CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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APPROPRIATIONS
Path forward for higher ed. funding unclear Universities see increase under Snyder, but express long-term concerns
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LSA sophomore Antoinette Wade portrays Ella Fitzgerald for the Black on Wax event hosted by Sigma Gamma Rho at the Michigan League on Monday.
Daily Staff Reporter
GOVERNMENT
Bill could remove limits on Mich. absentee voting First-time voters currently required to vote in person for elections ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
A bill proposed in the Michigan state legislature could make voting easier for University students.
Earlier this month, several state senators sponsored a bill that would allow first-time voters in the state of Michigan to vote by absentee ballot or mail. The bill has been sent to the Senate’s Committee on Elections and Government Reform for review. Currently, first-time voters in Michigan are required to vote in person unless disabled, older than 60 or temporarily residing overseas. Proponents of the new legislation said the current law presents
a problem for many University students, who are living in Ann Arbor during their first election and cannot return to their hometown to vote in person. Steve Bieda (D–Warren), a co-sponsor, said he hopes to encourage voter turnout by making voting more accessible. He said current legislation unfairly benefits the state’s Republicans because college students tend to be younger and more liberal, and are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates.
By JACK TURMAN
“Frankly, I think it’s a very partisan attempt to prevent people from voting,” he said. Bieda added that he is unsure if the committee, which is made up of four Republicans and one Democrat, will schedule a hearing for the bill. He said he predicts the bill will not receive a hearing. “This is one example that we’re trying to overcome on a useless law that doesn’t serve any purpose other than make it more See ABSENTEE, Page 3
Following statewide elections in which higher education was a point of debate, this article is the first in a series examining the changing landscape of higher education funding in Michigan and what those changes mean for four-year universities. When current Gov. Rick Snyder (R) assumed office in 2011, his administration cut 15 percent from higher education funding. Snyder then began a series of incremental increases to higher education for each subsequent year — a 3.1-percent raise in 2012, a 2.2-percent raise in 2013, a 6.1-percent raise in 2014 and a 2-percent raise in 2015 — though the final dollar amount still remains lower than it was when he took office. However, much before Snyder, under Republican and Democratic governors alike, higher education has seen both heavy fluctuations and a pattern of cuts. In interviews, state higher edu-
cation officials and legislators said past few years’ increases, are promising, but a long-term problem still remains. State economics Significant cuts to higher education started in the late 1970s and early 1980s due to a recession in Michigan, according to Stephen DesJardins, professor of education and public policy. DesJardins wrote “Michigan Public Higher Education: Recent Trends and Policy Considerations for the Coming Decade,” published in 2006. Under former Gov. James Blanchard (D), public universities saw an increase in state appropriations in the mid-1980s. According to DesJardins, Blanchard believed that a postsecondary education would stimulate both economic growth and development. After Blanchard finished his term as governor, former Gov. John Engler (R) assumed office in 1991, and the state started to struggle with funding higher education, though DesJardins noted that Engler still managed to increase student financial aid. At the conclusion of Engler’s years as governor, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) was elected in 2003. Granholm cut higher education funding to balance the state budget, continuing a downSee HIGHER ED, Page 3
TRANSPORTATION
ANN ARBOR
Committees debate Snyder’s road proposal
City Council talks more funding for police dept.
Michigan voters to consider 1 percent sales tax increase on May ballot By SAMANTHA WINTNER Daily Staff Reporter
In January, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) approved a plan to fund road repairs and other infrastructure upgrades in the state. But because the proposal must also receive approval from Michigan voters, both proponents and critics are already prepared to sway voters before the May election. Snyder’s plan, Proposal 1, has received mixed reviews from the state’s residents and businesses. Supporters say they are concerned with the poor condition of Michigan’s roads. However, others worry that increasing the state sales tax caters to special interests groups and will have a disproportionate effect on lower-income residents. Under the plan, a wholesale tax on motor fuels would replace the state sales tax on fuel, which currently provides funding for K-12 schools and local municipal governments. Revenue from that wholesale
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tax would be earmarked entirely for funding transportation and related infrastructure. Snyder’s proposal also includes a 1-percent increase in the state sales tax, from 6 to 7 percent, to replace the funding for schools, municipalities and other entities that would be lost with the elimination of the sales tax on fuel. Though the legislature passed the proposal in December, a sales tax change requires an amendment to the state constitution. Michigan constituents will vote on the proposal May 5. If passed, the legislature anticipates the restructuring will raise about $2 billion per year, according to an analysis by the Senate Fiscal Agency. Safe Roads Yes, the ballot committee in favor of Snyder’s proposal, has focused on the message that fixing the roads is an urgent matter of public safety. “Any of us who drive Michigan roads and bridges understand just how dangerous it’s become,” said Roger Martin, a spokesperson for the committee. “It’s dangerous for firefighters and ambulance drivers and dangerous for police officers and sheriffs.” See ROADS, Page 3
Meeting is first of several to address 2016, 2017 fiscal year budgets By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULUS Daily Staff Reporter RITA MORRIS/Daily
East Quad hosts it’s first Meatless Mondays menu, where Malibu veggie burgers replace traditional meat dishes at the Wild Fire station in the dining hall Monday.
East Quadrangle pioneers “Meatless Monday” event Initiative designed to promote human, planetary health By LINDSEY SCULLEN Daily Staff Reporter
Students searching for hot dogs in East Quad Residence Hall on Monday were headed for disappointment. Monday marked Michigan Dining’s first step toward joining “Meatless Monday” — a global movement started in 2003 at the John Hopkins
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Bloomberg School of Public Health. East Quad was the first to try it out — throughout the entire day, no meat was served at the dining hall. The initiative has reached 36 different countries and is rooted in the idea that decreasing the amount of meat eaten is good for the health of both humans and the planet. LSA sophomore Katherine Hamilton said she agrees that Meatless Monday is beneficial to health. “A lot of meat isn’t really made ethically or totally healthily and so I think giving up meat for a day a week is just a
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good idea in general,” she said. The Meatless Monday campaign’s website says going meatless at least once a week can make diners less likely to develop chronic conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. Buzz Cummings, head chef at East Quad, agrees that meat can increase these risks, and said he eats with health in mind. “I’ve tried to eat more fruits and vegetables because I was diagnosed with cancer myself,” Cummings said. “You can really satisfy someone’s diet with See MEAT, Page 3
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The Ann Arbor City Council convened Monday night to discuss the first part of the city budget for fiscal years 2016 and 2017. The meeting was the first round of discussions on the budget, and included comments from representatives of the courts, the fire department and the police department, as well as City Administrator Steve Powers. Tom Crawford, the city’s chief financial officer, said the city’s general fund has not yet recovered from the 2008 economic recession. “The general fund is still recovering from the downturn in a number of different ways and it’s still going to take us more time do that,” he said. Crawford noted that projections for the operating budget, which are based on both existing operations and staff requests, show there will be an adjusted net deficit of $1,815,978 in 2016 and of $2,550,605 in 2017. The See BUDGET, Page 3
NEWS...........................2 OPINION.......................4 ARTS...........................5
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News
2 — Tuesday, February 24, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles Professor Campus Profiles Voices
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers Before You Were Here
THURSDAY: Alumni Campus TwitterProfiles Clubs Talk
Sophomore pursues music dream
Who are your musical inspirations? The reason I started rapping was because of Nas. I heard his song “One Mic” when I was in fourth grade. I remember thinking, “Wow this is crazy, he’s spittin’ a lot of real talk.” His music
really appealed to me. As a kid I was a pretty shy person, and I realized it helped for me to let everything out by writing it down. Eventually that translated into music. You just released a mixtape. Could you tell me about that? It’s called “95 til Infinity.” It’s a five-song set. It’s pretty much all of the songs I thought that I needed to put out right now. It’s my first mixtape, and I’m excited to finally be able to put my work into one cohesive project. What is the best song you’ve released so far? Based on overall production I’d say “VIP.” and the numbers show
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CUT IT OUT
AKHIL MUNAGALA
LSA sophomore Akhil Munagala is a rising hip-hop musician from Northville, Mich. He has been rapping for five years and just released his first mixtape under the name Mocha. The five-track set is titled “95 til Infinity,” and the featured single “VIP” has more than 6,000 listens in its first month online. Akhil is on a pre-medical academic path and plans to major in neuroscience.
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Vampire times Dance WHAT: University of performance Wisconsin-Madison
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professor will discuss the Gothic imagery’s relationship to the rise of the Balkans, as well as its use in literature, music and film. WHO: Comparative Literature WHEN: Today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall
This blog talks about how Neil Patrick Harris did not succeed as an Oscar host. Williams discusses how most of the show attempted to ironize the racial disparities of the ceremony, but often the jokes were too celebratory and did not gain the laughs he aimed for.
WHAT: Chinese choreographers will perform as part of the Chinese Dance and Music Residency. WHO: School of Music, Theatre and Dance WHEN: Today at 7 p.m. WHERE:Residential College, Keene Theater
Discussion on Black History racial injustice Month WHAT: University Jeopardy professors will discuss
Lecture series WHAT: Arshad Desai, Cellular and Molecular Medicine prof. at the University of California San Diego will speak about centrioles. WHO: Biological Chemistry WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Medical Science Unit II - North Lecture Hall
the pursuit of justice and the challenges of this pursuit in the real world from a pragmatist, social democratic and critical race theory perspective. WHO: Department of Philosophy WHEN: Today from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall-3222
WHAT: The Trotter Multicultural Center will host its final Black History Month event. Students will play Jeopardy and enter raffles throughout the evening. WHO: Trotter Multicultural Center WHEN: Today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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Dentistry student Tabita Filimon makes paper cut-outs for a stop motion video in her sculpting class in the basement of East Quad on Monday.
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it — it’s definitely become much more popular than I expected it to. Especially since there was basically no marketing, I just put it up on social media. Me personally, though, I like my song “Til Infinity.” I feel like it’s more of a personal song, and the flow is cool. It’s more hip-hoppy and doesn’t sound mainstream. Why have you chosen to study medicine? I’ve always wanted to be a doctor. I was really into science as a kid. What really made me want to follow this path, though, is having seen so many people, especially in Detroit, that are suffering and get very little medical attention. -HANK SHIPMAN
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China and Taiwan conflict
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WHAT: Brown University prof. will discuss the civil conflict beteen China and Taiwan in 1930s and 1950s and its effects. WHO: Lieberthal- Rogel Center for Chinese Studies WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building
Decline of democracy WHAT: Larry Diamond of Stanford will discuss the question of whether democracy is in decline. WHO: Weiser Center WHEN: Today from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building l Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@
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Ten Wesleyan University students and two campus visitors were hospitalized after complications from drug use on Sunday, CNN reported Monday. Eleven hospitilizations were due to Molly and one due to alcohol.
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The Children of Yost, the student section for the Michigan hockey team, gives the Wolverines an advantage at home and an immense impact on each Michigan home game. >>FOR SPORTS, SEE PG. 8
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The Academy Awards scored its lowest ratings since 2009 based on preliminary estimates, USA Today reported Monday. There was a 16 percent drop in ratings, with 36.6 million viewers this year compared to last year’s 43.7 million.
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
Greek government prepares new list of reforms for bailout Officals plan for rescue loans amid collapsing economy
cials said. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was already facing dissent within his left-wing Syriza party over claims it is backtracking on its recent election-winning promises to ease budget cuts for the recessionbattered Greeks. Two officials linked to the government said the list will be sent to Brussels early Tuesday and be reviewed at a teleconference of the 19 eurozone finance ministers later in the
day. They spoke on condition of anonymity either because he wasn’t authorized to make comments or because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greece and bailout credi— Caught between its own tors have been in a standoff defiant campaign pledges since Prime Minister Alexand pressure from crediis Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza tors, Greece’s left-wing govparty won general elections ernment will deliver a list last month on a pledge to tear of reforms Tuesday to debt up bailout agreements and inspectors for final approval seek a massive write off of of extended rescue loans, offibailout debts, totaling 240 billion euros ($271 billion). But they reached a tentative agreement Friday to extend the country’s rescue loan program by four months, avoiding the risk of a Greek default and exit from the euro currency. The government official said reforms would focus on curbing tax evasion, corruption, smuggling and excesSudoku Syndication sive bureaucracy while also addressing poverty caused by a six-year recession. A Syriza official in Brussels said that “immediate priority” would be given to the settling of overdue debts, the protecEASY tion of people with mortgage arrears as well as the ending of foreclosures of first residencies. “Creditors will be skeptical. These are notoriously difficult reforms and, in the case of the latter, usually cost money,” said Megan Greene, chief economist at Manulife Asset Management. “It will be difficult for the Greek government to provide concrete measures for achieving these goals, and they will almost certainly be unable to achieve much before the next round of negotiations in June.” Tsipras is also facing pressure within his party. Several prominent Syriza members have publicly said the party should honor its © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only. puzzle by sudokusyndication.com LAYING ON THE BEACH. campaign promises.
