CELEBRATING OUR ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Candidates for LSA SG pitch their platforms VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Engineering junior Will Royster (Left), candidate for CSG President, and LSA sophomore Matt Fidel (Right), candidate for CSG Vice President, speak at The Team Rally on the Diag on Monday. LSA senior DaShuane Hawkins and LSA sophomore Cierra Jackson (center) perform with the Movement Dance Team.
‘The Team’ holds rally on the Diag to garner support Party provides music, food before polls open on Wed. for CSG elections By EMMA KINERY Daily Staff Reporter
Two days before the polls are set to open for Central Student Government elections, The Team bared the cold Monday evening to spread the word about their platform goals and rally voters. The Team will run LSA
junior Will Royster as the party’s presidential candidate and LSA sophomore Matt Fidel for vice president. Campaign supporters handed out flyers and offered cookies, Domino’s pizza and Tim Horton’s coffee and hot chocolate to passersby in the Diag. “We’re showing campus a good time,” Fidel said. “Everybody’s walking through the Diag, it’s free to join in, just kind of see what The Team’s all about.” Aside from a DJ’s table in front of the Hatcher Graduate Library, the Black Student Union, the Cool Club — a University cloth-
ing startup — and University fashion groups NOiR and Bronze Elegance also set up tables to promote their respective organizations. “This is a great platform for us to get our message out, but to also support other student organizations, and that’s what we want to be here for,” Royster said. “We asked other organizations to be a part of this so that they can get their message out as well. That’s a big part of our platform and it’s successful.” Royster said having the organizations there showed that even though The Team has yet
to be elected, the party still cares about advancing their platform on campus. “Authenticity: that’s been our campaign strategy,” Royster said. “Just at this rally we talked about creating a platform and empowering people, but we’re not waiting until we get elected; we’re doing that now, and that’s something that we have a track record of.” Music played throughout the rally, and campaign members and students danced between speeches and discussions about The Team’s policies. The rally See TEAM, Page 3
Uncontested exec. candidates focus on diversity, student engagement By ALYSSA BRANDON Daily Staff Reporter
Though chalk messages touting Make Michigan, The Team and the Defend Affirmative Action Party began covering campus in advance of this week’s Central Student Government election, students pitched platforms Monday night for another race — LSA Student Government elections. At the event, several LSA Student Government candidates presented their platforms and answered questions during a candidate forum in the Michigan Union. The presenters included LSA juniors Jason Colella and Reid Klootwyk Colella, the uncontested candidates for LSA SG
RESEARCH
ANN ARBOR
‘U’ wins funding for microbiome science program Interdisciplinary training initiative to explore human health and disease By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULOS Daily Staff Reporter
Beginning next fall, the University will launch an multidisciplinary science-training program. The program, called Integrated in Microbial Systems: Modeling, Population and Experimental Approaches, will combine population and microbiome sciences to explore human health and diseases. A microbiome is defined as the microorganisms in a particular environment. Betsy Foxman, program codirector and professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, said the goal of the program is to train scientists who are able to apply laboratory and population approaches to the study of microbial communities in human health. “Our long term research goal is to learn how to sustain healthy microbial communities and to manipulate unhealthy ones so as to improve human health,” Foxman said. Tom Schmidt, the program’s other co-director and professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, said he hopes the program will lead to new discoveries about how the microbiome is related to diseases. He added that the program’s work could extend beyond
WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 58 LO: 35
just human health and allow study of microbial communities in other organisms like animals and plants. Schmidt said the program will be able to fund four doctoral students per year. Other students will also be able to benefit from workshops and symposia hosted by the program. “We are looking for people who reach across the traditional academic boundaries, people who are willing to gain expertise not only in microbiology, but also in modeling and ecology and dealing with large datasets that come with the study of the microbiome,” he said. The program will be funded through the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Award, which will provide $2.5 million over a five- year period. The fund donates money to similar programs at universities across the country with the goal of integrating the fields medicine with public health. The University was one of the four grant recipients in 2014. The other three were Dartmouth College, University of Rochester and Washington University in St. Louis. Russ Campbell, communications officer for Burroughs Wellcome Fund, said the University’s program connects bench sciences and public health. “Students who would have otherwise taken a traditional laboratory-based Ph.D. are thinking about problems through a public health lens and students who would have otherwise trained in traditional public health approaches are exposed to the power of asking questions at the molecular or See MICROBIOME, Page 3
