2022-03-16

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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University lifts mask mandate in some indoor spaces, still required in classrooms

Indoor offices, residence halls and athletic events no longer require face coverings starting March 14 KAITLYN LUCKOFF & GEORGE WEYKAMP

Daily News Editors

Starting March 14, the University of Michigan will no longer require masks in most indoor spaces on campus including offices, residence halls and at athletic events, Robert Ernst, associate vice president of student life, and Preeti Malani, U-M Chief Health Officer, announced in an email to the U-M community on March 9. Masks are still required in all classrooms, patient care areas, campus buses and COVID-19 testing sites for at least the remainder of the Winter 2022 semester.

“Mask use still is suggested as an effective strategy for enhanced personal protection, especially for those with compromised immune status, those who are not vaccinated or up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, and anyone with a perceived increased risk of complications from infection,” the email reads.

In the email, Ernst and Malani wrote the

decision was made due to high vaccination rates on campus and declining COVID-19 cases in the region. In the week ending Feb. 26 the University reported 53 preliminary positive cases – down from a high of 1,927 during the height of the omicron surge in January.

“As a result of the high vaccination rates among students, faculty and staff as well as improving conditions in the region, the COVID19 Campus Health Response Committee is issuing new guidance regarding COVID19 response on the University of Michigan campuses,” the email reads.

All U-M faculty, staff and students as well as Michigan Medicine staff are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and to have received a COVID-19 booster shot six months after their final dose. As of Wednesday, 84% of eligible students, 88% of eligible faculty and 83% of eligible staff have reported receiving a booster shot.

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Hail to the Victims demonstration held outside President’s House following UMich removing campsite

BECCA MAHON/Daily

Anderson survivor Jon Vaughn stood chained to a tree for 17.5 hours in defiance against U IRENA LI

Daily Staff Reporter

“Once again, The University of Michigan has historically silenced the voices of survivors,” reads a sign facing the President’s House. To the sign’s right stands former U-M football player Jonathan Vaughn, bound by chains and tied to a tree in an act of protest and defiance against the University.

“I don’t wish for me or anyone else to be tied, bound, gagged, neglected or robbed of their

confidence and health by another university again,” the sign reads.

Vaughn told The Daily on March 12 that starting at 11:26 AM, he would stand chained to the tree for the next 17.5 hours: one minute for every known Anderson survivor. A countdown timer sat atop the sign to Vaughn’s left.

“There are 1,050 victims that are in the first wave of the settlement,” Vaughn said. “(The University) is trying to keep us chained to our trauma. So I’m doing one minute in solidarity with the 1,050, so that’s how it came out to 17 and a half hours.”

Dozens of students, alumni and University community members gathered in front of the President’s House on March 12 in response to the University’s removal of the “Hail to the Victims” campsite after 150 days of protest. Vaughn previously told The Michigan Daily he was unaware of the University’s decision to dismantle the campsite.

Vaughn, one of over a thousand sexual abuse survivors of former University athletic doctor Robert Anderson, said he was wrapped in chains to symbolize how the University has continued to fail survivors such as himself, leaving

them “tied” and “bound” to their trauma.

Protestors wrote on notecards with phrases such as “Hail to the Victims” and “No more cover ups” and attached them to the chains holding Vaughn. He was joined by a handful of other survivors who also came out in protest of the University.

LSA senior Zackariah Farah, vice president of LSA Student Government, said the University’s behavior toward the Anderson survivors has continued to be “unacceptable” despite a change in leadership in January. The Hail to the Victims movement first began

U-M admin takes down protest location after 150 days

Daily News Editor Daily Staff Reporter

On March 7, the University of Michigan removed the campsite outside of the President’s House on South University Avenue, where for the last 150 days, former U-M football player Jonathan Vaughn lived in protest against the University’s sexual misconduct policies.

Vaughn, who is one of the over one thousand sexual abuse survivors of the late athletic doctor Robert Anderson, told The Michigan Daily on Tuesday that he was not made aware that the University had planned to remove the campsite. Vaughn said the campsite is on Ann Arbor city property, and his attorney together with the Assistant City Attorney of Ann Arbor had come to an agreement that they

were planning on moving the camp by the end of day on March 13. According to Vaughn, University attorneys were also aware of the plan.

“My birthday is on the 12th and I was planning on having an awesome goodbye celebration with students and faculty just to tell them how much we appreciate it and (then) we were gonna start moving to the next phase of helping make this campus safe,” Vaughn said. “So for (the University) to do that, after they knew what our plan was, it just goes to show who they are right now as an organization and leadership.”

University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald declined to comment on whether or not the University was aware of Vaughn’s plan to leave.

The move comes Read more at MichiganDaily.com

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U announces transition period after five-year DEI plan, initially misstates intentions

Protestors say they were unaware of removal GEORGE WEYKAMP & ANNA FIFELSKI

last October.

“I’m glad that they reached a settlement with the survivors, but to remove his camp … that is just another slap in the face,” Farah said.

“Although we have new leadership at the University, we have President Mary Sue Coleman, it feels like we’re back to the same old schtick. It’s the same response regardless of which president we have.”

Farah then said he observed similar levels of indifference from other University officials at the Feb. 17 Board of Regents meeting.

Chief Diversity Officer Robert Sellers launches new website, apologizes for email wording SHANNON STOCKING

Daily News Editor MARIA DECKMANNDaily LSA professor Svitlana Rogovyk speaks to U of M community members outside Burton Memorial Tower for a “Vigil for Ukrainian War Victims” Wednesday night.

‘I no longer have a home’: Campus community members host vigil at Burton Tower in solidarity for Ukraine Speakers mourn for lives lost, urge people to take action in support of the country JOEY LIN Daily Staff Reporter

As the blue and yellow of Ukraine fluttered in the wind on the night of March 9, many gathered at the vigil for war victims hosted by members of the Ukrainian community and the Diversity Affairs Committee (DAC) of the LSA Student Government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Accompanied by traditional and contemporary Ukrainian music which highlighted the Ukrainians’ strength, speakers mourned for the lives lost in Ukraine and urged people to take action for the state in crisis.

Speakers included students, faculty and community members from Ukraine as well as others in solidarity with Ukraine.

Most speakers spoke about their friends’ and families’ experience with the war and

how it has affected them personally. They advocated for corporate divestment from the Russian state. The group also asked audience members to write letters to local officials to create a “no-fly zone” over Ukraine skies.

Speakers included Ukrainian language professors and professors who have worked with Ukrainians. They said the Ukrainians they worked with made a choice to

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stay in Ukraine and were determined to continue fighting for both Ukraine and Eastern Europe as a whole.

Ann Arbor resident Vlada Zviagina, said she has family and friends who live in Kharkiv, a city in Ukraine devastated by and is worried about the danger which could befall her loved ones at any time.

INDEX

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Vol. CXXXI, No. 68 ©2022 The Michigan Daily

The University of Michigan is reaching the end of its initial five-year Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan (DEI 1.0) and is entering into a transitional period before the next five-year plan, according to a March 10 email to the campus community from Robert Sellers, vice provost for Equity and Inclusion.

“In the 2022-23 academic year, our DEI planning efforts will rely on the input and engagement of our community to build out a more strategic, focused and impactful DEI plan,” Sellers wrote.

“In fall 2023, U-M will officially launch the next DEI strategic plan.

Throughout our nearly

N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ARTS...................4 STATEMENT. . . . . . . . 8

two-year transition process, we will remain vigilant in our commitment to DEI as a community.”

Launched in October 2016, the DEI 1.0 plan included 49 smaller plans individualized for each college and program. The plan also introduced Wolverine Pathways and the HAIL Program, which aimed to increase enrollment of minority students and support socioeconomic diversity. Other parts of the plan included providing financial support to University programs conducting research on diversity, as well as providing intercultural training for students, faculty and staff.

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MIC.......................8 O PINIO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1

News

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Editorial Staff PAIGE HODDER ALI CHAMI/Daily Kelly Hoppenjans performs at Michigan’s Got Talent on Wednesday evening.

Moving beyond Gold-Level: Ann Arbor cyclists want better biking infrastructure Bike-lane advocates talk safety, accessibility concerns

CHEN LYU

Daily Staff Reporter When Nate Phipps, the co-founder of Bike Alliance of Washtenaw and managing director of the Center for Education Design, Evaluation and Research at the University of Michigan, first moved to Ann Arbor from Boston in 2014, he said he felt disappointed by the comparative lack of biking infrastructure. Since then, Phipps decided to get involved in community organizing to make Ann Arbor more bikefriendly.

“My (first) impression was that (Ann Arbor) is fine for me, but it’s not fine for people who are more cautious or less experienced riding in a city,” Phipps said. “For a decade, Ann Arbor was behind (in) real progressive bicycle infrastructure.”

Since Phipps arrived, biking infrastructure in Ann Arbor has improved substantially. In December 2021, Ann Arbor

was named by the League of American Bicyclists as a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community in recognition of recent infrastructure improvements, with its bike lanes expanding from 37.4 miles in 2012 to 90.1 miles in 2022. Across the U.S., 35 of 850 communities who applied were awarded Gold-level status, with just 5 awarded the highest status: Platinum-level.

This award is not only based on quantitative data — such as the number of bikers and miles of bike paths — but also takes into account community education and biker advocacy.

In July 2020, the city of Ann Arbor also implemented the Healthy Street Pilot Projects, which included closing off downtown streets to expand social distancing procedures for pedestrians and bicycle traffic.

State Street and its intersection with North University as well as Catherine Street and Miller Avenue are two major street areas included in the project.

City Council’s July resolution

asks the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to implement the project through 2022, so the project will return again this spring.

While the city is supportive of biking infrastructure, since it aligns with the A2ZERO plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, biking development in Ann Arbor still has room to improve. To take a deeper look into the current state of biking accessibility, The Michigan Daily spoke with multiple cyclists and bike-lane advocates to discuss safety and accessibility concerns they have about biking infrastructure in Ann Arbor today.

Inter-campus commuting concerns Fred Feng, U-M Dearborn researcher and assistant professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, said he biked over the East Medical Center Bridge hundreds of times during the five years he was a Ph.D. student at the Ann Arbor campus. The Fuller and East

Medical Center Bridge leads to the University’s medical center and connects the Central and North Campuses. Recently, the Ann Arbor City Council approved a proposal to widen the bridge with a fifth lane for automobiles, which prompted community backlash, particularly from pedestrians and cyclists who rely on the bridge for daily commuting.

Based on his research into safe and sustainable transportation methods as well as his personal experiences, Feng said the proposed design for the Medical Center Bridge is not only counterproductive to climate change mitigation efforts — by accommodating more vehicle traffic — but also exacerbates existing safety challenges to cyclists.

“The Federal Highway Administration recommended a minimum of 5 feet width for people to walk side-by-side (in one direction),” Feng said.

“A total of 8 feet, which is the width of the new design on the west side, was too narrow

even for current bi-direction walking and biking traffic.”

The University’s community relations director Michael Rein suggested at the Feb. 7 City Council meeting that reducing the width on the west side of the bridge to 8 feet will be offset by widening the east side of the bridge to 13 feet, which could divert some non-motorized traffic from the west. Feng, however, warned it might be more difficult than the University thinks for commuters to adjust their usual routes in light of the changes.

“If we learned something from the past decades, it is that some people are going to do things that make the most sense to them,” Feng said. “Simply narrowing the west side of the bridge, which is the most straightforward connection for many, and telling (them) not to use it is highly unlikely to work.”

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BUSINESS

Condado Tacos combines signature flavors, graffiti-style art in new downtown location Ohio-based company opens with a special “Year of Yum” for first 100 customers IRENA LI & SERINA JIANG

Daily Staff Reporter & Daily News Contributor Downtown Ann Arbor is now home to its very own Condado Tacos, a buildyour-own taco joint complete with vibrant floor-to-ceiling murals and a signature margarita menu.

The Ohio-based company opened its new location to the public on March 3 with a special “Year of Yum” which offered the first one hundred visitors one free taco per week for a year. The eatery also offered all customers $5 margaritas and the chance to win a $1,000 gift card.

The opening-day special offerings attracted hundreds of students and local residents to the restaurant, with the first visitors lining up as early as 8 a.m. LSA senior Katherine Springer said she attended the opening for the chance of earning a year’s worth of free tacos, especially since she has visited other locations of Condado Tacos.

“We love free food,” Springer said. “My sister actually lives outside of Cincinnati (and) she has (Condado Tacos locations)

around her so we’ll go to eat (there). And I know they’re really good tacos, so I just got really excited.”

Since the company’s establishment in 2014, 30 Condado Tacos locations have popped up across six states in the Midwest.

According to Rob Hanley, the Ann Arbor location’s general manager, 401 E. Liberty Street is the company’s fourth installment in Southeastern Michigan’s Detroit metropolitan area.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Hanley said he attributed much of the

opening day’s success to the company’s reputation across the Midwest.

“We got past a hundred (people by) around 9:15,” Hanley said. “We have a lot of people that go around the Midwest, where we’re predominantly located, (who) want to come in (and) be one of the first ones in the space to see all the new artwork and stuff like that …

So we filled up shortly after we opened for the first time at 11.”

Inside, the restaurant’s wall murals are filled with vibrant splashes of color

JULIANNE YOON/Daily

and graffiti-style lettering.

One tag reads “University of Yum,” referencing the location’s proximity to the University of Michigan’s campus. Hanley said the restaurant collaborated with local artists to bring the indoor space to life.

“We hire a lot of local muralists and artists to come in and give our space a unique and very vibrant display,” Hanley said. “We are very big on supporting the arts … Part of our building is (designed) to remind people of the Ann Arbor Graffiti Alley. So we have portions of our building

that recreates that vibe with the different types of graffiti art that artists came in and did.”

LSA junior Zhen Lin said the restaurant’s ambiance was well-suited to the younger demographic of U-M students.

