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COMMENCEMENT
Graduation to kick off with a Zing this spring GRANT HARDY/Daily
LEFT: Ann Arbor resident Colin Northrup speaks about how Dance Marathon helped him at the 18th Annual Dance Marathon at the Indoor Track and Field Building Saturday. TOP RIGHT: Dance Marathon members and guests attend the early morning Dance Marathon Rave. BOTTOM RIGHT: LSA senior Madeleine Frabotta, head of dancer management, leads a line dance.
Dance Marathon caps off fundraising on their feet Non-profit partners with C.S. Mott, Beaumont hospitals in 18th annual event By EMMA KILBANE Daily Staff Reporter
Standing for a cause was taken literally Saturday as hundreds of students remained on their feet
for 24 hours during the University’s 18th annual Dance Marathon. Participants raised more than $460,000 to support pediatric rehabilitation therapies for children with disabilities at William C. Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak and the University’s C.S Mott Children’s Hospital. The marathon edged past last year’s fundraising total, which drew more than $446,000 in donations.
“The importance of standing on your feet is to show your dedication to the cause, that you’re willing to make this sacrifice for those that may have challenges that they face on an everyday basis,” Brian Dobmeier, DMUM communications chair said. “This is one day where you’re going out of your way to challenge yourself.” However, participants were only required to stay on the dance floor for 24 hours, instead
Zingerman’s co-founders to speak at Spring 2015 commencement By GENEVIEVE HUMMER Daily Staff Reporter
of 30, which they completed in previous Dance Marathon events at the University. Engineering senior Jayesh Srivastava, the DMUM executive director, said the change was made to increase participation. “There was an aspect of 30 hours that we felt excluded people from everything that we have to offer,” Srivastava said. “What we feel and believe is that anyone who wants to contribute and See DMUM, Page 3A
The pair who produce Reuben sandwiches so famous that even President Barack Obama has gobbled one down will now face a new challenge: crafting the perfect commencement address. University alums Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig, the co-founders of Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, will jointly deliver the University’s Spring Commencement address at Michigan Stadium. The two will each be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws, pending approval from the University’s Board of Regents at Thursday’s monthly meeting. Saginaw and Weinzweig, both University graduates, founded
FILM INTERVIEW
GOVERNMENT
Vince Vaughn talks dramas, underdog roles
A-list comedian discusses his upcoming film and TV projects By JASMINE RUSSELL-YEH Online Arts Editor
Few would say that Vince Vaughn (“The Internship”) is an underdog in the world of comedy. From getting jacked off under the dinner table in “Wedding Crashers” to successfully fertilizing 500 eggs in “Delivery Man,” Vaughn’s filmography boasts some of the most loved and hysterically memorable comedies of the past 20 years. Yet Vaughn often plays exactly what he is not: the underdog. His latest endeavor, “Unfinished Business,” is no different. It’s the tale of a small-business owner, Dan Trunkman (Vaughn), who takes off to Europe with his associates, Mike Pancake (Dave Franco, “22 Jump Street”) and Timothy McWinters (Tom Wilkinson, “Batman Begins”), to close the biggest deal of their
lives. Again, Vaughn takes on an unknown, original screenplay and plays the guy who’s just trying to figure it all out. In a conference call with The Michigan Daily, Vaughn discussed this ongoing trend of underdog-esque characters that he chooses to play. “I guess I relate more to the underdogs in life, personally. What I like about the movie is that these guys are in a position that they don’t like in life. They are involved in a job that they are not passionate about,” Vaughn said. “In a moment he pushes all in and thinks that things could be different. What’s fun is that Dave Franco’s character is very funny and unique and Tom Wilkinson is, it makes it root-able that you have a group of guys that are in a position where the stakes are high and you are rooting for them.” And that’s the formula for many of his films: take a guy who realizes the mundane quality of his life and wants to make something of it, something of himself. From “Dodgeball” to “Wedding Crashers” and now “Unfinished Business,” this remains the case. The beauty of these characters is See VINCE VAUGHN, Page 5A
Zingerman’s Delicatessen in 1982. The deli, which was started with a $20,000 bank loan and two employees, now employs more than six hundred people and rakes in annual sales close to $50 million. What has since become the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses includes eight separate businesses: the deli, Zingerman’s Mail Order, Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Zingerman’s Training Inc., Zingerman’s Coffee Company, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Zingerman’s Creamery and Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory. In a March interview with The Michigan Daily, University President Mark Schlissel said the co-founders have built a national model for how to run a responsible business. “The attractive thing about it is the way they’ve built their business,” Schlissel said. “They’ve kept it local, they have paid their employees a living wage, they have involved their employees in the management decisions about See COMMENCEMENT, Page 2A
Supreme Court to consider same-sex marriage Amicus briefs stream in ahead of April 28 oral arguments
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LSA Senior Mishara Davis, Michigan Chapter NAACP President, speaks as a panelist at the Let’s Talk About Race discussion at Angell Hall Sunday.
‘Let’s Talk About: Race’ fosters open conversation Student panel fields questions, discussses campus diversity issues By EMILY MIILLER Daily Staff Reporter
Having anonymously submitted questions beforehand, students gathered Sunday after-
noon to discuss the role of race on campus and in society as a whole. Though the Angell Hall auditorium was far from full for the event, the conversation was open and extensive. LSA sophomore Leamon Wilson organized the afternoon’s activities, titled “Let’s Talk About: Race,” and facilitated conversation by directing students’ questions to a panel of students involved in organizations pertaining to race rela-
tions. Wilson is a member of the Global Scholars Program, a Michigan Learning Community and the event’s sponsor. The four student panelists included LSA senior Mishara Davis, president of the University’s NAACP chapter; LSA senior Olubisi Ajetunmobi, president of the African Students’ Association; LSA sophomore junior Haya Alfarhan, a member of Michigan Women of Color ColSee RACE, Page 3A
By JACK TURMAN Daily Staff Reporter
After the U.S. Supreme Court announced in January it would hear a challenge to Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban, the court has scheduled oral hearings for April 28. Along with reviewing Michigan’s case, the Supreme Court will review similar cases from Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. The Supreme Court picked up the case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the upheld Michigan’s same-sex marriage ban last November. The Sixth Circuit Court decision reversed a March decision from the district court that See SCOTUS, Page 3A
Heartbreak The Michigan hockey team lost its chance to win a Big Ten title
» INSIDE WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 46 LO: 20
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2A — Monday, March 16, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Campus Voices
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Twitter Talk
‘U’ tries, fails to ban Hash Bash dicted that the upcoming Hash Bash would feature a “teach-in” about marijuana legalization and he wanted the event to become “an act of civil disobedience.” 30 years ago this week (March 16, 1985) A male living in East Quad Residence Hall with a skin rash was isolated and observed because of the possibility that he had contracted measles. Though Robert Winfield, assistant director of health services, said the resident didn’t appear to have measles, but the student
THE FILTER
Terry Pratchett BY KIM BATCHELOR
Terry Pratchett, best known for the comic fantasy novel series Discworld, died on Thursday. He is also known for a collaborative novel Good Omens. He finished the last installment of Discworld in 2014, just before he entered the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease.
THE FILTER
Rap and racism BY JULIA DOYLE
“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinsk blamed the recent story of racism from SAE fraternity members at Oklahoma University on rap music. Doyle argues against this view and discusses how rap music is an escape for the rappers and is fundamentally different from racist slurs.
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Katana Ngala, a Zuzu Acrobats entertainer, performs as part of The African Students Association Show at the Michigan Theater on Friday.
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
Meet the farmers
Feminist research
Social media in job search
WHAT: Michigan Dining will hold an event at South Quad for students and faculty who want to learn how sustainable food is produced and procured for University dining. WHO: Michigan Dining WHEN: Today from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
WHAT: A panel of University faculty will discuss and reflect on how feminism has redirected their field in the last 20 years. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: Today from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: 2239 Lane Hall
WHAT:The workshop will explore how to use social media to expand networking reach for a more successful job search. WHO: The Career Center WHEN: Today from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: 1028 Dana Building
Ancient Rome Power of food American Culture in silent cinema WHAT: Prof. Matt Stiffler will
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was not allowed to leave his room except to use the bathroom, and meals were brought up to him from the cafeteria. These cautionary policies came after 11 people contracted measles on the medical campus and in East Quad. Every patient recovered. A campus-wide drive to inoculate students against measles led to the vaccination of about 300 people in free clinics in South Quad Residence Hall and West Quad Residence Hall the day before.
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
H O W L O W C A N YO U G O
21 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (MARCH 22, 1994)
The University attempted to ban Hash Bash four times out of the five years prior, but all four times a judge ruled in favor of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, who organized Hash Bash. In previous years, the University also tried to charge a fee to use the Diag and cover the costs of security, cleanup and electrical expenses. The ruling judge ordered NORML to pay $1,400 of the $9,400 proposed by the University. Adam Brook, spokesperson for the Ann Arbor chapter of NORML, pre-
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#Black Lives Matter
WHAT: The session will WHAT: University College discuss how food shapes a review the history of London Prof. Maria Wyke shared identity diaspora in racism in the Detroit will discuss the portrayal Arab, Middle Eastern and police force, including of and the fascination with North African communities. recent incidents. ancient Rome in silent WHO: Trotter WHO: Residential College cinema in France, Italy, and Multicultural Center WHEN: Today from the United States. WHEN: Today from 6 p.m. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHO: LSA to 8 p.m. WHERE: 1405 East Quad WHEN: Today from 4 p.m. WHERE: Trotter Please report any to 5:30 p.m. Multicultural Center error in the Daily WHERE: Keene Theater, to corrections@ East Quad michigandaily.com.
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Police have arrested a a man suspected for being involved in the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, BBC reported. The officers were shot Thursday during a gathering of peaceful protestors in front of the Ferguson Police Department.
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With their 2-1 loss to Michigan State on Sunday, the Michigan hockey team needs to win the Big Ten Tournament to avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season. >> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTSMON-
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The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said three of four patients treated between 2013 and 2015 died after being infected with listeria, the Associated Press reported.
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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.