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Distinguished prof. speaks on his contributions to science Tamas Gombosi on his personal journey through the solar system
by congratulating Gombosi for http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/
By SAMIHA MATIN For the Daily
Engineering Prof. Tamas Gombosi lectured on what he called his “personal journey through the solar system.” Gambosi lectured in Rackham Amphitheatre Monday upon receiving a named professorship in the Department of Engineering — the Konstantin I. Gringauz distinguished University Professor of Space Science. Gambosi directs of the Center for Space Environment Modeling and founded the University’s doctorate program in space and planetary physics and the master’s program in space engineering. Throughout his career, he made scientific contributions to the fields of planetary exploration and the physics of space and the planets. University President Mark Schlissel opened the lecture Generate and solve Sudoku, Super Sudoku and Godoku puzzles at sudokusyndication.com!
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AOSS Professor Tamas I. Gombosi gives a lecture detailing his life and research at Rackham Amphitheatre Monday.
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his dedication to teaching and research. “As a space physicist, Professor Gombosi has contributed significantly to space and planetary physics and in revolutionizing space weather research,” Schlissel said. “His accomplishments include developing the first time dependent model of terrestrial polar winds flowing from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere.” The son of Hungarian Holocaust survivors, Gombosi credited his sense of persistence to his family background. Gombosi earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from Loránd Eötvös University in Budapest in 1970, where he met space pioneer Konstantin Gringauz. Gringauz later became his mentor as Gombosi completed his postdoctoral research at the Space Research Institute in Moscow. While in Russia they studied the impacts of solar winds on the charged spheres of Venus. “I was just a kid from Hungary back then,” Gombosi said. “I stepped out of my comfort zone. Coming from Hungary, where this was no space program, to the Russian Space Research Institute, it
felt like heaven.” Considered an international diplomat in the world of science, he is also renowned for working with a diverse group of scientists from around the world. In 1980, he worked for the Soviet Union’s first major international planetary mission, the VEGA mission. Since joining the University faculty in 1987, Gombosi has worked on sending the Rosetta satellite to comet ChuryumovGerasimenko and developing software to monitor space weather. Still, Gombosi said he is most enthusiastic about teaching. “We have learned everything from our mentors,” Gombosi said. “The scientific community can only reach milestones if we too mentor our future generation students. We don’t carry out research for money though. You should only do it if you enjoy.” Dogacan Ozturk, a Ph.D. candidate in Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, said as an international student, he found Gombosi’s speech inspiring. “Attending this lecture really showed that your background didn’t matter if you have passion for it,” Ozturk said. “He’s a remarkable professor.”
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MEAT From Page 1
ROADS From Page 1
all the different fruits and vegetables that are out there. The whole movement has gotten pretty large in the last 15 years or so.” Michigan Dining also cited several sustainability reasons for taking this meatless step, including to reduce the University’s carbon footprint. The United Nations estimates that around one-fifth of man-made, greenhouse gas emissions come from the meat industry. A second reason is to reduce dining hall water usage. “Close to 2000 gallons of water are needed to produce a single pound of beef, where it only takes 40 gallons of water to produce a pound of vegetables,” Cummings said. Cummings mentioned a third benefit of going meatless: reducing Michigan’s fuel dependence. In the United States, it takes around 40 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce one calorie of feedlot beef while it takes only around 2.2 calories of fossil fuel to produce an equivalent amount of plant-based protein. In a press release, Michigan Dining said it elected East Quad as the pioneer for Meatless Monday in dining hall for two reasons. First, a proportion of the student community eating at East Quad has backed sustainability efforts in the past. Second, East Quad is located close to the MosherJordan and South Quad dining halls, providing meat eaters with nearby options if a meatless meal is unappealing. Though the day’s food options were entirely vegetarian, Cummings and his staff strove to create a menu that would appeal to all types of eaters. For the “burger and fries people,” for example, the kitchen staff concocted portobello sliders, which contained marinated grilled portobello mushrooms on a slider bun with a baby kale mix. “We try to make everything every day as fresh and appetizing as possible, but today we’re really going to try to turn it up so we can get nothing but positive comments,because we’d like to keep this going,” Cummings said. Yet, for some students, like Kinesiology freshman Ryan Armbruster, the accommodations were not enough. “I’m paying for this food and I don’t think it should be restricted to certain things. They have different stations in there — it works well the way it is,” he said. “They have the vegan station, the vegetarian station and things like that. It’s not like I’m completely condemning it. I’m still going to eat there today.” East Quad’s number of student customers did go down today. At both breakfast and lunch the dining hall saw a decrease in about 150 students from a normal day’s dining numbers. Still, Cummings has hope. “Will we do it again? I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think it was a total bust.” Alongside the negative feedback posters hanging on the wall outside East Quad’s dining hall — which included Armbruster’s comments — there were also positive feedback postings. Some comments included, “It’s better for human and environmental health,” and “actually v. tasty options!” Cummings said the staff and administration will review the positive and negative feedback before deciding whether Meatless Monday will continue. If feedback is positive, he said he hopes this is an initiative they can repeat once a month, or maybe even once a week.
Martin also said Michigan currently spends less per capita on infrastructure than most other states. The Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals, one of several committees formed in opposition to Snyder’s plan, agrees that Michigan roads are in a state of disrepair. However, Randall Thompson, a spokesperson for the group, said the committee does not believe Snyder’s current proposal is the right remedy. Thompson said the group opposes Proposal 1. He said $1.2 billion of the $2 billion raised by the proposal would go toward road funding, with the remaining 40 percent funneled toward other projects. He said the Snyder administration claimed it would use that remaining 40 percent for an income tax credit as well as to fund education, public transportation and municipalities. However, Thompson said the Snyder administration had to give out “sweetheart deals” to these interests so that the proposal would have enough support to pass in May. “(The administration’s) support of Proposal 2015-1 requires $700 million of other investments to special interests in order for us to fix our roads,” Thompson said. “We believe
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BUDGET From Page 1 bulk of these deficits, he added, are caused by staff compensation. Ann Arbor Police Chief John Seto discussed a proposed budget expansion for the police department. According to the city’s budget impact analysis, the police department is requesting $290,667 in additional funds for 2016 and an additional $132,867 for fiscal year 2017. The request includes money for replacements of police armor for 70 police officers, which will cost a total of $49,000. Tasers for 25 officers are also included in the budget projection. Additionally, Seto noted that by June 30, 2017, 13 of the department’s 25 supervisors will be up for retirement and therefore promotions will need to be made. The staffing adjustments are estimated to cost $35,000. Larry Collins, chief of the Ann Arbor Fire Department, said the department is asking for $200,666 in additional monies for 2016 and $103,202 in 2017. The additional money would cover two four-wheel drive emergency staff vehicles for assistant fire chiefs. Until now, stipends allowed assistant fire chiefs to use their own vehicles for transportation in cases of emergency. An important point for both Seto and Collins was accrediting their departments by becoming members of professional organizations. Seto said the Ann Arbor Police Department was previously a member of the Commis-
ABSENTEE From Page 1 difficult for people to vote, to restrict people from voting,” Bieda said. Republic committee members David Robertson (R– Grand Blanc), Patrick Colbeck (R–Canton), Judy Emmons (R–Sheridan) and Mike Shirkey (R–Clarklake) could not be reached for comment. Jesse Buchsbaum, chair of Voice Your Vote, a nonpartisan Central Student Government initiative aimed at engaging students in politics, said ease in voting is particularly important for student voters. “Because students have so much going on in their lives all the time, students are most likely to vote if the process is very, very easy for them,” he said. To curb the potential aversion students may feel toward toward both registering and going out to vote, Voice Your Vote aims to help students along and make the process as easy as possible. Along with
News that Michigan roads are a problem — but we shouldn’t have to pay out $700 million to special interests to have the opportunity to fix the roads.” Martin said the $700 million figure is mostly a reallocation of funds that these groups already received from the sales tax on fuel, but will now come from the state sales tax revenue. Martin said the proposal increases the state government’s accountability and creates a fairer taxation structure for taxpayers. “Right now, the 6-percent state sales tax on gasoline doesn’t go to fix roads and bridges,” Martin said. “The politicians in Lansing can basically spend that money wherever they want, and that’s wrong. We shouldn’t be paying taxes on gas that aren’t used to fix the roads and bridges.” Martin said Proposal 1 would guarantee all tax revenue on the proposed new (wholesale) fuel tax would go to road funding. The groups also disagree on the potential effects of a hike in the sales tax for consumers. Thompson said such an increase would make it more difficult for many Michigan taxpayers to afford their taxes. He said the tax increase would strongly affect low-income taxpayers because it would take a larger chunk out of their monthly budgets than it would for higher income residents. These types of taxes are often
sion for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) but left in 2003. He now wants the department to regain its membership, which is estimated to cost a one-time fee of $14,000. “We will be held to standards that are nationally accepted,” Seto said. “Much like I speak about many times being on the same page on training policies with local departments, I feel it’s just as important to have our standards on training and policies on the national level as well. Receiving that accreditation will give us that process and that system.” He added that he would like to make one of the police officers or detectives a lieutenant to take on the process of achieving accreditation. Expressing a similar sentiment, Collins said he wants the Ann Arbor Fire Department to become a member of the Center for Public Safety Excellence. “It’s all about promoting excellence and encouraging quality services to the community,” Collins said. “It lets us a show you in a host of different ways what our service package is and how we are achieving that service package for the dollars that are invested.” Collins noted he would like to hire a part-time intern for three years rather than relocating a fire department employee for the job of moving through the accreditation process. According to the budget, the intern would cost $72,000 for both fiscal years. The next hearing on the budget process is set for March 9. The Council will formally consider the budget May 18.
educating students on both issues and candidates during election years, Voice Your Vote also encourages students to register by going door-to-door in residence halls and holding booths in the Diag. Despite the group’s efforts to register and educate voters, Buchsbaum said efforts are still somewhat hindered by current law. He said the bill’s passage would have mixed results for students on campus because it would only help students registered to vote in Michigan. Though the legislation would allow Michigan residents to vote for the first time while remaining in Ann Arbor, the bill would have no effect on out-of-state students, as their home state legislature may not allow first-time absentee voting. “Most states don’t have laws where first time voters can vote absentee; you have to vote in person,” Buchsbaum said. “So, because many students at Michigan are still from outof-state, it may cause a decent amount of confusion.”
