caroline Polachek, Pang Caroline Polachek’s voice sounds like a hallucination. Watching the musician perform her debut album live — even in video — feels alien, like the high and acrobatic vocals integrated into each song aren’t really coming out of her mouth at all. Polachek, best known as the lead vocalist of electronic duo Chairlift, has a particular talent for creating music that makes a listener feel like they are walking on air. Her most recent release, Pang, is a record full of these moments, capturing the emotional confusion and ecstasy of new love with every arc of her uniquely flexible voice. From tongue-in-cheek dance anthem “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” to raw ballad “Insomnia,” Polachek envelops the listener in a world where the simultaneous excitement and fear of losing yourself in love is made clear. Her songs are not typical love songs, but they are some of the truest presentations of real love that one could listen to — sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s hard, but giving yourself to another person wholly often feels like you’re entering a kaleidoscope of emotion. Polachek doesn’t try to navigate it, but rather embraces the frenzy of that state with every lyric and riff, making Pang a unique yet effective Valentine’s Day soundtrack. Clara Scott — Daily Arts Writer Rex Orange County, Apricot Princess You and your significant other are looking for a song to call “our song.” A song to send to one another when you’re happy or sad. A song for every heartfelt playlist, every long car ride together and to think of when you’re near or far. Draw from a hat with every track on Apricot Princess and you’ve found your love song. Rex Orange County captures the magic of a love that’s just beginning to blossom. Many a lover can relate to the life-changing chemistry of a new-found relationship as told on “Nothing”: “When we first spent the night / Nothing else would ever feel that way / In my room it all changed.” The excitement and butterflies of making the first steps together is encapsulated by “Television / So Far So Good”: “What about you and me together? / Something that can really last forever.” All this over smooth, sexy and sometimes somber instrumentation full of soft twinkles and piano keys. Apricot Princess is creative, full of sounds that always feel fresh, making for a goldmine of love songs that stand the test of time. Maybe the most relatable sentiment is expressed on title track “Apricot Princess,” where Rex speaks on the doubt that so many relationships must withstand from faithless friends and family. “I wanna show them / That this ain’t a fantasy, she’s my best fucking friend,” he sings. I can immediately think of my own “them” that Rex refers to — the people in my life whose thoughts and feelings I value, but who don’t have faith in my relationship’s longevity. Everyone has their own “them.” Every new lover comes with doubt from someone close, whether it’s well hidden or openly expressed. Weathering that doubt brings two lovers closer. Rex reassures us that real love is not just a fantasy. Dylan Yono — Daily Arts Writer Devin the Dude, Just Tryin’ ta Live People tend to think that interpersonal love is the most important kind of love. It’s not. Everyone is obsessed with finding a partner they can live with, grow with and laugh with, but they forget who the most important person actually is. The true most important kind of love is self-love. It takes
work, but not much; you already know yourself, you just need to own who you are and take care of yourself accordingly. If anyone knows that, it’s Devin the Dude. The oddball rapper was signed to Houston’s Rap-A-Lot Records (a pioneer for gangsta and southern rap) in the late ‘90s and 2000s. Despite Rap-A-Lot’s bad boy reputation, Devin was different. He’s insular, reserved and cautious, but he still knows how to have fun. In 2002, he released his magnum opus Just Tryin’ ta Live. It proved that rappers could be themselves and do the things that make them happy without maintaining any sort of image. Just Tryin’ ta Live is an album about just that: living for yourself and not giving a fuck. It kicks off with “Zeldar,” a goofy weed anthem that finds Devin rapping like an alien who just smoked for the first time. It’s a strange track, for sure, but Devin stays true to his weirdo roots and he owns it. The same goes for “R & B,” short for reefer and beer. It’s a track about drinking and smoking in an attempt to “Sit back and recline and try to relax [his] mind.” Devin knows what he needs, and he’s willing to go to lengths to get it. Album crown gem “Doobie Ashtray” is a testament to what happens when you forget about yourself and focus on others first, rapping on the hook: “What you gonna do when the people go home / And you wanna smoke weed but the reefer’s all gone / And somebody had the nerve / To take the herb / Up out the doobie ashtray / Why they do me that way?” Just Tryin’ ta Live, as a whole, is an album devoted to self-love, and Devin the Dude explains exactly who the most vital relationship is with — yourself. That’s all anyone really needs. Jim Wilson — Daily Arts Writer The Walters, Songs for Dads The Walters 2014 EP Songs for Dads is not an overtly happy EP. In fact, several of the featured tracks focus on heartbreak, not joyful romance. Songs for Dads, however, is not an angst-fueled breakup album. Rather, this EP functions like a make-shift anthology series: Each song spotlights a different kind of love, from platonic to romantic, from painful to hopeful. Songs for Dads is on this list because it eyes the bigger picture. It elbows in some much-deserved room for all the other kinds of love we encounter in our lives. The Walters EP is full of opposites, too –– each song acts unexpectedly. Lover’s laments are matched with a bouncy-beat and touch of lightness; sadness is turned on its head, and ushered out the door. Perhaps the best example of this is “I Love You So,” a song about struggling to let go of toxic relationships despite still being in love. Yet, the repetitive chant of the chorus “But I love you so” is hypnotizing and encompassing. These words echo loudly, obscuring the rest of the lyrics –– a fitting parallel to the turmoil of the moment. The song is bittersweet, like the rest of the album. Bittersweet may seem strange for a Valentine’s day album, but isn’t that how love is? Even at its best, no love is perfect, whether it be for lovers, family or friends. Songs for Dads adds a touch of realism, then. Maybe we don’t need another reminder of love’s imperfections. That’s okay –– like I said, The Walters don’t do “sad” very well anyway. Madeleine Virginia Gannon — Daily Arts Writer For Heartbreak: Spiritualized, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space What are all the emotions that one experiences after a breakup? After getting dumped by Kate Radley, Jason Pierce of Spiritualized decided to write Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space, an album that answers that very question. 1. Nostalgia Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space begins with Pierce feeling a deeply nostalgic love. It is powerful, but also temporary. 2. Withdrawal The next emotion is withdrawal. There is a brutal comparison made between infatuation and drug addiction. The statement ‘love is like a drug’ could not be more true for Pierce, who acknowledges he has since switched to heroin. 3. Cynicism As a result, Pierce becomes cynical. His cynicism makes him think love is nothing more than a primitive reaction akin to hunger. 4. Obsession
After this is obsession. At first it’s a romantic obsession, one that lacks real agency and only provides a wistful memory. Then it becomes dangerous. Like driving a car too fast or as Pierce puts it, “playin’ with fire.” 5. Frustration Later, there’s frustration. Frustration from his lack of productivity, from his inability to stop drinking. All of this because he can’t get her off his mind. This love is like a ringing in the ears that just won’t go away. 6. Acceptance Then comes acceptance, but in a rather pitiful fashion. Pierce understands and accepts that she doesn’t love him anymore. He just begs for it to be a gradual process. But at the time he wrote this, he knew what happened was the polar opposite. 7. Collapse He ends the album not able to get over her. The feeling of a burden lifted that was supposed to arrive with time hasn’t come yet. This leads him into a deeper cycle of drug abuse. Love is cruel. Pierce knows this more than most, because he had to record the entire record alongside his band member, keyboardist and prior lover: Kate Radley. Drew Gadbois — Daily Arts Writer Soccer Mommy, Clean Sophie Allison, better known as Soccer Mommy, released her studio album Clean in 2018, following her rise on platforms like Bandcamp (a rise propelled by grungy love songs). Clean’s sound is no different from her older music in terms of its discordant style and soft sighs of vocals, but the variety of heartbreak songs on the album is ingenious. Allison goes from “Your Dog,” a bitter, angry anthem about not wanting to be treated like a “fucking dog,” to “Blossom (Wasting All My Time),” a heartwrenching, vulnerable track that’s simple yet personal. The record is an all-encompassing breakup album; it’s great for feeling angry and powerful after having your heart broken, but also for burying your face into a pillow and sobbing. Arguably the best breakup song of all time is “Still Clean,” the first track on the album. I cannot reasonably guess the number of times I’ve cried to that song, both when I’ve been actually sad and when I had no reason to be sad at all — just for a good cry. Clean came to me when I was going through my first real breakup and I truly believe it was a match made in heaven. I don’t think any other album will ever carry me through heartbreak the way this one did. And for that, Sophie Allison, I thank you. Gigi Ciulla — Daily Arts Writer Taylor Swift, 1989 I’ll admit it, the day I found out Taylor was breaking up with country music, I shed a few tears. And it wasn’t until months later, pacing my room as I hit play on my favorite artist’s first pop album, that I was finally set at ease. I loved it. Of course, 1989 is a breakup album in the more traditional sense as well. Almost every track finds Taylor peering behind her, trying to figure out how a past relationship with a certain boy band member turned sour. The upbeat, ‘80s synth production just barely manages to coat over her heartbreak. But that’s the magic of it. Somewhere in the hours of Taylor footage seared into my brain, I can see her saying, “Just because something is over, doesn’t mean it wasn’t special.” 1989 captures that. Songs like “Out of the Woods” and “Wildest Dreams” aren’t meant to diminish a failed relationship, but remember it for what it was in all of its heart-racing, mind-boggling, ill-fated glory. Taylor chopped her signature curls, moved to the big city and took the biggest risk of her career — and was rewarded for it. Listening to 1989, you get the feeling that you can start all over again too, then come back better than ever. Katie Beekman — Daily Arts Writer Fleetwood Mac, Rumours Rumours was Fleetwood Mac at their most successful, yet their most unstable. The thematic cohesion of this spiteful album evolved from a uniform distaste among the band members for each other; Rumours is the bitter aftermath of fractures and splits within Fleetwood Mac.
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DIGITAL CULTURE NOTEBOOK
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Three video games for ‘What Was + May Be’ is just you and your valentine in time for Valentine’s Day ELI LUSTIG
Daily Arts Writer
Picture yourself on a date. You’re all dolled up and looking fine for that special someone. It’s late at night and hopefully, you’re snuggling with your crush under layers of blankets and pillows. If you’re lucky, the two of you have made a dent in that bottle of wine. The lights are low and in the background you hear the soothing sounds of … button mashing. Yes, the clicking of game controllers is the soundtrack to your romance because this date isn’t your usual date. Tonight is game night. The modern dating scene is tricky, with intimacy being as hard to come by as a good match on Tinder. With people devoting more and more time to their screens it has become completely normalized to share a screen and “Netflix and Chill” with your partner. However, instead of falling into a millennial cliche, young bachelors and bachelorettes can all benefit from switching it up and geeking out with a quality video game. You two still share a screen, the mood is still lighthearted and best of all you actually talk. Video games require cooperation, communication and trust — the foundation of all healthy relationships. Regardless of your skill level, here are three great games for date night. “Overcooked” Since nothing is sexier than swooning over your partner’s tasty home cooked dinner, why not test the waters digitally before you waste a bunch of groceries? “Overcooked” is perfect for casual fun. This frantic cooking game will have you and your partner controlling friendly woodland animals dressed as chefs who need to perform simple cooking tasks within 3-minute rounds. Though every individual action is simple, the frying, chopping, plating and transport of a single burger will have you and your partner communicating at every second. Couple this with a plethora of maps that are designed to intentionally inhibit your workflow and “Overcooked“ becomes a game of cooperative finesse. Yet there is never a need to stress out. The absence of harsh punishments and antagonists keep “Overcooked” an adorable experience that will have you and your date laughing over your blunders and celebrating each little achievement.
“Lovers in a Dangerous Space-Time” A game that seems like it was made for date night, “Lovers in a Dangerous Space-Time” is an astro-trip into a universe of galactic neon cuties fighting to save the forces of love from the ever-encroaching evils of anti-love. The 2D retro aesthetic is amazing and looks like neon signs in motion. With a slightly higher barrier of entry, “LDST” is still easy enough for beginners but also a good challenge if you or your partner happens to be a veteran. The core gameplay consists of you and your date controlling a space ship equipped with thrusters, blasters and a shield. Only one station can be manned at a time, so when your partner is blasting the bad guys, it’s your job to make sure the ship moves in the right direction. This makes trust and cooperation necessary and will have you and your date bonding over your hatred of fun-ruining monsters and your love of space-faring (and maybe each other). “A Way Out” If it’s not the first date and you’re looking to impress your sweetheart with a more artistic and emotional experience then you should try “A Way Out.” The most serious of these three, “A Way Out” is a cinematic adventure akin to playing a Martin Scorsese film. Set in the 1970’s, you and your crush will inhabit two convicts conspiring to break out of prison and exact revenge on those who put you there. “A Way Out” is completely plot-driven, meaning you and your partner will have the same story but play a different narrative depending on which of the two convicts you each choose. This difference in character arcs personalizes the game while still making it feel like a shared experience. Trust and cooperation are always needed, but choice also takes a crucial role in the gameplay. Since the two characters have different personalities and therefore different approaches to certain situations, deciding who will do what can alter a specific outcome. The length of “A Way Out” will span several hours so plan on multiple dates almost as if you were going to watch a whole season of your favorite TV show with your crush. In the end, the payoff is worth it and hopefully, the seriousness of “A Way Out” will allow you to learn something deeper about your partner.
