2023-09-13

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Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Students live in lounges due to housing shortage 40 students are residing in study lounges converted to temporary housing space

SNEHA DHANDAPANI & JOSHUA NICHOLSON Daily Staff Reporters

Despite decreasing rates of college enrollment in the state, enrollment at the University of Michigan and the demand for on-campus housing continues to grow. The number of prospective first-year and transfer students enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year increased by 4% and 8%, respectively, from last year. This year, the University did not have enough existing dorm space for incoming freshman and transfer students, who are typically guaranteed on-campus housing, according to an email from Kambiz Khalili, associate vice president for Student Life. In response to the shortage, the University converted study lounges into student housing to accommodate 40 students this year.

Khalili told The Michigan Daily the University classifies some spaces, such as lounges, as temporary housing space if the need arises.

“A small number of Michigan Housing spaces are designated for flexible use,” Khalili said. “By default, these spaces are floor lounges.

When we have high demand for space within our residential halls, we have the option to convert these lounges, with appropriate furniture and secure locks, into student rooms.

These spaces offer the same amenities as our standard rooms.”

Universities across the country are also experiencing a pattern of overenrollment. Though fewer Americans have opted to attend fouryear colleges or universities in recent years, more and more institutions are struggling to provide housing to meet record-level class sizes. Virginia Commonwealth University, which enrolls 28,000 students, informed

students that 80 of the more than 4,500 incoming freshmen would need to live in a local hotel for the 2023-2024 academic year. Last year, the University of Tennessee leased a Holiday Inn Express & Suites to account for a shortage of on-campus housing for returning students.

Business junior Marcke De Vera, an exchange student from Australia, said his room has been converted from a hall lounge in East Quad Residence Hall. In an interview with The Daily, De Vera said his room had some minor differences from a standard single room.

“It’s a bit different, because obviously the main thing you would notice (is) … the size, so it’s a bit smaller since it was kind of pushed into the corridor a bit more,” De Vera said. “The other main thing is that it’s carpet, which I’m personally not a fan of, but maybe other people would be a fan of (that).”

In an email sent out to students who were offered supplemental housing, the University wrote that though students would reside in a nontraditional dorm, it would be equipped with all the amenities of a standard room.

“To meet demand, we have converted some hall lounges into student rooms, called student housing,” the email read. “These are adjacent to other student rooms and outfitted with all the amenities of a standard residence hall room.

As these are typically larger than standard rooms, they may house more than two people.”

In an interview with The Daily, Abigail Atwood, a resident adviser at Stockwell Residence Hall, said the RAs were told MHousing took various measures to accommodate more students this year. Stockwell, which is historically an upperclassmen residence hall, typically houses the

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Transfer Year Experience community designed to support transfer students.

This year, Stockwell was converted to a freshman residence hall in order to accommodate the increased number of first-year students.

After her two years as an RA, Atwood said she believes the decrease in available lounge spaces has shifted the dynamic between Stockwell residents.

“Mostly, it just reduced our lounges overall and also our study rooms,” Atwood said. “A lot more

ANN ARBOR

City Council talks housing rezoning and auto business regulation

The Ann Arbor City Council approved a rezoning plan, auto-related businesses, and traffic-calming projects CHEN LYU

Daily Staff Reporter

The Ann Arbor City Council met at Larcom City Hall Monday evening to pass three agendas. The council introduced amendments to allow limited auto-related businesses in the Transit Corridor 1 district.

The Council also approved the rezoning plan for the Southtown housing development near the University of Michigan Ross Athletic Campus and simplified the process for initiating and approving ‘traffic calming’ projects.

Ordinance B-1 — which responds to a Dec. 6, 2022, City Council resolution directing the city planning commission to examine how to incorporate a number of auto-related businesses into Ann Arbor’s TC1 district — permits car sales and the establishment of rental and auto-repair services, which previously have been prohibited in the area by TC1 zoning laws.

During the public comment section of Monday’s meeting, Ann Arbor resident Michelle Hughes expressed concerns about allowing auto businesses inside the TC1 district. She said the district should prioritize pedestrian needs and transportation.

“I think that we should keep the car businesses out of the TC1 area,” Hughes said. “These areas are supposed to be for humans — pedestrians. Allowing car sales businesses is the opposite of

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humans.”

Councilmember Erica Briggs, D-Ward 5, said she supported the ordinance. She said having car repair facilities in the TC1 district could help residents with disabilities who live in and around the district by ensuring a short commute to their mechanic.

“My father … has chronic health issues and a disability,” Briggs said. “When he needs to go to get his car repaired, he’s going to take it to a locally owned shop just down the street. … So in this situation, (allowing car repairs) is actually enabling less car usage.”

Councilmember Lisa Disch, D-Ward 1, said she also supported the amendment. She said while certain auto businesses would be permitted under the ordinance, other TC1 regulations governing the types of buildings in the district would still apply, which would encourage those businesses to limit car traffic to conform to zoning laws.

“We have other pedestrianfriendly features,” Disch said.

“We have limitations on surface parking … I think those things mean that we may get car-related uses to be more palatable.”

Councilmember Dharma Akmon, D-Ward 4 opposed the amendment. She said rather than new auto-related businesses, the district should prioritize development that promotes walkability and public transit use.

“If the aim is to encourage folks to travel by bus … I think

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we need to make way for those uses that are more consistent with the aim and that includes housing, grocery stores, cafes and workplaces,” Akmon said.

“These uses couldn’t be viable if (auto-related businesses are) granted a special exception to use an existing building or site.”

The council passed the B-1 ordinance by 7–3, with Akmon, Councilmember Jen Eyer, D-Ward 4, and Councilmember Linh Song, D-Ward 2 voting against it.

The council then moved to discuss B-4. Ordinance B-4 proposed the rezoning of a 1.7-acre block near the U-M Athletic Campus from MultipleFamily Dwelling to Campus Business Residential, allowing for the construction of an eightstory apartment building with 216 units, which will be called Southtown.

Disch said she was aware of some concerns Ann Arbor residents have about the Southtown project, including the inclusion of short-term rentals. However, Disch said the project’s proximity to both the Athletic Campus and local businesses would make it a desirable spot for the project.

She noted that the developer of the apartment complex would increase the supply of housing in the area by providing more residential units than are currently available at the location.

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residents are congregating in sort of the bigger lounges and they become more social spaces as opposed to study spaces. I think I’ve had a couple residents complain about not having the quiet study spaces.”

LSA sophomore Ayline Betancourt lives in one of the reconfigured residential spaces in South Quad Residence Hall, where she lives with three other roommates. Betancourt told The Daily that, aside from carpeted floors, the space felt like a typical dorm room.

“(When I first arrived,) it was just the three empty beds and then (my roommate’s) space,” Betancourt said. “It was already (equipped) with the dressers and the desks and the closets.”

Despite living in a lounge and a room smaller than a typical University single dorm room, De Vera said he wasn’t disappointed with his housing situation.

“I’m paying the cheaper rate, so I guess it cancels out that I have a smaller room,” De Vera said. “I think

it’s because of the lounge, they gave me the lowest single economy rate.”

The University is currently constructing a Central Campus residence hall on Elbel Field to address the increasing demand for on-campus housing. The hall, which has an expected capacity of 2,300 students, is expected to have half the new dormatory’s beds open by fall 2025 and the other half by fall 2026.

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‘We’re all here and queer:’ QTBIPOC event welcomes students back to UMich

Trotter, the Spectrum Center and MESA collaborated on the 2nd annual welcome event MALENY CRESPO Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan knows how to welcome students back to campus. Despite a Wi-Fi outage and extreme heat, the University has held dozens of “welcome back” events for members of the campus community over the past two weeks. On Wednesday, the Spectrum Center, the Trotter Multicultural Center and the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs hosted their second annual QTBIPOC Welcome event in the Michigan Union to provide students who identify with the QTBIPOC community with an intimate space to get to know one another and to learn about the resources on campus.

Angie Freeman, the events and partnerships program manager at the Spectrum Center, welcomed over 30 attendees and encouraged them to partake in the event’s food, activities and music. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Freeman emphasized the importance of the event for students of QTBIPOC identities looking to find a supportive community on campus. “(The Spectrum Center, Trotter Center and MESA are) uplifting the Queer, trans, Black, Indigenous people of Color community,” Freeman said. “(We’re) creating a space for students that identify with those different cultures, backgrounds, races and also the Queer community. We’ve given them a space to thrive, have fun, feel good, be empowered and be

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in a safe space. We welcome all students.”

The event started off with time for “speed mingling” between pairs of attendees, during which participants got to know one another through icebreaker questions. LSA freshman Nuno Andrade told The Daily that speed mingling was the highlight of the night for him. He said it was nice to have time specifically dedicated to getting to learn about other people in a stressfree environment.

“Queer people deserve to have a safe environment in every space,” Andrade said. “The University of Michigan is such a big school, so it’s really easy to get lost. It’s really important for events like this to be held so you can feel validated in your experiences.”

Rackham student Brielle Smith said she attended the event to meet other Queer people of Color since she had attended a predominantly white institution

for her undergraduate studies.

Smith said it is important to ensure those who identify as QTBIPOC are able to feel immersed and accepted within the wider campus community.

“I think for young Queer people of Color to (see) people like them that are older and who are being themselves and doing well is important,” Smith said. “I think a space like this is important anywhere. I think it’s very valuable to have a space where people not only feel included, but welcome. It’s not enough to have people of diverse backgrounds and interests here, they need to feel seen, welcomed, and loved.

Being able to have a space (full) of people like you and just being able to come in with open arms, do the speed mingling, get to interact on a more personal level and know that we’re all here and Queer is really important.”

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LSA sophomore Ari Seay and LSA senior Skylar Gillette eat and chat at the QTBIPOC welcome event on Wednesday.

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ANN ARBOR

Ann Arbor Citizens’ Climate Lobby holds energy conservation talk Community members learned about improving energy efficiency at home

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Daily Staff Reporter More than 50 Ann Arbor residents and community members gathered in Venue by 4M Thursday evening to learn about home energy efficiency and how to utilize federal incentives such as the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce their home carbon footprint. The “Save Carbon & Cash” event was hosted by the Ann Arbor chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an international environmental advocacy group.

The event hosted displays of energy-saving appliances like thermal leak detectors and air quality testers, which are available for rent at the Ann Arbor District Library. Kevin McNeely of the McNeely Building Group, Evie Bauman from Rewiring America and Mac McCabe from Michigan Saves each gave a presentation and answered questions from the audience.

Ginny Rogers, leader of the Ann Arbor CCL chapter, told The Michigan Daily she thought the event was beneficial for community members to understand the importance of home electrification — the process of converting fossilfueled home appliances, such as gas stoves, into electricitypowered ones.

“One of CCL’s policy areas is increasing home electrification,” Rogers said. “We just thought it was really important for people in our community to understand why home electrification is important for addressing climate change, as well as how to access some of the great financial incentives that the federal government created with the Inflation Reduction Act.” Richard Fein, event organizer and lead volunteer of the CCL chapter’s electrification and efficiency task force, told The Daily the pro-electrification and energy efficiency incentives included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to reduce inflation by investing in domestic energy producation and clean evergy, prompted the need for more community

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Kevin McNeely, of McNeely Building Group, speaks about home energy efficiency at the Ann Arbor Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby panel “Save Carbon and Cash” at Venue Thursday evening. education on electrification. Fein said Ann Arbor’s CCL put on the event to promote electrification in the community and provide educational resources on the Inflation Reduction Act. “Right now (they) have available tax credits for those … that have a high enough wage, to be able to take advantage of the tax credits of 30% on many different electrification appliances,” Fein said. “And then, even more exciting, they’re not available yet but they will be in 2024, are (the) direct rebates … discounts to the purchase of the same sort of equipment for lowerand middle-income households.”

However, many Ann Arbor residents and particularly University of Michigan students are renters who may not be able to take advantage of all the incentives offered by the Inflation Reduction Act, as they are unable to make permanent changes to the property. After conducting energy audits with multi-family buildings that house students, McNeely told The Daily he found the short timespan between tenants to be a barrier to upgrading home electrification.

“The owners and/or management, they have a very short window to turn the units over,” McNeely said. “They only have (about) two weeks from the time that the students leave until the new students come in.

So for them it’s very difficult … to get upgrades of any substantial impact done in a timely manner.”

McNeely said tenants can get involved in making their home more energy efficient as well by discussing the options available through the Inflation Reduction Act with their landlord.

“There’s rebates available for equipment, for upgrades, insulation, air sealing,” McNeely said. “(Individually,) you can change out shower heads, that’s an easy one, take it from a gallon and three quarters a minute down to a gallon a minute. It doesn’t sound like much but when you start adding all that up, it makes a big difference.”

Taubman graduate student Lunia Oriol, who is pursuing a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, told The Daily she was frustrated with the energy inefficiency of her rented home when she was an

undergraduate student at the University.

“I rented for about three years, and when you’re a student, that’s paying $800 a month for an old, energy (inefficient) house,” Oriol said. “It can be difficult to try and persuade the landlord to invest in the rental property to invest in energy efficient measures … I felt like I was paying too high of rates for my utilities.”

Bauman referred attendees to Rewiring America’s IRA calculator, a tool that shows renters and homeowners how much money can be saved with the Inflation Reduction Act. At the event, she mentioned ways for renters to make small scale changes.

“As a renter myself … I do it (on a) small scale, like buying a little portable induction hot plate to put on top of my gas stove,” Bauman said. “There are many ways to work with the property owner, for renters to make changes for the building at scale and especially with the rebate program … doing it (on a) small scale and then working as a community, if you are in a multifamily building, for example, can be another way.”

MIT professor Nathan Wilmers spoke on labor market inequality at Ross event About 50 University of Michigan students and faculty members gathered inside the Ross School of Business Friday afternoon for a lecture on labor market inequality given by Nathan Wilmers, an associate professor of work and organization studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

The event was hosted by the Interdisciplinary Committee on Organizational Studies and the U-M Sociology Department.

Wilmers presented his research on national trends in labor market inequality — highlighting disparities in employment opportunities and wages between workers of different races, ethnicities, gender identities, education levels and other socioeconomic factors.

In an interview with The Michigan Daily, ICOS Co-Director James Westphal said the ICOS lecture series focuses on bringing together the U-M community to hear from experts in different areas of organizational studies. “(ICOS’) mission is basically to further (the University’s) place as the leader in organizational studies,” Westphal said. “This is designed to really bring together faculty and students from all over the University who have an

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MIT professor talks inequality in the workforce

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interest in organizations. (We) also host a seminar that brings in leading scholars from around the world who do work in this area and hear about the latest theories and research and share ideas.”

Wilmers began his lecture by discussing changes in labor market inequality in the U.S. over time, noting a rise in inequality during the 1980s and another that coincided with the Great Recession in 2008.

Wilmers said he was surprised to see that levels of labor market inequality declining following decades of continuous increase.

“Based on … how linear rising inequality has been over the last few decades, I was really surprised to see a shift (towards decreasing levels of inequity) starting sometime between 2012 and 2015,” Wilmers said.

“Inequality not only stops rising, but wage and earnings inequality, labor market inequality, actually starts falling pretty precipitously. … The most recent data we have suggests that inequality is not only no longer rising, it’s in fact falling pretty soundly.”

Though Wilmers emphasized the importance of understanding the causes of this decline in inequality, he explained that his research primarily focuses on whether or not the decline will continue, how employers will react to the change and how declining inequality affects lowwage workers.

Following a discussion on the rapid pay increases several bluecollar workers have experienced in the last decade, Wilmers explained that starting salaries have had to go up as blue-collar jobs involve more complex work.

“The big story here is that as complexity increases, there’s a big increase in workers’ prior pay,” Wilmers said. “It’s really selecting for workers who are paid more previously than when the job was less complex.”