Business representatives say Detroit is on the rise Speakers talk about their role in the city’s revitalization By LEA GIOTTO Daily Staff Reporter
Representatives from the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Tigers convened on campus Friday for “Perspective Detroit,” an event aimed at changed perceptions about the city. Sponsored by the Central Student Government’s Commission on Detroit Engagement, the event featured discussion of several businesses and organizations growing their presence in Detroit. LSA freshman Rohin Patel, the commission’s chair, said the idea for the event after hearing how people reacted to his working in the city. “People were pretty surprised at the fact that I did work in Detroit because they thought it was too dangerous and things like that,” Patel said. “That kind of got me thinking that a lot of students at
the University don’t necessarily know about the opportunities in the city and it would be great to hold an event that raises awareness about them.” The event featured speakers from the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, Fox Sports Detroit and the financial media company Benzinga. Before LSA freshman Dylan Bennett introduced the speakers, he discussed several challenges facing the city, including crime, aging infrastructure, inadequate transit and blight. Bennett explained how in the mid-2000s, as Detroit lost money, the police department lost resources and crime rose. At its worst, police were solving only 8.7 percent of Detroit’s crimes. This, in part, was due to a lack of police cruisers and their response time being a full hour. Bennett also mentioned The Detroit Connector, the bus route that runs from the Ann Arbor to Detroit in an effort to better connect the two cities. “This is revolutionizing the relationship the University of Michi-
gan has with the city of Detroit,” Bennett said. During the event, the panelists discussed how they believed their companies were contributing to Detroit’s revival. “The Tigers are a vital part of the center of Detroit,” Ron Wade, director of marketing for the Detroit Tigers, said. “Sports tends to be the one thing that unites various parts of the city and suburbs, and the Tigers have a big role in that.” Nick Bartolone, senior director of advertisement for the Detroit Pistons, explained why the team’s special Sunday jerseys sport “Motor City.” “The league launched this initiative to have this ‘pride jersey,’ ” he MADELINE BATH/Daily said. “What’s more prideful for us Jason Raznick, the CEO of Benzinga, speaks as a panelist as part of the CSG Commission Event at the Ross School of Business Friday. than Motor City, right?” Lauren Pober, director of mar- pany. The company is currently around stories. They like come- and world-class account, has the keting at Fox Sports Detroit, said based out of Southfield, but is in the backs. People want to be a part of opportunity to have a huge role in by talking about Detroit on the air process of relocating to Detroit. something bigger than just a little the development and restructurduring sports games, the company When asked why he is moving company.” ing of a great American city that’s generates business interest in the his company, Raznick explained Bennett said he believes the Uni- 40 minutes away,” Bennett said. city from listeners. that he believes in Detroit. versity can be an important partner “That’s an opportunity that no The only speaker not involved in “Detroit started this big nation- for revitalization efforts in the city. other university has, and it’s one sports was Jason Raznick, the CEO al resonance turnaround story,” “The University of Michigan, that we really can’t afford to give of Benzinga, a financial media com- Raznick said. “People like turn- with its abundance of resources up.”
COMMENCEMENT From Page 1A Sanford Robertson, a founding partner of Francisco Partners, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree. Francisco Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on investments in technology and technology-related businesses. Robertson holds both a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University. Robert Shiller, an American Nobel laureate, economist and professor will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Shiller currently serves as a Sterling professor of economics at Yale University and as a professor of finance and fellow at the Interna-
tional Center for Finance at Yale School of Management. He will also be delivering the Spring Commencement address for the Rackham Graduate School. Shiller wrote a New York Times bestseller, “Irrational Exuberance,” which warned of a future economic decline. He served as the vice president of the American Economic Association in 2005 and is the co-founder and chief economist of the investment management firm MacroMarkets LLC. He graduated from the University with a B.A. in 1967 and earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. A distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the U.S.
Institute of Peace, as well as a contributing writer for The New Yorker magazine, Robin Wright will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Wright was selected as the journalist of the year in 2004 by the American Academy of Diplomacy, and has reported from more than 140 countries. Wright, who was born in Ann Arbor, is a graduate of the University and the daughter of a University law professor. Tadataka Yamada will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree for his work as a gastroenterologist and pharmaceutical researcher. He is the executive vice president and chief medical and scientific officer of
Takeda Pharmaceuticals. As a gastroenterology scholar, Yamada has written over 150 manuscripts on the topic. Before joining Takeda, he was the president of the Global Health Program at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation where he led efforts to create health tools for the developing world. After receiving a B.A. from Stanford University, he completed his medical degree at New York University. He trained in gastroenterology at the UCLA School of Medicine. Schlissel will also deliver his first graduation address in the Big House since his appointment as University president last January. Commencement is Saturday, May 2 at 10 a.m.
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SCOTUS From Page 1A struck down the ban. University law Prof. Julian Mortenson said these cases are broken down into two categories. He said the first category involves a same-sex couple legally marrying in a state where same-sex marriage is permitted, but moving to a state where it is not permitted, meaning that the couple’s marriage is not legally recognized in that state. The second issue involves same-sex couples who live in a state where same-sex marriage is not permitted and want to get married. “The same underlying state policy is preventing the legal recognition of marriage in either case, but the nature of the legal claims involved to the two categories of case are a little and potentially very different,” Mortenson said. Mortenson noted that this case has significant implications, including the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states. “The Supreme Court says and always will bind every other court in the country,” Mortenson said. “So if the Supreme Court says in this case, ‘It is constitutional to allow same-sex couples to get married,’ that ruling will
DMUM From Page 1A put their effort towards the cause should be allowed to do so.” The dancers make up 64 teams with 15 to 20 students in each. The teams compete against one another in different activities, such as a hula-hooping contest, a Miss America pageant and a cheering contest. Teams are partnered with one of the 35 families of a child with a disability, who they interact with at the marathon as well as at events throughout the year. Some families were partnered with multiple teams. DMUM, which is the largest student-run non-profit in the state, fundraises these large sums because participants are each required to raise a certain amount. Dancers raise $300 and team leaders must collect $350, for example. The marathon is also the culmination of a year’s worth of fundraising activities. This year, teams attended a char-
apply to every state that is directly involved in this case.” Even though only four state cases are directly involved in the proceedings, if states not directly involved don’t follow this precedent, they could face sanctions. “If states don’t quit enforcing or repeal their bans on marriage equality or their bans on samesex marriage, it’ll be about five seconds before a court enters an adjunction in those states that aren’t involved in this case agreeing to some plaintiff’s challenge to the same-sex marriage ban that applies to their state,” he said. Mortenson said he was hesitant to predict the outcome of the case, but noted that the legal world has hinted at an outcome without the Supreme Court’s decision. He said if an objective stance is taken based on the cases, marriage equality should be granted. “If you look at the cases and if you look at the logic of the cases and if you apply them faithfully, I think the best current legal prediction is that the Supreme Court should rule in favor of marriage equality,” he said. University law Prof. Samuel Bagenstos said the Supreme Court could take two possible routes to rule in favor of samesex marriage. He said one route is a broad approach. “They could say when
laws classify based on sexual orientation those laws trigger heightened constitutional scrutiny which would mean they would have to be justified by particularly strong state interest and have to be closely connected to those interests,” he said. “Obviously if the court rules that way that will lead to a lot of momentum for anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation to get passed.” Bagenstos also cited a narrower route to legalizing same-sex marriage. He said the court could opt for limited reasoning, saying the states’ justifications for precluding same-sex couples from marrying are irrational. “If they did that, the legal implications wouldn’t be as extensive, but on the other hand, I’d take that the social implications would be very similar,” he said. “Probably, the political implications would be very similar.” Bagenstos said it is difficult to predict which route the court is going to take or even how they are going to rule. “I, like most people, predict that the court is going to say that same-sex couples have an equal right to marry as opposite-sex couples,” Bagenstos said. “But how they are going to get there, I don’t think anybody knows.” Bagenstos noted Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kenne-
dy’s importance as a swing vote in same-sex marriage cases. He noted that in the time since Kennedy joined the bench, the court has made progress when it comes to ruling on the side of gay rights, citing the 1993 case Romer v. Evans, 2003’s Lawrence v. Texas and Windsor v. United States in 2013. “In all of those cases, the court has ruled for the party that is supporting gay rights, but the reasoning in all of those cases has been very narrow,” he said. “The court has not articulated a very expansive understanding of the reasoning behind its pro-gay rights position.” As the oral hearings near, many groups, including the Obama administration, have filed amicus briefs to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage. State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D–Ann Arbor) was one of the elected officials to be included in an amicus brief sent to the Supreme Court by the Ohio and Michigan Democratic Parties. Irwin said he was proud to join in an amicus brief that supports equal rights. “Michigan’s ban on marriage equality and Michigan’s ban on gay and lesbian adoption has been a wrong that many of us have been trying to right for many years here in Michigan.”
ity ball, a family fashion show, a talent show and 26 other fundraising and bonding events. To participate in the marathon, dancers must remain standing for the full 24 hours. Dancers were provided with standing homework tables, a snack station, a photo booth and other games and activities during the course of the event. An “inspiration tent” was also set up for participants needing a reminder of why they chose to spend the weekend on their feet. LSA sophomore Claire Laing, co-captain of the Delta Gamma team, returned to DMUM for her second year. Laing said the event is a great way to finish off the year. “Throughout the year you work so hard to raise money and you get to interact with the families and really see where everything you’re doing is going,” Laing said. “To be able to come to the marathon and have this big culmination and celebration of all the hard work you’ve put in and seeing all the kids, it’s awe-
some.” Srivastava, the DMUM executive director, said the organization plays a role in choosing what area of the two hospitals funds go to each year. “We have this unique opportunity to take in requests from lots of the different therapies and programs at both the hospitals, go through their requests and see exactly what they’re asking for and really evaluate how that aligns with what our mission is,” Srivastava said. “Then we get to allocate the money towards those programs.” The event kicked off with warm-up events on Saturday, including an address from University President Mark Schlissel. Schlissel commended DMUM participants, and highlighted the participation of fraternities and sororities. “The news media loves to write about problems and disasters and misbehavior,” Schlissel said. “I want to make sure they write about the contribution that the Greeks are making to events
like this.” Entertainment from groups such as the Pompon Team, the Ballroom Dance Team and Groove kept dancers on their toes as the event drew to a close. The event also featured a late night rave complete with glow sticks and flashing lights, where other students could dance and support their friends. Wendy Muzzarelli has a daughter in Beaumont’s therapy programs, for which DMUM is a benefactor. When asked how DMUM has affected her family, Muzzarelli teared up. “There are no words to describe how these college kids impact our family,” she said.
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RACE From Page 1A lective; and LSA sophomore Mekarem Eljamal, spokeswoman and member of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality. Davis said the event’s purpose was to make conversation about race accessible to everyone. “Just being open to new perspectives is really important,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to get over that initial barrier, then you have wider groups’ friends and end up having conversations you never would imagine.” Some students submitted questions anonymously through an ask. fm page that Wilson organized and read from, and audience members also posed questions directly to the panel. Attendees were encouraged to share their opinions and personal experiences as well, either anonymously or in person. The questions covered a wide variety of subjects, including the panelists’ personal experiences and their opinions on campus policies. One issue discussed at length was the University’s Race and Ethnicity requirement, which students have criticized recently for not providing enough insight into issues of diversity on campus and nationally. Alfarhan feared that the classes used to fulfill this requirement do not spark relevant conversation about issues of diversity. “A lot of Race and Ethnicity classes at the University are very basic and don’t require anyone’s perceptions to be challenged,” she said. “They’re made to be very comfortable.” Davis agreed that the Race and Ethnicity classes could be improved, but added that they provide “a good place to start” as opposed to no conversation at all. Eljamal said, in her experience, some of the inefficiency of the Race and Ethnicity courses are a result of students being unwilling to talk. “Some students are only there to get a check mark on their transcript,” Eljamal said. “There’s only so much a professor can do.” Another topic covered was the
University’s attitude toward diversity, where the panelists expressed particular concern with the administration’s Detroit recruitment policies, among others. Ajetunmobi said the University has fallen short with recruiting students from predominantly Black schools. She added that Cass Technical High School and Renaissance High School, both in Detroit, seem to get a great deal of attention while others fall by the wayside — resulting in a lower diversity overall in applications and, later, on campus. “I had a lot of friends who didn’t even apply to Michigan because they didn’t think they could get in,” Ajetunmobi said. “And we need to change that.” Alfarhan discussed her view of the discrepancy in international recruitment based on her own experience as an international student from Kuwait. She said she noticed a lack of cultural diversity during her international orientation as a freshman, which included a large majority of Chinese students. “When I counted, there were four Africans and five Arabs,” she said. “And there were at least eighty Chinese.” While Wilson was disappointed with the sparse attendance, he said those who did attend the event provided encouragement. “There are some people I didn’t expect to come and some people I don’t recognize, which is great,” Wilson said. In this vein, some members in the audience noted that those at the event were likely already somewhat knowledgeable about issues of diversity, whereas those who really “needed” to have deep conversations about race and ethnicity were least likely to attend on their own accord. The panelists acknowledged that getting those who are potentially less outwardly passionate about issues of diversity to attend events like “Let’s Talk About: Race” is an issue to be considered in the future. Alfarhan’s response: “Don’t focus on who’s not showing up; focus on who is showing up.”