“The first thing I really like is the environment and the backdrop,” Lin said. “I think it’s more fitting to our generation. We like to Instagram a lot of our food and (take) pictures around them. (This) is the perfect place to do that, everything’s really eye-appealing.”

Hanley said the restaurant is looking forward to creating new job opportunities within the local community.

“We’re big believers in ‘come as you are,’” Hanley said. “Being able to give opportunities to people to (grow with the company) and advance themselves …

Being able to employ a lot of the local people is absolutely amazing … We don’t have a uniform, we want you to come as you are.”

Daily Staff Reporter Irena Li and Daily News Contributor Serina Jiang can be reached at irenayli@umich.edu and sejiang@umich.edu.

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The Michigan Daily

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Arts

4 — Wednesday, March 16, 2022

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The Empathy B-Side

‘Piglet’s Big Movie’ and my big emotions

ROSA SOFIA KAMINSKI Senior Arts Editor

“FEELINGS” ARE AMONG the hardest concepts to grasp, and even harder to reflect on enough to write about them. I once heard that the more specific art gets, the more universally relatable it becomes. I am proud of how these writers, compiling their hearts for “The Empathy B-Side,” have parsed all the tiny details of their feelings, opening their minds and lives to readers and bringing their emotions together into a collection guaranteed to tear at your heart and knit it back into one piece. It is hard to create one definition of a feeling: Everyone wears grief differently, and same goes for love, humor, horror. Thank god we have our favorite books and movies and video games and songs as shining mercies to point to and connect over with others, or at least feel a connection to these pieces that have

KARI ANDERSON Daily Arts Writer

Design by Tamara Turner

helped us learn more about ourselves. Art serves as a constant reminder that we are

unravelled and put back together at the hands and the grace of others.

‘It feels like a costume’: Validating my cultural uncertainty with Diane Nguyen KATRINA STEBBINS Senior Arts Editor

I WASN’T EXPECTING anything in particular when I sent my DNA collection kit to 23andMe, but I was still met with a confusing ambivalence when I got my results back a few weeks later. Before I found myself staring at a pie chart filled with just one color and its accompanying “100% Chinese & Southeast Asian” label, I had only ever thought of my ethnicity in abstract terms.

The circumstances of my birth are entirely unknown to me. As far as I know, my life started when I was about two months old, but even that is just a supposition. I’ve been told by my mother, who was told by the orphanage from which I was adopted, that I was found as an abouttwo-month-old baby in front of a high school in central China. The people at the orphanage (a faceless, disembodied monolith that only exists in my vague and infrequent references to it) gave me a birthday — Jan. 1, a ballpark guess — and a name that’s still legally mine even in my adoptive country, but that I never use and haven’t spoken

aloud in years.

Growing up, my family theorized that I might be half white, an idea I went along with wholeheartedly. In retrospect, I’ve realized that this idea is intensely problematic, especially coming from my white adoptive family, especially as it was almost entirely based on superficial and reaching observations about my physical features. I have a natural double eyelid, something that a lot of Asian women go through cosmetic surgery to obtain, and I have relatively fair skin, which somehow managed to be a point in this theory’s favor, even though a lot of Chinese people have fairer skin than mine. For years, I touted this idea as if it somehow made me more interesting, but all it ever really did was reveal my desperation to be able to personally claim whiteness.

It was probably the vestiges of this desperation and the deeper, internalized racial biases it revealed that, admittedly, led to disappointment in finding out I was indisputably, unequivocally, 100% Chinese, but upon further introspection, I realized that there was something else contributing to my ambivalence.

I’ve spent most of my life feeling like a fraud in my own skin. There has always been a dissocia-

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tion between me and my ethnicity, created by my physical and intellectual distance from the culture I was born into and exacerbated by interactions with people who felt they could make final judgments about my Asianness (or, in most cases, lack thereof), even and sometimes, especially, in spaces meant to educate me about and encourage my Asianness.

Even though it was just confirming something about me that was always more likely to be true than a half-baked theory about having a white parent, I thought that having categorical proof that I was indisputably, unequivocally, 100% Chinese might resolve something about my identity for me, make me feel more comfortable claiming this part of me even if others doubted it — but it didn’t resolve anything. This indetermination, this tangle of identity and internalized racism and “culturelessness” is something that I’ve come to a kind of restless, uncertain peace with. Usually, I love finding answers, I love resolutions, but this is something that — not for lack of trying — I’ve come to realize I may never be able to fully reconcile.

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ReleaseDate: Date:Wednesday, Wednesday, March March 16, 9, 2022 Release 2022

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03/09/22 03/16/22

03/09/22

03/16/22

WHISPER WHISPER “Why do I have to get an internship?”

“Thursdays are the new Friday.”

I WAS AN anxious kid. It sounds like the beginning of a bit, but it’s true. I was anxious about a lot of things. Sleep was a big one: I would spend a lot of nights thinking about how I wasn’t falling asleep, which in turn made it harder to fall asleep. I was plagued with other irrational anxieties — that no one liked me, that my family would forget about me, that something catastrophic would completely upend my life.

Like a lot of kids, I watched Winnie the Pooh when I was little, specifically the 2003 spinoff film “Piglet’s Big Movie.” I remember being most captivated not by Pooh or Tigger or Christopher Robin, but

by Piglet, the small, anxiety-ridden stuffed pig. And it wasn’t until more recently that I understood why.

In 2000, there was a study published in a Canadian medical journal positing a theory that “diagnosed” all of the Winnie the Pooh characters, showing that they could all be

is “too small.” Piglet’s smallness is a reason that they leave him out of some of their wild antics; it’s the reason that they instantly jump to the conclusion that Piglet is in trouble once they can’t find him. Piglet is made to believe that his size means that he isn’t a helpful or useful friend to rely on. But with the musical number “If I Wasn’t So Small,” he starts doing a bunch of small deeds — helping a ladybug cross to another plant, helping a squirrel get a “haycorn” and helping a bird get back to its nest. That’s all it takes to reverse his mindset — he can be helpful.

And when he thinks that his friends are in trouble, he sets aside all of his anxieties to go after them.

His friends, however, take longer to come around. Throughout the film, as they move through the memories, there’s a recurring thread of Piglet’s deeds getting overshadowed or the credit for his work getting stolen by someone else. And Piglet usually just accepts it. There’s a moment of “b-b-but,” but in the end he always smiles and lets his friends have their moment: He just

Design by Jennie Vang

representations of various psychological disorders. According to the study, Pooh and Tigger both had forms of ADHD, Eeyore suffered from dysthymia (depression), Owl was dyslexic and Rabbit had a form of what might be narcissistic personality disorder. Piglet, of course, was diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder.

The study was mostly done as a tongue-in-cheek thought experiment, but there is certainly truth to some of the claims. When I first learned about this in my introductory psychology class, I found myself overwhelmed by a feeling of comprehension. This was why I had always felt so connected to Piglet.

We saw the world in a similar way, and we shared some of the same anxieties.

It’s true that it’s a little strange to be so drawn to a character whose catchphrase is “Oh, d-d-dear!,” but I know that I’m not the only one.

Piglet is not flashy like Tigger, adorable like Roo or silly like Pooh. And yet there’s something so relatable about him and his fears that it makes grown adults put their hand over their heart and affectionately evoke his name. He is beloved by many, including me.

In many Winnie the Pooh stories, Piglet is overshadowed; in “Piglet’s Big Movie,” though, he finally gets a chance to shine. “Piglet’s Big Movie” follows the crew of Pooh (Jim Cummings, “Christopher Robin”), Tigger (also Cummings), Rabbit (Ken Sansom, “The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”), Eeyore (Peter Cullen, “Transformers: The Last Knight”) and Roo (Nikita Hopkins, “Pooh’s Heffalump Movie”). The group, thinking they’ve lost Piglet (John Fiedler, “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh”), start following a scrapbook of memories to give them clues as to his whereabouts and end up reminiscing on the memories themselves. It’s true that it’s riddled with plot holes (Piglet is supposedly also looking for his friends, and they somehow never run into each other at all — the Hundred Acre Wood isn’t that big, is it?), but it’s a kid’s movie that packs a more emotional punch into a short 75 minutes than most movies pack into a full runtime. Also, it has adorable, catchy songs by ’70s folk queen Carly Simon.

I watched this movie a lot as a kid, and I always loved it. In some ways, it’s a very goofy movie; my sister and I loved quoting our favorite lines at each other because some of them are so comically random and randomly comical. But the other half of the film’s emotional impact is the focus on Piglet’s anxieties and on the way that his friends neglected him. To this day, this movie makes me cry every time I watch it.

There’s a running theme throughout the movie that Piglet

wants other people to be happy. It’s not until they’re running through the stories again that they realize everything he has done for them and how they never let him know how much they love and respect him.

For me, the emotional pinnacle hits in the third act of the movie.

Pooh and co., trying to stay out of the rain, have returned to Piglet’s house, dejected. They’ve lost the scrapbook, and they’ve lost hope of finding Piglet. A poignant Carly Simon song, “The More I Look Inside,” plays as the crew laments their inability to find their friend and that they had failed to appreciate him before now.

And then everything begins to flip. They start to draw their own pictures in the style of Piglet’s scrapbook: stories of times that Piglet helped them. They draw him as a knight, an explorer, an adventurer — not someone meek and anxious, but someone bold and confident.

But in my most recent rewatch, the part that made me cry the most was when cranky, cantankerous Rabbit held up the picture he’d drawn of him and Piglet, with two beautiful, simple words: “My friend.”

At the end, when Piglet returns to his house to find all of the drawings that his friends have made for him, his eyes fill with tears. So do mine.

Because in the eyes of his friends, he isn’t small — he’s big, and brave, and bright.

All these years later, there are three main things that I learned from “Piglet’s Big Movie” that have stuck with me: 1. Don’t take your friends for granted. A true friend will do things without being asked, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t appreciate them.

2. A small act of kindness is just as generous as a large one. Taking a small part of your day to make someone’s life easier is gratifying, whether you get recognition for it or not.

3. Being anxious doesn’t mean that you can’t be brave. Being small doesn’t mean that you can’t be a hero.

When it comes to empathy, we usually talk about trying to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, trying to understand someone else’s emotional experience from their point of view. For me, “Piglet’s Big Movie” was never really about empathy, because it was already something I connected with. I saw Piglet’s anxieties and saw my own. I saw him left out by his friends and was reminded of some of my own friendships. I saw him keep trying to be seen, to love and be loved, and I related. And when I saw Piglet push through his fears to help his friends, I felt like that was something I could do too.

I could also be brave, even when it scared me.

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Arts

‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’ is shelter from the storm SWARA RAMASWAMY Daily Arts Writer

NOVEMBER 2020. COVID-19 had just booted me out of Ann Arbor and sent me home. As I finished up my first semester of college from my childhood bedroom, I felt it — the feeling I would come to label as “the storm.” It was the first time I felt my mental health truly dip, a loneliness that seeped through my entire body into my bones.

So I did what I always do when I need to put my mind elsewhere: I picked up a book. This time, it was “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V. E. Schwab.

Art has always been my medium of escapism. Whether it be books, television, movies or a trip to a museum, I have been using art to get outside my own head from a very young age. It’s why I spent the year between ages eight and nine imagining myself at Hogwarts and why now, almost 11 years later, I undertake “Harry Potter” movie marathons biannually.

It’s why I try to visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art when I come home to New York and I take a trip to the University of Michigan Museum of Art almost every Friday at school. Since my field of study is pure STEM, full of straightforward and rigid answers, I find it necessary to have an outlet for all that goes unexpressed.

I expected “Invisible Life” to take me to a new world with magic, Faustian bargains and adventure. While those elements were present, I was more shocked to find my own experiences reflected right back at me.

A 323-year-old woman cursed with eternal youth and health, unable to leave a mark on the world, and a man cursed with a year of life in which everyone sees only what they want in him.

Where do I fit in? Apparently,

everywhere.

Addie is a dreamer. In many ways she’s like Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” dreaming of adventure in the “great wide somewhere,” with a strong connection to art and a deep admiration of her father. Anyone who knows me well knows that “Beauty and the Beast” has always been my favorite fairytale, and so I was instantly drawn in. Addie’s story, how-

brought out the same emotions I felt while sitting in a theater or standing on the shore. Addie truly felt the beauty of the world, and I did too. Yet despite having access to so many beautiful experiences, Addie felt lonely in her life. And I did too. It was this empathy that I carried with me throughout the rest of the book.

Just when I thought I couldn’t relate to a character more, Henry burst onto the scene. Henry was

Design by Tamara Turner

ever, rips away that glimmering facade of the Disney princess and dives in deeper. Addie gets her wish for freedom by literally trading her soul, and from that point on, her world is turned upside down. She is unable to be wounded, fall sick or die.

But she’s also unable to leave an impression or a memory of herself. Everyone she meets forgets her; every mark she makes disappears.

“Stories are a way to preserve oneself. To be remembered.

And to forget.” Addie’s connection with books is one I related to right off the bat. Schwab’s language captured the feeling of escapism through literature perfectly. Addie deems art as necessary to her survival in her infinitely long life. Her descriptions of watching movies and seeing the sea for the first time

the second character in this novel to strike a deal with the devil, though for very different reasons and for much less time.

As a bookseller, he had that same level of admiration and understanding of good art. As a human, he had experiences that put everything I was feeling at the time into words. It was because of Henry that I labeled that period in my life as “the storm.” As Schwab put it, “It would be years before Henry learned to think of those dark times as storms, to believe that they would pass, if he could simply hold on long enough.” Henry’s bouts of rain came about due to his feelings of loneliness, those feelings of not being enough that seem to be all too common among people my age. It didn’t take much for him to start feeling that way again.

Anything could be a catalyst — a

parent’s disapproval, a professor’s admonishment, a lover’s rejection. Henry was so tired of battening down the hatches that he traded his soul to just be enough for everyone.