However, Wilmers warned that increasing job complexity could be disadvantageous to job seekers with fewer academic qualifications, as employers might become more selective in the hiring process.

“Think (of ) a retail job that used to be open to somebody without any higher education,” Wilmers said. “(If ) you make it more complex and pay more, maybe you’re just going to select workers who have an associate’s degree, and those with only a high school education have fewer opportunities.”

Wilmers also said he has found that as task complexity and selective hiring increases, fewer women and minority applicants tend to be hired.

“We also see a decline in female representation (and in the) representation of Black and Latino workers … as task complexity increases,” Wilmers said. “From a perspective of sort of reducing

inequality and concerns over exclusion, this is potentially a real issue.”

Nursing graduate student Rebecca Williams attended the lecture and told The Daily she found Wilmers’ lecture applicable to the nursing profession. She said she thinks nursing salaries do not always increase as specialization and task complexity does.

“Currently, at (the University), (nurses) are unionized and (there are) all different (types) of nurses,” Williams said. “There are nurses that are very highly specialized … Every nurse is important, but more specialized nurses get paid the same (despite) providing more complex services.”

In an interview with The Daily, Kilpatrick, the student who had introduced Wilmers at the start of the lecture, said he admired Wilmers for challenging business students and faculty to think about inequality in the workforce and how they can combat it.

“One thing that’s really nice to see about this is this is someone who works at a business school and obviously deeply cares about increasing profits for firms, but in terms of actually dealing with inequality between workers and communities,” Kilpatrick said.

“It’s really awesome to see that there are researchers at business schools that care deeply about social issues and want to make them better.”

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Wednesday, September 13, 2023 — 3

A glimpse into the world of Michigan Esports

Michigan Esports players share the history of their team and goals for their upcoming conference EILENE KOO

Daily Staff Reporter When most University of Michigan students think “the game”, imagery of the Big House, maize outs and football populate their minds. For other students, “the game” denotes Call of Duty or Rocket League.

For these students, Michigan Esports provides a different type of competition. The student-run organization launched in 2020 is dedicated to training players for esports competitions and is listed under the Department of Recreational Sports. Esports, or electronic sports, are video games played in an organized competitive setting.

Esports dates back to 1972, when Stanford University hosted 24 players competing in a “Spacewar!” tournament. Today esports boasts a global audience of more than 260 million esports viewers on various esports streaming platforms with an expected projection of 318 million by 2025, according to game data firm Newzoo. Its growing fanbase can be ref lected in the increase to 5.1 million people who tuned into the 2022 League of Legends World Championship from the 1.1 million who watched it in 2021.

While Michigan Esports has only been around since 2020, over 100 students are now competitively playing for the club. The program was born out of Arbor Esports, a student organization at the University that was not recognized by Recreational Sports. It was founded by Michigan alum Tony Yuan during the pandemic, when in-person events were limited.

Though Michigan Esports is a student-run organization, Michigan Esports President Caedon Zube told The Daily it functions as a club-level sport.

Zube said the team differentiates

players by skill level, meaning they select players to join the varsity or junior varsity teams for each game.

“We are still a sponsored student organization, which is why we have full student leadership,” Zube said. “We’re under (Recreational Sports), but we function separately and alongside club sports. We don’t necessarily have access to the same things that club sports have access to, but we still have a fulltime faculty member assistant director.”

Giana Mae Anguiano, director of events at Michigan Esports, told The Daily esports involves many of the same aspects as physical contact sports.

“We have jerseys (and) there

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are players who have different elbow sleeves, a different mouse for their specific hand grips,” Anguiano said. “Even though you would think this is a digital space, there’s still very real physical contact that changes your gameplay, like the chair you sit in (and) how it raises your arms or not, or (whether) your keyboard (is) split down the middle.”

Though joining Michigan Esports may seem daunting for people who do not play video games competitively, Zube said there is a space for anyone who loves to play them regardless of skill level.

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general to be a fan of esports,” Zube said. “We want to see you (and) we’re here to support you if you’re interested in esports (or) gaming.”

The National Esports Collegiate Conference announced the launch of the Big Esports Conference Tuesday morning, and will facilitate competitions in four titles of video games between the esports programs at Big Ten member universities.

This is the first time NECC has hosted a program affiliated with Big Ten University’s, however the Big Ten Conference is not affiliated with the event. In an interview with The Daily, Kevin Palmer, U-M assistant director of Esports & Intramural Programs, said he hopes the Big Esports Conference will garner support from the Big Ten Conference — which is not sponsoring it — and increase resources for collegiate esports programs.

“I anticipate and hope that after this year, we show this works and there are people who are supporting us,” Palmer said. “(I hope) the Big Ten will (officially sponsor the Esports Conference), which would just open the doors for so many students.”

Michigan Esports holds tryouts for the varsity and junior varsity for eleven titles of video games during the beginning of the fall semesters. LSA freshman Elvin Kim tried out for the

varsity team of Overwatch, a multiplayer video game, Monday evening and told The Daily his interest in Michigan Esports began during his sophomore year of high school.

“I knew an upperclassman (who played) Overwatch and he told me about (the University Overwatch team),” Kim said.

“My high school had an esports organization … it wasn’t anything formal … and I really wanted to (experience) this competitive esports scene more.”

With tryouts every fall, the team only guarantees a spot for members for a year before they must try out again. In an email to The Daily, Alma Hearin, Michigan Esports vice president, said this policy helped to bring in new talent.

“Players are never guaranteed a spot, as there are consistently new people arriving who might merit the position more,” Hearin wrote. “Even though the inclusion of varsity (level players) in the same tryouts definitely had me facing some (more skilled) players, I thought it was a great experience and am very happy to see how the teams shake out.”

Even though esports involves tryouts, organized competitions and practices similar to that of other professional sports, Zube said some people think esports is not an “actual sport.”

“I think that people who are

not as interested in gaming often think of esports as very trivial and that claiming it to be a sport would be some kind of disservice to ‘actual’ sports,” Zube said.

“Esports, in my opinion, is very much an actual sport and it exists at a professional level at an immense global scale.”

Michigan Esports lacks an esport-specific facility at the University. Anguiano said a facility would be incredibly helpful to the team, who usually meet at local area network parties, or places where gamers physically gather to play together.

“Just like how other teams have their practice facilities, it would be nice to have a place where you can have tournaments (and) have our equipment held there so people who enjoy (gaming) casually could come and stop by,” Anguiano said.

“Most of our communication happens in Discord and a lot of the players have not even met each other in person.”

Despite the lack of an esports facility, Kim said he felt a sense of community with other players who were trying out.

“I actually went to hang out with a couple players from tryouts at (someone’s) house,” Kim said. “As a group, they are very friendly, approachable and kind, and as a team, (they are) very coordinated (and) very synergized with each other.”

BUSINESS

Ann Arbor to launch guaranteed income pilot program in 2024

100 randomly selected low-income Ann Arbor residents will receive $528 per month for two years MADISON HAMMOND Daily Staff Reporter

Starting in January 2024, 100 randomly selected lowincome Ann Arbor residents will receive $528 per month for two years as part of the city’s new g uaranteed income pilot program: Guaranteed Income to Grow Ann Arbor. The program’s funds, which aim to support low-income entrepreneurs and small business owners, have been allocated from the $24.2 million in federal funding given to the City of Ann Arbor under the American Rescue Plan.

According to the program’s website, applications will be accepted from Oct. 2 to Oct. 13 for individuals who are at or below 225% of the federal poverty level — which is currently $14,580 per year for individuals — or who are eligible for federal public assistance programs, such as SNAP, Pell Grants and TANF. After the application window closes, 100 applicants will be randomly selected to receive a g uaranteed monthly income starting in early 2024. Another 100 applicants will be randomly

chosen to serve as a comparison group, though they will not receive the monthly cash payments. Both groups will complete a series of surveys over the course of the program so that researchers involved with the Poverty Solutions initiative at the University of Michigan can analyze the impact of a g uaranteed income on local entrepreneurs. by registering to vote (at the Assembly),” Schmanski said.

“We are tentatively planning to hold this on September 26.”

Kristin Seefeldt, associate director of Poverty Solutions, will be one of the main researchers evaluating the results of the pilot program over the next two years. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Seefeldt said Poverty Solutions was excited that city officials selected them to run and evaluate the program.

“We’ve spent the summer fig uring out how to design the program so that we could get it up and running at the start of the school year,” Seefeldt said.

“We’re also working on surveys and ways to collect data so that we can see what the effect of

receiving $528 a month for 24 months is on a whole variety of different outcomes, ranging from health and mental health to experiences with housing and food insecurity.”

Ann Arbor City Councilmember Linh Song, D-Ward 2, has advocated for this program since it was first proposed by city staff. In an interview with The Daily, Song said she hopes the program will encourage the city to further invest in welfare programs as emergency relief measures implemented during the COVID19 pandemic expire.

“This seemed like a good opportunity to launch a pilot, given that there are all these other federal monies that were trying to help short-term, like the eviction moratorium, additional SNAP benefits, child care, child tax credits,” Song said. “I thought, ‘All these also have timelines that would expire, so if I were to do this pilot program, maybe it’s a way to demonstrate how these investments need to continue.’”

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Arts

4 — Wednesday, September 13, 2023

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ gives a female friendship a much-needed makeover OLIVIA TARLING Daily Arts Writer

When I first picked up a copy of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” as a high school freshman, it’s safe to say I had some strong opinions about the novel. First, I was passionately Team Jeremiah (I have since changed my tune.).

Second, I thought Conrad’s only personality trait was “angry” (I wasn’t wrong about this one, but I know now that he’s also “sad”).

Third and most importantly, I thought Taylor and Belly were a disappointingly written duo. And I stand by that.

For anyone who didn’t spend an embarrassing amount of time keeping up with the Cousins gang this summer: “The Summer I Turned Pretty” tells the story of teenager Belly Conklin (Lola Tung, debut), who spends every summer on Cousins Beach with her family and her two (conveniently) attractive family friends — Belly’s childhood best friend, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno, “The Vampire Diaries”) and her first ever crush, Conrad (Christopher Briney, “Daliland”). The entirety of the book series, written by Jenny Han, was published between 2009 and 2011, while Prime Video released the show’s first and second seasons in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Throughout the book series, Belly points out traits that set her apart from the girls at her school or those on Cousins Beach. At the beginning of the second book, Belly and Taylor are invited to a summer party in their hometown, and Taylor tries to help Belly find an outfit for the party. Belly makes this an impossible task by insisting she wear a baggy T-shirt to a party everyone dresses up for.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be comfortable, but the

way that Belly constantly compares her preferences (in bathing suits, shoes, makeup, boys, etc.) to those of the girls around her, especially Taylor, raises concerns. Belly can have no objective qualities — they all must be qualities that makes her different: traits that makes her, for lack of a better phrase, “not like other girls.”

The original book version of Taylor is a different, yet equally problematic, story. She is known to act as though she’s above the people around her and to disrespect her best friend’s boundaries — most notably by removing all of Belly’s clothes from her suitcase and switching them without her permission. But despite her “mean girl” tendencies, the problem I have is less with Taylor as a character and more with the negative light in which Han paints her. Taylor is more feminine, and much bolder, than Belly. Although these are both positive traits, Taylor is not exactly cast in a positive light for embodying them. “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was written in a period when teenage media constantly cranked out its equivalent of the “MadonnaWhore” complex. There were the “nice girls” (smart, clumsy and pretty despite putting zero effort into their appearances) and “mean girls” (judgemental, hyperfeminine and overly concerned with the way they looked). The Gabriellas and the Sharpays.

The Serenas and the Blairs. By writing a character with a strong passion for clothes, makeup and boys; a judgmental attitude and a tendency to ignore Belly’s clear boundaries, Han created Taylor Jewel: a character who completely resembled the 2000s “mean girl” archetype.

When it comes to their book personalities, Belly and Taylor have always reminded me of

Design by Abby Schreck

“Gossip Girl’s” Serena (Blake Lively, “Green Lantern”) and Blair (Leighton Meester, “Monte Carlo”) — a TV friendship that has never ceased to baffle me. Despite spending an incredible amount of time together, Serena and Blair lack one key quality necessary for a best friendship: They don’t like each other. You can call someone your “sister” all you want, but if you find yourself screwing that person over time and time again for personal benefit, chances are she’s not your platonic soulmate.

As I read Han’s book series, I never understood the friendship between Taylor and Belly, especially when I noticed their “B and S”-like tendencies. The “nice girl” / “mean girl” agenda peaked around 2009, when female characters and their individual personalities were stereotyped to an extreme, but this was also a time

when fictional women weren’t done justice in their friendships.

The social climate of the 2000s did not give Taylor and Belly the proper environment to thrive as individual characters, and neither was their friendship, reliant on boys and underlying competition, given room to succeed.

When I first started Amazon’s TV adaptation of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” (which credits Han as creator and executive director), I was impressed — yes, by the “O.C.”-level summer vibes and the phenomenal soundtrack (Queen Taylor Swift strikes again.

And again, and again), but also by the monumental changes made to the female characters.

From Taylor’s first scene, I could tell that the show intended to portray her completely differently from Han’s original version. While Belly packs for

her summer in Cousins Beach, she talks to Taylor about their shared time on the volleyball team (something that doesn’t exist in the books). Taylor says that she would “never let a boy beat (her) at anything.” While book Taylor would likely have acted incapable of a sport if it meant gaining the attention of a boy, TV Taylor keeps her book counterpart’s straightto-the-point attitude without compromising her personality and beliefs. Taylor’s judgmental and arrogant attitude is replaced with an air of emotional security and genuine confidence.

TV Taylor is also selfless when it comes to her best friend. Belly has a lot on her plate throughout the show, whether she’s navigating the messy highs and lows of a teen love triangle, dealing with the grief of losing a mother figure or fighting to keep the magic of her favorite

place alive. From answering the phone to pep-talk a tearful Belly, standing by her side throughout an entire grieving process or dropping everything and driving to Cousins as emotional support, Taylor does everything in her power to earn the title of Belly’s “best friend.”

Although “The Summer I Turned Pretty” isn’t a flawless show, I can’t help but applaud the ways Han has changed her story to fit the expectations of more modern times. The book may have been written during an era of two-dimensional female characters in YA fiction, hyper-polarized personalities and negative perceptions of femininity, the TV series has made the mature choice to allow its female main characters to exist in their own space — free of cliche backstabbing and unnecessary competition.

A bittersweet ode to old books Just then, as if it were fate, GRACIELA BATLLE CESTERO I found my parents’ old copies of the entire Harry Potter book Daily Arts Writer series.

Visually, my parents’ books I used to hate old books.

When I say “old books,” I don’t were my worst nightmare. To mean classics, though. I mean the start off, the copies weren’t the yellow pages and broken spines, same edition, making some of the weird, wood-like smells and the seven books oddly sized with having to be consciously careful ugly covers. When I thought it not to break one because it was couldn’t get worse, I opened the already so worn down. Owning books one by one to see their old books was annoying to me, interiors, silently praying that feeling more like a chore than I would not encounter yellow pages as a result of the books’ something enjoyable.

And even so, I never threw out old age. Sadly, what I saw was even worse. Water and coffee nor donated any of my old books.

Even if they sat on my bookshelf stains riddled the books’ pages, for eternity, I could never really making them blotchy and stiff. bring myself to throw them I remember thinking to myself out. I knew it was unlikely that that there was no way I would I would ever pick them up for be able to read these books if recreational reading purposes, those were the copies I had but I still persisted. There was just available.

I decided that I would express something about the old books my worry to my parents. They that I could not let go of.

My hatred toward old books always bought me any and every lasted for a long time. I started book I wanted, so I was sure that reading for fun in second grade, and they wouldn’t have a problem I refused to buy books that weren’t with buying a new set of Harry in the utmost pristine condition Potter books … boy, was I wrong.