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Humans in the animal kingdom
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FROM THE DAILY
Reevaluating the system
The University needs more authority to sanction Greek life
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ast week, a video surfaced of members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma chanting a song littered with several racial slurs and profanities. David Boren, the President of the University of Oklahoma, reacted promptly to the matter. Within 48 hours of the video gaining national attention, Boren expelled the fraternity members deemed integral in the chant’s orchestration and ordered the members of the fraternity to vacate their house, severing all ties between SAE and the university. Many universities across the country, and their respective presidents, have acted poorly and inefficiently when issues have arisen in the Greek life community, but Boren had the power to enact strong university sanctions due, in no small part, to the University of Oklahoma’s claimed ownership of fraternity houses. However, recent claims have stated that the fraternity owns the land, while the university has legal claims over the house itself. This authority is essential to swift decision-making and assertion of power over Greek life when inappropriate behavior occurs. At the University of Michigan, President Mark Schlissel doesn’t wield such authority over Greek life, limiting his ability to act as effectively in enacting sanctions for the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity, which vandalized a northern Michigan ski resort, resulting in over $100,000 in damages. According to Dean of Students Laura Blake Jones’ letter outlining the sanctions to the fraternity, SAM has been suspended from the Interfraternity Council for four years, and the chapter is no longer recognized by the University. Due to the way in which Greek life is organized at the University, these sanctions become questionable and arguably useless unless the national chapters take action. These kinds of sanctions have been put in place here at the University in the past, such as those levied against the University’s SAE chapter. But, under this problematic system, SAE is able to function in largely the same way. Since their house isn’t owned by the University, they’re still able to act as a fraternity; they’re simply no longer a part of the Interfraternity Council after being suspended for several hazing allegations. The most recent sanctions will place SAM in a similar situation. Unlike SAE, SAM has been indefinitely suspended by its national chapter. However, the sanctions the national chapter has taken against the University’s SAM chapter are unclear. The University must reevaluate how fraternities are punished. Fraternities that are suspended and/or kicked off campus are sanctioned for a reason. It’s problematic that they are still able to exist. Currently, all violations by Greek life chapters are run through the Greek Activities Review Panel. Because all members of GARP are affiliated with Greek life, bias potentially becomes an issue when bringing forward issues within the Greek system. Self-governance has its inherent issues. It would be more beneficial to include non-Greek life members,
administration and the University’s president on the board. As more and more fraternity scandals are erupting across the country, it’s vital that universities hold the proper power in order to act in an effective and meaningful manner. Recently, too many fraternities have made headlines, and not for respectable reasons. This week alone, University of Maryland’s chapter of Kappa Sigma has taken the spotlight after an e-mail promoting racism and non-consensual sex was leaked. A common theme between these scandals is that something, whether an e-mail or a video, is being leaked. Although the e-mail from the Kappa Sigma member was dated January 2014, it’s only surfacing now. The recently leaked media from various chapters across the country seems to indicate that there’s a systemic and institutional problem that needs to be examined. This calls for universities to be making more investigations of chapters to regulate the ideals of such institutions. It’s not the exclusive responsibility of universities’ respective authorities to do the policing of Greek life. There should be a common understanding within these communities that these behaviors are completely unacceptable. Greek life members across the country should be taking the responsibility to improve the reputation of their organizations, but more importantly to ensure that the beliefs and values of their chapters are concurrent with positive goals and acceptance across the board. When functioning properly, Greek life provides several benefits to its members. The recent scandals from fraternities across the country have shown that there is a problem with these institutions. Ultimately, it’s essential for presidents of the universities to have more authority over the system and for leaders of these communities to self-evaluate whether or not the values of its members are acceptable in order to combat these issues and make Greek
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Ben Keller, Payton Luokkala, Aarica Marsh, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Linh Vu, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Derek Wolfe
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NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Finally in the city of Boston we’re seeing the inclusivity we never thought we would see.” — OutVets Founder Bryan Bishop reacting to the lifting of the Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade ban on same-sex rights activists marching in the parade. For the first time, activists marched in the parade this Sunday, March 15.
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any of you probably have pets at home. Whether they’re the standard dog or cat, or even something a little more odd like a miniature pig, chameleon, hedgehog or stoat (seriously, look them up, they’re adorable), we love and pro- SARA vide for them. SHAMASKIN We want to make sure our pets are safe, well nourished and healthy, treating them like a member of our own family. But when it comes to animals that we do not call “pets,” our desire to protect and defend goes out the window. For a long time, humans have considered themselves the top of the animal kingdom. Intellectually, perhaps. We have some brain capacities that other developed and complex organisms have yet to match. Our reasoning is finely tuned, and our ability to perceive potential results helps us to plan and avoid problematic outcomes. But then again, we claimed the title “top of the animal kingdom” ourselves. No other animal has said “Ah yes, homo sapiens are indeed superior to us in terms of X, Y and Z.” We gave ourselves that title and have placed ourselves at the top and categorized other animals in relation to the widespread hairless ape. I guess I should announce that I’m a whole-hearted believer in evolution. In fact, it’s my major. I know there has been a disconnecton between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom for centuries, and Charles Darwin, Thomas Malthus
and Thomas Huxley were some of the first to take the stance that we weren’t an exception to the rules of nature. But recently, there has been a lack of concern for those that we’re not close to, or those that we do not consider as family. In America, we don’t have that many native large creatures. Yes, bears and buffalo can be huge, but how often do we actually see these in physical proximity to ourselves? Humans are the ones that are large and smart, in comparison to the dogs and cats and other pets with which we are constantly interacting. I think that this is why there’s not as much stress to protect the animals that are not around us, because there’s a twisted perception of how we, as humans, are in the animal kingdom. We’re not dwarfed in stature by many animals, and we’re hardly rivaled in strength. Therefore, our lives are not in perspective. Elephants are the largest land mammal. These enormous creatures are found in high concentrations throughout India, Africa and Sri Lanka, interacting with humans in many settings, such as transportation, tourist attractions and when habitats collide. Though they can be deemed as sensitive and docile animals, they can cause great damage to small towns, demolishing homes and cars. A similar situation can be found in Africa with gorillas and rhinoceroses attacking humans when they feel threatened. Those
individuals who interact with them on a constant basis are aware of the power that they possess. It allows humans to see their place in the animal kingdom, where we stand in physical strength and emotional capabilities such as mourning and outrage. When we lose that perspective, I think we lose respect for the other creatures with which we share this planet. We’re constantly driven by our own selfish endeavors, regardless of the consequences for the creatures that cannot speak. Destruction of habitats, killing for sport and killing for products like ivory or hands (yes, gorilla hands are a commodity) are driving these creatures to extinction. We think that humans are at the top, mighty over these beasts. But if they could have the chance to defend themselves, humans would easily lose. A gunshot can end any life, whether it’s that of a human, a cat or a massive pachyderm. But if left to nature’s rules, those that are strong would prevail. Unfortunately, those who hold the gun are at the top and dictate what happens in nature. Just because they’re not our pets doesn’t mean that we can disrespect these animals. They’re on the same phylogenetic tree that we are. We are not an addendum to the animal kingdom, but rather in it together.
When it comes to animals that we de not call “pets,” our desire to protect and defend goes out the window.
— Sara Shamaskin can be reached at scsham@umich.edu.
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The fight over the right to pee
harin Davenport, a transgender activist and professor at both Delta College and Saginaw Valley State University, has been extremely vocal regarding recent events at a Midland Planet Fitness, where last week, gym patron Yvette Cormier’s membership was AUSTIN revoked after DAVIS she continuously hassled other gym patrons and management about a transgender woman using the women’s locker room. The story has since garnered national attention, having been picked up by both Fox News and MSNBC. Davenport, a veteran and former journalist, gave her take on the story, and told attendees her personal experiences as a transgender woman at a student-run event last Friday at East Quad. In her opening statements, Davenport described the event in Midland as “one of those before and after moments” of transgender history that should be of great importance to those identifying as transgender and their advocates. In light of recently introduced legislation in Texas, Florida and Kentucky that, if passed, would effectively entrust cisgender citizens to police gendered bathrooms, incentivizing surveillance in some instances with a $2,000 bounty, Davenport may indeed be right. The happenings at Planet Fitness have since become a vignette in discussions surrounding the legitimacy of whistleblowing transgender citizens and their bathroom use. Davenport views the introduction of what she call “Bathroom Bounty Bills” as completely unnecessary. She believes a transgender person should be able to use bathrooms, locker rooms or any other facility that is congruent with their gender identity. “It seems inconceivable to me that people feel the need to legislate what others can do based on whether they have penises or vaginas,” Davenport lamented. “If I have to take a pee, for some reason many of our elected leaders feel the need to decide how and where I do it.” Davenport segued seamlessly between “Bounty Bills” and an explanation of her personal journey in coming to terms with her female identity, a story underscored by tenets of the transphobic society of the mid-20th century in which she came of age.