termed regressive taxes. Opposition groups have said the proposal could have a net impact of costing taxpayers $2 billion per year. “A guy making a million dollars a year — is he really going to miss 1-percent sales tax? No, because he can already meet his basic needs,” Thompson said. “But to a single mom or a college student, 1-percent sales tax? That’s an additional 16.7 percent (in tax) on every single thing you purchase.” Martin argued it would be very difficult to calculate the cost to taxpayers of this proposal. Whether a taxpayer would see a net gain or a net loss if Proposal 1 were enacted would depend on how much they drive, how much fuel they buy and how much they spend on sales-taxable items, he said. “The working poor definitely get a tax cut here,” Martin added. “There’s a tax cut in this for the working poor: an income tax credit that was abolished years ago is restored under this proposal.” Donald Grimes, senior research associate at the University’s Institute for Research on Labor, Employment and the Economy, said in an e-mail interview Michigan residents would see benefits from the proposal. “The residents will have a better driving experience and less money spent on vehicle repairs,” he said. Grimes also said the proposal
HIGHER ED From Page 1 ward path. The main impact of this trend can be viewed in the balance between tuition and state appropriations in University budgets. In the 1970s, the state used to pay approximately 75 percent of public universities’ operations, while the universities’ tuition and fees would pay for the rest, said Mark Burnham, Michigan State University’s vice president for governmental affairs. However, Burnham said the trend has now reversed, and MSU’s funding from the state is now below 22 percent. This situation is similar at the University, as 71.2 percent of the University’s budget came from tuition and fees for the 2015 fiscal year, according to the University’s Funding Snapshot. The state contributed 16.4 percent of the University’s budget this year. These state appropriations are a continuation of a downward trend, as state appropriations were around 59 percent in 1978, but fell to 32 percent in 2002, according to DesJardins’s research. “The amount of state support has eroded dramatically,” Burnham said. In an interview last month, Cynthia Wilbanks, the University’s vice president for government relations, said the state’s economic conditions were challenging from 2002 to 2011, which was when Granholm held’s the governor’s office. She said she would argue that at times, areas identified as a priority for gubernatorial administrations have to be abandoned based on factors such as poor economic conditions. “I would make the case that each governor has to have their set of priorities and wants to hold themselves to those priorities unless or until other factors that they simply can not control really force decisions that may not be their favorite thing to do,” Wilbanks said. During Granholm’s early years as governor, about 26 percent of the population in the age range 25 to 34 in Michigan received a bachelor’s degree or higher, which was below the national average of 28 percent for the same age range. However, DesJardins wrote this phenomenon should not have been surprising because many high school graduates went to manufacturing jobs, which provided a high standard of living compared to jobs in other states not requiring a college degree. “The days of (manufacturing jobs) being a viable option are virtually gone, as the auto industry continues to lose market share to foreign competition, with it the jobs that provided an avenue to the middle class for a generation (or more) of Michigan’s citizens,”
Tuesday, February 24, 2015 — 3 will create jobs in the state due to increased construction. He said improving the state’s roads would reduce the cost of transportation and consequently the cost of doing business in Michigan, encouraging job creation. “The taxpayers will be getting something for their money when the money is spent on roads even if they are not one of the people who will benefit from the additional jobs,” Grimes said. The University’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy released a report Monday surveying Michigan local leaders’ views on road conditions and road funding in the state. As part of the Michigan Public Policy Survey, CLOSUP surveyed 1,356 local government leaders and found that while road conditions vary across Michigan, there is widespread agreement among those leaders that it would take a major increase in state funding to simply maintain current road conditions. Survey respondents largely said improving roads would require an overhaul of state funding. CLOSUP found that 71 percent of local officials say they are mostly or only able to focus on short-term fixes, like filling potholes, as opposed to practicing long-term management. “Overall, 65 percent of local leaders say they would have significant problems improving roads and bridges within their jurisdictions if the state
does not significantly increase road funding,” a release on the survey said. “In fact, a majority (53 percent) say it would be a significant problem just to maintain their roads if the state does not significantly increase funding.” Safe Roads Yes and the Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals have received support from a variety of demographics and from both Democrats and Republicans. Safe Roads Yes has a diverse membership, including school districts, police officers, county sheriff departments, business organizations and local units of government, Martin said. As of Feb. 10, the committee had reported contributions of $3.2 million in a campaign finance statement, including support from the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, as well as several other infrastructure and transportation-related groups. In contrast, The Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Groups said they rely on small-denomination checks from residents across the state. Both Martin and Thompson said their groups aim to turn out voters to the polls. “We’ve got to have average citizens, got to have college students, families and so on that get on board and make sure that their friends, loved ones, coworkers and fellow students vote,” Thompson said.
DesJardins wrote. Along with drawing high school students straight to the workforce, the automotive industry also affected higher education funding. Because the “Big Three” automakers — Ford, General Motors and Chrysler — provided approximately 80 percent of the cars in the world market in 1950, the state of Michigan’s tax base was heavily dependent on the automotive industry, according to DesJardins. As time progressed, the Detroit automobile industry’s share of the world market fell below 25 percent and Michigan’s tax revenue suffered. As a result, he wrote, higher education funding was targeted and cut. Wilbanks said economic activity clearly affects higher education funding. “As much as higher education support comes from the state’s General Fund, and the General Fund is almost entirely from revenues that are based on economic activity, when the economic activity of the state is either declining or anemic, the opportunity to fund at a high level, some state priorities is really the $64,000 question,” she said. Echoing the trends observed by DesJardins, in an interview earlier this month, state Rep. Adam Zemke (D–Ann Arbor) emphasized that higher education cuts aren’t exclusive to the Snyder administration. He said past legislators and governors are also to blame for the common trend of cutting higher education. “The higher education funding problems, meaning the lack of adequate funding, is an issue that has transcended gubernatorial administrations,” Zemke said. Long-term planning Most recently, over the decade from 2004 to 2014, the state’s support for higher education decreased by 29 percent, according to the think tank the Center for Michigan. John Austin, president of the State Board of Education, said this decrease amounts to approximately $800 million. Along with this data, the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs recently released an annual report which revealed Michigan as the worst state in the country in regards to the state spending money for financial aid over the decade from 2003 to 2013. In fiscal 2003, the state spent $218.185 million on college scholarships. Fast forward 10 years and the state spent $92.674 million in the fiscal 2013, which represents a $125.511 million decrease. Austin said he recognized the increases made to higher education funding the past few years, but added that it will be hard to recover from the series of cuts. “It’s beginning to get some
attention, but it’s been severely damaged and has a long way to go before we’re arriving at enough aid to reverse some of the damage and support for institutions,” Austin said. “The damage has been done.” Similar to Austin’s viewpoint, Zemke said the increases to higher education are a positive sign, but clarified that these increases won’t make a big impact in the long run. Zemke is the vice chair of the House’s education committee. “I’m glad that it’s an increase, but I think that we’re still going to run into the same problem that we’ve been running into,” Zemke said, referencing a lack of long-term planning. Burnham said MSU cuts approximately $110 million per year on a recurring basis due to cuts. Burnham added that these cuts led to the termination of more than 40 academic programs at MSU, which had long-term impacts beyond an individual year. “If we’re going to continue to be a competitive institution that provides a quality education that makes students who graduate here world class, competitive anywhere in the world, then you have to have the faculty and facilities that are needed to do that,” Burnham said. At the University, cuts were similar. In response to the 2011 decrease in funding, several academic programs, including the Center for Ethics in Public Life, were closed. In recent years, the University has launched several cost-cutting initiatives such as strategic sourcing — purchasing supplies and equipment in bulk — and the Administrative Services Transformation Project, which included an initiative to congregate some support staff in a shared service center. The University has also increased its development efforts to compensate for smaller state appropriations. The current campaign, Victors for Michigan, is aiming to raise $4 billion over the next several years. Austin said the Snyder administration’s small increases aren’t innovative and did not require long-term planning for the future. “There is no strategy,” he said. “It’s just some incremental change up or down of what we’ve already done.” In an e-mail interview, Dave Murray, Snyder’s deputy press secretary, refuted the idea that Snyder doesn’t have a long-term plan for maintaining higher education funding. “Gov. Snyder’s goal is to increase the state’s investment in higher education, and to make sure a college education is within reach for all Michiganders,” Murray wrote. “The governor’s goal is for 60 percent of residents to hold a high-quality degree or other credential by 2025.”
Opinion
4 — Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com JENNIFER CALFAS EDITOR IN CHIEF
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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.
FROM THE DAILY
Keep guns off campus
Concealed weapons are not the solution to sexual assault
W
ith the number of reported sexual assaults rising on college campuses, gun lobbyists have started suggesting that the legalization of carrying concealed weapons on college campuses would make female students safer. This year, lawmakers in 10 states pushed bills through their legislatures that would allow concealed carry on their state’s college campuses. While advocates for this reform argue it is for the benefit of sexual assault survivors, there seems to be political motivation behind their reasoning. It appears that the pro-gun lobby is now utilizing the issue of sexual assault to validate concealed carry. However, this view overlooks the real issues surrounding sexual assault on college campuses and should absolutely not be implemented. Last month, Florida State Rep. Dennis K. Baxley (R–Ocala) stated, “If you’ve got a person that’s raped because you wouldn’t let them carry a firearm to defend themselves, I think you’re responsible.” This is a strong statement, as it suggests that the use of violence is more a “responsibility” of the victim than an issue of the offender. This solution, advocated by Baxley, also forces women to be responsible in stopping sexual assault, as opposed to society as a whole. The Florida bill went on to pass out of subcommittee and is currently on the floor of the state House of Representatives. In Nevada, Assemblywoman Michele Fiore (R), who is sponsoring a similar bill in the Nevada House of Representatives, added to Baxley’s tone, stating in an interview with The New York Times, “If these young, hot little girls on campus have a firearm, I wonder how many men will want to assault them.” Making the assumption that these “young, hot little girls” should have to assume the jobs of the law enforcement officials is not addressing the rise of sexual assault. It also isn’t going to decrease the risk of violence on college campuses. Additionally, this assumption that the current problem with sexual assault on college campuses is merely happenstance of a sexually charged individual on the streets attacking a woman is false. What is true, according to a study published by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2007, is that 19 percent of women in college were survivors of sexual assault or an attempted sexual assault at some point in their college career. Furthermore, about 85 to 90 percent of these assaults occur by someone known to the victim. John Foubert, president of One in Four, an educational service on college sexual assault and professor at Oklahoma State University, offered a different voice to the debate. Foubert, a professor in a state with a college concealed carry bill currently under review, contends
that guns can’t solve the problem: “If you have a rape situation, usually it starts with some sort of consensual behavior, and by the time it switches to nonconsensual, it would be nearly impossible to run for a gun.” This is not a far-fetched theory, considering that the rate at which survivors of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault knew their assailant. The DOJ study found that, when described by the survivors, the assailant was most commonly a classmate, friend, boyfriend, ex-boyfriend or acquaintance. These incidents are reported to have occurred mainly in two locations: 60 percent of the time in one of the two party’s private domains and 10 percent of the time in a fraternity house. It would be rather difficult, as a person in danger, to know exactly when and how to properly defend oneself in such situations. There is a complete lack of practical applicability with these bills, especially in Michigan. Considering the age to legally carry a concealed weapon is 21 in the state, and most of these “hot, young” and “drug and alcohol abusing” college students that these advocates of the bill are describing are between the ages of 18 and 21, it would be illegal under state law for these individuals to purchase handguns from licensed dealers. These bills being pushed appear to be either flawed attempts to fix the problem of sexual assault on college campuses or a rather thinly veiled facade for what these lobbyists are really promoting: legalizing weapon carrying. The issue of sexual assault on college campuses is one that is both sensitive in nature and hotly debated in society. For legislation to be debated and passed that puts the onus on the women who attend these institutions glosses over the real issues that exist in society. Everything should be done to drastically reduce the rate of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States, but concealed carry on campus is not the answer we so desperately need.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS
Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
BEN KELLER | VIEWPOINT
Keeping church and state separate
For as long as there have been inhabitants of the American continent, multiple sets of religious and moral codes have determined how its populations lived. Whether it be the nature-based religions of Native Americans or the “newer” faith of Christianity brought by European settlers, institutions of distinct beliefs have guided the vast majority of ethnic and social groups that have existed on this land. There’s little doubt that religion has had a heavy influence on our society, and its role in the formation of the United States is strikingly clear in our founding documents. However, there’s considerable debate regarding religion’s role in our government, and how lawmakers have, and continue to, inject their faiths into policy matters. A recent piece in The New York Times by columnist Frank Bruni highlights attempts by politicians, particularly conservatives, to justify their agendas with reference to personal faith. These instances aren’t reserved for those on the right wing, either. As Bruni points out, during the 2008 presidential campaign, thenSenator Barack Obama pointed to his faith for the reason he did not support the legality of same-sex marriages. The fact is, since even the days before the American Revolution until the present, government officials have defended actions and proposed new laws based off of the religious code that they adhere to. This isn’t the correct path to sound administration. Rather, this form of governing results in baseless legislation lacking any real-world evidence and misconstrues the very nature of our founding. I want to state that I am a religious man,
myself. I do not harbor any ill will toward any set of faiths nor those who openly practice their beliefs. However, as a citizen, I do not subscribe to blurring the boundaries of religion and government. Were our founders religious? Yes. Did they take certain values of their religion — equality, justice, freedom — and incorporate them into our government? Yes. Did they envision a nation where the government enacted laws with the guidance and approval of a higher being? Unequivocally no. James Madison, a key contributor to some of the most important decisions establishing the United States as a nation, was once quoted saying, “the civil government functions with complete success by the total separation of the Church from the State.” It should come as no surprise that the First Amendment accentuates this fact: the state cannot establish a religion, but it cannot impede the free exercise of one, either. In his piece, Bruni quotes former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as saying America had abandoned its identity as a “God-centered nation that understands that our laws do not come from man, they come from God.” While Mr. Huckabee may truly believe that, he seems to be forgetting that even our founders did not believe in divinely inspired legislation. Moreover, it is important to note that not all of our current lawmakers believe in Christianity like Mr. Huckabee, let alone God. When we legislate based on morality, issues get distorted to focusing on aspects of life that one can debate ad nauseam. For instance, if I propose a law to you and base it off of a religious teaching in which you don’t believe, then there
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
is no room for debate or compromise. There is no historical precedent to cite, no facts or figures to corroborate that type of theory. Religious beliefs can’t be proven with secular evidence — that is the point of faith. However, this type of argument is continually used for issues ranging from marijuana legalization to gay
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Mr. Bruni states so accurately, “Politicians’ religions … should be a source of their strength and of their empathy, not of their agendas.” I love practicing my faith, and I love participating in my government. Let’s keep those two actions separate. Ben Keller is an LSA freshman.