When I expressed my until I was in fourth grade, when I was gifted my first Kindle. But frustration with the books’ even after owning my Kindle, I physical state to my dad, he was never stopped reading physical genuinely confused by my point. books. There was something so He kept repeating that he knew magical about the experience of how much I loved fresh, new turning page after page of a book, books, but that these copies of a visual representation of just how Harry Potter had history, so immersed you were getting into it would mean so much to him if I could just read the copies the story.

One can assume that I didn’t I had already been gifted. I really own many old books. I didn’t understand his point, had a few here and there that my because what was so good about parents had gifted me, but nothing a few old books? I saw past their too special. I was ready, however, history and focused on their to venture into a new world of physical state because I was just reading, one that transcended the that superficial. likes of children’s chapter books Read more at michigandaily.com and juvenile topics.

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Arts

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 — 5

A little treat for an Ann Arbor college student line stretches out the door and down the block, I don’t even mind — just more time to enjoy the sheer pleasure of being with those I love — conversing, commiserating, maybe crying.

Whether you’re a dairy lover or lactose intolerant, we all need places that ground us, that remind us of who we are or who we want to become. I just never thought mine would be a scoop of ice cream from a parlor in a college town.

KAYA GINSKY, ERIN EVANS, ALLISON WEI & SAARTHAK JOHRI Daily Arts Writers

A little treat is a special type of treat. It implies a sense of selfallowance — not self-indulgence.

Buying yourself a “treat” seems wrong; there are budgets to consider, sanity to hold onto and the fabric of our college lives hangs on by a thread. Treats are hard to obtain and maintain: sheet cakes and designer purses.

A little treat, however, keeps the world balanced. It satisfies your desires, keeping your day, week or month on track. It is a morning-commute latte, a poststudy session ice cream cone, a mid-long-day snack of chips and dip, a bad day flower bouquet and a celebratory chocolate truffle. It is something to cry into or cheer into, a reward for being and feeling alive.

“Little treat culture,” according to a philosophical analysis by The New York Times, rose during 2021 as the pandemic persisted and people found solace in routines and small joys, not merely the material purchases of “treating” oneself.

Little treats are for everyone at any time. As you power through daily battles of self-esteem and hustle culture, feeling as though you must “earn” everything, you never have to earn a little treat, as Emmy Snyder noted in The Michigan Daily’s “How treat culture can save the world.”

A little treat is a remedy to inconstancy, providing something to look forward to — a moment that centers you in self-love. It is a manageable yet exciting addition to life, requiring no lifestyle changes or large expenditures.

With the collegiate combinations of financial freedom and strife, free time and constant stimulation, we can find “little treats” at dozens of local businesses and make them our own, grounding us in our sense of self and place.

Perhaps the term “little” veils these routine pleasures in self-deprecating insignificance, dismissing the self-love-ingness of the ritual. Or maybe “little” means that the treat is just for one person, an act of love that we do both by and for ourselves.

We love ourselves just enough to allow ourselves the pleasure of a little treat; we escape the constant collegiate fluctuations of our sense of self and do something that we know we love.

Design by Emily Schwartz

A Little Treat at Argus Farm Stop In college, drinking as fast as possible seems to be a given: mixed drinks before a party; water before class; coffee before an all-nighter; soda before game day. But matcha is meant to be sipped slowly and savored.

The Japanese green tea is earthy and wholesome, with enough caffeine to survive any highs or lows without crashing. Argus Farm Stop uses traditional, organic matcha with herbal notes from Arbor Teas, and adds local flavors from Northwoods Soda and maple from H&H Sugarbush.

I’m never one for an overelaborate order, but Argus Farm Stop inspired me (among countless loyal students who find solace in the cozy, hyperlocal shop) to try new flavors and find a favorite “little treat.” Rich oat milk and matcha, local sweet maple and spicy cinnamon combine in a perfect sip.

Michael McLaughlin, the manager of Argus Farm Stop on Liberty St., a cafe, pastry shop and farmers market sourcing from dozens of local purveyors, discusses Argus’ impact on students’ daily lives in a phone interview with The Daily.

The little treat at Argus Farm Stop is a grounding experience with what McLaughlin calls a “dual quality” of locality and taste. I know I can

never get the same treat anywhere but Michigan, with its kind people, community of maple farms and tea purveyors, and intense weather fluctuating between hot and iced latte days. I could not experience the treat anywhere but the bright yellow, Christmas-light-lit Argus Farm Stop – Packard Cafe.

I take the long way to Argus Farm Stop on Packard — through the treefilled Burns Park neighborhood. I find solace in the suburban haven of local families, beautiful parks and students bright-eyed or equally as miserable as I am (depending on the day). I take 20 minutes to sip, sit and think, sometimes reading or tuning into the guitar-heavy Argus soundtrack. I never chug.

It is a ritual for every season.

Bright herbal flavors start a perfect summer morning.

Earthiness instantly warms a winter day. I mix the flavors around — my hand cooled or warmed up by ice or foam.

My worries are miles and a whole drink away; I savor every moment.

A Little Treat at Nickels Arcade I’m going to try to be nice to myself this semester. My therapist suggested it. I told her that I don’t like being in my apartment because it doesn’t feel like a home. She asked if I had decorated at all. I have a single poster on my bedroom wall, a two-foot-tall VistaPrinted

screenshot from Bo Burnham’s “Inside.” I couldn’t afford to buy pretty artwork to make my room feel more like a space someone actually lived in, but I could afford a little treat: a $10 ceramic vase from the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

Flowers seemed like a good choice for decor. I was alone in my apartment at the time, and I wished for the presence of life, even if it was slowly withering, kept lively in its death by a stingy allotment of water.

I didn’t expect flowers to change much when I headed to the University Flower Shop in Nickels Arcade. They would just be a decoration in my room. I bought three Dahlias for $24 and carried them out wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon. The luxury of an unnecessary purchase made me happy.

I went next door to Bon Bon Bon and got an orange chocolate truffle in a tiny pink box as well. I was happy for the rest of the day.

The Arcade is a place where life doesn’t feel too enormous to wrap our arms around. And I had done something with the sole purpose of being nice to myself, which I may as well make a habit of this semester.

A Little Treat at Blank Slate Creamery I am back on campus, and I have one thing running through my mind:

Blank Slate, Blank Slate, BLANK SLATE. My credit card statement from last semester will tell you I love Blank Slate Creamery too much for my own good (subscribing to their newsletter was both the best and worst decision). I used to feel guilty about my $6 ice cream trips until I reframed it and realized that for me, Blank Slate isn’t just an ice cream, but a life-giving ritual.

I love making the 20-30 minute walk, waiting in line and scanning the chalkboard menu in anticipation, sampling three or four flavors that catch my eye, then inevitably ordering one of my favorite flavors (anything with caramel because of my insatiable sweet tooth). As a chronically indecisive person, it is a place where I’m able to try out all my fantasies (in the form of samples), no strings attached — if only the rest of life was like that.

At Blank Slate Creamery, I can both revel in my indecision, my adventurous tastes and my need for comfort. Yet it also allows me to transform into a different person — the person I wish I was in my everyday life. In contrast to my normal maximize-every-minute Google Calendar micromanager mindset, I find myself slowing down and just enjoying the moment.

Going to Blank Slate with friends in the throes of summer when the

A Little Treat of Ann Arbor’s Best Humus I have a lot of dietary restrictions — it might be easier to list everything I can’t have rather than what I can. But there’s a certain tangy spread that just takes some chickpeas, tahini, sesame, garlic and some other bits of magic (AND NO GLUTEN) to make my current favorite little treat: humus.

Dip it, spread it, cook with it — the options are endless. Or rather, mostly just fall into those three aforementioned categories, but the options for finding humus are.

I’ve been so invested in humus the past year that I’ve actually made a tier list ranked by tastiness.

Jerusalem Garden and Ferial Rewoldt’s HumusFalafel at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market take the S-tier. The former is that restaurant-quality preparation with the small pool of oil still visible in its lapping on, perfect for falafel dipping and mjaddara mixing.

I prefer the latter for a snack at home — HumusFalafel is a constant stop for me each weekend at the Farmers Market is to pick up a small container or two of that slightly chunky, slightly more garlic-y, slightly better taste for dipping and spreading at home. There are a lot of A/B-tiers at the chain grocery stores. Bottom tier is the basic brand the People’s Food Co-op sells.

It’s not their fault though, I know it’s not their humus — maybe they can partner with the other locations I’ve mentioned. Please don’t revoke my membership though — your cashiers (among everything else) are the coolest.

What makes humus my superb little treat is its simplicity. It’s just a spread! It’s a spread with not even ten ingredients that most can make at home if they wanted to. In fact, I have most of the ingredients in my own home! Wait, actually, maybe I won’t get humus my next Farmers Market run, I could try making my own. Nah, I still will — even if I cook up my own addition to the little treat canon, I’ll still need a point of comparison for my tier list.

Daily Arts runs a marathon: Introducing the runners DAILY ARTS WRITERS This fall, three relay teams of four Daily Arts staffers will train for and run the Probility Ann Arbor Marathon. But as writers, we can’t just run the race — we have to write about our past experiences with running, how we are preparing for the marathon, what we look forward to and what we are afraid of.

Ava “In It for the Clout” Seaman I love telling people that I’m running a marathon. They seem taken aback before I explain that it’s a relay — I’m not running 26 miles myself. Then again, any long-distance running is an accomplishment. Running is hard.

It not only takes a toll on your whole body but on your mind as well. It can be a solo or social sport. In a twisted way, I find running fun (I swear it’s my former cross-country runner brain), and I enjoy pushing myself to run more and more every day. However, I find myself in the same predicament as last year: I haven’t exactly been training, at least not consistently. Once I get into a good routine, I know I can achieve my goals. I’m excited to run the Probility Ann Arbor Marathon again this year because I know I’ll have fun and because I want to be able to say I ran a marathon.

Erin “I Have No Goals nor Motivations I Just Run” Evans In a neutral way, I’m not sure why I’m running the marathon again. It’s the opportunity to be part of an Event. It’s a chance to hang out and train with my friends.

But I was running for years before I even knew about the marathon, and I have run farther than the distance I’ll have to run for the relay. That kind of takes away the marathon’s ability to be a motivation or a new goal.

I already wrote about my goal

for this marathon: run eight miles without pain. The fact that I cannot be injured on Oct. 1, thereby letting my team down, keeps me attentive to my pain levels and reasonable regarding how much I should push myself while recovering. But I would run eight miles again, soon, regardless.

There’s something alluring about setting out toward a goal without the certainty you’ll be able to fulfill it. I know that the joy I’ll get from finishing my leg of the marathon won’t compare to the landslide of incredulous, relieved euphoria of finishing a run I didn’t know I could do. I long for that feeling; I would like to one day run distances I haven’t. But that’s no longer how running fits into my life. It’s not a series of goals and motivations.

It’s so completely a part of my life that I hardly think about it. It’s just what I do. Running itself can’t be a goal; the past months of injury and cutting back on distance have made me frighteningly aware of how much I emotionally fall apart when I don’t run. I feel trapped, and that becomes a feeling of disconnection.

Running is a necessity, an act of self-care.

Last year, I enjoyed running the marathon because of the runners around me. I spend a lot of time running in my own world, so I look forward to that again. And I’ll be living vicariously through the Arts writers–turned–runners who are running the farthest they ever have or who started running with the marathon as their motivating goal. I can picture the moment I pass the baton — the waistband that tracks our team’s progress — to the next runner on my team and wish them good luck. I can see myself high-fiving the other runners as they finish the same leg of the relay as me. We’ll be thrilled that we did it, even if I didn’t doubt we could.

Running the marathon isn’t a goal for me, but it does put running into

a larger context. It puts me into a community — the Arts writers — within a larger community — runners. When I run the Probility Ann Arbor Marathon, it will in every way disaffirm the feeling of disconnection I get when I can’t run and confirm that I am part of something.

Graciela “I Hate Working Out” Batlle Cestero If you know me, you probably know I barely work out. Sweating makes me feel icky, I get bored of basically every form of exercise within a week of trying it and the idea of straining my body on purpose is ridiculous to me. Ironically, though, I’ve grown up around authority figures who constantly remind me of the importance of exercise. They firmly believe that working out a few times a week is the key to a healthy lifestyle. Even though I ignored their advice for years on end, there came a point as I ventured into adulthood that I no longer felt happy with how I looked or the ways in which my body responded to how I treated it. It became increasingly difficult for me to wake up morning after morning because I was always low on energy. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I didn’t particularly like what I saw. It was then that I decided to stop ignoring my mom and my grandparents’ advice and got to work on my energy levels and self-image.

After years of saying I was going to start working out “tomorrow” and never starting, I got sick of my own excuses. I realized that in order to improve my energy levels and physical and mental health in the way that I wanted to, I had to prove to myself that I could actually take up a task I had never excelled at before and gracefully succeed at it. So, this is me trying to prove to myself that I can run five miles and actually enjoy it. I’m running for

myself, if for no other reason.

Hunter “Gettin’ Back in the Game” Bishop It’s been a long time since I’ve had anything to run for. As ominous as that sounds, it’s true — it’s been five years since my last cross-country season, and I’ve only done one or two casual 5K races since then. Without an event to train for, a specific goal to reach, or some mountain peak to conquer, running becomes harder for me.

For the last five years, I have run on and off (mostly off), but I haven’t felt like I’ve gone anywhere. My pace has slipped slower and slower; my running watch is left uncharged for longer periods of time. It’s not that I dislike running — but without something to run for, I find myself falling out of love with it.

The last month has been about finding old habits again. I dug out my running watch, purchased a pair of running shoes that wouldn’t destroy my ankles, and started to stretch again. There’s a new rhythm to my running, an excitement that I’m slowly gaining on. I hope that when I catch it this time, I don’t lose it.

Jack “Faster Than a Speeding Ball Rolling Down a Hill, but Only Barely, and Will Need To Take a Very Long Breather When He Finally Catches Up to It” Moeser During my sophomore year, I made one of the best decisions of my college career when I applied to write for the Arts section of The Daily. At the time, I was in the process of making one of my worst decisions in college: trying out for the Michigan men’s ultimate frisbee team. I technically played for my high school’s team (for one season, my senior year, which was canceled before it began at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The questions lingered: Was I the next hidden gem prospect in ultimate frisbee, denied the

Design by Haylee Bohm

chance to showcase my true talent by the global pandemic? Did the superstar athlete of our generation — our Henry Aaron, our Michael Jordan, our Joey Chestnut — spend his prime athletic years ordered not to leave his house, staying up obscenely late on weeknights to play “Animal Crossing”?

No, he definitely did not. In order to sign up for frisbee tryouts, I needed to submit a mile time, which was an obstacle considering I hadn’t run a mile since high school.

This should have been my warning sign not to go through with tryouts.

So should the fact that four laps around the Palmer Field track brought me to the brink of passing out. I submitted my pedestrian mile time and foolishly showed up to tryouts, where I immediately took a hard fall on my wrist and proceeded to get massacred as I tried to figure out how to throw or catch a frisbee without using my right hand.

I no longer see myself as an athlete, much less a runner.

However, there’s something about running that appeals to me on a deeper level. It’s solitary and meditative, but it’s also a universal human experience that dates back to the early hominids who needed to run from predators and toward prey. By running in the Probility Ann Arbor Marathon, I want to add

my name and my story to the grand tapestry of runners that stretches back millennia. I also want to bolster my resume in case there are any professional ultimate frisbee clubs still interested in my services.

Katelyn “I Am Crazy, but I Am Free” Sliwinski I started running in high school.

Back then, I ran with purpose: Between preparing for track and cross country meets, there was always something I had to be ready for. What made me unique was my stunningly negative disposition; every day before practice, I loaded my mind with complaints and negative self-talk — not in an “I hate myself” way, but in an “I’m so tired I want to go to bed” way.

I convinced myself that I was too good for those practices. Despite this mindset, I ran like hell when the time came. There was a moment of peace and joy within this pain.