Growing up in the Saginaw area, Davenport felt stifled by the sentiments of both her direct environment and those expressed in the media; she took these as signals to “shut up” and lead a cisgender life. “I was afraid to talk to anybody about it,” she disclosed to me after the event. “I felt like my body was right, but that I was wrong.” So she attempted to hyper-masculinize herself; she engaged in drug use and partook in any dare that came her way, even joining the military after high school in hopes that the experience would “toughen her up.” It wasn’t until after two failed marriages and three children that Davenport began her transition. In lieu of leading a quiet life as a transgender woman, Davenport became an outspoken representative for the transgender community, specifically regarding the rights of transgender veterans. However, she considers her work in advocating for 2014 nondiscrimination legislation for LGBTQ employees in Bay County to be her entrance to the political theater. According to Davenport, her one of her biggest challenges since her debut has been trying to work with Rep. Gary Glenn, (R–Larkin Township), who coauthored Michigan’s controversial Marriage Protection Amendment. The amendment’s disputed legality in the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is at the center of current U.S. Supreme Court proceedings on same-sex marriage. Glenn has also been outspoken about the Planet Fitness event. “Planet Fitness obviously should rethink its anti-woman, anti-reality policy,” Glenn was reported to have said in an MLive article. “If they don’t, they shouldn’t be surprised in a conservative family-friendly community such as Midland if they lose more female members.” “Sometimes it feels like his number one cause in life seems to be to keep me out (of the bathroom),” Davenport said last Friday in response to Glenn’s comments, “I’m not sure he understands what he’s talking about because I don’t get the sense that he understands what those of us in the trans community are talking about.” I’d agree with Davenport on that one. It’s a strange world we live in when
white, conservative men feel that they can express obstinacy to humanist acts under the guise of accusing others of discrimination. In my opinion, if anyone should be accused of being “antiwoman” and “anti-reality,” it should be Cormier — after all, it was she who, over a four-day period, sought to embarrass, vilify and further marginalize a fellow woman. Despite this obvious paradox, many have rushed to Cormier’s defense. On a Fox News segment titled “Legal Insanity,” Elisabeth Hasselbeck took a haphazard approach to analyzing the event from a legal standpoint. One of the segment’s contributors, Keith Ablow, a psychiatrist and author, made the following claim: “They’re not settled on the fact that when somebody … declares, ‘I am of this gender,’ but they are anatomically and genetically of another gender, people who see that individual have strong feelings, like, ‘Look, I’m being viewed potentially while unclothed.’” He’s got a point: ignorance sometimes goes unconsidered when attempting to legislate in ways accepting and fair to those with marginalized identities. However, it seems that those views are, at the very least, allotted a bully pulpit on cable television. I experience “strong feelings” of nausea with regard to the latter, but I stomach it all the same. Opponents of inclusionary tactics should have to follow suit. I wouldn’t expect those deaf to the plights of subjugated groups to change their views. However, what I would expect is, at the very least, a certain level of respect for another citizen’s right to conduct themself in a manner in which they believe they will feel healthy and safe. If a transgender individual has the courage to express themselves in the face of predetermined societal norms in a way in which they feel is congruent with their identity, that’s their right. Bodily integrity and one’s right to privacy are civil liberties which shouldn’t by any means be abridged, regardless of the “strong feelings” one has to a certain means of expression. Even conservative lawmakers — self-proclaimed warriors of the U.S. Constitution — should understand that.
Bodily integrity and one’s right to privacy are civil liberties that shouldn’t be abridged.
— Austin Davis can be reached at austchan@umich.edu.
Arts
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Monday, March 16, 2015 — 5A
ALBUM REVIEW
TV REVIEW
Modest Mouse is ‘Bates’ builds drama back after hiatus By CHLOE GILKE
bed. Norma and Norman rely upon one another as their sole source of unconditional love and support; for a woman who has suffered a string of toxic lovers and a boy who wants nothing more than to quiet the murderous turmoil lurking underneath the surface, their bond is the only thing keeping all that pain from breaking them. When Dylan makes the comment and implies an incestuous relationship, he’s not only speaking what’s likely on viewers’ minds, but he’s problematizing this crucial mother/son relationship, perhaps providing the first spark that switches Norman into the literal lady-killer we know he will become. “A Death in the Family” also provides storic exigency by making Norman more of an active creeper than he ever was before. He’s taken to voyeurism and fetishistic sex before, but the arrival of Annika (Tracy Spiridakos, “Revolution”), a beautiful young hotel guest, renews Norman’s perverted tendencies. When Annika checks in, she drops her belongings on the ground, and Norman bends down to help (but mostly to blatantly stare at her cleavage). Freddie Highmore is able to switch from the shy and sweet Norman to this dangerous deviant with just a subtle flicker in his eyes. Highmore plays it as compulsion, not desire — when he later spies on Annika through the peephole of her hotel door and follows her on a drive to a local restaurant, it’s obvious that he’s driven by the same inner force that blacks out his memory, makes him kill and draws him to taxidermy and the macabre. In a show that so obviously hits viewers over the head with callbacks to Hitchcock, this might be the closest thing we have to a ticking bomb
Managing Arts Editor
For a show that borrows its characters and story from the Master of Suspense, “Bates Motel” is decidedly unHitchcockian. B+ There’s zero subtlety in its Bates visuals or storytelling, the act- Motel ing can verge on Season 3 theatrical and Premiere over-the-top, and horrific plot Mondays elements like at 9 p.m. brutal violence and incest are A&E included primarily for their shock factor. This all might seem to add up to a hot mess of a show, and, truth be told, it usually does. But in its third season, “Bates Motel” shows more confidence than ever, finally embracing its madness and becoming one of the most entertaining shows on TV. The backbone of “Bates Motel” is the journey of Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore, “August Rush”) from a meek teen to the stalking, murderous character viewers know from Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” So far, “Bates” has mostly pinned Norman’s budding pathology on his unhealthy attitudes toward women. His mother Norma (Vera Farmiga, “The Departed”) is the number one lady in his life, but their relationship is probably too intimate for a mother and 18-year-old son. Norma’s other son, forgotten child Dylan (Max Thieriot, “House at the End of the Street”) points out at the beginning of the episode that it might not be normal for the two to spend nights snuggling and sharing a
Indie vets push into new musical terrain on new album By CATHERINE BAKER Daily Arts Writer
Modest Mouse, well known for its early 2004 single “Float On” and sometimes Pink Floyd-esque sound, has not released an Aalbum for eight years. Strangers to Comprised primarily of Ourselves singer/guitarModest ist Isaac Brock, Mouse drummer Jeremiah Green Epic and bassist Eric Judy, the American rock band was formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Wash. and gleaned its name from the Virginia Woolf story, “The Mark on the Wall.” Its debut album, This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About, was released in 1996 and used popular soft rock elements such as quick guitar riffs and steady, softer drums. The Lonesome Crowded West is often labeled their breakthrough album and consequently gained the band a cult following that still exists today. 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, the band’s fifth album, was the first Modest Mouse release to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 Charts. The band’s anxiously awaited sixth album, Strangers to Ourselves, is set to release on Mar. 17 and consists of 15 songs, each more innovative than the last. This album explores musical techniques not yet breached in previous Modest Mouse endeavors such as warped vocals and off-kilter brass instruments, as seen in tracks like “Pistol (A. Cunanan, Miami, FL 1996)” and “Sugar Boats.” While these unconventional methods sometimes lead the album astray, without risk there would be no innovation. The opening and titular track, “Strangers to Ourselves,” begins with a steady drumbeat and swelling violins before launching into Brock crooning “Lucky we’re so capable to forget” into the microphone. It’s fairly unstructured and is essentially just the musings of the lead singer, but it is an excellent way to set the stage for the rest of the album. “Lampshades on Fire” was the first single to be released and a glimpse of the hardcore drumming that has come to be associated with Modest Mouse. It has everything — catchy “ba ba
VINCE VAUGHN From Page 1A that they reflect how Vaughn transforms his films. Vaughn takes on smaller, sometimes independent films and makes them distinguished and unique through the fullness and life he brings to his characters. “I like being a part of an original idea, there’s something that’s exciting about it,” Vaughn said. “I do understand when someone is moved by something or excited by something and they almost want to homage it, or they have an interpretation of it. It feels like nowadays, in the market place, there is a sense that you have to have a big IP or franchise in order to cut through in the movie theaters. The fault of that is that a lot of the character stuff or people driven stories go to the waste side.” Vaughn’s taste for characterdriven writing isn’t limited to the comedy films he’s well known for. The 44-year-old actor recently finished filming the second season of “True Detective.” “I’m kind of returning on some level to dramas, which was the first thing I broke out with. Now that I’ve done comedies, people feel like that’s a switch. I feel really excited to get on a different tone. (Series creator) Nick (Pizzolatto) is incredible, the story is phenomenal,” Vaughn said. Though the similarities between Vaughn’s participation in “True Detective” and “Unfin-
EPIC
Also back after a hiatus: trucker hats.
ba das,” overlapping vocals, lyrics about mistakes and moving on. Directly following “Strangers to Ourselves,” “Lampshades on Fire” gets the blood flowing and launches into Modest Mouse’s new sound. “Shit in Your Cut” slows things down again with sultry guitar riffs and mysterious, growly vocals. Brock simultaneously harbors a bitterness towards humanity and loneliness as witnessed in the lines “With the strain and the comforting / You know everyone needs to go / But don’t everyone go at once.” The following track, “Pistol,” is the weirdest number on the album. The title of the song references American spree killer Andrew Cunanan, but the actual song is entirely about sex. With heavy drums, distorted speaking vocals and lines like, “Come into my room and clean my pistol loaded up,” the whole song is one giant euphemism. From “Pistol,” the album heads to “Ansel,” a sobering tale with a folky beat that describes Brock’s brother’s hiking accident. “The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box” is the longest song at just over six minutes and feels like a jack-in-the-box that is constantly on the edge of popping up. The tempo increases with swirling vocals and builds to an unsatisfying ending. “Coyotes” is arguably the simplest song, but one of the best. Brock touches on humanity’s destructive habits again, singing “Mankind’s behaving like some serial killers / Giant old monsters afraid of the sharks.” The straightforward guitar plucks and swelling chorus allow the lyrics themselves to take center stage. The guitar on “Pups to Dust” throws it back to early Modest Mouse and the lyrics address broader concepts, such as human
ished Business” seem initially nonexistent, “True Detective” is a writer’s TV show. Quiet and beautifully structured, as Vaughn mentioned, the show parallels Vaughn’s character-driven choices in comedy. And it’s original; it’s fresh. Vaughn spoke about the ongoing trend of remakes in Hollywood — big moneymakers versus original films. “A lot of times if something is successful, the instinct is to copy or repeat it right away. I haven’t done a sequel to any of my comedies because I’ve always felt you need to have a really good idea that stands alone in order to put that story out versus following up the next year with another version of that movie and let the fact that the movie did well be more important than having a good concept for it. I think there is a trend to jump on something and make a sequel right away before there is an original idea to suit the characters well.” In “Unfinished Business,” Vaughn’s character goes on a journey with the goal of being better off than where he started — and that’s how Vaughn approaches his movies. Vaughn’s choices aren’t the big, blockbuster hits (though Vaughn would debatably make a better Bruce Wayne than Ben Affleck), but rather films that appear smaller, that rely on the writing and that he pushes to the next level through his acting and character building: the underdog films.
