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GOVERNMENT
State will honor 300 same-sex marriages PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush discusses economic and immigration reform at the Cobo Center in Detroit Wednesday in what many pundits see as a trial speech before a potential presidential campaign.
Jeb Bush talks economy, immigration in Detroit trip Potential 2016 presidential candidate hopes to lower opportunity gap By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the son of 41st President George H. W. Bush and brother of 43rd
President George W. Bush, discussed economic and immigration reform at the Cobo Center in Detroit Wednesday afternoon in what many pundits see as a trial speech before a potential presidential campaign. The Detroit Economic Club hosted the ticketed event with about 600 club members, guests and a mix of university and high school students in attendance. Bush, who in December announced he is considering a
presidential run in 2016, advocated primarily for a new economic plan rooted in conservative principles. Though he did not provide many details for specific policies, he said his agenda would focus on an immigration policy that would drive the economy. He also advocated for “economic freedom,” and through that, a reduction in the “opportunity gap,” a term which refers to the ways in which race, socio-economic status and
other factors influence one’s ability to attain educational or economic achievement, among other markers. Bush’s remarks aligned closely with the plan of his Right to Rise political action committee, which was launched earlier this year and is dedicated toward reforming immigration policies and addressing the national income gap. “We believe that every AmeriSee BUSH, Page 3A
Clerks performed unions in March after judge ruled ban unconstitutional By SHOHAM GEVA Daily News Editor
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced Wednesday afternoon that the state would not appeal a district court’s January decision ordering it recognize the nearly 300 same-sex marriages performed in Michigan last March. The original district court ruling in Caspar v. Snyder was stayed for 21 days to allow time for the state to file an appeal, meaning the ruling would not go into effect for 21 days. Because the state has not chosen to file an appeal, the marriages will now be considered valid to receive state benefits after the stay terminates Thursday, “The judge has determined that same-sex couples were
legally married on that day, and we will follow the law and extend state marriage benefits to those couples,” Snyder said in a statement Monday. The governor had previously stated that though he believed the marriages were valid, he did not think they were eligible for state benefits. Following the January ruling in Caspar v. Snyder, his office did not respond to requests for comment. In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Law Prof. Julian Mortenson, who worked as a cooperating attorney on the case on behalf of the plaintiffs, said the legal analysis of the decision is still developing. However, he said once the stay terminates the marriages should have the same legal meaning as a marriage between a man and woman in the state. “The legal upshot, in all honesty, is extremely simple,” he said. ““There is no distinction between those Michigan marriages that are between samesex couples and those in-state marriages that are between See MARRIAGE, Page 3A
CAMPUS LIFE
FOOTBALL
‘U’ profs talk U.S., Cuban diplomatic relationship
Wolverines secure 2015 class with 14 total signees
Lecture discusses recent White House efforts to reestablish ties
Harbaugh flips six commits, including four-star QB Gentry, RB Karan Higdon
By KRISTEN ANDERSON
Managing Sports Editor
By MAX COHEN Daily Staff Reporter
With the White House beginning to thaw relations with Cuba, three University professors gathered Wednesday to discuss the developing diplomatic relationship. In an event titled “Re-establishing U.S.-Cuba Relations: Walking the Tightrope for Success,” a panel of University scholars discussed a variety of issues revolving around the challenges and implications of the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations. Last month, President Barack Obama announced he would order the start of full diplomatic See CUBA, Page 3A
ILLUSTRATION BY FRANCESCA KLEIB
Detroit faces changing auto industry The birthplace of Ford’s Model T endures economic recession By ARIANA ASSAF Daily Staff Reporter
As The Michigan Daily continues to watch and report on Detroit shaping its future, we want to reflect back on how the city got here. Our hope for this
week’s Detroit History Series is that readers learn something new about the city and, in turn, better understand what’s to come. The city of Detroit has been inextricably tied to the automobile industry since Henry Ford established his Detroit-based company in 1903. The Great Depression marked the first of several drastic setbacks for Detroit’s auto industry, and the once-booming economic environment is still recovering from the most recent economic recession.
The Detroit “Big Three” — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — once dominated the industry, which together with the now-defunct American Motors, accounted for 95 of the market share at one time. The erosion of that power began in 1982, when the Japanese company Honda moved to Marysville, Ohio. Arthur Schwartz, president of Labor and Economics Associates, an Ann Arbor-based consulting firm, said the Big Three composed 45.5 percent of the
market in 2014. Michigan became the hub of the industry by 1905, just two years after Henry Ford brought his company to Detroit. The city already had several natural advantages — close proximity to sources of coal, iron and copper and a location easily accessible by water and land. Though automobiles were first developed in Germany and France, the United States was the first country to develop mass motorization, largely due to the improvement See AUTOS, Page 3A
When Jim Harbaugh was introduced as Michigan’s football coach in the last week of December, it was viewed as a victory for the ages for the program, a piece of evidence that a duplication of the glory days of Bo Schembechler was around the next corner. Wednesday’s National Signing Day was Harbaugh’s first chance to present tangible results. He was at a disadvantage from the start — he had only one month to fill out a recruiting class that had been decimated by the shaky job status and eventual firing of former coach Brady Hoke. In his first news conference since his introduction, Harbaugh See SIGNING DAY, Page 3A
Detroit boxing Art & Design senior examines hidden Detroit gem
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2A — Thursday, February 5, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Campus Voices
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
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THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
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It’s not ethical to include our own tweets, but we think they’re pretty great too. follow us @ michigandaily
University President Mark Schlissel tweeted his appreciation for staff during the snowday Monday.
“On a rare #UMichSnowDay, join me in thanking those whose dedication & efforts keep us running through the storm.” — @DrMarkSchlissel
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2019 football committ Jon Runyan Jr. tweeted his excitement about National Signing Day Wednesday.
Life-long dream accomplished today I’m officially a Michigan Wolverine #GoBlue — @Jon_Run1
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All tweets have been edited for accurate spelling and grammar.
The University tweeted its congratulations to University alum Karen McKeachie for her selection into the Triathlon Hall of Fame Wednesday.
Congrats to #UMich’s own Karen McKeachie. MT @usatriatholon Multisport trailblazers Hall of Fame. — @umich
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CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
China’s economic Computing ‘miracle’ workshop
Free speech discussion
Designer speaker
WHAT: Prof. Howard Jia will give a presentation on the story behind China’s economic boom in the past three decades. WHO: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute WHEN: Today from 10 a.m to 11:30 a.m WHERE: Rave Cinema
WHAT: A moderated round table event will provide space for discussion about contemporary events and issues that affect society. WHO: International Institute WHEN: Today from 4 p.m to 5:30 p.m WHERE: Michigan League
WHAT: Dutch designer Kiki van Eijk will speak about her work as an artist. WHO: Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design WHEN: Today from 5:10 p.m to 6 p.m. WHERE: The Michigan Theater
WHAT: This workshop will explore advanced topics in cluster computing while using the University’s Flux Cluster. WHO: Teaching and Technology Collaborative WHEN: Today from 1 p.m to 5 p.m WHERE: East Hall
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THE WIRE
Rick Snyder buys Ann Arbor condo BY CARLY NOAH
Gov. Rick Snyder and his wife Sue, have alledgedly purchased 4,644 sqaure-foot condo in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor. The couple reportedly purchased it in August of last year.
Internship workshop
Free film screening
WHAT: A workshop held by the Career Center will give students tips and techniques for landing an internship. WHO: The Career Center WHEN: Today from 6 p.m to 7 p.m WHERE: The Career Center
WHAT: “Food Chains,” a film about working conditions for farm laborers, will be screened. WHO: UM Sustainable Food Systems Initiative WHEN: Today from 6 p.m to 9 p.m WHERE: Ross School of Business —Blau Auditorium
Modern dance performance WHAT: The department of dance will give a modern dance performance. WHO: The School of Music, Theater and Dance WHEN: Today at 7:30 p.m WHERE: Power Center for the Perfoming Arts l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com.
Former councilwoman Sally Hart Petersen to run for Ward 2 seat Current rep. Jane Lumm unsure if she will pursue third term in office
earlier this week, Lumm said she said she would “most likely” seek re-election this year. Petersen served on City Council for two years as a Democrat for the Second Ward before losing to Christopher Taylor in the mayoral race last year. She plans to run for City Council to continue working on projects started during her previous terms. “I still have so much unfinished business I want to continue to work on,” she said in an interview with The Michigan Daily. One of those projects involves economic development for Ann Arbor. “I feel very strongly that the city needs to pursue a sustainable fiscal policy so that we can stir more revenue in order to pay for all of the wonderful things that we want to do in our community,” Petersen said. Petersen said Ann Arbor’s main revenue comes from
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Six people were killed in a New York train crash at 6:30 p.m Tuesday, the New York Times reported. In one of the deadliest accidents in Metro-North’s history, a train packed with commuters struck a Jeep Cherokee as it was stopped on train tracks.
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One of our Daily Film Editors navigated the diverse, passionate gaming and music scene at the 13th annual MAGfest on Maryland. >> FOR MORE, SEE B-SIDE, PG. 1B
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Tom Wheeler, who chairman of the FCC, published an op-ed stating that he wants to regulate internet as a public utility, N.P.R reported. The op-ed was published on Tuesday.