Henry understood too late that you can’t make people love you, and if you’re really enough for everyone, then you’re doing something wrong. People aren’t meant for everyone — all you need is to be enough for yourself. As Henry spoke about talking to his family who wouldn’t understand because they’ve “never had a day of rain,” I felt it in the pit of my stomach. I felt it because I did understand, because I was weathering my own storm.

Addie and Henry’s time together was electric for both of them. Like all good things, however, it came to an end. Each went their own way understanding the importance of life and living it on your own terms.

Both Henry and Addie left a piece of themselves with the other person, something that gave them the strength to keep going. Unbeknownst to them, they also left those pieces with me. As Addie and Henry taught me, I needed to find the beauty in life — in art — and understand that being alone is not the same as being lonely. Most of all, I had to believe with all my heart that at the end of the day, the storm always passes.

I read “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” for the second time a few days before writing this. On my second readthrough, I found myself learning just as much as I did the first time around when I was in a completely different headspace.

No matter how many times I return to this book, I think the message will always remain the same: There is no obstacle too large to overcome, and life’s wonders always make surmounting them worth it.

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 — 5

Sitting with words: poetry to inspire empathy YUMNA DAGHER

Daily Arts Contributor

POETRY HAS IMMENSE reverberating power. Verse has that ability: We keep snippets and sections of it in our minds, carry our favorite poem’s lines with us like pendants, thinking on them in our time of need.

Poetry’s elasticity, the breadth of its expressiveness given the sparseness of its text, is immeasurably powerful. Poetry can pull us from fear and ground us in our reality, but perhaps — most remarkably — allows us to sit with someone, to feel their pain, their fear, their love and the wideness of their experience.

And poetry has always been a space for embodiment. This is something audaciously intrinsic to the medium: You, the reader, are involved in poetry’s invention and intention, transfigured by the word and the chasms of the page. To me, empathy in the written word is all about this active practice of embodiment: When something is written so wholly to the nature of a thing, we get a true sense of its weight.

Empathy, after all, is not something that you are but something you do. We can all listen, we can all learn from one another — and here are three collections that will help you do just that.

“Empathy” by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge Empathy, in Mei-mei Berssenbrugge’s lauded collection “Empathy,” goes beyond human connection and asks: What does it take to become someone, something beyond human existence? Empathy not only manifests humans in understanding and solidarity but is all-encompassing — bringing forth widened images of her speaker as

a natural subject, of incorporeal feelings and sensations. In the book, we are asked to look beyond humanity, to understand what it may be like to be unexamined or animal. The poems feel more like fields of energy — Berssenbrugge so carefully created speculative worlds in lieu of poetry. By allowing us to sit in the discomfort of the world, she forces us to grapple with the subjects, and in turn, empathize with them.

“Words Under the Words”

by Naomi Shihab Nye If there is one thing celebrated Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye is known for, it’s her sensitive approach to writing: Her poems are chaste in their verbiage. Her language is plain and simple as her metaphors concerning “bread,” “mountains” and “rivers” brim with the kindness and warmth of the human spirit.

In “Words Under the Words,” Nye views the world with the utmost humanitarian spirit. In her work, every story, no matter how paltry, is one worth examining. Every person she recalls is a site of great tenderness and love. If there is one thing Nye loves, it’s the little things — what she loves more is understanding those things with the tenderness her poetry provides to the world.

The collection’s most regarded poem says it best: “Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore / only kindness that ties your shoes / and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread, / only kindness that raises its head / from the crowd of the world to say / It is I you have been looking for, / and then goes with you everywhere / like a shadow or a friend.”

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Empathy for the emotionless: Understanding OMORI SAARTHAK JOHRI Daily Arts Contributor

Content Warning: Discussions of anxiety and depression Author’s Note: Many details of the plot of “OMORI” were withheld for the sake of preserving the impact of its story. Likewise, many details of my disorders were withheld for the sake of my privacy. Everything I have discussed is material I’m comfortable publishing because I have extensively unpacked it while getting the professional help I needed in therapy. If you empathize with any of what has been discussed in this piece, I would urge you to please use whatever resources are available to you to get the help you need. Thank you for reading.

VIDEO GAMES HAVE always been an escape for me. It’s a medium I find more engaging than any other — the audiovisual stimulation of videos and music mix with an interactive story, allowing you to insert yourself into a narrative shaped by your actions. As a kid, I fell into a variety of deeply engrossing media, but video games would

remain the most immersive. In my somewhat lonely childhood — a combination of overprotective immigrant parents, a somewhat childless neighborhood on the edge of town and my cultural disconnection being a Desi student in a school of white kids — I sought these immersions as escapes from a duller and disconnected reality. Real life was where my numerous childhood fears sprouted: fear of the dark, heights, bugs, open water, the supernatural. The end result left me as a primary schooler refusing a solitary bedroom until middle school. It was at this point I found friends with similar backgrounds & interests — video games being a focal point.

The RPG “OMORI” opens with the following message upon booting up: “This game contains depictions of depression, anxiety, suicide, and may not be suitable for all audiences.” Despite this warning, at first glance the game seems like a cheery, fun-filled romp.

Wholesome hand-drawn art, pretty pixelated visuals and facetious Photoshops all mix together to create the won-

drous, dreamlike world you play through. You play as Omori, a comically stoic child as he adventures with his much-more expressive friends: hard-headed Aubrey, enthusiastic Kel and his gentle older brother, Hero. They quest to save their bashful best friend Basil, helped along from the sidelines by Omori’s older sister, Mari.

The characters’ expressiveness is an extension of the game itself, the main fights operating on a rock-paper-scissors system of the emotions of characters and enemies: happy beats angry, angry beats sad, sad beats happy. Omori can be manipulated by the player to emotional depths that his friends cannot reach, giving him the potential to be more powerful or more vulnerable than any of his other friends. Together, they fight and befriend the most colorful of characters. Omori’s friends are the most engaging, the game’s length giving you a wealth of adorable interactions that flesh out how much they care for each other. There is never a still moment in the game, with cutscenes, sprites, backgrounds, battles and characters in con-

stant animation. The frame-byframe differences breathe life into the game, as change is a vital part of life. It’s that truth — and the truth of Omori’s story — that shatters your heart and shatters the leftover shards, leaving your friends to pick up the pieces but ultimately leaving you to put yourself back together.

I spent much of my secondary education entangled in my emotions. Throughout middle school I’d find myself kept up at night due to paranoia leftover from my childhood. Thankfully, they’d transition from irrational phobias to elevated anxieties about going into high school and my future. This stress built in high school as I took on workloads so heavy I had to constantly isolate myself from friends — both new and old — to manage it all. The consequences of those couple years would manifest in the spring of my sophomore year, when I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that flares up with stress.

I had to conquer my anxiety to put my disease into submission, and I couldn’t rely on the

aid of anti-anxiety medication that could potentially disturb the bodily homeostasis treating Crohn’s needs — though I will emphasize that this was a personal choice on the behalf of my family and myself and that everyone is impacted by and treats Crohn’s differently.

In meditation, in safe spaces, in detachment, in deep-breathing techniques, in every coping mechanism I could muster, I fought my fears and won time after time. But in that work was a wish I had since my childhood panics — a wish to stop feeling altogether. My wish was granted when I started experiencing depressive episodes after my Crohn’s diagnosis.

Little things seem off at the start of “OMORI”: an ominous shadow lurking in the distance, a distressing opening cutscene with the repeating assurance that everything is going to be okay, sketches colored by voidwhite, ink-black and blood-red.

The player learns that Omori’s fantastical world is actually a fantasy — a dreamworld concocted by the true protagonist Sunny, Omori’s teenage counterpart. Sunny has been living

as a hikikomori, a Japanese term for social recluse and Omori’s etymological origin, from childhood into adolescence following a traumatic experience, escaping into his dreamworld whenever possible.

His childhood friends have been damaged by both this same trauma and Sunny’s abandonment of them. Mari is gone, Kel smiles through the pain, Aubrey lashes out at her former friends and Hero struggles with overwhelming sadness. Basil is a nervous wreck always on the verge of panic attacks, and all five friends suffer in Mari’s absence. Sunny feels it the most, no longer having his older sister to protect him from his fears and the truth of his trauma, a truth that only Basil knows. Sunny and Omori are forced through terrifying sequences characterized by horrifying hand-drawn art, unnerving pixelated visuals and eerie Photoshops. More than that, however, Sunny has to confront the new people his friends have become and the truth of what split them apart.

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This was supposed to be a piece about ‘Life is Strange: True Colors’ M. DEITZ

Senior Arts Editor

Content Warning: This piece includes allusions to antiLGBTQ+ legislation, suicide and the invasion of Ukraine.

Also, spoilers for “Life is Strange: True Colors.”

I HAD PLANNED for this article to be about the video game “Life is Strange: True Colors.” Released in September 2021, “True Colors” centers on Alex Chen, a latchkey kid who’s re-entering society after finally learning to control her superpowers. Alex is an empath — seriously, she can read other people’s emotions and hear their thoughts. Kinda a neat, if useless superpower, right? Except, Alex can also get overwhelmed by powerful

emotions; for example, growing enraged or depressed when someone around her does.

What’s brilliant — and terrifying — about Alex’s power is that it doesn’t feel fictional: Everyone claims to be an empath, after all. And being an empath in our modern world is simply exhausting.

It’s hard to talk about these imaginary exploits of Alex within the fictitious town of Haven, Colo. when in reality, Florida has made it dangerous to say the word gay.

Queer folk around the country became targets the moment Florida’s House of Representatives passed a law to keep schools from talking about LGBTQIA+ topics within the classroom. In a time when children are presented with more information than ever

to help them answer difficult questions of identity and sexuality, the classroom has been turned into a warzone. Parents screech that they are “protecting their children,” that “the gay agenda must be stopped” as if education and compassion turn you queer. School, the one place that may have been a safe haven for students with these identities who have unsupportive parents or dangerous living situations, is now off limits.

Where can these kids go but back into the closet? Because the world shows every sign that it does not love them, that they are an aberration.

A mistake. Who they are and who they love does not matter to the Republican Party of Florida. How can you be for the children when, accord-

ing to The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 13 and 24 will attempt suicide every 45 seconds?

fury, hopelessness and fear that these children all felt, and that’s without Alex’s empathy superpower.

Design by Tamara Turner

Everyone outside of the Sunshine State with a heart immediately understood the panic,

My original article was going to say that “True Colors” makes it clear that Alex

Chen has not had an easy life: Her mother died of cancer, her father abandoned her and her brother Gabe and not long after, Gabe got sent to juvie which separating them for good. Alex was shuff led around the foster care system; her powers made her too volatile to stay with one family or group home for too long. One heartbreaking scene forces Alex to relive these moments, her tele-empathy allowing her to hear every judgmental thought from the rotating gallery of people who make up her teenage years. Alex has seen the absolute worst in people, and yet she still wants to live a happy life and use her powers to help others.

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6 — Wednesday, March 16, 2022

STATEMENT

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

What

Fanfiction

taught me that English classes couldn’t Design by Priya Ganji Page Design by Sarah Chung

DRAKE GEORGE

Statement Correspondent

The first anime that I had ever seen was “Naruto,” probably the most popular and entry-level anime that you could watch. At the time, 8-year-old me obviously did not know this, and was completely enraptured by what I was seeing.

Characters were flying across the screen, hurling knives and throwing stars at each other before prepping to pelt their opponents with a fireball. These attempts would, of course, be blocked by a huge wall of sand that was being manipulated by one of the ninjas. I was put into a trance watching the fighting unfold; it was the first time I had ever been immediately engaged in a television series. This first encounter with anime was the beginning of a long rabbit hole, ending with a diehard adolescent obsession. After “Naruto,” I then started watching more lighthearted shows like “Fruits Basket” and darker shows that would scare the hell out of me like “Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.”

Soon enough, all of my favorite shows were finished with no plans for further seasons — but I wanted more. The search for more fulfilling anime content commenced, and surprisingly, I did not have to look far. I stumbled across a website called Fanfiction.net that was full of stories to be read, some of them acting as prequels to these TV series, some of them epilogues and some of them different stories entirely.

It was on this website that I

was introduced to an entirely new world of nerdy, oftentimes underrepresented people, writing stories in the worlds of some of my favorite books and shows. You had countless “Harry Potter” stories (633k of them), even stories about “Spongebob Squarepants” (2.1k).

But, the one that really stuck with me was a story called “The Next Type Of Motion” which was a prequel to the “Naruto” series. I read it when I was about 12 years old and still trying on identities, seeing which fit best.

There are 80,679 words in that story, and I read every single one in a single night. It was 4 a.m. by the time I had stopped reading, exhausted but enthralled. The story was discontinued at Chapter 16, right when the two primary characters were sharing one of their first kisses.

I couldn’t help but cry not because it was over, but because it felt like I was reading about myself on the page. Never before had I read a story featuring such a wholesome and passionate queer friendship-turnedromance — it filled my young heart with hope that who I currently was, and who I was becoming, was okay.

It wasn’t until I brought my fanfiction devotion up at my elementary school that I realized my classmates did not feel the same.

Furrowed brows were pointed in my direction at the mention of reading a fanfiction about an anime.

My classmates would say things like, “That’s gross! Fanfiction is filled with porn and tentacles and pedos, I can’t believe you would read

something like that.”

And, upon some personal research, I learned that my peers were not alone in these very harsh judgments against the medium.

In 2016, Vox journalist Constance Grady wrote an article called “Why We’re Terrified of Fanfiction”, speaking on some people’s distaste for fandom — an umbrella term encompassing all “cults” of people with self-proclaimed obsessions over TV shows, video games, etc.

The article details fears of mob mentality and cults being formed around such niche topics as “Heaven’s Gate”. But there are other, more misogynistic reasons for fandom being so stigmatized.