president and vice president, respectively. Colella and Kloowyk’s platform calls for improving campus climate and increasing diversity. The goal reflects that of the University leadership. In February, University President Mark Schlissel held a leadership breakfast to consider issues related to diversity on campus, including diversity of the student body and faculty, inclusion and the creation of a strategic diversity plan. Klootwyk, who serves as vice chair of the LSA SG communications committee, said addressing issues regarding international and transfer students is an important part of addressing diversity. “Our international student mentorship program is a huge project we’re working on,” Klootwyk said. “I’m also working on a project that will allow transfer students to defer enrollment as freshmen are able to.” Colella, who currently serves See LSA SG, Page 3
ArborBike bike share relaunches for spring
RITA MORRIS/Daily
Eight new stations to open in May following last season’s success
Craig Hupy, Ann Arbor’s Public Services Administrator, proposes a budget for the Public Services General Fund during a City Council Hall Meeting at Larcom City Hall on Monday.
Council talks budget plans for lighting, road repairs Funding proposals for fiscal years 2016, 2017 slated for a vote in May By ANASTASSIOS ADAMOPOULOS Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor City Council convened for another discussion on the 2016 and 2017 fiscal year budgets Monday evening. The meeting focused on public services, including street lighting, streets and facilities upgrades. Craig Hupy, Ann Arbor’s public services administrator, presented the city staff’s proposal for this section of the general fund. Following the lifting of a 10-year moratorium on new streetlights last month, the Council heard plans for potential streetlight expenditures for the next two years. Among the staff’s recommen-
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dations is a $750,000 investment in Kerrytown street lighting in the 2017 fiscal year and an additional $3.25 million for other areas in and outside the downtown area. Hupy said the Kerrytown investment includes 90 street poles and will replace all current lights in the area. While Hupy said Kerrytown lighting has been identified for attention, the city has not yet discussed the actual installation with Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. Councilmember Stephen Kunselman (D–Ward 3) spoke in favor of the Kerrytown investment. “I would highly encourage that the DDA help fund substantially the Kerrytown project,” he said. The report states that each streetlight pole in the city will cost $43,013 over 40 years, which would include the costs of replacement parts, energy and labor. Hupy the city will consider requests for additional or
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upgraded street lighting and rank them against other general fund priorities. The Council also discussed several forthcoming street projects, including a proposal encouraging extensive street reconstruction and resurfacing projects. The report proposes expenditures amounting $7.1 million for annual street resurfacing and $3.7 million for major reconstructions for both years, with another $7.4 million for street and right of way maintenance. Several major and smaller local streets are up for resurfacing in 2015, including the stretch of Packard Street between State Street and Stadium Boulevard and State Street from Eisenhower Parkway to I-94. Councilmember Julie Grand (D–Ward 3) said undergoing multiple projects at the same time could be problematic. City Engineer Nick Hutchinson said Ann Arbor plans to take precautions to let residents See COUNCIL, Page 3
Vol. CXXIV, No. 87 ©2015 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
By LARA MOEHLMAN Daily Staff Reporter
With the snow mostly melted and the sidewalks visible again, the Ann Arbor bike share program ArborBike is back. On Friday, the nonprofit Clean Energy Coalition, in collaboration with the University, the city of Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, reopened ArborBike for the season. The service, which is a bike share program serving both students and residents, first launched in the fall. ArborBike consists of a set of stations around the city and campus that have bikes available for temporary use. At the end of an hour, users return the bikes to one of the ArborBike stations. The program has five kiosks on campus and another at the Ann Arbor Public Library’s downtown branch. Eight more stations will be added by late May to expand the program off campus. The fall 2014 season ended with 293 users and 690 trips over the two-month period before biking season ended. According to an ArborBike press release, ArborBike expects membership to increase dramatically this round due to both an extended summer 2015 season and an See BIKE, Page 3