I’d be secretly proud of myself for working hard, addicted to the runner’s high and excited to do it all over again. Although I pretended cross country hadn’t changed me, running was all I did, even after I graduated high school. I haven’t stopped running. I’m addicted to the struggle, the pain, the passion.

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6 — Wednesday, September 13, 2023

STATEMENT

michigandaily.com — The Michigan Daily

My dying words AWMEO AZAD

Statement Correspondent In the summer of 1971, Syed Abul Barq Alvi sits on the dirty, damp floor of a martial-law court.

Next door, his friends have needles shoved into their fingers and cigarettes burned on their bodies.

Soon, Alvi will endure the same.

For years, the Pakistani military has suppressed the Bengali government in East Pakistan, forbidding the language from the civil service and imposing Urdu in its place. After an overwhelming parliamentary victory from the nationalist Awami league, Pakistan voids the election and massacres hundreds of students at Dhaka University, beginning what will later be recognized as a genocide, and what Bengalis will refer to as the Liberation War. From that day forward, when Alvi paints, he will remember the physical torment of 1971, and what the army did to him and his friends.

Alvi isn’t just a figurehead to me — he’s family. Because of this close connection, the Liberation War has never felt distant to me. The repression of the language and the bitter struggle to defend it are visceral generational memories.

My uncle was on the racecourse where Bangladesh’s founding father delivered his seminal speeches. My mother’s family doctor was dragged out of his house and murdered in the night.

Her uncle announced the news of Bangladesh’s independence on the radio. Ever since childhood, I have worn T-shirts bearing reproductions of posters by Bengali rebels. I can never forget the war — I can never forget the eventual victory. Because of my proximity to these Bengali stories, the language feels precious to me. I know how easily and how brutally one’s mother tongue can be suppressed, and how beautiful it is to speak it freely. Bangla is the language of Tagore, the first non-European to ever win the Nobel Prize for Literature; the language of Satyajit Ray, winner of the highest awards at the Venice and Berlin Film Festivals; the language of Ravi Shankar, organizer of the world’s first benefit concert with the Beatles.

When someone speaks Bangla, they are continuing a tradition of artistry and innovation.

However, despite all my love for the language, I cannot write or read a single word of it. As time goes on, there are more and more ideas I struggle to express in it. I know the word for dream, but not nightmare. I know the word for sad, but not depressed. I know half the language and have half a soul.

Losing a mother tongue isn’t unique to me. Linguists call the

process first language attrition.

It isn’t easy to find statistics on the issue (the first handbook to directly discuss attrition was released only four years ago), but it’s clearly connected to broader trends of assimilation. Linguistic assimilation generally follows a three-generation model, which theorizes that the grandchildren of most immigrants tend to only speak the dominant language. One Duke University study seems to confirm as much — in America, more than 90% of third-generation children in every ethnic minority speak English exclusively.

The reasons for attrition are varied. While writing about her own childhood, author Jenny Liao recalls her parents’ belief that English was the key to a successful life in America. Her parents, Cantonese immigrants who spoke limited English and worked low-wage, blue-collar jobs, believed that English was the “missing piece” in their lives. Liao also notes that, for her, English had significant social advantages.

In school, classmates would taunt her with “ching chongs,” mocking her Cantonese. As she continued to be subjected to racial slurs, Liao turned against her parents, dying her hair magenta and shoplifting as a form of rebellion. She began to blame her parents’ limited English on laziness and stupidity. In her article, Liao expresses immense grief at her language loss but ultimately concludes that it was “the cost of assimilation.”

There’s an element of undeniable truth to Liao’s conclusion. Her Cantonese did make her an active

target for hate, and English did allow her to pursue a white-collar career in advertising. But is full assimilation even possible? Liao herself notes that the bullying continued even after her English became “pitch perfect.” Many Chinese families have lived in America since the 1800s and are still not seen as genuinely or completely American. The perpetual foreigner stereotype was particularly perilous during the coronavirus pandemic, when major health organizations recognized it as a motivation for anti-Asian violence. Conversely, I have several white friends whose parents are immigrants from Europe; they are never referred to as anything but American.

So what really drives assimilation in the first place, and why is it linked with success? The reasons English-speaking abilities are useful in a predominantly English-speaking country is self-evident, but why is English monolingualism seen as better than stable bilingualism? The aforementioned Duke study highlights recent research suggesting that stable bilingualism can bring greater socioeconomic benefits to ethnic minorities than English monolingualism.

Moreover, the myth that bilingualism is detrimental to language development has long since been debunked. Such data suggests that the racist hierarchy dividing English and minority languages is actually the key factor in language attrition. Indeed, Pew Research reports that 70% of Americans see English as the

most important factor of national identity.

This xenophobia is not isolated to a small segment of the country. The assault on minority languages in this country has been organized, violent and persistent.

Within Michigan alone, auto baron Henry Ford spent millions on programs to “Americanize” his European workers, even running a secret police to quash dissident activities. After the genocidal, apocalyptic trauma of the Trail Of Tears, the Cherokee nation rebuilt itself on new lands, establishing bilingual schools where students learned “everything from Latin to algebra in Cherokee.” As reported by the High Country News, in the late 19th century, the Cherokee nation had a higher literacy rate than white individuals in Arkansas or Texas. Unfortunately, the U.S. government eventually seized control of the Cherokees’ thriving school system, spending $1.3 billion to create a boarding school system where students were kidnapped from their families and forcibly assimilated, forbidden from speaking Cherokee or participating in native rituals.

The bodies of children killed by everything from illness to physical abuse are still being found. For every 7 cents spent on preserving native languages, the United States has spent a dollar on annihilating them. These events aren’t ancient history. The last native boarding school was closed in the late eighties. Today, 99% of Native American languages are endangered. Boarding schools and automotive police may

technically be gone, but we live in the America of their design.

In my early childhood, I attended a Bengali after-school in Hamtramck run by my mother and her friends. They hoped the environment would preserve the language in second-generation kids. As a toddler, I hardly paid attention. I doodled in my notebook, disrupted my mother’s lessons and sat in her lap. Back then, my household was still filled with Bangla. We watched cheesy natoks on our grainy television set, my father bellowed old love songs, I was ferried to cultural events where my parents goaded me into reciting poetry.

I couldn’t imagine that I would later spend years of my life in my grandmother’s kitchen rewriting and forgetting the same five vowels. I couldn’t imagine that I would ever live in a college town where hearing Bangla would be rare enough to inspire homesickness.

In first grade, I remember eagerly awaiting story time every day at school. We would be granted brief respite from tedious worksheets and treated to hot chocolate, graham crackers and stacks of picture books. A young bookworm’s equivalent of superyachts and diamonds. At some point, however, I started to be escorted from story time by faculty. A special teacher would guide me to a whitewalled room where we would stare at whiteboards presenting magnetic letters and rudimentary sentences. My parents made the mistake of reporting Bangla as my

Design by Matthew Prock

native language; I was sentenced to English remedial school, despite the fact I spoke fluent English and devoured chapter books.

It quickly became obvious that my association with Bangla conferred an otherized, marginal status onto me. When watching my father interact with lifelong Americans, I have frequently seen his intelligence doubted on account of his limited English, despite the fact that he holds a master’s degree. When hearing my mother’s highly verbose English, many have expressed surprise, despite the fact that she studied English literature for seven years and taught it for several more. The remedial school, the racist taunts and the treatment toward my family members made it clear that I had a societally inferior status.

This second-class status is worsened by the fact that I love English. I write poems in English, I read primarily in English, I perform monologues in English.

A copper plate of Shakespeare even hangs in my room. My love is overshadowed by the pain of attrition. When I talk about my favorite Shakespeare sonnets, I know that I cannot talk about Tagore with equal eloquence. I can quote the moving oration of Frederick Douglass but not Sheikh Mujib Rahman.

Language is prayers. It’s questions, love poems, first words.

It’s “I love you’s.” Can you imagine the loneliness of never being able to say “I love you” to your partner or parent or child? Being trapped in English means being trapped in a language that hates you, that wants to wipe your kind from the Earth. As the Caribbean poet Derek Walcott asked, “I who am poisoned with the blood of both, Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?”

In a New Yorker article entitled “Teach yourself Italian,” author Jhumpa Lahiri details similar struggles with Bangla and English.

For her, English represents a culture to be “interpreted,” and a dividing line between her and her parents — a predicament complicated by her love for the language and commercial and critical success from publishing in it. For Lahiri’s mother, the rebellious choice was to refuse change, resembling a woman in Kolkata decades after moving. For Lahiri, change is the only way to escape “the void of her creation.”

She studied Italian, eventually moving to the country and publishing several novels in the language. In Lahiri’s mind, “the mechanism of metamorphosis” is the only constant.

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My dual existence ANANYA GERA

Statement Columnist Sometimes I feel like the eight months I spent in Ann Arbor during my freshman year didn’t actually happen. When I reflect on certain memories — studying in the Law Library, eating No Thai with friends, watching people walk down below from high up in the Hatcher Stacks — they don’t seem real. Instead, freshman year feels like a scene from a TV show.

I see myself act out a character that doesn’t really exist. My ties to Ann Arbor have slowly eroded throughout these last four summer months, and now there is nothing left to connect me to this place except memories I can’t bring myself to trust.

This disconnect stems from the fact that, as a freshman, terrified by loneliness and rejection, I often pretended to be someone I was not.

I shoved my true personality to the back of my mind as I attempted to please everyone I met. I wanted so desperately to be loved and wanted that I did anything to form relationships, even if that meant lying to myself and others by consciously obscuring parts of myself that I deemed “unworthy” or “uncool”. I would conceal my true interests and bite my tongue

when something bothered me just so I could be seen as laid-back and intriguing. But now, when I replay moments from my freshman year in my head, every scene or emotion just seems insincere. The person in those moments is not actually me, but someone else. Someone that I don’t even know, with her fake laugh and her fake smile that aren’t mine. She is the one who went through her freshman year at the University of Michigan, not me, which is why my memories of the past school year don’t seem genuine or tangible.

Who I am in Ann Arbor is not who I am at home — a place where I don’t feel pressure to be someone I’m not. When I am in my hometown, I can allow myself to expose the parts of my being that I don’t want anyone else to see. I can lean back into my interests that I masked due to the fear of judgment, like my love for Game of Thrones or my passion for grandma-esque activities like knitting. I can embrace the intricacies of how I like to operate; I can stay in at night without forcing myself into extroversion to avoid falling behind.

I can clean my room without feeling like I might be judged for being up-tight. I can relish in every part of myself that felt too personal, too me, to display to those I had surrounded myself with.

Thus, being back in Indiana for the summer allowed me to settle into a personality that I hadn’t adorned in a long time. The genuineness of my true self wrapped around me like a comfortable embrace I never wanted to let go of. I know who I am in my hometown. I’m free to relax, to let my words flow openly out of my mouth without overthinking them and to laugh the way I always have. I know the roads like the back of my hand. I know all the restaurants. I know who to trust and who to turn away from.

The familiarity coursed through my veins and rushed to my head, silencing all the uncertainty I had carried back from the University.

As I relaxed in the company of my childhood friends and ate ice cream with my sister while we watched the sunset from my car, I found it increasingly difficult to conjure up my life in Ann Arbor. At the beginning of summer, I took my fake college persona and put it in a storage box, where it sat all summer collecting dust. I easily forgot about it as I became engrossed in the rhythm of my summer routine. It was easy to forget my self-hatred from freshman year. It was easy to separate myself into two versions, to identify my obvious dual existence which encapsulates both my college persona and my true persona.

But just two weeks ago, I gathered all my things together to return to the University of Michigan for sophomore year. As I was sorting through my old dorm stuff, discerning what to bring and what to leave behind, I came across that dusty old box with my dusty old college version folded inside.

When I took her out and slipped her on, I felt uncomfortable. Itchy.

So unlike myself. The feeling made me want to vomit and scream and cry. She is suffocating and painful and not me. But wasn’t that the point? To not be myself, to let my insecurities and desperation ravage my insides until I withdrew from the real aspects of my personality?

To pretend and pretend until I didn’t know who I was anymore?

Of course she is uncomfortable.

Of course she makes me want to vomit and scream and cry. She’s supposed to alter me.

As my lungs grew tight in the binding corset of my freshman being, I realized I had a choice. I could choose to pull on my college persona, forcing it to mold to my skin even though it clearly does not fit. I could choose to pretend, for the second time, in the hopes that I might form more connections and fill the void I so desperately wish to close. I could choose to hide myself once again, never allowing my actual personality to see the sun

until I return to the safe confines of my childhood bedroom. I could be a fake person and live a fake life and look back on memories that feel fake — because they are.

Or, I could put my college personality back in her storage box and leave her there with old stuffed animals and random trinkets — tokens of my past that will stay in my room and never leave. I could go to Michigan with a fresh start and attempt to make connections that truly fulfill me, even if it takes some time. I could live authentically as myself and embrace the aspects of my personality that I find unworthy or uncool without needing anyone else’s validation. I could allow myself to breathe in a persona that truly fits, a persona that does not leave lasting impressions in my skin, but instead wraps me in warmth and comfort the way it’s supposed to. I could choose to end my dual existence once and for all.

Kneeling in my closet, the choice became obvious: I needed to put away that fake college persona once and for all. I needed to start living truly and wholly. I knew that, in the end, this decision would break my cycle of insecurity and self-loathing. I knew that this was right for me.

And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I stared at the box, unable to put it back on the shelf and walk away. There would always be doubt plaguing my mind: What if people hate the real me? What if I form no real relationships? What if I am still miserable and unhappy? The presence of that fake personality, the same one that makes me want to vomit and scream and cry when I try it on, somehow offers me a tiny bit of comfort. I managed to wear it for an entire school year, and I survived. So maybe it is worth it to continue to pretend to be someone I’m not, to invent and wear this entirely new persona, in an effort to find comfort in the unknown.

I’ll wear a shield to avoid the upset caused by others not accepting the garments that lie beneath.

But, finally, I imagined myself looking in the mirror every single day and having to see a complete stranger stare back at me. I may be able to hide who I am to the world, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to hide who I am to myself.

Slowly but surely, I placed that box back on the shelf, turned around and shut the door. I am terrified for this new semester, but I am more terrified of losing myself. As daunting as it is, it is time to live as myself, and only myself, this year. It is time to end my dual existence.

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STATEMENT

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 — 7

When August comes knocking JENNA HAUSMANN Statement Columnist

Ah, August: My least favorite month. The month that quietly torments me all summer. As the dog days go by, I can feel August’s distance close in, and thus, I feel the need to quicken my pace, to delay summer’s inevitable end.

It’s no use, though; the month still reaches me, digging its nails into my anxiety-ridden body, and whispers, “change is here.”

While not everyone shares this frightening experience, August’s arrival has personally never left me unscathed.

When I’m deep in the summer, my worries about the upcoming school year get brushed off.

That’s an August problem, I tell myself. Unfortunately, the month I burden with all my issues arrived again, right on cue. After the carefree bliss of June and July, after days of lounging in my hammock and nights reading in my bed, all of my August problems became my present problems.

My loathing of August is layered, but if I force myself to locate the true root of it all, I know that it’s my hostility toward change. Thus, the quintessential August activity — back-to-school shopping, the greatest sign of such change — has become one of my greatest enemies.

When I was younger, back-toschool shopping was a beloved activity: a time to grab cute notebooks, fresh shoes and colorful pens. My mom and I would spend a specific weekend crossing every supply off the list

with delight. I looked forward to this designated shopping spree all summer. But, somewhere along the way, the idea of supply shopping lost the sparkle and optimism that once seemed to ooze from it. Binders became bland, backpacks were just boring sacks and sparkly pens were humiliating. I opted for the generic versions of everything to reduce the hassle and embarrassment of it all.

Last summer, before my freshman year of college, my relationship with back-to-school shopping worsened even more.