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‘U’ class on AIDs adapted for online course platform Prof. hopes to maintain campus connection in new settting
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property taxes, so Ann Arbor needs to focus on maintaining is based on a class offered and introducing more comat the University, taught panies and jobs to the city to by American Culture Prof. promote economic activity and Richard Meisler. The University’s Office of Digital increase property tax values. Education and Innovation, Peterson added that, as a which is responsible for result of major budget cuts in creating MOOCs, works closely BY LARA MOEHLMAN 2009 and 2010, Ann Arbor’s with professors like Meisler Daily Staff Reporter basic city services have sufBY ISOBEL FUTTER to expand and transform fered. For the Daily University courses into online After vacating her seat on “Now the economy is betclasses. Ann Arbor City Council durter, but we need to increase With an online platform “I’ve been teaching the called Coursera, the University course on campus for years. ing an unsuccessful attempt our bottom line so that we can is offering a popular class What I did was translate it at the 2014 mayoral race, Sally restore services to where they on AIDS to more than 1,000 into this new format,” Meisler Hart Petersen said she hopes to were,” Petersen said. students around the world. said. “It’s an interesting new regain a spot. Petersen also plans to Through Coursera, development. It’s just started, Peterson pulled petitions improve relations between the universities across the globe and from the very beginning, from the city clerk’s office to city of Ann Arbor and the Unidevelop massive open online we’ve had students from China, run as a Democrat in city’s versity. courses, or MOOCs, and Ukraine, Sweden, and so it’s Ward 2 earlier this week. She “There is this pent-up publish them for anyone to an interesting experiment in will have to gather signatures resentment among the city take. The University has making education available to a created 24 MOOCs over the wide range of people.” from 100 voters to secure her and among the city’s residents last three years, 18 of which are name on the August primary that the University of MichiJames Devaney, assistant currently running, including vice provost of the DEI, said ballot. gan doesn’t pay taxes, and we thehttp://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ brand new course AIDS: selecting courses for MOOCs is Sudoku Syndicationis running for the have to provide all these serSudoku Petersen Fear and Hope. a challenging process. seat of Councilmember Jane vices to U of M employees and The course is an “One of the reasons we Lumm (I–Ward 2). In an interstudents, for which they’re interdisciplinary class on the chose this course is that it has view with The Ann Arbor News not compensating the city,” history, politics and social enriched the lives of students Petersen said. implications of the AIDS on campus for decades,” he However, she said City epidemic. More than 1,100 said. “So, we picked it because Council must put aside this people from all over the world we can deliver it to a massive are currently enrolled in the audience to enliven the resentment and find ways to HARD course, and enrollment remains discussion around AIDS, and collaborate with the Universiopen for two more weeks. further student understanding ty to promote job and company For the class, students on the subject, which is really growth in Ann Arbor. watch lectures posted in each exciting.” Petersen, who is currently of the seven units, and then The topic of AIDS resonates chairwoman of Ann Arbor’s take quizzes at the end of each deeply with Meisler. He said Commission on Disability unit. If participants complete he enjoys the multidisciplinary Issues, said she also intends to the course, they receive a aspect, and he stressed that the raise awareness on City Councertificate of completion. crisis of AIDS can be viewed Though the units have through many different lenses. cil about issues faced by people deadlines, students can work with disabilities. “When AIDS first came at their own pace within the out, it was very frightening, Specifically, Petersen noted course. everybody was scared,” Meisler that the current crosswalk The AIDS online course ordinance in Ann Arbor creates ambiguity and poses a danger to residents with disabilities. The local ordinance states that drivers must stop for pedestrians waiting on the curb. However, because University police officers follow state law, they can’t enforce the ordinance. “There’s some ambiguity that, Forthrough better commu© sudokusolver.com. sudokusolver.com. For personal use use only. only. © personal puzzle by sudokusyndication.com BACK BREAKING. UNBREAKABLE. nication, the city and the University can help to resolve,” she said. Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
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said. “I just wanted to know more about it. I’ve always been interested in things that are interdisciplinary with science, social science and humanities.” All of the course units include lectures conducted by Meisler, as well as papers and articles on the epidemic. Meisler also offers videos, many of which include his interviews with people who recount the original outbreak in detail. Other videos show politicians discussing their approach to solving the AIDS epidemic. “There’s videos on testing, politics and then some of the most interesting sessions are sessions in which people that I interview remember the beginning of the epidemic in Detroit, in Washington, in San Juan, Puerto Rico and other places.” Though this is the first time that the course has been offered on Coursera, both Meisler and the DEI have high expectations for the course. Devaney said the class is a helpful tool for students at the University, and encourages that they sign up before the deadline in two weeks. “It has the potential to enrich and enliven the discourse that’s part of the class,” Devaney said. “When you have multiple thousands of participants engaging in that course in the MOOC, one will get access to new and more diverse points of view and multiple disciplines. If we can learn from those perspectives, there will be interesting implications.”
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CUBA From Page 1A relations with Cuba, including a push to end a trade embargo between the two countries. The announcement signaled an ending to a decades-long period of no formal relationship between the two countries. The program, held at the Ford School, was co-sponsored by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Michigan News, the Ford School of Public Policy’s International Policy Center and the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. The panelists included Anthropology Prof. Ruth Behar; Silvia Pedraza, sociology and American culture professor, Pedraza and Public Policy Prof.
SIGNING DAY From Page 1A said that he didn’t view the potential recruiting obstacles in his way as impediments. “It wasn’t difficult — it was a real joy, a real pleasure,” Harbaugh said. “Just the things that I learned about some of the players that were already committed under Coach Hoke and his regime, and they did a tremendous job.” Harbaugh’s first recruiting class at Michigan will consist of 14 players, just six of which were committed to Michigan before Harbaugh’s hiring. Though Harbaugh said that the recruiting process hasn’t changed a great deal since he last recruited at Stanford five years ago, he noted that beginning his new role required some level of adjustment. “Did I just go right into it and pick up where I left off back when I coached at Stanford? No, I picked up two days after an NFL season,” Harbaugh said. “Had to familiarize yourself with who the players are, high
News
Melvyn Levitsky, the former U.S. ambassador to Brazil. Pedraza highlighted the ambitions both countries brought to the negotiation process, which included immigration and travel policies; U.S. possession of Guantanamo Bay; the trade embargo levied by the U.S against Cuba and access to telecommunications for Cubans. She said she believed the United States and Cuba would come to agreement on a number of those concerns, but that some issues would remain points of contention. Levitsky said because more than 160 countries currently have relations with Cuba, in general, having a diplomatic relationship with the country is no longer viewed as exceptional.
He added that he thinks formal relations with the country have an impact on relationships beyond the government itself. “It’s important to have diplomatic relations so that you can have a dialogue with the government even if it’s an unfriendly relationship,” Levitsky said. “An establishment of relations does not suddenly mean we’re going to become friends with the Cuban government. But it may, in fact, allow us to become more friendly and closer up with the Cuban population.” LSA senior Marianna Yamamoto, who attended the panel, said she thought the three different perspectives on the panel provided a well-rounded balance of expertise across subject areas. “This is something that’s happening now,” she said. “It’s
really going to affect our future and we have a lot to look forward to, I guess, and see how this plays out, and I think we can all learn a lot from the situation.” Lenny Valerio, program manager at the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, said she anticipated more events on U.S.-Cuban relations in the future. “We hope to keep organizing events not only on U.S.-Cuba relations, but also on Cuba’s own historical, cultural and political relations to other Latin American countries,” she wrote in an e-mail interview. “I think that the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with the U.S. is an excellent moment to reassess Cuba’s influence in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
school coaches again, hadn’t spent a whole fall evaluating tape coaching the San Francisco 49ers.” Toughness and competitiveness were two of the key attributes that Harbaugh was searching for in this recruiting class. Given the late start for his staff, a class filled with fourand five-star players seemed unlikely. Still, Michigan managed to pull off some surprises, compiling a class that had four players ranked among ESPN’s top 300 recruits. One of those players is fourstar quarterback Zach Gentry, who Harbaugh flipped from Texas on Jan. 24. Gentry and another four-star recruit according to ESPN, early enrollee Alex Malzone, will bolster the depth of Michigan’s quarterback corps, a position group that returns minimal experience. But it wasn’t positional needs that seemed to excite Harbaugh most for this class. Known for his competitive nature, there seemed to be an extra sense of pride in Harbaugh’s voice when he talked about the competitive-
ness of the players, particularly Keith Washington, a relatively unheralded cornerback recruit from Alabama, who committed to and signed with the Wolverines on Wednesday. When Harbaugh and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin went to Alabama to visit, they sat with Washington and his father, discussing Washington’s speed. Washington claimed to run a 4.3 40-yard dash time, which would be on par with some of the faster players in the NFL. Initially, Harbaugh doubted his claim. “He goes, ‘I’ll go out in the parking lot and run it for you right now,’ ” Harbaugh said with a laugh. “And he was serious, dead serious. I liked him even more. I knew he was a competitor.” The Michigan ties of his recruits were another point of pride for Harbaugh. One was three-star recruit Jon Runyan Jr., the son of former Michigan star Jon Runyan. Harbaugh said he was told Runyan Jr. wore a Michigan onesie when he was a year old. Kicker Andrew David grew up
a Michigan fan. Harbaugh said four-star safety Tyree Kinnel was handed a Michigan football at birth. Grant Perry — a three-star wide receiver who attended Birmingham (Michigan) Brother Rice along with Malzone — grew up getting autographs from Wolverine football players. After Harbaugh’s presser, Michigan added another player with close ties to the program in three-star tight end recruit T.J. Wheatley Jr., the son of Michigan running backs coach Ty Wheatley, a former Wolverine standout himself. Harbaugh said he hasn’t watched a great deal of tape yet on his current team, instead preferring to give all of his players the opportunity to make a first impression. The same logic will apply when assessing early playing time for the members of this recruiting class. “They have the license and the ability to do that,” Harbaugh said. “All things will be earned on the field. There’s no guarantees, only opportunities.”
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @michigandaily BUSH From Page 1A can in every community has a right to pursue happiness,” Bush said Wednesday. “They have a right to rise.” Bush told the crowd that since the 2008 economic recession, the country has seen some economic relief, but still has a long way to go. “The recovery has been everywhere but in the family paychecks,” he said. “The American Dream has become a mirage for far too many.” Speaking specifically to the younger demographic, Bush said Americans need to embrace the period they live in and view their difficulties as economic opportunities. “We need young, dynamic people that can make immediate contribution to our economy,” Bush said. “We shouldn’t be fearful of this. We should say, ‘What an incredible opportunity.’” He said to the solution to increasing opportunity is growing the economy, citing problems with the American education system as connected the state of
MARRIAGE From Page 1A opposite-sex couples. They are all marriages, full stop, for the purpose of every distinction as to which that question is relevant under Michigan law.” The 300 marriages were performed during a brief window between a separate district court decision — which ruled the state’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional — and a stay on that decision. The marriages faced legal uncertainty while a larger legal battle over the legality of same-sex marriage nationwide ensued. Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriage is currently before
the country’s economy. “It’s an economic issue, but it’s also a huge moral issue,” Bush said on education. “Our country doesn’t do this well. These huge (income) gaps that exist are now increasing because of education dropouts. This is not the environment that has led the world.” Bush said he aims for the U.S. economy not to accept anything less than an annual 4-percent growth rate, which he added could contribute to narrowing the opportunity gap. “Trust me, if we grew at 4 percent, our growth, income rising from the middle, people have a chance to leave poverty, we would help other countries that will prepare to follow suit,” he said. Bush also said immigration reform should be viewed as an economic issue, not a political issue. Immigration has been moved to the forefront of the national political agenda, recently following President Barack Obama’s controversial plan to expand eligibility for immigration deferral. Republicans have unsuccessfully voted twice to defund the plan in recent weeks.
Bush added that Americans and immigrants should cherish their heritage and identity. “In that, we would reestablish this unique American experience, which is you come, you work hard, you embrace these values and you’re as American as anybody that came on the Mayflower,” he said. Addressing his as-of-yet uncertain 2016 campaign, Bush said if he decides to run, he does not want to participate in the negative rhetoric associated with campaigns. “If I go beyond the consideration, I hope I have the discipline to not turn back and get into the food fights,” Bush said. State and national Democrats responded strongly to Bush’s speech Wednesday citing what has become a familiar criticism for Republicans in Detroit — criticism of their stances on the 2008 auto bailout. That point was also raised during the 2012 election for then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who penned an editorial in 2008 titled “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”. Obama delivered a speech in Metro Detroit last month tout-
ing his administration’s efforts to strengthen the auto industry. “Jeb Bush has an interesting sense of humor going to Detroit to talk about urban revitalization, after opposing the auto rescue that is helping Detroit and Michigan rebound from the recession,” said U.S. House Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D– Fla.), chair of the Democratic National Committee, in a statement. “But it shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is the same guy who supports massive tax breaks benefitting the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations at the expense of working Americans. And it’s the same guy who has spent much of the past decade enriching himself at big banks and concocting problematic business deals.” Bush is not the first potential presidential candidate to stop in Metro Detroit in recent months. In November, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton campaigned for Democratic candidates in Rochester Hills, Mich. In August, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) campaigned for then Rep. Gary Peters during his successful campaign for the U.S. Senate.
the U.S Supreme Court, with oral arguments expected to occur in April, after the Sixth Circuit ruled late last year that the ban was constitutional, overturning the district court’s decision. Snyder said he looked forward to that ruling to determine the overall legality of same-sex marriage. “This is an issue that has been divisive across our country,” he said, “Our nation’s highest court will decide this issue. I know there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, and it’s vitally important for an expedient resolution that will allow people in Michigan, as well as other states, to move forward together on the other
challenges we face.” Proponents of same-sex marriage in the state and beyond applauded the decision to let the marriages stand Monday afternoon. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, who was one of several county clerks to issue licenses to same-sex couples in March, said in a statement that the decision was the right choice for the state. Because the district court decision occurred over the weekend, not all clerks opened their offices. “Love has won today for the 300 same-sex marriages that took place last spring, affording these couples the rights they deserve, like all other families
under the law,” Byrum said. “This is a critical step forward in our fight to secure the freedom to marry for all Michiganders.” Brad O’Connor, president of the Jim Toy Community Center, which serves as a resource for the LGBTQ community in Washtenaw County, commended Snyder on saving taxpayer money through not pursuing the case further, though he noted the state was still pursuing an appeal of the case on the same-sex marriage ban. “I’m relieved that the governor decided to not appeal this,” he said. “I commend him for taking the taxpayers into consideration — it’s a good step.”