purpose, “We don’t belong here/ We were just born here,” and reasons to live. “Sugar Boats” is another curveball, using a jazzy circus tune and distorted, winding machine sounds to throw the listener into some strange, upside down universe. The lyrics tend to disappear between the ringing cowbells and bold trumpets, but Brock attempts to regain control and sticks to the same themes of ignorance as to the purpose of life. “Wicked Campaign” is vocal heavy, relying mainly on the song’s lyrics to carry it through. In a movie, it’s the type of song that would be playing during a montage of the main character driving around while they make an important decision. “Be Brave” is gritty, substantial and repetitive. The shark metaphor makes a return with “As sharks in sheep’s clothing / Talking with our hips,” but the rest of the song is an anthem for human resiliency, which is always appreciated. “God is an Indian and You’re an Asshole” is a repetitive, yet entertaining interlude with the only lyrics being “God is an Indian and you’re an asshole / Get on your horse and ride.” “The Tortoise and the Tour-
ist” has received a positive response amongst dedicated Modest Mouse fans and for just cause. Echoing the title of the album, the song uses powerful lyrics to describe packing up and leaving life behind. “The Best Room” is a quick, upbeat, sarcastic response to “The Tortoise and the Tourist.” It’s the makeshift ending to Strangers to Ourselves, summing up all the previous thoughts in a stompy rant. “Of
Course We Know” is the true end to the album, minimizing the vocals and maximizing the contemplative guitar solos. Brock comments one final time, “What we’re here for/We just do not know,” bringing the album full circle with just as few answers as it began with. At its heart Strangers to Ourselves is the same Modest Mouse that fans know and love, just eight years older. Brock contin-
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Monday, March 16, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
DOWN 1 Sighs of satisfaction
2 Agcy. with narcs 3 Astronomical distance 4 “I had no __!” 5 Walk-on role 6 Hung around 7 Not windy 8 “Zip-__-DooDah” 9 ’90s Los del Río dance hit 10 “For shame!” 11 “Shame __!” 12 Two-time Best Actress Oscar winner Streep 13 Beauty’s beau 21 Tire pressure abbr. 22 Popular jeans 23 “Jeepers!” 24 Black Friday deals 28 Many a punch line 29 __-weensy 30 Chinese cookware 33 Doesn’t lose sleep over 34 New Orleans footballer 35 Oscar who quipped, “True friends stab you in the front”
37 Lottery winners’ cry 38 Bobby of hockey 39 Naval noncom: Abbr. 41 Actress Lamarr 42 As, on the periodic table 43 Like lava 44 Colorful little lizards 45 “Impressive!” 46 Cockpit panic button
47 “Little Broken Hearts” singer Jones 48 Civil War nurse Barton 52 Parisian gal pal 53 Linguist Chomsky 54 Gossip columnist Barrett 58 Michelle Obama __ Robinson 59 EMTs’ destinations
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ues to sing about his distaste for humanity, but adds an element of active curiosity in his quest for the purpose of life. While some tracks may not fit expectations, part of the beauty of a distinguished band is their ability to take risks and expand their genre. Time will be the only way to see if Modest Mouse can continue their 22-year run and develop it into a lifetime.
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ACROSS 1 Ignore the teleprompter 6 Take for a ride, so to speak 10 Pyramid, to Tut 14 Supermodel Klum 15 “Look what I did!” 16 Old-time knife 17 “Full House” star Bob 18 Alphabetically first of the acting Baldwin brothers 19 Sedgwick of “The Closer” 20 McDonald’s freebies 23 Contractor’s approx. 25 Word ending for enzymes 26 Outcome 27 Multi-day event featuring rainbow flags 31 Alaskan native 32 Forever and a day 33 Opposite of NNE 36 Campus official 37 Willy with a chocolate factory 39 Indian spiced tea 40 Kazakhstan, once: Abbr. 41 For the lady 42 Prankster’s favorite month 43 Ride with wooden horses 46 Scramble, as a secret message 49 Dawn goddess 50 Old AT&T rival 51 Fruit-flavored hard candies 55 Part of Q.E.D. 56 “You hurt?” reply, hopefully 57 Really bad turnout 60 Feel concern 61 Luigi’s “Bye!” 62 Conclude 63 “Faster __ a speeding bullet ...” 64 Tailor’s sewn folds 65 Sidewalk eateries
under the table, to subtle, live-wire suspense. Where Norman arches slowly to his inevitable “Psycho” fate, Norma takes a less nuanced approach. As always, Vera Farmiga turns out a fantastic performance amid fucking insanity of Norma’s storyline. The titular “Death in the Family” is Norma’s mother, who we learn was addled with addiction and disease, rendering her emotionally unavailable for Norma’s traumatic childhood. Farmiga perfectly balances the complex feelings Norma is dealing with; From the way she drowns her own son with love, it’s clear she wishes she had more than one single happy memory of her mother. But she’s also viciously uninterested in reconnecting with her family in the wake of this death. Her brother Caleb (Kenny Johnson, “The Shield”) returns to mend relations, but Caleb reaches out to Dylan instead of Norma, knowing that he wouldn’t be welcome around the hotel again. Dylan has always been the weakest link of “Bates Motel,” so this renewed relationship with his father might be enough to galvanize his scenes. The seson premiere of “Bates Motel” ends with an image of Norman driving Annika’s car back to the motel lot, appearing on the screen like a dim speck underneath the glowing blue light of the vacancy sign. Could he have killed Annika? “Bates Motel” drops clues, some subtle and some flashing as bright as that neon sign, then thrusts viewers into the dark with a killer cliffhanger. Sure, Mr. Hitchcock might have something to say about mystery vs. suspense, but “Bates Motel” is using every tool in its box to gear up for its craziest season yet.
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Sports 6A — Monday, March 16, 2015
2ND ROUND March 19-20
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2ND ROUND March 19-20
1. Villanova 16. Lafayette 8. North Carolina St. 9. LSU 5. Northern Iowa 12. Wyoming 4. Louisville 13. UC Irvine 6. Providence 11. Boise St./Dayton 3. Oklahoma 14. Albany 7. Michigan State 10. Georgia 2. Virginia 15. Belmont
1. Duke 16. N. Florida/Robert Morris 8. San Diego State 9. St. Johns 5. Utah 12. Stephen F. Austin 4. Georgetown 13. E. Washington 6. SMU 11. UCLA 3. Iowa State 14. UAB 7. Iowa 10. Davidson 2. Gonzaga 15. North Dakota St.
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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | March 16, 2015
STATE OF URGENCY Michigan’s Big Ten title hopes spoiled by Michigan State By JEREMY SUMMITT Daily Sports Editor
The Michigan hockey team was looking for a storybook ending to cap off its regular season, but the book never got published. There was one final game — Saturday’s contest at Yost Ice Arena, on Senior Day and against its in-state rival, a game that seemed as if it could handle all the components of a storybook ending. The 19th-ranked Wolverines needed just one victory to capture the Big Ten regularseason championship, but Michigan State wouldn’t let them etch the final words into their coveted story. “We had the opportunity to do something special and it didn’t happen,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. Michigan lost 2-1 against the team it hates losing to most. The Spartans threw a pair of villains into the Wolverines’ fairytale, and their names are Matt DeBlouw and Jake Hildebrand. Twenty-nine seconds into the third period, DeBlouw scored the eventual game-winning goal. He was sprung on a breakaway thanks to a Wolverine turnover in the neutral zone and was able to slip a shot See MICHIGAN, Page 2B
For the seniors, happy ending on breakable thread By ZACH SHAW
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It was everything, everything that the seniors wanted. It was meant to be, supposed to be, but they lost it. As the puck sailed into Michigan’s zone one final time, the screaming crowd stood in stunned silence. It was almost destiny, but with one final Michigan State dump, it suddenly wasn’t. On a day when the Wolverines had a chance to sweep their rival, win their first Big Ten title and send their seniors off with a bang in front of a sold-out crowd, Michigan came up short time and again, missing opportunity after opportunity to send the puck past Spartan goaltender Jake Hildebrand, who made 37 saves. “It’s disappointing,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “We had an opportunity to do something that was special, and it didn’t happen. I like the way our team played. I don’t know how many grade-A scoring chances we had in the game, give their goalie credit, give their team credit, but the puck wasn’t going in.” For over two decades, the Wolverines and the NCAA Tournament were the perfect pair, sideby-side through See SENIORS, Page 2B
SportsMonday
2B — March 16, 2015
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
S
omewhere in the locker room of Yost Ice Arena, where that feeling of heartbreak hurts the most, is a list of goals for the Michigan hockey team. They’re the same goals that GREG have likely GARNO been posted in that same room all season: “Protect Yost, win the weekend, win the GLI, win the Big Ten.” Saturday night, they had the opportunity to accomplish all of them. The Wolverines were at home, having won the Great Lakes Invitational in December, with a chance to sweep Michigan State for the Big Ten regular-season title. And maybe, in the process, silence the criticism that has followed them this season. They faced the pressure that comes when an entire season comes down to one game, the type of pressure you would feel sitting on a 17 in blackjack. Except, if they lost this hand, they would lose everything they worked so hard to avoid repeating. They were risking that feeling of heartbreak. ***
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wo years ago, when Michigan fell apart in the regular season behind a lackluster defense and lack of energy, it fought back into the CCHA playoffs for a chance to salvage the season. There was no chance at an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. If the Wolverines wanted to make it, they’d have to win out. Sitting near the bottom of the
SENIORS From Page 1B passion, intensity, and joy. But the two have been apart for nearly three years now, and after dropping to its worst start to the season in 28 years, Michigan has made another desperate attempt to win itself a date with the postseason. No one feels that desperation quite like the seniors. They’re the only ones who know what it’s like to play in the tournament, making the sudden breakup all the more painful. As the game wore on and another disappointing loss became more of a reality by the second, that desperation could be seen from the seniors on the ice. Defensemen Andrew Sinelli, Mike Chiasson and Brennan Serville could be seen delivering hits and chasing down passes as a part of a unit that surrendered just 19 shots. Senior forwards Zach Hyman and Travis Lynch could be seen corralling the puck in the corner, dashing down the ice on breakaways and setting up shop near Hildebrand’s crease, desperately screening and poking anything that came within reach. It was some of the best hockey the fans at Yost Ice Arena had seen all season, but after yet another disappointing, agonizing loss that spoiled the seniors’ day, the Wolverines’ happy ending is held up high on a break-
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
That feeling of heartbreak not pass. “I told them they did everything they could to make it happen,” Berenson said. “We had the chance, the opportunity.” There are periods of silence when Berenson speaks, not because he doesn’t know what to say but because it hurts to say it. He looks down and around and then finally, he says, “It is what it is.” And right now, it’s heartbreak. It’s the feeling they have after playing one of their best games and still losing. ***
N JAMES COLLER/Daily
The Michigan hockey team has put itself into a now-familiar position: It must win the Big Ten Tournament this weekend to make the NCAA Tournament.
conference, team after team fell to the Wolverines, even the ones that had defeated them earlier in the season, all the way to the conference final. They clawed back, but only to fall short in the final period. They cried, then fell silent and vowed to never let that feeling happen again. Last year, having started the season so well, Michigan fell apart at the end of the season, when it needed one win in the Big Ten Tournament to secure its fate in the postseason. The Wolverines had just defeated No. 1 Minnesota the weekend before, giving their postseason hopes new life. And for 96 minutes, they fought and held on against
Penn State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. They stopped shot after shot and came inches — literally inches — away from doing so, only to feel that pain again. They had done everything they could, but they were left helpless once more. They cried again, said even fewer words than the last time, and once more, they vowed to never experience that heartbreak again.
able thread as well. “We put ourselves in a tough spot,” Berenson said. “We have to work our way out of it. I think our team has put everything they had into this weekend. We went there and had a good game in Lansing, and we played another good game tonight. “It’s your body of work during the year, and it’s too bad it comes down to one game or one weekend to dictate your destiny, but that’s what happened.” Even with seconds to go, it didn’t seem quite real for Michigan. A flurry of shots near the net in the closing minutes looked to be the sequence that would finally break Hildebrand. With Hyman and Lynch skating freely all around the net and getting seemingly open looks, the fans rose to their feet, not wondering if a senior would rise up to be a hero, but which one and when. But each time, Hildebrand was there. After allowing eight goals in his previous two stints against Michigan, both losses, the netminder showed why he’s the favorite to be Big Ten Goaltender of the Year. The breakaways, wrap-arounds and one-timers the Wolverines had used to become the best offense in the nation fell silent when they needed them most.