just wear my expression throughout different roles and responsibilities.” For The Daily Another aspect of “What Was + May Be” is the fact that it showcases only Asian American performers. The rehearsal studio in the Power Center for the Charfouros mentioned how she questioned whether Performing Arts for We the PROUD’s “What Was + this fact causes this show to be an Asian American May Be” is strikingly simple. Several black stage blocks play, or if maybe it is a part of a larger genre of Asian dot the gleaming polished floor, a rope rests coiled on American theatre. There seems to be a greater question the ground and four students sit chatting in a circle. of what it means to represent an identity in an art form Two people are dressed in minimal costume pieces such as this. “There are two Asian Americans onstage and that and two have laptops balanced on their laps. They are Music, Theatre & Dance junior Alyxandra in and of itself is breaking the boundaries of what is Ciale Charfouros and Rackham student Michael mainstream,” Charfouros said. Not only is this an Yuchen Tong. In addition original show, but it’s also to conceiving “What Was the first piece of theatre + May Be,” Charfourous from the new student and Tong star as well in the production company, We story depicting their own the People Representing our relationship. While they met Friday, February 14, 2020 Unifying Diversity (or We in high school, the pair have the PROUD) Polycultural been apart for five years, 7:30PM Productions. The reasoning and are just now reuniting. Duderstadt Video Studeio behind the creation of this The show will include their organization was to “make own experiences, as well as space for marginalized stories from other couples in voices,” said director long distance relationships they have interviewed. Also present in the rehearsal Amanda Kuo. “We have all these amazing resources and tools and room are Music, Theatre & Dance senior Amanda Kuo as the director and Music, Theatre & Dance and Art & training from the University of Michigan, but we were Design sophomore Nicole (Niki) Denise White as the kind of not really loving the stories that we were given to be told,” Kuo said. art designer. Kuo echoed Charfouros’ sentiments that this show Charfouros explained a bit of the plot of the show. “This is our story of being in a long distance is an example of how representation can be as simple relationship and now coming together after five years,” as featuring people with different racial or ethnic Charfouros said. “It’s kind of a memory play and it’s a identities. She also added that diversity in the theatrical world does not have to stop at performers. devised piece.” “It’s one of the few places I’ve been where some She described the challenges of both writing and performing, detailing how the creation of this show has days only Asian-Americans are in the room creating theatre,” Kuo said. “It feels really safe and it’s all required her to trust both her “expression and story.” “I wrote this story, and I’m performing in it so original.” it’s really new and challenging to trust it from a Read more at bunch of different perspectives: as a playwright, as a MichiganDaily.com performer, and as a producer,” Charfouros said. “We talk about wearing a lot of hats ... I want to be able to CAROLINE ATKINSON
“What Was + May Be”
Arts
6A — Friday, February 14, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM NOTEBOOK
A look at the best moments from the 2020 Oscars in spite of how perplexing it is, is an exciting and welcome departure from this. — Elise Godfryd, Senior Arts Editor
DAILY FILM WRITERS For The Daily
Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” performance Eminem performed his 2002 smash hit “Lose Yourself” at the Oscars Sunday night and I didn’t know why. I thought that maybe I had missed something crucial, like an introduction or any sort of rationale for what was happening. But I got none. And it took reading a CNN article days later to find some semblance of an explanation. Ever since the Academy made the decision to rid itself of a lead host, I’ve felt that something was missing. But it took me until this Eminem performance to figure out what that was. What’s missing is the cringe factor, something to laugh at that makes the ceremony more than a dreary procession of award-giving by hosts we see too little of to invest ourselves in. The absurdity of bringing “Lose Yourself” into 2020, let alone into the actual Academy Awards, along with the brilliant reactions from Billie Eilish, Idina Menzel and Martin Scorcese, reminds me of how seriously the Oscars has begun to take itself. And this performance, one that happens to be quite good
Timmy and his tracksuit Timothée Chalamet wore a tracksuit to the Oscars. A Prada tracksuit, true, but a tracksuit nonetheless. Though not as radical a choice as that of Billy Porter, Chalamet still stood out among the traditional, therefore boring, tuxedos that other men in the industry tend to gravitate toward. With his athleisure red carpet fit, Chalamet delivered a look that received equal amounts of roasting and swooning on the internet. But, whatever you have to say about the look, it can’t be argued that it wasn’t sustainable — according to GQ, the Prada tracksuit was made of the fashion house’s Re-nylon material (a fabric made out of various recycled plastics and other ocean litter). The brooch was a borrowed, vintage Cartier accessory. So, regardless of the tracksuit’s popped collar as he presented an award, Chalamet was still photobombing Margot Robbie’s Oscars red carpet moment and, honestly, that’s the only thing that matters. — Emma Chang, Daily Arts Writer
“Joker” wins best score Despite the fact that I never saw “Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir’s winning Best Original Score was one of my favorite moments of the Oscars this year. Not only did she beat some incredibly talented and heavily-awarded nominees like John Williams and Randy Newman, but she was also only the fourth woman to ever win in this category. Her speech was probably my favorite of the entire night; it was short and sweet to the relief of many, I’m sure. But even more importantly, it was genuine and inspiring. As a teenage girl watching her, I couldn’t help but feel empowered. She left a message with the girls and women watching her, telling them to “speak up” because people need to “hear [their] voices.” Hearing those words was one of the only moments of the Oscars when I felt moved. — Sabriya Imami, Daily Arts Writer The Dernaissance Laura Dern has been in the acting business for decades. While Dern reached national fame as the fiercely courageous Dr. Ellie Sattler in 1993’s “Jurassic Park,” she became more of a character actor in the decades afterward, known for taking obscure or supporting roles.
Today, though, Laura Dern is one of the busiest, most visible actors around. The “Dernaissance” began in 2017, when she was the highlight of the Twin Peaks reboot, “Big Little Lies” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” While vastly different, these projects show Dern is one of the most discerning, reliable actors around. In 2019, she returned for a second season of “Big Little Lies” and was the mother everyone wants in “Little Women.” To kick off 2020, she finally won an Oscar, recognizing her decades of stellar cinematic achievement. Now that she has that statuette, don’t expect her to slow down (rumor has it she’ll be in Jurassic World 3...). The Dernissance is upon us, and every film she graces with her presence is all the better for it. — Andrew Warrick, Daily Arts Writer Bong and Scorsese Bong Joon Ho, the inarguable winner of the night, gave several of the event’s best speeches. But the moment that resonates with me the most is his humble ode to Martin Scorsese during his Best Director speech.
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COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
The U-M Jazz Fest is a surefire testament to passion ROSA SOFIA KAMINSKI For The Daily
I’ve always been confused about why many believe jazz is old and boring. The University of Michigan Jazz Festival on Feb. 8 exemplified its ever changing nature. Various ensembles performed tunes old and new to the fascination of an audience comprised of all different ages. The event honored influential 1950s jazz trumpet player Clifford Brown, acknowledging the past while looking toward the future. The first of the three main events of the day was a talk given by trumpet player Scotty Barnhart (featured guest of the day and current leader of the Count Basie Orchestra) and Music, Theatre & Dance Professor Ed Sarath on Clifford Brown. The small amount of attendees was engulfed by the large Stamps Auditorium. But rather than feeling like a birthday party that no one showed up to, Barnhart’s welcoming laugh and easy manner made the audience feel lucky to be small in number. He answered questions, told jokes and even jammed with a few trumpet students.
Afterwards, he greeted members of the audience. The talk was emblematic of jazz: perhaps not as attended as it used to be, but warm, laid back and spontaneous. Later that afternoon, the UM Lab Jazz Band took the same stage. Directed by Dennis Wilson (who also organized the festival), the group gave an impressive, mostly uptempo performance. Their fourth piece —“The Second Race” by Thad Jones — featured bassist Paul Keller, a local Ann Arbor big band leader. He and drummer Music, Theatre & Dance sophomore Mitchell Dangler spontaneously played with time on this tune, impressively slowing the quick tempo down to almost half speed as Keller soloed, then turning it back up again. One misstep, and the drummer and bassist, who held the time of the band, could lose their place and the whole song would fall apart. “(Paul Keller) just came up and, during the song, before his solo, he was like, ‘I’m gonna slow down and
then speed up. Follow me,’” Dangler said. “So that was fun, that was really fun.” The last event, featuring the University Jazz Band and the Jazz Faculty Trio with Scotty Barnhart, was held in the glamorous Rackham Auditorium. “Leonardo’s Express,” performed by the U-M Jazz Band, emphasizing the compositional talent of student and split-lead trumpet Music, Theatre & Dance junior Addison Tharp stood out to me. The players moved their bodies to the music, trumpet players accentuating their notes in the arch of their bodies, guitarist Music, Theatre & Dance sophomore Graham Helft visibly reacting in appreciation to various solos, all coming together in the surge of passion this piece created. “[We] always want to play student compositions… that’s really quite an undertaking, we just wanted to celebrate that,” said Ellen Rowe, band leader. The day ended with a performance from the
Barnhart’s welcoming laugh made the audience feel lucky to be small in number
Jazz Faculty Trio, featuring Scotty Barnhart. They announced that they hadn’t rehearsed their fourth piece, “Our Love Is Here To Stay” by George Gershwin, but would see where it went. Bassist Ralphe Armstrong gave an almost theatrical performance of his solo, wiggling his eyebrows and dancing around the bass, causing the audience to cheer for him. Barnhart screeched out tricky high notes with perfect clarity, leaving the audience in astonishment. Despite the fun, jazz is renowned as a boys’ club, and this time was, unfortunately, no different. The U-M Lab Jazz Band had one woman in it, on trombone, while the U-M Jazz Band had four women, each out of maybe 20 members. The Jazz Faculty Trio was entirely men. When asked about her experience as a female bandleader, Ellen Rowe gave a wry chuckle and said, “it’s challenging. It is very nice to have some women [in the band] … we really work hard to get women in the program.”
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DAILY GENDER AND MEDIA COLUMN
My first valentine CLARA SCOTT Daily Columnist
SUDOKU
WHISPER puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com
Introducing the
WHISPER “60 characters. Bare your soul. Get featured in the Daily!”
Release Date: Friday, February 14, 2020
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Penthouses, e.g.: Abbr. 5 Smartphone downloads 9 Metaphor for responsibilities 13 Adriatic port 14 March Madness org. 15 “Beavis and Butt-head” spin-off 16 Bickering 17 Start of a Charles M. Schulz quote 19 Rub the wrong way 21 Twelve-step helper 22 Quote, part 2 24 Non-neutral atom 25 Light sleeper’s distraction 26 Living area in “The Martian,” with “the” 28 A Gabor sister 30 Acts of faith? 34 Classic sci-fi villain 38 Quote, part 3 41 1980s attorney general 42 Shade related to violet 43 Responsibility 44 Bend 46 Cope with 48 Dept. head 50 Quote, part 4 56 Source of a siren 58 “__ Mio” 59 End of the quote 61 Avian crop 62 Score symbols 63 “You’re kidding!” 64 Whodunit canine 65 Club with a blue and white diamond logo 66 Phillies slugger Hoskins 67 Nair rival, once DOWN 1 Old counters 2 Hiking network
3 Defense attorney’s concern 4 Be paid to watch, as children 5 Prefix with -gram 6 Techie training site 7 Caroline Islands republic 8 Dost speak 9 Legendary Carthaginian general 10 “You __ busted!” 11 Attach with string 12 __ City, Iraq 15 The Carpenters, for one 18 Deep-water fish 20 More wicked, in Worcester 23 Touching competition? 27 Guacamole fruit 28 Disease-stricken tree 29 Face off 31 Knee injury initials 32 Key letter 33 La preceder
35 Long shot 36 Coming-in hr., roughly 37 Sales staff member 39 Romanov adherents 40 Lyricist Sammy 45 Tech tutorials site 47 ER diagnostic tool 48 Bucks 49 Sparkle
51 Yellowish brown 52 “Brideshead Revisited” novelist 53 Assortment 54 Thrill 55 Unfamiliar with 56 Sharable PC files 57 Brain and spinal cord: Abbr. 60 Saints’ achievements: Abbr.
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
02/14/20
By Garry Morse ©2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/14/20
WHISPER “Alex I’m not an idiot we need to talk. I’ll buy you No Thai tn”
“Pls unblock me on Snapchat and Linkedin”
In my mind, Valentine’s Day is simply the precursor to sales on chocolate and pretty pink foilcovered things, both of which I have a soft spot for. At least they have been for the past 21 years of my life — I have never been in a long-term relationship until now, never considered the prospect of romance as a part of the equation when it came to February plans. No, February 14th was simply a week and two days before my mom’s birthday, a month and three until my own birthday on St. Patrick’s day. It was a day where I could bathe in romantic comedy plots and not worry about how they were conditioning me, cut pink hearts out of construction paper and cover everything I owned in glitter. Sometimes my mom would send me a package full of candy, which I would consume at a disgusting rate. Every year, this day was a moment of flux in the winter wind, watching couples walk from bar to restaurant to their apartments and wondering whether I’d ever have what they did, genuinely not believing that I ever would. But what I’ve found, weirdly enough, is that Valentine’s Day this year doesn’t feel any different. Sure, it’s an excuse for me to be even more mushy with my partner than I usually am, but beyond that, I am completely the same. The reason this feels so strange to me is that I am truly, deeply a romantic in every sense of the word. I thought that the second I had my first Valentine, all of the candy and roses would make sense, that I would feel romantic and warm inside and like all was right with the world. I would sit at a white tablecloth with a candle lit, smile and watch my imaginary partner smile back. But when I texted my real one this morning to ask what we were doing this Friday night, the date we planned was identical to many we’ve had before. We agreed not to buy each other presents or expect them, both relieved not to shell out money on a student budget. For someone who loves cheesy romance so much, I was almost surprised at myself for being so
happy just spending time with my partner without any of the glitter that the movies tell us to expect. I am in love, but not rom-com meet-cute love, not Hallmark love, not heart-candy love. Real love is something completely removed from all of that. In the almost six months since my partner and I have been together, we’ve been through a lot. But from his trials in grad school and finding a job to mutual health scares and interviews and periods where I didn’t leave the library for 10 hour periods, love was there the whole time. I never had that moment people talk about where all love songs start to make sense, and even watching movies like “Notting Hill” together has us talk more about the paparazzi in Britain and Julia Roberts’s teeth than our own relationship. Strangely, I feel the most love for him not in our greatest romantic gestures, not in the presents that we surprise each other with occasionally, but in the smallest, sometimes grossest, moments between us. When we’re brushing our teeth together in the morning, I feel it the most. Or when I do my skincare at night and I spray him surprisingly with my facial mist, when we walk hand-in-hand and I have to wipe my clammy fingers on my jeans before returning to his coat pocket. When I accidentally fall off the bed at night, when he bumps his head on our shitty Ann Arbor ceiling above the stairs, when he sends me random pictures of weirdlooking frogs because he knows I think they’re cute, I feel it. I believed for a very long time that I would never have a successful relationship — I am a fiercely independent person, and always have been. I am also a romantic who thinks she is in love with everything and anything she sees. I have never been shy about saying those three words. But real love doesn’t only show up for one day in February, it does when you’re least expecting it, as cliche as that sounds. It comes when you love someone enough to let them live parallel to you, not intertwined with each other. My first real Valentine’s Day doesn’t only live within 24 hours — the most beautiful thing is realizing that it doesn’t have to end.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, February 14, 2020 — 7A
Bested and bruised
Naz Hillmon goes down with injury as Michigan drops game to Northwestern in final seconds, 66-60 KENT SCHWARTZ Daily Sports Writer
Michigan, down to essentially six players, was still in it. Sophomore forward Naz Hillmon was out with an upper body injury suffered in the first quarter. Freshman guard Maddie Nolan tallied her fifth foul early in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Akienreh Johnson was battered and bruised. Freshman center Izabel Varejão hopped on one foot to the bench before coming back on. And yet, the Wolverines were still in it against the No. 19 team in the country, Northwestern. Somehow, some way, they had limped their way into a tight fourth quarter, the win within reach. Down by three with a minute left on the clock, the Wolverines got the stop they needed. Now, they had to devise a play to draw level with the Wildcats. Varejão’s mishandled pass blew it up, though, and freshman guard Michelle Sidor’s rushed shot painfully bounced on both sides of the rim. The win slipped away, and despite the fight, Northwestern (21-3 overall, 11-2 Big Ten) beat Michigan (16-8, 7-6), 66-60. “When you lose a player like Naz, everybody needs to do a little bit more,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I think we tried to do that, but I think our freshmen kind of got exposed a little bit. They were freshmen and I think the other team was really experienced and their experience wore on our young kids. Especially late, especially in the third quarter.” A hush fell on Crisler Center back in the first quarter as Hillmon, Michigan’s star, lay curled on the court, clutching her shoulder after colliding with another player going for a loose ball.