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News
2 — Tuesday, March 24, 2015
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles Professor Campus Profiles Voices
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers Before You Were Here
THURSDAY: Alumni Campus TwitterProfiles Clubs Talk
Big Ten Productions
How did you join BTP? Bradarich: “My sophomore year, I set up a meeting with Nick from CCI (the Center for Campus Involvement) and I asked him ‘What is the best way to get involved at Michigan?’ I told him that I wanted to get involved with something that
would have a huge impact on campus, so he directed me to the UAC program, and through that I found Big Ticket Productions. I wanted to make a huge impact while I was here. Hughes: “I knew coming into Michigan that I wanted to do something that involved music. When my brother graduated from college he was putting on concerts and I knew I wanted to do something similar. So when I was walking around Festifall my freshman year I got a flyer from Steven Rosenblum, who was the president last year, and I thought it would be awesome to join.”
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THE WIRE
Menstrual pads against sexism BY IRENE PARK
Menstrual pads were plastered around campus over the weekend to draw attention to rape culture. The action mirrored a national movement, which has used the hashtag #PadsAgainstSexism.
THE FILTER
Battlefield Hardline BY KIM BATCHELOR
On Mar. 17, the video game companies Visceral Games and EA released the game “Battlefield Hardline” to PC, PlayStation and Xbox. It focuses on urban crime.
What is your favorite part about BTP? Hughes: “I would say my favorite part of being involved with Big Ticket is being around other people who are just as passionate about music as I am because for me it’s easier to connect with people who have the same music taste as me and I think it says a lot about a person, about what kind of music they listen to.” Bradarich: “My favorite parts are the people and the environment. It’s a great group of people and it’s a great way to develop yourself and work as a team. -KATIE SARKESIAN
Reading on the Diag WHAT: Chairs, books and coffee will be provided at the Diag in honor of National Reading Month. WHO: Ginsberg Center WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Central Campus Diag
Art and the State
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RITA MORRIS/Daily
LSA freshman Paul Elder races to the ball during an IM soccer game at Mitchell Fields Monday.
WCED Lecture Book Launch WHAT: Yuri Zhukov, a University assitant professor of political science, will discuss data he found that shows that economic factors are behind the rebellion in East Ukraine. WHO: Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies WHEN: Today from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building, Room 1636
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CHRIS HUGHES & BO BRADARICH
Business sophomore Chris Hughes and LSA senior Bo Bradarich are co-presidents of Big Ticket Productions, the University’s concert production committee. The group brings big name artists to perform on campus. BTP brought Chance the Rapper and SchoolBoy Q to campus last year.
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WHAT: Award-winning author Dr. Tiya Miles will read passages from her new book, “The Cherokee Rose.” The event will include a book signing and a reception. WHO: Center for the Education of Women WHEN: Today from 4 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. WHERE: Lane Hall, Room 2239
Career Fair
WHAT: The Career Fair for the Health and Medical WHAT: Three panelists Schools will take place. WHAT: The documentary from Russia, Serbia and “My Way,” about two young WHO: The Career Center Slovenia and a professor men in Cantonese Opera will WHEN: Today from will discuss the relation be screened. The screening 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. between art and the state. is followed by discussion on WHERE: Michigan Union WHO: Center for the unpopulairty of this art Russian, East European form in Hong Kong. and Eurasian Studies WHO: Confucius Institute l Please report any WHEN: Today from WHEN: Today from 12 p.m. error in the Daily 6 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League to corrections@ WHERE: Harlan Hatcher michigandaily.com. Graduate Library, Room 100
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) announced his bid for the 2016 presidential election, The New York Times reported Monday. Cruz is the first Republican candidate to fromally announce his bid.