I was overwhelmed by the idea of living somewhere that was totally new. How was I going to get and remember everything I need? How was I going to store everything in an 11 x 12 foot room? Was I really about to move somewhere I had never stepped foot in before? These worries quietly haunted me all summer, but I, of course, pushed them away until August — and the shopping spree that would come with it.

My mom and I began shopping a week prior to my move-in date. My whole house was overtaken by a red sea of Target bags and storage bins.

This frantic debacle may have been avoidable with some planning, but procrastination is a stubborn habit. I started packing everything the night before I left and stopped at about 6 a.m. My mom and I showed up to my move-in slot an hour late, exhausted from the chaos that had occurred just hours before.

Now, I laugh at the frenzied experience. But at the time, I

told myself that next year would be completely different. I would adequately prepare and pack. I would make lists. I would stick to those lists. I would catch every discount deal possible and slowly compile my necessities over the summer.

As with any self-made promise, sticking to it is easier said than done. This year, August again came knocking. Two weeks before moving into my sophomore year apartment, I sat in my childhood bedroom with little progress made on my backto-school shopping endeavors.

It took my mother pounding on my bedroom door with a nagging list of must-buys to begin the miserable process. After being dragged into the car, I sulked in the passenger seat, worrying about the dreadful day ahead of us. Anyone who has stepped foot into Target during August knows the utter chaos occurring inside the bullseye building — the humid air, the headacheinducing fluorescent lighting, crying babies, bickering families, cluttered shelves. It’s simply an overstimulating nightmare.

My mom and I entered the store, hopeful, leisurely scanning the section that is home to all of the adorable (yet unnecessary) trinkets: the dollar section. Starting small. But my lighthearted attitude slowly faded as we descended into the aisles of misery: the storage bins section. From there on, the air got hotter, my patience thinned and my frustration bubbled. I felt irritated by the excessive options for bath mats and silverware sets.

Every question and remark

from my mom just fueled my annoyance: “Have any of your roommates bought a vacuum?”

“You need to think about storage.”

“Will these bins fit under your bed?”

“Those sheets are not 100% cotton; you will burn up.”

“Where are you going to store your toilet paper?”

“Jenna, you need to make these decisions.”

After enough questions, enough snippy and rude remarks slung back and forth and enough painful aisles into our five-hour shopping spree, I reached my breaking point.

It happened when I placed two large bottles of shampoo and conditioner into our cart.

“There’s a good deal on these,” I remarked.

“Okay.” About five seconds of silence passed as my mom stared at the enormous pink bottles.

“Are you really sure you like those that much?”

I panicked. I didn’t realize how big of a decision I was making.

They were large containers that were going to last me a long time.

What if I end up not liking them anymore? I would be trapped. I chickened out of the long-term commitment. “Okay, yeah, I don’t need to get these,” I muttered.

“I feel bad. I passed down my indecisiveness to you,” she said.

“You should, you have passed down a lot of bad traits.”

Immediate regret flooded my body when I saw tears form in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

I was just kidding. I swear,” I choked.

The speed at which those hurtful words escaped my mouth surprised me, and I felt horrible that I couldn’t seal them back up.

My emotions were running high, and so were hers. We stared at the shampoo and conditioner on the shelf with watery, drained eyes, and then made our way up to the cash registers in silence. As a last attempt to fix things, I ran to the Starbucks counter nearby and bought my mom her favorite coffee. I handed it to her, and we exchanged a weary smile. The woman behind us in line watched our purchases getting bagged up.

“School shopping?” she asked.

My mom and I nodded.

“Been there,” she sighed.

August means back-to-school shopping as much as it means fighting with my mom. Is it the unbearable heat that makes me want to bicker with my mom over everything? It’s a possibility, but I have come to believe the increase in our trivial arguments is caused by something else: our love for each other. My mom and I have always had a close relationship — I consider her one of my best friends. That will never change.

When I was leaving for school last year, I was worried about my mom. I knew that empty nest syndrome was going to hit her hard. While I was overjoyed to be entering a new phase of my life, I couldn’t shake a sense of guilt. My brother and I are my mom’s world, and here I was, her last child, leaving her. Maybe our arguments about bath towels result partly from the repressed sadness about our impending separation. More change.

Any life change does get easier

over time. I miss my mom while I’m at school, but the sadness is not as debilitating as I originally imagined it to be. My mom misses me, but she still lives her life. The things we argued about while shopping become forgotten. The things I ended up purchasing did not hold significance to my well-being. The next time I find myself debating the purchase of value-sized hair products, I will remind myself of these simple realizations. Whatever I choose, everything will work out, and the decision will not haunt me at night. Rest assured, the trajectory of my life will not be altered by my decision about shampoo.

Whether it’s changes in the seasons or in relationships, any transition can be uncomfortable.

Anything unstable feels at risk for breaking. However, I take comfort in knowing that some things, such as my relationship with my mother, can withstand any change that comes my way.

Change, dressed up as August, is like an unwanted house guest.

When it arrives at my doorstep, I have the urge to slam my door, shut my blinds and hope it moves on to another house. However, I know that this avoidance won’t help me grow. I know I have to work on being a better host and warmly welcome uncertainty.

When August comes knocking for me next year, I plan to less reluctantly invite it in and be more accepting of all the distressing adjustments, emotions and goodbyes it brings as luggage. Maybe I’ll even let it tag along on the annual, motherdaughter Target trip — it can pick out my shampoo.

nothing that month. I relaxed at home and spent time with friends and family. I was soaking up the Michigan sun, trying to find words for what I was feeling.

As I swallowed my pills every day, I found myself wondering if, maybe, my Prozac was the issue.

I debated going cold turkey to see how I experienced the world without the aid of the white-andgreen tablet. Why else would I be feeling this never-ending dread about the inevitable march of time to my own mortality if not for a drug messing with my thoughts?

Nonetheless, I decided to stay on Prozac. As I left to go work in Dublin for the summer, my prescription was nestled into my jam-packed suitcase. I couldn’t bring myself to leave it behind. The pills served as a reminder of home, familiarity and the American pharmaceutical industry that was mostly working for me.

Now, it’s odd to think about the fact that I have taken Prozac nearly every morning for about five years. That’s 1,825 days; 1,825 pills. My Prozac has seen one-quarter of my life.

I’ve changed for better and for worse on it. It’s traveled with me across the world, through

pandemics, relationships and schools. My thoughts of my mortality have mostly subsided, surfacing only at random moments every couple of months instead of every night.

Prozac has always been there for me. A pillar of stability in an ever-changing world.

I can still taste the pill mixed with a little bit of acid and bile (sorry) after taking it on an empty stomach and washing it down with an energy drink before my first class. That taste haunts me — Prozac does not taste good. It settles weirdly in my stomach, making me feel nauseous and ravished at the same time and incredibly cognizant of my esophagus. Because of Prozac, I get incredibly tired at 8 p.m., profusely sweaty when I exercise and thirsty enough to drink three liters of water daily. But it is comforting. It’s been with me for so long that I feel afraid to give it up — to nakedly experience the world again. That static may come back, and I’ll be the nervous wreck I was for all of my childhood. But this white and green pill wasn’t meant to tide my static over forever, right? Or was it? I’m not sure. For now, what’s five more years, after all?

My pal Prozac MILES ANDERSON Statement Columnist

I started seeing a therapist the summer before my freshman year of high school. After several months of cognitive behavioral therapy — a form of therapy which focuses on changing negative thoughts and behaviors while instilling healthy coping mechanisms — I didn’t feel much better. Sure, I had fixed how I thought about myself, but there was still a nagging, TV static-like feeling that I couldn’t shake. Every Wednesday, I talked and talked and talked with my therapist, but she couldn’t seem to help me. We tried working through different ways of thinking, and I tried out healthy coping mechanisms like breathing and counting exercises, but I simply could not clear the static.

Frustrated and hopeless, I went to a doctor. I explained that I had been going to therapy for a few months, but I still constantly felt anxious and a little depressed.

He had me fill out the GAD-7 test, a standard test for anxiety and anxiety-related symptoms and seemed shocked by how many “nearly every days” I put down. The doctor’s solution — my savior — was a prescription for Fluoxetine, best known as Prozac.

A prescription of 20 milligrams, to be exact.

Now, as a sophomore in college, I’m coming up on five years on Prozac. I don’t know quite how to feel about it.

Back in 2019, during the first couple weeks on my new medicine, I felt the same. The little green and white pills with their plasticky coating didn’t seem to be doing what they were supposed to. I still felt that same sense of anxiety weighing down on me, the same constant TV static in the back of my mind. I was always on edge and couldn’t stop my racing mind for even a moment. I would lay in bed at night, staring at the ceiling for hours before I was calm enough to sleep.

Around two months later, I had a check-in with the doctor. I told them I felt no improvement, but they insisted that I kept taking the medicine, explaining that Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor: a type of drug that is supposed to affect the body’s absorption of serotonin. SSRIs can take several weeks to have an effect, as they change the protein

and serotonin transporters in the brain, the results of which may take several weeks to fully express. I listened to the doctor and continued on with my daily life. Track season was starting up soon, so I had a welcome distraction from my anxiety.

One day in the spring, as I rounded the bend of my 400meter race, I realized. It was gone. The static was absent — like the buzz of a mosquito had finally disappeared. I could hear the silence. As I finished my race, I reveled in what felt like what normal was supposed to be. I hadn’t realized how debilitating my anxiety had been before taking Prozac. Now, finally, I could fall asleep, and my mind was not constantly racing. Rather, my mind was clear. Artificially, but still clear.

I stayed on 20 milligrams for the rest of 2019. In my Superman patterned ditty bag, my Prozac traveled with me between my mom’s suburban house and my dad’s city apartment. The little orange CVS bottle got progressively beat up as the month went on before being replaced on the 6th of each month.

The only sign of change between bottles was the little date printed on the label. The familiarity was comforting; it was a predictable and unchanging routine.

Throughout that summer, Prozac accompanied me as I navigated my first relationship. It kept me much more even-keeled than I had been before; I could actually talk to my girlfriend without constant nerves convincing me I was going to say the wrong thing.

When I began school again and fractured my tibia, Prozac helped me keep my chin up despite my crushed hopes of a good cross country season.

I joined the swim team that winter and ended up being awful at every part of the sport.

Nonetheless, my Prozac was there for me, keeping me from getting too down on myself in a completely new environment. It attended every swim meet, cheering me on as my goggles filled with water during my 500-yard swims.

Of course, Prozac stuck with me through the pandemic. It helped me fill out worksheets when I had no instructions for the assignment and had no idea what would actually count towards my grade. During that strange summer when I could

only see my friends and girlfriend outside and at a distance, I felt aloof from the world. Yet, the same white and green capsules sat in the same orange bottle from before the world shut down.

Their normality brought me back to reality. Taking my Prozac was like entering a daily time capsule back to when things weren’t complicated by a deadly virus and the looming threat of my junior year and standardized testing approaching.

Despite my concerns, Prozac continued to help me face challenges: the ACT and SAT questions I stared at dumbfounded; the late nights in October spent writing my “Why Michigan?” essay and all the other applications; the countless senior year IB tests that would reflect all of my learning thus far; the angry customers at Dick’s Sporting Goods demanding to know why we didn’t carry Nike crew socks.

Then, in the fall of 2022, I moved on to 30 milligrams because I felt like I needed it — the static was creeping in as I dealt with the stress of being a college freshman living away from my family. The newness was getting to me.

Even with this higher dosage,

there was an irking sense of fog in my mind. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew I felt off. I pushed through a stressful end to the winter semester and figured I’d return to normal once I went home. I didn’t.

I started spiraling, worrying about what could be wrong.

Maybe it was something sciencey, and the chemicals in my brain weren’t quite linking up. Or it was something psychological, and I was subconsciously dealing with the thought of growing old and dying after finishing my first year of college. Maybe it was something completely different, and no one would ever be able to figure out what was going on.

Looking back, my guess is actually the second option: Uncontrollable thoughts about my mortality and the degradation of my age were starting to be more and more frequent for no real reason. The idea of growing old and dying kept popping into my mind, and my incessant anxiety would not let me ignore it.

So, in May, I talked to my doctor and reverted to my old companion. I was done with 30mg — 20mg were officially back. In hopes of relaxing my reeling mind, I did next to

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Opinion

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Wednesday, September 13, 2023 — 8

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Cars should not crash into buildings ABDULRAHMAN ATEYA Opinion Columnist

T

his year, the Ann Arbor area has seen a slew of cars crash into buildings, including a Subway, a pub, an optometrist’s office, a supermarket and even someone’s house, despite the fact that businesses, homeowners, pedestrians and society as a whole seem to prefer cars not collide with their buildings.

Per one estimate, at least 100 cars crash into buildings every day, and research suggests the death and injury toll of vehiclein-building crashes is in the thousands.

This is not a stand-alone phenomenon — it’s a symbol of our increasingly dangerous roadways that injure and kill drivers and pedestrians, whether there’s a building involved or not. Traffic fatality rates, despite declining last year, remain among the highest they’ve been in the past decade.

In the first six months of 2023, 21,130 people died in motor vehicle crashes. Roads ought to be designed to protect human life first, not to misguidedly focus on rapidly pushing cars from one destination to the next through residential areas.

In most of the United States, roads are measured using a metric called “level of service.”

Transportation departments grade roads from A through F based on the speed at which vehicles can pass through an area. Of the five Ann Arborarea crashes referred to prior, four occurred on wide, fastmoving roads. The fifth was on a neighborhood street.

These wide streets can be considered “stroads.” A stroad, a term coined by Strong Towns, combines the functionality of a street (a place for people and businesses to interact) with the abilities of a road (a highspeed route between people and places). From a safety perspective, a stroad combines the worst of both worlds, leading to increased conflicts between human interaction

and car use, thus increasing the probability that crash might occur. A stroad’s width also encourages drivers to speed, a major contributing factor in 29% of all traffic fatalities.

Historically, crashes have been interchangeably referred to as “accidents,” partially because unlike “crash,” “accident” has no denotation of responsibility. As evidenced by my exclusive use of the term “crash” in this column, it’s my belief that every collision has a culprit: usually society as a whole. Crashes are avoidable.

One-fifth of car-building crashes are caused by “pedal error.” This occurs when a driver presses the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, resulting in a crash.

Technological improvements in forward-collision mitigation can help reduce this share of car-building crashes, and speed limits can be lowered to reduce the severity of collisions.

Humans, not cars, should be put first in the design of our transportation.

To be fair, safety is already considered when building roads. One example is the “clear zone,” an “unobstructed, traversable roadside area” that allows drivers to stop or regain control of their vehicles. In practice, though, techniques used to make roadways “safer” instead just allow vehicles to funnel through faster, without encountering other cars — like when someone uses a clear zone to pass the person in front of them. Furthermore, these types of “safety” features — making roadways wider, faster and easier for car travel — are often at the expense of transit riders, pedestrians and cyclists.

We’re halfway through the time period for Ann Arbor’s Vision Zero commitment. Our city promised to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries from traffic crashes by 2025.

Since this commitment was made, crashes have slightly declined, aligning with national trends. Even so, the total number of incapacitating injuries has nearly doubled in the last year,

while the total number of nonincapacitating injuries remains largely unchanged.

Ann Arbor’s government promises to use “speed management” tools, such as speed tables and chicanes, to reduce the dangers posed by roads. These interventions have been proven to make roads safer. Area-wide traffic calming has been shown to reduce child pedestrian injuries. A study reviewing traffic calming schemas in multiple different countries showed constant decreases in road traffic deaths and injuries.

While powerful, this implementation is coming too late. Roads ought to be made safer at initial construction by default, not retroactively, in a months-long engagement process. If Ann Arbor is truly committed to Vision Zero, our government must take concrete steps in fundamentally transforming our roadways.