“Sometimes the puck isn’t going to go in, and they play well defensively,” Hyman said. “Unfortunately, they were able to capitalize on the little chances they had. We had a bunch of chances, but couldn’t capitalize on them.” With it all on the line, Michigan lost it, and that was a tough pill to swallow. Most fans trickled out of Yost following the devastating loss. But those who did stay celebrated a senior class so dead-set on winning that they had to be coaxed into kissing center-ice and posing for team photos after their final home game, a longtime Wolverine tradition. But before the memories so close to the team just fade away, the seniors will have one more shot at a happy ending and regain the love of the NCAA Tournament. With more goals than any team and blowout wins over every Big Ten team, the Wolverines are more than capable at one final run in the Big Ten Tournament, which begins Thursday against Wisconsin in Detroit. “I wouldn’t want to play us next week,” Berenson said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for us to salvage our so-called ‘status’ whether it’s in the NCAA Tournament or Big Ten status.”
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hen the final horn sounded Saturday, they were heartbroken once more. Junior forward Andrew Copp bent over with his stick on his knees, gliding from one end of the ice to the other. Michigan coach Red Berenson and the rest of the coaching staff shuffled off the ice without shaking any of the players’ hands. Senior forwards Zach Hyman and Travis Lynch skated out to the ice to be honored on Senior
“We had the chance, the opportunity.”
***
“We had an opportunity to do something special.”
MICHIGAN From Page 1B past sophomore goaltender Zach Nagelvoort. “You never want to give up a goal in the first shift of the period, but we had a lot of time to come back,” said senior forward Zach Hyman. “We pressured them really well.” It wasn’t as if Michigan didn’t have enough chances to find the equalizer. It had plenty. With 6:19 remaining in regulation, a loose puck squirted out to sophomore forward Tyler Motte. He had a wide-open net, he ripped a shot, and he saw the wide-open net vanish. Hildebrand shifted from the right to left goal post, flung his glove in the air and Motte’s shot somehow landed in leather instead of twine. During the final minute of regulation, Hildebrand stood tall against Motte once more. A rebound opportunity was smothered, and the Wolverines couldn’t break through with the extra attacker despite a lengthy stay in the offensive zone. “Their goalie stood on his head and played as well as I’ve seen a goalie play this year,” Berenson said. Michigan State led the entire
Night, but with forced smiles. They hugged teammates, waved to the crowd and kissed the ice — only out of tradition. They were still hurting. For 60 minutes, the Wolverines played perhaps some of their best hockey of the season. Maybe they could have passed the puck more sharply or cleared the puck quicker. But they attacked the net, held onto the puck and didn’t stay in the penalty box. But when Michigan thought it had a chance, the Spartans were there with bodies flying everywhere. Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand, who has had a quiet season, played perhaps his best game, as if to personally say, You shall
game and was sparked by an early goal off the stick of forward Michael Ferrantino. Midway through the first period, just as a Michigan penalty had expired, Ferrantino skated through the left circle and fired a rising shot over Nagelvoort’s left shoulder. The Wolverines broke through just once, as they evened the score at one when freshman defenseman Zach Werenski netted his ninth of the season with 7:10 left in the second period. Werenski corralled the puck at the high slot, paused momentarily and fired a shot into the top corner. Shortly after Ferrantino’s goal, the Wolverines began to take control of the game, flipping the switch on its dangerous offense. They peppered Hildebrand with a flurry of chances. “Sometimes the puck isn’t going to go in, but they played well defensively and, unfortunately, they capitalized on the little chances that they had,” Hyman said. “I mean, that’s the name of the game is putting your chances in.” The initial half of the second period played to the same tune as the final half of the first, but Hildebrand continued his stout performance. Michigan whizzed a pair of shots wide and couldn’t beat Hildebrand even
“Our team has put everything they had during this weekend.”
ow, as the Big Ten Tournament looms, the Wolverines’ past follows them once again. They arrive at the conference tournament needing to win it all to make it to the NCAA Tournament. They vowed to end this feeling, never to go back to that feeling of heartbreak. It’s a vow they’re sick of making, but it’s one they’re going to have to make once again. This feeling, whether they like it or not, is on them. Next weekend, it’s a chance, as Berenson puts it, “to salvage our so-called status.” It’s time to see whether this team is ready to break its streak. Whether they won or not, they weren’t headed to the NCAA Tournament if they won Saturday night. And it won’t matter how far they go in the tournament, so long as they make it. After 22 years of making the postseason followed by two consecutive years of missing it, the heartbreak has become all too familiar. But it doesn’t have to be. Garno can reached at ggarno@ umich.edu or on Twitter @G_Garno.
in the midst of a stretch where it outshot Michigan State 6-0 in the first 9:27 of the middle frame. All evening, the Wolverines won the possession battle and finished the game with 19 more shots than the Spartans. But not every ending is a happy one, even if all signs point toward such a finish and even if Michigan deserved one. “I think our team has put everything they had during this weekend,” Berenson said. “We went down there and played a good game in Lansing and we played another good game tonight, and it didn’t happen.” Throughout the final month of the season, the Wolverines controlled their own destiny for a Big Ten title, but they fell short. A victory one night ago in East Lansing set the stage for Michigan to win its first conference championship since 2011, but it fell short. And with a myriad of chances to find the goal — and the words — that would have been enough to compose a happy ending, it fell short. The Wolverines’ storybook ending was almost complete, but sometimes the most promising of storylines don’t pan out. It just didn’t happen. Michigan will have to settle for a new story — a shot at redemption in next week’s Big Ten Tournament. With this fairytale in the wastebasket, the Wolverines are back to writing once more, but writing a new story is better than being unable to write anything at all.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
‘M’ wins rubber match By CHRIS CROWDER Daily Sports Writer
In Saturday’s home opener for the Michigan softball team, Kent State pitcher Emma Johnson dominated. She held the Wolverines scoreless, allowing just three hits and striking out five in a complete-game win. Michigan couldn’t lay off of her tricky rise ball — which was the Wolverines’ game plan. “I bet you my salary that we’re going to see Emma Johnson again,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins after Saturday’s 3-0 loss. “That kid is good as anyone else I’ve seen. She’s legit.” Sure enough, who was announced as the Golden Flashes’ pitcher in the pregame introductions Sunday? None other than Emma Johnson. With a chip on their shoulder after losing the home opener, Hutchins said that she hoped the Wolverines would come back Sunday with “a bee in their bonnet.” It’s safe to say Michigan delivered, led by 10 strikeouts from sophomore pitcher Megan Betsa and two RBI from sophomore left fielder Kelly Christner, winning 4-1. Through the first three innings, Johnson was just as effective as Saturday. With a lethal rise ball, she racked up five strikeouts and forced the thirdranked Wolverines (24-4) to pop out twice. Kent State (12-6) then scored first in the top of the fourth with a home run by right fielder Michele Duffy — her first of the season. Michigan’s first hit of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning by way of a single by Christner. Two batters later, freshman first baseman Tera Blanco broke up Johnson’s shutout with an RBI single, driving in Christner and tying the game at one. After junior right fielder Kelsey Susalla was hit by a pitch, a runner was in
March 16, 2015 — 3B
BASEBALL
Hits don’t fall as ‘M’ drops series By DANNY VARGOVICK Daily Sports Writer
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Sophomore outfielder Kelly Christner knocked in two key runs Sunday in Michigan’s 4-1 victory over Kent State.
scoring position for freshman catcher Aidan Falk. Senior catcher Lauren Sweet, the usual starter behind the plate for the Wolverines, was injured on a play running home Saturday, so Falk got her first career start Sunday. With the freshman facing a full count, the Michigan crowd roared to life, clapping and stomping its feet in hopes of a rally, but Johnson picked up another strikeout with her devastating rise ball. In the fifth inning, sophomore third baseman Lindsay Montemarno led off the inning. After working the count full, she sent a charge to left field, landing near the chalk between fair and foul territory. Montemarano ran to second, but the call was reversed, sending the crowd and Hutchins into a tirade. After Hutchins’ argument with the third base umpire concluded, the fans booed, and Hutchins raised her hands up and down in approval of the fans’ disappointment. Montemarano struck out on the next pitch. Two batters later, more drama and controversial calls unfolded.
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
Junior designated player Mary Sbonek stole second and Golden Flashes catcher Erika Warren tried to throw her out, but the errant throw hit the batter, sophomore shortstop Abby Ramirez, in the head, causing the ball to go behind third base. Warren hit Christner in the same type of situation in game one on Saturday. Sbonek then advanced to third but was called out, sending Wolverine fans into another frenzy. With the bases loaded and tensions rising for Kent State in the sixth, Betsa got out of the jam by getting Warren to pop out. That was when the tide started to turn. “I was trying to be one-pitch tougher than they were,” Betsa said. “If bases are loaded, I don’t try too hard. I don’t try to get the strikeout or to get them to swing and miss. That’s great, but if they put the ball in play and we throw the ball to first to get out of the inning, that’s just as good.” Johnson’s effectiveness ended in the sixth. With the Wolverines up to bat in the subsequent half inning, junior center fielder Sierra
Lawrence led off with a single. Four pitches later, Christner hit a two-run shot into the right field bleachers, giving Michigan a 3-1 lead. After a popout, Blanco sent a solo home run over the left field wall, extending the lead to three. While she ran the bases, she held one finger up in the air in triumph. The Wolverines had finally figured Johnson out, thus ending her day in the circle. “I thought we were trying too much, and then we finally said, get back to see ball, hit ball,” Hutchins said. When Betsa ended the game with a strikeout, the Michigan fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Kent State came into the series ready to win and got one in its first opportunity. After that, the Wolverines kicked into gear and got their offense going. Fans may not have expected Kent State to be competitive, but Michigan didn’t doubt its abilities after Johnson’s stellar performance. “We always have to come out and battle,” Blanco said. “It’s kill or be killed out here.”