“I think it pissed us off. For sure it pissed me off because we were getting hacked,” Johnson said. “We just have to respond. We’re not the only team in the world that this has happened to. … We don’t make excuses. Each person that goes down is another opportunity for somebody to step up and to come and play for them.” Shortly after Hillmon left the game, her replacement — Varejão — put the Wolverines in even further trouble by picking up two quick fouls. They were now down to two viable post players, junior forward Hailey Brown and sophomore forward Emily Kiser, the latter of whom has rarely played big minutes in big games. Northwestern fought through its own personnel issues, with four players quickly racking up two fouls, including its most potent weapon in guard Lindsey Pulliam — who put up 32 points by herself in the last meeting. At halftime, things looked up for the Wolverines. Hillmon ended the second quarter on the court, the Wildcats’ offense couldn’t find any success and Johnson was stepping up, making a series of improbable shots. Michigan went to break up, 35-30. “We did a great job of getting them all in foul trouble in the first half,” Barnes Arico said. “That really helped us when they’re in foul trouble.” The second half was a different story for the Wildcats. Guard Sydney Wood, who averages 4.3 points per game, caught fire and scored 10 in the third quarter alone. Forward Abi Scheid, another thorn in the Wolverines’ side from their last meeting, also found success out of the gate with nine points. “When we lost Naz and we were in some foul trouble we had to go to zone and that gave them a little more flexibility to move around in that zone,” Barnes Arico said. “I
thought that allowed them, too, to be more aggressive.” Meanwhile, Michigan couldn’t get its offense rolling due to a plague of turnovers, including two pivotal ones late in the third quarter that gave Northwestern a wide open layup and 3-pointer to take a four-point lead. “I thought we got tired a little bit and we didn’t have anybody to really go to when our point guard needed a rest and she played a lot of minutes for us,” Barnes Arico said. “Some of our turnovers in that third quarter, we gave up a big third quarter, led to easy buckets for them.” Midway through the fourth quarter, though, the Wolverines were still in it. Johnson drove down the court, hitting a big layup that roused a dormant Crisler Center and brought them within three. And then the Wolverines, swaying, missed their last-ditch shot and fell, coming oh-so-close.
JACK KINGSLEY Daily Sports Writer
Lindsey Pulliam is nothing short of explosive. Entering Thursday night’s game, the Northwestern guard was second in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game. In the Michigan women’s basketball team’s Jan. 30 loss to the Wildcats, Pulliam scored a seasonhigh 32 points, 22 of which came in the second half. She almost singlehandedly delivered the Wolverines an eight-point loss. Over the two weeks since that loss, Michigan’s biggest challenge in preparing for the rematch was how to contain her. Without Pulliam’s dominance, the Wolverines felt that they could pull off their biggest win of the season. From the start of Thursday’s game, the gameplan for defending Pulliam was clear: Don’t let her touch the ball. When she gets the ball, she doesn’t need
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Akienreh Johnson played strong defense on Lindsey Pulliam in Michigan’s loss.
much room to score — she can knock down fadeaway jumpers from almost anywhere on the court. In the loss two weeks ago, Michigan rarely let her get much separation, but she didn’t need it. She constantly knocked down improbable fadeaways to prevent the Wolverines from cutting into Northwestern’s second-half lead. Senior guard Akienreh Johnson, tasked with defending Pulliam on Thursday, was all over the place to keep the ball out of her hands. Any time Pulliam came to the top of the arc to receive a handoff from the point guard, Johnson did whatever she could to get a hand in and deflect the ball away. Many of the Wildcats’ possessions ended without Pulliam getting a touch. “I studied her style of play for I think a week before this game … and one thing that I realized is when she gets the ball, either she’s gonna score it or she’s gonna draw a foul,” Johnson said. “So my intention this entire game, I didn’t care if I scored one single point, I was just keeping the ball out of her hands and making sure she wasn’t scoring.” When she did get the ball, Michigan sent a double-team at her, often a forward. A second, bigger player coming at Pulliam threw her off just enough that she couldn’t knock down that fadeaway. She finished with just four points — none in the second half — on 1-for-10 shooting. “I thought Akienreh Johnson did a fabulous job on (Pulliam),” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “I thought she was outstanding on her and really frustrated her early to the point that she kind of went away.” But while Johnson shut down Pulliam, Northwestern still won, 66-60, because the Wolverines’ offense struggled to generate anything in the second half. After shooting over 50 percent in the first half, Michigan shot under 35
percent in the second. It turned the ball over 12 times in the second half, compared to just six in the first. The Wolverines couldn’t overcome the loss of sophomore forward Naz Hillmon — their leading scorer — who went down with an upper body injury three minutes into the game. Michigan held it together without her early on, in large part to Johnson’s six first quarter points, and she returned early in the second. But midway through the third quarter, Hillmon came out after aggravating her injury and didn’t return. And her second absence took a toll on the Wolverines’ offense. Playing the final four minutes of the third quarter without her, Michigan committed four turnovers and the Wildcats went on a 15-6 run to end the quarter, turning a 3-point Wolverines lead into a 6-point deficit. In the fourth quarter, Michigan clawed its way back, tying the game with three minutes to go, but it was the Wolverines’ defense that got them back in it — they forced Northwestern to shoot 25 percent in the quarter. Michigan’s offense couldn’t get anything going despite its strong defense. The Wolverines often had to take low-percentage shots, and when they did score, it came late in the shot clock. After tying the game, they didn’t score again, and only scored 11 total points in the quarter. “We got stagnant a little bit at times because (Hillmon) dominates the ball so much,” Barnes Arico said. “(Freshman center Izabel Varejão) tried to do that but she’s also a freshman trying to do what Naz has done and I think she had really good spurts, but she didn’t sustain the level that Naz can play at.” Johnson did her part on Pulliam, but an unfortunate injury and a sluggish offense cost Michigan a game it easily could have won.
Wolverines exploit fast break in win Allan makes her presence known
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Isaiah Livers helped lead Michigan’s fast break in Wednesday’s win.
CONNOR BRENNAN Daily Sports Writer
Franz Wagner wasn’t going to wait for anybody — not his fellow Wolverines and certainly not the backtracking Wildcats standing in his way. Having gathered the defensive rebound on one end, Wagner bobbed and weaved his way down to the other. As a final act, the freshman forward delicately ushered the ball off the glass and in while absorbing contact. With the possibility of a threepoint play upcoming, Wagner strolled off, puffing his chest out and gesturing to the Michigan bench, the Wolverines leading by 21 points. The sequence was just one of a slew of fast break opportunities enjoyed by the Wolverines during Wednesday’s 79-54 rout of the Wildcats. Whether it was a rim-rattling dunk by junior forward Isaiah Livers or a wideopen 3-pointer from junior guard Eli Brooks, Michigan carved up Northwestern’s transition defense. By the end of the night, the Wolverines had scored 17 fast break points — their highest tally since playing Iowa State in late November. While it’s easy to point to the fact that the lowly Wildcats — currently sitting in last place in the Big Ten with a 1-12 conference record — sit at 162nd in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom, Wednesday night was
a refreshing reminder of how potent Michigan can be on the break. To this point, despite Michigan coach Juwan Howard’s fundamental insistence on pushing the pace, Michigan hasn’t quite been able to meet those expectations, ranking 107th in possessions per game. As shifty as the Wolverines’ guards are — namely senior Zavier Simpson and sophomore David DeJulius — Michigan’s transition offense was undoubtedly hampered by Livers’ ninegame absence. With the victory over Northwestern, the Wolverines have now reached double-digit fast break points in ten games, Livers played in all but two of them. His willingness to run the floor and quick burst opens up lanes for Michigan’s ballhandlers and gives them just another dynamic outlet to drop the ball off to. “When I was watching, sometimes it was sticky,” Livers said. “Coach Howard talked about the ball sticking. I feel like when I’m out there, I mean yeah, I try and get my shot because coach Howard tells me to be
aggressive but also, I’m going to move the ball. When I’m at the top, I’m trying to orchestrate, I try to swing the ball to Eli for a three, get it to (Simpson) going downhill.” Against the Wildcats, Livers’s presence was not only felt but heard. Disregarding any recollection of his recentlyinjured groin, Livers spread his wings to flush home two monstrous dunks off transition feeds from Simpson and DeJulius. “Every time I run down the middle, Dave is always giving it back to me,” Livers said. “So I already knew. Let me run a little bit and see what (Northwestern forward Pete) Nance was going to do. He shadowed more towards Eli. I was there in my takeoff zone and went up off one. It’s exciting to get two dunks to finish a game without getting hurt.” The uptick in fast break opportunities for the Wolverines also stemmed from an increased workload for DeJulius when Simpson got in foul trouble. DeJulius, one of the quicker players on the team, accrued seven assists in 21 minutes as Michigan’s floor general, with five of them coming in transition. “I’m naturally a scorer,” DeJulius said. “But that’s not really what I care about. I just care about doing whatever it takes for the team. Just to see that I got seven assists. To see guys get Isaiah the ball and he gets a dunk and he gets to yell, or me kick the ball to Cole (Bajema) and he gets a three. … That feels good to me.” It might’ve come against Northwestern, but the rare acumen the Wolverines showed on the fast break is definitely a welcome sight. For better or for worse, expect to see some more high-flying dunks from Livers and more flexing from Wagner.
I was there in my takeoff zone and went off one.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior third baseman Lou Allan played in Michigan’s opening weekend for the first time in her college career.
LANE KIZZIAH Daily Sports Writer
Lou Allan wasted no time in Friday’s season opener. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, the junior third baseman fired a ball deep into the right of center field and took off. It was the Wolverines’ first hit of the season and — after another big swing from sophomore infielder Morgan Overaitis — she scored the first run. But for Allan, it represented another first: The first time in her career that she’s been able to play in Michigan softball’s opening weekend. She spent most of last season in the dugout, recovering from a knee injury. “I thought she attacked (the injury),” Michigan coach Carol Hutchins said. “She couldn’t control the fact that she was hurt, she was highly disappointed, she’d fought through injury in her freshman year. I think it’s underestimated how much this can affect a kid who works all year and lifts weights all summer — you know, they put everything into this and it gets taken from them in a heartbeat. “I was really impressed
with how she responded to it, because all you can do is attack it. And she really did.” Hutchins said she can’t even remember how Allan was playing before the injury. But it’s clear she’s leaps and bounds ahead of where she was at the end of last season. She’s stronger, her mobility is better and she’s faster. A couple months ago, it was unclear whether she’d be mobile enough to play defensively, but in January, Allan turned a corner. This weekend, she started every game on first base, and she showed the impact she can make in the infield. “She’s got a good glove, got a good bat — I mean, what can you say?” Overaitis said. “She brings a little toughness to the infield. She had a great weekend defensively. She had a lot of shots hit at her, so I think she’s a strong leader in the infield.” But Allan’s biggest impact was at the plate. Last season, Allan got five hits in 19 at-bats.
This year, she’s starting third in the lineup. And within this past weekend alone, she’s already matched last year’s hits in just 16 at-bats. In the season opener, she swung for a home run and a double, registering two RBI in the process. Against Florida the next day, she hit another homer and a single, picking up two more RBI. Despite the power in her bat, there are still places she needs to improve, as she went 0-for4 on the last day of the weekend. On the field, Hutchins wants her to get more mobile and quicker on the first step. But, for now, it looks like third in the batting order is exactly where Allan needs to be. “She is our most powerful hitter, but that doesn’t mean she’ll hit the most home runs,” Hutchins said. “We need to be able to hit through the middle of the order. We need our RBIs. Do I think she can do it? I think she can do it. I think they can all do it. It’s just a matter of whether they do it.”
I was really impressed with how she responded to it.