The names they carry
or the last two years, there has been something greatly bothering me about my college education. As excited as I am to feel the pride in holding a college degree in my hands, I have to admit some apprehension over a few words that will appear on my diploma: Gerald JAMES R. Ford School of BRENNAN Public Policy. On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford granted a full pardon to former President Richard Nixon, one of the most pernicious criminals in recent history. Ford was widely castigated across the country for his decision, with questions arising about Ford’s motivations, his competence and the legitimacy of the Oval Office. Ford made a tough call, and whether his choice was right or wrong is highly questionable. Were one to study public policy at Michigan, it sure wouldn’t seem that way. Today, the Ford School serves as a permanent memorial to a largely misunderstood period of history. The school’s halls are adorned with photos of Ford’s life, a large portrait of the former president and commemorative posters of the school’s renaming and groundbreaking. According to Paul Courant, public policy professor and former director of the Ford School’s predecessor, the Institute of Public Policy Studies, there was little resistance to permanently memorializing Ford despite his rocky decision-making. “Almost everybody, by the time we named the school, had come around to the view that actually pardoning Nixon was the right thing to have done,” Prof. Courant told me. “I didn’t detect any unhappiness about it within the faculty or students.” Books about Ford paint him as a genuinely decent man committed to public service, while his own writing bleeds with a humility that’s hard not to admire. He would have been the first to admit that he was not perfect, nor was his decision-making. But herein
T
marriage to abortion. I believe in God. I do not believe in a government derived from God. Seldom is there a place for religion in politics, and to try and use religion to advocate for particular measures politicizes a part of life that should remain above the jungle that is the current state of American politics. As
lies the problem with the Ford School: memorials aren’t there to spark debate or respect nuance. As Adam Gopnik writes in The New Yorker, “The memorials’ end is to sacralize their subject in a way that shames anyone who contests its centrality — to build in a way that makes contention come at an extremely high price in social discomfort and disapproval.” For Gerald Ford, the unquestioned orthodoxy is simple. As Susan Collins, Dean of the Public Policy School, told me, “There is increasingly a view in retrospect that he did the right thing even among people who strongly disagreed with him … the idea (was) that in order to heal the country, it was more important to move forward and focus on other topics instead of focusing on the travesty of what Richard Nixon had done.” There is little doubt that Ford made the pardon with good intentions, but it being the “right thing to do” is far from settled. Looking at the way executive immunity has grown since Watergate, it becomes increasingly difficult to view Ford’s decision positively. As Glenn Greenwald argues in his book “With Liberty and Justice for Some,” the same reasoning behind the Nixon pardon has excused endless high-level law breaking from Reagan to Clinton to Bush to Obama. Ford created a precedent where the prosecution of executive officials would “tear the country apart.” This argument that America needs to “look forward and not backward” and avoid “reopening old wounds” is exactly why Bushera officials have never been prosecuted for torture and warrantless spying. In both situations, the assumption is that the American people are too sensitive or too vindictive to see presidents treated like any other criminal. I don’t know what these platitudes about the country being “torn apart” are supposed to mean, but if America can survive a civil war and the assassination of presidents, it can survive Richard Nixon and Dick Cheney facing trial. Ford let Nixon go with the stroke of his pen, but his legacy is the reason Cheney and others will never face justice. In 1974, when asked about writing an executive code of ethics, Ford responded, “The code of
ethics that will be followed will be the example that I set.” To be fair, Gerald Ford is not the only questionable person memorialized at Michigan. Sam Zell filled the Chicago Tribune’s leadership with philandering drunks who drove the company to bankruptcy, while Alfred Taubman is a convicted felon. Weill Hall, the Ford School’s home, as well as the Joan and Sanford Weill Deanship, are both named in honor of an investment banker dubbed “The Shatterer of GlassSteagall.” This phenomenon is not limited to Michigan; plenty of campuses are dotted with schools, buildings and programs named for powerful people with shady pasts. To their credit, both Collins and Courant welcomed critical inquiry into Ford’s legacy. Dean Collins expressed her desire to hold events debating the Ford presidency, especially the pardon of Nixon, and wished I had voiced my concerns sooner. While I appreciate the open-mindedness, an occasional panel discussion will be long outlasted and overshadowed by the sheer size and permanence of the Ford School itself. The public policy school is not about to change its name, nor are any of these other institutions in question. But shouldn’t there be more debate on who deserves to have their name adorn our University? Shouldn’t policy schools scrutinize presidents, not deify them? Shouldn’t we be worried about distorting history? The day that Ford was to pardon Nixon, Jerald terHorst, Ford’s press secretary and longtime friend, handed in his letter of resignation. Writing to the president, terHorst said: “I cannot in good conscience support your decision to pardon former President Nixon … Try as I can, it is impossible to conclude that the former President is more deserving of mercy than persons of lesser station in life whose offenses have had far less effect on our national wellbeing.” It wouldn’t be much, but along with the statue and photos of Ford, maybe terHorst’s letter deserves a place in my school, too. —James Brennan can be reached at jmbthree@umich.edu
The negative that prevails
he First Amendment has offered us many liberties to express our voices without hindrance. However, with such a broad freedom, we cannot expect that everyone will always use this privilege in the wisest way. There are instances each day when we may — purposely or KAREN HUA unintentionally — abuse our free speech rights for ill over advantage. Our words are precise, and they have power to inflict pain. However, this isn’t something wrong with the amendment or wrong with free presses that do not censor voices. Rather, the culprit lies in the individuals who present the harmful or offensive perspectives. Especially with the onset of the digital age, the reader experience has extended to deeper dimensions. Though we’re separated by individual screens, the Internet has created an expansive community of consumers. Before online commenting culture, article authors and media creators remained elusive and aloof from us as consumers. Now, we’re able to interact directly with content producers and share our thoughts with fellow viewers — and more than ever before, we have a larger, diversified platform to megaphone our pedestrian ideas. Our voices are louder and more free than ever. As a result, “new media” has emerged, where we can respond to articles and share our thoughts through personal channels, like blogs or “vlogs” (video-logs). The boundaries between content creator and consumer have blurred — anyone, regardless of education or other demographics, can add input. The inclusion of more voices may illuminate some especially important insight from common citizens, but it also comes with the potential for creators to offend parties and receive harsh opposition. In fact,
when our bodies are physically hidden behind a screen and our identities can be obscured by an online pseudonym, we may feel more audacious and sound more brash than we would in real life. This all being said, as both content creator and consumer now, we have developed a natural tendency to focus on the negative. In the vast body of opinions on the World Wide Web, in the wealth of knowledge on the online abyss — we somehow manage to selectively identify the offensive and the harmful — and focus our energies there. On the one hand, from the content creator lens — personally, as both a student journalist and artist — upon initial reaction, one negative comment on my work overshadows the array of other comments I may receive. On the other hand, as a member of the Internet consumer community, when I scroll through social media feeds or skim newspaper front pages, I subconsciously click on headlines of devastation or revulsion first. I’m subconsciously drawn to stories of turmoil and corruption, or opinions that strike a chord of alarm or even disgust. Articles are stories: to us as readers, they are nothing important or interesting if not defined by conflict. We grow too quickly bored by a lack of disruption in the news. The media represents our best understanding of the norm — and because the news more often than not reports the negative, our understanding of “normal” has skewed toward pejorative. In the most prominent examples: from an outof-state perspective, Detroit is often portrayed in terms of crime and economic deterioration; to westerners uninformed on the Middle East, the area as a whole is generalized with strife and turmoil; the prevalence of female victimization stories have elevated male perpetrator statistics to feel higher than they actually are. In these instances, when a marginal representation of the whole picture dominates our understandings, we fail to see the nuanced
dimensions behind each subject. We fail to see the improving parts of Detroit vibrant with history and culture; we may categorize one race or religion hatefully based on atrocities committed by a fraction of them; we may oversimplify a gender based on exaggerated fears of all men. When we are immersed in news of global warfare and national corruption — with news of mundane communal peace or human righteousness rarely mentioned on national scales — we become accustomed to remembering and paying attention to the negative most. In some inexplicably wicked way, we are excited by the negative (widespread danger, the ignorance or deviance of others) gives us emotional stimulation to incite discussion and collective effect. However, we have to remember that they’re not representative of the whole. Personally, as a writer, it’s important to remember that one piece of negativity isn’t representative of all the consumers of my content. We need to stop allowing the negative to prevail, or else we will only impart this affinity for negativity onto others, ingraining it deeper into our peers and our future generations just as it has been instilled in us. We’re a new media culture with a vast interactive community. It has become our duty to do more than consume idly now that we have the ability to both create and comment. We’ve been granted immense liberties to speak as freely as we wish. So in return, we must use our free speech privileges to share articles of positivity and poignancy just as much as articles we comment hate upon. To form a complete and balanced view of any subject, the negative information presented must be coupled with the good. We must read enlightening responses along with the articles we spite. Along with disagreement we input on articles we dislike, we must also respond with positive comments on opinions we find insightful. —Karen Hua can be reached at khua@umich.edu
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, February 24, 2015 — 5
Alaskans pass legalization of marijuana After 40 years, voter initiative passes with 52 to 48 percent vote Alaska (AP) — Smoking, growing and possessing marijuana becomes legal in America’s wildest state Tuesday, thanks to a voter initiative aimed at clearing away 40 years of conf licting laws and court rulings. Making Alaska the third state to legalize recreational marijuana was the goal of a coalition including libertarians, rugged individualists and small-government Republicans who prize the privacy rights enshrined in the state’s constitution. But when they voted 52-48 percent last November to legalize marijuana use by adults in private places, they left many of the details to lawmakers and regulators to sort out. Meanwhile, Alaska Native leaders worry that legalization will bring new temptations to communities already confronting high rates of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and suicide. “When they start depending on smoking marijuana, I don’t know how far they’d go to get the funds they need to support it, to support themselves,” said Edward Nick, council member in Manokotak, a remote village of 400 that is predominantly Yup’ik Eskimo. Both alcohol and drug use are prohibited in Nick’s village 350 miles southwest of Anchorage, even inside the privacy of villagers’ homes. But Nick fears that the ini-
tiative, in combination with a 1975 state Supreme Court decision that legalized marijuana use inside homes — could open doors to drug abuse. Initiative backers promised Native leaders that communities could still have local control under certain conditions. Alaska law gives every community the option to regulate alcohol locally. From northern Barrow to Klawock, 1,291 miles away in southeast Alaska, 108 communities impose local limits on alcohol, and 33 of them ban it altogether. But the initiative did not provide clear opt-out language for tribal councils and other smaller communities, forcing each one to figure out how to proceed Tuesday. November’s initiative also bans smoking in public, but didn’t define what that means, and lawmakers left the question to the alcohol regulatory board, which planned to meet early Tuesday to discuss an emergency response. In Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, officials tried and failed in December to ban a new commercial marijuana industry. But Police Chief Mark Mew said his officers will be strictly enforcing the public smoking ban. He even warned people against smoking on their porches if they live next to a park. Other officials are still discussing a proposed cultivation ban for the wild Kenai Peninsula. But far to the north, in North Pole, smoking outdoors on private property will be OK as long as it doesn’t create a nuisance, officials there said.