When streets are resurfaced or upgraded, improving safety should be an automatic consideration. While we may be left with our “stroads” for decades to come, we can retrofit them to make them more friendly to human life.

To prevent future vehiclebuilding collisions, the aforementioned supermarket added bright yellow bollards protecting their parking lot.

It’s unacceptable that a private business needs to build their own public infrastructure to keep their business safe, but it does show that solutions to stop these types of crashes have potential. Traffic violence must be physically impossible.

Adopting a zero-tolerance policy must mean zerotolerance — even one fatality or one injury is unacceptable.

Five vehicle-building crashes does not seem to be a large number. In the context of all crashes nationwide, or even just Ann Arbor, it is not. Even so, all these crashes, not just the ones that happen with buildings, are individual and avoidable tragedies, and ones we must permanently solve.

Design by Emma Sortor

NIKHIL SHARMA Opinion Columnist

S

ince the launch of ChatGPT 10 months ago, there’s been an endless stream of conversation about Artificial Intelligence, ranging from concern about job replacement to panic over fantastical robot takeovers.

One of the most frequent and potentially impactful discussions, however, has focused on regulating the AI industry. With other countries moving to quickly lay out regulatory frameworks, Congress has called on multiple technology leaders to testify, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to discuss potential options. In his testimony, Altman won over lawmakers with his pleas to create a new federal agency to swiftly regulate the industry. Unlike other Big Tech CEOs who’ve been maligned by Congress in recent years, Altman achieved rare bipartisan praise for his eagerness to engage constructively with legislators.

Although AI regulation will eventually be necessary, following Altman’s roadmap to regulate at such an early stage in the technology’s development would be a mistake.

While possibly sincere, Altman’s desire to introduce significant red tape could suppress startup competitors attempting to displace industry heavyweights like OpenAI, cause a brain drain of engineering talent and lead America to lose its technological advantage over China.

In a rapidly developing industry where technology is evolving on an almost weekly basis, even a momentary slowdown in development could allow China to pull ahead of the United States.

While it’s easy to dismiss the notion that regulation would have a significant impact on research and development, the lethargic pace of AI research in Europe is a prime example of the drastic consequences America could face if it introduces red tape at this stage. Compared to the U.S. and Asia, European companies have been remarkably uninvolved in the AI boom, largely due to concerns over

General Data Protection Regulation violations.

In particular, the international releases of popular generative AI products like Google Bard and ChatGPT have been held up by countries like Ireland and Italy, which have argued that they violate data privacy statutes. With even the largest companies struggling to break into the European market, investors are disincentivized from allocating funding to smaller European companies in the tech space.

Although the U.S. is currently the global epicenter of AI research, it isn’t unreasonable to expect many American companies to move research operations abroad to friendlier regulatory regimes if the federal government places restrictions on product development.

While an international agreement preventing company f light by creating a global regulatory framework would be preferable to the current deregulated environment, our frayed relationship with China makes any such agreement unenforceable. While the U.S. and EU have discussed creating standard governance for AI startups, the ongoing “Chip War,” during which President Joe Biden recently banned most technology investments in Chinese companies, makes China unlikely to engage.

Beyond the economic consequences of regulation, America could also risk ceding its role in shaping future regulations and ethics conversations by prematurely stif ling the industry. As the global leader in AI research, if more research shifts to Asia, we could lose this enviable position at a moment when the size of the f ledgling industry pales in comparison to its projected growth.

In addition to the many international concerns, pursuing regulation could also lead to anticompetitive domestic outcomes. While congressmen have been encouraged by OpenAI and other Big Tech companies’ desire to regulate themselves, we should be wary about viewing their motives as altruistic.

Historically, large tech corporations have supported regulations as a means of shaping policy and

driving smaller competitors out of the industry. While larger firms with extensive compliance departments can afford to build products that adhere to often arbitrary standards, startups are far more resource-constrained.

Without the ability to quickly pivot and experiment freely, startups will struggle to displace Big Tech competitors.

Additionally, with AI development largely dependent on procuring a wealth of to-train models, Big Tech companies already f lush with user data can afford to promote strict data privacy statutes that prevent other businesses from forming comparable datasets.

As the industry continues to develop and AI models become more powerful, there’s a clear need to eventually introduce regulatory frameworks in America, possibly even taking inspiration from other countries. Despite the hype, however, AI is currently being used in relatively limited ways, mostly as a means of enhancing pre-existing processes such as fraud detection and e-commerce. As the scope of its use expands and the technology permeates non-software businesses in more profound ways, concerns about safety and ethical use will become more significant. In order to address safety, basic measures like standardized black-box testing for large-scale models present the most direct approach to comprehensive yet minimally invasive preventative measures. Taking approaches that evaluate final products but do little to control the inner workings of models is the most promising avenue for regulation. By not putting unnecessary burdens on startups, we can support responsible innovation.

Ultimately, we must tread carefully in enacting regulations on a newly emerging industry of such importance.

While it’s critical to continue academic discussions of potential regulatory standards for a more developed industry, stymying the growth of AI at this stage could be catastrophic. If America doesn’t allow tech companies the freedom to experiment, it risks losing its dominance in the sector.

Republican state of affairs circa Aug. 2023 C O M M E M O R AT I N G

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 4:20–5:45 p.m., Jeffries Hall 1225

THE CONSTITUTION’S DISQUALIFICATION FROM OFFICE OF OATH-BREAKING INSURRECTIONISTS Michael Stokes Paulsen, University of St. Thomas School of Law. His forthcoming article makes the case that Donald Trump is constitutionally disqualified from holding the office of president.

Co-sponsored by U-M Office of the Provost

By Opinion Cartoonist Anya Singh

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Opinion

This year won’t go as planned MAX FELDMAN Opinion Columnist

I

s there a right way to go about college? Like many other students, I’ve spent a large part of this summer thinking about how last school year went, as well how I would like this year at the University of Michigan to go. With classes starting, I’m sure that there are plenty of students who have planned out what they want to get out of this school year; they know the clubs they’re going to join, the way they’ll balance academics and social life, and even the types of people they want to befriend.

For the people trying to plan out what will happen this year, who are hoping this year fully meets their every expectation, I hate to burst your bubble, but that’s not going to happen. Sure, you can plan out your class schedule, your major, the clubs you join and the Ann Arbor restaurants you frequent. But with all the randomness that ensues when tens of thousands of young people gather at a university, you’ve got to expect things to not always go your way.

Put bluntly, this year will not go as planned for you. Those hopes and dreams you have for this year? They won’t all be achieved. Sorry, but that’s life.

However, I don’t think that unexpected detours in college are such a terrible thing.

Imagine you know exactly what will happen this school year. In all the classes you take, you know the grades you’ll

receive and how much you’ll study to get them. You know when you’ll make new friends and all the places where you’ll have memorable experiences for the first time. In this scenario, your U-M experience will meet your expectations, but there is no opportunity to exceed them. Knowing exactly what will happen — or attempting to know by planning everything to the smallest detail — limits the possibilities and opportunities that come with college life.

To explore that idea further, let’s also picture what this year could look like for a real student. Imagine you’re a business student planning to take only business classes, participate only in business clubs and hang out exclusively with other business students.

It may feel like you’re doing everything exactly as you need to, but college life should not be about checking things off a list. You shouldn’t restrict yourself to only taking specific types of courses, only joining particular clubs and only meeting certain kinds of people. If a plan confines the scope of your college experience then chances are it might be doing more harm than good.

If planning keeps you living for the future rather than living in the moment, it can hinder how much you enjoy your time at the University.

Is it beneficial to think about your future and set yourself up for success? Yes, but preoccupying yourself with what may happen is likely to

cause you even more stress and anxiety.

Obsessing over a plan is not the way you should go through college. Many things beyond your control will happen this year and if you cannot embrace the unexpected, college is going to leave you feeling disappointed and frustrated.

If you’re willing to adapt to whatever the year throws at you and are resilient when dealing with the unforeseen, you can thrive here at the University.

Now I’m not saying that planning is bad. Plans are vital to identifying and achieving our goals. They make us work harder and more consistently, which is extremely important as our academic and professional responsibilities get bigger. But college is not just about the pursuit of knowledge. It is also about the pursuit of personal growth. Without spontaneity, without surprises — pleasant or otherwise — how are we supposed to figure out who we are and what we can become?

To the people who have already decided every class they’re taking, which clubs and organizations they are going to join, and which activities they will do for fun, I hope planning works well for you. But as we begin a new academic year at the University, I urge you to remember that the beauty of college lies in serendipity.

So while this year may not go as planned, plan for your experience to be even more impactful and rewarding.

You’re probably eating enough protein KATE MICALLEF Opinion Columnist

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his past July, the term “cottage cheese” reached a 19-year high in Google search interest.

While some people simply spread it on bread, others throw it into a blender with fruit and honey and call it ice cream. The versatility of cottage cheese was highlighted

by TikTok’s recent obsession with this supermarket staple.

And the revitalized demand is largely due to what you read on the nutrition label: its high protein content. Two percent cottage cheese contains 12 grams of protein per half cup serving, and it’s sending people into a cottage cheese craze.

While protein is undoubtedly an essential component of nutrition, people tend to view it as a “universal elixir,” as Bee Wilson from The Guardian puts it. It’s not surprising, considering that we rely on protein to build muscle, regulate hormones and produce antibodies that fight off infection. Long before social media made protein trendy, diet culture praised it for its ability to aid in weight loss: Protein speeds up your metabolic rate and is extremely satiating. Social media has helped convince people they should increase their protein intake to reach their health goals.

Certainly for those with specific medical conditions, vegetarians or people consciously restricting calorie intake, nutritionists may recommend additional protein. But protein deficiency in the United States is rare.

Contrary to the public’s perception, research suggests that most Americans are already meeting, and even surpassing, their daily protein needs. So what is making us so protein obsessed?

I first took note of this phenomenon with my 17-yearold brother. I watched as he scooped a heaping serving of a chalky, cream-colored powder into a blender containing two bananas, frozen berries and multiple servings of peanut butter.

Admittedly, the concoction looked appealing sitting in a tall glass, but

upon touching it to my lips, I was immediately repulsed.

After reading that his protein powder was birthday cake and fruity pebbles f lavored, I wasn’t surprised at all by the sour taste. When I questioned how he was able to stomach the entirety of the smoothie, he said, “It’s for the gains.”

With 25 grams of protein per serving, I seriously doubted whether this protein powder was necessary, considering his diet of chicken, eggs and steak is high-protein anyways.

My brother is one of millions of Americans seeking to add more protein into their diet — but they’re fixating on a problem that largely doesn’t exist. We’ve adopted the illfounded belief that more is better. In fact, we should be wary about consuming too much protein. There are concerns that protein overconsumption can harm the kidneys and increase the risk of heart disease.

The root cause of our protein-mania is diet culture, which asserts a “moral hierarchy of bodies” and is fueled by health myths. Diet culture prioritizes thinness and aesthetics over well-being, which allows food and health industries to profit from our health misconceptions.

Our diet consists of three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats and protein. Because diet culture has villainized the first two, protein wins by default.

Labeling food as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ has produced a very toxic and f lawed perception of nutrition. The negative connotation of carbs and fats has twisted the meaning of a balanced diet, leading to misinformed decision making.

Take protein bars, for example.

Depending on the individual’s diet, added protein from a snack may be beneficial. Gatorade’s popular cookies and cream-f lavored bar comes in at about 20 grams of protein. However, the high protein content is matched with an even higher sugar content: 29 grams. This is two times the amount in a chocolate frosted donut from Dunkin’ Donuts. However, in a world ridden with proteinanxiety, we are easily misled and persuaded. Slapping the word “protein” onto various

sugary, processed foods leads consumers to believe these products are healthier. These tactics are proving to be very successful for companies like Gatorade. The market for protein bars is growing exponentially, and is expected to reach more than $2 billion by the end of 2026.

The relationship between social media and advertising illustrates how diet culture enables food brands to distort our perception of health.

Such companies are caught in a moral dilemma between driving up sales, which requires advertisements that often create a false sense of necessity, and providing consumers with accurate, unbiased information.

Demonstrated by the misinformed protein craze, brands often choose the side that makes the most money, which comes at the expense of consumers’ health (and their wallets).

My younger brother represents the population most susceptible to these marketing schemes and misinformation.

In fact, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services Departments note that teenage boys and adult men tend to over-consume protein, averaging 100 grams per day.

Research suggests men could benefit from a slight reduction in protein intake and opt for more vegetables instead.

To return our protein ratios back to a healthy level, nutritionists recommend your diet consist of 10% to 35% protein depending on age, weight, lifestyle habits and level of physical activity.

The Mayo Clinic states that inactive individuals should aim for 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Relatively active individuals should aim for 1.1 grams to 1.5 grams per kilogram and those lifting heavy weights or training for a run or cycling event need 1.2 grams to 1.7 grams per kilogram.

Protein is essential to our survival, but it has become glamorized to the point of an unhealthy obsession.

By promoting protein overconsumption, social media and advertisements have created a massive problem out of an issue that impacts only a select few.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 — 9

Op-Ed: The rent is too damn high

Kate Hua/DAILY

The second demand wide ban on early leasing. The regarding rent control is law, nicknamed the “Amended ZACKARIAH FARAH Chair of the Ann Arbor Renters perhaps more controversial Early Leasing Ordinance,” Commission than social housing because of aims to prevent the mad dash its unexpected consequences, for apartments that often The views expressed here are but it can nonetheless be an occurs between September not the official views of the Ann important tool for stabilizing and November by prohibiting rent prices. Rent control is signing leases before certain Arbor Renters Commission a broad term that describes dates. For example, for a lease speak to a lot of renters policies designed to regulate that ends on Aug. 20, the and they tell me a lot of the cost of rent, often focusing landlord cannot legally show things: horror stories on limiting rent increases. the apartment or sign a lease galore of insect infestations, Different versions of rent with another prospective collapsing ceilings and control exist around the tenant before March 23 of that even outright theft of country and around the world year.

One of the most commonly rental deposits. Of all of the with notable examples in disturbing anecdotes I hear, France, Germany, Scotland, exploited loopholes in the one issue is consistently at the Switzerland, Italy, Spain, law is the waitlist agreement. agreements are the Netherlands, parts of Waitlist top of the list: affordability.

It doesn’t take an Canada and more. If the ban contracts between landlords in-depth economic analysis on rent control in Michigan is and prospective tenants that to understand that the repealed, we can at least start secure a spot on reservation cost of rent in our city is a serious conversation about lists for occupied apartments skyrocketing at the moment. whether there is a correct rent and houses. However, being on the waitlist does not According to Zillow.com, the control policy for Ann Arbor.

Finally, we desperately guarantee you an apartment median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ann Arbor is now $1,600. A common piece of advice to new renters is to pick an apartment that costs no more than 30% It’s time the renters of your yearly gross salary. of our city become Applying this rule to our local better advocates rental market means that to for ourselves and afford an apartment at median demand that landlords cost in Ann Arbor, you now hold up their end of need to earn about $64,000 the bargain. Clean a year. This is completely apartments, timely unattainable for many renters repairs and affordable in our city and it’s time for us rents are not luxuries, renters to ask a question: Why they should be a in the name of god is the rent given. Let’s build so damn high? tenant power in While property and rental this city and win costs have been increasing substantive change practically everywhere in the for ourselves and our U.S., the problem of rental neighbors. inf lation is particularly bad in Ann Arbor. There are three major reasons for this: a lack of housing supply, a lack of regulation and a lack of tenant organizing. A Lansing-based need better tenant protections and these agreements are coalition aptly named the Rent in our state. For most renters frequently accompanied by is Too Damn High is trying to in Michigan, landlords can hefty fees and deposits. And increase rent, because they’re not actually address these three problems arbitrarily with three demands directed refuse lease renewal (not leasing contracts, they’re not at Michigan’s state legislature: for Ann Arborites however) regulated by the city’s ban on first, by investing $5 billion and charge fees for whatever early leasing.