To win baseball games, you need to hit the baseball and the ball has to find a hole. Against Kansas (8-12) this weekend, Michigan (11-8) did only one of those two things, as it dropped two of its three games in its weekend series in Lawrence, Kansas. “Today (we had) some of the best at-bats we’ve had all season,” said Michigan coach Erik Bakich. “We hit some of the hardest balls we’ve hit all season.” But two Jayhawk outfielders made leaping catches at the wall to rob the Wolverines of extra bases and countless line drives were roped straight into Kansas mitts. The highlight of the weekend for the Michigan offense was the eighth inning of Saturday’s game when it scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead that it would not relinquish. Junior left fielder Cody Bruder reached on an error to start the inning before being brought home by senior catcher Kendall Patrick’s single. Patrick and right fielder Johnny Slater then scored off the bat of senior Eric Jacobson, who has impressed after moving over to shortstop as junior shortstop Travis Maezes deals with an injury. Junior first baseman and junior closer Jacob Cronenworth threw the final two innings Saturday to ensure the Wolverines stayed ahead for good. The main difference between the Wolverines’ win on Saturday and their two losses — 6-5 on Friday and 8-4 on Sunday — may have been the starting pitching. Friday, sophomore left-hander Brett Adcock needed 87 pitches to make it through four frames, allowing five earned runs in the
process. Adcock walked just two batters while striking out three, but the Jayhawks had his number, tagging him for seven hits. “Brett’s had one bad outing,” Bakich said. “They capitalized on an inning where they had twoout RBIs. Brett’s been lights out for us these past few weeks.” Saturday, freshman righthander Ryan Nutof had one of his best starts in his young career, throwing six strong innings while allowing just two earned runs and seven total base runners. “He’s a good pitcher,” Bakich said. “When he’s throwing his fastball and breaking ball and change-up all for strikes, he’s got pretty good stuff. He gives us a chance to win games.” In the rubber match Sunday, the Wolverines had their best pitcher so far this season, sophomore right-hander Keith Lehmann, on the mound, but he lasted just two innings. While he didn’t allow a single free pass, he was hit hard for six hits and four earned runs. “Keith made some quality pitches,” Bakich said. “Everything they hit found a hole. They didn’t strike out and found a way to put the barrel on the ball. You have to give them credit for coming out and making contact.” The weather in Kansas also seemed to favor the homestanding Jayhawks. “There was a jet stream going out to right,” Bakich said. “They hit a couple balls that way, and we hit a lot of balls the wrong direction.” After putting together an eight-game winning streak over Spring Break, the Wolverines will try not to let one series that got away get them down. They’ll attempt to learn from the negatives, try to focus on the positives and move on.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
DMR headlines Bastien an All-American in heptathlon championships By MATTHEW KIPNIS Daily Sports Writer
By RILEY NELSON Daily Sports Writer
Two legs into the distance medley relay, the Michigan women’s track and field team’s fate was almost decided by an opposing runner’s error. The Villanova runner fumbled a baton exchange, hitting Michigan junior Maya Long’s hand. Long was able to compose herself, however, helping the Wolverines’ relay team to a thirdplace finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champi The time of 10:58 in Fayetteville, Arkansas is more than four seconds faster than its previous best time this season. “We were pretty fired up,” said Michigan coach Mike McGuire. “I thought we raced to our potential. We were ranked seventh or eighth, so we came out and finished third in the nation. That’s a great effort by four people.” The distance medley relay is a four-part relay race consisting of 1,200-, 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter legs. The runners representing Michigan were juniors Shannon Osika, Long, Danielle Pfeifer and senior co-captain Brooke Handler, in that order. “We put together four much more solid legs than we had in the previous weeks,” Handler said. “We were happy with our time as well.” Stanford came in second at 10:53, while Arkansas set a facility and meet record with a time of 10:51. This was more than five seconds faster than the previous record, which was set by Michigan’s 2013 NCAA Championship relay team. Michigan was also represented in Fayetteville by junior Cindy Ofili in the 60-meter hurdles. Coming off of her second straight win at the Big Ten Championships, Ofili hit a hurdle and fell during the preliminaries, failing to advance to the finals.
“It was obviously a big disappointment for her,” McGuire said. “It was not in a lack of effort. It was one of those things that can unfortunately happen.” One point of discussion prior to this weekend was whether Pfeifer would compete in the individual 800-meter race, which she also qualified for. After lengthy discussions with McGuire, Pfeifer chose not to compete individually in order to be fresh for the distance medley. “We wanted to see what we could do as a team when we were all fresh,” Pfeifer said, “so after talking about that we decided that it was best for me to scratch the individual 800-meter. I’m pretty happy with my decision because of what we did yesterday.” In the distance medley relay, Pfeifer had the fastest split of any 800-meter runner in the race. “I think that’s attributed to the fact that she’s a really good athlete and was running fresh,” McGuire said. “Next year she’ll be a senior, so we could decide on something different, but I think it was something we mutually agreed upon.” For Handler, the weekend was particularly special because it was the last indoor race of her collegiate career. “I wanted to go out with one of my best collegiate races,” Handler said. “It was definitely my best race of the indoor season.” She ran a personal best with a time of 4:35. The Wolverines had a successful indoor season, taking second at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. This is also the 12th consecutive year that Michigan has had All-Americans in the distance medley. All four members of the 2015 team were awarded that honor. “I thought we made progress, getting second in the Big Ten and what we did this weekend,” McGuire said. “We’re going a step in the right direction.”
At the Akron Invitational last month, junior Steven Bastien broke a record that had gone untouched for seven years. When Bastien topped Frank Shotwell’s score with a 5,576 point total in that heptathlon, it seemed that his new record could stay at the top of the record book for nearly as long as its predecessor. In reality, it lasted a total of 35 days. At the NCAA Indoor Championships this past weekend, Bastien earned 5,664 points to finish in eighth place overall, becoming Michigan’s first-ever All-American in the heptathlon. In the process, he set four new personal records in seven events and entered Michigan’s all-time top 10 with a long jump of 24 feet, 7.25 inches. “I feel really honored just to add to the tradition that Michigan had,” Bastien said. Added Michigan coach Jerry Clayton: “Anytime you come into the national championship and your athletes finish higher then where they were ranked coming in, that’s a positive step. With
Steven Bastien ending up as an All-American and scoring in the top eight (nationally), that’s even greater.” Redshirt junior Derek Sievers joined Bastien in Arkansas for his first trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sievers finished 11th to earn second team AllAmerica honors. Even with a throw of 60 feet, 5.75 inches — sixth-best all-time for Michigan indoor throwers — it was Bastien making his debut that stole the show. Entering the tournament as the 14th seed in the field, Bastien surpassed almost everyone’s expectations, except his and his coaches’. Just hours after having set the previous record, Bastien knew he could do better. Immediately following the Akron Invitational, Bastien worked with Michigan coach Jerry Clayton and assistant coach Steven Rajewsky to create a plan of attack for the Big Ten Indoor Championships and NCAA Indoor Championships. “As a decathlete, compared to people that do just the one event, you don’t get a lot of reps,” Bastien said. “There is a lot of room for improvement because
you don’t have the time to spend on one or two events. Even after the first meet, Coach Clayton said there was more there, more to improve on.” On the first day, Bastien looked ready to prove doubters wrong straight out of the gates. In the first event, the 60-meter dash, Bastien finished in sixth place with a time of 7.037 seconds, fractions off his personal best. Bastien then jumped three places up the leaderboard to third in the second event with his record-breaking long jump of 24 feet, 7.25 inches, but didn’t even know it. “When I landed, I looked at the notches for each footmark and I misread it,” Bastien said. “I thought it wasn’t that good but then I saw the number and was really happy. Doing well in the (60-meter dash), then the long jump really helped me carry the momentum through.” Eventually, after throwing a career best in shot put and a six feet, 2.25 inches high jump, Bastien fell back to eighth, where he ended the first day. Bastien started the second day to with a personal-best time of 8.51 seconds in the 60-meter
hurdles, and followed that up by breaking his previous best mark as a Wolverine in the pole vault, clearing 14 feet, 11 inches. Despite the result, Bastien dropped to ninth, and needed a solid performance on the final event to finish as a first team AllAmerican. Bastien did that and more, running the fastest 1,000 meters of his career finishing second in the 14-man field, by clocking 2:36.85 and beating his previous mark by more than seven seconds. With the runner-up finish, Bastien jumped back into eighth and finalized his spot on the All-American first team. “We need to bring more people like him to our program to take us to the next level,” Clayton said. “This is the type of athlete we need. He has made great strides (since coming to Michigan). I saw the athletic ability, but it was just putting it together in a heptathlon which is what we have been able to do.” Since transferring to Michigan from Samford this season, Bastien has broken two Michigan records in his seven events. When he is on the track, no record is safe. Not even his own.
SportsMonday
4B — March 16, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wisconsin holds off upset Season ends without NIT bid in Big Ten Tournament By LEV FACHER Managing Editor
By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Editor
CHICAGO — Even when Aubrey Dawkins finally took off his jersey and started the laundry pile in the center of the Michigan men’s basketball team’s locker room, there were no tears. There MICHIGAN 60 were long WISCONSIN 71 faces, and moments the Wolverines wished they could have back, but no real regrets. Michigan made it closer than anyone would have expected against No. 1 seed Wisconsin, even if the 71-60 final score didn’t reflect it. After an emphatic win over Illinois on Thursday, Michigan came out with similar fire to face Wisconsin on Friday. The Wolverines ran the floor, they worked the ball around and they shot well. But none of it was enough to knock off the top-seeded Badgers. Led by a dominant performance inside by Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker, Wisconsin pulled away late to beat the Wolverines, eliminating them from the Big Ten Tournament. “We gave them our all,” said freshman guard MuhammadAli Abdur-Rahkman. “They’re a great team, but I think we played well against them. We just didn’t come out with the ‘W.’ ” But the Wolverines didn’t go quietly. With 6:09 remaining, sophomore forward Zak Irvin sank a 3-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 54. Playing against a bigger, more experienced Wisconsin team, Michigan was holding its own. There were occasional bouts of Badger dominance in the post, but they always seemed to be followed by spurts of lights-out shooting by the Wolverines. For a moment, the heavily proWisconsin crowd at the United
Center even got nervous. Freshman forward Aubrey Dawkins flushed a put-back dunk to give Michigan a 42-41 lead with 12:52 to play, and freshman guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman picked up a turnover and brought it coast-to-coast for a finger roll seconds later. But Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan called a timeout, settled his team and got the results he was looking for. Forward Duje Dukan tied the game with a triple out of the timeout, and Wisconsin relied on its post game the rest of the way. “They did a good job weathering the storm,” Abdur-Rahkman said. “They just countered our runs and it was hard to guard them … their length, how tall they are and they’re a great passing team as well as a great shooting team.” Even in a loss, Irvin looked phenomenal for the Wolverines. He had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the loss, and although he missed a pair of late free throws, the game was already out of hand at that point. He hit mid-range jumpers with ease and pulled down rebounds at an astounding rate. He found open teammates and disrupted passes on defense, but he couldn’t do enough to match the Badgers. Kaminsky and Dekker used their size to back down Michigan’s forwards all the way down to the basket, where they usually got an easy layup, if not an offensive board. The Badgers outrebounded Michigan 34-19, 12-4 on the offensive glass. “They have a variety of post moves that it’s tough to stop, especially with their height,” said senior forward Max Bielfeldt. “It’s tough to double because they have so many lethal shooters waiting out there behind the 3-point line.” For most of the first half, though, Wisconsin went cold
from the perimeter, and Michigan was able to set the pace of the game. They sped Wisconsin up in transition and, for the first 16 minutes, they were able to limit them outside. Junior guard Spike Albrecht showed off a smooth jumper at the outset, drilling a turnaround jumper in traffic to give Michigan a 13-9 lead seven minutes in. Bielfeldt came up with a big block on Hayes under the basket, opening up a 3-pointer by Irvin that stretched the lead to seven. But that’s when the Badgers started to get going. They cut the deficit to 16-13 and looked to be hitting their stride. Irvin and Albrecht hit a pair of back-to-back triples minutes later, stretching Michigan’s lead to nine, the widest it would get all day. But even that wasn’t able to hold off a Wisconsin rally at the end of the half, and ultimately, at the end of the game. Down the stretch, the Badgers were composed, hitting free throws and making easy layups to prevent any chance for a Michigan comeback.