Sports
8A — Friday, February 14, 2020
michigandaily.com
Photos courtesy of the Pearson Family Design by Jack Silberman
TIEN LE Daily Sports Writer Mel Pearson holds court every day after practice in his office at Yost Ice Arena. Usually he talks about hockey. But on Nov. 6, he was asked about his high school years, and another thought resurfaced: Susie, his wife, and how they met. As he finished up his story about her, he got up from his couch and headed to the exit. While he put his hand on the door, another person walked through the entrance. All eyes turned to her. “Here’s Mrs. Pearson!” Mel said. It was a coincidence Mel’s wife was there, but he made the most of it. “Here, they want to interview you,” Mel said. “This is my wife Susie. They want to know how we met in high school. “ … I just told him you wouldn’t leave me alone.” He didn’t wait for a rebuttal, instead opting to leave the room chuckling. She plopped in his empty seat and looked each person in the room in the eye. She smiled before asking a simple question that perked every ear. “Do you really want to know the true story?” *** Mel was from Flin Flon, Manitoba; Susie was from Atlanta. But the two of them moved around the country. Mel spent a large portion of his childhood shifting through Los Angeles, Baltimore and Portland. Susie stayed South in Atlanta with a brief stop in California before eventually ending up in a hockey town in Minnesota — Edina, where she and Mel crossed paths. “It’s kind of a miracle that we even met,” Susie said. The two of them were transplants due to their fathers’ work. Mel’s dad, also Mel, was a professional hockey player. The Pearsons had jumped from city to city due to his job — his last team was the World Hockey Association’s Minnesota Fighting Saints based in Edina. Upon getting cut, the elder Pearson decided the family should go back to Flin Flon for good. But Mel’s mother, Ruby, pushed to keep him in Edina for his education and hockey career, leaving him with a billet family and eventually the Andersons. Instead of going back to Canada, he stayed in Minnesota, attending Edina East High School. Susie’s dad accepted a job in St. Paul,
Minn. at 3M the summer before Susie’s sophomore year in high school. Before they moved in, Susie’s parents researched good schools in the area. One, in particular, caught their eyes — Edina East, a halfhour drive from St. Paul. Rather than buying a house closer to his job, Susie’s dad bit the bullet and took the long rides every morning so that his daughter could get a better education. Instead of living in St. Paul, Susie’s family bought a house in Edina so she could attend Edina East. And in study hall, the two of them met. *** At Edina East, study hall was held either on the third floor of the library, or the study tables in the cafeteria. Normally, the sessions were split by class. Since Mel was a junior at the time and Susie a sophomore, they were split into different sessions. Mel spent a lot of time in the cafeteria, while Susie would be in the library. But he passed through the library every now and then, and she caught his eye. “Here’s the true story,” Susie said. “He switched his study hall so that he could be in my study hall.” Now sharing a period, he pulled out a chair one day and sat next to her, asking for help on an assignment. To her, he was a hockey player with an unmistakable look. He had an afro, a halo of red curls that extended several inches from his head, and wore bell bottom corduroys with clogs. He talked funny, but so did she. He had a Canadian accent, and she had a bit of a southern twang. To him, she was a tennis player who was similar to him, new to the school. Most kids had their own cliques. They were the transplants. “We sort of came together whether it’s fate as we were new kids on the block,” Mel said. “So she was a good looking young lady, and I was attracted to her.” They gravitated toward one another. He found she had an infectious personality, and she thought he had the same. Moving around constantly, Mel learned how to be sociable. He was sarcastic but, at the same time, kind. “That’s what kind of drew me to him,” Susie said. “If you look at him or just kind of the way he dressed and his hairstyle, he has a warm heart, and he always had a warm heart.” Even though they clicked from the start, they didn’t start dating right away. In fact, Mel was with another girl at the time. But that relationship was already
reaching its end. When Susie came into the picture, it was the start of a new story. “How do you know that the love of your life is the person when you’re 15?” Susie asked. “But that’s kind of how it became obvious to both of us.” *** When Susie’s dad first laid eyes on Mel, he didn’t like what he saw. There were no cell phones back then, so to contact one another, Susie and Mel would just knock on the door. Mel did that, and upon seeing him, Susie’s dad immediately disapproved. Her mom was more accepting. She was always the more kind and loving of the two. But her dad was a hardass, and frankly, Mel was scared. He had been nervous to meet him, and now that they finally met, Mel was off to a bad start. “He basically said ‘I love my daughter, and I don’t know if you’re the right guy.’ or, ’You can’t fool me,’ or something like that.” Mel said There was no warm welcome or “come back anytime.” Susie’s dad was protective. He drew the line and set ground rules. Mel appreciates that now that he has two daughters of his own and understands what her dad was trying to do, but at the time, he was anxious. Luckily, he didn’t have to see much of her dad. Susie’s dad traveled a lot for work, so instead, when he came over, he’d be greeted by just her mom. And she knew what was up — his frequent visits gave it away too easily. But eventually, her dad warmed up to Mel, too. Susie noted he became Mel’s biggest fan. He just had to get to know the teenager first. “Once (he) got to know me,” Mel said, “obviously I wasn’t that bad a guy.” And while Mel would spend every holiday with the Andersons, his billet family, he would make an exception for one holiday. He spent Thanksgivings with Susie’s family. “He did have the Anderson family,” Susie said, “but then he kind of quickly became a part of our family too.” *** With a year difference, Mel graduated high school first and had already committed to playing hockey at Michigan Tech in Houghton. Susie stayed behind to finish high school. The two of them knew what they
wanted, though. They wanted to stay together, so they decided to not date anyone else. When he could, Mel would try to see her. During school breaks, he would come back to Edina and stay with the Andersons. But John Anderson, his billet brother, knew the real reason Mel would return so often. “We’d like to think that we really had a nice family,” John said. “But I think it was really Susie that kept him around.” And whenever the Huskies played the University of Minnesota, Mel would break off from the team to try and get lunch with Susie, even if it was only for an hour or two — anything to catch up and spend time together. After Susie graduated high school, she attended Minnesota. Her parents paid for her first year, and so Susie and Mel’s permanent reunion was prolonged a year. But she didn’t know what she wanted to do. She did know, however, that she wanted to be with Mel. Both of them were tired of long distance. And upon Mel’s encouragement, after her freshman year, Susie dropped out from Minnesota and worked before moving up to Houghton to spend Mel’s last year there with him. “We knew that we were the ones for each other, and it was getting kind of tiring to be apart,” Susie said. It was a leap of faith. While Mel attended classes and played hockey, she worked at the bookstore. She moved in with a girl she had known from high school, the girlfriend of a teammate of Mel’s. Mel lived separately with two other teammates. But the two of them were fully committed. And Mel made that clear the winter of his senior year. He had thought about it for a while. The summer before school started, when he was still in Minnesota, he scouted for a ring and bought it. The decision was easy. He knew proposing was the right thing, but he was still a little scared. “You’re nervous if she’s going to say yes or too young or whatever,” Mel said. But she was ready for the commitment. And he was too. So when winter rolled around, he hid the ring in a medicine cabinet in his house, and she stumbled across it. It wasn’t picturesque or sappy; he didn’t get down on one knee. Mel jokes that’s how they teach it in Flin Flon, where they’re simple people. But it got the point across. “It was not anything big and romantic,” Susie said. “But it didn’t
downplay that it wasn’t a big deal. “It would just seem like the natural progression. And I know it’s hard because we were still young, but we just knew we were the ones for each other.” *** The summer before Mel’s senior year in college, before he and Susie got engaged, he went back to Flin Flon to spend time with his real family. Flin Flon is a small town 500 miles north of Winnipeg, the nearest big city. Because it is so far north, the days seem to never end. The sunlight carries over until midnight, and comes back at 4 or 5 a.m. It’s a scenic place that attracted some tourism. But above all else, it’s a mining town, and when Mel got back, naturally, he mined. Susie had pleaded with her parents to let her visit, and to her surprise, they agreed. “I can’t really believe my parents let me do that,” Susie said. “Because, now that I’m a parent, I look back and think, ‘Wow, they were kind of trusting but sent me on a plane.’ ” Though she arrived and stayed for a couple weeks, Mel still had work at Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company. While he stripped away the zinc, sharpened drill bits in the steel shop, worked underground, she spent time with his mom and sister. Susie did get to see him during the day once, when she took a tour around the plant. But it wasn’t really until after he got off work late that they were able to spend time together. And luckily for them, the days never got dark. *** The fact that Susie could spend time with his mother, Ruby, that summer meant a lot to Mel. Ruby was a driving force in Mel’s life, determined for him to have the best. And like Susie, Ruby was outgoing and sweet, so when they met, they hit it off right away. “It’s very important for me to meet all my family,” Mel said. “So it’s nice that she came up and met Ruby.” Susie had moved to Edina after the Pearsons had moved back to Canada. They had met a couple times briefly in Minnesota, but that summer in Flin Flon, they really got to know her. And they adored her. “I think they really enjoyed her, enjoyed her company,” Mel said. “And how could you not?”
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statement
Ty and I were never supposed A kind word from a stranger to meet. He grew up homeless in on the walk to class. Finding New Jersey, while my Michigan out someone loves that book and suburb bubble-wrapped me in author, too. The sound of their privilege. He’s Afro-Latino and laugh — pure, spontaneous, T H E M I C H I G A N DA I LY | F E B R UA RY 14 , 2020 I’m white. We met studying an accident that almost didn’t abroad in Costa Rica, where he happen. A shared copy of All taught me to dance bachata, and The Light We Cannot See. Thin I taught him to play ukulele. upstrokes and downstrokes: Having escaped the social calligraphy pen against paper. structures keeping us apart in Pale blue hand-me-down picnic the U.S., we quickly fell in love. blanket on dewy grass, soft. Six months, two countries and Running to catch the sunrise three states later, learning is still even though you have already our constant. As we unwrap the captured a thousand more. layers of our opposite worlds, Twirling the curls in their cycles of poverty and privilege, hair, wanting them for myself. what we’ve uncovered is that Firecrackers, the lingering smell there’s always more to learn. of incense hanging in the air, a flickering spark in the darkness.
tiny
I love like I season my dishes: intense, flavorful. I like to stir myself up like I stir my homemade leshta, churning my insides with made-up scenarios that burn like hot manja on the roof of my mouth. I am not a chef: I drop water-filled pots, mix the wrong ingredients, forget rice on the stovetop, watching it curl on its ends, charred and defeated. But I always start over, feeling hope between the gentle leaves of fresh spinach, and hearing whispers of good luck in the soft sifting of lentils. I am not a chef yet, simply a cook trying to master this intangible, frustrating, heartbreaking craft.
love stories
I love like I season my dishes: intense, flavorful. I like to stir myself up like I stir my homemade leshta, churning my insides with made-up scenarios that burn like hot manja on the roof of my mouth. I am not a chef: I drop water-filled pots, mix the wrong ingredients, forget rice on the stovetop, watching it curl on its ends, charred and defeated. But I always start over, feeling hope between the gentle leaves of fresh spinach, and hearing whispers of good luck in the soft sifting of lentils. I am not a chef yet, simply a cook trying to master this intangible, frustrating, heartbreaking craft.
2B Friday, February 14, 2020 // The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | FE B RUA RY 14 , 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
This is what it looks like
BY EMILY STILLMAN, DEPUTY STATEMENT EDITOR
I
n Hebrew, the word for “to love” has the same root as the word “to give.” I’ve always admired the way an ancient language is woven together with purpose, the way the words hang on to each other, collide, twist into webs of meaning that say more together than any word could alone. To love and to give. This is what it looks like: After six decades, my grandparents argue over what year they got married. One afternoon at lunch, they interrupt each other as they tell me and my sister about that cold February, a month of love, a night in the stained-glass chapel. My grandpa emphatically swings his corned beef sandwich in the air and insists it was the winter of ’58, a year of recession. They tell us about their first place together, a small townhouse on Westbrook in Detroit, near Six Mile. When my grandfather was in the Navy, my grandma wrote him letters every day. We talk about school and how my mother works too much. When we walk them to the car, my grandpa opens the passenger door and ushers his wife inside. In home movies, you never see my dad — he’s always behind the camera. On the day my twin sister and I were born, he points the lens at the two babies in my mother’s arms and says “Hi, girls” just like he did this morning on the phone. As we sort through old photo albums, I find a picture of him playing a baby grand piano — the gift my mom bought him when they got married. There are two babies in walkers on the floor — me and my sister — and our dog is perched at the window. I imagine my mom behind the camera, capturing in that instant what must have been everything: the sunlight, the music, the husband, the kids and the dog in the house they built to raise their family. I think of them now in the living room, sitting in quiet contentment at the end of another long day at work, wordless over the hum of the evening news of tragedy somewhere and cautious peace somewhere else. They are warm and together and lucky under the same roof. How lucky am I to know what love looks like: the dreamy kind, the waterlogged and dusty wedding album, the woman in a deli-
cate white lace dress and the man in a black bowtie, wide-eyed, gazing at the camera. I know the hard kind, too: The day my grandma swears she can’t live without my grandpa, tough doctor’s appointments and decisions to sell the house. The giving of everything — for better, for worse, till death do us part, he will make sure she gets home safely. Hundreds of letters sent back and forth, hundreds of phone calls. Maybe they sacrificed a lot, maybe she can’t stand the way he leaves toothpaste in the sink, and he hates how she bites her nails. Maybe it doesn’t always feel like love, when we let each other down, when we break a promise or forget to say thank you. Maybe we don’t love hard enough, or easy enough or right enough. But look at us, learning how to do it anyway. On midnight at the rundown diner, I sit across from my best friend. We share a plate of fries and talk about our weekends. When I say we talk about our weekends, I mean we talk about the way we felt when he walked us home and didn’t kiss us goodbye; the way it’s been years since he called us a bitch but we still miss him; the way we felt euphoric and horrified at the idea of anyone seeing our naked bodies, our faces without make-up or reading what we might have to say about love. We lick the grease off our fingers and say whatever we can: forget about him, or go for it, or I’m so sorry, or you are beautiful the way you are and that is not what love is, it can’t be. We talk about our parents and our sisters and our family dinners where everyone fights and then makes up. We talk about the aging love of our grandparents and the fresh love of a newlywed sibling. We remind ourselves we orbit around planets of this love, the unconditional kind, the kind we feel like we don’t deserve, the people who give us everything without asking for anything in return. What do we have to give? I want to give love as fiercely as I’ve received it. I wonder what it takes to sustain half a century of marriage, what it means to see the man across the room and smile, to fall in love gently, if there is such a thing. Sometime when I was young, I learned you should love your neighbor as you love yourself, and at some point since then, I must have forgotten
PHOTO COURTESY OF EMILY STILLMAN
that means you have to love yourself first. That’s always been the hardest part, hasn’t it? Loving ourselves? My mom thinks I have bad taste in guys; I think I just can’t figure out how to look in the mirror and love the way my body curves, the way my lips form words, the way my hand curls around a pen to write, the way my mind shifts into bouts of worry, the way I’m silent in a crowd, the way I’m sometimes cruel, sometimes reckless, sometimes ungrateful for the love that is given to me. I hope that I’ll love better when I love myself. I hope that what I have to give will be enough. Right now, though, there is something so palpable about the love around me, something so promising and so heartbreaking.