JEFF ROBERSON/AP
FILE - In this Aug. 18, 2014, file photo, Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a news conference in St. Louis County, Mo. Crump, the high-profile attorney for the family of a black teenager killed by an officer in Ferguson, Missouri, says he’s representing the parents of an unarmed Mexican man who was shot to death by police this month in Washington state. Crump told The Associated Press he’s meeting with Antonio Zambrano-Montes’ parents Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, in Pasco, Wash.
Ferguson lawyer to represent family of slain Mexican man Video of shooting sparks controversy similar to Ferguson
PASCO, Wash. (AP) — The high-profile attorney who represented the family of a black teenager killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, says he’ll represent the parents of an unarmed Mexican man who was shot to death by officers this month in Washington state. The Feb. 10 killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes — captured on video by a witness — has sparked protests and calls for a federal investigation. On Monday, Benjamin Crump told The Associated Press that the family is worried about the fairness of an investigation. Authorities say Zambrano-
Montes, a 35-year-old Mexican immigrant and former orchard worker, was throwing rocks at officers. They say a stun gun failed to subdue him. “At the heart of the matter is what’s going on with what we see on that video — is it appropriate or not?” said the Florida-based Crump, who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. Zambrano-Montes’ family is worried about whether the case will be investigated fairly because of “what happened in Ferguson,” Crump said. “The No. 1 thing they said is, ‘We don’t want them to say that the police acted appropriately,’” he told the AP. In a video recording by Dario Infante, 21, of Pasco, five “pops” are audible, and Zambrano-Montes can be seen running away,
pursued by three officers. As the officers draw closer, he stops, turns around and faces them. Multiple “pops” are heard, and the man falls to the ground. The Franklin County coroner has ordered an inquest into the death, which is being reviewed by a regional task force and being monitored by federal authorities. Felix Vargas, head of the Pasco Hispanic rights group Consejo Latino, said a Seattle-based Justice Department official met with his group Sunday. The official said meetings are planned this week with local authorities, Vargas said. Pasco is a fast-growing agricultural city of 68,000, where more than half the residents are Hispanic but few are members of the police force or the power structure The killing was the fourth by
Pasco police in less than a year and has led to protests. Officers were exonerated after similar investigations in the first three cases. Critics in the latest case say the officers should have used less than lethal force to subdue Zambrano-Montes. Police said officers felt threatened by Zambrano-Montes. He was arrested last year for assault after throwing objects at Pasco officers and trying to grab an officer’s pistol, court records show. Authorities have said Zambrano-Montes was not armed with a gun or knife when he was killed. Whether he had a rock in his hand when he was shot is still under investigation. Two of the officers involved were white, and the other Hispanic. All three opened fire, though the number of shots has not been disclosed.
Slump in Dow Jones stock affects market Stocks and crude oils prices fluctuated throughout last week
CHRIS TILLEY/AP
Morris Bounds Sr. pauses while talking Monday, Feb. 23, 2015, in Ansted, W.Va., about a train derailment that destroyed his home near Mount Carbon, W.Va. Bounds said he is thankful to be alive after fleeing his home seconds before it was destroyed.
In Ansted, derailed train crashes into man’s home Residents recount surviving the dangerous encounter ANSTED, W.Va. (AP) — Morris Bounds Sr. wanted to make sure his home was tidy when his wife was let out of the hospital, so he cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed their bedroom. While doing the mindless chores, he noticed his cellphone on the bed and thought to himself: “I might need this.” After all, friends and family had been coming and going from the house since his wife’s heart surgery, and he expected her home any day. Bounds grabbed his cellphone off the bed and walked into the kitchen. As soon as he did, he heard the harrowing squeal of colliding metal and looked outside into the snowstorm. Just 50 feet away, he could see a train crashing. He bolted out the front door as fast as his bad knees could take him. He didn’t have time to grab his shoes and trudged through the snow in his socks.
Temperatures were in the teens. Turns out, having the cellphone helped save his life. “I just had a second to look and a second to run,” Bounds told The Associated Press on Monday, exactly one week after 27 cars of a CSX train went off the tracks next to his home. As he ran, the wreckage burst into spectacular fireballs that shot into the sky. The yard was on fire and “it blew that hot oil on both sides of me, all over the house, my trucks.” “If I had been there another second, it’d probably have killed me,” Bounds said. “Glass was f lying everywhere behind me. The walls were caving in. I hadn’t run like that in years.” Bounds is still having trouble grasping what happened. His home of 25 years is ruined. His trucks were destroyed. Decades of photos and keepsakes are gone. Bounds, a 68-year-old retired machinist, suffered only inhalation injuries. No one else in the area was hurt. But it could have been much worse.
His daughter, Sarah Anderson, and two grandchildren had been staying at the home while Bounds’ wife, Patty, was in the hospital. Patty Bounds had convinced her daughter to go home to Ohio over the weekend to get a few things before coming back for another stay. Patty Bounds had had heart bypass surgery, came home and then went back to the hospital with the f lu on the Friday before the crash. Had she been there, Bounds Sr. believes she never would have gotten out. Bounds had also been waiting on his son to come by and clear snow. The storm had just dumped more than 7 inches on his narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Kanawha River and railroad tracks in southern West Virginia. His son, who lives 400 yards away, was on the way to his parents’ house when he had to turn around to get a snow shovel. When Morris Bounds Jr. got to his own house, he decided to rest rather than head back out into the snowstorm.
WASHINGTON (AP) —The slump in crude oil prices and disappointing U.S. home sales data helped nudge stocks mostly lower on Monday, pulling the market back from an all-time high reached last week. The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index spent much of the day hovering slightly below their most-recent highs. But the Nasdaq composite mounted a late-afternoon comeback that extended its recent win streak for the ninth day in a row. Oil drilling companies and homebuilders notched broad declines, while traders bid up shares in utilities stocks. Investors were looking ahead to the start of a two-day round of Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The remarks could provide insight into when the central bank will begin raising its key interest rate from near zero. “The markets are in a holding pattern,” said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer of Wells Fargo Private Bank. “We’ll have some very interesting information coming up from Janet Yellen tomorrow and Wednesday, so the markets are looking at that very closely.” The Dow ended down 23.60 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,116.84. The S&P 500 fell 0.64 points, or 0.03 percent, to 2,109.66. The Nasdaq gained 5.01 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,960.97. The index, which has yet to reclaim its record high from the dot-com era, in now within 87 points of that March 2000 peak.
The three stock indexes are up for the year. Stocks started off the day basically f lat as investors weighed developments in Greece and falling oil prices. Greece’s new government and its creditors reached an agreement over the weekend that staved off the threat of a Greek bankruptcy and an exit from the euro. Athens was expected to send creditors a list of reforms tied to the four-month bailout pact early Tuesday. The price of oil fell for the fourth day in a row as the return of a Libyan oil field raised expectations for more oil supply. Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.36 to close at $49.45 a barrel in New York. That helped drag down shares in several offshore oil drilling and oilfield services companies. Transocean fell 75 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $16.26, while Ensco shed $1.11, or 3.7 percent, to $28.65. Nabors Industries fell the most among stocks in the S&P 500, losing 67 cents, or 5 percent, to $12.85. Investors bought up shares in Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which announced on Sunday a deal to buy rival drugmaker Salix Pharmaceuticals for about $10 billion in cash. Valeant rose $25.49, or 15 percent, to $198.75. A midmorning report showing that sales of previously occupied homes tumbled 4.9 percent last month sent most homebuilder shares lower. UCP declined the most, shedding 45 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $8.97. “The home numbers were a little disappointing,” said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management. All told, six of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 fell. Telecommunications stocks declined
the most. Utilities stocks led the gainers. Tuesday will provide investors with some fresh insight on the U.S. consumer. The Conference Board will report its latest consumer confidence index. January’s reading surged to the highest level since August 2007, and economists anticipate a pullback in this month’s reading. But the biggest marketmoving news could come from the Fed. Yellen is scheduled to deliver her semiannual report to Congress on the economy and interest rates. Investors will be listening for any hints of when the central bank will move to raise its key interest rate. Higher Fed rates would affect rates on many consumer and business loans and could depress stock and bond prices. The Fed’s most recent policy statement expressed the intention to be “patient” about raising rates. Many economists have predicted the central bank will raise rates in June. In other futures trading Monday, Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.32 to close at $58.90 in London. Wholesale gasoline rose 0.5 cents to close at $1.646 a gallon. Heating oil rose 10.6 cents to close at $2.218 a gallon, and natural gas fell 7.2 cents to close at $2.879 per 1,000 cubic feet. Precious and industrial metals futures closed slightly lower. Gold fell $4.10 to $1,200.80 an ounce, silver fell two cents to $16.25 an ounce and copper edged down less than a penny to $2.59 a pound. U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.06 percent from 2.11 percent late Friday.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, February 24, 2015
ALBUM REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM NOTEBOOK
Kid Rock disappoints ‘Boyhood’ overlooked In latest album, Kid Rock sings his way to irrelevance By MELINA GLUSAC Daily Arts Writer
There’s this clip on YouTube from Jimmy Kimmel’s show called Celebrities Read Mean Tweets #4. It’s self-explanatory what goes D+ down in this segment — celebri- First Kiss ties read tweets from their hat- Kid Rock ers. At about Warner Bros. the two-minute mark, right when it’s starting to get uninteresting, Kid Rock pops up, clad in a camo vest, black fedora and those signature aviator shades. His hatetweet says, “Kid Rock looks like he would smell like stale farts and cigarettes.” He jokes, saying it ought to be “fresh farts and cigars.” Indeed, that would be a blessing. But if we’re talking in terms of Kid Rock’s music, and using the gassy tobacco metaphor, it tends to sound like stale farts and cigarettes. “Stale” in that it’s a bit tired, reliant on past heartland rock musician’s inventiveness and lyrically fixated on nostalgia. “Cigarettes” in that it deals with many vice-y substances, like booze and smokes and women, oh my. And “farts” in that sometimes — well, most of the time — it stinks. Rock’s latest endeavor, First Kiss, is no exception to any of the aforementioned, putrid quirks. Rooted more in country than rock, though marketed as a fusion of the two genres, the album is repeti-
