2022-11-16

MICHIGAN GOES BLUE

Democrats control state trifecta for first time since 1984

Michigan’s 2022 election saw a midterm-record 4.45 million voters turn out to the polls, resulting in a Democratic trifecta in the Michigan House, Senate and Governor seat for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Voters across the state, including University of Michigan students, faculty and community members, voted on some pivotal issues, including abortion, crime, the economy, immigration, inflation and student debt. From early in the morning to late into the night, students and Ann Arbor residents sat through hours of cold on Nov. 8 waiting to vote at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and countless others made their way to designated polling locations between Tuesday’s classes.

With wins from incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, many U-M students said they feel hopeful for the future and the state of Michigan. LSA

sophomore Philip Rentschler said he was especially glad to see the Democratic Party take control of the trifecta of state politics, with control of both legislative chambers along with the governor’s office.

“I’m excited to see the Democratic Party hold this trifecta,” Rentschler said.

“Although I find the Democratic Party to be less progressive than I’d like it to be, they’re still more likely to move forward than their opposition is. With this much hold over the legislative process, I hope to see them do just that.

For example, I’d love to see them push for better education funding, climate regulation, racial equality, sexual equality and so forth while they have the best chance to do so.”

LSA freshman Natalie Wise said she felt inspired by the voter turnout this year, which made history in the state of Michigan. At the University, students waited outside for as long as six hours in order to cast a ballot. The last student in line voted at 2:05 a.m., after getting in line just before the deadline at 8 p.m.

Students stand in long lines after dark

Same-day registration leads to hour-long waits

KRISTINA ZHENG & ANNA FIFELSKI Managing News Editor and Daily News Editor

As temperatures dropped to the low 40s, over a hundred students and local residents stood in line — bundled up with blankets and cradling cups of hot chocolate — outside the University of Michigan Museum of Art polling station for hours after it officially closed at 8 p.m.

The Ann Arbor City Clerk Satellite Office at UMMA opened on Sept. 27 and remained open until the last voter of the night, Rackham student Erik Pedersen, cast his ballot at 2:05 a.m. after waiting in line for 6 hours.

“I was teaching my classes and I didn’t have time (to vote) at any point during the day,” Pedersen said. “I saw the line out here and I felt I had to make the effort to get out here and I got in line just in time as they were closing the doors.”

As a speaker radiated music between the campus buildings next to the Diag, the atmosphere was filled with excitement and eagerness from the students lined up outside, despite the late hour. Pedersen said the support from volunteers impacted his decision to wait out the line.

“E veryone’s been very supportive and upbeat,” Pedersen said. “People have been bringing me pizza. This coat and blanket is not mine — somebody gave it to me and everybody’s been very nice so far.”

Kulin Oak, LSA and Business senior, said he joined the

UMMA line around 7:30 p.m. and would continue to wait despite the cold weather. As a Michigan resident, Oak said he is taking advantage of sameday registration.

“I know that if I don’t stay in the line, I miss my chance to vote, and I don’t want to let people who have different views than myself vote on policy that’s gonna affect me and my family,” Oak said. “So I want to at least give my best shot at having my voice be heard.”

Oak said he was particularly interested in casting a vote for incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and voting ‘Yes’ on Proposal 3, a ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to an abortion and other reproductive health measures in the Michigan Constitution.

“I’m excited to vote for Whitmer,” Oak said. “I know also with Prop 3 being on the ballot, it’s really important to show support for that. I know that there are things across the ticket, but those are the two main things I was interested in voting (for).”

Public Policy junior Eva Hale, co-president of Students for Whitmer, said she has been at the UMMA polling location since 11 a.m. to support those waiting in line in the cold. She said volunteers from all around the city came to the line throughout the day to donate blankets and food.

“We’re really just trying to make sure people are okay in line,” Hale said. “We have a ton of pizza, loads of blankets and we’re giving people snacks.”

As the end of the line slowly crept closer and closer to the UMMA entrance, Hale stood on the grass field outside

the building collecting and folding blankets with around a dozen other volunteers.

Multiple community members credited the support to social media posts from Washtenaw County Democratic Party chair Chris Savage. Hale said the remaining blankets and food will be donated to the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County at the Delonis Center as well as Miller Manor, both local homeless shelters.

Molly Ging, a longtime Ann Arbor resident, said she had been at the UMMA location volunteering for over two hours after seeing Twitter posts about how long students had been in line. As a mother in Ann Arbor, Ging said these posts inspired her to come out and support students waiting in the cold.

“When that bat signal was sent out, all my mom friends came out with food and hand warmers,” Ging said. “If we hear they’re hungry and cold, we will be there.”

Ann Arbor resident Julia Hale said she had been offered blankets, hand warmers, pizza, McDonald’s chicken nuggets, chocolate, granola bars, cheese, tea, coffee and hot chocolate while she was waiting to vote. She said at some point, a volunteer was walking around taking orders from prospective voters about what they needed.

“I’ve gotta see it through; I have to see it through,” Julia Hale said. “I’ve been out here for like two hours now. I just feel like our country is in a really fucked up place…. I believe in doing my part for harm reduction.”

Proposal 3 passes with 56.7% of vote

SAMANTHA RICH Daily Staff Reporter

Michigan voters have approved Proposal 3, also known as Reproductive Freedom For All, with 54% voting in support and 46% of votes counted, according to NBC News.

Proposal 3 is a constitutional amendment that enshrines the right to abortion, birth control and other forms of reproductive healthcare in the Michigan Constitution. The initiative gathered a recordbreaking 753,000 signatures in its support, of which the Board of State Canvassers estimates around 596,000 were valid. The proposal was initially kept off the ballot after the two Democrats and two Republicans on the board split the vote on whether to certify the initiative. Following an appeal from Reproductive Freedom For All, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled it would appear on the ballot.

The amendment repeals Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban that criminalizes all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person. While currently blocked by a preliminary injunction following a lawsuit from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the overturning of Roe v. Wade opened up the possibility of its enforcement.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Nursing senior Linda Camp said she was excited to vote yes on Proposal 3 this Election Day.

NEWS

New House speaker, Senate leader make history

SAMANTHA RICH Daily Staff Reporter

The Michigan Democratic Party announced Thursday that state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, will be the next House speaker and state Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, will be the next Senate majority leader.

The move comes after Michigan Democrats gained control of the governorship and both houses of the state legislature for the first time since 1984.

Tate is currently serving his second term in the House, where he holds the position of vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee. He will be the state of Michigan’s first Black House speaker.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily on Friday, Tate said House Democrats will continue working toward the priorities they’ve held in the past, which include workers’ rights, infrastructure investments and environmental protections. Tate said while he will bring his personal life experiences to this role, he also wants to ensure that the House’s legislation is representative of a diversity of voices and backgrounds in the state.

“We are a diverse group that live in the state of Michigan and that was reflected in this leadership race,” Tate said.

“I’m going to bring my experiences as a Black man, as a Detroiter to this role as speaker, but also, we know that what we do in the House — the policies that we vote on and the laws that we pass — we want to make sure that it will have a positive impact

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MI voters approve constitutional right to reproductive freedom

Joe Tate, Winnie Brinks promote increased representation

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White, Behm reelected to U-M Board of Regents

GEORGE WEYKAMP

University of Michigan Regents Katherine White (D) and Michael Behm (D) have been reelected to the Board of Regents, according to early results from Michigan Information & Research Service Inc.

The Democratic incumbents took down Republican nominees Lena Epstein and Sevag Vartanian. White received 25.17% of the total vote while Behm received 24.57% of the total vote. Epstein

Ono

and Vartanian received 23.90% and 22.31%, respectively with all counties except Arenac and Clinton fully reporting.

White is the longest-serving member on the board, having first taken office in 1998, and will continue to serve through at least 2030. She currently works as a law professor at Wayne State University as well as a Brigadier General in the Army National Guard.

Behm has served on the board since 2014 and is the president and co-owner of the law firm Behm & Behm and chairperson of Business

Forward Michigan. In previous interviews with The Daily, Behm said his main goals as regent have been increasing the minimum wage on campus and improving the University’s climate action plan.

Last year, Behm received criticism from the One University (1U) campaign for allegedly failing to meet the organization’s goals of increasing equity across all three U-M campuses. In an interview with The Daily this summer, Behm said he was surprised by 1U’s reaction.

“I think I’ve met with them

more than any other board member,” Behm said. “So I’m not quite sure (why 1U declined to endorse the campaign). There obviously is some failure in communication here because I think I do stand for many, if not all, the things that they stand for. I was the first regent to meet with them when they formed. I advised them that they should seek student involvement in their group.”

The victory stabilizes the Board’s democratic majority at 6-2 with Regents Ron Weiser and Sarah Hubbard, vice chair, as the sole Republicans.

addresses Black Student Union platform

powerful impact.

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RILEY HODDER Daily Staff Reporter

Students gathered Tuesday afternoon inside Trotter Multicultural Center, awaiting University President Santa Ono’s first visit to the building. During an address, Ono expressed his support for Trotter and the Black Student Union’s (BSU) “More Than Four” platform and addressed a recent incident in which unknown individuals tore down posters supporting the BSU around campus.

After a brief tour from the staff, Ono stepped into the Sankofa Lounge to address the small crowd of students that were there to listen and talk with him. He began by pledging to not talk about himself too much, but rather listen.

“I’m here to spend time with you, and to hear from you,” Ono said. “I just want to say this is a really beautiful building and it’s really wonderful to connect with you.”

Ono also acknowledged the recent incident involving the announcement of BSU’s platform and the torn down BSU posters. Last Tuesday, the BSU released their “More Than Four” platform, which called on the University to increase Black student enrollment, combat antiBlackness, improve DEI policies and increase equity in K-12 education.

BSU broadcasted the platform across campus, putting up posters and posting on social media accounts to gain visibility from the student body. Later that day, anonymous actors tore down BSU posters around campus.

On Thursday, Ono released a statement condemning these “harmful” and “destructive” actions.

During his visit to Trotter, Ono again acknowledged and expressed his support for the platform, letting students know that he is looking forward to working with BSU to enact change on campus.

“I want to thank everyone who was involved in (the platform),” Ono said. “I think that the recommendations and suggestions in (the platform) make sense to me. I’m looking forward to getting together with the leadership of that group … to really think about how

we can work together to make those recommendations a reality.”

LSA junior Stefania Ramirez, who was in attendance Monday afternoon, told The Michigan Daily she hoped Ono would do more than just talk about the platform, and instead, take action to address the concerns expressed by BSU.

“I think that some action I would like to see taken is President Ono actually leaning into those concerns, and validating them and actually taking action instead of just saying things,” Ramirez said.

Dr. Kyra Shahid, director of the Trotter Center, told The Daily that Ono’s acknowledgement of the BSU platform spoke volumes to the community.

“I think it means that he’s paying attention,” Shahid said. “I think it means that he’s not afraid to have the hard conversations, the necessary conversations, the conversations that hold true meaning and value to students. I think that’s exciting, I think that’s affirming.”

During his time at the Trotter Center, Ono took questions from

the crowd that had gathered. One student asked him about how the administration planned to improve responses to racist and discriminatory acts on campus. In response, Ono took the opportunity to apologize for how long it took for him to respond to the BSU posters being taken down.

“I apologize,” Ono said. “I wasn’t aware because we were busy the first few weeks of my being here. But, you should expect that kind of response from me, where I put out a statement, where I condemned it.”

Ono then said that addressing these instances of racism and discrimination on campus are important to him because he has experienced personal instances in his own life.

“Myself … and my family have experienced, over my entire lifetime, racist acts,” Ono said. “So I’m personally motivated … to do everything I can to make this the most inclusive institution possible. It’s hard work. It takes a lot of time, but I’m very motivated to do it.”

Ono asked the students for their support in his efforts to address racism on campus, emphasizing that, together, the U-M community could make a

“I need your support,” Ono said. “I can’t do it alone. We’ve got to work on this together. And if something happens, you’ve got to tell me, and I do believe that working together we’ll make a change.”

Following the presentation portion of the event, Ono spent time speaking with students one-on-one, shaking hands and taking pictures.

Shahid said that Ono’s visit was not only exciting, but also meant the start of real progress for the issues on campus that students of Color care about.

“I am beyond thrilled to welcome him into our space and to be able to share with him what I’ve been learning about students, about campus, about Trotter, about the specific history of Trotter and the role it plays right now … where we are in terms of the climate of campus and so many different student groups needing more support, needing more safe space, also needing more attention to the need for racial healing,” Shahid said. “I think that Santa Ono is a president that understands that. So him being here today, I think, is a great first start.”

JARED GREENSPAN and NICHOLAS

GRACE

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Junior Hunter Dickinson celebrates after scoring against Eastern Michigan University at Little Caesars Arena Friday.

Burton Bell Tower strengthens community with election day melodies

Star Wars, Lil Nas X songs echo from the prominent campus landmark

The fanfare of the Star Wars theme and Lil Nas X’s ‘Montero’ could be heard Tuesday afternoon from the top of Burton Tower on Central Campus. The music was a part of a special performance entitled “For Whom the Bells Poll,” which was held to bring the community together on Election Day.

The election day medlies performed at both Burton and

Lurie Towers were done by Music, Theatre & Dance graduate student Carson Landry, who studies carillon performance. A carillon is a percussion instrument consisting of a keyboard attached to cast bronze bells. According to Landry, the University of Michigan has two carillons which have a range of four and a half octaves. The Charles Baird Carillon in Burton Tower, donated by Charles Baird, the University’s first athletic director, is the thirdheaviest carillon in the world today.

In honor of elections, the U-M carillon studio invited community members to vote on songs for the live performances on Tuesday. This

was also in partnership with the campuswide Turn Up Turn Out voting initiative, which aims to increase student voting engagement.

Carillonist and associate professor of carillon Tiffany Ng said that this performance was part of a larger project to find ways to incorporate the carillon in the community. She said the project was launched to help address the physical isolation that can occur when carillonists perform in the bell tower.