Thursday, February 5, 2015 — 3A
AUTOS From Page 1A of the assembly line in 1913 used to create the Ford Model T. Fast forward to the 21st century. Even before Detroit filed for bankruptcy, the industry’s production was not what it used to be. Car companies struggled as the economy’s health declined. In response, the U.S. government created a short incentive program, called Cash for Clunkers, designed to renew demand for vehicles at a time when the market struggled for cash. Between July and August 2009, buyers who turned in old, fuel-inefficient vehicles received a financial break on a new car. Yen Chen, a senior research economist at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, copublished a research memorandum in 2010 documenting the program’s success. He found that 44 percent of light vehicles sold in these months were due to the program. “For the first time in a long time, the industry experienced the first signs of recovery,” Chen said. As production rebounded, workers returned to production lines. Chrysler and General Motors completed restructuring and a planned bankruptcy that shut down production during most of the summer of 2009. Combined with external monetary support and a healing economy, the industry began to take a turn for the better. As the economy stabilized and Americans found employment, Chen said those workers also purchased cars to ensure their ability to get to work. “When people find jobs, they need a vehicle to commute,” he said. “The major reason behind vehicle sale, from my point of view, is fulltime employment. People find full time employment, they need to be able to commute daily.” Schwartz, who was general director of labor relations at General Motors during the mid-1980s, was responsible for planning union negotiations. Schwartz remained on the team through the restructuring of 2009. He recalled the negotiations that attempted to halt decline. “In ’07 the company was sinking, so something had to be done,” he said. He cited labor laws as one factor, along with disputes over General Motors’ wages compared to those of Toyota. Another important issue, he said, resulted from General Motors’ retirees relying on pensions. Their number of retirees was larger than a company like Toyota, which was much newer to the United States. “We were carrying hundreds of thousands of retirees, but of course,
since Toyota didn’t come in until 1988, they weren’t carrying hardly anything at all,” he said. That year, General Motors negotiated to turn the liability of about 400,000 of its retirees to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, a type of trust fund permitted under federal tax law. Though this wouldn’t take effect until 2010, the move freed General Motors from a significant amount of financial responsibility. “Billions came off the books,” Schwartz said. Another major, still controversial aspect of that year’s negotiations was the creation of a two-tier wage. Because wages were relatively high for workers not staffing the line, especially compared to Toyota, the company decided that incoming workers would receive a starting salary of $16 per hour instead of $28.50. Schwartz said the goal was to pay less for easier jobs. However, workers who had been with the company for many years had earned seniority, and thus tended to opt for easier work. To avoid paying senior workers less, negotiators decided that the lower, second-tier wages would be automatically given to new workers. “VEBA and second-tier wages went a long way in reducing the gap between the Big Three and Toyota, Honda, Nissan as far as labor rates are concerned,” Schwartz said. “Plus, we could bring more work into the plant.” However, the climate took a bad turn when the 2008 financial crisis occurred. Sales dropped by about 40 percent, a significant decrease for automobile manufacturers. Ford was able to borrow money from private financial institutions, but Chrysler and General Motors had to turn to the government after the banking crisis hit the private sector. This led to the 2009 negotiations that involved the undoing of the second-tier wage ceiling and the discontinuation of a long-standing jobs bank, a program that allowed laid off workers to continue receiving some benefits. “The whole contract was very painful for everybody, especially the union,” Schwartz said. “I give them a lot of credit on the ‘09 negotiation.” Schwartz expressed the widely held belief that the government came out ahead by avoiding the cost of social welfare that would have resulted if General Motors had gone bankrupt. In terms of Detroit as an industry city, Schwartz thinks it’s making a comeback. “We really haven’t picked up any market share, but we haven’t lost like we were losing before and sales are good,” Schwartz said. “We’re making money.”
Opinion
4A — Thursday, February 5 , 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Paying attention to the overcorrections
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com AARICA MARSH and DEREK WOLFE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
JENNIFER CALFAS EDITOR IN CHIEF
LEV FACHER MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
TYLER CHARBONEAU | VIEWPOINT
No place for torture
There is no arguing the fact that society and moral thinking have undergone a transformation in recent years. The very concept of substantial human rights, those that rest upon a foundation of universality, was one that did not gain momentum until the latter half of the 20th century. With the evolution of modern thinking, debate has been reinvigorated on many key issues, one of which has become pivotal: torture. But how is torture defined? Offering a definition is, in great part, a subjective matter and varies depending on changing cultural landscapes. What’s seen as gruesome and unjust in one region of the world may be seen as commonplace in another. While discussion on the topic tends away from universality, there are some key aspects that can be agreed upon: the use of torture is done with intent to cause severe bodily or psychological harm, is typically carried out by authority figures and is undoubtedly a process that circumvents all bounds of human morality. Keeping such principles in mind, how can we expect the benefits of human rights advancements to take firm hold if such terrible acts endure? Many may point to the perceived benefits of such acts, saying that they are effective in extracting vital pieces of information in relation to issues such as criminal activity, or even terrorist plots in some instances. The latter notion gained great popularity after the events of September 11, in which alarm and emotional turmoil were at an all-time high. However, it’s important to note that everybody has a different threshold for pain — a key component of torture practices — and once this threshold is crossed, a person is liable to say almost anything to bring an end to their suffering. Not only is the quality of the information inconsistent and marred, but someone who is innocent may confess to doing something with which they had no association. This is problematic on all fronts, and offers no true progress when it comes to obtaining true intelligence. Mark Mazzetti of The New York Times stated in his piece, “C.I.A. Report Found Value of Brutal Interrogation Was Inflated,” that the agency conducted an internal review, coined the Panetta Review.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The ensuing report was compiled in order to look into the day-to-day interactions between prison guards and detainees. Accordingly, it was revealed that the value of information obtained during “brutal interrogations” of these detainees was repeatedly overstated. How can torture continue to be a popular form of gaining information when the results often carry such little validity and accuracy? If the largest argument for torture is flawed at its core, there exists a major problem with how intelligence agencies and people of authority handle inmate interrogation. Henceforth, there’s no true practical justification for performing such actions, as the human rights violations amount to minimal gain — should these violations even be occurring in the first place. International human rights standards take clear stances against the use of torture. As stated in Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The term “torture” is used specifically in the text of the article. From this evidence alone, the use of such coercive action stands in direct violation of fundamental modern human rights goals. Even one such violation of a human being’s rights is grave enough to deserve reprimand. As Yousef Munayyer proclaimed, “Acknowledgment of torture is not accountability for it.” It’s not enough to simply recognize these inhuman practices are occurring; there must be an active effort led internationally to eradicate such practices from the governmental and penal systems. The public needs to be more critical of government and its practices, and we as a people must be guided by our morality in the elimination of such cruel punishment. Once everyone is educated about the true nature and violations torture carries with it —and this is true at every level of society — then the world will advance down a path of upheld rights, leaving such heinous aspects of past society suspended in memory. Tyler Charboneau is an LSA junior.
Send letters to: tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Liberal thought police TO THE DAILY: There is now a red poster outside the Michigan Union touting a supposed smiley face whose lips are silenced (literally) and underneath are the words, “Liberal Thought Police.” Well, talk about the need for a trigger warning. This poster mentions some lecture next week by a man named Jonah Goldberg. After Googling him, it turns out he’s a conservative editor for National Review Online and wrote a book called “Liberal Fascism.” And these people, the oxymoronic Young Americans for Freedom, have the white heteronormative privilege to feature this kind
of speaker — a reactionary, free-market fundamentalist — and then condescendingly say that there are “liberal thought police” among us. The fact that this University now has students who will feature this speaker seems to strain far from what social justice demands — protecting oppressed identity groups from what they deem offensive. I say that all decent liberals should go to Rackham Amphitheater, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. to listen to Goldberg’s right-wing gobbledygook and then confront him in the Q&A and unmask the intellectual fascist this man and the people who support him really are. Ryan Shinkel LSA Senior
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Devin Eggert, David Harris, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
“
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Love has won today for the 300 same-sex marriages that took place last spring, affording these couples the rights they deserve, like all other families under the law.” — Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum in a statement on Feb. 4 after Republican Gov. Rick Snyder announced he would not appeal the court’s decision to recognize the nearly 300 same-sex couples who were married in March 2014.
S
hortly after the credibility of Rolling Stone’s article “A Rape on Campus” began unraveling, Slate Magazine published a similar long-form investigative piece. Emily Yoffe’s “The College Rape Overcorrection,” however, went generally unnoticed, par- LAUREN ticularly on this MCCARTHY campus. Yoffe’s piece also concerned rape accusations dating back to 2012, but her piece focused on a male undergraduate student named Drew Sterrett at the University of Michigan. Though the incident in question happened in March of 2012, the victim’s accusation was not made until the following summer. Sterrett was home for the summer when he was contacted by a University official and told to make himself available for a Skype interview with administrators, though no reason was given to him. When he became concerned by the tenor of the interview and asked to consult a lawyer, Sterrett was told that if he ended the interview in order to seek counsel, that fact would be reported to the University and the investigation would continue without his input. In response to the accusations against him, Sterrett and his counsel compiled affidavits from classmates who attested that their words had been misconstrued and even falsified. Sterrett’s roommate, who had been in the room the night in question, included a statement claiming that the accuser was a willing participant and that he would have heard and intervened if he had heard the woman saying no. Sterrett’s rebuttal also noted that the accuser’s documents failed to mention the role her mother played in bringing accusations against him after she found and read her daughter’s diary. The accuser’s roommate swore in an affidavit on Sterrett’s behalf, in which she said the accuser’s mother had called her repeatedly over the summer, warning her not to talk to Sterrett and to take her daughter’s side in all proceedings. The accuser’s roommate stated that she never saw any change in the accuser’s behavior from the time of the alleged assault until the end of freshman year, but rather, her personality changed dramatically after her mother found her diary and the fall semester began.