2
The Michigan women’s basketball team topped Toledo, 74-58, Monday to advance to the third round of the WNIT. The Wolverines will host Missouri on Thursday at 7 p.m. >>FOR SPORTS, SEE PG. 8
3
Police reports failed to find proof of a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity, The Washington Post reported Monday. Rolling Stone magazine published an article about the alleged rape last fall.
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Study supports increase in legal cigarette buying age Institute of Health finds raising min. age could cut adolescent tobacco purchase By KATIE PENROD Daily Staff Reporter
According to a new study by the Institute of Medicine, raising the minimum legal age of access to tobacco products could prevent or delay tobacco use in adolescents. The Federal Drug Administration commissioned the study, which included contributions from two University researchers: Rafael Meza, assistant professor of Epidemiology, and Patrick O’Malley, a research professor at the Institute for Social Research. The study concluded that if
the minimum age was raised nationally, underage adolescent tobacco use would decrease. It recommended that the minimum age be 21 years old, which would lead to a 12 percent reduction in tobacco prevalence by 2100. “First of all, what we found is raising the minimum legal age for access would lead to significant health benefits,” Meza said. Meza said the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the FDA control over tobacco regulations, but did not grant it the authority to determine the minimum purchasing age for tobacco products. Congress had previously ordered the FDA to provide a report regarding the health implications of raising the minimum age by April 2015. As a result, Meza added,
the responsibility to decide legal purchasing age is left to individual states — the majority of which have kept their minimum at 18 years old. If the FDA can prove significant health benefits will result from raising the age, Congress may become more open to giving the FDA authority in the matter. The study shows that the age group most impacted by raising the minimum legal purchasing age would be adolescents aged 15 to 17. “The initiation age of tobacco use is critical. Among adults who become daily smokers, approximately 90 percent report first use of cigarettes before reaching 19 years of age, and almost 100 percent report first use before age 26,” the study says. Meza explained that raising the minimum purchasing age would lower initiation rates for teenagers. “If the age was raised that would limit their access,” Meza said. “So right now, any high schooler has access to a senior that is of the age. So if you raise it to 21, that will limit their social sources.” The committee used statistical models for testing the effects of smoking to further expand upon the health risks associated with tobacco use. First-year medical student Stephan Diljak said he recognizes the serious health consequences associated with tobacco use, and thinks raising the minimum legal age would have benefits. “Personally, I believe in the data that less people could suffer from complications or potentially die if the age in which they are potentially allowed to purchase tobacco was raised,” he said.
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Eitan Bar-Yosef, a Fellow at the Frankel Institute, outlines the similarities between Israeli culture and the book Heart of Darkness at Rackham Assembly Hall on Monday.