Research suggests that shame surrounding fandom culture is gendered, with male-dominated fandoms like sports being widely accepted and female-dominated fandoms — think: boy band obsessions — facing more societal ridicule. While there have been efforts to create more equitable space in fandom for women, there is still resistance to it. Therefore, female-driven fandom is labeled as lesser, gross, futile.

For a while, I was convinced by my classmates’ disgust for fandom and turned away from fandom for fear of being bullied or perceived as “weird.” My interests throughout high school and the beginning of college were still weird, but less culturally ridiculed than fanfiction.

I would watch “Adventure Time” with my friends, but I would not bring up the very niche anime that it

reminded me of.

It wasn’t until I got on TikTok in 2020 that I was thrown back into the fantastical world of fandom — and it happened by chance. I was creating a series of TikToks that asked people to “make the comment section look like ___”. For example, I made one that was: “Make the comment section look like middle schoolers pretending to be drunk to their friends over text.” From what I could gauge, people really seemed to enjoy it. The video currently has 471,100 views and 67,800 likes.

It was such a nice feeling to have a sense of community, even if it was for a brief, virtual moment. I kept making more of these videos, and decided to dive in and embrace my interest in fanfiction. If it flopped, it flopped, right? I made another Tik Tok that challenged my viewers to: “Make the comment section look like a Wattpad fanfiction.”

I thought the video was funny but I didn’t expect it to go viral.

My phone started blowing up in my pocket and I couldn’t help but watch in awe as my followers went from one thousand, to four thousand, to ten thousand. It felt like every moment I wasn’t looking at my phone, I was missing out on hundreds of people reaching out to me via my comment section with funny quips and phrases. The feeling of being watched by thousands, sometimes even millions, of individuals is euphoric and thrilling.

Swarms of comments mused at how resilient fanfiction authors were, and oftentimes how it inspired them

to get back into writing.

In an instant, I felt like I was a child again, taking part in something bigger than myself. Something only fanfiction devotees could dream up.

Once I realized that a lot of people could relate to my fandom interests, my fanfiction videos exploded. I started making content about crazy author’s notes that writers would add into their stories, or strange stories written about Ben Shapiro.

I was having a fun time, but more importantly, I was starting to see how many other people my age had been positively impacted by reading fanfiction.

The little thoughts in my head about representation in the media were suddenly right in front of me, represented by thousands of other individuals on Tik Tok. It felt validating to know that there were so many others like me on the internet.

Comments would flow in talking about how fanfiction helped people come out as asexual, transgender, pansexual. The commenters talked about how fanfictions about queer characters in the “Dr Who” universe helped them feel like they could be queer, too. Other accounts spoke about learning English through fanfiction, and feeling the freedom to write in a style that they wanted because of fanfiction. There is a whole thread on Fanfiction.net with people discussing how difficult but gratifying it is to be able to write as non-native English speakers.

In that moment, all of the stigmatization I internalized as a child started to melt away because

I agreed with the fanfiction community. Fanfiction contains the diversity in themes and characters that often what universities categorize as ‘actual’ literature does not.

I remember in my sophomore year I took my Upper Level Writing Requirement, and initially was very excited to start the class. Writing at that point had been a hobby, and this was an opportunity to get feedback on it in an intensive way. My enthusiasm was quickly extinguished when I received my paper back and discovered I had earned a C-. In office hours, I expressed my worry about this grade, and what I was met with was a critique that my paper was ‘childish.’

While this paper was not fanfiction, apparently the vocabulary and structure were reminiscent of it: According to my professor, I was an “amateur writer” who needed to make drastic changes to my style if I wanted to write “correct” academic papers.

Needless to say, I did not get good grades on future papers in that class thanks to my stubborn nature. *** In January of 2022, I became mutuals with a creator named Berklie (@icaruspendragon on TikTok). Posting content from faking her death via fanfiction to being a master of the Omegaverse, Berklie’s content is hysterically awesome and incredibly informative.

Film photos:

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An ode to the art or just for aesthetics?

Design by Amanda Cheug // Page Design by Sarah Chung

KAVYA UPPALAPATI Statement Columnist

I can’t seem to scroll through Instagram without seeing at least one digital remake of a film photo taken on a disposable camera. The distinctly grainy, slightly blue tint is a constant visual on my social media feeds. These photos’ popularity would seem to indicate that they are of a superior photographic caliber.

But, in reality, they are by no means high-quality photos. Often in these photos, some subjects are washed out while others appear as shadows.

The photos can be blurry; teeth can be discolored; eyes appear as red beads.

However, despite these intrinsic flaws, the recent trend in using disposable cameras doesn’t seem to be going anywhere — at least not anytime soon. They invoke a sense of nostalgia, letting us romanticize moments that happened mere days prior to the film’s development.

They are a romanticization of a common photo-taking practice from earlier generations.

For decades, people have publicly idealized “vintage” time periods, claiming that life was much simpler “way back when.” Disposable

cameras and film photos are tangible extensions of this mindset. When we see film photos, we are reminded of those our parents showed us from their twenties: photos from college, weddings, vacations, baby showers.

Film photos — which were previously necessities to document such momentous events — are now luxuries for us to capture our favorite fleeting moments, despite their relatively hefty monetary expense to users. The Fujifilm and Kodak disposable cameras, two of the most popular types, store 27 photos. And, with each picture taken, there is a set amount of money lost (about $22 per camera and $0.50 to develop each shot). Despite the steep costs of film photography today, disposable film cameras were a cheap method of photo-taking throughout the late 20th century. Alternatives such as digital point-and-shoot cameras were substantially more expensive.

With the rise of digital cameras, during the mid-1990s, people no longer needed to assign a price to each photograph they took. With a simple SD card, we were given access to a seemingly infinite number of potential photos. For the first time in the history of photography, there was no marginal cost associated

with taking one more photo. Thus, photo-taking became a completely viable opportunity for the typical middle-class family looking to take photos to document their travels and holidays.

But, others believe that the change from film to digital indicated a degradation — or entire elimination — of the artistry behind photography. With digital cameras, there is no more impulse to savor each opportunity to take a photo nor a preoccupation with saving spots on your camera for potential shots. By rapidly clicking a button, someone can take the exact same picture of a sunset at slightly different angles.

Without the feeling of finiteness, there is no motive to appreciate each opportunity to take a photo.

So with the emergence of a social media fad featuring film photos, perhaps we like the limitation of film once again — the pressure to only take a limited number of photos —… or do we?

Popular photo apps such as Dispo and Huji Cam attempt to satisfy our taste for film photography by mimicking its process. The apps enable users to take pictures on their cellphones, wait one day (as though the photos are actually

developing) and receive digital photos that appear to have been taken on film. Though they look quite different from authentic film photos, the apps have thousands of reviews on the Apple App Store.

Many of the positive reviews relate to the “vintage” feel of the photos, while many of the negative reviews pertain to bugs within the software.

Most notable is people’s photos being deleted from the applications — an issue that doesn’t arise with the physical film photos.

Nevertheless, the apps are tapping into a thankful demographic, offering a cheaper alternative to disposable cameras while providing the same aesthetic as the original medium. Disposable camera users channel their will to wait despite their accessibility to other, instant options for photo-taking.

Just a few years ago, Fujifilm Instax cameras made a revival as modern Polaroid-esque cameras.

In 2016, Fuji sold more than 3.5 times as many Instax cameras as digital cameras. Evidently, there has been a trend moving toward analog photography.

However, the Instax buzz was quickly diminished following the uptake of disposable cameras. Thus,

photography trends are constantly evolving, an evolution that is everchanging in medium and preference thanks to social media. Whatever photography trends occur outside of the digital sphere — such as that of the disposable film cameras — are still shaped by the digital world, in the form of social media.

I think film and Polaroid photos derive their beauty from their physicality. People can hold these tangible photos, hang them up as decor or tuck them away as precious memories in their home’s sacred places. And, at face value, the photos’ physical component is the biggest difference between them and their digital counterparts. Yet people feel the need to digitize the physical photos and publicize them for their social media followers. In doing this, users seek to replicate the feelings of nostalgia and simplicity that we often associate with film photos and polaroids.

Some say that disposable cameras enable them to spontaneously take pictures whenever they are out or with friends. But, practically speaking, isn’t it much more spontaneous to bring out your cellphone — something that is on you at all times — rather than bringing a

clunky piece of plastic, rolling the film and then taking the photo?

Some also claim that they appreciate the anticipation of waiting for a photo. As Gen Zers, we have grown up in a digital world. At the click of a button we have access to the World Wide Web, enabling us to connect with whomever, research an infinite amount of topics and use virtually any software tool we want. Sometimes it is nice to take a step back and revel in the beauty of anticipation.

With this I can’t help but lean into my cynicism and conclude that Gen Zers have taken to film photography not for wholesome purposes of “savoring the moment” or relishing in anticipation as our older relatives once did. Simply put: We are reverting to this medium simply for aesthetic purposes. It looks cool in real life and, even better, it looks cool on Instagram.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking photos just for the aesthetic. When we trivialize photography by labeling certain photos as art and others as silly social media posts, we are no

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STATEMENT

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 — 7

Winter coats, rent payments and other thoughts from a First Gen student Design by Reid Graham // Page Design by Sarah Chung

MACKENZIE HUBBARD Statement Columnist

In my adult life, the only time I ever asked my parents for money was when I needed to buy a winter coat.

I was a freshman in college at the time, attending Emerson College, a private school in Boston. I’d lived in northern Michigan my whole life, and I was sick of all of it — the weather, the people, the idea of staying close to my family. So I got out. Ran as far away as I could. And that meant running halfway across the country to a school I knew I couldn’t pay for but chose to go to anyway.

I underestimated the biting cold of fall and winter on the East Coast.

Somehow I had gone all of high school and much of middle school without a winter coat. My reasoning was simple — the only time I needed one was to walk from my car into school. Besides, I had three younger sisters who were not nearly as practical nor frugal as me, insisting that they needed a new winter coat every year. So, I resigned myself to hand-me-down fabric coats from my aunts.

But then freshman year of college came around and suddenly I was walking upward of two miles a day in Massachusetts. I realized a flimsy fabric coat simply wasn’t

going to cut it. I knew nor’easters were a big part of the coast’s meteorological makeup, and I knew I’d need something warmer to walk to class in if something like that happened.

And sure, half the people I knew were walking around in Michael Kors coats, or sporting a Tommy Hilfiger jacket, but those were the same people who lamented about how the financial aid at the school just wasn’t enough. They were the same people who already had student debt simply because a private school on an urban campus is exorbitantly expensive for anyone. There was an openness, and a sense of camaraderie, in that we all understood the price tag of the school was nothing to scoff at.

I sent my parents a text, the request for a new coat veiled through laments about how cold it was and how different East Coast winter was to “Michigan cold.” But they didn’t catch the hint. Or maybe they purposely ignored it. Either way, I finally came out and asked them if they could pay for a winter coat. I’d go to Primark — before I knew what a disastrous company it was — and get something for cheap.

The Macy’s in Downtown Crossing was also having a sale. Or I’d find something discounted at Marshalls.

Their response was a resounding ‘no.’

*** At Emerson, I worked in the registrar’s office. I knew the amount of money some of the students at that school were dealing with. But I also witnessed the pain firsthand when I had to file withdrawal forms from students explaining that they just couldn’t keep up with tuition. On average, private colleges can cost upward of $40,000 per academic year, while public schools can range from $10,000 for in-state students and $20,000 for out-ofstate students. Scholarships and financial aid could only go so far when a year of Emerson’s tuition alone was nearly as much as my father made in an entire year.

I transferred to the University of Michigan specifically for their financial aid program. I knew my parents wouldn’t help me pay for tuition and I needed a school I could pay for myself, or receive enough financial aid to survive off of. I figured that a school like the University would be different somehow. After all, I personally receive the “Go-Blue Guarantee” and know many other students who receive substantial financial assistance.

I should feel like I belong, right?

I can’t pinpoint exactly when I noticed this subtle isolation, but it became more apparent after a conversation I had with a friend

Design by Kate Shen // Page Design by Sarah Chung

Behind the packaging: Unraveling ‘cruelty free’ CAITLIN LYNCH

Statement Correspondent Content warning: Descriptions of animal abuse.

When I was in middle school, my favorite hangout spot was the skincare aisle of CVS. The perfect weekend destination was a one-to-two-hour trip with my best friend spent poring over rows of brightly colored face washes, acne creams and animalshaped face masks. As a 13-year-old with an ExtraCare card, I felt like royalty as I sauntered inside. It was my version of a candy store: an aislelong, gray-carpeted heaven under fluorescent lights.

I was in an unfortunate stage of my skincare journey where I thought that if I just found the right beautifullypackaged product, all my blemishes would disappear. This belief led me to switch skincare products about once a month, which did not end up helping. I had a brief and illfated relationship with the classic Neutrogena Grapefruit Cleanser, as well as many other similar encounters with products that I initially had high hopes for.

Years before, I had an obsession with Lip Smacker lip balms. I was mesmerized by the shiny packaging and delicious saccharine, slightly plastic-y taste of their Sprite- and Coca-Cola-flavored balms. And right before that, I recognized my older sister’s Baby Lips lip balm, with its

label written in messy, neon font, as the epitome of coolness.

Toward the end of middle school, however, I learned that some of the products I used were tested on animals and became aware of crueltyfree products. After watching a slew of YouTube videos and Netflix documentaries about the horrors of animal testing, the nostalgic products of my childhood were now marked by the cruel treatment inflicted on animals before the products reached the shelves.

In accordance with the Humane Society International’s definition, animal testing is the use of living animals for research purposes, which includes testing the safety of cosmetics. Methods of animal testing include long periods of physical restraint, force-feeding of chemicals to animals and dripping of corrosive chemicals into their eyes. These conditions and practices cause some animals to develop neurotic behaviors such as harming themselves or incessantly spinning in circles. Most animals are killed when they are done being used for experiments, and others are “re-used” for future experiments.