“What we’re doing is not saying, ‘Hey, come vote through a bell tower concert,’ but actually, ‘Who is already getting out the vote and

Mott reaches 100% capacity following surge in RSV

Record surge of pediatric respiratory illness leads

MATTHEW SHANBOM Daily Staff Reporter

C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital has reached 100% capacity following a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), according to a Thursday press release from Michigan Medicine. So far this year, the hospital has seen 259 cases of RSV, a 46% increase over 2021.

This spike comes prior to the expected surge of the flu and COVID-19 cases. Across the country healthcare systems have already begun to see increased numbers of flu and COVID-19 cases and are encouraging everyone to stay up to date on vaccinations for both viruses. With an early increase in RSV cases in children’s hospitals

From PAGE 1

Ann Arbor resident Zachary Storey said he follows the Ann Arbor City Council and heard from others in the community about the lines at the University.

Arriving at the event with more blankets in tow, Storey, who voted at the Ann Arbor Public Library

to bed shortage

across the country, health systems are concerned for the coalescence of all three illnesses. Luanne Thomas Ewald, chief operating officer at Mott and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, said the surge is unprecedented.

“We have never seen a surge in pediatric respiratory viruses like this before. Our hospital is 100% full,” Thomas said in the press release. “This is incredibly concerning because we haven’t even seen the full impact of flu season yet.”

Due to the limited capacity at the hospital, Mott physicians including Dr. Kimberly Monroe, chief clinical officer and pediatric hospitalist at Mott, recommend parents call their child’s primary care physician to determine whether an in-person

location earlier in the day, said the turnout among student voters sends “a clear message” that young people care.

“I just would like to encourage students to just continue your civic involvement,” Storey said.

“Get curious about city council, get curious about the county commission, and there’s a lot of local things that your voice can really make a difference (in), especially at the city level. In my

visit is necessary.

“The vast majority of children with RSV experience cold symptoms and can rest and recover at home,” Monroe said in the press release.

“However, if they’re showing any signs of severe illness, such as trouble breathing, they may need immediate care and should be brought to the emergency department. We’re particularly concerned about children under the age of 2.”

Mott is working to increase bed capacity and possibly transfer patients to other local hospitals.

“We’re working very closely with our partners around the state to find space for children who need care even if it’s not at our hospital. We’re also looking at unique ways to increase our bed capacity during the surge,” Ewald said.

opinion, I don’t think the city does really well at reaching out to students. But if students speak up, that’s going to be a voice that isn’t usually heard, but people will listen.

Julia Hale said she procrastinated registering to vote when she recently moved back to Ann Arbor after college, so she joined the line at UMMA at 7:45 p.m. to register and vote at the same time.

“I just felt like this election was too important to not vote in,” Julia Hale said. “I just don’t want to take any risks. I feel like every vote counts, and I strongly believe in harm reduction. So I want to do my part.”

Julia Hale said she was inspired to wait in the line because she believes there is a lot of work that can be done for the country, and voting is an important part of that.

“I think that maybe if I were out there doing organizing work and all that other stuff, I wouldn’t feel like my vote counted as much, but I don’t have time for that in my life right now,” Julia Hale said. “So I think what I do have time for is waiting in line, so I can do that, and I’m doing it.”

how can the bell tower be involved in that?’” Ng said.

Since the carillon is usually played during very public events, Landry explained the carillon has a unique role that can bring awareness to certain issues and reach many people in the community.

“The carillon is a very publicly present instrument,” Landry said. “It is very important that we are connected to the community, and what we play on the carillon is representative of our entire community and what people want to hear.”

LSA senior Allen Gibson said that performances like these are a fun

From PAGE 1

“It was really inspiring to see so many students so invested in the election and taking action to better our future,” Wise said.

The U-M chapter of College Democrats, who helped organize and host events to increase exposure of Democratic candidates to the student body, told The Michigan Daily in a statement following the election that they feel optimistic about the results.

“We, the College Democrats at U-M, are elated by the results of the 2022 midterm elections in Michigan,” the statement reads. “We continue to express our support of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson as they continue to work hard for Michiganders. Now that the State House and State Senate have a Democratic majority, we are optimistic of what is to come with this progressive leadership.”

LSA freshman Gavin Thomas, who said he is unaffiliated with campus political activism, said he was also content with the results.

“I’m pretty happy with the outcome. I think that things worked out for the best, at least in my opinion,” Thomas said. “I think that that was one of the best results we could have gotten.”

LSA freshman Mary Backman said she was particularly excited with the passage of Proposal 3, a ballot proposal to amend the Michigan constitution to enshrine the right to an abortion, birth control and other forms of reproductive healthcare. The proposal, which passed with 56.7% of the vote, received widespread media attention following the overturning of Roe v. Wade — a 1973 lawsuit which guaranteed the right to abortions nationwide — in June of this year.

“I’m very excited,” Backman said. “I’m very happy with how the election turned out, (Proposal 3) passed and Whitmer is the governor, and I just couldn’t be happier.”

Some students said they thought the campus reaction to Proposal 3 passing and the reelection of Whitmer was generally positive, including LSA junior Emily Karamihas, who said she comes from a more conservative part of the state.

“A lot of my friends also shared my reaction, so that was definitely nice,” Karamihas said. “It’s definitely different.”

Karamihas, who voted in her

way to increase voter engagement in the community.

“I definitely feel like any effort to increase voter participation or (to) get people encouraged to go out is important,” Gibson said.

Business senior Jeremy Vandenhout, who attended the performance in the Tower, said this performance was very special because the audience could enjoy the music while having a scenic view of the campus from above.

“This is a great opportunity to get that front row seat and really understand where the music is coming from that we hear everyday,” Vandenhout said.

hometown of Dexter, Mich., said she was hoping for a Democratic win but wasn’t confident. To her surprise, Dexter cast a majority vote for Whitmer.

“I know definitely in 2016, even 2020, there were a lot of Trump signs I would drive by every day,” Karamihas said. “I was not confident that it would be blue, but it was definitely what I was hoping (for).”

Rentschler said he was actually expecting more votes in favor of Whitmer, who won with a 10.6% margin over Republican challenger Tudor Dixon.

“I think I was surprised to see that the numbers didn’t have a bigger majority,” Rentschler said. “Governor Whitmer only won by about, I want to say, 7%. I think I was surprised, I would have thought it would have been more. All of (the proposals) passed with pretty small margins, and I would have thought to see more, especially for the state of Michigan.”

Whitmer won reelection with a slightly higher percentage of the popular vote than her initial victory in 2018, when she won 53.3% of the popular vote. In 2018, 4.34 million ballots were cast.

Students also commented on the significance of this year’s election, with this year being the first time Michigan’s gubernatorial race has been between two women. Following the election, the Michigan House Democrats appointed state Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to serve as speaker of the house. Tate will be the first Black speaker in state history. Democrats also selected state Sen. Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, as majority leader, the first woman to take up the post. Brinks is also the first woman to represent Grand Rapids in the state senate since 1920.

LSA junior Safra Arevalo said she was proud to see the diversity in Michigan’s elected leaders.

“I think it’s more important to see diversity in whatever level of government and legislation,” Arevalo said. “I think that’s just something important to me, so it’s nice to see that.”

Rentschler echoed similar sentiments, saying that having Tate and Brinks in elected roles is crucial in increasing representation in the legislature.

“Even if they prove to be lackluster, which I don’t think they will be, representation is important,” Rentschler said. “It’s good to let people both feel comfortable in their own bodies and know their voices are going to be heard and represented.”

The U-M chapter of College Republicans, who publicly supported many Republican candidates this

The songs chosen for the event included popular music from movie franchises and artists, such as John Lennon. After the 30-minute performance, many spectators said they enjoyed the final song, which was Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way.”

Though this event was meant to encourage voter participation, Vandenhout said that it was not just about the elections, but also about bringing people together.

“I think even on Election Day, people are going to probably vote regardless of whether there’s music going on,” Vandenhout said. “But this (event) again is a great way to build community.”

past election cycle, did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily. The organization issued the following statement on social media:

“Despite yesterday’s results, College Republicans is proud to put our best foot forward in the good fight. Our work is not done,” the statement reads.

Rentschler said he noticed that many conservative voices on campus tend to share their thoughts on social media, rather than speak publicly to likely avoid backlash.

“Snapchat has those campus stories for your (class) grade, and there’s a couple people who have been very vocal about their opinions about that,” Rentschler said. “They’re not being treated too kindly, I will say.”

LSA senior Charles Hilu said the U-M campus has a problem with allowing conservative students to express their opinions.

“I believe there is certainly a culture on campus where you’re expected to have a left-wing opinion, where you are expected to have opinions from the left,” Hilu said. “Many conservative students do not feel comfortable expressing heterodox opinions, and that’s rampant at the University of Michigan.”

LSA freshman Gabe Khouri said voting is a responsibility, but he believes some people are pressured into voting just because they are eligible to and not necessarily because they are adequately informed about the candidates they’re actually voting for.

“That’s why I held off from voting in this election, since I believe I wasn’t in the right place to vote just yet,” Khouri said. “For one, I hadn’t done enough of my own research on what’s at stake, which is mostly my own fault, but I digress. I also simply don’t feel ready to take on that responsibility, and I refuse to cave into pressure to vote for the sole reason that I’m registered, because that is an irresponsible approach to the voting process, in my opinion.”

Looking beyond the immediate aftermath of the election, Karamihas said she’s hopeful for policies a Democratic trifecta might enact and is glad Republicans didn’t gain power.

“I’m hopeful that laws helping protect the rights of trans people especially will become a reality, since they’re facing a lot of fear-mongering in the media lately,” Karahimas said.

“I also definitely hope for better gun control legislation to help prevent mass shootings. To be honest, for me it really is mostly about avoiding the election denial, COVID denial and LGBTQ+ panic that seems so common among Republicans lately rather than any specific hopes for Democrats.”

ISABELLA KASSA Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan Precision Health program is launching MY PART, a genetic testing program aiming to collect a more diverse and holistic biorepository for future research. While some U-M community members are excited by the promise of advancing genetic research, others have expressed concerns over data privacy.

The project aims to provide bioinformation to researchers looking to make medical breakthroughs in the future. To incentivize participation, subjects are paid $25 and given access to their personal ancestry tree for compensation when they give a blood or saliva sample, which will then be stored in the MY PART central biorepository. Participants were also asked to fill out a variety of questionnaires regarding their health information.

In an interview with The Michigan

Daily, Janet Houghtby, manager of cohort development at Precision Health, said the main goal for the project was to bring in people outside the hospital setting who have been underrepresented within medicine to create greater inclusivity in research.

Houghtby said participants were mainly recruited from preoperative areas, so all samples were coming from a similar population.

“We were getting kind of the same type of people coming through and participating,” Houghtby said. “We really realized that in order to make a difference in medicine and people’s health care and treatments, (we need to) to look at how we can best serve everybody.”

Jennifer Smith, professor of epidemiology and a member of the cohort development team, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily this project is a better way to get holistic health information from patients, which will aid staff in conducting more accurate and beneficial research.

“We think of genetics, and it (seems like) all geneticists, they only care about your genetic predisposition, but honestly, Precision Health is so much more than that,” Smith said. “Being able to integrate genomics into social factors or environmental factors, really understanding the person as a whole, is very important.”

In the genomics field, informed consent is an essential part of the research process. Houghtby said this is an important focus for MY PART as well because of the critical information that will be stored in the biorepository.

“If you’re going to sign up for something, you should know the purpose, you should know what the risks are, what the benefits are and how we’re going to protect your privacy,” Houghtby said.

MY PART will assign each participant’s genetic data a code rather than their name, so it can not be attributed to a unique individual.

However, in the MY PART consent document, it is noted that they are

not able to guarantee anonymity indefinitely.

“Today, researchers cannot identify you if they only have your DNA,” the consent document notes. “This could change in the future. Researchers will be asked not to do this, but we cannot promise that this will never happen.”

Smith said this uncertainty is common when it comes to genetic research because it is difficult to predict where future technology will lead the field.

“If I gave the government your DNA code, they wouldn’t be able to tell who you are because they can’t match it to anything,” Smith said. “But we don’t know in 20 years if, you know, everybody’s DNA is going to be on file somewhere in the government, so we can’t predict what matching might be able to happen at some point in the future.”

In order to achieve diversity among participants, MY PART has been cold emailing pre-existing Michigan Medicine patients who are members of underrepresented demographic

groups. Some demographic characteristics the group screened for include age, race and ethnicity.

LSA senior Claire Waldron said she was initially enticed by the monetary compensation, as well as the prospect of getting access to her ancestry records without having to pay. Though she had reservations about the validity of the information, Waldron said she trusts Michigan Medicine as a strong research institution.

“They have good intentions with it,” Waldron said. “It’s the University of Michigan, and I trust them. I do think that with good intentions, there can always be less than ideal outcomes, and that’s something with a lot of uncertainty.”

Smith sees potential benefits in the form of preventative care and new treatment options.

“For example, our database has a lot of people who have cancer,” Smith said. “By studying their genetics, which don’t change over time until they get cancer, a genetic disease, we can actually identify people who

might be at higher risk for certain cancers. We’re trying to do the preventative pieces and the treatment pieces. Genetic studies can help with both of those things.”

LSA senior Casey Martin said she would not feel comfortable participating in the study because of the vast amount of information researchers would have and the lack of control she would have over this sensitive data.

“Even your doctor doesn’t have your genetic information unless you’ve gotten genetic testing done, and even if you have, it’s normally for a very specific thing,” Martin said. “The University of Michigan would just have that, and what are they doing to protect it?”

Participants are allowed to withdraw from the study at any time, but the informed consent document notes that they will not be able to get back samples or any information that has already been shared.

STUDENTS WAIT IN LINE

You will never be Ryan Gosling from ‘Drive’

SARAH RAHMAN Senior Arts Editor

Eleven years ago, film bro culture was forever changed with the release of Nicolas Winding Refn’s (“The Neon Demon”) “Drive,” starring Ryan Gosling (“La La Land”) and Carey Mulligan (“The Great Gatsby”).

Gosling’s character, known as “Driver” — he’s simply too cool to have a name — is a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver. His quiet disposition and proclivity for long, brooding stares prove his ineffable coolness, and he says just 116 lines in the film’s 100-minute runtime.