I
Given the compelling support Sterrett had responsibly compiled, it would seem unfounded for the University to take drastic measures. Nonetheless, despite his evidence, Sterrett was suspended from the University until July 2016 — after the accuser graduated — and in order for the University to consider reinstating him, he would have to agree that he engaged in sexual misconduct. Regardless of whether or not he returned, the finding would stay on his permanent record. Sterrett has since filed a lawsuit again the University alleging that he had been deprived of his constitutional right to due process. Sexual assault at colleges and universities is a serious problem, and the attention it is currently receiving is the direct result of the longstanding history of the callous and dismissive treatment of victims. Too often, victims who come forward are doubted or dismissed, and those responsible are not held accountable. While it is agreed upon that those who commit serious sexual crimes must be held responsible, the methods through which to implement the necessary standards remain debated. The Department of Education has begun developing new rules to address women’s safety on college campuses, some of which have been turned into law by Congress, with more legislation underway. However, in the necessary effort to protect victims of sexual assault, the procedures that are being put into place on college campuses across the United States automatically presume the guilt of the accused. With encouragement from federal officials, colleges have been quick to institute solutions to sexual violence against women that, in turn, abrogate the civil rights of men — the University of Michigan included. As The New York Times’ Jed Rubenfeld wrote, in reference to a group of schools that includes the University of Michigan, “mistaken findings of guilt are a real possibility because the federal government is forcing schools to use a lowered evidentiary standard — the ‘more likely than not’ standard, which is much less exacting than criminal law’s ‘proof beyond a reason-
able doubt’ requirement — at their rape trials.” Because of this drastic reduction in burden of proof, 28 Harvard Law School professors have come forward condemning the university’s new sexual assault procedure, claiming they lack the “most basic elements of fairness and due process” and for being “overwhelmingly stacked against the accused.” The University of Michigan should be urged to keep this in mind as it continues to review and reassess the University’s own policies. Sexual assault on campus should be handled no differently than sexual assault in a court of law. As proposed by Rubenfeld in his opinion piece, the college hearing process should be integrated with law enforcement. While many college students choose to report incidents of sexual assault to their school, and not the police, universities alone should not determine the punishment, and vice versa — in part because most victims are reluctant to report assault to the police. Rubenfeld argued the importance of new training for the police and prosecutors, as well as the employment of special law enforcement liaison officers who know how to respectfully receive and vigorously act on sexual assault complaints. Everything possible should be done to encourage victims to participate in a criminal investigation, including colleges providing students with an attorney to accompany them to a meeting with the police to help them report the crime and ensure they are treated properly. The hearing process should be put in the hands of trained investigatory personnel and people with criminal law experience, not University staff under the supervision of a Title IX coordinator. While we need to adopt an effective system through which to properly represent the victims of sexual assault, it cannot be one that ignores the rights of the accused. The issue at hand has a long-standing history of imbalance, rife with injustice for victims of rape, but the solution is not to tip the scales in the opposite direction. Consideration and reevaluation should go into all pertinent university policies, as well as legislation and federal laws.
Sexual assault at college and universities is a serious problem.
— Lauren McCarthy can be reached at laurmc@umich.edu.
Reunions — A trial run
t’s a Thursday night at Good Time Charley’s. Well, technically, it’s Friday morning, but my table is too busy catching up to notice the time. We’re a strange group by Ann Arbor standards, tied together not by a shared freshman dorm or major or KATIE fraternity, but by a KOZIARA collective love for Washington, D.C. Last January, we left our friends in Ann Arbor to live with 24 relatively random strangers in the nation’s capital, started interning across the District and learned our way around the city. This January, the Michigan in Washington Winter 2014 cohort is back at Michigan, substituting fishbowls for the $8 Whale Pails we grew to love at our favorite Thursday-night spot, Sign of the Whale. Our last get-together was a poster session and post-D.C. dinner in September coordinated by the program; our group’s Facebook discussions have revolved around organizing a reunion ever since. Finally, this past Thursday night at Charley’s emerged as the winner for our anticipated reunion. Seeing these people again brings back memories of running around the monuments, going to Wizards and Caps games, reliving freshman year through weekly dorm parties and inevitably ending up at Madhatter every Friday and Saturday night. In D.C., we spent Saturday afternoons checking out the cherry blossoms and watching the giant panda cub at the zoo. We all tried sneaking out of the Monday-night speaker series after grabbing free dinner,
with mixed success. We spent weeknights sharing stories about our internships while making dinner. Getting stopped on your way to class because the President was headed home and the roads needed to be cleared was normal while living four blocks from the White House. Seeing this crew also reminds me of what is to come this fall: squishing into the train on early-morning commutes, buying only as many groceries as two reusable bags will hold because six blocks stand between Whole Foods and the refrigerator, and coordinating weekend plans because in a big city everyone doesn’t live within a 20-minute walk. College is ending soon, and no matter how excited I am to head back to D.C., I still wish I could freeze time and keep everything the way it is, with a blank planner providing a lot of time to meet up with friends outside of the few random natural science and humanities credits I took in order to get my diploma. The conversation turns to what we plan on doing once we graduate, because it’s second semester of senior year and it is impossible not to get asked this at least once a day. For some, it’s law school. It’s back to D.C. for others. A few are headed to jobs across the United States. In a few months, when we’ve settled into our new roles, the conversation will focus on how we plan to meet back up. I can’t help but think about this reunion at Charley’s as a trial run
for what happens after graduation, when we all leave the Big House together one last time. We’ve struggled to meet up on campus for months, and most of us still live in Ann Arbor — imagine how much more difficult it will be to see each other once we graduate. This isn’t the only circle of friends I’ll be missing after graduation, either. I have my Ford School friends too, my sorority sisters and my current roommates who I’ve known since freshman year. Each of these groups will try to make it back to Ann Arbor for a football game this fall, but how many people won’t be able to make it because of a work obligation, a pre-planned vacation or a grad-school paper? What happens when I’m the one who won’t be able to go? A lot of the memories we laughed about at Charley’s on Thursday haven’t surfaced in a while. I don’t see these people every day in class or at work or at home, so I forget about the stupid stuff we did until we start to reminisce. I wonder what other things I don’t remember – what other memories from living in my sorority house or in South Quad I don’t think about until I see my friends and we start chatting. After graduation, when I don’t see these people for months on end, will the memories still come back to me as vividly when we finally get together? These are the moments that make college more than just a collection of classes and clubs. I don’t want to forget them.
I can’t help but think about this reunion at Charley’s as a trial run for what happens after graduation.
— Katie Koziara can be reached at kkoziara@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and viewpoints. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while viewpoints should be 550-850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation. to tothedaily@michigandaily.com.
Weekend Roundup
5A — Thursday, February 5, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
72 HOURS in Ann Arbor Purple Rose Theater Company Daily Weekend Contributor Watch a live production of Robert Harling’s show Thursday, Feb. 5 about a small, southern town. The play follows six 3:30 p.m. “Imitation strong female characters Game” at the Michigan through their best days and Theater their worst. Ticket prices Up for multiple Acad- vary: check out purpleroemy Awards, including setheatre.org to get yours! Best Picture, this historical thriller is sure to im9 p.m. “Friday Night press all audiences. Star- Swing (& Blues)” at Phoenix ring Benedict Cumberbatch Center and Keira Knightley, you Come practice your have no excuse not to see it. Charleston with the Ann By JACLYN NAGEL
Arbor Swing Dance Association and the Ann Arbor Community of Traditional Music and Dance. Blues dancing will follow at 11:30 p.m. Don’t worry if you’re a little rusty on your East Coast swing, there are les8 p.m. Derek Richards Ann sons for beginers precedArbor Comedy Showcase ing the party at 8 p.m. As the butt of most of my sister’s sarcastic jokes, Saturday, Feb. 7 I have had to learn how to appreciate her sense of 8 p.m. Well Behaved humor. And thank goodWomen Seldom Make Hisness, because otherwise I tory musical performance think this show would have at Wallgreen Drama Center me crying in the corner. Stamps Auditorium Come watch Derek RichWatch and listen as Marards hopefully not make tha Sheil, associate profesfun of me this Thursday, sor of voice, performs songs Friday and Saturday night. about great women in history, including Mary Queen Friday, Feb. 6 of Scots and Anne Boleyn. 7 p.m. Men’s Basketball UM v. Iowa at Crisler Center Start your weekend off with what’s sure to be one of the best basketball games of the year!
8 p.m. “Steel Magnolias”:
12 a.m. Midnight Movies
TH I S WE E K I N R EVI EW By CARLY NOAH Daily Weekend Contributor
Around Campus University cancels class due to snowstorm Late Sunday night, the University canceled classes for Monday due to inclement weather. This was the second time the University closed for weatherrelated reasons since 1978. The Division of Public Safety and Security issued a notice of Emergency Reduction in Operations on Sunday night. The alert said all classes and events would be canceled through 6 p.m. Monday evening. Only the University hospitals remained open. The National Weather Service predicted southwest Michigan would experience sub-zero wind chill and wind gusts up to 30 mph. The University experienced more than 14 inches of snow Sunday and early Monday, and a temperature-high of 15 degrees with a low of zero. Protesters march after prosecutor declines to press charges against officer The organization Ann Arbor to Ferguson marched through downtown Ann Arbor on Saturday in protest of a recent legal decision paralleling the case involving the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Participants protested
in response the Washtenaw County Prosecutor Office’s decision not to press charges against Ann Arbor police officer David Ried following the fatal shooting of 40-year-old Ann Arbor resident Aura Rosser. The prosecutor’s office ruled that Ried acted in self-defense when he shot Rosser. The report from the hearing said Rosser charged toward Ried while carrying a knife. The report also stated Rosser refused to drop the knife when ordered to do so. Around the World CDC worried about large measles outbreak The Center for Disease Control is very concerned about the growing number of people in the United States who have not been vaccinated for measles. According to CDC statistics, there are currently at least 102 reported cases of measles in 14 states. In an interview with CBS on Sunday, CDC Director Tom Frieden said while measles has been eliminated in the U.S. for the past 15 years, the influx of disease comes from citizens traveling internationally. Frieden said the number of measles cases is expected to grow, which will result in CDC taking more aggressive public health action in order to isolate those infected and stop the spread.
S TA F F P I C K S LOSE CONTROL
PROJECT ALMANAC
MI SSY E L L I OT O N I T UN ES
N OW IN T H EAT ER S
CAMPUS
EVENTS Thursday, 2/5
State Theatre This week, State Theatre will screen Albert Magnoli’s “Purple Rain.” In this cult classic, Prince stars as a Minneapolis band’s front man with a terrible home life. The musical drama won an Academy Award for best original song score, and was nominated for two Razzie Awards.
Sergio Troncoso reading 5:10 p.m. - 6 p.m. Museum of Art “Food Chains” screening 6 p.m. Ross School of Business
Friday, 2/6 Ruth Bader Ginsburg lecture 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Hill Auditorium Pancake dinner 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8 1:30 p.m. Family Friendly Film Series: Michigan Theater Foundation Need a break from studying? Want to become more culturally literate to impress your grandparents? Never been able to contribute to conversations about Charlie Chaplin? Well, I have a solution for you. Come watch the silent and comedic Charlie Chaplin shorts at the Michigan Theater. Tickets are $8 for students.