Across the table, my grandpa wraps his hand around my grandma’s fingers, and my sister kicks me under the table as if to say look at that, that’s love. We eat our sandwiches in comfortable silence, and I think of the shaky lens of a home movie, the camera zooming in on a younger version of my grandmother holding her newborn granddaughter, what a life it’s been, what words could never capture, what’s been given and taken and lost and loved. Emily Stillman is a senior in LSA studying Organizational Studies and is a Deputy Statement Editor. She can be reached at erstill@ umich.edu.
Translating love I
have a box that has followed me from one childhood room to the next. When I was seven, it rested under my bed. At 10, it moved into a room upstairs with me and onto a closet shelf. When I was 17, it wedged itself into a corner between my dresser and the wall. Now, it just sits on my desk in my apartment. Sometimes I’ll run my hand over it in the morning, or I’ll open it up when hit by a wave of nostalgia. Inside it are love letters of different forms — full-length correspondences, notes scribbled on scraps of paper and cards. The letters have undoubtedly changed over the years. Elementary school valentines were ousted by notes from my high school friends. A card from my parents for my fourteenth birthday was replaced with one from my nineteenth. They are from classmates, friends, my brothers, family, old partners and new ones. Each of these letters is signed with love, and each person who has written a note is someone I once loved, or still do, in return. Even though the love I feel for my aunt is different from the love I feel for my best friend; the love I felt for my tenthgrade boyfriend is different from the love I feel for my current one; the love I felt for my high school teammates is different than the love I feel for my older brother, I still tell them all the same thing: I love you. But the more love I experience, the more frustrating it is to realize that it is, quite frankly, impossible to express the nuances of my love in words. We are complex enough to notice the slight differences in the love we feel for our mother versus for our father, yet our words are not complex enough to describe those feelings — at least in English. I am not bilingual. I was raised in an English-speaking home by Englishspeaking parents in English-speaking cities with English-spoken “I love you’s.” But last December, at a small table in the back Chela’s on South Fifth Ave, my friend Maggie, who grew up speaking Bulgarian, raised the question between bites of her taco bowl: What if our options for saying “I love you” in our native languages affect our ability to express — or even fully feel — love? It’s not necessarily a new question, or at least the part which posits that different languages affect how we think and act. Linguists and neuroscientists have been asking it for
Friday, February 14, 2020 // The Statement
3B 3B
BY ELLIE KATZ, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
decades, and even though it is widely debated and hard to prove, it does have a name: linguistic relativity, or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, proposes that the language we speak fundamentally affects how we think, act and perceive the world around us. In one famous experiment, Russian speakers and English speakers were shown multiple slides, each with three blue squares — one on top and two on the bottom, in a pyramid shape. Two of the squares were the same shade of blue, and the third was slightly different. The study found that Russian speakers were better at quickly discriminating between the two shades of blue. This, the researchers proposed,
was because Russian makes linguistic distinctions between lighter shades of blue and darker ones. Essentially, Russian speakers’ cognitive ability to identify blue was different from English speakers’ ability simply because their language has more words to categorize the color than English does. As interesting as it is, being able to process colors a little more quickly is much different than experiencing love in an entirely different way. But the opposing view to linguistic relativity provides no more comfort: It argues that what we experience and perceive as culturally important are what we put into our language. It would mean that English speakers feel less of a need to express the nuances, emotions and complexities of love since there’s only one way to say “I love you” in English. That’s just not the case. Actually, it seems that in the United States, love is everywhere. Another study at Baruch College interviewed dozens of people about
The two main love phrases in Spanish are “te quiero” and “te amo.” And although they translate pretty well to “I love you,” Wendy explained the difference to me as “te quiero” as being used more often for parents, children and friends. In contrast, she says, “For me, it’s more emotional to say ‘te amo’ because that means that I cannot love you more than that — I have reached the top of my love.” But “te amo” is not reserved specifically for romantic relationships (although this is the context when it is most often used). Instead of being expressly romantic, Wendy told me “te amo” communicates an incredibly powerful, deep kind of love which “te quiero” does not. She also added that “te quiero mucho,” “te quiero muchísimo,” “te amo mucho” and “te amo muchísimo” each convey varying depths and levels of love, with “te amo mucho” and “te amo muchísimo” expressing something Wendy describes as being “beyond love.” She says these linguistic differences are apparent in behavior as well: “In Perú, it’s just normal for people to kiss when they greet but (in the United States), it’s just very subtle and transactional and it shouldn’t be like that. In Latin America it’s not like that — you see a friend and you hug, you really hug, and they don’t let you go.” There is one culture in ILLUSTRATION BY CARA JHANG particular in which people show their love almost American culture — especially when the explicitly, as opposed to vocalizing year nears Feb. 14 — that I sometimes it: Japanese. I talked to Engineering feel it lacks the meaning I want it to have sophomore Kilala Ichie-Vincent. Over when I say it and really, really mean the past month, I’ve noticed a few it. But what does that say about our things about Kilala: She likes to cook, culture? Are we simply eager to love, or especially with chili oil. Holding her is the depth of our love compromised by hair back from her face are always four our fervor to feel it? Are other cultures hair clips, which she color coordinates somehow more earnest in their ability to with a vintage sweater or a chic pair of denim cargo pants. She’s passionate love? Seeking to sate some of my curiosity, about design and creation, and she’s I spoke to a few bilingual people. The hoping to transfer to the architecture first was my former Spanish professor school. Kilala was raised by a Japanese Wendy Gutierrez-Tashian. Wendy is from Lima, Perú and teaches mother and Black father in Queens, New Spanish in the Residential College. The York. She grew up speaking Japanese first time I met her was on the first day with her grandparents, visiting them in of my freshman year. She speaks quickly Tokyo and other parts of Japan, but she and with lots of emotion, so I have vivid was always trying to balance this with memories of her giving instructions and being an American kid, teenager and greeting me at the speed of light in a then young adult in New York City. language I couldn’t yet comprehend. I ended up making it through her Spanish Read more at class OK, and the conversation we had together in Amer’s last week was one of MichiganDaily.com our first in English. the use of the phrase “I love you” in their various cultures and languages. Almost every subject who did not grow up with American culture — but instead with Korean, Guyanese, Romanian or Jamaican cultures, respectively — told researchers that their cultures used the term “I love you” much less often than Americans did. The reasons they gave for not overusing the phrase were similar: Using “I love you” too often detracts from its importance; “I love you” is so meaningful that you’d only say it to someone you intend to marry; saying “I love you” before you really mean it is shallow. The phrase is used so generously in
Tiny Love Stories
4B Friday, February 14, 2020 // The Statement
Friday, February 14, 2020 // The Statement 5B
A (tiny) list of things I love:
From opposite worlds, united abroad
Cook, not chef
A kind word from a stranger on the walk to class. Finding out someone loves that book and author, too. The sound of their laugh — pure, spontaneous, an accident that almost didn’t happen. A shared copy of “All The Light We Cannot See.” Thin upstrokes and downstrokes: calligraphy pen against paper. Pale blue hand-me-down picnic blanket on dewy grass, soft. Running to catch the sunrise even though you have already captured a thousand more. Twirling the curls in their hair, wanting them for myself. Firecrackers, the lingering smell of incense hanging in the air, a flickering spark in the darkness.
Ty and I were never supposed to meet. He grew up homeless in New Jersey, while my Michigan suburb bubble-wrapped me in privilege. He’s Afro-Latino and I’m white. We met studying abroad in Costa Rica, where he taught me to dance bachata, and I taught him to play ukulele. Having escaped the social structures keeping us apart in the United States, we quickly fell in love. Six months, two countries and three states later, learning is still our constant. As we unwrap the layers of our opposite worlds, cycles of poverty and privilege, what we’ve uncovered is that there’s always more to learn.
I love like I season my dishes: intense, flavorful. I like to stir myself up like I stir my homemade leshta, churning my insides with made-up scenarios that burn like hot manja on the roof of my mouth. I am not a chef: I drop water-filled pots, mix the wrong ingredients, forget rice on the stovetop, watching it curl on its ends, charred and defeated. But I always start over, feeling hope between the gentle leaves of fresh spinach, and hearing whispers of good luck in the soft sifting of lentils. I am not a chef yet, simply a cook trying to master this intangible, frustrating, heartbreaking craft.
Quinna Halim, LSA freshman
Hannah Brauer, Statement Columnist
Magdalena Mihaylova, Statement Managing Editor
Add making art to the list of things to love.
Chicken-fried feeling
Sunday at the Deli
Jacob threatens to order a pizza nearly every night but almost never follows through. We rarely share a meal that doesn’t send him into some vague gastrointestinal pain, except the sushi we once ate in a Toledo, Ohio bathtub (“I didn’t know sushi could be, like, a meal”). He once mused on the concept of chicken-fried steak to me for half an hour, then vowed to order it from every menu that offers it. He sends me a picture each time, an indecipherable sort of meat slathered with glue-colored gravy. “This will give me pain,” he usually says.
One Sunday at the deli, my grandparents argue over what year they got married. My grandfather insists it was 1958, in the winter. My grandma says, “No Howard, it was 1960, the year Kennedy was elected.” They agree it’s impossible that all these years have passed. Look at this family we built. Look at these grandchildren. When my mother calls my grandfather, hoping he’ll accept help caring for his wife, he declines with pride. It is our job to take care of each other, he says. What a love that lasts through the years. What a love that transcends memory, that just comes to be.
Verity Sturm, Statement Correspondent
Emily Stillman, Deputy Statement Editor
At a dance club in Costa Rica.
My (literal) other half I am one minute older than my brother. I existed on Earth for 60 seconds before he decided to join me — slow poke. Some twins might recount this story with bitterness, upset that their sibling stole the birthday spotlight, but not me — not us. Alexander and I work as a team; we always have. He knows that I secretly enjoy the dumb texts he sends me, including the time he crashed my computer by pasting 100,000 heart emojis in one message, and he knows how to give me a real hug when I need more love than an emoji can send. Zoe Phillips, LSA senior
Our first meeting Running into the coffeehouse — book bag open, hair stuck in my mouth — I blurted out an apology: “Sorry I’m late, I’m coming from the courthouse … A protective order … it’s fine,” I tried to reason. His eyebrows scrunched with annoyance, softened into concern. He was at a loss for words, I assumed he felt awkward. Most people did. But he tried to comfort me: “Don’t worry, I’ll handle the project.” After an hour of coffee and laughs, I left lighter than I’d felt all week. A year later, I found my way back to him. I still run late, and he’s still taking care of me. Julia Fanzeres, LSA and SMTD senior
Homemade leshta, before being drowned in paprika.
The greatest love No more are the days I would meticulously record each calorie I ate, the days I would cry over the extra weight on my thighs. Long gone is that Sunday in March when I landed in the hospital from a self-induced iron deficiency. Now I eat to my heart and stomach’s content, a symbolic thank you to my strong legs for carrying me from class to class and through mediocre self-choreographed swing dancing routines on a Friday summer night. Today, I love my every stretch mark, curve and dimple of my imperfectly perfect being. In my twenty years, this is the greatest love I have yet to know. Anonymous
ILLUSTRATION BY MAGGIE WIEBE
Sharing a plate of sushi, not in a bathtub this time.
Love that lasts longer than lifetimes.
Two baby bundles are better than one.
On a trip to Traverse City over fall break.
A moment of freedom, strength and happiness.