The Michigan men’s basketball team’s season is over. After a 16-16 finish, the Wolverines failed to secure an NIT bid Sunday night, getting beaten out for at-large bids by teams like Alabama, George Washington and Arizona State. After a rough showing in non-conference play and a pair of devastating midseason injuries, the Wolverines showed flashes of promise in the second half of the season, making a late push for a postseason bid. A Feb. 22 win over Ohio State, in particular, proved the Wolverines were capable of contending with postseasoncaliber teams, even without two of their leading scorers: junior guard Caris LeVert and sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. But a season-long string of close losses kept Michigan from a postseason bid, starting with a Nov. 25 loss to eventual NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Villanova in Brooklyn, New York. Then came missteps against teams like New Jersey Institute of Technology and
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
The Wolverines fell short against Wisconsin and just missed out on an NIT bid.
‘M’ captures regular-season title By CINDY YU Daily Sports Writer
Inside the Donald R. Shepherd Training Center, where the No. 6 Michigan women’s gymnastics team practices, mason jars with the names of each gymnast are neatly aligned before a large wall of windows. The jars represent a reward system to further motivate and incentivize the athletes to excel both in and out of the gym throughout the season. After each meet, a gymnast is rewarded with a marble every time she scores a 9.900 or higher on an event or sticks a landing. At the Big Five meet on Saturday, three marbles were given out on the final rotation, vault, the event where Michigan has its lowest team average (49.260) and national ranking (tied for No. 12). After trailing No. 12 Penn State (6-3 Big Ten, 14-3 overall) the entire meet, the Wolverines were able to not only surpass the Nittany Lions, 197.000-196.650, to win the Big Ten regular-season title, but also record their season-best total of 49.525 on vault. In addition, they earned a berth into the evening session of the Big Ten Championships. Junior Austin Sheppard completed a powerful Yurchenko full to match her season-best score of 9.900 from the previous week. Leading the team were sophomore Nicole Artz and senior Sachi Sugiyama, who also finished top two in the allaround. Each scored 9.950 to tie Minnesota junior Lindsay Mable for first place on the event. Artz nearly stuck her Yurchenko full to put up a career high on the event, whereas Sugiyama extended her streak of scoring at least 9.900 on the event to five consecutive meets. The Keller, Texas native looks to pick up her second Big Ten vault title next week. Michigan will have the home crowd advantage at the Big Ten Championships inside Crisler Center, but at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, the team was able to recreate a home floor
advantage of its own. “It was time to hold nothing back,” Sugiyama said. “I’m surprised any of us had voices after screaming and yelling, and just really putting all of our energy into each other and into each vault.” Another standout performance on vault came from senior Brooke Parker, who scored a career-best 9.875. Competing in the leadoff position, the captain set the tone for the rest of the lineup that was highlighted by clean landings. Prior to the stellar vault rotation, Michigan overcame some nerves and uncharacteristic performances that put them in danger of not securing the win. “We didn’t have falls, but we were not as crisp and as good as we could have been,” said Michigan coach Bev Plocki. “We have to make sure that as we get into the championship part of the season, we go out there and compete aggressively from the very first routine to the last one.” The Wolverines started on the uneven bars, where their scores ranged from 9.775 to 9.850. Under tight scoring circumstances, they totaled 49.125 after the first rotation. “We weren’t at prime form
as we had been in the past, but I think that we just got a little nervous and were a little tentative on our handstands and our landings,” Sugiyama said. As they moved to the balance beam, Artz scored the team’s sole 9.900 on the event. Ranked No. 4 in the NCAA, she showed consistency by putting up her sixth consecutive score of at least 9.900 on beam and was able to tie Iowa sophomore Mollie Drenth for first place. At the halfway mark, Penn State led Michigan, 98.55098.325. Before competing on floor exercise and vault, the Wolverines had a bye that reenergized them in preparation of the two power events. Though there was inconsistent scoring on floor, the seasonlow total of 49.150 may not have accurately portrayed the actual performances. Sugiyama and Parker led the team with scores of 9.925 and 9.875, respectively. Sugiyama added three marbles to her jar after sticking two tumbling passes and matching her career high score for the third week in a row. Parker nailed her unique routine in which she sets up her tumbling passes with just
a round-off rather than adding a back handspring connection, as most gymnasts do, to build momentum into her tumbling passes. Though the team is happy with the outcome of the regular season, it sees the Big Five meet as more of a warm-up for Big Ten Championships on Saturday. “It’s really great that we were able to win and become regularseason champions, but our main focus will be next weekend,” Parker said. Joining Michigan (9-0 Big Ten, 12-2 overall) and Penn State in the evening session will be No. 20 Minnesota, while Iowa and Rutgers will compete in the afternoon session. No. 9 Nebraska, No. 13 Illinois and Ohio State also qualified into the evening session at the other Big Five qualifying meet, implying Maryland and Michigan State will compete in the earlier session. While Michigan made history last year by becoming the first team to win the Big Ten Championships from the afternoon session, the team was relieved to not have to be put in a difficult situation again. The jars are getting full, but there are still plenty of marbles to earn.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Sachi Sugiyama finished in the top two in the all-around competition as Michigan won the Big Ten regular-season title.
Eastern Michigan, and finally, the late-game ineptitude continued against Big Ten foes like Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan State. “You don’t go to tournaments when you just come close so many times,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “You’ve got to win more games, and you’ve got to do better than we did, and that’s the fact.” While the Wolverines, who finished just on the wrong side of the NIT bubble, would have been strong candidates for a bid to lower-tier postseason tournaments like the CIT or the CBI, Beilein said weeks ago that Michigan would only pursue opportunities in the NIT or NCAA Tournament. Beilein told his team its fate in a mass text, he said Sunday night. Junior guard Spike Albrecht was the first to respond. He replied, “I wish next season was here tomorrow.” The end of Michigan’s season, though, is ill-timed, as the postinjury iteration of the Wolverines seemed to find their stride in the season’s final weeks. Freshman guard Aubrey Dawkins emerged as a backcourt force, alongside nascent scoring threat and fellow freshman MuhammadAli Abdur-Rahkman. Freshman forward Ricky Doyle put up an impressive performance against Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky in the teams’ Friday clash, which eliminated Michigan from the Big Ten Tournament, and Albrecht and senior forward Max Bielfeldt took up their newfound responsibilities as leaders on and off the court in stride.
And perhaps most importantly, after a rough start to the season, sophomore forward Zak Irvin emerged again as a key component of the Wolverines’ future. In the final weeks, he displayed previously unseen potential on the glass and defensively, perfect complements to his already documented shooting skills and newfound ability to put the ball on the floor. “In the Big Ten, we know each other pretty well,” Beilein said. “But usually, when we get out of the conference at this time of the year, we’ve had some success.”
“I wish next season was here tomorrow.”
Nonetheless, Beilein was encouraged by his team’s lateseason resilience, and by Irvin’s improvement in particular. “He is truly becoming a multi-position player,” Beilein said. “Last year, (he was) just a shooter, and a freshman type of defender, certainly not a passer or a rebounder. And now, he’s become a passer, a rebounder, a better shooter, a scorer.” With no more games to be had until November, the Wolverines will shift from a 20-hours-perweek schedule to just a twohour weekly slate. Off the court, attention will turn to the status of junior guard Caris LeVert, who has been projected as a mid-first round pick in the NBA Draft but has yet to announce whether he’ll return to Ann Arbor for his senior season. The deadline to declare draft entry is April 25. Beilein and Bielfeldt have also indicated that the latter’s status is up in the air, and that the two will meet in the coming weeks to discuss their respective options and decide whether a potential fifth year for “Moose” is mutually agreeable.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Michigan rebounds, cruises past Niagara By BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer
After Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech in the waning seconds of overtime, the Michigan women’s lacrosse team was left picking up the pieces in its matchup with Niagara on Saturday. While the Wolverines showed the full effects of their midweek loss in the first half, adjustments at the break proved to be the difference as Michigan (4-3) cruised to a 15-8 victory. The Purple Eagles (2-4) had no answer to an incredibly efficient performance from the Wolverines’ starting midfield unit. Sophomore midfielders Anna Schueler, Kim Coughlan and Lauren Oberlander combined to score 11 of Michigan’s 15 goals while failing to clear the ball just twice. Successfully maintaining possession while in transition was a huge boost for the Wolverines and built confidence for the team to attack. “We worked on (clearing) a lot in practice, and it finally clicked for us,” Oberlander said. “We spread out, communicated with each other and kept our heads up so we were able to find each other on the attack. Getting the fast break was an important part of our game.” Outside of Schueler’s three goals in the first half, the Wolverines came out shaky in the opening period. Michigan’s defense was forced to take on more pressure than it expected and committed 11 more fouls than Niagara in the first half. On the other end, the Wolverine attackers were constantly disconnected from one another. Michigan committed 12 turnovers, and despite outshooting the Purple Eagles, 15-8, the teams went into the break knotted at five. “We want quality opportunities, but in the first half, we weren’t being as smart as we should have been,” said sophomore attacker Tess Korten.
“And that’s why our shooting percentage was so low.” Michigan coach Jennifer Ulehla sensed from the poor period that her young team was emotionally drained from Wednesday’s loss and struggling because of the short week of preparation. But Ulehla challenged her team at halftime to change its work ethic and try to use whatever remaining energy it had to find a breakthrough. Coming out of halftime, the Wolverines looked like a different team. It took 64 seconds for Michigan to find the opening goal of the period off Oberlander’s stick. Then, the Wolverines went on a 4-0 run, displaying their highest level of confidence of the day. While Michigan’s midfield and especially Coughlan — who scored four of her five goals in the second half — continued to make all the right plays, the Wolverine attackers picked up their game. Ulehla was impressed by how her attack unit calmed down and distributed the ball. Shooting efficiently was the largest area of improvement for Michigan in the second half. The Wolverines netted 10 of their 17 shots in the period. “The first half, we had a lot of great looks, but we shot right to the goalie’s stick,” Ulehla said. “They made the adjustment in the second half and shot a lot better. We’re still trying to find the balance between going hard to goal and getting opportunities while being able to finish.” Michigan’s adversity and ability to adjust quickly could be the young team’s biggest takeaway from Saturday’s matchup. When their gameplan wasn’t clicking in the first half, the Wolverines were able to make the necessary changes to bring together a disconnected team. By the end of the Niagara game, Michigan appeared to have put back together all the pieces that shattered in a tough week.