Researchers discuss Israel, colonialism at symposium At second annual event, Judaic Studies fellows share their research findings By IAN DILLINGHAM Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the University’s Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies gathered in Rackham Graduate School Monday evening to talk about Jews, Arabs and colonialism. The second annual Wieseneck Family Israel Symposium focused on the Jewish experience as part of a broader international context. Institute fellows and visiting professors presented papers on topics such as food, film and literature. Common among these discussions was a focus on European influence in defining cultural identities among Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities in the Middle East. The Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies is a University research unit that
provides one-year grants for scholars to conduct research across a range of topics and disciplines. Each year, research conducted by the fellows centers on a specific theme. Fellows are required to give a lecture over the course of the year to help make research more available to the public. The theme for the 20142015 fellowship was “Jews and Empires,” which looked to highlight the role of imperial powers in Jewish history — from the exodus from Egypt to the Holocaust and establishment of Israel. Judaic Studies Prof. Mikhail Krutikov said this theme drew attention to a common misunderstanding that colonialism embodies a dichotomy — groups can be defined as either the colonizers or the colonized. At various points in history, he said, Jews have fallen into either one of these two groups. At other times, neither can accurately define them. The event also promoted discussion across boundaries
and time periods. Institute Director Deborah Dash Moore said a mission of the institute is to encourage fellows to discuss issues outside their primary area of study, which allows parallel narratives to be drawn across time and geography in cultural studies. Examples of this multidisciplinary research were visible throughout the symposium. Eitan Bar-Yosef, a fellow at the Frankel Institute, delivered a presentation highlighting the cultural evocation of elements from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” in Israeli culture. The novel, originally published in 1899, tells the story of European ivory traders traveling up the Congo River into the jungles of Central Africa. “Although ‘Heart of Darkness’ never became a truly popular text, the myth that stands at the heart of Conrad’s novella — namely the journey into the heart of Africa as an allegorical tale of human degeneration, greed, violence and See COLONIALISM, Page 3
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS BRIEFS
LSA SG From Page 1
GRAND RAPIDS
Resort shows strong outlook for tourism A new report says that Michigan’s tourism industry grew in 2014 despite the cold, wet year, and the tourism outlook is sunny going forward. The Michigan State University report says that 2014 was 6 percent cooler and 11 percent wetter than normal. Even so, it says hotel occupancy was up 2 percent and car traffic increased 1 percent. Michigan State researchers released the report Monday at the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Grand Rapids. The researchers say 2015 should be another year of growth for tourism in the state. The number of people traveling to and around the state is expected to increase 1.5 percent this year.
MADISON
SCOTUS rejects voter ID challenge The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away a challenge to Wisconsin’s voter identification law, allowing the law to stand and handing a victory to Gov. Scott Walker following a long fight by opponents who say it’s a thinly veiled attempt to make it more difficult for Democratic backers to vote. The law won’t be enforced for an April 7 election because it’s only two weeks away, but it will be in subsequent elections, the state attorney general said. Walker, a likely 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is a longtime proponent of voter ID requirements and signed Wisconsin’s into law in 2011. But it was only in effect for one lowturnout primary in 2012 before legal challenges kept it on hold.
DES MOINES
Bush family to attend fundraiser DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former President George W. Bush is scheduled to attend a Lone Star-studded fundraiser in Dallas Wednesday for his brother Jeb Bush. The former president and former first lady Laura Bush are the special guests named to appear with the former Florida governor, who is expected to announce in the coming months his candidacy for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Texas Republicans said Monday. It would be the first time former President Bush — a former Texas governor and current resident of Dallas — has attended a fundraiser for his brother, who has been aggressively raising money for his political action committee from some of the GOP’s top donors for three months. It also comes as Jeb Bush nears the end of what is expected to be a successful fundraising quarter for the PAC.
LONDON
WHO says politics didn’t sway Ebola emergency call The World Health Organization denied Monday that politics swayed the decision to declare an international emergency over the spread of the Ebola virus last year, despite evidence senior staffers repeatedly discussed the diplomatic and economic fallout of such a move. A year after WHO declared that Ebola had been found in Guinea, the agency is on the defensive over reports that it dragged its feet when raising the international alarm over the disease. Internal communications published by The Associated Press last week documented senior agency staff discouraging the move about two months before the international alert was finally raised, citing diplomatic relations, mining interests and the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
—Compiled from Daily wire reports