Trotter Multicultural Center
Muslim Students Association Banquet 6:30 p.m. North Campus Research Complex
Saturday, 2/7 Immigration reform symposium 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. University Law School Wolverine charity ball 7 p.m. Michigan League
1 to 3 p.m. Zingerman’s Coffee Company “Comparative Cupping” Love coffee? Looking for a new way to perk up your morning? For $30, you can head down to Zingerman’s Coffee Company this Sunday afternoon to try samples of coffee from all over the world.
Sunday, 2/8
DELANEY RYAN/Daily
“Brave Miss World” screening and skype with director 7 p.m. Michigan Hillel
At the Daily, we’re always looking for NEW, creative content. Check more out online! WWW.MICHIGANDAILY.COM
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Thursday, February 5, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
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5 “I can __” 6 __ curiae: friend of the court 7 Tough to climb 8 Nav. noncom 9 Word before base or ball 10 Kingdoms 11 Skywalker associate, familiarly 12 Monastic garment 13 Inducing the willies 18 Sea eagles 22 Kitchen dweller of song 25 Spanish 101 verb 26 Cook quickly, in a way 27 Half-note feature 28 Obey 30 Campus no. 31 Farm home 32 Unit between levels 33 Prince in “Frozen” 34 Large grazer 36 Cowardly Lion player 37 Bouncy pace 38 Missouri River city
39 Sundance Kid’s girlfriend 43 Boll eater 44 Actor Will of “The Lego Movie” 45 Many diner dishes 46 Not working 47 Stress-related ailment, possibly 48 Language on a longship
49 16th-century circumnavigator 50 Turn out 54 Prepare for a shot 55 Song and dance 57 Former Abbey Road Studios owner 58 “GoodFellas” boss 60 IRA suggester
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Sports
6A — Thursday, February 5, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan seeks ‘M’ looks to rebound vs. Iowa rare win at MSU
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
By BRAD WHIPPLE Daily Sports Writer
With the Michigan women’s basketball team suffering its first pair of back-to-back conference losses this season, the Big Ten regular- Michigan at season title is Michigan St. out of reach. Matchup: But an Michigan 13-8; NCAA MSU 11-11 Tournament When: Thursbid is still a day 7 P.M. possibility, and the Wolverines Where: Breslin Center can still save the season TV/Radio: in the eight BTN Plus games before the Big Ten Tournament that will largely determine Michigan’s postseason fate, barring a tournament championship. Thursday marks the beginning of an uphill and grueling road that the Wolverines (5-5 Big Ten, 13-8 overall) will have to travel in order to dance in the postseason. It’s a road that begins in East Lansing, where Michigan hasn’t won since Jan. 25, 2001. Though this year’s Michigan State squad is not the powerhouse most are accustomed to, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico isn’t underestimating the Spartans’ ability in their own house. “It’s still Michigan State,” Barnes Arico told WTKA Radio on Tuesday. “They’ve been the premier program in the state, and that’s kind of our rival and what we aspire to be each and every single year.” Michigan State (3-8, 11-11) holds a lopsided 63-17 edge in the all-time series against the Wolverines, who snapped a three-game losing streak to their
in-state rival on Jan. 4 when the Spartans were No. 24 in the nation. If Michigan can collect another victory, it will have swept the season series for the first time since the 1999-2000 season — a feat reached just three times in the program’s history. But as Barnes Arico put it, it’s still Michigan State, even if the Spartans sit at 11th in the conference standings. Michigan State will rely heavily on guard Aerial Powers, who is averaging 21.9 and 12 rebounds per game, 1.8 more boards than senior forward Cyesha Goree. For Michigan, Goree has become less of a threat since the Wolverines’ loss to Maryland last week, scoring just six points against Nebraska on Sunday. Without her influence in the paint, Michigan turned to senior guard Shannon Smith in her stead. Despite making a strong start against Nebraska, Michigan “ran out of gas in the second half,” according to Barnes Arico. For the Wolverines to continue to stay in competition with others around the conference, they’ll have to put together a full 40 minutes of intensity and focus. “I think this could be recordbreaking for the Big Ten,” Barnes Arico said. “Our league is the No. 1 RPI league in the country right now, and we have some great outof-conference wins by the teams in our league.” Barnes Arico doesn’t hesitate to call the Big Ten the best conference in the nation. Now, it’s up to her and her team to bounce back, like it has all year, to create a postseason berth. And it starts 64 miles north against all odds.
The Michigan men’s basketball team hasn’t seen Iowa yet this season, but if his team’s status is any indication, Iowa at coach John Beilein knows Michigan what’s coming Matchup: when the Iowa 13-8; Hawkeyes visit Michigan 13-9 Crisler Center When: Thurson Thursday day 7 P.M. night. Where: Crisler “If they Center watched our TV/Radio: transition ESPN defense against Michigan State, whether we make a shot or not, they’re just going to attack us right down the floor,” Beilein said. “And that’s going to be a big emphasis for us going forward.” In Sunday’s game at Michigan State, the Wolverines were outscored 16-8 in transition and lost in overtime, 76-66. Now, back at home, they’ll face another formidable test on the fast break. “Defensive transition is the thorn in every coach’s side, because you’re trying to get better at it,” Beilein said. “It takes a lot of time in practice to really get good at it at a high speed. You can wear your team out practicing it so much.” Fatigue is one thing Michigan can’t afford. In addition to foot injuries to junior guard Caris LeVert and sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr., redshirt freshman forward Mark Donnal has been sidelined two straight games as he recovers from an illness. If Donnal is still limited come Thursday, that leaves just freshman Ricky Doyle and senior Max Bielfeldt to match up with Iowa’s massive front line. The Hawkeyes start 6-foot-9
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Spike Albrecht scored 18 points in defeat Sunday and will lead Michigan into a home matchup with Iowa on Thursday.
forward Aaron White, 6-foot9 forward Jarrod Uthoff and 7-foot-1 center Adam Woodbury. They also go deep into their bench, rotating as many as 10 players, none of whom averages more than 30 minutes per game. The substitutes include 6-foot10 forward Gabriel Olaseni and 6-foot-8 forward Dom Uhl. But the Wolverines’ big men have also been playing better as of late. Bielfeldt has averaged nine points and 7.8 rebounds over the past four games, and Doyle is the team’s second-leading active scorer. With the improvement on the interior and Iowa’s size, Beilein said he’d consider using two big men at once if their matchups presented an opportunity Thursday.
“I think it’s always going to be in our package somewhere,” Beilein said. “We’re limited in what we can run through that. We’re trying to work at that. You are who you can guard. We’ve got to see a matchup that Max or Ricky can go guard a perimeter defender for us to do it, unless we’re playing 100 percent zone, and then you get away with it.” Zone defense is another option: Both Michigan’s 2-3 and 1-3-1 looks had been improving prior to Sunday. When the Wolverines tested them against a strong passing team in Michigan State, the Spartans broke them down and forced them into manto-man defense. Michigan faces another older team Thursday — the Hawkeyes start a senior and three juniors
“We’re going to start getting some of those breaks.”
and they bring two more seniors off the bench. Still, back in Crisler Center, the home-court environment could help close the gap in experience. “It has so far — I think we’ve played pretty well at home,” Beilein said. “It’s the persistence that you see with teams that really have a great understanding of what it takes to win. We’re growing in that area in leaps and bounds.” The Wolverines have lost in overtime twice in the past three games, but against top competition, they have been within a bounce here and there in both games. “It’s tough, letting games like that slip away or having a game that close go the other way,” said junior guard Spike Albrecht. “I think I’ve kind of learned in my two years here, those things will come back to you. Just continue to do what we do, and we’re going to start getting some of those breaks. Things are going to start going our way.”
The curious case of Max Shuart’s helmet By JASON RUBINSTEIN Daily Sports Editor
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Zach Gentry, a four-star quarterback recruit from New Mexico, was a late commit to Jim Harbaugh’s class.
To the average hockey fan, it may seem that every Michigan hockey player looks exactly the same — all the players’ sticks, skates and, of course, uniforms make them look like mirror images. But if you take a closer look at the Wolverines, one glaring difference exists: sophomore forward Max Shuart’s helmet. While all of his teammates wear a full “cage” face shield — which looks like a wired fence — Shuart opts to wear a plastic face shield, also known as a “bubble” or a “fish bowl.” It effectively looks like a giant piece of clear plastic surrounding his face with a few notches cut out of the bottom for ventilation. By not wearing a cage, Shuart, who has worn a bubble since his junior year of high school, feels left out. “It’s a little weird being the only one,” Shuart said. “I get a little crap from the boys about it, but I just like it a lot better. I think it has better vision and I like the look of it a lot more than the cage.” Unfortunately for Shuart, his teammates don’t share his sentiment. Last season, only then-junior Phil Di Giuseppe wore a bubble alongside Shuart. The bubble, the rest of his teammates say, fogs up too much and creates problems with water entering the helmet that are not worth the sleek look. Things looked promising for Shuart heading into this season, when freshman forward Dexter Dancs opted to wear a bubble for the first couple of practices. But he quickly reverted back to wearing a cage. Shuart knew it was time to get back to the drawing board. “I don’t want to be the only one,” Shuart said. “It’s not by choice.” Junior forward Andrew Copp
doesn’t think Shuart minds, though. “He probably likes the attention,” he said. Whatever the case, after a failed attempt with Dancs, Shuart scrambled and made a bet with sophomore forward JT Compher. “If he had my next first assist on a goal before I had a next first assist on his goal, then I would have to put on a bubble,” Compher said. “I think I might have lost the bet. … Let’s just say it’s not on quite yet.” Compher doesn’t have any plans to put on a bubble anytime soon, because both players are unsure of who actually won the bet. So Shuart knew he would have to come to terms with being the only one. And it hasn’t been easy. Because Shuart is the only Wolverine who dons a face shield, his teammates often joke with him by spraying water on his mask, prompting Shuart to take off his helmet to clean it. Copp has a special infatuation for ticking off Shuart, and takes any opportunity he gets to mess with Shuart’s fish bowl. “Copp … he likes to spray water on (my bubble),” Shuart
said. “He likes to do it so I can’t see.” But according to Copp, Shuart is overplaying the situation. “I’ve only actually sprayed water on his bubble once,” Copp said. “But I always act like I’m going to do it and he’ll freak out.” Luckily for Shuart, he has quickly caught on to his teammates’ antics. “You always have to keep a towel handy with the fish bowl,” he joked. Come Saturday, things might change for Shuart. Michigan is playing an outdoor game at Solider Field — home of the Chicago Bears — where temperatures are supposed to be in the low 30s. Wearing a bubble in such frigid temperatures could spell disaster. Monday, while practicing outside at Buhr Park in Ann Arbor, simulating Saturday’s game conditions, Shuart admitted to having problems with fog and said he might have to wear a cage this weekend. So for one game, the Wolverines may look like mirror images. And Shuart won’t feel so lonely.
“I don’t want to be the only one. It’s not by choice.”
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Max Shuart is the only hockey player who wears a plastic face shield.
B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | Thursday, February 5, 2015
U MAG BRO?