In April 2023, the Ann Arbor to create social housing and they want. The tenanthousing-first programs; hostile legal environment in Renters Commission, which second, by repealing the ban our state makes organizing advises the City Council on on city-level rent control; difficult; the lack of a tenants’ rental issues, released a report and third, by passing a union in our city today is a on waitlist fees showing that comprehensive tenants’ bill of sad testament to this fact. the cost of waitlist fees ranges A comprehensive tenants’ from several hundred dollars rights.

Let’s start with that bill of rights would make to nearly $10,000 for a single first demand. There have tenants secure enough to file apartment (albeit one with been numerous proposals complaints against abusive five bedrooms). In the report, to increase the number of landlords and to organize the commission suggests that rental units in town ranging within their complexes to the council ban all rental from relaxing zoning laws form tenant associations that fees that are charged before to building more dorms on can demand better conditions the beginning of the lease campus to encouraging the and negotiate the cost of rent regardless of whether the fees construction of accessory through collective bargaining are refundable. This includes dwelling units, but discussion just as the McKinley Tenant application fees, cleaning fees, credit check fees and, of of social housing, which is Association is already doing.

On Sept. 5, the Rent is Too course, the dreaded waitlist designed to be decommodified and offered at below-market Damn High coalition hosted fees. If the City Council acts prices, as part of the solution a rally in front of the Capitol on this recommendation, paid to the supply problem has been Building in Lansing to demand waitlists would disappear these three changes from our entirely, the loophole would almost nonexistent. be closed and the price that is There are different ways to legislators.

While we absolutely need advertised for a unit would be accomplish this, including the creation of more government- state-level action, there are the price you pay.

It’s time the renters of our owned housing and cooperative affordability measures that housing as well as the can be implemented right city become better advocates establishment of community here at the local level. One for ourselves and demand that land trusts.

By making such measure is aimed at landlords hold up their end of significant investments in new abolishing so-called junk fees. the bargain. Clean apartments, You may have noticed timely repairs and affordable social housing, we ensure that low-income residents receive that landlords have recently rents are not luxuries, they housing and we also reduce implemented many new fees should be a given. Let’s build the market price of non-social related to “pre-leasing” or tenant power in this city and housing units by expanding waitlists. These fee systems win substantive change for came about after a 2021 city- ourselves and our neighbors. supply.

I

Sports

10 — Wednesday, September 13, 2023 FIELD HOCKEY

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

WOMEN’S SOCCER

‘Wolfpack’ Michigan defense suffocates Resilient Michigan survives for 3-2 win against aggressive Western Michigan Saint Joseph’s, 2-0 JONATHAN WUCHTER

Daily Sports Writer

Plagued with a myriad of cards, the No. 8 Michigan field hockey team often fielded just nine or 10 players for much of Sunday’s game.

But the Wolverines’ (4-2 overall) defense was greater than the weight of its depleted numbers attacking the adversity to blank No. 10 Saint Joseph’s (4-2), 2-0, on Sunday afternoon.

With freshman midfielder Kelsey Reviello earning the game’s first green card halfway through the first quarter, Michigan was forced to adapt early.

Tasked with defending the corner given up by the penalty, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Caylie McMahon steered the Wolverines back on course with her first save of the game — setting precedent for her and the team to battle while down a player or two multiple times.

“Having to play down two men the entire match, I thought we managed that beautifully,” Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz said.

Although the Wolverines only played two players down on three instances, the impact of those moments — combined with Michigan frequently being down

one player — defined the match.

On the counterattack, the Wolverines pressed forward, earning a corner just two minutes later. Senior midfielder Pilar Oliveros’ subsequent shot deflected off a Hawks defender, slotting into the top-left corner of the net past the outstretched goalie to take the early lead.

But the five cards given to Michigan in the following quarter, four to its players and one to its bench, awarded Saint Joseph’s the opportunity to respond to its narrow deficit. However, the fragile lead was never placed in jeopardy at the hands of the Wolverines’ veteran defenders.

“We got a lot of experienced players back there,” Pankratz said.

“They really played well. I think our team knows that they’re really solid back there and played with a lot of competence knowing that they’re behind them.”

As the Hawks’ possession became inevitable, Michigan’s defense committed to limiting shots — consistently swarming forwards and executing tackles outside the circle.

“We’ve definitely been focusing on tackling outside the circle and making those hard tackles up the field in our defensive unit,” McMahon said. “Our wolfpack is coming together really well.”

The “wolfpack” held Saint Joseph’s — with a prolific offense that averaged three goals per game ahead of Sunday’s matchup — to only one shot and zero corners in the second quarter. Michigan’s approach of attacking the ball with several defenders flustered the Hawks’ offense beyond the comfort of their advantage in numbers.

The effort continued into the second half, in which the Wolverines began with nine players due to penalty minutes carrying over from the previous period. And continuing to control the match, Michigan’s defense quickly barred Saint Joseph’s opportunities as they arose, in turn creating possession for its offense. After its players returned from penalties, the opportunities culminated into a goal from Reviello to extend the lead to 2-0.

Despite an expanded lead, issues arose again. Just three minutes into the final quarter, Michigan found itself, again, down two players. In desperation, the Hawks started to find more success than before — doubling their shot count and attempting three of their four total penalty corners.

Although the pressure was unfamiliar, the adversity of being a player down was not.

Likewise, the Wolverines’ defense was equally as staunch as before — either bottling down to deflect shots or leaving McMahon with easy saves. Regardless, the result was the same. Saint Joseph’s failed to put up a score which gave Michigan its third-consecutive shutout victory on the backs of its impenetrable defense.

“This is definitely a Michigan team win,” McMahon said. “This is a gritty win.”

Forced to consistently play with one of their own on the bench, the Wolverines were subject to being overwhelmed by the Hawk’s offense. But the ferocity of Michigan’s defense deflated any notion of a disadvantage.

GRACE BEAL/Daily

NICK REA

Daily Sports Writer

As Reagan Wisser’s header looped over senior goalkeeper Stephanie Sparkowski, the Michigan women’s soccer team found itself in a position it had not been in nearly 431 consecutive minutes: conceding a goal. Just fourteen seconds later, the Wolverines were level once again, and the reenergized team never looked back.

With senior forward Sammi Woods propelling Michigan’s (4-12 overall) offense, the Wolverines grinded out a cagey 3-2 win over Western Michigan (4-2-0).

Coming off of a major victory at No. 11 Notre Dame, Michigan found itself in a surprisingly close matchup in the early minutes of Sunday’s contest. Western Michigan offered relentless pressure, leading the Broncos to commit nine fouls in the first half resulting in two yellow cards.

Despite these bookings, assertive counter-attacking play yielded huge results for Western Michigan, forcing two goal-line clearances in the opening eight minutes of the game. For a Wolverines defense that had kept four consecutive clean sheets, the fierce Broncos attack provided a stiff challenge.

“They have a lot of really good attacking personalities. They’re a very tough team,” Michigan coach Jen Klein said. “They have a lot of high energy, they’re good in their press. When you create more transition moments, it gives them more opportunity to do something they’re very good at.

Their ability to have a little bit more opportunity in those first 37 minutes really is because of what they’re good at.”

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Read more at MichiganDaily.com

JEREMY WEINE/Daily

Michigan can’t keep up with Duke, falling 3-1 For The Daily

Let’s take care of each other.

second half a different team. The Wolverines quickly began to seek the through balls that they had missed for the first 45 minutes and began to create shots on goal, forcing Western Michigan’s defense to weather a storm they had avoided for much of the game.

Michigan’s newfound desire was rewarded in the 56th minute, with a long through ball allowing Bridenstine to send a low cross into the box that was tapped home by Woods for her second goal of the day. Less than six minutes later, the Wolverines began to feel confident after sophomore forward Kali Burrell buried the ball into the back of the net following a corner kick.

Suddenly up 3-1, Michigan had successfully swung the momentum back in its favor.

Despite the change in fortunes, Western Michigan refused to slow down its resilient offensive pressing. Over the final 10 minutes of the game, the Broncos found themselves on the attack, forcing the Wolverines to weather one more storm in order to secure their win.

The pressure nearly proved successful, with Western Michigan’s Abby Werthman scoring to bring the deficit to one with just over seven minutes remaining.

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The Western Michigan pressure paid off 37 minutes into the match, with Wisser breaking the deadlock after a successful header off of a lobbed corner kick. As the ball was fished out of the back of the net, however, the Michigan players were locked in a huddle in the back of its own half.

“I think pulling everyone in after a goal like that, especially going down 0-1, a lot of people speak up who got in there and said let’s take a deep breath,” Woods said. “… Leaders, different people stepping up, and it takes everyone.”

The words of the Wolverines’ leaders proved crucial. Following the resumption of play, Michigan immediately responded with a goal by Woods following a series of Broncos defensive mishaps. A mere 14 seconds after conceding, the Wolverines found themselves back in control of the game. With a newfound intensity and directness, Michigan ended the first half on a high note and began to match Western Michigan’s high intensity.

Despite this shift in momentum, the Wolverines went into halftime down 14-9 in shots, 4-3 in shots on goal and 6-1 in corners. Further improvement was still needed to stave off the combative Broncos.

Building on its late first-half progress, Michigan came into the

The Michigan volleyball team came into Saturday’s match against Duke fresh off a sweep of North Carolina. The team hoped to bring that momentum into its second game of the weekend and finish off its homestand undefeated before its extended look at the Big Ten in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines (2-5 overall), a sloppy first game was all the competitive advantage that the red-hot Blue Devils (6-2) — who are on a six game win streak – needed to take the match in four games with a 3-1 victory.

Coming off a match the night before, Michigan prioritized entering the game immediately with the right mindset.

“A lot of our focus today … was how can we prepare, get a good night’s rest,” Michigan coach Erin Virtue said. “We came in in a good physical space and good mental space and then we just really wanted to execute our game plan. I think it took us a little too long in that first set to really get into our groove especially from the service line.”

Errors from the young Wolverines in the first set gave Duke the advantage, but in such close games that was all that was needed. Four of Duke’s first seven points in the first set came from a mixture of attack and service errors by Michigan, a continuing problem for the Wolverines that allowed the Blue Devils to take an early four-point lead that they would not give up that set, finishing it off 25-19.

That slow start carried over to the beginning of the second set. In the second set, the errors persisted.

Another four attack errors early on gave Duke a quick 6-2 lead and

forced a timeout for Michigan.

After the timeout the Wolverines returned to the court with vigor by utilizing two runs of three and four points to tie the game at 11.

The match became a war of attrition from there on, with each team taking one or two points only for the other to feel the pressure and catch up. Service errors persisted from Michigan, but its strong defense nearly made up for it. Junior middle blocker Serena Nyambio set a wall up along with her teammates to take the lead with two block assists after a service error by the Wolverines gave Duke a short-lived lead.

“Getting a block is great,” Nyambio said. “But I think if we can set up the block correctly it helps the whole team.”

The game on the floor was played on the backs of well-received and executed passes and assists rather than one shining star. Michigan worked as a team with six separate players getting a kill, five of whom scored twice.

Despite the improved execution, the Wolverines still fell victim to more service errors by giving up four points due to them and conceding a match point on one.

Michigan lost the second set 28-26, pushing the game past 25 despite being down for all of the first half.

Entering the third set down 0-2, Michigan needed to find its footing. The Wolverines showed a strong start with freshman opposite hitter Valentina Vaulet scoring the first kill of the game. Nyambio and graduate opposite hitter Saj McBurrows continued to play strong defense at the net, forcing pressure on the Blue Devils that contributed to their own attack errors. A block assist between the pair gave Michigan the lead, 5-4, and from there on they didn’t surrender the lead.

The Wolverines played more

cleanly in their third game, only allowing one error behind the service line, which they quickly recovered from by two well-played kills from freshman outside hitter Amalia Simmons and Nyambio. They took the third set with the biggest lead of the series 25-18.

In the fourth game Duke took an early lead that it held closely for most of the first half. After a Michigan service error, the Blue Devils went on a three-point run, causing the Wolverines to take a timeout down 15-10.

“When we have breaks this team (has) done a really really good job of staying engaged; and then coming out from a breath is sometimes all you need … a breath and a reset,” Virtue said.

That strength from resets and breaks had been evident in the three previous games. But in game four it was obvious that Michigan’s ability to recover and reset was a strength – just not a big enough one. The Wolverines came out of their timeout with a hunger, scoring immediately with a strong kill from senior opposite hitter Kendall Murray, the leading hitter in the match. They followed it up with three more unanswered points to narrow Duke’s lead to one and force it to take its timeout, inadvertently giving Michigan another opportunity to reset.

The Wolverines continued their run with two kills by junior middle blocker Jacque Boney and Murray to take the lead 16-15. The lead ping ponged back and forth, similar to the second set. But ultimately, with a strong finish, Duke took the fourth set, and ultimately the match, 25-23.

While Michigan was able to recover from messy play and stayed composed, starting from behind ensured that victory was out of reach.

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Wednesday, September 13, 2023 — 11

FOOTBALL

SportsMonday: Acknowledge the history made on Saturday, and the work left to do PAUL NASR

Managing Sports Editor

Mike Hart is Michigan’s alltime leader in rushing attempts.

Michigan’s all time leader in rushing yards. And now, after coaching the second half against UNLV on Saturday, he’s Michigan’s first Black head coach.

But only 14 out of the 133 FBS head football coaches this season are Black. Compared with over half of college football players identifying as Black, that disparity represents a stark lack of representation.

Clearly, there’s a lot of work to do.

Head coaches are the faces of programs, and they represent and advocate for both players and staff on the national stage. It’s a position of power far beyond just deciding whether to go for it on fourth down, and it’s one that is currently far from accurately reflecting the players that the high post serves.

Nothing that happened in Michigan’s split coaching duties against UNLV changes those statistics — the nature of those

duties too temporary. But it is progress in creating a more equitable environment across college athletics, and we can recognize that even while admitting the numbers aren’t good enough.

Because, for the first time in the history of the Michigan football team, the Wolverines were led on the field by a Black head coach.

Hart is no stranger to success on the field. But what he did Saturday is more impactful than all of it. Rushing yard records be damned, because by assuming the top post at one of college sports’ biggest brands — albeit only for the second half of a blowout — Hart moved the game ever so slightly toward a future where leadership more wholly reflects those whom they lead.

Blake Corum acknowledged the feat. When the senior running back was asked to reflect on his position coach taking the reins, he focused on more than just the football X’s and O’s that the question suggested.

“That’s my guy,” Corum said.

“The best running backs coach in the nation, the first African American head coach at the University of Michigan, and he’s

going to be a heck of a head coach one day.”

Let’s all acknowledge the significance too. It means something to feel represented at the pinnacle of what you care about.

TV cameras love flashing to the head coach — headset on and play sheet in tow — every chance they

get to build drama and personify the battle between the two teams.

For one half of Michigan football broadcasted nationally on CBS, those cameras often pointed to a Black man representing a storied program.

Regardless of how temporary, as Jim Harbaugh is set to return

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FOOTBALL

in two weeks — that’s progress.

It’s in the record books now; nothing can take that away. And it wasn’t lost on Hart postgame, who thought about those who came before him after his historic — although short — headcoaching stint.

“It’s a great honor,” Hart said.

“I had a chance to play for Tony Dungy, had a chance to play for Jim Caldwell. My first coaching job was with Ron English at Eastern Michigan. We have an athletics director in Warde Manuel who’s African American, I’ve had a close relationship since he’s been here. So I just had a lot of great coaches who are African American that I’ve had the chance to look up to, and just really let me know that it can happen, that it’s a possibility.”

Through those coaches, Hart saw that progress was not only possible, but inevitable. Now, he’s a leader showing that more Black coaches in college football can be a tangible reality. He’s seen it happen elsewhere, and on Saturday he made it happen with the Wolverines for the first time in program history.