as chair for the LSA SG Budget Allocations Committee said interacting with students will paly a vital part in fulfilling their platform. “My main focus this year is definitely on talking to students, student engagement and hearing student voices,” Colella said. “More than anything else we are here to represent the 18,000 students in LSA and what they want.” Colella added that his experiences as a residential adviser at East Quad inspired some of the goals of their platform. “Being an RA, you see so many different things and hear about so many different student concerns,” he said. “Working through all the student issues that I have encountered has
COUNCIL From Page 1 know about upcoming projects. “There will be notices to traffic control as the projects approach,” he said. “(With) some of the major projects on more major streets with higher traffic volumes, we will do what we can to get actual signs out in advance of the construction to let people know what’s coming so that it doesn’t just surprise them one day...” A significant portion of the budget is dedicated to fleet and facilities expenditures, which
MICROBIOME From Page 1 laboratory-based Ph.D. are thinking about problems through a public health lens and students who would have otherwise trained in traditional public health approaches are exposed to the power of asking questions at the molecular or organismal level,” he said. Schmidt said he hopes the program grows each year, as well as potentially gain more sources of funding. “We hope that we will continue it and build on the suc-
COLONIALISM From Page 1 madness — has certainly colored the Israeli experience in Africa,” Bar-Yosef said. Deborah Starr, associate professor of modern Arabic and Hebrew literature and film at Cornell University, examined the movies of Egyptian filmmaker Togo Mizrahi, whose Jewish heritage played both implicit and explicit roles in his narratives, which were filmed mostly during the 1930s and 1940s. Starr’s analysis focused on two of Mizrahi’s films, “On a Rainy Night” (1939) and “The Straight Path” (1943), and the interplay between Egyptian and Jewish representations in both. “Togo Mizrahi’s films … explore the ambivalences of Egyptian-Jewish identity within and through colonial institutions,” Starr wrote in her research paper. “Although these films lack explicitly Jewish content, I aim to tease out how they reflect distinctly Jewish anxieties of belonging
News
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 — 3
been really enlightening.” Colella and Klootwyk both said the LSA community should prepare to hear new ideas and plans, upon their election. “The LSA community can really look forward to us hitting the ground running with projects, ideas and a strong push for student engagement and involvement,” Colella said. Klootwyk said they want the LSA community to know they are passionate about being student leaders. “We really do care about the needs of the students,” Klootwyk said. “We will do whatever is in our power to make changes for them and see that any issues they have, Jason and I will make it apparent to get those fixed.” A list of the remaining LSA Student Government representative candidates as well as their platforms is available at vote.umich.edu.
amount to more than $1.2 million and $272,500 for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal year, respectively. These expenditures include fire station renovations, program rehabilitations and elevator replacements as well as repair and remediation of city-owned property at 415. W. Washington, estimated to cost $300,000. The staff proposes a second renovation the City Council Chambers in the 2016 fiscal year at an estimated to cost of $140,000. City Council will vote to adopt the budget for the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years on May 18.
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
LSA senior Canon Thomas hosts The Team rally supporting Will Royster for CSG President on the Diag Monday.
TEAM From Page 1 Dance Team. Halfway through the rally, each candidate shared the first action they would take after being elected. Both members of The Team said they planned to throw a party. Second, Royster said the plan is to implement the goals the party is promoting. Fidel said he would also work
toward carryout out his plan to allow students to donate their leftover Blue Bucks at the end of the semester to a local food pantry. Throughout the duration of the event, students were encouraged to tweet The Team questions using the hashtag #RallyTheTeam. Royster said he chose to run for Central Student Government to bring change, specifically to increase diversity on the Uni-
versity’s campus. Fidel said he decided to run to represent the students, pointing to members in the crowd and students walking by in the Diag to emphasize the point that he was running for everyone. Make Michigan and the Defend Affirmative Action parties are also running candidates in this week’s election. CSG election polls are open Wednesday and Thursday. Students can vote at vote.umich.edu.
cess of this program,” Schmidt said. “That could be through funding of Burroughs Wellcome but through elsewhere also. We are looking at the National Institute of Health for training programs. This is just a start for what we think will be a much bigger program.” Foxman said the program is currently in the process of recruiting students. The application deadline is April 7 and decisions will be reached by May 1. She noted that admitted and current doctoral students anywhere at the University are eligible to apply and that the website for the program is slated to launch next week.
in Egypt under the British sphere of influence.” In discussing the research, Bar-Yosef — following similar sentiments expressed by several members of the audience — pointed to the complexity of the impact of colonialism on Jewish and Arab communities. “Zionism, the Zionist project and its relationship to colonialism, are complex,” Bar-Yosef said. “Just to see one of these angles would be to miss the larger picture … That’s what we’re trying to do here, point to complexity of these different images.” Krutikov said the University is one of only three in the world with a program in advanced Judaic Studies — similar programs exist at the University of Pennsylvania and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Currently, the University also offers an undergraduate major and minor in Judaic Studies. Krutikov said the minor is a great opportunity for students who may not get a similar opportunity after graduation.