I was horrified to learn this, especially as a consumer who was so enthralled by the bright and happy advertising that characterizes so many beauty brands. It contrasts so sharply from the realities of how the products are made. After learning about this cruelty, I made a pact with

myself to stop buying cosmetics that were tested on animals.

I soon learned that, unfortunately, breaking down what is and isn’t “cruelty-free” yields a dizzying web of contradictions that makes it extremely difficult for consumers to know if what they are buying was actually tested on animals. Because there is no legal definition for the term, cosmetic companies’ use of the term is unrestricted. Brands take advantage of a linguistic loophole: a company may label a finished product as not tested on animals, but “rely on raw material suppliers or contract laboratories” to conduct the animal testing instead.

Attempting to shop cruelty-free is further complicated by the fact that some companies advertise as though they do not test on animals, but sell in countries where animal testing is required. Aveeno, for example, states on its website that “the fact is, AVEENO® doesn’t conduct animal testing of our cosmetic products anywhere in the world, except in the rare situation where governments or laws require it.” The “rare situation” described in this statement and in those of various other brands often refers to animal testing requirements in mainland China. With China making up the second-largest market for cosmetics, fragrances and personal-care products in the world,

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during my sophomore year. I described my feelings of impostor syndrome and how I feared that the University only accepted me because I filled a quota and not for my academic merit. I theorized that they need to accept some students from the lowest income bracket to show that they do, in fact, have a great financial aid system. They needed enough charity cases so that they could blast their “Free Tuition” ad on every Youtube and Facebook page, talking about how they give students opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.

My friend laughed and said to me, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Taken aback by the response, suddenly I was watching everything I did and said about my financial status around anyone. And, I was watching others. I watched my roommate buy a week’s worth of groceries on her mom’s credit card.

I watched someone buy two pairs of Lululemon leggings without calling her parents before swiping their bank card. I watched a friend leave a tip at a restaurant with their dad’s money.

The markers of wealth are subtler in Ann Arbor than in Boston. I don’t regularly see people walking down the street in Gucci sweaters here, but I do see people sporting Canada Goose everywhere I turn.

People don’t pop across the city for

cannolis and genuine Italian coffee during their lunch break, but they get oat milk and cold foam and an extra shot of espresso in their daily Starbucks drinks.

And no one talks about financial aid.

When it’s the middle of December and I’m waiting for my next semester’s aid to be processed so I can pay rent, I don’t hear anyone else mention how their reimbursement checks are late. I realized, at some point, many U-M students were not paying their own rent, including most of my friends — their parents were. Meanwhile, I learned how to sign a lease by myself, remembering to pay rent on the first of every month. I hunted for and secured an apartment in the hellscape that is the Ann Arbor rental pool while my friends had parents who were willing to help them find housing and pay for it outright.

When I walk out of Ulrich’s in tears because of the amount textbooks put me back, most of my friends don’t empathize. Their parents had paid for all their books, while I was hoping I had enough leftover aid money to pay for mine.

I worked 12 hours a week on top of classes and extracurriculars, learning that many of my friends had never worked a job in their life.

Here, the discrepancies are small

and almost invisible. And I can’t help but think that’s on purpose. *** Once, I found myself crying in the storage room of the office I work at because I couldn’t get more hours and, thus, couldn’t pay for grad school applications. Asking my parents for a penny wasn’t even a thought. My education has always been and will forever be my responsibility, on both a personal and financial level, because my family simply doesn’t have the resources to support me.

My dad crafts metal parts for a living. When I first started filling out undergraduate applications, there was a section concerning your parents’ professions. I was 17 years old and I didn’t know what my father did when he went to work, other than that he made these mysterious parts. My mom said to write ‘machinist,’ so I did.

He has worked the same job his whole adult life. Neither he nor my mother went on to college, his pay supporting a family of six.

Essentially, that puts us firmly within the poverty line. Like my grandparents before us. And their parents before them. Turtles all the way down, or whatever the phrase is.

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8 — Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Michigan in Color

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Yellow Peril revisited: Exposing sinophobia in everyday America Content Warning: mentions of racially motivated crimes against Asian people, sexual violence Bright Sheng, a University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance professor, temporarily stepped down from teaching after he played the 1965 version of “Othello,” in which the actor Laurence Olivier wore Blackface, with-

as Sheng himself ) cited his survival of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, comparing the wave of campus “cancel culture” to a decade-long sociopolitical movement that resulted in the deaths, suicides and everlasting trauma that haunts generations. This was not the first time the Cultural Revolution has been exploited by mainstream American media as of recent years. In a viral video from June 2021, Xi Van Fleet, a Chinese woman “who survived Maoist purges,” stands before a Virginia school board

out an advance content warning. While students expressed rightful concerns regarding Sheng’s normalization of racism in what they had perceived to be a safe space, outlets and spokespeople rushed to Sheng’s defense. They (as well

and dubs the introduction of anti-racist pedagogies (in her words, “Critical Race Theory”) as “the American version of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.” After her brief speech, the predominantly white hall bursts into cheers and applause.

LOLA YANG

MiC Columnist

Design by Christine Zeng

Fleet was later interviewed on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” and the speech was propagated by conservative media and viewed by millions.

The Cultural Revolution was a failed movement launched to reassert Mao’s political control over the Chinese Communist Party, which is vastly incomparable to progressives’ attempts today to advocate for a more inclusive, accurate curriculum for American history. Nevertheless, these comparisons reveal, more importantly, the inadequacies of a U.S./Euro-centric history and its deeply ingrained anti-China biases. In these rhetorics, Chinese suffering is trivialized, tokenized and exploited to defend American exceptionalism. As Fleet opened up about her childhood in 1960s China, her voice relegated the spectacle of violence and death to a distant, timeless “orient.” As scholar Yang Yang Cheng wrote in her column, The Grieving and the Grievable, “The safety of distance maintains (the American audiences’) innocence. When they feel genuine sorrow or outrage for the (Chinese victims of political oppression), the emotional response absolves them of further obligations or the need for self-reflection.” Gasping and pointing at these horrific histories, white Americans bask in their own freedom and liberties while sitting on land stolen from Indigenous communities, cultivated by Black people.

The propagation of sinophobia isn’t exclusive to conservative spaces. Many Americans fail to understand that sinophobia is not limited to blatantly racist remarks or acts of violence against East/ Southeast Asian Americans and Chinese people. More commonly, it manifests itself through a socially constructed ignorance about China and Chinese people, reproduced by all segments of society.

The Page Act of 1875 prohibited immigrants from “China, Japan, or any Oriental country” from entering the United States for “immoral purposes.”

This act targeted specifically Chinese women, who were widely profiled as “prostitutes” and considered “lewd and debauched.” Rhetorics that depict East and Southeast Asian women (or any woman who racially presents as “Chinese”) as provocative yet submissive persisted through the 20th Century.

As the United States established military bases in South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan (namely Okinawa) and other Asian countries, women from poverty-stricken and war-ridden families were forced into sex work to serve the sexual needs of occupying American troops. U.S.-led military violence in Asia thus contributed to the fetishization and hypersexualization of East/Southeast Asian women within the United States, rendering their bodies subjects of white male gaze, sexual violence and mockery.

The ways in which Asians in the United States are racialized are inseparable from American foreign policy, and during a time when politicians are advocating for increasingly aggressive policies towards China, East/Southeast Asian Americans are targeted as a result of rhetoric that instigates violence.

Mainstream “liberal” media is also responsible for perpetuating the racial paranoia surrounding East/Southeast Asian Americans and Chinese people in the United States. Reporting on China is often over-politicized to serve a sinophobic political agenda, rather than depicting Chinese society in a nuanced manner. The coverage of the recent Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics by Western media outlets exemplifies such prejudiced reporting. Eileen Gu is a Chinese American athlete who has been called

an ungrateful traitor to her country for representing China in the Winter Olympics. Despite the at least 15 other American athletes who represented non-U.S. countries for the Winter Olympics, Gu was the only one who endured intense scrutiny for her decision. Tucker Carlson commented on Gu’s action, saying “young people do dumb things” and called for a “collective revulsion” of her choice to compete for China. The Economist published an article about Gu titled “Cold Warrior,” paired with a now-deleted graphic of chopsticks lifting the skier into the air.

In addition, Western media has also rushed to draw attention away from the game and hyperfocus on political issues, specifically regarding the mass detention and cultural genocide of Uyghurs.

While some activists expressed rightful concerns, most critics attempted to frame this issue of political repression as uniquely Chinese. Uyghur suffering thus becomes a spectacle for Americans to decry oppression in non-Western countries as they dismiss the human rights violations committed by the United States and its allies. Furthermore, those who call for political intervention by the United States must interrogate the sense of American exceptionalism that belies their demand. “The leader of the free world” is not free from its own problems — rather, Americans ought to ask themselves what they can do for the marginalized people in their own community before redirecting their unwanted saviorism toward other parts of the globe.

Supporting these media narratives contribute to anti-China biases (which extend beyond people of Chinese origin) that will ultimately harm East/Southeast Asian people in America.

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The bursting of my Chicano bubble IRVING PEÑA MiC Columnist

Growing up, I never really understood how unorthodox my life was until my freshman year at the University of Michigan. To me, I had a pretty good life throughout my childhood. I was raised in a comfortable home with my parents and four siblings and I had an amazing group of friends. Most importantly, I excelled in school and I was often praised by my peers for being one of the most hardworking students in our grade. In my opinion, growing up was easy. But reflecting on my upbringing now, I realize that the only reason it was so easy for me to exceed all academic expectations was because I grew up in a community where the bar was so low. I’ve also come to realize that my community growing up was and remains so far removed from the United States at large.

I grew up in the Eastern Sunrise Manor neighborhood of Las Vegas. Vegas natives call it the East Side. Among the entire Las Vegas valley, my side of town ranks the lowest in high school graduation rates and highest in dropout rates.

Only 11% of people residing in the East Side have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

In addition to poor education, the East Side has a crime rate that is 191% higher than the national average, making it the most dangerous area in the Valley.

The East Side is demographically composed of mostly Black and Hispanic populations. In my high school, about

three-fourths of the students were Black and/or Hispanic. Many students’ parents only spoke Spanish, including mine, which made it infinitely easier for different Hispanic families to form meaningful relationships with one another. Although the East Side wasn’t the safest or academically the best, the racially homogenous communities made it easy for many families to see past the reality that their neighborhoods needed a lot of fixing.

Typically, when seniors graduate from my high school, they stay in Vegas and go to a community college or the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. If they want to leave home, most usually travel to Northern Nevada and go to the University of Nevada, Reno. In my senior year, only a handful of students went out of state. And when they did, it was mostly to neighboring states like Arizona or Utah. When I received my admission to the University of Michigan, everyone was so proud of me. Not only did people recognize that the University was quite prestigious, but much more deeply, it was a recognition of the fact that few, if any, had ever traveled so far away from home for college. My school’s seemingly underachieving academic status paired with my peers’ disinterest in leaving the community they had grown so fond of had rendered moving somewhere so far impractical.

In my acceptance email, I was made aware that I would need to start my collegiate studies in the middle of the summer as a participant in the Comprehensive Studies Program (CSP). Though the summer of my senior year was cut short, I

couldn’t wait to arrive in Ann Arbor and explore the new place I would call home for the next four years. After all, prior to the CSP summer program, I had never been to Ann Arbor, and my only impression of the city was derived from nights spent binging YouTube campus tours.

Though I was never really given an explicit reason as to why I was selected to participate in the CSP summer program, I could tell it was most likely due to my first-generation and low socioeconomic status, as well as my underperforming high school. Many of my peers in CSP

gram and am forever grateful for having been selected as a participant.

As expected, Ann Arbor was extremely quiet during the summer and, to be honest, I loved it. The empty campus allowed my newfound friends and me to explore Ann Arbor in all of its beauty. I would often find myself taking random walks throughout the summer semester trying to take in as much of the city as possible.

We all expected that, come fall semester, what we knew as tranquil Ann Arbor would become a buzzing city full of students rushing to classes.

Design by Zoe Zhang

also had similar experiences which only brought us closer through our shared struggles. Nonetheless, I met some of my closest friends through that summer pro-

After the CSP summer program ended and right before the fall term began, I was invited to attend a four-day welcome program for Latinx students called ALMA

in Brooklyn, Mich. During ALMA, I had the chance to meet and bond with Latinx peers with whom I was easily able to resonate. ALMA made me feel like I was still back home in East Las Vegas.

During ALMA, we were randomly placed into groups of 12 that we referred to as our familias. One night during ALMA, my familia and I sat in pitch darkness and told the stories of our rough upbringings.

Though it was difficult for some of us to recall the memories in which we felt our lowest, we eventually bonded over the fact we were financially and academically disadvantaged compared to the rest of the nation. Regardless, we were all proud as hell of our Latinx heritage. We also heard from speakers who reminded us that Latinx people made up a minority of students on campus. In fact, in the United States, approximately one in five college students identifies as Latinx.

This was entirely new to me. After all, I grew up in a predominantly Black and brown neighborhood, I participated in the CSP summer program that was full of students just like me and at ALMA, I was surrounded by solely Latinx students that reminded me so much of home.

As ALMA came to an end, my peers and I realized that it was finally time to make our way to Ann Arbor. We expected the campus to be roaring with exhilaration as other students began to move into their dorms. What we failed to expect was how overwhelmingly white the University was.

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Finding my way back to my first love UDOKA NWANSI MiC Columnist

When I came to college, I made it a point to bring along my digital camera in hopes of creating my best work yet. I have been practicing photography since the very beginning of high school and I have yet to find another artistic outlet that better amplifies my voice and speaks to my creative soul.