tive, melodically static and uninventive. Rock was going for Bob Seger but instead got scratchy, probably-got-lost-on-his-wayhome John Mellencamp; it’s heartland with heart, sans talent. The titular track, “First Kiss,” has been getting a lot of airplay and rightfully so — it’s the best on the album, or if we’re doing metaphors again, the best house on the crummiest block in the neighborhood. Nevertheless, its light, country-pop aura is pleasing and uncontrollably catchy. Sooner than later, the listener is cruising along the lake and pining for their first love right next to Rock. But that bliss doesn’t last long. Country, exclamation point, is spewed at us from all directions. In “Good Times, Cheap Wine,” Rock stresses his love for the simple things in life — hey, let the good times roll. “If you’re lookin’ for a hot mess, well honey, here I am,” he sings. He knows. He’s accepting his gassy tobacco status. This song, complete with saloon keys and gritty guitars, sounds like something you would hear in some rusty bar. The same goes for “Good Time Lookin’ For Me” and “The Best of Me” — their twangy fiddles and southern drawls solidify their airtime in Applebee’s restaurants nationwide. Happy listening, folks; enjoy your Bud Light. “Johnny Cash” is interesting — it couldn’t be farther from the man in black, and is, in fact, an ode to Rock’s lady love. He wants to be her Johnny Cash. Sweet, huh? It’s pure, unadulterated cheese on more levels than one — it’s in the same key as every other song on the album, the lyrics sounds the same as all the others on the album and Kid Rock’s Detroit-
turned-backwater-Kentucky accent is the cherry on top of it all. This tune is uniquely marked with a few gospel singers in the background, though, who serve no other purpose than to mimic fragments of Kid’s shite lyrics. When he sings, “I want to be your Johnny Cash,” they answer, “JOHNNY CASH WOAH YEAH WOAH,” and so on. It’s chilling stuff. It all turns painful when “Ain’t Enough Whiskey” comes along, with its annoying chorus that follows the same melodic and rhythmic line as — not kidding — the bunny hop. “Drinking Beer With Dad” tries to be profound but instead sounds like a Facebook status from an unseasoned user who doesn’t really know what to say. Take it from us, Kid: if you can’t find the words, it’s best to just keep quiet. The penultimate track, “One More Song,” cheekily tells the listener to hang on for just a bit longer. Reassurance is quite needed at this point in the First Kiss journey, but the actual song has bizarre techno inflections and they, in addition to Rock’s extrascreechy voice, lend to really weird vibes. But finally it ends, praise the lord — actually, the latter is exactly what Rock does in his swan song, “Jesus and Bocephus.” Yes, these are the album’s final words, and yes, he chose to fill them with deep, emotional thanks to his lords and saviors, Jesus Christ and Hank Williams, Jr. (a.k.a. Bocephus). It’s all so Kid Rock. He is who he is, and that’s commendable. But who is he? Well, he’s stale farts and cigarettes. And most people can’t deal with that shit.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
By CATHERINE SULPIZIO Senior Arts Editor
For the sake of this argument, “Birdman” and “Boyhood” were the two contenders, pitted by the media against each other, partly for dramatic intensity and also because they both involved impressive technical experiments. I reviewed “Birdman” and “Boyhood” and gave them both an A. For all the flack I gave my colleagues for preferring “Birdman,” I enjoyed it. It was an intellectual puzzle I saw twice to pry out its minute and meticulously placed details. Every minute in “Birdman” is a pulsing nerve center of soundtrack, writing and, of course, cinematography. And the cinematography is riveting — nothing Hitchcock hasn’t done, mind you — but it barrels the movie through its psychological labyrinth of artistic anxiety. “Birdman” is an example of form marshaled to function with militaristic precision; it’s never superfluous or sybaritic, except as an intentional representation of Michael Keaton’s (“Beetlejuice”) own grandiosity. But even as “Birdman” ’s form is careful to never overwhelm content, form makes “Birdman.” This is a paean to the well-oiled machines that create art — the story is secondary. It’s a film’s film. And so I reveal my very unfashionable hand: “Birdman” didn’t stick to me. Yes, audience effect should theoretically not be part of a movie’s critique, but for all its formalistic brilliance, “Birdman” is the equivalent of reading a brilliant modernist poem, something undergirded by a frame of perfect logic and organization. “Birdman” delights in its difficulty. Even as “Birdman” uses its tour-de-force camerawork and jarring drumbeating soundtrack to transform
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ACROSS 1 Rosie of “The Jetsons,” for one 6 Recede 9 Downloadable programs 13 Golden Gloves venue 14 Chimney substance 16 Toondom’s __ E. Coyote 17 Camp shelters 18 Single proprietor 20 The Old Spaghetti Factory alternative 22 Big D hoopster 23 West Coast sch. with more than 100 NCAA championships 24 Martini order 25 Gloomy 27 Golf hole starting points 29 On the topic of 32 Fed. power dept. 33 “__ Legend”: Will Smith movie 35 Nook and Kindle 38 Self-defense option 40 Emphatic military reply 42 Actor McKellen 43 Japanese soup noodle 44 Formula for salt 46 Brewpub lineup 50 Mr. Fixit’s forte 53 Singer Orbison 55 Aflame 56 Chinese chairman 57 Fragrant bloomer with typically pink flowers 61 Comment after a feast ... or what the first word of 18-, 20-, 38- and 57-Across would sometimes say— if it could talk 63 Christmas celebrity 64 Future plant 65 Nonstick cookware brand 66 __ salts 67 Grinds to a halt 68 Seek damages from 69 Poker-faced
DOWN 1 Squeal on 2 Parental warning words 3 “No fighting, kids!” 4 “As seen __”: ad phrase 5 Used a stun gun on 6 College application pieces 7 Mannerless fellow 8 Like headline typefaces 9 “So-o adorable!” 10 Cash for fun 11 Crowd __: popular performer 12 Order takers 15 Overflow (with) 19 Artist with the website imaginepeace.com 21 Pa’s pa 26 Hill-building biter 28 “Burnt” crayon color 30 __ firma 31 Surg. sites 34 Mil. mail address
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48 Moving engine part 49 Hot and humid 51 Post-surg. area 52 Rapids transport 54 Go-aheads 58 Inseparable pals, to texters 59 Brummell or Bridges 60 Captivated 62 NFL scores
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is held together nonetheless by a near-perfect invisible structure that rivals “Birdman” ’s. While the physical changes in “Boyhood” ’s cast are certainly the most apparent, this filming process allowed an experimental form of writing. Richard Linklater completed the script as he shot, rewriting the script after reviewing the footage from the most previous year. The result is a script which reflects on and absorbs itself as it grows. As Mason Jr. developed, the script too underwent its own parallel coming of age.
“Boyhood” creates temporary amnesia of form. “Life doesn’t have a plot, and neither does ‘Boyhood,’” is what I tell people who complain that the movie is pointless. That’s pithy, but by granting life a screen, unfettered by climaxes and rising action and foreshadowing (notice how Linklater denied that college love-interest Nicole (Jessi Mechler, “Morganville”) was the same Nicole who passed Mason Jr. a note in middle school), “Boyhood” runs headlong into that sensation most movies may only graze if lucky: seeing life, not just imitated, but created on a screen. This veers into debates of art: is it to reflect or shatter reality? To comfort or to disorient? Normally, I gravitate towards the disruptive qualities of art, work like the Dadaists who Walter Benjamin said “turned art into a missile.” And “Birdman” reminds me of the transformative gears of art, of its ability to pummel and reshape reality. But “Boyhood” uses its quietly brilliant form for other uses. Watching “Boyhood” fills me with that deep and corny feeling of solidarity with the human species.
FILM REVIEW
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the screen into a psychic state, it rejects any emotional association with its protagonist. Any other year, that would have been OK. I’m outing myself as an unapologetic sentimentalist when I say “Boyhood” clung to me far beyond the hot summer afternoon I saw it, and that’s why I champion it as the winner between the two. I was talking to a fellow editor yesterday who felt that “Boyhood” ’s lack of storic importance disqualified it from something like the Oscars. I don’t love the Oscars (didn’t even watch them, oops) but I vehemently disagree that we need history to be stretched out on screen for an Oscar. But if that’s the case, “Birdman” still isn’t the frontrunner. Both films are accounts of trivial, yet taken in wildly different directions. If “Birdman” tamps its storyline about — let’s face it — a run-ofthe-mill midlife crisis with untenable drama, “Boyhood” refuses to impose its story with artificial narrative. Its ‘gimmick,’ as I said in my review of the film, isn’t a gimmick. It dissolves into the screen after the first few time-jumps, allowing life to swell like never before to the screen’s surface. Where “Birdman” never lets you forget about its camera, “Boyhood” creates temporary amnesia of form. And for those 165 minutes, I felt swallowed up by “Boyhood.” There are few similarities between Mason Jr. (newcomer Ellar Coltrane) and I; we consider ourselves ‘creative-types’ and didn’t love high school (who did?), but that’s it — he’s an adolescent Texan boy with divorced parents. Yet mapped on the screen, his moments strung together in the constellation of life resonated with mine, too. Quiet sorrows, like Mason Jr.’s disciplinarian stepfather shaving off his beautiful head of hair unfold against the muted joys, like having a great conversation with a girl at a party, are folded in along with the funny, mundane and ugly. There are moments of triumph, but this isn’t an epic retelling of life. Everything in “Boyhood” is contained within its ordinary bounds. This could seem effortless, or even accidental, but “Boyhood”
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‘Mommy’ a heartbreaker By REBECCA LERNER Daily Arts Writer
The film “Mommy” bears aching similarities to its protagonist, Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon, “Laurence Anyways”), a 15-year-old A boy with violent tendencies, an Mommy attachment dis- State Theater order and ADHD. Both have the Les Films Seville capacity to display effusive love, but turn on you quickly with corybantic rage. Both are a feverish whirlwind of passion that you can’t look away from. And both will utterly break your heart. “Mommy” is ultimately a story of the fierce love between mother and child. Set in a fictionalized Canada where parents have the option of institutionalizing children with behavioral issues, the titular mother, Diane (Anne Dorval, “Laurence Anyways”), is a tough and swaggering widow in extreme debt. When she gets the call that her son Steve is being kicked out of a youth facility for setting a fire in which another child is gravely injured, they must band together as a team to get their lives back in order. Steve’s hazardous antics put a dark cloud over Diane’s life, portrayed through the shadowy lighting she is consistently in, while Steve is almost always bathed in sunlight, trying to find sensation through any means possible. However, Steve’s unpredictable habits have as much propensity towards gentle love as they do towards senseless violence. In the crossfire of Steve’s highs and lows is Kyla (Suzanne Clément, “I Killed My Mother”), their neighbor. Kyla is a high-school teacher on sabbatical with a terrible stutter. Diane enlists the traumatized
woman to homeschool Steve while she cleans houses to support the family. In these hours alone with Steve’s mania, Kyla demonstrates that she has as much strength as the young and muscular teenager. But unlike Steve’s irrational and arbitrary outbursts of anger, her madness is restrained and tight-fisted, making it even more terrifying to witness. Kyla inspires a frisson of love and happiness in their lives; this climaxes in Steve longboarding and literally pushing open the edges of the screen to create room for his joy while “Wonderwall” blasts through their suburban streets. But the stress of their impending life together weighs heavy on the relationships, and tensions start to build as Steve begins to perilously break down. For most of the movie, the camera work of 25-year-old director Xavier Dolan (“Laurence Anyways”) composes the frame in a claustrophobic square, trapping the characters in a world for which their energies are far too large. Their relationship is gutwrenchingly loving and without the boundaries of a typical maternal relationship that keep society’s expectations intact. The exuberant personalities of Steve and Diane are uncomfortably close in the tiny screen, illustrating the intensity of their bond and the need for space in the erratic relationship. With narrow framing and a small cast, it’s truly incredible how much life is packed into the film. The film draws in the viewer with the allure of the unhealthy but passionately-loving relationship of the unendingly complex Diane and Steve. “Mommy” traps its characters and audience in a volatile and boisterous grasp until someone must break free.