GRANT HARDY/Daily
ArborBike offers a new environemtally-friendly transportation option to Ann Arbor residents.
BIKE From Page 1 increased number of bike stations in downtown Ann Arbor. The Clean Energy Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that aims to promote the expansion of clean energy technology in Michigan communities. In an e-mail interview, Heather Croteau, a project associate at the Clean Energy Coalition and program manager of ArborBike, said she predicts the bike share program will have a positive impact on the city based on results in other communities that have bike shares. “It’s an excellent addition to the community and the first system of its kind in Michigan,” Croteau said. “The impact is yet to be seen/determined but in other communities with bike share
programs, the systems have become a major asset that users come to rely on to get around.” Croteau also noted that ArborBike provides a healthy alternative to driving. “ArborBike adds a nonmotorized option and additional diversity to Ann Arbor’s transportation systems,” she said. Riders may set up memberships for day, month and year passes at ArborBike.org, with fees starting at $6 per bike rental. Additional fees apply for those who use bikes for more than 60 minutes at a time. On campus, ArborBike kiosks are located at the North Campus Recreation Building, at Murfin Avenue and Bonisteel Boulevard across from Pierpont Commons, Zina Pitcher Place and Catherine Street, by the Central Campus Recreation Building and near South Quad. Councilmember Julie Grand
(D–Ward 3) said ArborBike is a positive addition to Ann Arbor. “I think it can really help encourage folks who maybe are a little hesitant about biking, and think that they would like to try it,” said Grand. “It gives them the opportunity to get out on a bike in a more high traffic area and see if it will work for them.” Grand said she hopes ArborBike will encourage residents to consider using bikes as a method of transportation to work or to school. Grand also said she thinks ArborBike will benefit people visiting the city, providing them with an alternative to renting a car. “They’ll have another option other than having to rent a car… and get around on a bike, which is exciting, and go out and see not just campus but some of the great amenities, things like our parks and other recreational amenities that the city has to offer.”
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Opinion
4 — Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MEAGHAN SHOKAR | VIEWPOINT
Why I joined The Team Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com JENNIFER CALFAS EDITOR IN CHIEF
AARICA MARSH and DEREK WOLFE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LEV FACHER MANAGING EDITOR
Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
FROM THE DAILY
Vote The Team
The editorial board endorses Will Royster and Matt Fidel entral Student Government elections will be held March 25 and March 26, with candidates from The Team, Make Michigan and the Defend Affirmative Action Party all vying for positions on CSG. As the representative body for students at the University, CSG must take on the pressing issues facing the University, its administration and its students, as well as incorporate voices from all students on campus. Sexual assault, mental health and diversity are crucial issues on campus. All of them must be considered and dealt with by CSG under its next administration. Inclusivity and the mobilization of student groups must also be a focus of CSG. While the parties present platforms that seem to tackle these points, only one party and its candidates have the experience and inclusivity needed in order to practically take on these issues. With reservations, The Michigan Daily’s editorial board endorses The Team.