After spending years in art classes, I fell in love with the process — f leshing out the story I wanted to tell, finding underground spots around Chicago to shoot, dressing my friends up to fit the narrative I was building and editing my photos in Photoshop and Lightroom after the shoot. There was nothing better than watching a concept in my head come to fruition. I planned to carry this passion with me throughout college, but this plan was quickly shot down by the expectations of my course load. I felt as if I couldn’t do much of anything outside of schoolwork; the days seemed to blend into each other and life had felt so monotonous.

Hours on the weekend that used to be dedicated to playing around with Photoshop turned into more time spent scrolling through Canvas and submitting assignments for the f leeting gratification from a burst of confetti

on my computer screen. I watched my trusty Canon Rebel T6 collect dust on my dad’s bookshelf, then later on the desk in my dorm room.

When summer came around, I brought my camera home, promising myself that I would carve out time to take more photos. My two jobs and familial obligations were the fingers crossed behind my back. I quickly got busy bouncing between a virtual fellowship and working at my local mall.

My mom once asked to see some of my recent work and to cover up my feelings of inadequacy, I brushed her off, claiming that I was simply too busy to go through the process of coordinating a photoshoot. The best I could show her were a few underexposed Polaroids and some snapshots I took for my friends’ Instagram profiles on my phone. My camera lens watched me as I continued to ignore its presence on my dresser throughout the summer. Was I too busy to go out and take pictures, or was it out of fear that I had lost my ability to create something great? The former proved to be true to an extent, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I no longer had any inspiration to create anything new.

It wasn’t until the very end of the Fall 2021 term that I realized how much I really missed photography.

I got the chance to go out and take

pictures of my friends on my camera, and I was surprised to see that I had taken a few shots that I really liked. It surely wasn’t my best work to date, but after over a year away from my camera, it was a step in the right direction. Constantly having to grind through school work without any sort of creative outlet is greuling. Just as I was on the brink of burnout, I realized that I needed to find my way back to my favorite hobby. My mom had been right — I wasn’t going to ever have the time to take pictures unless I made it.

This also meant I had to swallow my fears of creating mediocre art. Progress, especially in the arts, isn’t always linear. What was most important was that I would be doing an activity that I loved, which is something that I lost sight of for a while as I became bogged down by my school schedule. I had to pick up my camera again with confidence and trust that the greatness would return in due time.

By February, I was taking pictures again for SHEI Magazine. The very first shoot I did with them felt like a breath of fresh air. Holding the camera was akin to an embrace from an old friend and hearing the sound of the shutter was like listening to a favorite song that I haven’t heard in years. I was finally reunited with my love for taking photos. We were able

to shoot in a local grocery store, and it filled my heart to be able to once again do something that I love so much. I had a ball playing around with different edits and overlays in Photoshop to figure out what I wanted to do for my final edits. It felt like a personal breakthrough. On top of this, I also recently picked up point-and-shoot film photography with a cheap camera I bought at a f lea market. Shooting on film can definitely be a risky game, but it serves as a quick alternative to carrying my bulky Canon Rebel around whenever I want to capture timeless moments with my friends.

Between photoshoots for SHEI and my film camera, I now feel refreshed by my new outlets to do photography.

Taking the time to do activities outside of academia has been the key to reducing my burnout. I feel less stressed by the often overwhelming amounts of schoolwork when I have the chance to distance myself from it and decompress. The college lifestyle is not a sustainable one; my weeks are defined by late nights, numerous cans of Celsius and a poor eating schedule. It’s difficult to break these cycles when every week feels so monotonous. Photography is the wrench in this cycle that I forgot I needed. To me, there is no sound more satisfying than the shutter of my cam-

era. There’s something really special about capturing an experience in one frame. Photographs have the power to tell entire narratives between the four corners of a frame. I can take a picture of a scene, whether staged by myself or candidly taken in the city, and someone else can see that image and fill in the blanks. Pulling from their own experience, one can remember the feelings, know the smells and through that snapshot of life, a connection is formed between the viewer and the subject. There are so many intricate factors that go into taking a quality photograph: angles, exposure, lighting and so on. Do I want a low or high angle? Is the lighting too bright?

Too dim? Am I creating the mood that I want to convey to the viewer? These are all the details that I take into consideration whenever I’m doing a shoot. My artistic voice is evident in the way that I stylize my portraits with vibrant colors, natural lighting and striking angles. I then further enhance my pictures with a form of manipulation, whether it be through digital editing software or by hand.

The photos I take have the ability to speak for me where words may fail.

No matter where my academic life takes me, I owe it to myself to keep using photography to display the lens through which I see the world.

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From The Daily: Punishing Russia — the smart way THE MICHIGAN DAILY EDITORIAL BOARD

W

ar precludes perfect solutions. It necessitates sacrificing the dream of mutual prosperity in the pursuit of bare survival. U.S. policy surrounding the attack on Ukraine needs to reflect this reality. Direct military intervention is seemingly off the table, as it should be. Even though we will not be sending troops to defend Kyiv, Ukrainian allies must still take swift and decisive action to decimate the Russian regime economically until a resolution is met, while also aiding those fleeing the conflict.

Recently the Biden administration, under heavy pressure from Congress, moved to ban Russian oil imports. This was a well-needed sacrificial step for Americans, and one that cordons off a key part of Russia’s economy from the rest of the world. Unfortunately, European allies have failed to undertake the same sacrifice. NATO — the treaty group of Western countries initially bound together to stand up to Soviet influence in the 20th century — is most successful when it acts in unison. For Europe to lie back and let the U.S. take action, while avoiding taking similar steps, makes these moves less effective in combating Russian aggression.

Not only that, it prolongs the conflict that will leave thousands of additional Ukrainians and Russians dead.

A second action the administration should take, with congressional partnership, is to make a direct and forceful call on U.S. companies to suspend operations in Russia. A significant number of companies have already taken such action without federal support, but holdouts still exist — Hilton, Hyatt and Mars being among them. If this conflict is to end in a timely manner, companies must suspend operations, as opposed to ending them outright, with the condition that business operations in Russia will return at the conclusion of Russian aggression.

This sets a concrete barometer, while clearly incentivizing Russian de-escalation.

Likewise, the American government should put its full weight behind efforts to punish Russian oligarchs with assets in the U.S. and other Western countries.

As of March 8, over 2 million

REVA LALWANI Opinion Columnist

Trigger warning: this article contains mentions of sexual assault h yeah, I was at a frat last night” — a decently typical way to begin a story — “and some dude shoved his hand down my pants.”

“Some dude — what?” I whipped around to stare at my friend, eyes wide. I was horrified, but not all that surprised.

“Yeah. Everyone was pretty drunk at the time, I was sober and just — the vibe was off. This dude started dancing with me and then he started to dance a little more… on me?” She posed it as a question.

“So I, like, threw my elbow back but he just pulled me closer to him and put his hand down my jeans. It was gross.”

I didn’t know how to react. I told her I was sorry she had to go through that and asked if she had reported the incident. She hadn’t,

O

Campaigning against Trump won’t work for Democrats in 2022 LINDSEY SPENCER

PAIGE HODDER

people have fled Ukraine, half of whom are reportedly children.

About 25% of the aforementioned refugees have sought safety in neighboring countries such as Poland, but it is imperative that other European — such as Germany — countries pull their weight as well. While there has been outpouring support across Europe for Ukraine in the past 10 days, some worrying trends have come to light. Reports of people of color finding it significantly harder to escape Ukraine mirror the biased media coverage of the invasion as compared to similar situations in Africa and the Middle East.

Intentional or not, the message coming out of Europe right now is that refugees are welcome, just not all of them.

Looking beyond the Atlantic, the more places there are for Ukrainians to seek refuge, the better, and the U.S., too, must play its part.

However, there is an argument to be made that a more efficient use of U.S. resources would involve allocating resources to countries in Eastern Europe that are more appropriate hosts by virtue of their geography. This would allow Eastern European countries — such as Poland — to prepare for the surge of incoming Ukrainians, who would also benefit from a well-funded refugee program.

While the short-term focus is and should be on aiding Ukrainian refugees, they are not the only people actively seeking to flee the current conflict. Reports suggested that almost 50% of the Russian population do not support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with the deteriorating economic situation one of many reasons for such displeasure. This offers the U.S. and the global community an opportunity to attract educated Russian individuals to immigrate to the U.S. or Europe. Not only would this further Russia’s shrinking population problem, it would be the sort of brain drain, an exodus of educated citizens, that weakens the powerhouses of the Russian economy, many of whom have played vital roles in strengthening Putin’s reign. While such an idea of weaponized emigration — using green cards and permanent residency statuses to lure educated urbanites out of Russia — will pay dividends in the long term, it will have the added short-term benefit of dismaying the Russian public, and hopefully bringing an end to

the conflict sooner.

On Feb. 22, 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared a halt to the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the second of two Baltic Sea natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany. While the Russian state-operated company Gazprom maintains more than 50% of Nord Stream 1, created in 2011, Nord Stream 2 is owned entirely

by Gazprom. Prior to the February invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the United States and the European Union expressed their concerns about Nord Stream 2 and German reliance on Russian energy. In response, the Chancellor defended the project out of “private-sector” interests, deterring attention from political impact in late 2021.

In January, as concerns of invasion arose, the U.S. and EU released a joint statement declaring a move toward accessing natural gas from “diverse sources across the globe” to better protect European countries from supply shocks and reliance on Russia. As Western Europe’s economic powerhouse, Germany is not only in danger of creating a disunited EU front against Russia but also risking long-term economic strangulation in Ukraine. Major Soviet-era gas pipelines from Russia to Europe have long fed Ukraine transit fees, fees that Baltic undersea pipelines avoid paying.

Without access to Russia’s steady supply of gas, Germany has legitimate fears about its energy independence. However, without a united front against the Russian government, sanctions may not be as effective or work as quickly. While Germany relies on Russia, Russia relies on Europe — about 70% of Russia’s natural gas exports go to Europe. In other European countries, like France and the Netherlands, reliance on Russian gas is far below the roughly 40% of EU-wide dependence. In early 2022, France promised an expansion of its already substantial nuclear program, moving toward more sustainable and independent energy. Nuclear energy, a highly polarizing topic concerning cleaner energy and possible nuclear disasters (such as those in Chernobyl and Fukushima), has made France less reliant on Russia.

On the other side of the energy argument, Germany promised in

even though she was well aware of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center’s resources (which you can find at the end of this article).

The nonchalance with which she told me her story makes me question why it is that we all seem so desensitized to sexual assault and whether sexual assault prevention resources are as accessible as they claim to be for University of Michigan students.

So I sat down with LSA senior Sophia Fortunato, the student co-coordinator of the Consent, Outreach and Relationship Education (CORE) team at SAPAC. She told me that SAPAC, within its four branches (CORE, Bystander Intervention and Community Engagement, Survivor Empowerment and Ally Support and Michigan Men) works on four separate levels. The intrapersonal level includes empowerment activities that encourage self love and continuing education.

Interpersonal involves healthy

relationship workshops and peer-to-peer communication.

The cultural level deals with primary prevention education and bystander training. And last is institutional, involving campuswide policy and the University’s response to sexual assault. This is the one level Fortunato feels is lacking and her sentiment is echoed in the University’s history addressing sexual assault claims.

“You can’t really go about trying to end any ‘-ism’ or any oppression without taking (all four levels) into consideration,” she said, adding that SAPAC’s reach across these levels is what gives her hope.

Then, with my friend’s story in mind, I asked Fortunato when students should reach out to SAPAC. She responded that “there is a lack of awareness regarding what SAPAC does and what resources are available,” but students are encouraged to reach out for “any personal concerns relating to sexual assault” including asking for advice, reporting

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 — 9

I

n November of 2018, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, ended his concession speech to Republican incumbent Senator Ted Cruz by exclaiming “I am so fucking proud of you guys.” Abrupt and unfiltered, this conclusion embodied the heart and soul of the O’Rourke Senate campaign.

O’Rourke’s efforts to win a seat in an elected position have not gone unnoticed by the media, or by the public. His usage of social media and community involvement are what have made him notable, and, while not successful at the ballot box, he has been successful in changing how campaigns are run.

In the last five years, O’Rourke has staged political runs as a man of grassroots ties — knocking on doors and speaking directly to the people he aims to represent. His 2018 Senate run against Cruz, his 2020 Democratic primary hopes and his current campaign against Gov. Greg Abbott hold this same core — the strategic message of “Powered

by People.” In fact, these hands-on efforts did make a difference: the O’Rourke Senate campaign was an intensely close call, with only a 2.6% difference between O’Rourke and Cruz.

The other notable characteristic of the efforts of O’Rourke and multiple other Democrats is their shared goal. Young, fresh-faced politicians want a seat at the table because they want to make change and directly help their constituents, but, in recent election years, the true goal of hopeful Democrats seems to be voting Trumpism out of office.

The primary goal of Democrats in the 2016 election was to prevent Donald Trump — a new brand of conservative, a right wing populist — from becoming president. That hope was replicated in 2020, with the Democratic establishment again aiming to stop Trump from winning re-election. The general election was no different — Democrats fought hard to take back the Senate by defeating Republican officials

particularly supportive of Trump.

Congressional Democrats and political hopefuls like O’Rourke find themselves split by ideology — with the progressive and moderate sides of the party continuously challenging one another on the party’s legislative agenda. Disagreement leads to lack of action, and in recent months the Democratic Party has been often described as ineffective in their efforts to enact substantive policy.

Though not united ideologically, the Democrats continue to collectively oppose the Trump-wing of the Republican Party.

American voters have become more polarized in recent election cycles. Trump’s position in the political framework has intensified this division, and a focus on defeating him has made people defensive of their party, whether Democrat or Republican. People still vote based on issues of importance and who is best fit to serve their interests, but with campaigns becoming much more candidatecentered, politicians — specifically Democrats — have made changes in their campaigning efforts. It has become less about who is the best candidate to serve their constituents or who may best achieve these policy goals and more about preventing other parties from taking control.

This mindset actively works against the interests of those they are meant to represent.