But the coolest thing about Driver isn’t his tranquility in the face of violent crime, nor is it his brooding tendencies — it’s his jacket.

Words cannot describe the grip Driver’s white satin bomber jacket with a flippable collar and golden embroidered scorpion on the back had on film bros everywhere after the film’s release. GQ recognizes it as a career-defining look for Gosling. Vogue recently published a deep dive investigating the jacket’s inspiration and creation. Know Your Meme records a whole slew of memes that resulted from the look, many of which continue to flourish today. The memes do not refer to the jacket itself but rather how it was co-opted by the online “Sigma Male” community, who saw the jacket as a reflection of themselves as “equal to Alpha (men) on the hierarchy but living outside the hierarchy by choice.

My predominant fashion philosophy is simple: Wear what you want. But who am I kidding, the jacket from “Drive” is not

Reforming the uniform

MADDIE AGNE Daily Arts Writer

Content Warning: Mentions of body dysmorphia.

For 13 years, I wore a school uniform. From kindergarten to fifth-grade things were pretty lax — jeans and a school T-shirt sufficed. In sixth grade, the uniform tightened up. Every day was a variation of polo shirts, button-downs, skorts or pleated skirts in yellow, gray, blue or plaid. My outerwear had to be a school color, and any logos could be no bigger than an index card. No boots, no sandals, no flashy socks. The shortest permissible skirt was the width of a dollar bill — 2.61 inches — above the bend

of the knee — and trust me, teachers checked. At the time, the uniform wasn’t fun. For a kid desperately trying to figure out how to express myself, the school uniform seemed like the most restrictive thing I could have endured.

My 13-year-old need for artistic expression, however, was no match for the opinions that adult faculty rolled out every time students complained: School uniforms prevent bullying, they said. They enforce discipline; they create a safer school environment; they “make everyone equal.”

Despite research that disproves these arguments, we didn’t have a say as students, so we put up with uniforms. Year after year we bought overpriced

suited for someone whose life includes no risks greater than taking an unprotected left on the way to the grocery store. This might sound harsh, but by recognizing these men’s flawed identification with the jacket, I speak to an issue larger than fashion.

In our clothes and the way we present ourselves, we imbue our identities: who we believe we are and how we hope others perceive us. When Sigma Males and film bros alike ooh and ahh at this

Design by Evelyne Lee

jacket, even buying replicas for themselves at times, the jacket’s draw is more than the stitching; they idolize what this jacket — worn by a Hollywood heartthrob playing a character with a gangster’s swagger — represents. The jacket is a touchpoint for their idealized version of masculinity. What they fail to realize is that, just like Driver himself, the jacket is not as cool off the screen.

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‘Star Wars’ fashion moments with intergalactic influence

LOLA D’ONOFRIO Daily Arts Writer

I love Star Wars because it’s visually fun. The brilliant planets and flashy space battles are eternally stunning, but my favorite aspect of Star Wars iconography is the costuming. The best characters are memorable because of their unforgettable clothing and accessories. From opulent gowns to cyborg appendages, Star Wars is stuffed to the brim with iconic fashion moments.

The following are three Star Wars “looks” that have seared themselves most indelibly into our collective cultural conscience — outfits so awesome, our own galaxy couldn’t help but take notice.

Original Trilogy: Luke Skywalker’s Chanel Boots Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, “Star Wars: A New Hope”) has a lot of fantastic looks, but there’s a special place in my heart for the sinister all-black robes he debuts in “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.” At this point, Luke has lost a lot: his hand, his lightsaber, his mentors, his friends. On top of that, any delusions he had about a heroic family lineage have been destroyed. He’s beginning to question his abilities and shed his innocent farm boy ideals. His clothes reflect this growing moral complexity.

serve as a reminder to many generations of boys that heroism does not require hypermasculinity.

Luke’s dramatic outfits solidify him as a role model, a hero and most importantly, an undeniable fashion icon. Truly, only Luke Skywalker could simultaneously restore peace to the galaxy, play with gender norms and pioneer ’70s-inspired space fashion.

Prequel Trilogy: Padmè Amidala

I admit it’s a cheat to list an entire character as a fashion moment. But if there’s one character worthy of this generalization, it is Padmè Amidala (Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”). To reduce her iconicism to one or two outfits would be to ignore the fact that every time Padmè is on screen, her clothes are stunning. From her first appearance in “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” in ornate, red, ceremonial robes, Padmè’s impact on pop culture was all but guaranteed.

skirts and jackets, cut shirts to wear as dickies under sweatshirts and hand-hemmed skorts to fit better. Year after year, we all looked the same. From sixth grade to senior year, I never had to wonder what I was going to wear and, looking back, I do see the benefits of that. My mornings weren’t

spent wasting time over what colors went together or which jacket to wear that day. I didn’t have a choice. But this certainty is a double-edged sword. I never had to worry about what to wear, but I also never got to worry about what to wear.

Symbolic costuming is a big part of Star Wars, especially for its central heroes. As characters change, so do their clothes, and audiences take note. Luke’s gloomy “Return of the Jedi” outfit sticks with us because it actually enriches his story. His solemn clothes represent his newfound maturity and remind us of how far he has come. When Luke comes to blows with Darth Vader (James Earl Jones, “The Lion King”) at the end of the film, he looks as stern and commanding as his towering opponent. It’s clear that Luke has grown into a Jedi worthy of this climactic battle.

Luke’s “Return of the Jedi” look also just stylistically rocks. Outfits only add to the story if they’re visually memorable, so it’s lucky Luke delivers. Beyond the long, black cloak, he wears a sharp tunic and (most importantly) fabulous knee-high boots. The internet has spun these boots into their own culturally important character, joking that Luke is a budding fashionista who makes sure to wear nothing but the best to defeat evil. His boots have been identified as Chanel, based off of an iconic “Devil Wears Prada” meme. The Queer community celebrates them as proof of Luke’s own Queerness. The boots are widely recognized by fans, to the point that they’re often cited in fan merchandise and have even caught Mark Hamill’s attention. This is fun, but it’s also important. Luke’s celebration as a fashion-forward, effeminate hero is undeniably different from the way most leading male characters are regarded. He is allowed to be soft. Luke and his Chanel boots

The prequels featuring Padmè take place before the rise of Darth Vader and the Empire, when freedom, peace and cultural exchange were widespread throughout the galaxy. Yet Padmè’s character ultimately exists to motivate the destruction of that society: She is the love of Anakin Skywalker’s life (Hayden Christensen, “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”), and it is her love that eventually triggers his transformation into the villainous Darth Vader. When Padmè dies at the end of the prequel series, so does the refinement and balance of galactic society.

It is her wardrobe that drives this point home — a wardrobe that represents the best of galactic art and life. She has ornate headdresses for public appearances, whimsical gowns for romantic getaways, no-nonsense suits for senate hearings and unassuming civilian clothes that help her avoid assassination attempts. Her outfits reflect her own complexity — a complexity that turns her from merely a female character to an actively feminist one.

Padmè is the only woman featured in all three of the prequel films. It’s unfortunate that she stands alone in this regard, but it’s exciting that she’s not trivialized and is instead allowed to be outstanding. Padmè is one of the most distinguished characters to ever grace a Star Wars story, outshining even the Jedi whose paths she crosses. She is by turn a politician, spy, mother, diplomat, adventurer and lover. She fights for justice, falls in love, takes matters into her own hands and delegates easily. Padmè’s clothes are memorable not just because they look cool, but because she is cool. Her outfits are celebrated as Halloween costumes and at fan conventions and through social media because she’s worthy of admiration. We want to be her, we want to love her and we want to emulate her.

Read

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Design by Arunika Shee

I’m more worm than Klum

EMILIA FERRANTE Senior Arts Editor

As soon as I saw Heidi Klum’s worm Halloween costume, I was gripped by the icy fingers of inspiration. I simply had to write about it. For those who somehow missed it, Klum dressed up as an enormous pinkish worm for Halloween — and by “dressed up,” I mean she underwent a complete transformation.

How to describe the worm costume. It takes a second to even realize there’s a person in the costume, let alone that it’s Heidi Klum. If I didn’t hear her talking in interviews outside her famous Halloween party (and believe in her indomitable Halloween spirit), I could be convinced she got some poor schmuck to dress up in her place.

Fundamentally, the worm is a bunch of pieces of foam, a ton of makeup and a lot of other special effects stuff that took months to make. Visually, it is a glistening, seven-foot-tall masterpiece that’s slimy to the touch. Klum’s body fills most of the worm, but towering above her face — yes, Klum’s eyes and mouth are her only features visible through small holes, giving the worm a disconcerting human expression — is several more feet of sickeningly realistic worm, which

Design by Evelyne Lee

curves forward like a second face. Behind Klum’s shuffling feet are still more meticulously crafted rings of shiny brown foam protruding like an avant-garde gown’s train.

The costume itself, which I have lovingly dubbed the “klumworm” in casual conversation, is a feat. It was meant to be outlandish, as Klum constantly ups the ante of her Halloween outfits. Klum has a two-decades-plus history of outlandish Halloween costumes, including an old woman, herself as one of six clones, a cat that looks like it could be in “Cats” (2019), Princess Fiona from “Shrek” and, of course — who could forget? — a human body without skin. Klum is an icon in the fashion world. Most people, including myself, were first introduced to her via “Project Runway,” which she co-hosted until 2018 with the also-iconic Tim Gunn, but she’s also a supermodel and former Victoria’s Secret Angel. Now she can add “sickeningly realistic worm” to her lengthy list of achievements.

Klum said in an in-costume interview with Entertainment Tonight (while lying on the floor after the precarious costume caused her to fall) that the worm took the artists “months” to construct, and that she felt “very claustrophobic” inside the

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Maize and blue: the epitome of high fashion

IRENA TUTUNARI Daily Arts Contributor

I would rather stub my toe repeatedly than wear my high school’s merch in public. It’s not that I had a horrible high school experience or that my school colors were particularly unpleasant; my high school gear is just an eyesore that I would rather leave in the past. Why linger? In fact, I use the high school hoodies that I guiltily packed for college as makeshift hair towels on laundry day. I’m now trading out my faded blue and maroon for new, tags-still-on blue and maize — two colors that fit together much better.

I, without shame, regard Michigan gear as the epitome of high fashion. When I rifle through my closet, trying to choose an outfit, my gaze falls on my Michigan hoodie. Or my Michigan T-shirt, or my other Michigan hoodie. Often, I relent, throwing on a pair of jeans or leggings underneath (or on a lazy day, my Michigan

sweats). See how versatile? The outfit provides simplicity and comfort, but just the word “Michigan” etched on the front makes the look remarkable. I see countless students sporting similar looks and feel a sense of pride not only in this school but in myself for leaving behind what was comfortable and instead pursuing growth and challenge. When I told people I was going to the University of Michigan after high school, congratulations were never in order. Instead, their eyes would bug and they’d gasp, “Wow! That’s so far!” That was part of the appeal. I always knew that staying in New Jersey would never serve me, despite the fact that I am, admittedly, a creature of habit. Change scares me. But though it would have been more comfortable to stay close to home, keep my minimum wage job and think about my future only in horoscope-reading scenarios, I knew I could do more. I’d always dreamed of being a writer, but how could I have material to write about if I decided to stay close to home?

Who wants to read about a girl who had the chance to change her life and chose not to? I knew I had to be adventurous and chase after the fresh, albeit scary new life I could build for myself at the University of Michigan. I chose to disconnect myself from all that I called home, knowing that if I let myself linger there, if I left a part of myself in New Jersey, I would never grow.

Finally coming to Michigan, it felt like I had entered a new universe. People awoke at the crack of dawn for game day, it was no longer embarrassing to sing the school song (or in this case, our fight song) and I felt so much belonging when I could wear my maize and blue and find so many people donning the same colors. I could finally have an education that not only challenged but excited me. I signed up for an Introduction to Creative Writing class, where I was able to study what I’m passionate about alongside equally dedicated and enthusiastic writers.

Therein my newfound style was born. Wearing Michigan

gear helps me feel connected to the community here, with some people from New Jersey like me, while others show me the palm of their hand to indicate where in Michigan they are from. Wearing my obnoxious, mustard-colored clothing is also a sort of homage to myself. The ambition, the drive for success, it’s all seeped into the fibers of the clothes I, and other Michigan students, wear.

When packing to return to New Jersey, I find myself stuffing all of my Michigan gear tightly in my deceptively small suitcase. I even pack the free hoodie that PNC bank gave out the first week of school. I did not come to Michigan with these items in tow, and I’m sure my mother wouldn’t like to hear that this is how I spend my money, but I can’t imagine parting with this clothing.

Coming back to New Jersey for the first time since becoming a University of Michigan student feels like putting on a shirt that’s two sizes too small. I need room to grow, room to explore greater possibilities. So I choose to wear my maize and blue.

Costume contemplations from a former theatre-kid

HANNAH CARAPELLOTTI Senior Arts Editor

When my middle school introduced its musical theatre elective by putting on “Beauty and the Beast Jr.,” I played Chip. Well, I played Chip once and only once, at a Saturday morning dress rehearsal. I had appointed myself the understudy — the speaking roles went to the seventh and eighth graders, and I wanted to feel important as one of the few sixth graders in the cast. The young actress who had (rightfully) earned the part of Chip hadn’t shown up that day, which meant that I not only got to say her lines but also got to wear the bulky teacup costume. It couldn’t have been more than some painted fabric sewn around a hula hoop, but I thought it was something straight out of the movie. I rode the high of playing what was, to me, a lead role, all morning. It was on that day that I first fell in love with being onstage.

Doing theatre in my teens has easily been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My parents insisted that my siblings and I do something active each year. In my freshman year of high school, after many fruitless attempts at different sports, my mom and I went to see my school’s production of “Hairspray.” She said that all the

dancing would count as “something active,” and I immediately signed up for the summer musical.

I’ve played a wide range of characters over the years and worn an even wider range of costumes.

I was in a “Guys and Dolls” dance number. I wore a dress my friends dubbed “the weed dress” because it was green and had a sparkly plant pattern on it. In another complicated dance number for “Curtains,” I played a mermaid.