DESIGN BY SHREYA RAZAK
Arts
2B — Thursday, February 5, 2015
MAGFEST From Page 1B National Harbor, Md. — “WELCOME BACK, BRO! WELCOME BACK TO THE BIG DICK PARTY!” Less than two minutes after checking into the convention and getting my badge, two very drunk and very happy geeks had their arms around me. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” I looked over to where the two lanky fellows were walking. Several other inebriated gamers were hammering away at gamepads, huddled in front of 20-inch HD monitors. I was hoping it would be longer before the MAGFest culture shock set in. I had three newcomers with me (my girlfriend and two of my best friends), and I wanted their transition into convention culture to be smoother than it was. Perhaps a subtler welcome wagon to a first con experience than two touchy-feely “Guilty Gear” players would have been nice. “MAGFest is so many things to so many different people. I sometimes like to say that MAGFest doesn’t exist, there are actually 15 events going on at the same time in the same building” said Nicholas Marinelli, the promotions and public relations official of MAGFest. “My business card says ‘promotions and public relations,’ but really, it’s everything. MAGFest has a very flat organizational structure; it’s not very deep hierarchically. I’m on the Board of Directors; I’m the only one that really does the promo.”
The Music and Games Festival happens once a year in the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, — a kitschy, ritzy town of restaurants, bars and oversize convenience stores seemingly constructed entirely around the hotel’s economy. It’s a 30-minute drive from Washington D.C., and it likely wouldn’t exist if not for the hundreds of office retreats and trade shows that happen in the Gaylord Hotel yearly. Marinelli summarized the event quite well: “It’s a four-day long party dedicated to video game music and gaming of all types.” MAGFest 2015 was the 13th event of its name. Well, of its acronym. Originally called the MidAtlantic Gaming Festival, it was “back-ronymed” to Music and Games Festival a few years into its life. For one weekend a year, National Harbor is a different planet. It’s a 96-hour party that never sleeps. It’s a festival. It’s a convention. It’s absolutely insane. But you might not want to call it a convention. On MAGFest’s website, it explicitly states that MAGFest is not a convention, it’s a festival. “That’s me. Everyone always busts my ass for it, every time they say convention I say festival!” Marinelli said. “I’ve been going to anime conventions since high school, and then after you’ve been going to these things for however long, you start to ... it’s a different crowd at MAGfest. Anime conventions are fun especially if you’re into that, but MAGfest is a bit of an older crowd, it’s a more relaxed, less manic crowd. I mean, the fes-
tival thing is really just a tagline, and if the IRS asks, we’re a convention. It’s basically just meant to denote that it’s not your typical anime convention.” Later in the interview, I mistakenly said “convention” again, and Marinelli promptly corrected me. Despite the reluctance to call it a convention, there’s actually quite a lot about MAGFest that’s consistent with convention culture. The music festival and gaming con aspects of MAGFest coexist fairly well. The hotel certainly has its standard gaming con accommodations: gigantic show floors lined with expensive arcade cabinet collections; panels featuring YouTube gaming celebrities like JonTron, The Angry Video Game Nerd and Game Grumps; areas for tabletop games; and of course, huge tournaments. Simultaneously, a big part of the hotel is a dedicated music exhibition. There’s a jam space for impromptu band formation for congoers (read that as con-goers or congo-ers, either works) and a giant concert hall where virtually every major videogame cover band (as well as many hopeful DJs) comes to put on what has to be their favorite show of the year — I can’t see how playing for the exact niche audience your music was made for wouldn’t be. As a frequent listener of video game music, it was pretty damn incredible to attend an event dedicated to its exhibition. The success of MAGFest is a testament to the genre’s diversity and longevity. Even so, it can be difficult to explain what makes the genre great — or even listenable — to people not in the know. Marinelli
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW Rihanna is having a moment. She knows we’ve been a collective nervous wreck waiting for her return to music, for the official start of the #R8 B+ era. Rihanna, aware of the ‘FourFive fact that she has our atten- Seconds’ tion, is letting Rihanna, herself have a moment. And Kanye West that moment and Paul is “FourFiMcCartney veSeconds.” There’s Roc Nation a lot that feels oddly unexplained about this whole “FourFiveSeconds” thing: the grand departure in sound it represents for her, what it means for the rest of her imminent eighth album, what Paul McCartney is doing there, what the song is even about. The accompanying music video, released on Tuesday, doesn’t do much to address the elephant in the room, though — what the fuck does Rihanna have up her sleeve? Whatever is up there must be quite big, considering how baggy the vintage Sean John denim jacket (which, somewhat unsurprisingly, belongs to Kanye) is that she’s sporting in the clip. Directed by the famed Dutch duo of Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, who are known for their highly posed fashion photography, the “FourFiveSeconds” music video was shot completely in black and white using a square aspectratio, perfect for @badgalriri’s Instagram account. The video features the trio of
ROC NATION
denim-clad iconic artists using exaggerated hand and body gestures to convey their feelings in front of a strategically-lit white backdrop, all the while looking quite beautiful themselves. The most striking points of the video are the tightly-shot close-ups of Rihanna and Kanye looking directly into the camera with a look that combines scorn with confidence, fear with excitement. There’s a twinkle in their eyes — they know we’re part confused, part intrigued and part excited by the whole thing. What Inez and Vinoodh have created here is something special, and it’s very much in line with the sound of Kanye’s “Only One,” as well as with his Kardashian-induced obsession with high fashion. But, what remains (perhaps purposively) unclear is what is all means for Rihanna and the trajectory of this new era. “FourFiveSeconds” has grown on me in ways I wouldn’t have expected, and
the music video probably will, too. But my favorite moment from the entire video happens just eighteen seconds in after Rihanna sings “I might do a little time” as she looks directly at us, her powerful stare piercing the camera. After a pause, she rolls her eyes hard. Part of what’s great about this moment is that it sort of reflects my feelings about “FourFiveSeconds:” I’m entertained, I’m enjoying it, but I’m also kind of over it. I want to see what’s next. The other reason that this moment stands out is because it’s just that — a moment — and it’s one that reassures us that the Rihanna we love — the fierce, unapologetic RiRi that doesn’t give a shit about what anyone thinks — is ready to return. It’s a flash of brilliance that allows us to be okay with indulging her in this moment, just as long as it only lasts about four or five seconds. -GIBSON JOHNS
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COURTESY OF JACOB RICH
Daily Film Editor Jacob Rich poses with two cosplayers at MAGFest.
credits the appeal of the genre to the frequently limited tools game composers work with to improve their craft. “It had very complex, interweaving melodies and harmonies. When a composer is forced to create music under those strict limitations, he or she has to make damn sure it sounds good, otherwise you’re just gonna want to mute it, and that’s something that always appealed to me about it,” Marinelli said. “It’s cool that the constraints made it so that the composer had to exercise their creativity as much as they could, yet at the same time, the simplicity of the sound palette made it so that today you could have so many different interpretations of the same song, and they could all be so radically different that you could listen to the same song 10 times in a row and not get tired of it.” There’s not much synergy between the “music festival” and “gaming con” sides of MAGFest, other than the ability to stroll between the two sides of the event at will. But perhaps it’s the overall culture of MAGFest that’s synergistic. So, apparently conventions have their own culture? They do, and it’s fascinating to witness, especially within the walls of an ornate hotel. What people don’t fully understand about geek conventions and festivals like MAGFest is that normal societal and social rules simply don’t apply to them. Obviously, courtesy and civility are still norms, but the ground rules of human interaction are inherently different. For one thing, people will dance anywhere. Amateur DJs seemed to have speaker setups blasting electronic music (often video-gamethemed) from every hallway in the Gaylord National Resort. Around them, small groups of sweaty guys and girls could be seen rollicking back and forth around their segment of carpeted hotel floor. I’ve never seen people dance like they do at conventions. None of them ever look like they actually know how to dance, but they move and jump and sing with the confidence of professionals. Another oddity is the dominance of cosplay. Like many convention settings, around a third of the MAGFest attendees engaged in some form of cosplay — dressing in elaborate costumes emulating video game, comic book and anime characters. There’s no doubt that conventions are absolutely the greatest people-watching events in the world. Sitting or standing
virtually anywhere in the event is like watching a costume parade, a rainbow of pop culture idolization, fur suits and out-there fashion. I have to imagine that MAGFest is either a nice break or a royal pain in the ass for the hotel staff. For one weekend of the year, instead of having to deal with stuffy white people in suits, they instead cater to Hatsune Miku, the Raccoon City Police Department, Rei Ayanami, Belly Dancing Toads and the entire roster of Super Smash Bros. This probably sounds like it would be pretty overwhelming to those not familiar with the con scene. You don’t have to be familiar with convention culture to appreciate the event, though. Marinelli noted that there are so many niche interests represented at MAGFest that it would be difficult not to enjoy any of them. “Video gamers enjoy MAGFest, tabletop gamers, LARPers, cosplayers, musicians, people who like watching YouTube, academics, game designers, game composers, artists, crafters. There’s all these areas at MAGFest that you don’t necessarily see anywhere else,” Marinelli said. Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of MAGFest — and the aspect most noticeable while simply walking around the event — is its absolute dedication to promoting inclusivity. MAGFest has absolutely the most diverse array of identities I’ve seen at a convention. While cons are normally portrayed in media as thoroughly white and male (for example, the Star Wars convention in Kevin Smith’s “Chasing Amy”), MAGFest entirely transcends that stereotype. MAGFest is a convention of geeks, to be sure, but its geeks are a rainbow of colors and sexualities, with an almost-equal gender ratio. “We had a lot of different kinds of people coming into MAGFest (the last few years), it’s quite different from what it used to be when it was a bunch of smelly dudes,” Marinelli said. “I’m not exactly sure how that happened, but I’m very glad it did because we’ve evolved into this very diverse, safe space where people of any size, shape, gender, color, religion and whatever can come and feel welcome. It’s part of our code of conduct, our harassment policy, that we don’t take any shit when it comes to ragging on people for any reason.” To me, MAGFest even transcends “college pamphlet” diversity. It’s not just people of different races and genders. MAGFest is the most inclusive event I’ve maybe
ever attended because it’s tolerant of different lifestyles, ideals, manners of speech and more. It’s no wonder those dancers looked so confident — they felt safe and free. “We have people in fur suits walking around our event. Whatever!” Marinelli said. That’s their bag, that’s what they do. I’m not gonna … I’ve actually learned a lot about that, because you know, most people’s exposure to fur suits is CSI, when they had the furry orgy (episode) or whatever. And it turns out, people who wear fur suits just really like Ninja Turtles and Star Fox. Like, all right, that’s cool, I can get behind that. I’m glad that so many people are welcome at the event, because in the current age of the Internet we live in, it is sometimes said that we shouldn’t need diverse representation of people in gaming, and I think that’s 100 percent false.” Marinelli explained to me that the convention has difficulty capturing and selling people on the sprawling range of niche interests that MAGFest caters to. “When I first took on the role of a main promo guy, I was really bad at it. Not that I’m not still bad at it, because I kept playing up the video game music angle. That’s what it was to me. I didn’t quite realize at the time how many different facets there are to MAGFest and how many different ways there are to enjoy it,” Marinelli said. “When I finally twisted one friend’s arm into final coming, he thought it was the greatest thing ever. He said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me all these arcade machines were here? This is so cool!’ And now he’s the head of our merchandise department. It just goes to show that no matter what your niche is, you’re probably going to find it at MAGFest. Unless it’s 19th century French literature. I don’t know what to tell you there.” There was no lack of conversation in my car during the eighthour car trip back to Ann Arbor. In fact, I’m pretty sure we could have gone for far longer reminiscing about what we just experienced. If not for the wonderful culture of fun and inclusivity or the panels of famous YouTube stars, MAGFest is absolutely worth attending just to see. The endless parade of congoers in immaculate homemade costumes, the seemingly endless line of old-school arcade machines, the many after-parties in Gaylord hotel rooms with enthusiastic and excited people that are colorful in every sense of the word — MAGFest has to be seen to be believed.