6B
Friday, February 14, 2020 // The Statement
“Love Island”: The Walden Pond of reality TV BY VERITY STURM, STATEMENT CORRESPONDENT
T
V has always moved too fast for me. I was too busy running track and selling books in high school to participate in my nuclear family’s “Breaking Bad” bonding routine, I gave up on “Twin Peaks” after distractedly missing too many plot points and I figured that everyone else knew enough about “The Office” and “Game of Thrones” for me to ride on their collective coattails. Last spring, my roommate and I vowed to get through season 1 of “Killing Eve”, only to abandon ship in the middle of its finale, broadly complaining that television demanded too much from our specific brand of attention span. We preferred reading. Crossword puzzles. Knitting with the cat on the lap. Things that were … slower. So I went through a bit of an identity crisis when, at the end of last semester, I found myself watching the 2015 British reality dating show “Love Island” for five hours straight with my skinny musician friends, people who usually put on something between high cinema or the short film they shot and edited themselves earlier that day. How or why it started playing remains a mystery, but we were inexplicably hooked from the first lens
ILLUSTRATION BY CAITLIN MARTENS
flare and dramatic muscle shot. The premise of “Love Island,” especially to a group unacquainted with reality television, is inane. In the season opener, ten sexy-ass Brits are separated by gender and essentially paraded in front of each other one by one; a pageant that ends with the awkward and cheeky heteronormative “coupling” of birds and lads that express varying levels of mutual interest upon first impression. They are (ironically) isolated from reality for nine weeks on a luxe compound in Mallorca known fondly as “The Villa” to test, temper, break and re-break the bonds they initially formed — almost none of which last more than a week. Couples sleep side-by-side in an openroom line of king beds, summer campstyle. They have no phones, computers or means of connecting with the world outside the Villa. There is a pool, an open bar and a few dumbbells thrown on a makeshift workout lawn. If you’re single by the time of the next (dreaded) “recoupling,” you’re out. A relationship means survival, plain as day. Let the cameras roll. Alyssa Schmid, a senior studying sociology in LSA, doesn’t know why she
likes it either. “There isn’t even really a plot it feels, most of the time they’re just sitting in their bathing suits around the pool,” Schmid told me last week in the back corner of Espresso Royale State Street. She got into “Love Island” through her roommate, tackled the first three seasons and successfully converted her sister to the cause. She follows multiple previous contestants on Instagram. “... and this doesn’t make any sense to me. They put them in a situation where it’s obviously not reality, and then it’s just them being themselves ... but you can’t talk to anyone (from the outside world) so I guess it kind of makes sense,” she added. “Like, you have a totally different life now, you have to make friends and build relationships because you’re not going to have anyone else to talk to for however long you’re there. Literally nothing else to do.” Ayat AL-Tamimi, a senior in LSA studying political science, finds that these interactions-by-necessity often challenge what you’d normally expect from “love”seeking reality TV like the infamous “Bachelor.” In fact, it’s what excites her about the show. “The goal is to be in a relationship that goes to be the couple that wins the money, and so maybe you have to find people that you can vibe with, just on a platonic level, to be paired up with for a little while,” she explained. This is where “Love Island” makes its major break from the norm: the premise isn’t to land one specific relationship with one specific person. It’s multidimensional in the Villa — a relationship, a person. You could, in theory, win by spooning with a friend. Earlier in our interview AL-Tamimi used the term “strategic coupling” to describe this common Islandphenomenon: coupling with a pal to the mutual interest of evading elimination. Social symbiosis. “What I really appreciate is how a lot of them will come to mutual understanding of, ‘we don’t like each other that way, I fully support you going to find someone that you think you might be romantically invested in.’ But it’s not killing the friendship, so in a way it’s much like the antithesis of other dating shows where it’s a cold, one-track, have-to-be-in-love sort of trajectory, which statistically is not realistic at all,” AL-Tamimi said. The lines indeed blur. There’s a moment in season three where contestant Montana, strategically coupled up with Marcel, invites Marcel’s new flame Gabby into their bed to surprise her man with a good-night kiss. Three people end up sharing this moment: Marcel, surprised; Gabby, literally crawling over Montana to smooch him and Montana herself, smiling supportively next to her friends. This seems more organic than the rigid,
elimination-controlled monogamy of “The Bachelor.” This seems like something that has happened on the couch in my living room “So technically yeah, your worth is determined by whether you’re coupled or not, but that plays with it in a lot of ways,” AL-Tamimi explained. “It’s not like you have to be romantically coupled to share a bed with someone. There are a lot of hot men and hot women sharing a bed and nothing happening … And I think that’s kind of subversive.” n the spring of 2017 I, like many confused writers before and after me, departed Ann Arbor in the direction of New Hampshire and the New England Literature Program (NELP). NELP is one of the more unusual experiences available at the University of Michigan: six weeks, forty strangers, upwards of twenty literary texts and something around five overnight hiking trips in the woods of the White Mountains. NELPers dwell in a boys’-camp-madecommune on the picturesque Lake Winnipesaukee, cooking and cleaning for each other in scheduled work shifts. There are no phones, computers or means of connecting with the world outside the camp — all NELPers have are Emerson, Thoreau and each other. I’ve never held NELP and reality TV in the same thought before — NELP touts itself as a deeply intellectual and introspective experience, while “Love Island” comes off as oversaturated, overstimulating sensationalism. But while interviewing for this piece it dawned on me that perhaps I vibe with “Love Island” because I did something somewhat similar three years ago in rural New Hampshire. Despite their aesthetic differences as an immersive academic program and a reality dating show, NELP and “Love Island” share enough of a structural skeleton to produce mirroring social effects. I mean, if you drop a group of strangers anywhere in the world, circumscribe them within a radius and sever all contact from the lives they had just left, weird things will happen. What Schmid said was true: All you can really do is sit around and talk to each other, whether that be in a bikini by the pool or in layers of thermal clothing on a rock in the woods. In the process, everyone seems to become a character, in the best and worst of ways. You have little to share aside from who you think you are and what you think is going on, resulting in what feels like constant commentary on self and selves. There’s disproportionate space for unexpectedly personal and confessional conversation, equal parts awkward and thrilling.
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7B Friday, February 14,2019 2020////The The Statement 7B Wednesday, January 16, Statement
On Valentine’s Day, I think of my Grandmother BY ELI RALLO, STATEMENT COLUMNIST my parents mutually thought the information of her birthday to be trivial, but I weighed on every word. My paternal grandmother Gail was an Aquarius. That was something I now knew. My 13th Valentine’s Day was also my freshman year of high school. The boy who stole my first kiss the previous summer surreptitiously got my locker combination from my friends and unlocked it on a clandestine mission before school. His goal? To be my valentine. Right before the first bell rang, I bounded through a hallway of lively, hormonal 13-year-olds to my locker to switch out my books. Instead, out of my locker tumbled a teddy bear, chocolates, pink balloons, heart shaped decor and a deck of cards, which in sloppy handwriting read: 52 things I <3 about you. My face burned as I struggled to push the over-thetop gifts back into my locker, forfeiting the idea I’d find my science binder under all of the pink glitter and heartshaped chocolate boxes. I couldn’t pinpoint the embarrassment; perhaps it was because this boy wasn’t my boyfriend, or because I was at an age when embarrassment is common and blending in is much preferred to attention. As I finally slammed my locker shut, its rusted door bursting with pink streamers, I turned around and ran directly into him. Our eye contact was momentary, and I opened my mouth as though I was going to say something, but instead took off in the other direction, leaving him standing there, valentine rejected and alone. PHOTO COURTESY OF ELI RALLO The Valentine’s Days to follow were similarly unsuccessful. During my junior year of high school, my thenver Winter Break, my mother and I drove 90 boyfriend dropped a teddy bear off at my house but asked minutes to visit the gravesite of my paternal me if it would be OK if he “please went to hang out with his grandmother Gail, a place neither of us had seen. friends.” My senior year of high school, my then- “kind of” We drove around the cemetery in dizzy circles and tra- boyfriend gave me an assortment of things (a single halfversed plots of well-kept grass to find it, searching the site wilted rose, a mini box of chocolates) he’d just purchased with only a rough draft of a map found online. I’d always from a drug store. For both freshman and sophomore year wanted to visit the site and finally my mother decided she of college I wore a heart-shaped sweater and ate sushi with would be the one to take me, driven by her desire to share my best friend at 4 p.m., long before any lovebirds would this moment with me and her personal curiosity. My father fill the two top tables at the restaurants. I’m not ashamed politely declined our invitation to join us, smiling at us with to say we followed the sushi by watching the Fifty Shades an air of vulnerability, as his mother is a sensitive topic that of Grey saga and eating heart shaped Reese’s peanut butter pains him to bridge. He lost her when he was young. My cups. We laughed until our stomachs hurt, and then both cried in the darkened theatre during the previews, lamentmother and I never had the chance to meet her. When we’d finally made it, I stood over the dark slate and ing over recent ex-boyfriends. Those were my best Valenfixed my watery eyes on the birth date: February 14. The day tine’s Days yet. Regardless, I have always had a strange affinity for the my grandmother’s mother brought her into this earth was a day filled with love letters, hand holding and chocolate holiday. Normally I’d reserve “fans of Valentine’s Day” for hearts. This was a day she celebrated with birthday cake, those in happy, committed or new honeymoon-phase relafriends and family. A day that marked another year. A day tionships with plans to drink fizzy cocktails and hold hands she eventually spent with my father. A day full of love — not — not the singles who are without sappy memorabilia or someone to buy them valentine peanut M&Ms. But there’s just to and from her, but everywhere. “This is closest I’ve ever been to her,” my mother mut- something about Valentine’s Day that I love, even as I am tered to the ground through scattered tears. “And the clos- happily single and enjoying my final semester on campus est I’ll ever be.” I gripped her hand, my other hand curled boyfriend-less. Maybe it’s the Cancer sun or Cancer moon around my grandmother’s gold coin necklace dangling from in me. Maybe it’s my love for poetry and the wonderfully my neck, my eyes fixated on the “2/14” deeply engraved into dizzying idea of romance. Or maybe it’s because I have a strong affinity for the color pink and any excuse to eat chocthe glossy stone. Back on my 13th Valentine’s Day, my mother pulled me olate. The truth is, though, I love Valentine’s Day because aside at the breakfast table. “Valentine’s Day was your the whole world is somehow celebrating my grandmother’s father’s mother’s birthday. Make sure you give him a hug birthday through their sappy love notes and flower arrangetoday and tell him you love him,” she said, cutting into the ments, even if they don’t know it. When I was growing up, my father and his brother would pink pancakes my father had made us for breakfast. I had to pause. I noticed the way she didn’t say “your grandmother,” say they thought I looked like “Grammy Gail.” I was combecause I would immediately think of her mother, a woman pared to the childhood pictures we had from her yearbooks, I knew, and not my father’s mother, a woman I never had and it irked me that I’d never know the woman everyone the chance to meet, who died before I was born. Perhaps who knew her so strongly linked me to. Maybe it’s the name-
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sake — Eli Gail — but after a childhood of being told I don’t really look like anyone in the family, I was relieved to have someone I took after, even if it was someone I didn’t know. I spent my young adulthood wondering my way in and out of Gail’s life, creating a caricature of her in my mind. I imagine her charismatic and flirtatious yet loyal and true. The inkling to know her is inexplicable and frustrating. In my journal I write lists of the things I know about Gail. It’s always a short list. Sometimes, next to the lists, I write out the things I know of myself. When I was growing up, my father never spoke of Gail. All stories and memories were padlocked behind my father’s averted gaze whenever her name was mentioned. In my 21 years, I’ve collected facts about her and held them close: She was a Jewish woman who died of breast cancer, with a spitfire personality and a heart too big for this world, and she left behind a collection of gold coins of various sizes that hang in my mother’s closet and around my neck. I’m not sure where the rest of her things are. My father was never willing to tell me or my family any details about his mother’s life and we never asked. I always assumed this was because it was too painful to dredge the emotional past to speak of the days when she was around. I’ve always been infatuated by Gail in a clandestine way, worrying that it’s inappropriate to have such nostalgia for a woman I’ve never met, who everyone speaks of scarcely yet with vulnerability and affection. On a few separate occasions I convinced my father to speak of her. Once, I was eating breakfast with my dad and I mentioned I wanted to see Greece before I died. He stopped what he was doing, a forkful of egg suspended in the air and said, “My mother loved Greece.” I was so caught off guard by the casual nature of his comment that I didn’t respond. He commenced eating his eggs and said nothing else. Perhaps if I’d followed up with another question about Greece or his mother, we could’ve had some riveting, life-affirming conversation about her. I didn’t, because that wasn’t my relationship with my dad — it isn’t my relationship with my dad. We don’t dredge emotional vats of our pasts in search of answers. And I wasn’t used to him ever saying the words “my mother.” I will never know my grandmother. I’ll never hold her hands. I’ll never learn about my Jewish heritage from her or hear her voice. She’ll never attend my graduation or one day, my wedding. But Valentine’s Day is her day. Despite my romantic mishaps, being single or feeling alone on the Valentine’s Days of my past, Feb. 14 has always been more than the acknowledgement of romance. Valentine’s Day manifests itself as a different kind of celebration for me — a love for my mother, a woman committed to bridging the gap between myself and my heritage; my father, who has been my best friend since birth; and my grandmother, a woman I know watches over me, though we’ve never met face to face. But a part of her will always be here: in my father, in the gold coin necklaces, in the stories we barely tell, in me. With the onset of the February sun and the days edging toward Valentine’s Day — a day a single person would typically loathe — I think about my grandmother, my sweet, uncommon Valentine, a woman whose life began on a day filled with affection and infatuation. As I approach this Valentine’s Day, writing from the last bedroom I will ever have in Ann Arbor, before my life supposedly begins, I’ve recognized that my singleness and lack of a valentine isn’t so lonely. It is in the span of the past year that my grandmother and I have somehow grown closer. She is my valentine, on a skinny chain around my neck — all the way from wherever the best people go — somewhere near the sun.