O’Rourke is making his third attempt in the past five years to represent the people of Texas.

By effectively and personally communicating his goals with voters, O’Rourke, like many other Democratic candidates, comes across as well-acquainted with the role of public office and the importance of constituent service.

But having tried and failed two times to defeat a Republican incumbent, ulterior motives may be detected: is this about service, or is it about preventing Republicans who share Trump’s ideology from holding office?

It is commendable to continue to run for public office after multiple defeats. But, at some point, candidate and party-based motives are not enough to run on, and they can, in

many cases, do more harm than good. Being opposed to a certain candidate or party does not make a campaign popular, and repeated attempts to unseat Republicans — without any meaningful policy goal after they are defeated — are counter to a “progressive” agenda.

O’Rourke’s close race in 2018 gave him the confidence to continue campaigning, but, over the years, it has become less about him being the best candidate for the people and more about defeating a Republican. In an era when intensified political and social issues have become central to the identity of people, voting a certain type of politician out of office is no longer reasonable: the act of voting a certain type of politician into office is most important.

Democratic communications strategy, rightfully, mobilized to eject Donald Trump from office and combat his wrongdoings. But this communications strategy seems to be sorely inept at combating Republicans post Trump Presidency.

Democrats are struggling to stay afloat with this philosophy in mind.

With the midterm elections quickly approaching, they have to begin to rethink their strategy. Focusing on the past is counterproductive, and calling out former presidents on the campaign trail is not the call to action they think it is. There must be a concrete agenda for candidates to follow: an effective compromise between the more progressive and moderate wings of the party.

The American people want direct aid from their representatives.

They want constructive policy that makes their lives better — not speeches dedicated to discussing a politician who no longer holds public office.

“Voting Trumpism out of office” won’t work anymore; it won’t get constructive Democrats elected.

Hopefuls such as O’Rourke must focus less on being the opposite of Trump and his allies and more on being a representative for their constituents. Elections may be about victory, but not for one’s self or party — for the constituents they represent.

The duality of Michigan weather

Design by Opinion Cartoonist Ambika Tripathi

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An everyday occurrence — sexual assault? sexual assault, learning about the volunteer programs or expressing concern for another person.

Lack of awareness and consequences are just two pieces of the puzzle that is normalizing sexual assault culture on college campuses. The power dynamics allowed by “sexual geography,” a term coined by authors Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan in their book Sexual Citizens referring to “places and spaces where people meet folks that they might be interested in romantically or sexually,” is another piece. One such example of normalization through sexual geography occurs at fraternity houses. Fortunato elaborates that at a fraternity “you are always stepping into — physically — a space controlled by (the) group of men (that live there). (And) that power dynamic and geography inherently creates implied norms about who is more entitled in that space and whose boundaries and consent aren’t as privileged.”

But when it comes to changing rape and party culture on campus, the answer doesn’t seem as obvious. During our interview, Fortunato emphasized the timeline SAPAC works within, stating that “by the time students come to college, they have been socializing for 18-20 years of their life” already, meaning how one interacts is “pretty locked in by the time they arrive on campus.”

Now I, too, am a victim of the “Tea Consent” video of our collective youth, which taught the rather complex concept of consent by a two-minute animation. Even as someone who has since pursued further education on the subject, I wonder how effective primary prevention education can really be at the college level.

Perhaps it’s less about informational handouts and the four Cs of consent that one may or may not remember once blackout drunk, and more about denormalizing the “college life” which perpetuates the non-

consensual behavior that plagues each and every campus. Or maybe prevention education must start at a far younger age, taking its place between Algebra 1 and Sex Ed. Or perhaps we must consider large scale policy change, forcing institutions to take responsibility for the profusion of sexual assault occurring under their watch, the disregard of which is now being brought to the forefront by Dr. Anderson’s victims and many other brave students who have shared their stories. Either way, it is clear that organizations such as SAPAC must be paired with campus reform in order to create real, lasting change in an ever-changing community such as the University of Michigan.

So as we invite the newest class of Wolverines to the University this fall, let’s focus on welcoming them into a community that prioritizes the sexual agency of every individual.

SAPAC Resources: (734) 7647771

Opinion Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine!)

Intervention or isolation

10 — Wednesday, March 16, 2022

PALAK SRIVISTAVA Opinion Columnist

A

merican intervention”: two words that represent a very loaded topic. Revisiting any part of our history shows that debate over intervention is present at every turn. From the beginning of our country’s history, President George Washington famously believed that the US should avoid any foreign entanglements. Then, during the 1800s into the 1900s, as the U.S. was strengthening its economic influence, it involved itself aggressively in other countries. After World War I, America adopted an isolationist policy for a time, but by World War II it had switched gears again to join the fight against the Axis powers. Throughout the 1900s, U.S. involvement in foreign affairs turned controversial with its fight against communism during the Cold War. Though the Korean War is considered a success as it stopped communism from taking root in the country, the Vietnam War is mostly viewed as a mistake.

Such a complicated past in foreign policy has proven that when addressing this question, there is no easy answer. Now, as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, we are entering a new period of history that has raised the question once more. Yet, for me, the answer seems quite clear.

Throughout the centuries America has taken extreme steps to protect their economic exploits across the globe. Though it is clear that the U.S. is an economic powerhouse in our current global stage, its journey to get to the top

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wasn’t the most ethical. From overthrowing Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani when she wouldn’t succumb to U.S. economic desires, to leading several military coups against leaders — such as Guatemala’s democratically elected president — that were simply uncontrollable, the U.S. was everywhere. Considering the variety of ways America has influenced other countries’ affairs, often in a negative manner and for its own benefit, I have started to doubt the wisdom of intervention. I mean, why should one country be allowed to have that much power over the rest of the world? So for a very long time, I thought America should keep to itself instead of back-handedly controlling the world.

But recently, with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine steadily worsening, I have been forced to rethink. Specifically, I find myself thinking a lot about bullies.

In school, if there is a child being bullied, I would consider it wrong for any bystanders who have the power to help the child in need to just stand idly by; some would even go as far to say that those bystanders are just as bad as the bully. And I can’t help but think of bullying when I think about our current global crisis. For those who may be unaware, though Russia recently invaded Ukraine, the tension between the two countries is one that has been building up since the fall of the Soviet Union. After the USSR fell, Ukraine became its own country, but Russian President Vladimir Putin never let go of his desire to rebuild the old Soviet Union empire; in his words, Ukrainians and Russians “were one people — a single whole.”

That is why he has already

invaded Ukraine once before, back in 2014, and annexed Crimea in the process. Experts think the reason he has chosen to continue his mission now is because of the strengthening relations between Ukraine and NATO. Though Ukraine will not be joining NATO anytime soon, it is working to gain admission into the European Union and is the fourth-largest recipient of U.S. military funding; in some ways it has become an informal member of NATO, which threatens Russia. As a result of his fears, Putin decided to invade Ukraine to take back what he believes is Russia’s rightful territory, and make sure NATO doesn’t inch closer.

There is no doubt that this is an extremely complicated situation. But breaking it down to its core, the way I see it is that Russia is using its power to bully Ukraine and as a result, we are witnessing hundreds of innocent and unnecessary deaths. There are many debates going on pertaining to what the U.S. should do. The Biden administration has remained firm on keeping U.S. soldiers out of Ukraine, which is something the majority of Americans agree with. However, 83% of Americans have also said they favor increased economic sanctions against Russia.

So people do think America should intervene, but are afraid of getting involved in yet another overseas war; and honestly, who can blame them?

However, though I do understand people’s hesitation to escalate involvement in Ukraine, I believe that if all else fails, we might not have any other choice.

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It’s time to break down the stereotype of a University of Michigan student ANNA TRUPIANO Opinion Columnist

E

ach of the roughly 50,000 students at the University of Michigan has their own story of how they became a Wolverine. Some of us were dressed in maize and blue practically from the moment we were born. Others discovered our love for Michigan on a campus visit led by a Michigan student tour guide. Some of us were the first in our families to receive higher education, beginning a brand new legacy.

No matter what our pathway to becoming a Wolverine was, the moment we accepted our offers we accepted a list of various stereotypes. In general, university students are perceived as lazy, reckless and wealthy.

In addition to this general stereotype, every university seems to come with even more specific versions of these traits. In a study performed by researchers Andrea Abel and Amy Binder, 56 Harvard University and Stanford University students were surveyed regarding their perceptions of other highly respected campuses such as The University of Chicago and Princeton University. They criticized the other universities as being too social, not social enough or overly career-minded and

uptight.

Abel and Binder reported that these micro-comparisons students draw between different universities are a result of the universities’ highly competitive nature. They report that this is largely due to working your whole life to be admitted to a selective university and then, once admitted, doing all you can to elevate your university’s status in order to bolster your own self-confidence.

My two cents? Competition is ingrained in the system. To get to these top universities, students not only need an exceptional application, but also one that is better than that of their peers.

This rigorous college admissions process has primed students to carry their overly competitive sentiments into their higher education endeavors.

In Abel and Binder’s study, the University of Michigan was not mentioned by any of the surveyed students. However, it is fair to say that we have spun our own web of reputations, some ugly ones and some not so ugly ones. Many of these perceptions are fairly earned.

Our competitive mentalities translate into the process of applying to the University’s selective clubs and rushing its professional fraternities. These actions could be considered feats of bravery, as they sometimes feel even more difficult than getting

into the University itself.

Many of these clubs hold networking events where students who are already in the club can meet with those who are looking to join the club. Unfortunately, this can become a demeaning experience — existing members could flout their accomplishments in the club or speak down to nonmembers. Semester after semester, club after club, rejection after rejection, we begin to feel beaten down by the process.

Despite our hopelessness, we continue to put ourselves through the endless stacks of applications.

Sometimes, this draining process is less about the desire to join the organization and more about the idea that extracurriculars are necessary for success in the future.

Additionally, seeing our peers doing more than us — posting about their new internships, exclusive clubs or special programs — ultimately leads to constant comparison. Comparing ourselves to others, and feeling behind because of it, is very damaging to our mental health and selfconfidence. To cope with these damages, students ramp up their competition, creating an even more cutthroat environment. As you can see, this is a self-perpetuating cycle.

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Design by Tamara Turner, Opinion Cartoonist

It’s time for a Republican reset EVAN STERN

Opinion Columnist

T

he latest meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month revealed that Republicans around the country continue to enthusiastically support former President Donald Trump. In a straw poll of hypothetical Republican candidates, nearly 60% signaled they would back Trump in the rapidlyapproaching 2024 presidential election. Coming far behind in second place was Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., who secured just over a quarter of the tally.

With the Republican presidential primaries less than two years out, and campaigning likely to begin around a year before that, many signs point to Trump launching a bid for a second term in the White House. If strong levels of support for Trump among Republicans hold, it’s highly likely we’ll be witnessing another faceoff between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Americans won’t cast their next presidential ballots for more than 30 months, but with a number of polls now putting Trump ahead of Biden in a hypothetical matchup, there’s a reasonable chance Trump could end up back in the Oval Office come January 2025.

When Trump departed the White House only two weeks after a group of his rioting supporters stormed the Capitol, the idea of Trump returning and mounting another run for president seemed wild and ridiculous.

According to Quinnipiac polls taken in the final days of the Trump presidency, almost 60% of voters said Trump should be barred from holding any kind of elected office ever again, while 53% said Trump should resign from office before his term ended.

Seven Republican senators voted to convict the former president in his second impeachment trial over the January 6 insurrection.

Republican leaders like then-

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were widely and publicly critical of Trump.

Multiple loyal officials in the Trump administration, including Attorney General William Barr and the Secretaries of Education and Transportation, resigned.

But the picture is entirely different only a short year later.

Too many Republicans seem to have turned a blind eye to the ugly final days of the Trump administration, threatening to destroy any conservative who stands against Trump.

After Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., joined a Congressional committee probing the events of January 6, Republicans censured both representatives and declared the Capitol violence was “legitimate political discourse.” The GOP also removed Cheney from House Republican leadership last spring over her opposition to Trump.

These recent trends within the GOP illuminate Trump’s extreme popularity within the party and the headwinds most mainstream Republicans face in opposing him. Republicans must change course quickly.

It’s time for the GOP to reset, turn away from Trump and support candidates who ref lect the values of not only the Republican Party but of America at large.

Not too long ago, Republicans threw their support behind presidential candidates like former Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a Vietnam War veteran who exemplified America’s democratic values and promoted conservative principles like smaller government and lower spending. Republicans like McCain had reasonable policy disagreements with Democrats, but they were always firm advocates of the American people, and were respected on both sides of the aisle.

President Trump surely had positive accomplishments during his term, like signing the First Step Act, a bipartisan initiative focusing on muchneeded criminal justice reform.

But by and large, it’s become readily apparent that Trump lacks the qualities Americans need in their president. After he lost the election in 2020 to Biden, Trump launched an unprecedented effort to discredit the election results and overturn the will of the people so he could stay in power.

Those efforts thankfully failed, but if not for the loyal Americans who stood in Trump’s way, we could have experienced a serious constitutional crisis.

Nevertheless, Trump’s election lies continue to persist to this day. A poll from last November found only a third of Republicans believe American elections are fair. Over 70% of Republicans said in a shocking December poll that they doubted the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.

Trump’s election rhetoric is completely false as well as dangerous.

In the end, it’s astonishing that one of America’s two major political parties is so supportive of a figure who tried to subvert the Constitution and overturn fair, democratic processes. This country is built on democratic values that have guided it for hundreds of years. Russia’s blatant assault on freedom and democracy in Ukraine exhibits just how fragile democracy truly is, even in 2022. Trump’s attack on democracy here at home should drive every American — Republican, Democrat or independent — to support people up and down the ticket who believe in democracy and support it wholeheartedly, even when it’s not in their own political interest to do so.

With time running out before 2024, it’s imperative the GOP does a hard reset, and fast.