TRAILER REVIEW A little late for the Oscars, SpongeBob resurfaces on the big screen in his second feature C+ film: “The ‘The SpongeBob Movie: SpongeBob Sponge Out Movie: of Water.” An evil pirate, Sponge Out played by of Water’ Antonio Paramount Animation Banderas (“Spy Kids”) (he’s back! and not in boots!), lays siege to Bikini Bottom to recover the final page of a book that will makes true whatever the author writes in its page. SpongeBob must go (ahem) out of water and into 3D animation to save the day. Perhaps due to his spongy resilience, Spongebob has managed to stay relevant to almost two generations of cartoon fans. Most Nickelodeon cartoon shows come and go (e.g., “Rocko’s Modern Life”), but SpongeBob has merrily abided on the sunken shores of Bikini
PARAMOUNT ANIMATION
Bottom for nearly 16 years. Unfortunately, either SpongeBob has changed or I have, because Mr. SquarePants doesn’t seem to have the same appeal as before: His yellow seems less yellow, his bubble obsession less hilarious, his steady job as fry cook a little bit weird. I’m left asking the questions I was too innocent to ask before: Why has SpongeBob, who’s apparently an adult, been working as a fry cook for 16 years? Does Patrick have a
mental disability? Does Squidward suffer from depression? Luckily, this motion picture isn’t aiming to please jaded college students like myself. It’s geared toward kids for whom SpongeBob is still new(ish); and for them, Patrick’s caveman stupidity, Squidward’s killjoy attitude, Gary’s meowing and SpongeBob’s, well, squarepantedness will be as funny and enjoyable as ever … Oh, and this time it’s in 3D! -ZAK WITUS
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thursday, February 5, 2015 — 3B
Capturing the art This song is his song: of Detroit boxing music in ads MUSIC COLUMN
University senior photographs youth boxing gym By GRACE HAMILTON Daily Arts Writer
Names of Detroit students have been changed to respect the privacy of individuals mentioned. In order to get to the east side of Detroit by 4:30 p.m., Art & Design Senior Katie Moran leaves campus an hour early, usually returning by 8 p.m. She makes this trip three times a week, averaging between 10 and 15 hours. With gas prices around two dollars, that’s up to $40 in gas. Evidently, her schedule is unusual for a senior; no four-day weekends or wide-open nights for early bar trips or Netflix binges. Instead, Moran spends these hours with a camera, 60 students between the ages of seven and 18, homework and boxing gloves. It must be a very unique place that can give meaning to such a unique combination, you might be thinking. Well, “unique” doesn’t even cut it. “Magic” might be more appropriate. Welcome to the Downtown Youth Boxing Gym, a highlight of Detroit. Carlos Sweeny (pretty much exclusively known as “Coach Khali”) opened the gym eight years ago to help other boys and girls in his neighborhood avoid facing the dangers and struggles that he did as a young man. In a city in which the high school graduation rate is 65 percent, Coach Khali’s gym has seen nearly every single one of its students graduate — 96 percent, to be exact. The other four percent are employed or in trade school. Besides their academic success, the entire travel team is nationally ranked. To box in the ring, students must first be tutored. Everyone who works at the gym — Coach Khali, the trainers and tutors — are volunteers, including Moran. When students come in, they are offered one-on-one academic support and guidance, a free meal and training. Boxing is the reward and the motivator. While the gym serves 65 students, the waitlist is nearly 400 students long. As a nonprofit organization, the gym runs on donations to keep it on its feet. Although there is a significant outof-pocket cost for maintaining the gym, donations have allowed for the purchase of a new, larger space that they will relocate to soon. As a senior in the School of Art and Design, Moran is required to complete a 12-credit Integrated Project, or IP, which is essentially a yearlong senior thesis. Students are provided with two faculty advisors, a studio space and little else but the instructions “Do whatever you want!” She knew her medium would
COURTESY OF DOWNTOWN YOUTH BOXING GYM
Students at Downtown Youth Boxing gym receive tutoring along with training.
be documentary photography, and she hoped to find a way to tell a story about Detroit, something that would hit close to home for people. Moran’s father had been a Golden Gloves boxer growing up in a rough neighborhood in Chicago’s South Side, and he inspired her with stories about how the ring became a place where youths could take out their frustrations, instead of on the streets or at school. Moran wanted to find one of these places. With some research, she came across Coach Khali’s TEDx talk. “He talked about the way that the gym was a safe haven from all the other shit that happens outside. Some of these kids have so much going on around them and at home, and it’s this place that builds community. So I went there and fell in love immediately,” Moran said. Aside from tutoring, Moran takes photographs: of the boxing, of the tutor room, of kids with their parents, their interactions with the coach and of the people who are constantly coming in and out. “In my photographs, I’m really trying to show the community that’s built around this space. In a place like Detroit where government has failed so many times, it’s interesting to see how people come together and work together for the greater good,” Moran said. What began as a project about boxing and its role in keeping kids off the streets of Detroit has come to be something else. The project is no longer about boxing, although it is an important aspect. Instead, it’s about the way people support each other, regular stories about regular people doing special things. “A lot of the things I hear are just funny. I was talking to a third grader, Will, and we were talking about birthdays. I told him to guess how old I was. He said ‘54?’ I finally told him I was going to be 23 and he goes, ‘I hope my homework is right …,’ ” Moran said, laughing. Other stories come close to bringing tears instead. She tells of
another student whose house was damaged in a fire. After a porch nearly fell on him one afternoon taking out the trash, the family moved. “There are days I come home crying. I’ve never experienced anything like that. And you can tell they’ve never been asked some of these questions,” Moran said. We talked about bubbles: The way that Ann Arbor and the University are a bubble. Detroit is a bubble, too. With her camera and sound recorder in hand, Moran floats back and forth between these bubbles. Her project is intended to break some of these. “The first time I went, I was pulling out in my car and this girl taps my window and she asked me, ‘Do you think we’re interesting?’ And I said, ‘Yes I really, really do.’ She asked why and I just said I loved all of the great things happening here.” The gallery space will be in Detroit, so that the entire gym community will have the opportunity to see their story told through Moran’s photographs and accompanying sound stories. Moran’s project is a chance to show people that Detroit can be revived and that people like Coach Khali are dedicating their lives to doing so. It is equally a chance to show these kids the importance of their experiences and what is happening in their homes. Coach Khali wakes up at 5:00 a.m. to get to the studio and begin organizing for the day. He is on call for the remaining hours, often picking up students from school. I watched the TEDx talk that Moran referred to. I think that word “passion” gets thrown around, but it is difficult to mistake when you see it. “We’re doing more than making fighters, we’re making good people,” Coach Khali says in the video, with a casual air of conviction that seems impossible to question. After so many movies and even last week’s Super Bowl, it’s inspiring to see what real champions look like.
SINGLE REVIEW “The best room they have is the last room you want” – what an interesting, possibly metaphorical lyric. Is AModest Mouse referring to a ‘The Best general and con- Room’ tinuing disappointment with Modest the unsatisfactoMouse ry nature of most supposed luxu- Epic ries that most Western countries contain? Or is it another line in a song about unhappiness the band has decided to deliver through the cacophonous vocals of lead singer Isaac Brock? The uneducated, more random Modest Mouse fans may remain unsure. The other patient fans, the ones who have waited the long eight years since the band’s last album, will know that most Modest Mouse songs — especially the penultimate ones — carry both a meaning and an awesome indie rock beat. “The Best Room” is a tale
EPIC
of typically “Western” modern concerns that buries the beholder until he’s drowning in anxiety and exhaustion. Or at least I think so. Instrumentally, the song holds the quintessential Modest Mouse sounds that are reminiscent of early ’00’s classics like “Missed the Boat” or “The World At Large.” A strong beat supported by longtime band drummer Jeremiah Green balances the quick climaxes and depressions of the song. These fast changes, the heavy
electric guitar influence and confusing yet distinctly meaningful lyricism recreates the distinct sound that makes Modest Mouse so sonically recognizable. If this newest single is in any way indicative of what the upcoming album holds, the Seth Cohen-ites and indie rockers of the millennial generation can start to breathe a little more deeply, and maybe release some of that pent up anxiety that eight long years can bring. -AMELIA ZAK
As I was walking that ribbon of highway I saw above me that endless skyway, I saw below me that golden valley, I said: This land was made for you and me -Woody Guthrie Isn’t that beautiful? Doesn’t that ADAM make you THEISEN want to buy a Jeep? Fiat, owner of Jeep, certainly hopes so. Its marketing department seems to know so, actually, seeing as they spent over four million dollars to beam a cover of that old Woody Guthrie song into over 200 million American ears last Sunday in the middle of the Super Bowl, all while showing images of the company’s cars driving all over the world. North Face had the exact same explore-the-world advertisement six months ago, set to the same Guthrie song (albeit a different cover version). I hope it worked. I really do. Because if you’re going to desecrate a sacred set of lyrics in an attempt to improve a brand, I really hope at least somebody is a little bit richer (and presumably happier) because of it — that a small bit of good perhaps came out of this act of vandalism. But let me say this first: Anyone who in 2015 still loudly complains about bands “selling out” to corporate interests is simply very stubborn or very naïve. If I had no fear and knew where to look on the Internet, I could download all of Matt and Kim’s music for free, and I can even legally stream all their songs on Spotify, a company that seems to pay artists pennies even for thousands of streams. There’s no way Matt and Kim, an indie duo in the middle tier of popular-
ity, are raking in cash from traditional music sales, so I understand if they want to add significantly to their income by licensing a song to Buick, even if it’s then used for an annoyingly ubiquitous advertising campaign. It’s relatively easy money for people who work very hard at their jobs. Artists can choose to do whatever they want with their art, and any fan who tries to claim ownership of a song, even if he or she absolutely loves it, is missing the point. Artists do have to be cognizant of how their work will come to be heard in the public consciousness, however. Los Campesinos! is one of my favorite bands, and “You! Me! Dancing!” is one of their best songs, but I hate that I have to think of Budweiser every time I hear the first 30 seconds. Same with “Walk on the Wild Side” and HP computers. Even Bob Dylan does advertising now, from bizarre Victoria’s Secret ads to “Fuck yeah, Detroit!” Chrysler monologues to licensing “I Want You” to a Chobani spot. Victoria’s Secret perhaps notwithstanding, I don’t think Dylan’s legacy has suffered at all from advertising. To be honest, it’s maybe even increased his visibility for a new generation. Where I start to get uneasy is when the original artists are long gone and aren’t getting any payment for their songs. I don’t have anything against Jeep — it had a cool waterfall at the Detroit Auto Show that I really enjoyed when I was a little kid — or against North Face — its gloves kept me from losing fingers to frostbite during last weekend’s blizzard — but neither of these companies had Woody Guthrie’s permission to use “This Land is Your Land.” The iconic folk singer died in 1967, and “This Land is Your Land” is in the public domain. While the idea of public domain is entirely necessary, and sometimes ads featuring long dead songs can reinvigorate a
legacy, no company should have a license to misappropriate artistic genius. When Bruce Springsteen played “This Land is Your Land” live, he called it “an angry song.” Originally written as a response to Irving Berlin’s sleepy, overly sentimental “God Bless America,” Guthrie’s lyrics reveal his communist leanings: “There was a high wall there that tried to stop me / A sign was painted said: Private Property, / But on the back side it didn’t say nothing / This land was made for you and me.” The result, as Springsteen continues, is “one of the most beautiful songs ever written.” It seems clear that both Fiat and North Face weren’t ignorant of this part of the song, but rather knew of these lyrics and chose to ignore them. The Jeep commercial cuts that verse out, but the North Face one edits the verses, changing “Private Property” to “No Trespassing” to make the words more commercially rebellious and less straight-up socialist. And while it may sometimes feel like “This Land Is Your Land” is one of those songs like, say, “Yankee Doodle” — an iconic American song that doesn’t really have a true author — “This Land Is Your Land” was, in fact, written by an identifiable person, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. To misquote an artist and change his words without his permission, as these companies have done in their advertisements, is vicious and unethical. But hey, I wouldn’t be paying attention to these ads if they weren’t unethical. So maybe they worked. Theisen is still perplexed by Bob Dylan’s Victoria’s Secret ad. To help sort him out, email ajtheis@umich.edu.