Friday, February 14, 2020 // The Statement
VISUAL STATEMENT: V-DAY PREPERATIONS ON CAMPUS PHOTOS BY OLIVIA CELL
Friday, February 14, 2020
The Michigan Daily LOVE NOTES - michigandaily. Anita Michaud is the best business manager in the whole world. Anna Deluca and Becky To are the coolest ladies in the county To Mingi, my true sunshine, the light of my life and the mayonnaise to my Kevin To my Michigan Daily fam—love you guys! Thanks for the best semester yet <3 To the best roommates ever—205 is live!! You guys are the absolute best <3 There’s no one else I’d want to be my personal Rav. Thank you for being you, Rav Lisa Stella! Hannah Lane! You’re seriously incredible. I cannot believe we’re graduating. We really did it! I couldn’t have survived Michigan without you. Seriously. I’m so, so, so glad we’re friends. I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you. CJ, I hope you’re enjoying your visit! Michigan loves you, but I love you more. Thank you for everything! <3 Lizzy, From TMD to NYC to AA to DC and soon to CA, I always find myself smiling on an adventure with you. I love you very much. Finn” ““Człowiek jest wielki nie przez to, co posiada, lecz przez to kim jest; nie przez to co ma, lecz przez to, czym dzieli się z innymi.” Dziękujemy za wszystko, czym dzieliliście się z nami. Tego Wam Michałek i Vika życzą” barbara collins i love u happy late birthday xoxo <3 ish “If you were an app you would be Tik Tok, because you are always teaching me new things, you have so much to offer and I spend so much of my time with you. Please don’t leave me. I don’t know what I am going to do without you. Love, Chuy’s novia “Damaris, ¡Te quiero mucho, especialmente hoy! Espero que sepas que eres la mejor, gracias por ser parte de mi vida. También dile a tu mamá que la extraño. <3 Mara” Love you Yeggiboi! Hope you have a wonderful day. <3 Dear Ameenah, Who needs a boyfriend when I have a best friend as amazing as u? It’s hard to describe how much our friendship means to me, but I want u to know I wouldn’t have it any other way. Happy V-day, love u more than Liam loves Fallon! Love, N To my handsome prince, math genius, and knight in shining armor: I’m the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you for the endless notes, surprises and 5 a.m. nights with me. It’s safe to say that reality with you is better than my dreams (#^.^#) To my scooter buddy, fashion icon, and literal other half: I’m eternally thankful to have gotten so close to you. Our endless laughs, chaotic energy, and late night talks mean the world to me. I’m so lucky that you’re in my life :) Julia is amazing. She fights for what she believes is right and faces all of life’s hurdles. She’s on a waffle tour, but don’t forget she’s gonna change the world. ERIC WIENER--yes you I love you BE MY FUCKING VALENTINE or else :) Solomon Medintz — you have great hair. Finn’s is good, too. 100 Kisses! Happy Valentine’s Day. Forever my cutie pie. xoxoxo ritika shetty!!!! thank you for being my cool california roommate, having fancy hot chocolate mixes, stealing lacroix, plugging in christmas lights, tucking me in when i’m incapacitated, and always finding matt. i’M sOoOoO gLaD i WeNt RaNdOm Thanks for being the best roomie!! I love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Let’s go off tn :))
Friday, February 14, 2020 — 2C Roses are red, violets are blue, when I think of brunch, I always think of you. Dear hubby, I love you so much. Thank you for bearing me always, Mr. Jubal Jacob. Lots of love- NMS Zach, you are the one. You have always been the one. I love you. Dear Jacob Peter, Happy Valentine’s Day! We are so proud of you. Keep up the great work. Love to the sky and beyond, Mom, Dad, Josh and Reggie To my Organizational Studies family: You make this campus feel like home! Big love to the best people on campus: Michigan Mock Trial members, you’re my whole wide world. Love you long time. -xoxo G Hey Allison–thanks for sticking with me. You’re so kind and so funny and just the best, even if you sometimes completely ignore traffic safety. All my love, Emily For all the memories before and all the memories ahead, your sense of humor always got me dead. The ice in my glass represents the tears from my eyes. I love you dawg. to the best friend/roomie — can’t believe this is the first year we’re not spending valentines day together in a decade, despite still being single lol. love ya long time buddi. cheers to this cheesy occasion. don’t miss me too much. Grace: we may be apart, but after 3 years I’m still thinking of you when writing this love note. Thank you for your deep loyalty, honest advice and true friendship. I’m grateful for you every day. I miss you, I love you, Happy Galentine’s Day! --Erin hey baby i love you I love you 3000 best friends/roommates/ wife/Baba Yaga squad/Vernors enthusiasts/etc. can’t wait to live on a farm with both of you & all our animal friends Hey girl, are you p>0.05? Because I fail to relieve you! Hehe i love u anjajajajajana I couldn’t ask for a better person to talk about sports, The Bachelor and everything in between with. You inspire me so much every day. Always your dum dum, Jake I am living with my best friends. They’re cognizant of the power structures around them, and invest themselves in their impact. Happy Valentine’s Day to the beautiful people I love sharing space with. You all make time worth passing. I am so glad I decided to go out Nov. 7th despite being sick. I met my best friend that night, and I wouldn’t have had these amazing experiences without you. Thank you for being so genuinely outstanding, and for these great Ann Arbor days. - LAM Hey LAM! I still remember the day I came over and watched TikToks with u because u were sad. I barely knew u then, but it was the beginning to something really special--our friendship!! I’m so happy we’re best friends now! Ur the best and ILYSM! -NSA “Nina, you are such an amazing person. I can’t wait for the next few years of our lives and for us to become even closer than we are. You are my best friend, and I want you to remember that you always have love and friendship surrounding you! -LAM” Lizzy—Y’all have already taken the paper above and beyond this semester. It makes me so happy to look at the masthead and see your name up there. You’re absolutely crushing it. Love you! XO, Maya B—Thanks for the eggs and the squeezes. You make me happy. -M Shoutout to my roomie Ella for being the best. Finn: I love you, love. Or should I say, B. Thanks for getting me, completely <3 -Lizzy Dear Charlie Munger, you are a wonderful inspiration and role model! 96 never looked so good! I would love if Mike Bloomberg could just
leave. “Dear Preethi, Without you, I’m like a null set—empty. My love for you is like dividing by zero—it cannot be defined. You are like a student and I’m like a math student—you solve all my problems.” “Yoon, I love and appreciate you! XOXO” “Ash, Thanks for doing life w/ me and always making me laugh. Love,Yoon” “Mads, Love you and our endless gameday pics. -Yoon” “Luke, GO BLUE!!!! Love you and your appreciation for Michigan athletics. -Yoon” Ash and Yoon, happy galentines day!! Thank you ladies for being the best friends a girl could ask for<3 “Kirsten, Thanks for being an amazing friend. I love you!! -Yoon” To my Rally ‘Round, I couldn’t imagine a day without any of you. I’d jump in a freezing lake, stand all night, and cry by a bonfire all over again, just to get another year of the friendship, love, and shenanigans. Love, Capitalism. Happy Valentine’s Day XX I like you a lotta lot! You’re the apple to my pie! Rachel and Grace, what if we held hands at 7/11..(omg) hahaha jk jk jk......unless? OOCS—I love you guys! Thankfor helping make every day positive and beautiful. “Gino, Happy valentine’s day! I hope you have a great day in class and clinic. Thank you for 11 wonderful months together! Love you, hermoso. See you tonight <3. Love, Tu novia” I love Cox. Eric Yeet, you never fail to raise my meat. Grace—you’re adorable, bro. Eat dinner with me. You annoy the crap out of me. Happy Valentine’s Day, you piece of shit. I love you! My roomie. My BFF. The only person who can put up with me longer than two hours at a time. I love you. Dear Lukey Tsunami, I love you like a mother would love her newborn baby. You are handsome, a cool guy, cute, and tall. These are the reasons you are my VALENTINE. Love, Stephen “Karl” Kenkey “TALA,THE FIRST NIGHT AT VALENTINE’S WHEN YOU LEFT, MAYA SAID HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TWO GIRLS AND BLEW OUT BIRTHDAY CANDLES. WHEN YOU LEFT CRYING AT FISH, MAYA WAS HOLDING HANDS WITH HEBA. MULTIPLE PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE KNOW; THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH.” I know we’ve only known each other for one phone conversation, but I just really enjoy that you are in Global Warming with me. I’m the cutie who sits with Justin. See you around and stay fly! XOXO Hey guys! I’m looking for a fourth member to join my Fortnite squad. Serious inquiries only. Add me on Epic Games @ mcgroartyd. #wherewedroppin To my favorite watermelon: I love you babyyy!!! Have an amazing awesome day because you deserve it! I can’t wait to see you again <3 “Hey Vivian, I just wanted to let you know that you’re a CUTIE. Stay sweet my dude! I can’t wait to get married to you when we’re both 50 for tax benefits. <333” hi beeb <3 just wanted to let you know that you’re the cutest and i’m so lucky to have you!!! happy valentine’s day! “Hi Caroleen, my spicy tango monkey, I miss you and I love you so much. I hope you’re having a good time living it up at UMich. I just wanted to let you know that I am very proud of you and you the coolest dude I know. I love you, Your #1 fan” “Hi JASON (buggy), I hope you are taking good care of Ratata and crusty. I miss you a lot and I love you sooo much! Happy Valentine’s Day!!! P.s don’t forget to wash between your toes :) Love, Jinximus Prime”
Caroleen Chang, I have been in love with you since I smelled your hair in the 6th grade and it smelled like caramel apple pops. The way you leap across the football field puts me in a daze every time I see you. XOXO, Your secret admirer thx for all the sunday leg days, pancake dates, & scooby doo marathons <3 “To John, Good luck at your game tonight! I love you so much! From, your lifelong buddy” “Dearest Camden, It’s been since the last harvest season since I have seen you—a whole decade ago. What haveth you been up too? Please send the bestest regards to thy parents. Roll through to the U ASAP.” Michael, you are such a shining light in this world. I love you so much and I am so happy to live this life with you. Next time I come, I’ll let you know if this is something you’ll need to spend the night for. “Marcelo, Is this something that I’ll be staying for? Is this something I should tell my friends? If it’s something, we’re meant to be. It it’s something, our love will last for eternity. Love, N” Happy Galentine’s to my wonderful housemates!! Thanks for being the best gal pals a girl could ever ask for and for always flushing the toilet “Ryan, you’re ok. - anon “ It’s been days since we last met. Everyday I long to see your face, glowing from your TheOrdinary serums. I long to smell lingering scents from your 3-wick Bath and Body Works candles. I regret the day I failed to tell you...you don’t deserve rights. You must be a cutter because you’re too cute to handle. You make heart fast count. I’ll stop stalling: You make my head spin like a Flywheel and make me say MagYum. Im so happy we’re in this zone and I found my person <3 love u boo You inspire me with your kindness, patience, resilience, and selflessness everyday. Thank you for being my best friend & supporting me through everything. You deserve the world, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us. I LOVE you! I owe Ann Arbor everything for giving me you. --bug xo Happy Valentine’s Day, Jilly! Lots of fuzzy hugs coming your way! “G, You touched down in my end zone. Xoxo, Y” No one supported us, but I knew I needed you. You bring a smile to my face every time I see you in the morning, and I could honestly just watch you swim for hours. You may look like every other beta fish, but you are one of a kind to me Gus. “Hey, I think you’re pretty cool. 888/10, would love again. I truly don’t deserve you. Third time really is the charm. Now get me a puppy “ thank you for sending me tik toks everyday and letting me rant to you about my day EVERY day!!! Ur the most fun to live with and I’m so happy the people of south quad put us together :) i will never be able to look at an owl the same again #owlcity “Happy Valentine’s Lizzie! I am certainly glad to have met you. You are a big part of my life, and I couldn’t be happier. Sending much love from Bloomington. Go Hoosiers! :) Mitchell Rueve” Molly Shea what a queen is all I have to say. You truly are wonderful and there is no one I would rather go out on a Tuesday night with. Thank you for all you do for me always <3 I love the Michigan Daily business team! To Ryan, the best sales manager in the world. May your boats be rowed and your songs be Pink Floyded. I love you. To Rob, thanks for being the best dad in
the whole wide world. We love you <3 Baby, you are the love of my life. I want to grow old with you <3 “Dear Kevin Kapanowski, Hey man. Thanks for being one of my first friends at Michigan. Couldn’t imagine life without you. :) Much love, Your secret admirer “ Mike D - I’m so happy to have reconnected with you. I love you and miss you when we are apart. You have a piece of my heart. FT “To my sons Mingi & Kevin, brother Karan, and Uncle Ryan: I could think of no one else better to share V-Day with. Love you guys <3 “ To the ladies of 1012: I couldn’t possibly love you more! So happy Bursley brought us together 4 years ago. xoxo! Hey Kevin, this is your anonymous lover Mingi just stopping by to say I love you. Gus, u the best Dear Ryan, we are a bit behind on love quota, so I am obliged to confess my love in a public forum. I hope you have a good day with me and Kevin! “My dear Delta Delta Lloyd, You are the sun, moon, and all of my stars. I miss you all so very much. I hope you all get to enjoy the sugary perks of this horrid capitalist scheme to exploit true love. xoxo, With much love from across the pond.” hi mya 849 tappan girls, u make my world spin I love Ethan Walsh and his big biceps and his beautiful body hello i hope u haven’t forgotten how to code ily Annie, my photo QUEEN! You are the best co-editor ever and there’s no one else I’d rather see at the Daily everyday. I hope your valentine this year is Elizabeth Warren’s dog, you deserve him <3 Peace, love, A2!!! Shawn is an excellent bus boy. Every day I look forward to him coming to the house. He makes my heart flutter every time he puts out the veggie platter, or even fills up my cup of water. Shawn puts a smile on anyone’s face, especially mine :) “Dear Hollya, Thank you for being one of my best friends! I am very grateful for your friendship and I am so happy that we met! I love all of our inside jokes and cannot wait to make many more memories with you! XOXO, Alexa” “Dear Nia (other half of Nilexa), I am so happy that we have been friends for so long! Gemini + Sagittarius energy forever. Always Swag Squad forever too. Thank you for all the memories and for always being there for me. I love you! XOXO, Alexa “ “Shannon!! I am so happy we met during RSC! Thank you for always being down to go to concerts, museums, basketball games, and swim & dive meets with me! I seriously love having class with you every day this semester and last! #RIS XOXO Alexa” “Christy, My fellow Smile Styler! I am so happy that we bonded over our love of Barbie movies, among other things. “”You’re just like me, I’m just like you””. Thank you for letting me 3rd wheel you and Steven. l love you so much! XOXO Alexa “ “Hi mom! I appreciate you for everything you do! You make so many great snacks for us children, and you always take care of us even when you may not want to. You’re so responsible but also a huge MEMER! You are amazing, and I love you! “ “Dear Nugget :) Happy Valentine’s day from the East Coast! I love you!