Arts
7 — Tuesday, February 24, 2015
EVENT REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
Moth event unites Chemistry can’t save through storytelling mediocre ‘DUFF’ Monthly Ann Arbor event a showcase for personal narratives By KAREN HUA Daily TV/New Media Editor
Fluorescent colors illuminated the ice as they steamed from neon signs. Even before the show, Circus Bar had us wound up in a line that stretched down the block, a line of locals eager to wait despite the chill of midweek blues. I met my English class and my professor as the day was growing dark, but Circus was lighting up. We were lucky to have tickets in hand already because, as one of Ann Arbor’s hidden gems, the Moth StorySLAM sells out instantly every month. As a University student, it’s especially easy to get caught up in the “Michigan bubble” (the furthest I’ve ventured from campus is probably Main Street). But, for that Tuesday night, I felt like a local among the eclectic crowd, simply gathered by the fascination of storytelling. Cradling our sodas and popcorn bowls, we squeezed around to find seats despite arriving an hour and a half early. The bar emitted a welcome vibrancy from the frigidity of the outdoors, an enthusiasm that embraced us in warmth. Next to us lounged a rambunctious guy who cussed every other sentence; behind us sat two elderly girlfriends on their GNO; by our right was a group of alternatively-dressed college students. It was a snug venue for the popularity of the event, but our physical proximity forced us all to small talk and share our own minute stories while we waited. The idea of StorySLAM is simple: real people face a live audience to tell a true story about themselves in just five minutes. The event is hosted by NPR’s Moth radio hour, and in Michigan, the event comes to Ann Arbor’s Circus Bar every third week of the month and Detroit’s Cliff Bells club the first week of each month. There are usually 10 performing storytellers among 300 in the audience, where most attendees are either regulars or newcomers. Throughout the entire night, the audience remained receptive, clapping heartily for every performer and reciprocating the same energy that radiated from the stage. For storytellers, both first-timers and veterans, the experience can be daunting – but the audience was there to provide support rather than critique. After all, the theme of the night was “adventure.” The general public’s understanding of “storytelling” is muddled – appreciated by some, ambiguous to others. The oral tradition lies at the root of the written word: what we read in print, on screen, on social media. However, storytelling is often an overlooked art, overshadowed by digital media’s domineering presence. Thus, the Moth aims
to spread awareness about storytelling’s growing prevalence – to debunk myths about its archaic nature. At the core, the event spreads poignant stories that need to be shared. In doing so, people may learn how their mundane lives can evoke primal understanding from larger audiences. In their ordinary lives, there may be inspiration for others. In turn, these storytellers may gain a newfound understanding of themselves. Patricia “Patty” Wheeler, the Michigan StorySLAM producer, introduced us to the concept with an infectious vivacity. Doubling as emcee for the night, she encouraged audience interaction by asking for anonymous contributions in response to the prompt: “Tell us about a time you had no idea what would happen, but you went for it anyway.” Between performances, she read the micro-stories aloud – short but earnest anecdotes of finding future spouses, discovering beauty amid the chaos of parenthood and other life-changing experiences summed up in two sentences. First to perform was Grace, a stout middle-aged woman who fervently recounted her – tragic, albeit hilarious – diarrhea experience in Mexico as an adolescent. The irony between her maternal appearance and her zany tone set the vibe for the night – an atmosphere of honesty and mutual acceptance. Many stories proceeded to narrate comedic misadventures like hers – study abroad experiences gone awry, evading responsibility or inciting debauchery as adults. It became difficult to discern the novices from the veterans, as the environment allowed for a comfort among all parties. Each performer carried a natural ability to speak candidly without concern of being rehearsed or well-versed. What mattered most was the story delivery over content. Simple stories were often the most affectively complex. Such was Emily Elizabeth “E.E.” Scott, whose story added a deeper dimension to the night’s predominantly humorous vibe. She spoke sincerely about her mother’s memory loss, a tragedy turned into an “I fear no fate” tattoo. Her performance elicited tears, but also occasional chuckles of recognition – dual sensations that left us in speechlessness afterward. For Scott, a young Ann Arbor regular but first-time storyteller, her ease onstage convinced us all she had done this dozens of times before. Scott explained, “Storytelling in person is different from any other type, because it’s almost like you have less control and you might not know what’s going to happen. You might surprise yourself in your words, whereas in writing, you know what you’re going to do, or you have the power to edit, at least.” Scott proved that storytelling’s heart lies in its primal nature. Most of the audience probably had never had explosive diarrhea in Mexico or a mother fading
away with memory loss – but we did have our individual experiences with love, loss and adventure that translated into shared understanding. Wheeler started as an essayist and Moth volunteer three and a half years ago. She mentioned how just after attending one event, she saw the three-way link between the writer and the speaker, and the importance of hearing the story as a listener. Writers and speakers alike are storytellers, but sharing experiences aloud for a responsive audience can be cathartic and revitalizing in ways writing in solitude cannot. She told us, “When you hear somebody and you see their face … hearing the emotion in somebody’s story helps connect to your own life and the emotions that you have.” As evidenced by the night, there’s so much to be learned from fellow human experiences. With live, spoken-word stories, there’s an immediacy and an intimacy, a holistic sensation that accompanies each tale told. By seeing and hearing the speaker face to face, their emotions are unadulterated by our own interpretations when we read. Theorist Walter Benjamin calls “the author as producer,” referring to how oral tradition gives authority back to the storyteller. In true tales, the facts will remain, but storytelling inspires communication with listeners and control over the presentation. Whereas novels and written word distance the reader from the writer, storytelling has an accessible closeness. “Everybody has stories in their lives that have stuck with them, and if we give the opportunity for everyday people … to get up and tell true stories … that helps everybody else know that their lives are also special and dynamic, and that they have stories that are worth sharing,” Wheeler said. Though many bemoan the decline of the oral tradition, events like StorySLAM attest to the revival of true stories, and how they are becoming increasingly important in our technological age. Ultimately, the Moth’s greater mission is to elucidate how we all can be storytellers, and then to use digital means of storytelling to share this honesty we put forth. Wheeler noted similar foundations – 2nd Story in Chicago, massmouth StoriesLive in Boston, the National Storytelling Network in Tennessee – and many more with aims akin. “There’s this giant resurgence of oral storytelling that’s happening all around the country and all around the world,” Wheeler said. “It’s only going to get stronger and stronger through community experiences like this.” At the end of the event, we left buzzed from the heartwarming vibes of good people, good art and a good night. As we departed for the cold outdoors, many of us vowed to return next month to add our own kindling to the fiery passion for stories.
By BENJAMIN ROSENSTOCK For The Daily
If nothing else, “The DUFF” illustrates the ability of truly capable actors to redeem limp comedic material. In almost Bevery way, the new film from The DUFF director Ari Rave & Sandel (the Quality 16 Oscar-winning short film Lionsgate and “West Bank CBS Films Story”) is forgettable, peppered with teen movie clichés and recycled rom-com plots, but its cast elevates even the direst jokes. Written by Josh A. Cagan (the underrated “Bandslam”), “The DUFF” puts forth the idea that each friend group in high school includes a “DUFF”: the “Designated Ugly Fat Friend.” Mae Whitman (“Parenthood”) plays Bianca, who discovers that she is the DUFF of her group, and cuts off all ties with her best friends, Jess (Skyler Samuels, “American Horror Story: Freak Show”) and Casey (Bianca A. Santos, “The Fosters”). Seeking to become successful in her own dating life instead of simply being the approachable, less attractive friend, Bianca arranges a deal with childhood friend and football quarterback Wesley Rush (Robbie Amell, “The Flash”). In exchange for Bianca’s help with passing chemistry, Wes will teach her how to land her crush. If you think you know where this is going, you’re probably right; Bianca begins to wonder if Wes is actually the one for her, and the standard rom-com beats follow. Luckily, Whitman and Amell are fantastic in their roles, each lending a self-awareness to offset their stereotypical roles: the flannel-wearing, Japanese-cult-horror-moviewatching quirky girl and the obnoxious jock man-whore (a phrase the film uses a number of times), respectively. Bianca’s scenes of nervous mumbleflirting could be grating based on Cagan’s script, but Whitman makes the character both self-deprecating and genuinely concerned about her social image. Her facial expressions and physical movements alone
LIONSGATE AND CBS FILMS
“Her?”
are enough to make the character immediately endearing. Every scene between Bianca and Wesley crackles with unexpected chemistry, assisted by Wes’s continual failure to stifle his laughter when Bianca makes dumb jokes. One begins to wish the movie could just be 100 minutes of Bianca and Wesley hanging out, because most of the film’s conflict feels forced. Jess and Casey never suggest any malevolence in their friendship with Bianca, so the disintegration of the group dynamic feels hollow and pointless. Jess’s sole distinguishing quality is that she’s a future fashion designer, and Casey’s one quality is that she likes hacking. These hobbies, instead of suggesting inner lives for the characters, function as plot conveniences. Same goes for Madison (Bella Thorne, “Shake It Up”), Wes’s on-and-off girlfriend who never achieves complexity like Regina George from “Mean Girls” or other queen-of-the-school characters in teen movies. Madison is a bland antagonist, stirring up trouble and embarrassing Bianca whenever she gets the chance, and she’s so unlikable that it’s impossible to find her “what the shit” catchphrase or desperate desire for fame remotely funny. Sandel cultivates an amicable energy to the proceedings, though he generally doesn’t do much to give the film its own distinct personality aside from
occasional over-the-top fantasy sequences. His scenes with Whitman and Amell, though, seem more genuine and real, relying on fun banter and f lying sparks instead of pandering quirks like the name-dropping of social media apps. One might be tempted to read into the inherent misogyny of a man teaching a woman how to dress and be more appealing to men, especially because the other end of the deal — Bianca lending Wes her chemistry notes — hardly equals the extensive training Wes gives Bianca. The early scenes ref lect this imbalance; Amell is much taller than the 5’1” Whitman, and as they walk together on the track, Bianca begging Wes to help her, he towers over her in the frame. Luckily, their dynamic changes. The film’s best scene, in which Bianca and Wes sit together on ‘Think Rock’ and have a deep conversation, is framed so that Wes and Bianca are level with each other. This ups the sexual tension due to their proximity, but it also subtly shows how their dynamic has shifted. The movie culminates in a bland ‘be yourself’ scene at the homecoming dance, like “Mean Girls” but without the punch of catharsis. It’s a shame that “The DUFF” brings nothing new to the table, but it should, at least, send a clear message to comedy writers everywhere: put Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell in more movies.
FILM NOTEBOOK
Oscar night in review By JACOB RICH Daily Film Editor
This was the year I was going to be ready for the damn Oscars. For the first time ever, I had seen every single Best Picture nominee. I filled out a predictions checklist. I ordered pizza. I even invited real, talking, breathing people over to my house (a rarity) to watch it with me. I was ready for everything. Everything except for the Oscars being totally boring. Did the event even have a host? Neil Patrick Harris was certainly in attendance, but his charm, wit and soul were all painfully absent. His pun-heavy jokes were entirely lame, and his “predictions” shtick with Octavia Spencer, while first appearing to be a
cool Barney Stinson-esque stringalong magic trick, went absolutely nowhere. The one truly funny gag he pulled (the very clever “Birdman” and “Whiplash” mash-up skit with Miles Teller) lacked NPH flair; any Oscar host could have performed it. His safe, unfunny performance was especially disappointing in comparison to his fabulous track record hosting the Tony Awards, where his immense talent can be unfiltered, rather than tragically held back by an Academy somehow still reeling from a way-out-there, actually funny Seth MacFarlane in 2013. But it wasn’t just the host who was boring. The awards themselves were underachieving. The only picks that were remotely surprising were “Birdman” ’s
many wins over “Boyhood” (not even that surprising given “Birdman” ’s late-game dominance at the SAG Awards) and the victory of Alexandre Desplat’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” score over the others. Every other victory was given to the safe and sensible choice. Perhaps that’s a good thing. It’s good to see the Academy voters give out awards to recipients that pretty universally make sense. Selfishly, I was hoping that a few more black sheep would win big, but alas, it seems that this year especially, the Oscars are about as mainstream as awards shows get. There was a grand total of one thing that surprised during the 2015 ceremony, and that was Lady Gaga. Her mind-blowing surprise tribute to Julie Andrews for the
IFC FILMS
Daydreaming of losing big at the Oscars.