Being in Catholic school meant we wore seashell tube tops over white leotards — God forbid we show any actual skin, but considering I got an uncomfortable compliment from one of the dads in the cast, it’s probably good that we didn’t.

I played a nun on more than one occasion (again, Catholic school). I wore a fur coat when I played Mrs. Van Daan in “The Diary of Anne Frank.” The coat was my character’s most prized possession, to the point where I probably rubbed its sleeves on my cheek to showcase my love for it more than I wore it as an actual coat.

Under any other circumstances, I avoided being in the spotlight. My family would have to whisper-sing “Happy Birthday” to me at parties when I was a toddler. I hated being asked to play the piano when we had people over. Any time someone cheered for me at a sporting event, I’d turn and glare at them from the

court. So what was it about being onstage that changed me? Did I feel more confident because I was playing a character? Did it have something to do with the clothes I wore? My costumes were never something I could have worn outside of a stage production, but they made me feel beautiful in their own way. I think the answer lies more in the ways that performing taught me to get out of my own head.

Mrs. Van Daan was one of my favorite roles I have ever played, and not just because I was onstage for the entire show. Mrs. Van Daan was so unlike myself: openly flirtatious, an instigator, stingy and dramatic. She was a “big” character. I was the furthest thing from big — I remember my director telling me not to be a “repressed white girl.” As such, inhabiting her personality took a lot of work. At the start of the rehearsal process, we played improv games in which we responded as we thought our characters would. I visibly froze during one game while trying to come up with an answer to the question. During another, I was ironically eliminated for trying to “stay alive” more than making character choices. A particularly scarring memory was having to stay after a tech rehearsal for “yelling lessons,” which left me in tears of frustration.

Design by Abby Schreck

VALERIJA MALASHEVICH Statement Correspondent

Content Warning: mentions of death, homicide, suicide and graphic descriptions of bodily mutilation and trauma.

***

I remember the beauty of last week like it was yesterday, when all the fresh and crunchy leaves were still littered across the Diag and the wind lacked that extra bite. I frequently find it difficult to engage in my favorite pastime — stopping to smell the figurative roses — with such a busy schedule, but I had some time that day to pause and collect a few vibrant specimens from the ground, glowing in all shades between red and yellow.

It’s not hard for me to imbue such seemingly bland moments with meaning, to make those tender seconds of inner solitude the defining parts of my day. But my ability to manifest meaning in otherwise ordinary occasions stems from something sinister, something completely out of my control that haunts me to this day. I remember the dim green of the traffic lights and the wet, shiny reflection on the road like it was yesterday.

No matter how hard I try, I can’t shake the look of the other driver’s face, the complete and total blankness that overwhelmed his softer features, dimly lit up inside his car by the luminescence of my headlights. I almost want to say that there was a look of fear on his face, which is predictable given that he haphazardly pulled out into my lane before noticing my car barreling towards his, but I might just be projecting.

I remember thinking how unfair it was. How I spent the last five years building my defensive driving skills. How I got my permit the day after I turned 15 and a half. I had a car before I had a license. There is something

HALEY JOHNSON Statement Correspondant

Two months ago, I received an unexpected direct message on Twitter. It was from someone I had never met but vaguely recognized from the University of Michigan Twitter-sphere.

“I think my roommate found your fake,” they wrote. “It kinda sucks btw.”

Said ID was not, in fact, my fake ID. It was my real Michigan driver’s license. It had disappeared somewhere between my apartment and Babs’ Underground Lounge after a night out about two weeks prior. I had been frantically looking for it ever since, tearing through my car, backpack and bedroom on a desperate mission to find it. In the meantime, I endured the

In defense of my old friend, Death

embedded in this silly invention by man, some kind of force that beckons me to the driver’s seat like a siren. There is nothing more electrifying for my soul than the hum of her engine. No one can cure me like my Hyundai can.

How unfair it seemed to me then, to know how much thrill driving gives me, and how much of it is ruined by clueless drivers.

“Unfair, unfair, unfair!” I would scream as I approached my father covered in tears, for years on end, after yet another idiot on the road made me pay for his mistakes again.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to think about all the unfairness in the world. This man didn’t just pull out into my lane — he parked his minivan perpendicular to my path, and with me nearing a speed of 60 mph, the already worrying 100 feet or so of space between our cars was diminishing quickly. It was unfair, truly, that even with my stellar reaction time and the urgent strength in my foot as I slammed the brakes, it was not enough.

I was just going too damn fast.

In all actuality, I don’t know what that guy went home and did. Maybe he kissed his wife, told his kids he loves them, and promised to quit his shitty job. But me? I spent months regressing into a sort of guilt, ruing the fact that I had been granted a second chance, and feeling unworthy because I didn’t know what to do with it. ***

I once took a forensic pathology class my senior year of high school where we were shown intensely graphic images from victims of asphyxiation to death by chainsaw to car crashes. I wasn’t strong enough to stomach one, just one, image from our class, where a pedestrian was plowed through by a sports car, which left his

legs on the opposite side of the road from his torso, and a mildly interrupted string of intestines could be traced between the two.

I can only picture what the scene of my accident would’ve looked like. How both of our faces would have been eaten by the airbags, bones snapped and twisted and exposed, even though I definitely had a higher chance of walking away from our encounter than he did. It would’ve been horrible — tragic to look at, tragic to think about and just tragic enough to make the next day’s front page.

It may have only been a flicker in my mind, one second that wasn’t drowned out by instinctual thinking, but I had convinced myself that I was a dead man driving.

Any time I sit behind the wheel, I often have close encounters with destruction.

I drive in a way that leaves my passengers shaking with adrenaline, slammed down into the seat from the force of my sharp turns and startled by the sudden yet smooth swerving in between lanes. And yet, with all the accidents I’ve almost had throughout the course of my life, never have I blanked behind the wheel so instantly as I did in that moment.

And yet, when the brake failed to stop my rear wheels from sprinting as I approached the minivan head-on, cars racing against me in both of the adjacent lanes, leaving me with nowhere to go, my detrimental habit became the thing that saved my life. I took my foot off the brake and slid it to the right, speeding up just quickly enough to lane split and avert death by just a few inches.

I initially assumed I had learned nothing from my lesson, taking away nothing from the deathly learning curve and the addiction I have to endangering myself and others.

I continued to drive with the same recklessness (and still do), but how could I not? That night, I had saved both of our lives, shooing away death with the same dangerous driving that all those news outlets warn you about. Despite the years of unfairness, I was in the right this time.

Still, the ego boost was not enough to overshadow the hollowness that followed my spirit around. I had averted death, but for what benefit?

For months, I grappled with my dilemma. What would leave a more foul stench in your mouth — dying a little too young or unfulfilled potential after being granted another chance?

If you had told me that just enjoying the softness of grass beneath, or collecting pretty rocks to give to my friends later, would be enough to make me feel whole again, I honestly wouldn’t have believed you.

I had met Death before, in hospital rooms and in movies and within myself, but it took me almost dying to realize I was shunning the friend who made my life worthwhile, who made me remember what I do it all for.

We all have, I think, treated our friend the Grim Reaper a little too unfairly for all the good he brings us. Death was once considered a uniquely divine and honorable part of our lives, but the creation and medicalization of the death industry has transformed conversations about Death into cultural taboos, as we all just bite our tongues and sweep under the rug the most inevitable component of our collective experience.

***

Like any healthy obsession, my fascination with death started quite young. Instead of “Vampire Diaries” or “Gossip Girl” or “Wizards of Waverly

The real fake IDs of UMich

humiliation of taking my passport to bars.

I didn’t blame the Twitter stranger for assuming my ID to be fake. My driver’s license photo was exceptionally bad. I looked terrible in it — I had forgotten you were allowed to smile so it looked more like a mugshot than a driver’s license photo, and I was still hungover from the night before. I wouldn’t blame someone for thinking it was taken in a dorm basement with a digital camera from the 1990s. And ever since I turned 21, I’ve been paranoid that my license would be confiscated at Rick’s or the liquor store because there’s something about it that just seems so unconvincing.

But there was something so stereotypically “college student” about that message that it was almost comical. It was a reminder of the absurdity of the fake ID

phenomenon; they’re so ubiquitous that any driver’s license found left behind on the street is assumed to be a piece of fraudulent government documentation.

Fake IDs have become almost synonymous with college life since the legal drinking age was raised to 21 from 18 with the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Act in 1984. The law was a bizarre quid-pro-quo that withheld federal funding for highways from states unless they raised the drinking age, meant to circumvent a provision in the 21st Amendment that prohibits the federal government from regulating alcohol. Four years after the National Minimum Drinking Age was passed, all states were compliant and 21 was the de-facto federal age.

Suddenly, 21 became the most important — and in my opinion, most arbitrary — social division on college campuses. Perhaps in recognition of how meaningless the divide really was, students almost immediately began trying to circumvent it with fake IDs. Utter disregard for the law became the norm. In one study published in 1996, 46% of college students admitted to using a fake ID to purchase alcohol.

For the most part, obtaining a fake ID is low risk and high reward. Minors can effectively purchase unlimited access to alcohol, weed or any other illicit substance. And it’s currently easier than ever to get high-quality “novelty IDs” online, usually produced in China, that can be swiped and scanned. Sure, there’s the small risk of it getting confiscated by the bouncer at Charley’s, but chances are you’ll make it past him just fine.

Still, using a fake doesn’t come entirely without risk. Under Michigan law, it’s illegal to “intentionally reproduce, alter, counterfeit, forge, or duplicate an official state identification card or use an official state identification card that has been reproduced, altered, counterfeited, forged or duplicated.”

And using a fake ID to “purchase alcoholic liquor” is punishable by

up to 93 days in prison and a $100 fine. Students have been arrested for possession of fraudulent identification before, often when police officers are waiting near the lines going into popular bars. In 2010, immigration agents arrested 2 U-M students and 1 MSU student after intercepting a package with 48 fake IDs arriving from Toronto. Regardless, it still seems like many illicit transactions do proceed everyday and uninterrupted, as students hand their ID to the cashier at Campus Corner, perhaps verifying their “address” or “date of birth,” and go on their way.

Fake IDs are so common that it can be easy to forget the insanity of the concept: Minors have the opportunity to significantly improve their social lives and overall college experiences by committing federal crimes on a weekly basis. This isn’t to say underage drinking is bad or that people should boycott fake IDs; I actually personally support the lowering of the drinking age. Rather, I’d argue that this fake ID phenomenon that’s accompanied by ample, even grave risk is too often taken at face value.

If you don’t have a fake ID,

there’s a good chance one of your friends does. One could go as far to say that the never-ending stream of parties, tailgates and smoke sessions that are so integral to campus life stand entirely on an informal network of fraudulent identities. And I think it’s time to confront this network for all it’s worth and all it does for this campus community.

These are the real fake IDs of the University of Michigan. ***

“I thought I was totally screwed and lost everybody’s money. I was freaking out,” a Ross sophomore explained. The student, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of legal and professional repercussions, will be referred to as Eric.

Eric had placed a mass order of 14 fake IDs for himself and fellow Michigan students. He had meticulously tracked everyone’s information in a spreadsheet and, together, their false personas spanned the entire country — he had ordered “novelty IDs” from Illinois, Connecticut and Colorado, among other states.

The entire process had gone smoothly until it was time to pay.

Place” (which has earned me plenty of harassment from my roommates), I grew up on shows like “House MD,” “Bones,” and “CSI.” My exposure to death was precocious to say the least, but these heavier and moralistic shows helped to stiffen my backbone during actual troubling times, when I started having to say my last goodbyes to the people I loved.

And how ironic it is that my life pursuits continue to center around these topics. One of my truest passions — as everyone around me knows — continues to be anthropology. I tend to make it very explicit how much I appreciate the efforts of past hominins to preserve evidence of their existence. To slather paint on cave walls and to look after injured members of their clan — it’s all just too poetic to ignore.

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Many forgers offer discounts to customers who pay with Bitcoin, and some of the highest-quality vendors have gone crypto-only. Eager to save a few dollars, Eric transferred the $650 he had collected from his friends into Coinbase, a popular crypto exchange platform.

Then in June, the price of Bitcoin crashed. The hundreds of dollars Eric had collected evaporated.

Eric was able to recoup his funds by exploiting a loophole in Coinbase’s system. “I called Coinbase and told them it was a ‘mistake’ that the money was put there,” he said. “I did some research, and they have some sort of rule where if you don’t do a certain amount of transactions within a certain amount of time, they think that the money was put in there by mistake or your account is inactive, and they give you your money back.”

Eric, thankfully, was able to complete the transaction through Zelle, albeit at a higher cost than if he had paid in Bitcoin. Soon after, Eric’s “novelty” Georgia ID

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ELIZABETH WOLFE Statement Columnist

Political signage around Ann Arbor, though often a year-round affair for many students, protestors and organizations, has been amplified by the midterm elections, from splashes of “Vote Yes on Prop 3” signs across the Diag to yard signs promoting local candidates.

I was not accustomed to this politically charged environment until coming to college, nor did I realize its prominence until a recent controversy occurred in my hometown.

Grosse Pointe’s St. Paul on the Lake Church garnered media attention last month after displaying a large “VOTE NO ON PROP 3” sign on its front lawn, accompanied by dozens of small white crosses. Driving past the church with my mom, I saw the sign and felt a knot tighten within me — a visceral response triggered by not only frustration toward a message I don’t agree with, but its size, lettering and language.

It was eventually taken down for violating city code regarding the size of signs, but its message continued to reverberate within me when I returned to Ann Arbor for the start of the school year. It struck me in the physical context of my hometown, where such signs are a rarity. Looking around Ann Arbor, I thought: Were there any signs here that I was missing?

Kerrytown’s sister funhouses: MichMinnies Cooperative I hurried over to MichMinnies Cooperative on Halloweekend, my Princess Peach costume hidden beneath a U-M hoodie. Though it was dark outside, I could still admire the exterior of the houses as I approached: the blue “Michigan House” and, sitting just next to it,

a large purple townhouse named “Minnies.” Together, they make “MichMinnies,” one of 16 co-ops in Ann Arbor’s Inter-Cooperative Council.