Republicans must return to promoting American values and firmly reject misinformation and propaganda. Rather than vote for a candidate who has done much to undermine American democracy, it’s time Republicans throw their support behind people with proven track records of defending and celebrating our precious democracy.

Building a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive U-M community takes the will and work of all of us.

Learn about our transition from DEI 1.0 to DEI 2.0.

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Sports

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Wednesday, March 16, 2022 — 11

Heart of a Spartan, now a Wolverine: Joe Stewart’s unique opportunity IAN PAYNE

Daily Sports Writer

There is one divide that defines collegiate sports for many fans and athletes in the state of Michigan.

The Michigan-Michigan State rivalry.

Allegiances are strong and passions run high. As a result, it’s not often that athletes cross the battle lines and transfer from one school to the other. But this season one player has taken this lightly traveled path, as the Michigan baseball team welcomes graduate outfielder, and Michigan State alum, Joe Stewart onto its roster as a graduate transfer student.

And he’s excited to have such a unique opportunity.

“I’m a Michigan kid, I grew up here,” Stewart said. “I have a unique opportunity that a lot of people don’t have, to get to play at both of the big universities in Michigan.”

This opportunity came as the result of an unexpected choice that many college baseball players find themselves facing.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stewart was presented with an interesting possibility.

Following the limiting of the 2020 and 2021 baseball seasons due to COVID-19 concerns, the NCAA granted all active players an extra year of eligibility. The policy allowed many players to hang around the college scene and try exploring new horizons while

fer portal for this season to help the work ethic and improvements continuing in the sport they love. fill that role.

“I really like grad transfers,” enhance its lineup. that earned him that title.

“I didn’t initially plan to play “(Grad transfers) have a bit of “Joe Stewart comes to mind,” another season,” Stewart said. “I Bakich said. “They’ve been still enjoyed playing … I felt I still instant leaders … experience wins a chip on their shoulder,” Bakich Bakich said when asked which at the college level, and they bring said. “They really have something players turned heads in preseason had something left in there.” to prove and want to be great.” practices. “He’s probably the most So Stewart exercised the a lot to the table.”

While it used to be relatively Being the most experienced improved player from when he option of entering the graduate transfer portal to play one more difficult to line up grad trans- members of the team, one of first got here … he stands out, I season, and Michigan coach Erik fer students in college baseball, Bakich’s main goals for the gradu- think he’s got a chance to have a COVID-19 eligibility has made ate students are to impart both special year.”

Bakich gave him a call.

Since then, Stewart has lived “From talking to him and it fairly easy for Michigan to wisdom and the right attitude knowing some guys that have increase their number on its ros- upon their new teammates, and up to that praise with his perforcome through this program, (I ter. The program has also pulled Stewart seems to be the right man mance on the field.

In addition to leading the knew) it was an awesome oppor- infielder Matt Frey and outfield- for the job. er Alex Fedje-Johnson — both In his senior season at Michi- team by example off the field, he tunity for me.” Stewart said.

And the Wolverine staff was from Davidson College, whose gan State, Stewart was named has achieved the results that his thrilled to add Stewart to the ros- head coach played under Bakich the team’s most improved player, approach can yield. A fixture in at Vanderbilt — out of the trans- and he has continued to display the lineup, Stewart has hit the ter. ball hard, and with Graduate transfers discipline. He is also can be a valuable asset working to continue to a program due to the defensive improvetheir experience and ments he saw last seaoutsiders’ perspective, son in East Lansing, which allows them to hoping to serve as a offer a fresh point of defensive rock in center view. That insight can field. be useful.

“On the field (I’ll) see “Being in the Big what I can do to help out Ten, I know what this in the outfield,” Stewconference looks like art said. “Continue to and what it takes to build on that defensive be successful (here),” side of my game … and Stewart said. “I’m not be a guy that can drive necessarily as much some balls into the gap the vocal leader, but … whatever I can do to (I’m) trying to show the get this team to be sucyounger guys, lead by cessful.” example, do the right Stewart has been a thing and what that large part of the Wollooks like.” verines’ offensive Coach Bakich for JULIA SCHACHINGER/Daily explosion in recent one, appreciates having weeks, and Stewart is a player like Stewart to Joe Stewart looks to lead the Michigan baseball team after playing for Michigan State.

Joseph Zain Rodger: Michigan’s pitchers need to step up

Despite top tier hitting talent, and Florida Atlantic. Both games the Michigan baseball team has ended in multiple-run bottomnot had the success they’ve hoped of-the-ninth comebacks.

All of the mistakes for. came to a head in the Through the first 15 Wolverines’ latest game games, the Wolverines are — their 13-1 loss against top 30 in the country in Louisville. The Carscoring and second in the dinals’ bats punished Big Ten. However, they sit Michigan’s pitchers all just one win above .500. game, and they were That means one thing — only held scoreless for they can’t pitch. one inning.

Michigan can’t hold JOSEPH The Wolverines’ down a team for a full ZAIN pitchers cost them more nine innings. The only than just at the plate. game where the Wolver- RODGER Michigan has an average ines kept their opponent under four runs was an 8-2 vic- fielding unit that sits sixth in the tory against a sluggish 1-12 Seton conference in fielding percentage, but many of the mistakes Hall.

“We just haven’t played a com- they make are connected to the plete game yet,” Michigan coach pitching.

“If you’re walking a lot of peoErik Bakich said. “You know, we’ve had some games where ple, the defense is going to be on we scored a lot of runs, but we’ve their heels because they’re not as actively engaged,” Bakich said. also given up a lot of runs.”

It gets worse when you dive “… So I think that the trust and deeper into the pitching num- the reliability of both sides there bers. Among the seven arms just needs to sync up and have a who’ve seen the most innings, great synergy.”

The main fielding woes came the average ERA is a woeful 5.35.

Michigan is third to last in the in Greenville against East CaroBig Ten in walk frequency and lina. The defense held up for most of the game, but the twofifth to last in hit frequency.

Letting that many men on run loss was caused by two big base is not sustainable. It sets rallies, both of which had their the team up for failure and late momentum heavily aided by game collapses regularly, like errors.

This defensive start is not those against No. 17 Texas Tech

optimal, but it’s far too early to discount the Wolverines from a deep postseason run. The Wolverines have the fourth hardest strength of schedule in the Big Ten. Bakich wants the team to face adversity early so they can be prepared for tougher battles.

“We’ve been here before.

Every year when we schedule really tough competition it seems to be a little bit of a back and forth and up and down,” Bakich said. “We’re scheduling teams that are all going to be in the postseason.”

It’s still a very young season.

Once the home games and Big Ten series finally start, it’s very possible that the team starts to roll if they fix their mistakes.

That’s a very big if.

If the season ended today, Michigan’s pitching staff would have its worst combined ERA in over 10 years.

“It’s one thing to talk about achieving your goals week to week, it’s another thing to do it,” said Bakich. “The bottom line is we just need to play better.”

Just like the teams they’ve scheduled to start the year, the Wolverines have postseason dreams of their own. If they want to compete, the pitching staff needs to figure it out.

If not, they’re in for a harsh wake-up call.

JENNA HICKEY/Daily

Michigan’s pitching has struggled so far this season.

enjoying this special chance from a whole new angle.

“There is much more appreciation for still being able to play,” Stewart said. “I’ve gotten this revived chance this year to come over and help this team. …

It’s been fun, I think I definitely appreciate the little things a lot more.”

Nevertheless, while he has been enjoying his time at Michigan, he still hasn’t forgotten his old friends in East Lansing.

“That’s a game that will be circled on my calendar,” Stewart said. “(I have) a lot of friends over there. … It’s gonna be really fun to compete with those guys. … I’m looking forward to it.”

Stewart’s familiarity and good relationship with the Spartans will undoubtedly bring a fresh twist to the mid-April rivalry bouts between the two teams.

Stewart’s career in college baseball reflects the connections to both schools that many in Michigan possess. Just like his attitude towards baseball helps encourage his teammates to perform on the field, his attitude towards the rivalry also shows how these connections can often bring people together and offer the chance for new experiences.

And Stewart is enthusiastic to experience it.

“Love Michigan State and all those guys,” Stewart said. “But it was awesome to get this opportunity to come here for my last year.”

Michigan earns first No. 3 seed in program history

GRACE BEAL/Daily

Michigan earns highest NCAA tournament ranking in program history, will face American in first round.

MARK PATRICK

Daily Sports Writer

After losing four of its last six games, the Michigan women’s basketball team awaited the fate of potentially not hosting home games in the NCAA Tournament.

That fate was put to rest Sunday night, as the Wolverines earned a No. 3 seed — their highest seed in program history — in the Wichita region. Being a top-four seed allows the team to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

“To be a three seed, that’s pretty awesome,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “Being able to host and get another game at Crisler (Center) for our senior class that has meant (so much) to us is really special.”

Michigan’s first game will be against No. 14 seed American on Saturday. If the Wolverines win, they will face either No. 6 BYU or No. 11 Villanova on Monday.

Fresh off winning the Patriot League tournament championship, the Eagles present a tough challenge. After starting the season 11-6, American has won 12 of its last 14 games. This is in large part due to its defense holding opponents to just 56 points per

game — 33rd best in the nation.

The team is led by senior guard Jade Edwards. The versatile guard does it all for the Eagles, leading the team in points, minutes, rebounds, steals and blocks.

“They’re a great program, always successful in their league and have a really good coach,” Barnes Arico said.

After starting the season 20-2, Michigan struggled down the stretch. It went out in the first round of the Big Ten tournament to Nebraska, losing 76-73, making its seeding more precarious.

After the Wolverines were up six with five minutes left in the game, the Cornhuskers ended the game on a 9-2 run, crushing their hopes of a Big Ten tournament championship.

The No. 3 seed has much to do with the Wolverines early season success. The team started the season 7-0 for the second straight year. After losing to the Cornhuskers 79-58, Michigan compiled an eight-game win streak with wins coming against Ohio State, Iowa, Indiana, and Maryland. The team was particularly successful at home finishing the year 12-0 at the Crisler Center.

“We’re undefeated at home this year and I think that’s in

large part due to our fan base and the support that we’ve gotten throughout the course of the season,” Barnes Arico said.

Looking to win its first regular season Big Ten championship for the first time in program history, things began to turn for the worse. A combination of injuries and inconsistencies on offense and defense led the Wolverines to losses in four of their last six games. It’s possible they would have had a No. 1 or No. 2 seed if not for the late season sputter.

Michigan has an opportunity to make program history in the NCAA Tournament. After being so close to capturing a regular season Big Ten title and losing in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Wolverines look to advance past the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history. “(We’re) just really embracing this moment and being excited because there’s no guarantees,” Barnes Arico said. “So just have an appreciation for being able to still be competing, when so many other people are going home at this point, and so many people are disappointed, but really put themselves in a position to continue to play.”

SPORTSWEDNESDAY

BYE, BYE

BUBBLE

Michigan escapes bubble, but season-long questions still remain LANE KIZZIAH Daily Sports Writer

A

t 6:13 p.m. on Sunday night, the Michigan men’s basketball team could finally breathe. After weeks of speculation and missed opportunities to punch their own ticket, the Wolverines made it out of the bubble and into the bracket.

“I definitely was nervous, I’m not gonna lie,” graduate guard DeVante’ Jones said. “I feel like we let a lot of games slip, so I didn’t know how the people that were actually making the brackets, I didn’t know how they would perceive us.”

With an 11 seed, Michigan coach Juwan Howard and his team have narrowly avoided the embarrassment of being the first Michigan team since 2015 to not make the NCAA Tournament. But, this sense of relief comes with a caveat: This story has already been written.

Yes, the Wolverines will play No. 6-seed Colorado State on Thursday. They might

face No. 3-seed Tennessee or No. 14-seed Longwood in the second round. But — pending an act of God — this team’s legacy won’t be what happens in March. In all likelihood, its most defining moments are already behind it.

Thirty years down the line, Michigan fans might remember this as the year the Wolverines were a preseason top 10 team and then started the season 7-7. The year they could barely squeak out wins against unranked opponents like Tarleton State and Buffalo. Or as the year Howard socked some guy in the head.

The ones with better memories might recall Michigan blowing a 17-point lead against Indiana to send them home from the Big Ten Tournament in just the second round.

Personally, I know I’ll remember when sophomore center Hunter Dickinson had to sit out with a tummy ache.

Of course, there’s the slim possibility that the Wolverines will turn it all around in the 11th hour, go all the way and become the Cinderella story of the decade. If that happens, every loss and poor performance will be cast in a new light. This team won’t be looked at as one that failed to meet expectations, never able to capitalize on the talent that — on paper — should have led them to the Final Four.

Instead, it’ll be a team that bided its time, finding its groove when it

needed to the most.

But that’s just the trope of a cheesy movie. As others have pointed out, the time for a cinematic, zero-to-hero plot line is long behind us. Coaches and players alike have been saying that they’ll use their losses to learn and grow for months, yet the same mistakes pop up week after week.

Still, when asked what makes the team feels confident that they can go on a run in the Tournament, Jones repeated a similar refrain: “This is the opportunity we always talk about, especially after the loss to Indiana,” he said. “… After that, we’ve been saying that all we need is a chance. All we need in an opportunity.”

It’s hard to make the argument that the Wolverines have lacked opportunities thus far. Instead, it’s much easier to find examples of when they’ve squandered them. There have been instances where it’s looked like Michigan is finally starting to right the ship, but then, after a one or two game stretch, its flaws come racing back.

“It’s a new season now, this is the postseason,” Howard said.

Maybe Howard is right and this is a new season, an entirely new team from the one that got trounced by Indiana on Thursday. Or — more likely — we’re starting a new chapter in the same story. Maybe the inconsistencies that have plagued the Wolverines will still be there on Thursday, and this year will end in the same way it began: With dashed hopes and unmet expectations.

Tess Crowley, Julia Schachinger, Dominick Sokotoff/Daily Design by Lys Goldman