50th anniversary of “The Sound of Music” was not only incredibly on-point musically, but clearly heartfelt — you could feel the amount of love and respect Gaga had for Andrews’s work emanating from her set. The normally flamboyant, overly-sexualized Gaga was simply poised and powerful here, showing a completely different side of her talent than the public is used to. Consider me now vastly interested in her recent work with Tony Bennett — according to my girlfriend, similar levels of nonpop Gaga talent are showcased there. Anyway, the moment was only sweetened when Andrews herself stepped out and the crowd went absolutely bonkers. Despite the show’s stubborn insistence on being unmemo-
rable and staid, certain award recipients decided to actually take on a bit of daring, delivering some powerful acceptance speeches. Notable ones included Common and John Legend’s (Best Original Song, “Glory” from “Selma”) rousing commentary on current activism, as well as Patricia Arquette’s (Best Supporting Actress, “Boyhood”) plea for equalizing the gender pay gap. Most salient of all was Alejandro González Iñarritu’s (“Birdman”) closing Best Picture acceptance speech, in which he encouraged the nation to think differently about Mexican immigration — a rare message indeed to hear on mainstream television. If the show itself had been half as daring as these inspiring speeches,
it would have been one of the better shows in Oscar history. Unfortunately, the awards tried far too hard to please everyone, ending up a total snore.
I was hoping that a few more black sheep would win big. P.S.: Where the hell was the remembrance for Joan Rivers during the “in memoriam” segment? What a horrible, disrespectful oversight.
Sports
8 — Tuesday, February 24, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘Children’ support Red, make the opponents blue By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer
The applause and name chanting poured down to the ice at Adam Wilcox. The Minnesota netminder had heard it all before, but unlike his standout performances in net in Minneapolis, the junior wasn’t used to this kind of applause. That’s because Wilcox had just surrendered his fifth goal in 16 shots in an eventual 7-5 loss at Michigan on Jan. 10, and was being pulled for the first time in his career. As the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year skated off the ice, the cheers from the student section only grew louder. The section, commonly referred to as the “Children of Yost,” has developed a reputation as the nation’s rowdiest, smartest and — most importantly — effective fans in college hockey. After dropping four of five games on the road and falling out of the NCAA Tournament picture, the No. 17 Michigan hockey team needed all of the above from its fans on Sunday against Ohio State. The team got its wish, returning home for the first time in over six weeks and cruising to a 5-2 win. Leading the charge from the stands in both games was Marcus Brown, a senior in an off-yellow mesh jersey in the third row. Brown fondly remembers sending Wilcox off, saying it was a prime example of what the student section was all about. “We knew he was one of the best goalies out there,” Brown said. “We knew he had had one of his worst games, and we felt like we were a part of that. So we kept it going even after play resumed.” After the win over Minnesota, the Wolverines embarked on an eight-game road trip. Michigan went 4-4 in the stretch, bringing its record away from Yost to 7-9. Needless to say, the team was
ZACH MOORE/Daily
The Children ofYost have played an integral role in the Michigan hockey team’s season. The Wolverines are 10-2 at Yost Ice Arena this year.
happy to return to the arena in which it is 10-2 and averaging nearly 4.5 goals per game. “I think it impacted our record,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson of the road trip. “It was so good to be back (Sunday). It was wall-to-wall, fans were all in, you never know what you’re going to get at five o’clock on a Sunday, but our fans really showed up. “This is such a special place, and it’s such a home-ice feeling that we haven’t had in a long time.” Every team has fans and an arena to call home, so what makes Yost special? To the team, it’s an unnerving passion for not just the team, but the game itself. “They’re not just a bunch of rowdy students,” Berenson said. “They know the game and what’s going on, and they’re huge supporters of what we do.” Added junior forward Justin Selman: “It can be one o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon or Sunday
night, the Children of Yost show up no matter what. Playing at a bunch of rinks across the country now, it’s by far the best student section. The cheers they have and the way they get up for every game is just really special.” For Brown, that has always been the easy part. Growing up around hockey and still sporting the same off-maize mesh jersey from a Michigan hockey camp 10 years ago, Brown had no hesitation getting hockey season tickets his freshman year. When he arrived to his first game, he learned he wasn’t alone. “The big difference between Yost and other sections is the legacy here,” he said. “A lot of us grew up around the program or grew up loving hockey, and those who don’t catch on quickly to be a part of it. “It’s not the popular sport to go to, but people really, really want to be there.” For the students, passion
was the easy part. The hard part was utilizing that passion without making the experience detrimental to others. Though this year has been incident-free, that hasn’t always been the case. “There have been times when (Berenson) came out at intermission and asked us if our parents knew the things we were saying,” Brown said. “There’s a line, but we walk that line proudly.” The line forces Brown and company to get creative. Online forums and groups encourage suggestions and new ideas, and sometimes they stick. Since November, opposing hockey players have been greeted to large printouts of their Tinder bios, adding a more personal touch to the welcome. What began as an accidental finding on the popular phone dating app by a few fans quickly opened doors to a whole new realm of trash talk. “The Tinder tradition was
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
totally unexpected,” said sophomore Anna Moshkovych, one of the original sources of the idea. “After posting screenshots in the Facebook page, the whole thing took on a life of its own. One alumni offered to get the pictures blown up on a poster in Kinkos, but it was only a few hours prior to puck drop and I didn’t think they’d actually follow through. Once I showed up to the game and saw the physical posters in all their glory, I was practically crying from laughing so hard. “The pick-up lines those guys put on their profiles gave us a whole new level of debauchery. We made sure to make the experience completely mortifying — calling out parents and waving the posters up against the glass. The game was one for the books.” With fans cracking up, players peeking to see themselves and visiting parents lowering their heads in shame, the idea was a hit. The Tinder posters were alive and
well Sunday against Ohio State, as were a number of cheers both new and old. Some made sense. Some — like chanting for an adult fan to hold a baby up to replicate the Lion King scene — did not. However, the fun-loving nature of the section, according to Brown, allows the group to continue to keep things fresh. “Most of the stuff we do in the student section is directly for supporting the team and heckling away players,” Brown said. “But occasionally we’ll do things that are more for our entertainment, not worrying if the other team can hear us, but just to crack a joke. “The funny thing is that sometimes it catches on, and suddenly we have a new cheer.” With the team no longer in the driver’s seat en route to the NCAA Tournament, the Wolverines will need to play their best hockey in the final six games to stay in contention. Similarly, the Children of Yost are feeling the pressure. “We know we have to bring it for the big games,” Brown said. “They don’t lose at home very much, and we think we’re a big part of that, so we feel the urgency just like the team does.” There’s no real way to prove just how important the student section is to the team’s success. But after playing and coaching all over the continent, Berenson feels that together, special things are always on the horizon. “It’s the sound, the students, the band, the sightlines, the other team can get that uneasy feeling,” he said. “Our team gets this confidence that’s really special, and all of a sudden, you’re better than you were last week because you’re at home. “I can tell you, we wouldn’t be the same team or program without our student section.” Neither would opposing goaltenders.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Senior Night key for team on bubble Shortage of time After multiple close losses, Michigan looks to get back on winning track By KELLY HALL Daily Sports Writer
Considering the Michigan women’s basketball team’s recent string of lastsecond defeats, Purdue at it would make sense to Michigan suspect that Matchup: the Wolverines Purdue 10-17; are feeling Michigan 15-12 downtrodden. When: TuesAfter senior day 7 P.M. forward Nicole Where: Elmblad’s Crisler Arena buzzer-beating TV/Radio: putback BTN propelled
Michigan (7-9 Big Ten, 15-12 overall) to overtime against Minnesota, it appeared that a contest would finally fall in favor of the Wolverines. After three close February losses that were decided in the final minute of play, Michigan’s turn to steal a victory away seemed within reach. Saturday’s game in Minnesota didn’t end any differently, though, as the Wolverines lost in double overtime. “We’re getting better, we just haven’t gotten a victory in one of these yet,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “But let’s just keep slugging away. I was proud of our effort and how we were down, and we didn’t quit, and we fought back and persevered. I think our team is really growing and continuing to improve.” Tuesday, Purdue (3-13, 10-17) will attempt to ruin the Wolverines’ Senior Night, when
four-year starter Elmblad, twoyear starting forward Cyesha Goree and two-year starting transfer guard Shannon Smith will be honored prior to the game. The Wolverines did show marked improvements against Minnesota. Goree stayed out of foul trouble while battling center Amanda Zahui B. — the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year — and freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty scored a career-high 27 points. Flaherty, who has started the last two games, is looking more and more comfortable in pressure situations. After being
named a starter, Flaherty put an enormous amount of pressure on Indiana and Minnesota, scoring 48 points in total. Goree was also able to tack on 26 points and 20 boards against Indiana despite being doubleteamed all game. Against Purdue, she’ll look to emulate Saturday’s results while also remaining disciplined. “For (Goree), she has to realize that it’s not all about her scoring all the time,” Barnes Arico said. “If people are really focused on her that much, and sending two and three people to her, it’s good for our team.” “It’s going to open things up for her teammates, and it might not result in her numbers in the stat sheet being 20 points, but it’s resulting in Katelynn having 20 points, and (sophomore guard Siera Thompson) having open looks and Nicole Elmblad cutting to the basket.” Goree, Flaherty, Thompson and Smith are all averaging double figures in scoring, so if Goree fouls out or is covered too heavily, the other three will be relied on offensively. A loss would completely wipe out Michigan’s chances of making an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, barring an incredible Big Ten Tournament performance, which would likely have to include beating No. 5 Maryland. There are two games remaining on the Wolverines’ schedule before the conference tournament in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. After losing four games in February, they will have to win the final two. Doing so might give a jolt of morale to a team that needs to overcome its late-season struggles to have any chance of an NCAA tournament appearance.
“We just haven’t gotten a victory in one of those yet.”
issue for Michigan By DANIEL FELDMAN Daily Sports Editor
Time is running out for the Michigan men’s basketball team. Despite an upset win over Ohio State on Sunday, Michigan’s chances for a postseason bid remain up in the air. And while the NCAA Tournament or NIT remains the goal for the Wolverines, Michigan coach John Beilein has other concerns for a season approaching its conclusion. Specifically, Beilein wants to teach his young team as much as it can learn before summer approaches and practice time is limited. “While some might be dialing back in their practice right now, we’re actually practicing more with those guys, cause they need this fundamental work,” Beilein said. “When the season’s over, we get two hours a week for a couple weeks, and then it’s the summer. So we’re trying to use every valuable minute.” For the majority of Michigan’s team, the learning process has been rushed. After primarily playing an eight-man rotation that relied heavily on junior guards Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert, sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. and sophomore forward Zak Irvin earlier in the season, the Wolverines were forced to readjust their lineup. Due mostly to injuries to LeVert and Walton, Michigan had to adjust on the fly and do what Beilein was so hesitant to do before: throw his inexperienced youngsters into the fire. “There’s a reason that (freshman guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman) and (freshman guard Aubrey Dawkins) were not playing early,” Beilein said. “Their timing was bad. They were just figuring it out, like freshmen should be. And so all of a sudden they had to play a lot of minutes — they weren’t very efficient offensively. So we’ve
gotten better offensively. We’ve been tweaking like crazy.” Such changes were evident Sunday, as freshman forward Ricky Doyle and redshirt freshman forward Mark Donnal combined for 10 points in 23 minutes of action. Playing aggressively and with two feet planted in the paint, like Beilein has preached recently, the duo didn’t back down against the Buckeyes’ senior frontcourt of Sam Thompson and Amir Williams. “For Ricky, who’s 18, playing against these 22-year-olds, it’s a challenge,” Beilein said. “And Mark is 19. It’s a big challenge.” While practice helps with the development of Michigan’s budding young core, watching the play of older, more experienced players like Albrecht and senior forward Max Bielfeldt is also impactful. Bielfeldt’s seven rebounds, including three on the offensive glass, and his dive on the floor to gain possession late in the second half showed the type of effort and resolve Beilein expects from his players. “Our young guys are learning about a sense of urgency,” Beilein said. “Max’s clock is running out. He wants to go and get that ball, whereas typical young guys will be, ‘I’ll get it next time.’ Max, I think, has realized there isn’t a next time and I’m going to get that ball.” Whereas Bielfeldt took a leaf out of Albrecht’s playbook by diving on the ground, Albrecht mimicked former Wolverine Trey Burke with his game-sealing steal of D’Angelo Russell in the final minute and his multiple step-back jumpers throughout the contest. It’s that type of play that represents what college basketball should be, according to Beilein. And if Michigan wants to make a run, it’ll need plenty more of it.