The brightly colored co-op stands out among the other houses on North State Street. A variety of signs, flags and other objects dotted the wrap-around porch of Michigan House, making it an anomaly among its plain surroundings. Signs on the front of the blue building advertised carbon neutrality, LGBTQ+ pride, Bernie Sanders and perhaps most infamously, a cardboard sign that reads RONALD REAGAN’S GRAVE IS A GENDER NEUTRAL BATHROOM.

The inside of the building held the same chaos of posters. The walls were clustered with a variety of artwork and pictures of friends, as well as a large swordfish sculpture, a presumably stolen bus route sign, caution tape and DIY wanted posters, among other aesthetic curiosities.

I would later learn from MichMinnies’s president, LSA senior Mack Kroll, that the co-op was originally named the Michigan Socialist House, established to serve students seeking affordable housing

during the Great Depression.

Because of the houses’ consistent political and cultural leanings inherent to the community of housemates, the signage isn’t reflective of just one member of the co-op, but is rather a shared representation of the intertwined values and personalities of MichMinnies.

The occupants of the co-op are not the only ones that enjoy the inclusive environment MichMinnies offers. Kroll recalled a time when a mother walking with her son noted his interest in the house. The mother relayed to Kroll that they had always passed it on their way to the son’s preschool, and that the son would tell his mom how much he liked the decorations. After taking down their former trans flag due to wear and tear, the mother gifted MichMinnies a new one.

With all these signs, these physical manifestations of the houses’ cooperative identities, the most important thing for Kroll is that people living in and visiting MichMinnies feel like they can express themselves without hesitation.

Social hierarchies on campus: Why Greek life isn’t unique

CONNOR HERRERAS Statement Columnist

Standing in the late afternoon sunlight amid a crowd of university students, I observed the scene before me. Music blared from a DJ stand I couldn’t see, swallowed in a mass of bodies decked out in maize and blue. A friend of mine from high school was in town, and an old soccer teammate of his invited us to visit his frat before we headed off to watch the Wolverines take on Michigan State.

The first thing I noticed was the blue tarp surrounding the frat house’s backyard, which served to both maintain the frat’s privacy and give the backyard an atmosphere of exclusivity, like an improvised club for the University of Michigan “a-listers.”

The second thing I noticed was that, as I pushed through the crowd, the faces I passed had the same skin tone as me. Despite not knowing any of the fraternity members or “brothers” there, I was well aware of the reason I could waltz in as if I belonged. Being a white person myself, I was all too comfortable in the company of a group that I blended right into.

When you’re in the moment — EDM tunes blaring in your ears, solo cup in hand — it’s easy to see how the privilege of being a part of “the brotherhood” is appealing to so many university students across the country — a privilege that has historically created homogenous groups of campus “cool kids,” a privilege deeply embedded in systems of racism, homophobia, classism — the list goes on. Greek life gives students the opportunity to choose their social circle, but it’s not unique in that sense. Social hierarchy is

synonymous with Greek life, but beyond the explicit measures of social standing, like the ranking systems that determine the “top” frats and sororities, many student organizations on campus operate in a similar way, positioning themselves in relation to their peers.

Involvement in student organizations is a means for students to tout their status, whether it be a sorority or the ski and snowboard club.

To investigate this, I spoke with LSA sophomore Alina Malin, a member of the a cappella group The Compulsive Lyres, one of over a dozen a cappella groups on campus.

Malin explained that when it comes to a cappella at the University of Michigan, an organization that features “rushing” loosely similar to that of Greek Life, “Certain groups are very driven by competition ... and certain groups are all about the social aspect.”

“There are certain groups that tend to compete more, have more funding and have worked toward performance quality over other things,” Malin continued. “There is a hierarchy in terms of performance ability because that’s measurable.”

However, while a cappella and Greek life both have hierarchies, for Malin, the similarities end there. “People don’t really join a cappella to get social standing,” Malin said.

So, competition among different a cappella groups may not be the popularity contest that is Greek life, but you’re still going to end up with people rushing what they perceive as the “best” a cappella group.

To be certain of social hierarchy’s heightened relevance to Greek life, I spoke with an anonymous member of the business fraternity Phi Gamma Nu about their experience. The interviewee chose to remain anonymous out of a concern for

the potential social ostracism they might face for speaking up about social dynamics among the business fraternities.

Explaining their fraternity’s position in comparison to the other business frats, they said, “We would be considered kind of lower than everyone else.”

“Within the business frats, they’re called the tri-frat ... It’s DSP (Delta Sigma Pi), PCT (Phi Chi Theta) and AKPsi (Alpha Kappa Psi), and they were the first three established at Michigan,” the interviewee said.

Hence, Phi Gamma Nu hasn’t been around for as long as these “top” frats and is not afforded the same prestige.

Getting into one of the top frats can mean a lot to prospective members. “That’s a big mentality people have when rushing,” the interviewee explained. The rushing process involves interviews, in which, according to a Reddit post on r/uofm, those rushing get “grilled pretty hard.”

Being in a business frat is an opportunity to establish connections that will last into post-college life in the workforce. In other words, “They all do the same thing, it’s just different social cultures, but people still perceive a ranking even though it’s just there for the sake of having a hierarchy,” the interviewee said.

Whether that hierarchy truly matters or not is up to the individual. As this person told me, “I view them kind of as friend groups, and when you’re rushing, you should see which friend group you want to fit into best.”

Lucy Brock, an LSA junior and member of the sorority Sigma Kappa, echoed this sentiment.

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Iranian Women’s Long-Standing Fight Against State Brutality

“Zan. Zindigi. Azadi ” — knowing that those may be the last words they ever utter.

Zan. Zindigi. Azadi.

In recent weeks, Iranians have taken to the streets in large num bers to protest the death of Jina (Mahsa) Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman who died at the hands of Iran’s morality police. Protestors are honoring the lives lost to state brutality forces and challenging socio-political systems that enable the violent enforcement of laws that no longer serve the interests of Iranian citizens. Iranian police forces have responded violently to Iranian women on the front line of protests who are chanting: “Zan.

Zindigi. Azadi ” — the Farsi version of a Kurdish motto that translates to “Women, Life, Freedom.” For the last month, their protests have been met with physical brutal ity, mass imprisonment and unjust surveillance that suppress their revolutionary efforts. Despite the ever-present threat of imprison ment and violence at the hands of the state, Iranians are continu ing to protest. Workers are strik ing, children aren’t showing up for school and women across the nation are relentlessly chanting

Iranian women have been denied these seemingly simple demands for life and freedom for nearly a century. The desire to live freely and uphold bodily autonomy has persisted across generations of Iranian women who have lived under various socio-political sys tems that enforce violent control on their citizens. In the past 70 years, Iranians have been con trolled by several regimes that have utilized state-sanctioned vio lence to monopolize every aspect of their citizens’ lives. Through American intervention efforts, the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty and the current rule of the Islamic Republic, a century of Iranians have experienced regime after regime of state brutality promising to somehow correct the state bru tality that preceded it.

The American role in the current state of Iranian affairs dates back to 1953, when a CIA coup over threw Iran’s democratically elect ed leader, Mohammed Mosaddegh. This coup was part of an American effort to reinstate the monarchy in

My Brown Heroes: Part I

KUVIN SATYADEV MiC Columnist

Modern Indian American mythology consists of recur ring epics. The daring quests for the coveted M.D. The hero ines who got admitted to Har vard. Tales of valiant engineers and fearsome physicians (Just like my Amma, this article has already brought up being a doc tor too much). Growing up, I was regaled with these tales of Indi an excellence. However, there are many lost scripts — stories that remained untold, scratched from the official tablet.

Why aren’t they shared? My hypothesis: they don’t feed into the reverence of unfalter ing perfection, safe decisions, money and status. Because they don’t support parents being munnari deivam, your “first god.” Because they don’t involve a “risqué” change from engi neer to doctor — they are about switching from Zoloft to Lexa pro. They’re embodiments of subjects that are more comfort able left unsaid.

That’s where my cousin’s tale comes in — to fill in these gaps.

Suja Akka has a tall, com manding presence. Her hugs make it feel like the world can’t touch you.

At 16, Suja Akka was diag nosed with depression. She says if her older self had been pres ent, she would have recognized the signs years prior. But it was the quintessential motif: igno rant parents who are unable to understand how to deal with mental illness. Mental health falls under many labels in our family: a sickness, an excuse, a

weakness. Therefore, her battles were shrouded in silence — a shameful secret.

At the same time, her par ents were divorcing. Divorce during the ’90s was unheard of in our Indian community (and, to a point, still is). Her parents’ divorce was the first in our extended U.S. family — anoth er challenge met with silence in our community. Another taboo topic that Akka had to cope with alone. As the divorce unfolded, her parents grew neglectful. Parents who used to ban her from dates and home coming suddenly didn’t care what she did. They didn’t know which colleges she had applied to or how she was doing in life.

To make matters worse, her amma channeled her own anger towards Akka, tormenting her at home, castigating and demean ing her. She would find any lit tle reason to unleash her anger on Akka, especially when she had the gall to show an ounce of personality. When Suja Akka finally started standing up for herself against these unwar ranted attacks and yelling back, her Amma gave her uncles and grandparents an ultimatum: stop talking to Suja or stop talk ing to me. Did they defend the girl going through unimagina ble battles? No. Suja Akka was unceremoniously thrown out of her grandparents’ house where she had lived. A friend had to pick her up from the curb. She was no longer invited to family gatherings. There would be no Thanksgivings, no Christmases, no phone calls or check-ins for many years to come.

Iran; by seating Shah Reza Pahlavi on the throne, Iranians fell under the rule of a U.S.-backed royal dic tatorship. Under the influence of American puppeteers, the Pahlavis measured success through a west ern lens, putting great emphasis on urbanizing the nation. Urbaniza tion efforts were hailed as signs of progress and economic recovery, but the failures of these efforts were transparent. Under the Shah, a large portion of Iranians liv ing in rural areas lacked access to education and health care. This was a consequence of the Shah’s repression of rural lifestyles that accompanied his censure of many traditional aspects of Iranian cul ture. In an effort to suppress oppo sition to modernization efforts, traditional symbols of Islam were criminalized — particularly hijab. Kashfe Hijab was the movement to ban women in Iran from being veiled, and it encompassed the broader efforts of the Shah to control women under the guise of liberating them. It is clear that Iranian women have long been familiar with the administration of oppressive forces dictating their right to choose.

After a long period of civil

unrest under the Pahlavi dynasty, Iranians began to revolt. Critics of the Pahlavi regime — including veiled women, inhabitants of rural Iran, Shiite Iranians and Marx ist groups like Iran’s Tudeh Party — sought to conquer the oppres sive rule of the Pahlavi dynasty, and its unwavering allegiance to the West. Unsurprisingly, protes tors were met with brutal forces that imprisoned revolutionaries, restricted efforts for liberation and committed violence against civilians — all repressive tactics that have been maintained by the current regime.

Despite efforts to suppress opposition, insurgence under the Shah continued to increase. This was made possible by the mass mobilization of Shiite Iranians, inspired by the work of Ayatol lah Khomeini. Khomeini, who had been exiled by the Pahla vis, became the catalyst for the Islamic revolution upon his return to the country in 1979. After the Shah was overthrown, he became the supreme leader of the newly founded Islamic Republic.

Khomeini’s victory restored hope for many Iranians — who viewed the Islamic revolution as

a means for liberation — while prompting many others to flee the country. Alas, it wasn’t long before the promises made to the 1979 revolutionaries were broken. The Shah’s implementation of state brutality was quickly reconstruct ed to serve the Islamic Republic’s vision for the homogenization of Iran. In either direction of homog enization, women have been dis proportionately scrutinized and subjected to violent law enforcement.

The fall of the Pahlavi Dynasty only momentarily silenced cries for liberation. Iranians quickly became governed by authoritarian forces under a new guise. In many ways, the Islamic Republic estab lished a socio-political system that would mimic the Shah’s efforts to homogenize the nation, while directly opposing the Shah’s vision for homogenization. This is epito mized by the republic’s hijab man date, which prompted people to assemble in protest, chanting the slogan: “In the dawn of freedom there is an absence of freedom.”

These women, advocating for the right to choose, were echoing the same cries of veiled women living under the Pahlavi dynasty’s 1936 Kashfe Hijab mandate. The newly

formed republic began to target the autonomy of Iranian women in a new, but familiar, way.

Unsurprisingly, Iranians cur rently protesting the death of Jina Amini are being met with the same violent forces that killed her.

Protestors are being subjected to heavy surveillance, police violence and unfair imprisonment. Current and past political protestors are being held in Evin Prison, which was founded toward the end of the Pahlavi era and maintained under the Islamic Republic. As the goals of each government seemingly changed, Evin Prison serves as a tangible symbol for the longstand ing and remaining state brutality and tyrannical justice system that has been present since the Pahlavi era. The Shah set the precedent for using Evin Prison to unjustly imprison political prisoners and subject them to torturous, inhu mane living conditions. Ironically, Evin Prison became occupied by those who were involved with the Pahlavi regime after 1979, but the prison population soon broadened to include anyone opposing the Islamic Republic.

Molly Joyce and Musical Commentary on Disability in ‘Perspective,’

CEDRIC MCCOY MiC Columnist

Released on Oct. 28 in celebra tion of Disability Employment Awareness Month, Perspective is Molly Joyce’s second studio album and the newest entry in her growing collection of activ ist thinkpieces. Across 12 tracks, each focused on a core element of disability or societal percep tion of disability, Joyce weaves together her minimalist-esque music compositional styles with interview clips and statements from a tremendously wide range of people, from performing art ists to academic activists. The spoken audio clips are engaging, personal and often emotional in nature due to the intimacy of disability conversations. Joyce pays specific attention to shar ing diverse viewpoints within the disability community and features many POC and LGBTQ+ perspectives. Thus far, it has received fairly positive criti cism, but her status as a mar ginalized composer has limited the exposure of her work. I’d like to tell you a bit more about her and the significance of this work both in terms of her activ ism and her trailblazing musical visions. In full transparency, I do not identify myself with the disabled community. With that in mind, I do not intend for this piece to speak to the disabled experience in any way; rather, I hope to shed light on the work that Joyce has done thus far, and hopefully convince you to expe rience her music.