EPISODE REVIEW Of the 16 original contestants on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” the entrepreneurialcompetition Aoverseen by mac‘The daddy Celebrity Donald Apprentice’ Trump, only seven Season 7, remain after this Episode 5 week’s epiMondays sode. Not only are at 8 p.m. the teams NBC shrinking, but Trump has definitely upped the ante: Instead of selling pies, contestants now have to sell Trump’s luxury DoralMiami hotel, while showcasing the resort’s features with an interactive model. Judged
NBC
by Trump’s stone-faced sons, Team Infinity won the challenge with their “attention to luxury,” while Team Vortex, headed by Kate Gosselin (“Kate Plus 8”), didn’t live up to Trump’s standards. As a result, Gosselin was fired. For the second challenge, the teams had to captain a boat tour around New York City;
the winning team was determined by the passengers’ ratings. High expectations were held for “Deadliest Catch” Captain Sig Hansen, but his Hooters-themed party boat wasn’t received well by the family-friendly visitors — sinking Hansen right out of the competition. -HAILEY MIDDLEBROOK
Arts
4B — Thursday, February 5, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Loving TV for the ARTIST Herve Leger STYLE COLUMN
I
had a lot of ideas for this column. Relevant, interesting ideas like “the importance of couture,” “the rise of Instagram models” and “what really is Men’s Fashion Week?” Is it like couture and readyto-wear all in one? Is there always ERIKA full frontal HARWOOD nudity? Where are the Cara Delevingnes and Kendall Jenners of men’s fashion? Is there always full frontal nudity? As I attempted to ration my thoughts and organize them into what could be considered a cohesive piece of journalism, I found myself 35 minutes deep into the third episode of “Empire,” FOX’s new nighttime musical soap opera of sorts. For those who know how to manage their time and not get sucked into the void that is Hulu, “Empire” follows hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard, “Hustle & Flow”) and his musically inclined but unstable family as they navigate a music industry where Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Selma”) is a former songwriter-turned-rancher-turned
songwriter/rancher. Yeah, it’s that good. But that’s not exactly how I got sucked in. Enter: Cookie (Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”). The ex-wife of Lucious who spent almost 20 years in prison after being busted for drugs — the drugs that helped build Lucious’s early career and the Empire … well, empire. She’s loud, smart, quick and assertive — with a wardrobe to match. Tight dresses, blinding sequins, bold accessories and enough animal print to make a 2003 Raven Symone fall to her knees and weep, all in one episode. This isn’t the first time I’ve been drawn into a series through the closets of its characters. There are, of course, the obvious choices — the shows that ended up being just as much about the clothes as they were about the stories. With shows like “Gossip Girl,” clothes became the savior. While I tapped out around season four, because I could only suspend my disbelief for so long and there’s just no way in hell Blair would have dated Dan, I stuck around longer than I should have solely to see what Blair would wear on her head or to finally see Jenny’s transformation into a stick of black eyeliner and fishnets. Then there are shows like
“The Mindy Project,” which really doesn’t need an added element of style — Mindy could wear scrubs every episode and the show would still make sense, and I would still tune in. But every time Dr. Lahiri wears a Herve Leger bodycon dress with snakeskin Giuseppe Zanotti heels to a medical conference or slings a Chanel crossbody bag over her shoulder as she walks into her office, I remember why I don’t just like, but love, Mindy Lahiri. As for “Empire,” I would still probably watch it even if Cookie wasn’t walking into business meetings in cocktail dresses. There are enough secret illnesses, Naomi Campbell cameos and bibbed-up blowjobs to keep me coming back week after week. But none of those reasons are why I’m writing this column, and they’re not why I’m texting my friends about post-prison wardrobes and they’re not why people are making slideshows to dissect only Cookie’s “bad bitch” outfits. Though Cookie’s style may not suit everyone’s taste, it does prove a major point: If you want to create a strong, standout character, you’re going to have to raid a few closets. Harwood is so Raven. To tell her how Raven she is, e-mail erikacat@umich.edu.
THE SHARK BOARD Each week we take bites out of the biggest developments in the entertainment world. Here’s what swam (and sank) this week. Fish are Friends With Benefits, Not Food Left Shark romantically linked with actor Laurence Fishburne
Lone Shark Left Shark talks divorce from Right Shark on “The View.”
Face of Bureaucra-sea Left Shark leads far-left party to mainstream political success.
We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Syringe Obama blames seasles outbreak on anti-vaxxer Right Shark.
Seafoam Green Card Left Shark gains immigration status as “land shark.”
Design by Gaby Vasquez
IN
PROFILE
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Grizfolk plays a set at the Blind Pig.
By MELINA GLUSAC Daily Arts Writer
Sitting in the chilly storage room of Legion Menswear on North Main, I watch a few men tinker with a garment steamer. As an onlooker, I ignorantly ask if it’s an iron and get a laughterstained “steamer” in response from the band’s bass player Brendan James. Congregated, they can’t take their focus off it, likening its long cords to those of an IV and chuckling coolly. I laugh, fascinated by their interest in the funny-looking appliance. The mundane is something they’re not used to — at least, not lately. Grizfolk, a five-piece band rooted in Los Angeles and Sweden, have been booking it on the road since 2012. After wrapping up two juggernaut tours with British label-mates Bastille in 2014, complete with two sold-out shows at Radio City Music Hall, they’re now embarking on their own modest tour and wrapping up a fulllength album. I sat down with singer Adam Roth, synth-master Sebastian Fritze, guitarist Fredrik Eriksson, bass guitarist Brendan James and drummer Bill Delia one frozen afternoon before a pop-up show at Legion (and a legitimate one at the Blind Pig later that evening) to talk about all things ABBA and, of course, their own journey. “We’ve all kind of known each other for, you know, a little bit of time,” Roth said. “I was in a band with Brendan and Bill before this band, and me and Fredrik had like a songwriting team, and we were trying to write for other artists. Then we met Sebastian, and we started writing and ended up kind of turning it into a band. So we hollered at Bill and Brendan and started Grizfolk.” I asked them when this formation took place. After a little silence, Delia looked to Roth. “Was that, like, ’79?” Delia said. More laughter ensued, and Fritze, a native Swede, leaned into me. “It was like three years ago,” Fritze said. Grizfolk is on the riper side, but the boys’ relationship with music and their individual instruments stretches back to childhood. Fritze and Roth were persuaded by family at a young age to start playing, as was Delia. “I started on the piano, and then when I was about eight
maybe or nine I really wanted to start playing the drums,” Delia said. “So I built a drum set out of like shoeboxes and tin cans and stuff. And I played on that all the time.” James’s passion was realized by peer pressure. “Two of my friends were starting a band, and I’d never played anything in my life,” James said. “They’d both played guitar, so they were like, ‘You have to play the bass guitar.’ So that’s how I learned how to play the bass. I was forced into it, as well. We started a band called Upper Hand. I drew the logo. It was four slashes and then a thumb across.” I complimented his artistry as Roth lifted his hand into the air to simulate an “upper hand.” “Yeah, we were gonna be huge,” James said.
Inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime, any place. Grizfolk released their first EP, From the Spark, in February 2014. Roth said the group’s muse was simply the newness of the experience, as much of the content on the EP was virginal, composed of the first songs they ever wrote as a band. Crafted in the indie comfort of bedrooms and the like, the compilation is etched with raw qualities. “We weren’t pressured into being in a big studio. A big studio costs a lot of money,” Fritze said. “So the freedom of just like taking our time and figuring out what we wanted to do was a big part of how it turned out to be, the sound.” Their songwriting process is just as unique — inspiration can strike anywhere, anytime, anyplace. “When we write songs, we think about a landscape, usually. It could be anything like the barrens to deep, green forests, or whatever. And we figure out what that landscape would sound like and then write a story in that landscape. That’s like the first little spark that happens,” Fritze said. On “Cosmic Angels,” an acoustic number, Roth summons
a cathartic brand of songwriting. “When I first had the idea for that song I had the woman at the time that I was trying to, like, pull into my life,” Roth said. “So I channel that like inner, beginning-of-love phase, you know, when you’re trying to court someone into your life, and you’re kind of willing to do whatever it takes.” Expounding on sound, I inquired about the albums that had the biggest impact on each member. Nirvana’s Nevermind was mentioned, as were others from Bon Iver, Aerosmith and The Band. The boys said all have seeped into Grizfolk’s sound — even Eriksson’s selection of ABBA’s Greatest Hits. Fusion of unlikely genres is a focus on their developing album. The process of making it was a test of faith for the band, who had to place its trust in recording studios and sound engineers as opposed to bedrooms. “It’s kind of like all over the place,” Roth said, regarding the album. “It’s hard to really put my finger on what it sounds like. It’ll sound like Grizfolk, but none of the songs really sound alike.” In their song “Vagabonds” on From the Spark, Roth sings about “running away from the little things.” I asked the vagabonds themselves what they were running away from. “It’s not about running away. It’s about like going to places where you don’t really know what’s going to be there; you don’t know what’s going to happen there,” Fritze said. “I think that’s a cool way of living your life because you’re in the moment, right there. You’re not like expecting anything. You don’t have the high expectations. If you don’t have any expectations, then hopefully everything will turn out good. I think that’s what it’s about — not about just like running away from something. It’s more of searching for something.” A few minutes later, around 30 devoted fans (mainly girls) trickled onto Legion’s open floor. Subtle gasps and fidgeting hands lined the crowd as the boys came out, one by one. After one tune, Grizfolk asked what the audience wanted to hear next. Someone said, “The Ripple,” and soon the band broke out into their first ever acoustic performance of the song. I watched the crowd sway as they sang. “Oh oh, my my, gotta get lost to get it right.”
WADE INTO NEW WATERS
DORSAL OPEN FOR YOU IF YOU WRITE FOR DAILY ARTS!!! E-mail adepollo@umich.edu and chloeliz@umich.edu for information on applying. Sea you soon!