The Michigan Daily LOVE NOTES - michigandaily.com ^______^” Hey Mingi, this is your anonymous lover, Kevin. Just stopping by to say I love you. “To my twin, Everyone says that we appear the same, but I would argue that the similar kindness seen in us is me attempting to match yours. Hey Avery :) Thought you’d like to see a Love Note for you in your favorite paper!! Journalism! Happy Valentines Day <3 Love, Liam Doofensmirtz, Pugs, and more. Here’s to a year of trials and tribulations. I <3 you, MC. L, “Have no fear, comrade,” Blanche replied, “I’m only pretending to be Mallarmè’s cat.” -m Hey Hawine, this is awkward but you shoulda kept your moof cloooosed. [COPY: this isn’t really a “Love Note”. Should we even keep it?] “Dear Nikhita,I love you so much! Thank you for making everyday special. Happy Valentines Day. Love, Ameenah” Hi kirby, thank you for being understanding of me and my annoying emotions. I know I’ve put you in uncomfortable / odd situations, but you’re always there to listen to me rant and support me through anything. I can’t thank you enough for everything hey dumbo, even though I call you dumb at times, I want you to know that I am unbelievably proud of you and everything you’ve done in life. thanks for being there for me through thick and thin, and I’m still honored to call you my best friend. ilysm hey tl, i want you to know that i’m so proud of you and all of your hard work. i’m confident that you’ll succeed in whatever medicine track you go down, and you’ll be an amazing doctor. please don’t beat yourself up because you’re doing great <3 hey あなた,please love yourself more. you’ve unbelievably talented, gorgeous and intelligent. it kills me when you don’t love yourself because there are so many, including me, that love you to death. you’re gonna succeed, so breathe <3 hey gege, thanks for being my brother that i never had these past three years. i find it funny how we went from enemies to best friends in such a short time. i don’t know what i’ll do without you next year, but thank you for the amazing memories <3 hi bb, thanks for always listening and cheering for me. i love how we’re each others #1 fan girls. you’re literally one of the most talented, gorgeous, intelligent people i know and i’m honored to be one of your friends. p.s. nice glowsticking hehe <3 <3 hi luv u, thank u for being my friend and being so easy to talk to!!! idk what i would do here without u!! very excited to live it up in mercer island w u u are the most chaotic person I know and I love it!!! thank you for all the advice and help u’ve given me, so excited to come visit u in ur attic next year evelyn! thank you for always updating the j names note and making my morning, and being the sweetest, most supportive, baddest baddie i know. <3 caroline atkinson! the queen of mercer island herself! iconic sayer of “i don’t like him!” seattle baddie! vamps star! copy editing legend! i love u :) nick! thanks for always getting breakfast w me and always being down to clown. i miss maven therapy sessions and candy canes full of “water.” i want to go back to livonia.
please. i <3 u ! dj! the sigma nu legend himself! i appreciate our bits and ur alexa fridge :) Hey Sanjna, I know it’s not the time or place, but I really like you, will you go out with me? Never mind Im so stupid I shouldn’t have even asked that was a stupid question... unless... Hey Jason!!!!!! love and appreciate u :) Sending you all the love in the world <3 Thank you for being the best human there is Allison - you might be wondering, “why you so obsessed with me...” but boy, I want to know how you manage to do it all! Our consulting queen, TikTok influencer, group chat renaming mobilizer, and amazing friend - love you the most!! xoxo dj Olivia - all I want in life is a neon box on your ever-filled calendar. No matter how many involvements you have I’m glad ur involved in our friendship ;) Keep lighting up my world with your random memes and crazy stories!! xoxo dj #dotheeconomics Ritika - you truly debug my life. The autograder can’t test how strong our friendship is! Thanks for taking the “eek” out of EECS and being the best partner and friend love u longtime bb xoxo dj will u B my valentine? do you MO how much i love you?! Thanks for being you! Your farts smell like lilly pads HVD, S I hope your day is filled with cinnamon rolls You’re special <3 Don’t be too naughty tonight Caroline - there’s no one I would rather study non-human primate phalanges with (#robust halluxes?). Thanks for always making me smile with your witty comments and listening to my wild stories in the dining hall!! love u xoxo dj Roses are red, violets are blue, Dylan Bao, I love you! You are my sunshine on a cloudy day, you make college life seem a little more okay. Thank you for being always by my side, for I’ll always want more moments with you dockside hey Lexi Stavrakos, I love you as much as Michael hates Toby hehe from ur roomie Fengjin Cui, I’ve fallen for you and I can’t get up !!! Rui Jin, you are the mo bamba to my sicko mode “Someday We will be together again Someday I’ll hold your hand again And look into your eyes and say That we were (We were never meant) Never meant to be apart (I miss you) If only that moment was now If only that day was today -Someday, We Bare Bears” ANTHONY ZHU, you put a peppa in my steppa Big weekend ;) Who’s your daddy? “To Sarie, My hard core rock with a surprise soft center. Love, Ameera. “ “To Arsyad and Fatimah, Life without you two would be as hollow and cold as the emptied ice trays left in the freezer. All my heart, Ameera” Claire! Thank you for being the best roomie there was and for everything you’ve done for me <3 Just a reminder: B is for — i love chipotle wednesdays <3 my favorite co-worker <3 you are not the type of kid who would be allergic to peanuts and ruin it for the whole class the best business manager in the world the best tik tokker ive ever seen live in action, also thank you for driving me to fate I realllllyyyyyyyy like you ;). Thank you for always being so spectacular. You are my favorite part of every day. I love all my moms so much. thanks for always putting up with my shenanigans. I am sorry for peeing and pooping everywhere. Love, Coco To the best sister ever - so happy you
Friday, February 14, 2020 — 3C choose to Go Blue! To the best Section 8 buddy ever. So happy to have met you! “You seem super nice and chill! I’m still working up the courage to talk to you tho... I think crosswords r cool too.” We’ve known each other for almost 10 years, only now I realize that I may have fallen in love with you. I don’t know how you feel, too scared to ask. But, I cherish every happy memories made with you. May we grow even closer as we get older :) To my Bull, I love you always and forever, no matter what. Love Love [COPY: signature?] I love you with all my heart, Ysela! XOXO, Mommy “Grey, It’s crazy how your name is the opposite color of what you represent. You radiate sunshine and blue skies everyday. “ Allison Engkvist, you are my queen. That is all. Love, A2 You keep me sane! I appreciate you so so much. “Shan, I am so incredibly happy that I get to be at the same school as you! I love you so much! We need to set up our date at Mani soon!! You are such a good older sister and role model for me, and I appreciate you more than you know! XOXO, Lauren “ “Annabeans, Happy Valentines Day! You really are one of my soulmates and I truly believe that what we have will be forever. Our friendship means so much to me and I’m so lucky to have you! XOXO, Lauren “ “Kelly, Happy Valentine’s Day! Thanks for being the best friend and roommate ever. I am so thankful that you push me to be the best version of myself and have never given up on me. I look forward to a lifetime of fun adventures and friendship. Love you” Dear Valentine, I’m so glad I met you and we glued together now <3 Hope we get to spend Valentine’s day together shorty ;) Yooo, mad appreciation note for ya, esp. as of late. You don’t hear this enough: you’re genuinely good & that counts for more than you realize. I gotchu too, 4am calls and all. You a real one g. Stay chill, broski (aka Nicola aka “quitting the nic”) My Barber <3 “Jason, Learn who Dave Chappelle is” We STAN the faux manager of Blue Cafe at EQ! There’s no one else more deserving of the position than someone who bullies his co-workers and eats on the job <33 fr tho, ur an amazing friend; heres to more good mems :) happy vday from ur fav ktp active You’re the hole to my donut. olivia howuuuurrrrrdddd! thank u for whisking us off to naperville, for singing w us in your car, and being so kind and wise. i love u! --allison You seem like a cool guy. I’d been admiring you from afar. I’m in your SLC group and think you’re cute. Wanna date? Xoxo your secret admirer “Dear Matt Perucchi, Happy Valentine’s Day bud. Love you!” thank you for always supporting my dreams and being in my corner. can’t wait for forever with you Happy Valentine’s Day, Karina! I’m so happy you came out for the weekend, and I love you so much!! What’s not to love about you, Charissa? Girl, you’re spectacular. I’ve never met someone so supportive and happy about life. You are going to do some amazing things. Keep rocking at everything you do. <3 “Adrian, From AA to NYC to Paris, Amsterdam, Portugal and more, I can’t wait to see where we go next. I love doing this crazy thing we call life with you. Thank you for a wonderful year and a half of happiness! Love, Nita” My favorite Upper! Girl you’re so wonderful. Thanks for being so reliable and always supporting my choices. You’re beautiful inside and out. <3 You are the cause of my euphoria.
Erin ur my homiest homie James! Thanks for being such a good best friend to my favorite person. You’re always so fun to be around. This good looking and TALL man is SINGLE so slide into his insta DM’s ladies @jkpelk My day 1 <3 Thanks for being my longest friend on campus! We’ve experienced so much together. I’ll always be cheering you on no matter where life takes you. Love you Rachel Makayla, you are my favorite person to catch up with on campus. Thank you for always checking in on me and genuinely caring about my responses. I appreciate you more than I can explain <3 <3 <3 “You’re the right time at the right moment. You’re the sunlight, keeps my heart going. Oh, know when I’m with you, I can’t keep myself from falling. Right time at the right moment. It’s you.” I know you’ve a girlfriend. Yes, she’s cool. She’s got a lot that I don’t, and I know you love her. But you can’t deny our chemistry, it’s definitely good enough. Everything you need is right here, literally; we already live together. Be mine, Jake. Davis, you’re not my dad. Love, Ellie It’s weird to think that we’ve only been together for a year and half. It’s honestly hard to remember what my life was like without you in it. You’re the best part of every day. I can’t wait to write another one of these for you next year. “Michael! Happy Tame Impala album release date! And Valentine’s Day ;) Love ya! - Anna” I spent the first 20 years of my life searching for love. I eventually decided to give up; I wasn’t destined for love. Immediately after that, I met him. Our souls have been connected ever since. Love will find you at the most unexpected moment. Despite my name being frustratingly unconventional, it has made you one of the most important individuals in my life #iykyk. I thank your parents for your name, and you for being you. I love you Chokshi. Hey Salams MSA President, I’ve been wanting to talk to you and let you know I’ve really gotten to like you over the past year. I never had the courage to tell you in person. If you’re interested come looking for me. I didn’t want to disturb you so I never told you that I had a crush on you (and I still like you, sigh). Pls don’t try to guess who I am. Thank you for being the reason I smile (and take more stats classes this term). I wish you a happy life :) Dear photo section: we are drunk, we love you all so much, y’all are queens. it is 2020 and queens is gender neutral now. you are all the most talented people we know. love, allison and annie, your biggest fans! <3 “Kate, I love you. I love your freckles, blue eyes, the way you make me feel safe and all the great adventures we have and will have together!” Zach Jacobs you are the best person to live with. I love you. No person I’d rather have infinite sleepovers with. You are the best person to live life with. Happy Valentine’s Day!! My rock, my soul, my happy place, my angel, my star, my light, my good morning and good night, my entire world, my strength, my sunshine, my inspiration, my cheerios, habibi, my wife, I love you my butterfly, my green eyed-boy, forever always Happy Valentine’s Day, Will. The only gift I want today is for you to stop looking so cute all the time. Here’s to many more Valentine’s Days together. I love you. I <3 u Edward oppa “Stop flaking on me! I luv you ~C” Happy Valentine’s Day from Johannesburg Liam! I love you and miss you, and I can’t wait to see you again soon :^) Dear Evan, I am not sure I can match your intensity but nonetheless, thanks for being a great roommate, and Happy Valentines Day! hey shithead, i’d eat 4 eggs for you (but not
5), xoxo pissbaby Amanda Crisci deserves the world I love that you have a good work ethic and are compassionate about what you do because you don’t give up :’) I love you so much, Inga. You are one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of calling a friend FlyLove more like MyLove <3 #3 “Lilly, I couldn’t be happier to have met someone as caring, loving, carefree, understanding, and outright fun as you. You bring me joy each and every day and allow me to see the world with more compassion and love than ever before. To many more.” lo: wondering what’s on your mind, it must be hard to be that fine. you make my hotline bling baby, call me sometime xxleo Emily, you’re the coolest and most epic. I love you babe <3 -Allison Encore, thanks for being the greatest team and for being the most beautiful people inside and out! Happy Valentines Day to my lovie! You are so special with how big your heart is, how hard you work, and all of the fun you bring into my life. I really can’t imagine not having you by my side. Never stop being you because you are amazing! I love you! My heart belongs to YOU Hamilton house!!! Happy Valentine’s Day from Ann Arbor— sending love to Paris! I love you Mae, and I’m so lucky to have a friendship where I am completely at ease :) So glad we met in DC, I’m thankful for you every single day!! Dance party soon? <3 Happy Valentine’s Day, lady! You inspire me with how hard you work and how much you give to everyone around you, and make me want to make the world better :) so glad I met you in DC and thankful for everything since <3 Happy Valentine’s Day, dear Sam. I am grateful every day that sophomore year I decided to get over my fear of you, and that you’ve stuck around every day since. I am so lucky that you’re my friend. Here’s to many more years of joy and love <3 I argue that we choose to be good because of our bonds with other people. Thanks for always being my friend and reminding me what it means to be a good person even when the world is dark and scary. I am so proud and lucky to be your friend <3 Happy Valentine’s Day to the only person who can make me laugh till I almost pee my pants. You make the bass drop—in my heart ;) thankful every single day that we are friends and for all the joy you bring to my life <3 Happy Valentine’s Day Helen :) It brings me so much joy being your friend and getting to spend time with you!! Thanks for understanding my weird Boston obsessions and laughing at my stupid jokes. Hug me when you get home <3 “Joseph,What do I say about someone so magical? I can honestly say I have never met someone so clever, nor someone as curious as a cat. Your kind words and actions have really touched me as a person. You really are purrfect in every way.” love u Kev Anita, I love your sense of style! Keep slaying it QUEEN!! No Thai, thanks for always being there for me during me darkest of days. You are the light of my life. I love you :) Kevin, thank you for those nice words. Unfortunately, we are all set as of now. Anita, I love your sense of style! Keep slaying it QUEEN!! ACCwe, I am thankful for all of us making our we through ACC. Love you guys <3 I told you, me > Achu. ILY we need to continue our friends marathon <3 - Sherry
The Michigan Daily LOVE NOTES - michigandaily.com
Friday, February 14, 2020 — 4C
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