Molly Joyce is a composer and performer. Much of her work is multimedia, making use of both

audio and visual components. She is best known for play ing her vintage 1960s Magnus toy organ, which she uses as an instrumental reflection of dis ability in her work; according to Joyce, the organ “allows (her) to engage and seek the creative potential of disability.” She is a graduate of Juilliard, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and the Yale School of Music. She has won numerous awards, col laborated with many significant contemporary music artists and has written for various academic

publications as wwell as given a TedX presentation about persist ing in music after being impaired in an accident.

Prior to Perspective, she released performances of her music on her 2017 EP Lean Back and Release and her 2020 debut album Breaking and Entering. She has also composed works for other performers and ensembles of various mediums.

I first learned about Joyce in a contemporary music course by Dr. Ryan Olivier that I took at Indiana University South Bend

before I transferred to Michi gan. I was really interested in minimalist music at the time, so her postminimalist compo sitional style intrigued me; I found her works evocative and direct in messaging, yet some what open to artistic interpre tation. I had little exposure to contemporary women compos ers prior to the course, and had absolutely no reference for pos sible intersections between dis ability and music, so her work

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MARYAM KHORASSANI MiC Columnist

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Ammar Ahmad

Young people are the best teachers when it comes to activism

Dear President Ono: No more activist administrators

PAUL SESI Opinion Contributor

Dear President Ono, Welcome to the University of Michigan! My friends at the University of British Columbia tell me great things about your tenure there. I hope your approach embodies this university’s mission “to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.”

As you begin your term, I feel it is important to bring to your attention the growing number of emails from the U-M leadership — including your predecessor — that take a specific stance not only on sensitive political and social issues of the day, but on issues for which there is no consensus among the diverse members of the U-M community of students, faculty and staff.

On behalf of community members, including myself, that feel marginalized because our personal beliefs do not align with those of the U-M leadership, I respectfully ask that you enact communication policies that either abstain from sending such partisan emails or at least include all sides and opinions on controversial topics. As a Chaldean-American and a first-generation college student, I believe that such actions will foster a diverse and inclusive environment at the University, which I feel has been noticeably absent during the past four years.

the administration that opine on social issues — ranging from the Dobbs v. Jackson case to overturning Roe v. Wade to the Russian-Ukrainian and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts abroad — represent the diverse perspectives of the entire community. It is also not clear how such emails expressing the personal beliefs of U-M stewards differ from other university employees who misuse funds and resources for their own benefit while harming the institution’s stakeholders.

I appreciate the difficult nature of navigating hot-button topics, and I do not envy your job in that regard. While partisan emails to U-M stakeholders may temporarily appease some groups, I fear that appeasing a subset of our community is detrimental to long-term community value because it widens the divide between those on both sides of each issue.

For example, on June 24, 2022, Interim President Mary Sue Coleman sent an email weighing in on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which sent decisions over abortion rights back to the states. Her electronic missive (emphasis added) stated: “I strongly support access to abortion services, and I will do everything in my power as president to ensure we continue to provide this critically important care. Our campus is more than half women; we care about our own communities as well as those we serve through clinical care and education. I am deeply concerned about how prohibiting abortion would affect U-M’s medical teaching, our research, and our service to communities in need.”

mission. A mission that serves the University’s diverse stakeholders, including those that may take exception — which may include a portion of the “more than half of women” that Coleman cites — with the statement that abortions “provide this critically important care” to all members of our community, including future U-M stakeholders. For instance, how should devout Catholic students or pro-life members of our community feel when reading an email that sets the tone for the campus environment?

The University of Michigan’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan includes strategies for creating an inclusive and equitable campus climate. It states that the University has designed campus-wide action items to “encourage a culture of belonging in which every member of our community can grow and thrive.” How does espousing personal views from the sacred platform upon which you and others lead convey a sense of inclusion? How does it encourage diversity of thought when the views of the disaffected group are ignored or implicitly demonized?

In addition to sending partisan emails, the failure to send emails addressing other partisan issues also reduces a sense of inclusion to many on campus. The selective absence of emails on some topics provides a signal to our community that such issues are not noteworthy — especially when juxtaposed with emails on topics that the administration clearly believes are noteworthy.

movements and education.

Today, many young people, especially students, want to be vocal advocates for the issues that they care about. With so many issues directly impacting this generation, like gun violence, climate change and student debt, it is difficult to ignore the intensifying need for the pursuit of activism. The problem, though, is that there are so many ways to vocalize these goals to the broader population. Finding the most effective way to express your interests is essential to being your own sort of “perfect” activist.

Variations of activism such as voting, participating in political campaigns and protesting are important for advocacy. These acts are deemed essential to making our mark on the democratic process, but the elementary variable behind each of them is oftentimes left out.

Keeping every political action, every campus protest and every activist campaign afloat is the fundamental value of education. Whether it be from the courses we take or the campus organizations we associate ourselves with, lifelong learning and education are essential to becoming the best advocates we can be.

Passion about political issues can get you to a successful point of activism, but to fuel that passion, you need information. Living in the digital age, a constant stream of political news can be overwhelming, so organizing things like workshops, seminars and organizations of like-minded advocates can assist in making this flow much more efficient and accessible.

For the purpose of this argument, I am going to focus on what has generally taught me the most about activism — the teachings of other students.

Education has always been important in my life, but it has been especially key when it comes to my personal and political development. I’ve learned a lot from courses on U.S. government and civics that have given me a life-long interest in politics, but it has been the students I have surrounded myself with that have heavily influenced my store of information on social issues. In a world where young people are becoming increasingly more involved in political issues, it is essential that our generation is the one to fuel the future of social

Public Policy senior Elizabeth Peppercorn is the president of the campus organization Students for Democracy, which prioritizes political research and advocacy as a means of education. She said that “student education is an important element in activism because education provides students with the tools and facts they need to make strong arguments and educated stances on issues.” Not only is it essential to have the proper tools for advocacy, but it is even more important that organizations communicate with students in a way that they best understand and can respond to directly. Being aligned with student organizations focused on political research, outreach and education gives young people the chance to learn and grow as emerging individuals in the democratic process.

But why is it so important that it be “student-centered” education? The answer is that a platform “by” and “for” young people when it comes to policy and justiceoriented movements allows for the effective building of advocates and advocacy groups.

When we formulate an interactive and dialoguebased program aimed directly at students, they feel more comfortable sharing their opinions and concerns and can better understand issues from a more personalized perspective.

Students may learn primarily from their teachers, but it is other young people that truly influence their actions, understand their interests and empathize with their hopes and fears for the future. This is why activism directed by young people is essential to solving the central political causes of the day — they understand and will face their effects to the greatest extent, and can best reach others in that same situation.

This focus on education is not to say that we need to lessen the pressure to vote and protest and petition — it’s actually a call to continue these methods and make them more effective. We see student activists across the country using their voices on stages and in the streets to put pressure on politicians to act, but none of this would be possible without education. Young people everywhere are being motivated to become involved because they are being surrounded by hopeful activists that frequently discuss social issues in a way they can empathize with. Peppercorn said

that “activism is an important element of student life in general because students and youth today want to make a better world for themselves and for future generations.” When we listen to other students and hear their opinions, we are prompted to educate ourselves and continue the cycle for generations to come.

Activism is only successful when there is a strategy behind it. This strategy can vary from organization to organization but each one is primarily built around structural foundations and methodology, all of which depend on a sound educational platform.

Advocacy can’t get off the ground without proper technique and facts to support it, so we need to take the time to develop the relevant skills to conjure the most effective and inspirational activism possible.

The way that we can do such a thing is with proper motivational political education, which is especially powerful when it is expressed by young people.

Student organizations focused on political involvement at the University of Michigan should be put on a pedestal, involving the campus community with handson educational workshops catered not only toward politicallyinclined students, but those new to the scene as well; everyone should be welcome.

Older generations constantly say that young people have the “power to change the world.”

This phrase is true, but we can only use this power if we take the appropriate steps to becoming the best activists we can be. We can’t go blind into our advocacy — we need to avoid being “performative” and misguided, which means that political education needs to take precedence if we desire effective change. We can’t rely on the formulaic teachings from our introductory politics courses for this. Learning by doing and participating in dialogue with other passionate and like-minded young people is the key.

Whether you’re a political science major or a student in the College of Engineering, there is a campus organization out there for you to get involved in. Get out there, join a student organization with passionate people and start the dialogue in your own life. If you want to be the best activist you can be, this is the place to start. Spaces where young people teach other young people are where the best advocates of the twenty-first century find themselves — you can do the same.

You, and other members of your administration, function as stewards for the University, which is, at the end of the day, a public institution. I humbly ask how partisan emails from

That email was written from a first-person perspective, which clearly represents her personal beliefs rather than those of a steward of the University’s general education

For example, our country lost 13 brave military service members on Aug. 26, 2021, when a Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Gay blood doesn’t exist

Opinion Columnist

Every November, the University of Michigan hosts an annual Blood Battle against The Ohio State University in a joint effort to increase the national supply of blood and bone marrow. Dr. Martino Harmon, the University’s vice president for student life, directs this initiative through day-long blood drives at various locations on campus nearly every single day in November. This year’s battle, the 40th of its kind, was kicked off in the Diag — accompanied of course by plenty of food, merchandise and sign-up information. Harmon’s promotional emails are filled with the necessary jargon to get students in the spirit of giving — “keep bleeding Maize and Blue,” “eat lots of iron-rich food” and “be a part of the fight to save lives across the state and country!”

Oddly, the battle cry to replenish America’s blood stores, which are at a record low, is not targeted at all viable donors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency responsible for regulating blood donations, bans all men from giving blood within three months of having sexual intercourse with another man. This policy is the result of a 2020 change that reduced the donation deferral period from a year to three months. The FDA notes in this policy that given the advances in HIV detecting technology, this change is supported. But as recently as 2015, just a few years before this improvement, all men who have sex with a men were subjected to a lifetime ban on giving their blood.

In their guidance document, the FDA claims that up to 90% of potential donors that may be harboring blood diseases are ultimately deemed ineligible by their responses to a questionnaire about health history. However, deferring a man from donating just because he has had sex with another man is a gross reflection of the limited, under-researched and surface-level knowledge that the FDA had in their toolkit

during the 1980s HIV/AIDS pandemic. It is now understood that there doesn’t exist, and never had existed, an exclusively “gayrelated immunodeficiency,” and any eligibility question that uses sexuality as a way to preclude all gay men from donating blood for a given period time is simply based in prejudice and non-science.

As it stands, a gay man in a 40-year monogamous relationship with another man is labeled as a higher risk for bloodborne diseases than a woman who has recently had unprotected sex with several partners. This juxtaposition of risk is substantiated, in part, by a nearly decade-old research finding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) stating that a history of male-tomale sex was associated with a 62-fold risk increase whereas a history of multiple partners of the opposite sex was associated with 2.3-fold increase. But given that other activities such as routine drug injection, prostitution and travel to malaria-prone countries are associated with both large multiplicities of risk and deferral periods of their own, it makes more sense to use individual risk assessments, not blanket deferral periods, as a way to determine blood donation eligibility. In this way, a gay man who is also a routine drug user and travels to malaria-prone countries has a higher risk score — and ultimately receives an individual ineligibility penalty that reflects engagement with these activities — than a gay man who does not partake in any other activities of high bloodborne disease contraction.

The key to rectifying this injustice is cold, hard data. Most available information shows that individual risk assessments, not time-based deferral strategies, are the right ways to counteract the spread of disease in the blood donation process.

It is clear that the artificial dichotomy between gay blood and healthy blood, a perception hand-crafted and unmoved by the FDA, only serves to stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community further. Moreover, giving heterosexual individuals the green light to engage in multiple forms of

unsafe sex (which is a risk factor in itself) and donate blood in the same breath is a double standard, and one that people are not addressing in the correct manner. Half-hearted responses are a large reason why the policy still stands in 2022.

The U-M Blood Battle emails state that “Blood donation eligibility should not be determined based on sexual orientation and policy change is needed in order to achieve this goal. At the University of Michigan, we strive for our drives to provide as inclusive an atmosphere as possible.” These emails link to the Red Cross — an organization that actively opposes the FDA policy — for information about how LGBTQ+ men can contribute to the cause. The primary method through which these men are able to participate, though, is manning blood drive booths, recruiting donors and other administrative tasks.

Frankly, deferring to the Red Cross and vague DEI statements about inclusive atmospheres is a mismanagement of our resources here at the University of Michigan.

As a research-heavy institution, we have the labs, researchers and money to get projects off the ground that would give the FDA’s Blood Products Advisory Committee indisputable evidence that our current understanding of risk assessment is wrong. Instead of cutting whole segments of the populace off from their ability to donate to blood, we should be focusing on data-intensive individual risk assessments that actually help in determining risk of disease.

While the FDA is researching alternative methods other than time-deferral, the University of Michigan has the finances to make these same investigations, as well as other kinds of advancements in blood testing, risk assessment accuracy and false-negative donor origins. Furthermore, we must do our due diligence by conducting research that supports exclusion criteria for heterosexual activities in which a similar causal relationship between the type of sex and infectivity exists.

LINDSEY SPENCER Opinion Columnist

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RUSHABH SHAH Opinion Columnist

Iwant to share something. A quote, from a conversation in season two of the TV series “Fleabag,” about pain. “Women are born with pain built in,” says one of the characters. “It’s our physical destiny — period pains, sore boobs, childbirth. You know we carry it within ourselves throughout our lives. Men don’t. They have to seek it out. They invent all these gods and demons just so they can feel guilty about things, which is something we do very well on our own. And then they create wars so they can feel things and touch each other and when there aren’t any wars they can play rugby.” That last bit really stuck with me. When men cannot fight, they play sports. I cannot recall a time when

Why do we fight for the things we love?

sports wasn’t a big part of my personality. The first time I remember being a sports fan was when I was six years old. Since then, I’ve spent many weekends sitting opposite a screen for hours, watching game after game. It’s a routine I enjoy and one that provides adequate distraction from the stress and pressures of, well, life.