But even if he was Michigan’s

full-time head coach, that makes it 15 Black head coaches leading 133 FBS programs, just 11% of programs.

Progress made, work to do.

You can’t just recognize one or the other, as they exist together.

Hart is well aware of that.

“Hopefully we see more African American coaches in college football,” Hart said. “We need more. So hopefully I’ll be one of those one day.”

Hart then quickly corrected himself.

“I will be one of those one day.”

There it is in a nutshell. Maybe it was instinctual after years in the coaching ranks, maybe that’s why he said ‘hopefully’ before instantly correcting himself. But things were different for Hart.

He had a chance to lead a team, and now the days for ‘hopeful’ are giving way to the days of ‘will.’

Hart won’t serve as a head coach again this season, and very few Black coaches will either — just over a dozen to be exact. That isn’t good enough. Let’s acknowledge that.

But Hart was head coach on Saturday. That’s history.

Let’s acknowledge that too.

FOOTBALL

With five sack outing, Michigan pass Despite touchdowns, Michigan run game leaves meat on the bone against UNLV rush sees fruit of its offseason labor CONNOR EAREGOOD

Managing Sports Editor

The film room is a place where lies go to die. Every play and every decision is on full display, and everyone in the room can see them.

So when the No. 2 Michigan football team’s pass rush produced zero sacks against East Carolina to review during this week’s film sessions, needless to say they were a little disappointed.

“Me and (Jaylen Harrell) been talking all week about how we had zero sacks last week,” sophomore defensive tackle Kenneth Grant said. “So we definitely had to come out here and get a few.”

“Here” was Saturday’s afternoon 35-7 win over UNLV. And from the second drive of the game, the pass rushers made their mark. Sophomore edge rusher Derrick Moore hauled down Rebels quarterback Doug Brumfield for the first sack of the season. The next time the unit took the field, senior edge rusher Harrell got in on two sacks in the same drive.

As a whole, the Wolverines cashed in five times for 30 yards in the sacks column. After the unit was denied the week prior, the result served as a moment of catharsis for a group whose mission this offseason was getting to the quarterback.

“We knew coming into this week

that we had to get home,” Moore said postgame. “We knew that the offense line was gonna give us some type of indicator — a silent indicator.

So we knew like when we (saw) it we had to get off the ball. We (were) able to get home a lot.”

Compared to last week against the Pirates, the Wolverines had far more variables going in their favor.

East Carolina hurried its passes in the hopes of avoiding sacks a week ago, limiting the Wolverines’ ability to record a sack. On Saturday, UNLV’s Brumfield stayed in the pocket or scrambled in the backfield to extend plays. With that time, Michigan capitalized opportunities to hunt him down.

The UNLV offensive line also struggled mightily to contain the Wolverines. Routinely, two or three pass rushers got loose by overwhelming their assignments.

That situation created chaos in the backfield on a routine basis. Amid so many opportunities, it was only a matter of time before those gave way to sacks. In total, five separate players got in on as many sacks during those frenzies.

That list included Grant, whose first opportunity came on the fourth defensive drive of the game.

As fifth-year defensive tackle Cam Goode blew up his own assignment, Grant ripped past his man, too. When Goode missed the initial sack, Grant yanked Brumfield down

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FOOTBALL

for a solo sack. Four plays later, Grant assisted on another sack with senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins.

“As far as the sharing thing, everyone eats in this defense,” Harrell said. “But when you get there first and then you don’t bring them down and someone else jumps on it’s a little like ‘dang.’ ” Gang tackles or not, the result against the Rebels is a promising rebound. But the performance can’t be called consistent yet, either. Other opponents might throw the ball quickly like the Pirates, or benefit from a better offensive line than what UNLV put on the field.

In context of last season, it took the Wolverines only their first game to get seven sacks against Colorado State. But in the next two non-conference games, they only managed one sack — against Hawaii. That unit eventually ranked second in the Big Ten with 37 sacks. Pass rush production can be fickle, and Michigan’s onegame woes this season might have been an exception and not a rule.

Compared to ECU, Michigan’s performance against UNLV was exponentially improved, and it’s sure to cause more praise in the next film session. The Wolverines know that running all over their opponents’ backfields needs to become consistent. And where they had few highlights before, they now have some positive tape to recreate.

“All week we honed in on, ‘We gotta get back there today,’ ” Harrell said. “So we just trusted our game plan. We just had to make the most plays when the opportunity came, you feel me? So it was a good showing and we gotta keep stacking days and weeks.”

If they stack more days like Saturday, they’ll have plenty to be proud of in the film room.

CHARLIE PAPPALARDO

Daily Sports Editor

As Blake Corum addressed the media following the No. 2 Michigan football team’s 35-7 victory over UNLV, the senior running back was unusually blunt for someone who had just scored three touchdowns.

“Definitely not satisfied with my performance today,” Corum said. “Definitely feel like I could’ve done more with what I was given. … I’m always hard on myself, so I’m definitely going back to the drawing board.”

Though Corum’s comments may come across as unnecessarily critical, they come from a place of genuine frustration for the Wolverines’ run game. While Corum did score three touchdowns in the contest, the majority of the afternoon was a slog for Michigan’s backs. Throughout the contest, Corum and fellow junior running back Donovan Edwards were stymied by the Rebels’ defensive line and unable to break for significant chunks of yardage.

At the conclusion of the contest, the duo had combined for just 89 yards on 21 carries, managed only two runs longer than eight yards and, for the second week in a row, saw no individual performer with more than 100 yards.

Despite Corum and Edwards’ outsized role, running backs coach and acting Michigan coach Mike Hart focused on the running game’s struggles from a broader perspective.

“I just keep telling them we’re one block away. We’re one missed tackle away,” Hart said. “When we turn on the film I think that’s what we’re going to see. Whether it’s a receiver getting a block on the safety, whether it’s a backside cutoff on the (defensive) line, … or whether it’s the back making the wrong cut — we’re leaving a lot of yards out there.”

Coming into the season, the running game was expected to be the highlight of the Wolverines’ offense.

With both Corum and Edwards returning to Ann Arbor, there was much speculation that Michigan would have one of the best running back rooms in the nation. But against both East Carolina and UNLV, the running game struggled.

Edwards especially was uncharacteristically overwhelmed by the Rebels’ run defense. Posting totals of just nine yards on six carries — his lowest since his freshman campaign in 2021 — he was unable to move the ball for any significant gain. Everywhere he turned, a Rebels defender stood ready to catch him.

“If you see the runs that he had, there wasn’t much there to get,” Hart said. “ … You’ve seen those 80 yard runs from him, right, and when you don’t get those you’re like ‘Is there something wrong with him?’ There’s not. Like I said, I think we’re just one block away.”

While in terms of yardage the Wolverines’ run game lagged, Corum made up for it with impressive goal line efficiency. Three times throughout the contest — in the first, second and third quarters respectively — Corum punched into the endzone by running through large scrums for short yardage scores.

Corum’s three touchdowns mark just the fourth time in his career he has accomplished such a feat. But even so, Corum and Edwards played second fiddle to the passing game.

While McCarthy and his receivers moved the ball, the running backs struggled to break for anything meaningful.

As Hart alluded though, the struggles didn’t fall squarely on the

backs’ shoulders — the entire run unit looked disjointed at times.

Playing relatively weak opponents up to this point in the season, there hasn’t been much of a need for Michigan’s run game to fire at full capacity as it has torched its adversaries through the air. And these struggles share similarities with last year’s campaign, early in the season before the Wolverines’ run game needed to step up, it had three mostly forgettable games. In fact, Corum’s only three games last year with fewer than 100 yards were the first three.

But regardless, Michigan’s run game under-performed against UNLV. Even with Corum’s three touchdowns, the Wolverines left meat on the bone. But Hart maintained confidence that the issues were momentary and would not become a pattern.

“I just told (Corum) he’s thinking too much – just run,” Hart said. “You can’t always look for the big play, just go and it will happen. And he knows that, and he was better this week than he was last week, and he’ll be better next week.

“Really it’s just my job to keep him confident. Because Blake Corum is going to be Blake Corum, and Blake Corum is going to have a lot of long runs this year.”

But against UNLV, those runs weren’t yet present. The Rebels’ run defense didn’t give Corum and Edwards much to work with, and they were unable to go out of their way to take it.

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Michigan receivers make versatile impact in win over UNLV PAUL NASR

Managing Sports Editor

Twice at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, separate receiving touchdowns resulted in a nearly identical scene: senior wide receiver Roman Wilson standing in the endzone blowing kisses to the crowd.

It happened once in the south endzone on a 13-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, and once in the north endzone on a 47-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Both times, it was Wilson giving lots of love.

Fitting, because in Michigan’s win over UNLV in which eight receivers combined for 313 yards and two touchdowns — led by Wilson’s 89 yards and graduate receiver Cornelius Johnson’s 86 yards — they were getting lots of love too. It’s the byproduct of the No. 2 Michigan football team’s offense that, at least through two games, is more willing to deviate from the grit-and-grind run game that’s defined its past two

seasons. And it’s giving the Wolverines’ receiving core lots of new attention.

“I try not to think about (pass versus run) too much,” Wilson said.

“I feel like we’ve always been able to run or throw, it’s just getting my opportunities and trying to take advantage of it.”

Those opportunities were all over the place for an offense happy to rely on the air to move the chains, and sophomore wide receiver Tyler Morris a prime example. Targeted at key moments throughout the game — like a third down late in the second quarter that kept Michigan’s offense on the field and led to Wilson’s first touchdown — Morris posted a career-best 40 receiving yards.

While the performance was far beyond anything Morris has done before with the Wolverines after catching three passes for 25 yards across his entire freshman campaign, it didn’t catch everyone by surprise. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who played with Mor-

ris at Nazareth Academy in Illinois, saw it coming.

“I expected that out of him,” McCarthy said. “I was just waiting for the opportunity that he was going to have to capitalize on, and just really happy to see him out there. It brought back some old times, so it was great.”

Capitalizing on opportunities was in the cards for a receiving core receiving plenty of new chances.

But when playcalls did focus on feeding Michigan’s high-powered backfield, its receivers still left their

marks.

One of Wilson’s favorite plays of the game wasn’t even a passing attempt. He threw a hard block on UNLV defensive back Jaxen Turner on a rushing attempt in the third quarter, pouncing on Turner after and getting in his face to complete the pancake block — the same guy blowing kisses to the crowd wasn’t dishing out too much love there.

“I was way too excited about that,” Wilson said. “I would give up a touchdown to get another pancake any day. … I just jumped on

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him immediately and then he was looking at me (and) I was just smiling at him the whole time like I was way too excited. But I just want to be a better run blocker.”

Pancake block over his own touchdown? Sounds like someone focused on giving instead of taking.

That’s not to say an unselfish, blocking mindset stops him from flashing his own hands and speed with the ball — he scored his 47-yard touchdown on the very next play.

And before he gave love to the crowd in the endzone, he gave some attention to Rebels’ defensive back Cameron Oliver, who was trying to close in for the tackle. With Oliver coming at him full speed, Wilson still knew he was taking it the distance, pointing at Oliver before scoring. He left Olvier able to do nothing but slow himself as he approached the camera setup on the sideline — cameras looking for Wilson as the Wolverines’ receivers kept stealing the show.

While Wilson anchored another strong showing, Johnson wasn’t far

behind. He led all receivers with five receptions, finding soft spots in the defense to keep Michigan’s air attack effective. All of it culminates in a receiver’s room ready for more attention — behind a talented quarterback who’s more confident and experienced than ever — and embracing continued growth. “(We’re) getting that chemistry and feel for the game going,” Wilson said. “… Really focusing on the little things, like (with) our run fits in the blocking game or route details and getting your depth or catching the ball, turning it up and trying to score.”

As the group focuses on growing chemistry, a strong connection between McCarthy and his receiving core is already budding two games into the season. Michigan trusts its quarterback to air it out.

It’s leaning away from run-heavy playcalling and working toward a balanced, 50/50 game.

Which means, for the Wolverines’ receivers, there’s plenty of love to go around.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY

MICH 35 | UNLV 7

THE DEALER McCarthy leads Michigan to 35-7 win over UNLV in one-year anniversary as starter JOHN TONDORA Daily Sports Editor

F

inishing with a 207.8 passer rating and 316 total yards on the day, junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy didn’t have to travel to Las Vegas to play with house money.

It’s all in the difference a year can make.

364 days after his firstcareer start against Hawaii — and without a quarterback controversy looming over his head — McCarthy played like he still had a job to win. Lacing passes and contributing on his feet, McCarthy displayed calm maturity en route to the No. 2 Michigan football team’s (2-0 overall) trouncing of UNLV (1-1), 35-7. “(That) was the real J.J. McCarthy,” senior wide receiver Roman Wilson said. “I think he put in a lot of work over this offseason and it’s just him being a lot more natural and relaxed in the game.”

That relaxed attitude only bolstered his passing attack.

McCarthy and his receivers went after the Rebels’ secondary early and often. The junior completed his first 13 consecutive passing attempts, culminating in a 22-for-25 performance.

Pledging throughout the offseason to be ‘50-50’ with the run and pass game, McCarthy and the Wolverines executed their second consecutive week of ample throwing workload.

As UNLV keyed in on the run, McCarthy was once again tasked with shouldering the offensive load.

This time though, instead of last year’s cautionary anticipation, a more poised McCarthy displayed why the last 364 days have been his and his alone.

For McCarthy, no longer do deep shots elicit sucked-in breaths and tensed posture.

Instead, the quarterback spent the entire day threading tight windows to convert on his targets — open, or not.

“It’s definitely night and day,” McCarthy said of his development. “With every rep, with every practice, with every game, I just get more and more

force. Though he finished with just two passing touchdowns on the day, it was McCarthy that led the Wolverines to the finish line every drive — and at times,

After spending a year building confidence, in a packed casino, where the once-inexperienced McCarthy used to gamble, he’s now become the dealer. and it’s still going up. I feel like there’s still a big gap for me to improve and I’m striving to fill that gap as much as possible every day.”

Evidently, McCarthy has begun to close his self-imposed gap.

The same moxy that brought as much admiration as it did anguish last season was out in full

the passer displayed his ability to take over the game single handedly.

In one drive alone during the second quarter, McCarthy threw for 57 yards and 5 completions on 6 attempts, while chipping in 21 yards on the ground with two rushes. Instigating nearly the entire drive by himself, McCarthy’s connection with

Wilson put the Wolverines up 21-0.

After spending a year building confidence, in a packed casino, where the once-inexperienced McCarthy used to gamble, he’s now become the dealer. Playing with confidence — and lots at it — his decision making appears unbridled by any bit. Formerly reined in by a reliance on the running game and a reluctance to over-test his 110% strength arm, McCarthy has hit his groove.

“J.J. is a confident kid right now,” running backs coach and second-half acting head coach Mike Hart said. “And he knows where to go with the ball. That to me is the development you see in J.J. McCarthy.”

On a day where Michigan hardly had any hiccups, McCarthy continued to find new ways to stand out.

Eventually being replaced by graduate quarterback Jack Tuttle with under a minute to go in the third quarter, McCarthy — helmetless — blew kisses to the ground, bounced in elation

on the sidelines and even held practice kicks for junior kicker Tommy Doman. McCarthy’s day as a passer was over.

His day as a leader, however, was not.

On the ensuing offensive drive, UNLV defensive back Cameron Oliver hit Tuttle out of bounds, injuring the quarterback. As the injured Tuttle walked across the field with trainers to his own sideline, McCarthy was the first to meet him at midfield before walking back with Tuttle.

A year removed from being the upstart, the five-star, the man seeking to win a starting job and win over a locker room, McCarthy has done more than just that. With presence and poise in Saturday’s win, the next step of McCarthy’s tenure has him feeling like a high-roller.

Competing with house money, McCarthy dealt his own hand and laid a royal flush.

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