That was how I planned to spend the weekend of October 29th as well.

The Sunday of that weekend, however, started on a somber note, because I came across the video of what transpired in the tunnel after the Michigan vs. Michigan State football game the previous night.

When I first saw the video, I didn’t really know how to react. The truth is, I had become numb to such incidents. It worried me that something as terrible as two college students being

assaulted, as well as the manner in which it happened, wasn’t the most shocking thing I’d seen that week. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of thing I see regularly. The relationship between sports and violence is as gruesome as it is clear. I began seeing it at a very early age: “It (sport) is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence; in other words it is war minus the shooting.”

Although a tad bit extreme, the claim from George Orwell (author of “1984”) here is not baseless, and it sounds eerily similar to the line from “Fleabag.” The connection between war and men’s sports is a strong one that has survived in many forms to this day. It is so deeply ingrained in the culture, manifesting itself in everything from the vocabulary used within the sport (war jargon

such as “last line of defense” is a commonly heard phrase, to name one) to the game itself.

I, like many sports fans around the world, saw athletes as role models — as people to be inspired by — and in turn, put them on a pedestal. It is because of the violence inherent to sports, however, that most sports fans learn sooner rather than later that this isn’t the healthiest practice. While I can proudly say today that I am able to separate the crimes of the athletes I once considered my heroes from my love of sport and what I think it should stand for, the aftermath of the Michigan-MSU game made me question it all.

Why do athletes and sports groups resort to violence as much as they do? For years I’ve seen sports pundits talk about how they like seeing passion and aggression on the pitch, and I can’t help but feel

like the MSU players did what they did as a way to show how much they care. At some point, somebody told these young men that this is what they should do for the sport they claim to love. They should, as the cliché goes, “be willing to die for it.”

And the unfortunate thing is that society, including even the most level-headed fan, builds these athletes up to such an extent that they think they’re invincible. That anything on the sports field goes.

No, it doesn’t.

For the sports fan out there who thinks jokingly passing a racist comment in the stands is okay, it isn’t. For the pundit who sits in the safety of a studio and claims “it’s a man’s game,” it isn’t. And for every college and pro athlete out there who thinks they are untouchable: you are not, no matter how much society might convince you otherwise. Sometimes we

let the things we love get the better of our emotions, and while I can sympathize with that, because that’s what makes us human, I cannot accept it. There are elements of our lives, like sport in my case, that matter just a little bit more than anything else. These are the things that keep us motivated, happy and sometimes even sane. And whatever that thing is for you, I promise you that it is beautiful, made even more so by the people who are a part of it. But not everybody associated with the thing you love will always be in the right. I’m here to tell you: Please don’t give up on it — don’t give up on the thing you love. Fight for it. Fight for what it truly stands for. Fight for it without hands or words, but with actions that affect real change and that bring people together.

That’s what it means to fight for the things we love.

Condemning Kanye West is easy, combatting antisemitism is harder

REBECCA SMITH Opinion Columnist

If you’ve been paying any attention to current events over the last few weeks, it’s likely you’ve heard a thing or two about Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — and the horrific antisemitic comments that have led to his downfall. The star took to Instagram in early October and began spouting antisemitic conspiracy theories. He claimed that Jews control the media, value their financial gain over everything else and more. He also insisted that he could not be antisemitic because he is Black and a “true descendant” of the Jewish people — another harmful conspiracy theory that paints modern-day Jews as “imposters” for the “real” descendants of the Israelites.

His account was quickly suspended, but he ran to Twitter, tweeting that he was going to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” This was the beginning of a very long, and still ongoing, fall down the antisemitic rabbit hole for West. In the coming weeks, he would not only defend these

comments but reiterate them, along with similar antisemitic sentiments.

Controversy has followed West throughout his entire career. Recently he has been in flirtation with far-right politics while going through a messy divorce, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This particular social media fiasco has left his reputation more tarnished than ever. Several brands have suspended their deals with him, and his net worth has suffered, causing him to lose his former status as a billionaire.

Many are celebrating this outcome. Celebrities, politicians and others with a large platform have jumped on the anti-Kanye train, condemning him for his blatant hate speech. As a Jewish person, I would be happy to never hear from Ye again. Those who have dashed to his defense — mostly loyal fans — claim that we are too quick to cancel West, or that we need to consider his mental health struggles in our criticisms of him (even though antisemitism is definitely not a symptom of bipolar disorder) but these individuals are in the minority. Thankfully, most have realized that West is not someone

worth defending.

Being Jewish, it is refreshing to see so many people condemning West’s behavior and showing their support. We definitely need it. Shortly after West tweeted his intentions to go “death con 3” on all Jews, an antisemitic hate group appeared on the overpass of a Los Angeles Highway, waving around a banner that said “Kanye is right about the Jews” and rendering a Nazi salute to passing vehicles. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. There has been a significant increase in occurrences of public antisemitism since West’s comments exploded across social media, largely from already antisemitic individuals who are using West’s comments as a lens to further their own bigotry. Yet, even as I see my peers post about their support for Jews, I find myself asking a familiar question — where have these people been?

What West is saying is not new. He’s relying on harmful tropes about Jews that have existed for millennia.

In a conversation with The Michigan Daily, Judaic Studies professor Jeffrey Veidlinger discussed some of the alarming

antisemitic stereotypes that have stood the test of time. “The most prevalent trope of antisemitism is the myth that Jews have a disproportionate amount of power,” he said. They are imagined to have undue influence, and in more extreme versions, to even be controlling the world.”

West’s claims that Jews control the media and the economy reside in this exact trope. These conspiracy theories have been spreading for centuries, and while their presence may not always be as obvious as West has made them, they remain a background hum in the lives of many Jewish people, acting as a constant reminder that we will never quite be able to escape the grasp of antisemitism.

Rationally, it should not have taken Kanye West trending on Twitter for the internet to realize that Jews are in danger. Putting aside violent acts of antisemitism (though we have no shortage of those), the use of antisemitic dog whistles by our public leaders, celebrities and others has been a constant for years. Yet non-Jews are much more likely to allow it to fade into the background.

The only thing Kanye did differently was put it plainly.

Jamie Moshin, communications and media lecturer, told The Daily that West’s position is particularly unique in this aspect. “He is being incredibly vocal about it,” he said.” He’s not closeting it or cloaking it, he’s doing it at the top of his lungs, and every time he’s told to stop, he doubles down and says something even more inflammatory.” In other words, his language is so outright horrible that anyone who claims to have a sliver of respect for Jews has to condemn him.

While it is encouraging to see non-Jews offering their support, it is also, to put it simply, the bare minimum. Condemning Kanye is easy. What is harder is learning to recognize and combat the antisemitism we encounter in our every day lives.

The vast majority of people wouldn’t dare to render a Nazi salute. However, they will use coded, intentionally confusing language to convey their antisemitism. It is this kind of speech that is the easiest to make excuses for, particularly when it is a celebrity or politician that you agree with on other issues. Today, this is often seen through criticisms of the Zionist movement. Of

course, criticizing Israel is not always inherently antisemitic. However, because this is such a contentious issue, positions on Israel have hardened and it has become nearly impossible to have a civil conversation about it without veering into offensive territory. It is then that criticisms of Israel can become rooted in antisemitism, largely because the Israel-Palestine conflict is such a complex issue and many do not know much about it.

We must shine a light on this more subtle antisemitism, firstly by not allowing our anger toward West to fade. Following the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in 2018, activism against antisemitism increased drastically in the months afterwards. Unfortunately, many have lost that vigilance since. We must fight back against this and use our anger as a jumpingoff point to show non-Jews that, while antisemitism is often made up of blatant acts of violence and hate speech, it is also manifest in subtle microaggressions that are collectively just as harmful. Only then can we begin to have a meaningful conversation about combatting antisemitism.

JOHN KAPCAR Opinion Columnist

During his stop in Ann Arbor this

Saturday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., made the case for reproductive rights, climate action and economic equality. I arrived at the event an hour and a half early with a question top of mind, a legal pad in hand and a readiness to write.

While in line, I was handed pamphlets by Communist party advocates, lectured about the need for tighter wastewater regulation in the Huron River and approached by young activists asking to sign me up for volunteer shifts. With a few exceptions, nearly everyone else in line was my age.

That’s to be expected on a college campus. However, Sanders has a long history of garnering youth support. Sanders has a 75% approval rating among young voters. President Joe Biden, in contrast, lags significantly behind with this group. Since 2018, young voter turnout has risen substantially. Attracting these voters is no longer optional. It’s critical to any Democratic victory in 2022 and 2024.

I attended Saturday’s event because I’ve had a question Berning since Sanders’s first presidential race in 2016: How on earth did this 81-year-old man become so popular with people young enough to be his grandchildren?

Based on his speech Saturday, Sanders’s popularity with young voters stems from three characteristics.

First, Sanders’s independent standing gives him more leave to criticize both mainstream political parties. He’s able to quickly pivot to issues young people care about and he’s an expert at energizing and connecting with supporters.

If other Democrats want to be as popular with Generation Z as Sanders is, they’ll have to start incorporating some of his strategies into their own campaigns.

Though he caucuses with the Democrats, Sanders isn’t a Democrat himself. Officially, Sanders is an independent, and describes himself as a “democratic socialist.” Because of this, Sanders has had more openings to critique both parties.

Sanders’s contempt for the GOP is well documented. Two weeks ago, he accused the Republican Party of having no economic plan beyond blaming liberals and called election-denying from the right “a cowardly, wimpy response to political defeat” on Saturday.

But he hasn’t left the Democratic Party bruiseless either. He recently asserted that “the Democratic party has turned its back on the working class” as a cause for the rise of Republicanism in rural areas.

In a world where most Americans have an unfavorable view of both Democrats and Republicans and 56% want a third party, that independence is a strength and a quality to whivh voters are increasingly responsive. Candidates who can balance supporting their party while also criticizing it are in demand.

Second, Sanders recognizes that the youth bloc simply has different priorities than the rest of the country. From the students I interviewed at the event, a few common issues stuck out: reproductive rights, access to health care and student loan forgiveness. As if he overheard us, Sanders highlighted all three in his speech. To clarify, a Democrat doesn’t necessarily need to agree with Sanders to get that support. Ignoring these causes, however, is a non-starter. To mimic Sanders, candidates need to recognize the

importance of these issues and offer up their own solutions.

On stage, Sanders struck first at abortion. Sarcastically calling Supreme Court justices “geniuses,” he criticized the Dobbs decision that let states ban abortion in June, saying, “It’s hard to believe … in the year 2022 these people have determined that women are not intelligent enough to control their own bodies.” These comments were met with resounding applause.

With health care, Sanders focused on the rising cost of prescription drugs, speaking to how he and his supporters drove from Michigan to Ontario, Canada to buy insulin at “10% of the cost.” These comments, too, were met

with applause.

When Sanders got to the issue of education, shouts of “I love you, Bernie!” had been exclaimed and audience members had burst from their seats to clap multiple times. The energy was electric. Sanders argued that forgiving student loan debt and expanding access to college education were necessary to ensure global competitiveness. Rather than settle for Biden’s limited student debt forgiveness program, Sanders advocated for free college and university tuition nationwide, concluding that “We’ve got to cancel all student debt in this country.” You can imagine what the crowd of around 1,000 college students thought of that idea.

My final point rests on Sanders’s ability to connect with and energize voters, both on stage and through other mediums. LSA sophomore Vrunda Patel, who attended Saturday’s event, highlighted Sanders’s use of social media to connect with young voters, saying, “It’s really encouraging to see him post [about] … the difference in wages for women and men … those are issues that matter to us.” LSA junior Kadisha Akbar echoed that sentiment, saying, “He’s funny and relatable.”

Toward the end of the event, I was ushered backstage past Capitol police to meet the Senator himself before he continued on to Pennsylvania, the last stop on his

TESS CROWLEY/Daily

tour before Election Day Tuesday. We smiled for a picture, I put my hand around his shoulder and stammered a quick “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

For all his divisive speeches, bombastic comments and farreaching policies, Bernie Sanders feels radically familiar. Sanders is credible when he criticizes both parties. He’s credible when he gives his position on an issue. He’s credible when he speaks to his audience, be it onstage, online or behind a curtain. When Sanders gets quiet, leans forward and starts a rant with “what politicians often don’t tell you…” young people believe him. Young voters trust Bernie Sanders. That’s why he’s loved by so many.

Why Bernie Sanders is so popular with young voters — an account of his campus visit

SportsMonday: Go ahead and enjoy Emoni Bates

JARED GREENSPAN Managing Sports Editor

Three years ago, my friends and I packed ourselves into a car and drove the 15 minute drive to Ypsi lanti to catch basketball’s next big thing: Emoni Bates.

At 15, Bates graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with the head line, “Magic, Michael, LeBron… and the 15-year-old who’s next in line.” Many considered him the best high school prospect of the decade. Inevitably, talk of his prow ess swirled in Ann Arbor, so we wanted to see it for ourselves.

And on that blustery January evening, Bates’s stardom was in full bloom. He dropped 27 points, leading Ypsilanti Lincoln to a win and surpassing 1,000 career points in just his 35th high school game, a meteoric pace. He was as good as advertised.

We left that night enchanted by the prospects of Bates reviv ing one of our dormant NBA fran chises — the Knicks, the Pistons or the Thunder. Yes, he was only a sophomore in high school. But with Bates, everything and anything seemed possible, no matter how far down the road.

But after Bates endured end less on-court struggles during his time at Memphis, recently I began to wonder if that sensation still existed. So on Friday, I traveled to Detroit to cover Michigan’s contest with Eastern Michigan. That way, I could watch Bates from a courtside vantage point again. I assumed that the talent remained, but I wanted to see if Bates would be as captivat ing as he was three years ago, even though the mythos surrounding him has largely dissipated.

Turns out, that pure brilliance is very much still present.

“They had a game plan, and he had 30,” Eastern Michigan coach Stan Heath said, smirking.

Friday’s game evolved into theater, with Bates the main act. He reveled in the swelling crowd inside Little Caesars Arena, which swayed for every one of his deathly crossovers and silky shots.

Bates christened the game with a contested 2-pointer, an apt beginning for the brilliance that followed. He elevated for a nasty one-legged fade away after put ting redshirt freshman wing Isaiah Barnes on skates. Moments later, he soared through the lane for a vicious putback dunk over fresh man center Tarris Reed, hurling expletives toward Reed and draw ing a technical foul. Late in the first half, he canned a step-back 3-point er before motioning to the crowd, shouting at courtside fans and glar ing at the Wolverines on the floor. Bates was in his element. Regardless of the neutral site atmo sphere, Bates had won over the crowd.

Bates didn’t slow down in the second half, either. He rocked the rim with a thunderous base line dunk, shimmying on junior forward Terrance Williams II after the play. He hit Barnes with another ankle-snatching crossover, knocking down a mid-range jump shot.

Between the electric crowd and the back-and-forth battle, it felt more like an NCAA Tournament contest than an early November tuneup. This was college basketball at its finest, largely thanks to Bates.

Bates — an enigmatic, electrify ing former consensus top prospect — went blow-for-blow with Hunter

Dickinson, Michigan’s All-Ameri can junior center. The arena clung to every one of his shots, gasping in anticipation when the ball left his hands and exploding once the ball snapped nylon. Bates screamed; they screamed back.

It was a poignant reminder of what Bates brings to the sport, and also what we’ve missed over the past few years amid Bates’s trou bling decline.

Bates’s winding route to East ern Michigan is well-documented; his fall from stardom exhausted. He committed to Memphis as the crown jewel to Penny Hardaway’s ballyhooed recruiting class, reclas sifying to arrive a year prematurely. But Bates’s presumed-generational talent didn’t translate and, in Feb ruary, he took an extended absence from the team due to a back injury.

Without Bates, Memphis found its groove, and that was telling

So that’s how Bates wound up here, at Eastern Michigan, his hometown school but also a peren nial bottom dweller in the MAC.

He entered the transfer portal this offseason, though few high-major programs expressed legitimate interest. The trajectory is discon certing. In September, his on-court woes took a back seat in favor of more pressing matters — he was arrested and charged with two felony gun charges.

The traffic stop was an indict ment on how far Bates has fallen. And yet, perhaps there is still a path for Bates to grow. After Friday’s game, Eastern Michigan guard Noah Farrakhan praised Bates’s character, saying that the locker room looks up to him.

For one night, at least, it felt like everyone had been tossed into a time machine, back to those blissful

days when Bates looked you in the face as Sports Illustrated’s 15-yearold cover athlete. This was vintage Bates, if vintage can even be used in reference to a 18-year-old kid.

Scouts from six NBA teams attended Friday’s game, a con stant reminder that whatever Bates does in the present — and whatever he has always done — is tied to speculation about his

future. People have always want ed to know where he’d wind up, where he’d play next, how good he’ll be down the road. No one ever slowed down, paused and took a moment to appreciate what we were watching in the present.

Bates didn’t play in Eastern Michigan’s season opener due to disciplinary reasons. Between injuries and anxieties, there’s no

GRACE BEAL/Daily telling how his tenure with the Eagles will unfold, or how many more performances on par with Friday’s theatrics will ensue.

So take a lesson from all 15,000 people who packed the arena Friday and don’t worry about next month or next year. Just enjoy Emoni Bates while you can. Because there’s no telling what’s left in store.

Michigan field hockey loses in overtime to UAlbany, ending its season

CAROLINE CRECCA Daily Sports Writer

The No. 4 Michigan field hockey team was heavily favored in its first round matchup in the NCAA Tour nament. But nobody could foresee how much the Wolverines would struggle in their first game with a home field advantage.

Noah Kingsley: With eight-minute brawl, Michigan and Notre Dame take

away from the rivalry

SOUTH BEND

— With the Wol verines up four goals with eight minutes to play, the No. 3 Michi gan hockey team’s game against No. 18 Notre Dame on Friday probably should have ended quietly.

For 52 minutes, the Wolverines dominated the Fighting Irish, con trolling tempo and time of posses sion.

But in those last eight minutes, that dominant play faded into the past. Fight after fight after fight broke out, as the game devolved into nothing short of a brawl.

“I think they were frustrated because we took it to them most of the game,” Michigan coach Bran don Naurato said. “… I don’t blame them for being down and being frustrated, and doing what they did.”

Naurato isn’t wrong; the Irish were frustrated for obvious rea sons. Tensions run hot in rivalry games. Each hit adds a little more fuel to the fire, and soon those ten sions boil over. Plays where players would have been previously con tent to just exchange words end up in full-on fights — it’s part of hockey.

But the way that Friday’s clash devolved, it felt like more than typi cal in-game feuds. After eight min utes of constant fighting, including 13 penalties and three misconducts

in that stretch alone, it becomes more than that. While both teams will try to leave tonight in the past, those eight minutes won’t brush off as easily as other games will.

Well before that treacherous final stretch, the heated back-andforth of a rivalry game was already underway. With two minutes left in the first period, Notre Dame defen seman Jake Boltmann slammed sophomore forward Mackie Samo skevich into the boards, earning himself a game misconduct and a five-minute major for hitting from behind. The Irish successfully challenged another hit on the play, sending freshman forward Adam Fantilli to the box with a five-min ute major of his own for contact to the head.

In a vacuum, those hits and the resulting majors might not have had a lasting impact. Similarly, none of the individual fights of the last eight minutes would have left much of a mark in a vacuum.

When sophomore forward Dylan Duke took a shot after the whistle, of course Notre Dame defenseman Ryan Helliwell would stand up for his goalie. When senior forward Nolan Moyle ran into goaltender Ryan Bischel, of course forward Trevor Janicke would protect him. And when something similar happened on the other end, of course sophomore forward Mark Estapa was there to protect junior goaltender Erik Por tillo.

But therein lies the crux of the matter: it wasn’t in a vacuum. As

one fight devolved into eight minutes of a brawl, it grew into something more.

Yes, fights are going to happen in hockey, but rarely in a manner like this.

When it does happen like this, it’s no longer a one-game thing.

“They’re gonna come out 10 times harder (tomorrow),” soph omore forward Mackie Samo skevich said.

Saturday, the Irish won’t sim ply forget the frustration they had the night before. But that hatred between the two teams that prevailed in the final eight minutes will almost certainly carry beyond tomorrow, to when the two meet again in Ann Arbor and potentially beyond.

There’s no love lost between the Wolverines and Notre Dame; there never has been. But with a game like this, with a mess like what culminated Friday, that changes the composition of the rivalry for the rest of the season.

Maybe it’s for the better; maybe both teams come out fired up, and it elevates the game. But more likely, continued fighting leads to distractions from the game at hand.

Because for 52 minutes, Mich igan displayed a commanding performance against one of its biggest rivals. Yes, tensions ran hot, but for the most part, those tensions held to the time before the whistle.

Ultimately, Michigan (14-5 over all) was upset by UAlbany (15-4) on Friday, losing 2-1 in a close over time match during the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The loss stemmed from the Wolverines seem ingly lacking in intensity and energy, especially during the first quarter.

The majority of the game was a tight battle between the two teams, with possession and offensive opportunities split evenly between them. But the first quarter was the exception. With Michigan seem ingly caught off guard and unpre pared, the Wolverines renewed effort against the Great Danes for the final three quarters wasn’t enough to overcome their slow start.

“I think we just have to come out with more fire when we’re in these NCAA games,” sophomore midfield er Abby Tamer said. “Our main thing is just trying to play with positivity as much as possible because when we’re frazzled, something like the first quarter tends to happen, where they’re down our throats the whole time.”

UAlbany put a lot of pressure on

the Wolverines’ defense during the first 15 minutes of play. Their defense was unable to clear the ball past the fifty yard line, making for a tiresome quarter, ending in a 0-0 stalemate.

Despite having a slow start, Mich igan came out with more fire in the second quarter. Tamer found multi ple breakaway opportunities, which eventually led to corners and a pen alty stroke for fifth-year midfielder Katherine Peterson. The shot was blocked, but there was an evident shift in the team’s morale and effort.

The Wolverines finally capital ized on their offensive progress with 30 seconds left in the half. On their third offensive corner, midfield graduate student Tina D’Anjolell was able to get a touch on Peterson’s ini tial shot and tipped the ball into the back of the net as time ran out.

The Wolverines went into half time with rejuvenated energy, having scored just seconds before the buzzer sounded. As the third quarter commenced, it seemed as though they would add to their lead, as the team had four more corners and six shots on goal.

But Michigan was unable to capitalize on these opportunities, and UAlbany escaped the quarter unharmed. Their strong defense was once again to thank for keeping it a one score game, as was goalie Hannah Mangan, who had 8 saves.

After a small lull in the third quarter, the Great Danes brought new energy to the fourth, putting increased pressure on the Wol

verines to keep their composure.

UAlbany had four offensive cor ners in a row during the last 10 minutes of play, which took a toll on Michigan’s energy.

With fewer than three min utes left in the game, Michigan junior defender Rosie Hope was issued a yellow card, putting the Wolverines down a player for the remainder of the game. Soon after, the Great Danes were awarded another corner. This time, they were able to convert it into a goal.

Sophomore midfielder Floor de Ruiter tipped in the initial shot, tying up the game.

With the score even and little time left to play, the frustration from Michigan’s bench was evi dent. They were unable to find another scoring opportunity before regulation ended, and the game went into overtime.

As the clock wound down, it seemed as though the sudden death overtime period would end without either team scoring, as both teams struggled to find a decent opportunity at the net.

However, in the final minute of the period, UAlbany forward Sophia Schoonmaker had a break away one-on-one with Michigan’s fifth-year goalie, Anna Spieker. She found an opening and sent the ball into the cage, ending the game — and with it, the Wolver ines’ season.

MEN’S ICE HOCKEY

Former number one overall recruit, Emoni Bates, is back in his hometown and once again excelling.

FIELD HOCKEY

ANNA FUDER/Daily

NOAH KINGSLEY

Corum, Wolverines give Cornhuskers nightmares in 34-3 rout

An adult nightmare.

CHILDREN OF THE CORUM

NICHOLAS STOLL Manging Sports Editor

The identity of the No. 3 Michigan football team is already known.

On defense, it’s inspired by its lineman, touting the No. 1 run defense heading into Saturday’s game and consistently pressuring opposing quarterbacks. On offense, though, the identity is one man:

Junior running back Blake Corum.

Leaning on Corum once again, the Wolverines (10-0 overall, 7-0 Big Ten) trounced Nebraska (3-7, 2-5), 34-3 in a gritty, ground-powered game that was all but decided from the opening kickoff.

“Blake, another great game by him,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Saturday. “… There wasn’t a long (run), there wasn’t a 50-yarder today like there has been. Just really, really good, tough running.”

From their first drive, the Wolverines did nothing to hide their hard-nosed identity, and the Cornhuskers did nothing to stop it.

The first play, a pass, went to Corum. Seventyeight yards and six Corum carries later, Michigan was on Nebraska’s two-yard line. Another touch and the Wolverines were on the board with the ball in Corum’s hands.

For the rest of the game, Michigan’s gameplan remained the same — just as it has all season. Corum, drive after drive, proved why. And Corum wants it that way.

“I always go into each game wanting the ball,” Corum said. “I want it as many times as they’re going to give it to me.”

Every time the Wolverines trusted their Heisman-hopeful back, it paid dividends. Whenever Michigan strayed, a struggling pass game reminded everyone why Corum averages over 22 rushing attempts per game.

On both the Wolverines’ second and third drives, this reality showed. On the first, a five-yard Corum run was negated by a sack on a dropback and an incomplete pass to graduate receiver Ronnie Bell for a three-and-out. The second, Corum blasted through for a 12-yard gain, only for three-straight pass plays to fall incomplete.

Conversely, when Michigan let Corum set the offense up, it prospered. In the second quarter, on a drive where he racked up 29 yards and two first downs on four carries, just the threat of Corum opened up two gaping holes for passes. The final play, a teardrop touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy to Bell, was enabled by a play-action call and the gravitational pull Corum demands.

“That got me really excited because during

practice this week we emphasized bending it back,” Corum said. “So the safety came down thinking he had a free shot on J.J., and when I went to fake to the right, I bent it back to the left and surprised ‘em and made him completely stop. And (so) Ronnie was wide open. Oh, it was beautiful.”

While Corum supported the offense, the Wolverine defense held up its end of the bargain. Constantly pressuring Nebraska’s quarterbacks and stymying run after run, Michigan’s defenders set their offensive counterparts up for success.

Both trends carried into the second half, where Corum continued to power forward and the defense appeared to share DNA with a brick wall. And it was nothing but maize and blue for the remainder of the game.

The Wolverines punched in two more touchdowns in the second half, including a McCarthy scramble in which Corum “pancaked” a defender, clearing the way. On the final touchdown, Bell fumbled the ball toward the back of the end zone where sophomore receiver Andrel Anthony fell on it, making the score 31-3.

Monday, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh compared Corum to future Hall-of-Famer Frank Gore, who played four seasons under Harbaugh with the 49ers. That comparison goes beyond Corum’s physical prowess, also including his

innate ability to read defenses and make the right decision.

“Two outstanding students of the game, know the game and also have a tremendous feel for the game,” Harbaugh said. “There’s no doubt that Blake will be, in my opinion, right on that same dance floor as Frank Gore in every way, as a player.”

Saturday, Corum looked worthy of that comparison once again, unlocking the offense and being the bellcow he’s proven himself to be. Even after being pulled in the fourth quarter to preserve his health, Corum posted 162 yards and one touchdown on 28 attempts — 33 more yards on his own than the Wolverines had total through the air Heading into the game, the Cornhuskers knew what the Wolverines wanted to do. Still, Corum imposed his will. In doing so, he gave Michigan an easy path to victory. Despite all the carries, and the continuous burden on his shoulders, Corum just wants to keep rolling.

“I can play a whole ‘nother season,” Corum said. “I’m good. I’m feeling great. I feel that I just continue to get better.”

Whether he keeps getting better or not, the Wolverines will keep relying on his production. And until a team can stop him, there’s no reason not to.

SOPHIA AFENDOULIS/Daily

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