C
Heading The Team’s ticket are LSA junior Will Royster and LSA sophomore Matt Fidel, running for president and vice president, respectively. Royster has no previous experience on CSG, but currently serves as academic concerns chair for the Black Student Union. Fidel is an LSA representative for CSG and previously sat on the Social Responsibility Committee for the now disbanded Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. In an interview with the editorial board, it was evident Royster and Fidel are passionate leaders, dedicated to bettering the campus community. They stressed the importance of increasing diversity on campus and the need for cross-collaboration on campus to tackle the most important issues students face. This is reflected in The Team’s platform. Additionally, plans to increase on-site recruitment programs for underrepresented communities and to move the Trotter Multicultural Center to a more accessible location would be welcome in beginning to address diversity issues. Initiatives to make CSG more transparent and a larger presence on campus, such as creating a coffee cart in Mason Hall staffed by CSG representatives, a text-message hotline to voice concerns and an opt-in interactive newsletter are respectable initiatives that should be carried out. But what separates The Team from the other parties is a developed, tangible plan to expand mental health services on campus. Royster and Fidel intend to work with the administration to bring Counseling and Psychological Services to both North Campus and residence halls. While the Wolverine Support Network has launched with a successful start, it simply cannot replace professional counseling. Making mental health services more accessible could lead to more students who need counseling getting care. If this were the only thing The Team accomplished in the next year, it would certainly be a successful term. That said, the editorial board has reservations about The Team’s platform, stated goals and ability to command the executive branch of CSG. Their platform, while calling for the prevention of sexual assault on campus, does so via the expansion of education for faculty and staff. This expanded education does not cover the most important segment of campus: the students. The Team relies on the student groups and organizations that already exist on campus to continue the education process of students with regard to sexual assault and sexual assault prevention. In addition, The Team’s support of the “Companion” application targets only a small aspect of the sexual assault issue — attacks at night by strangers — as a significant portion of sexual assault take place in the home of the survivor or the perpetrator. During their interview with the editorial board, Royster and Fidel provided lackluster plans for crucial issues on campus. When asked about issues surrounding Greek life at the University, Royster stated that the implementation of programs to focus on the standards of brotherhood and scholarship are necessary for dealing with the perceived issues with Greek life. This plan lacked in detail and, thus, practicality. Another lacking area of The Team was their stance on diversity. While The Team posits practical and informed courses of action when dealing with issues of diversity, these plans largely avoid the issue of diversity outside of race, namely with regards to the LGBTQ community. The Team appears to have focused on a diversity of candidates as opposed to a diversity of ideas, leading the editorial board to have issues with the plans put forth under their platform. Finally, the actions of the recently disbanded Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity on their ski trip and Fidel’s subsequent handling of the issues raises questions about his ability to lead during trying times. In an interview last month about the ski trip, despite knowing it would be possible to decline comment, The Team’s campaign manager Jacob Abudaram, an LSA junior, refused to continue the interview with Fidel and the Daily until the reporter promised not to ask Fidel’s
personal involvement in the incident. This event is concerning and not respectable conduct for potential campus leaders. LSA junior Cooper Charlton and LSA sophomore Steven Halperin lead Make Michigan in this election. Charlton is currently president of the University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Halperin is a current LSA representative. Under the current leadership of Public Policy Senior Bobby Dishell, Make Michigan has put several notable programs into action, such as need-based ticket prices for financially disadvantaged students, maintaining the Night Owl late-night bus service and beginning the Wolverine Support Network. However, this year’s platform offers either small-scale or ineffective policies that fail to recognize larger issues that face the campus. While Charlton’s record working with University administration and receptiveness to critical feedback give us faith in his leadership abilities, problems with the platform begin with the ideas for increasing diversity and combating sexual assault. Make Michigan intends to implement SEED faculty training, a for-profit program which educates faculty members on inclusion. However, the Program on Intergroup Relations already exists. While IGR is currently designed for students, it promotes a similar agenda to SEED. Therefore, it would be wiser to use resources the University has to develop a program for faculty, as redundancy is not needed. Furthermore, while increasing on-campus lighting to promote a safer atmosphere for students walking at night is a worthwhile effort, as it may make students feel safer, it does not effectively combat the culture that surrounds sexual assault — something that urgently needs to be addressed. Lastly, Make Michigan touts a new Student Honor Code that will transcend the existing individual school codes; however, the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities is already in place — a fact addressed in a previous editorial. Simply put, the Make Michigan platform does not add up to the potent leadership and initiative that is essential to successful CSG governance. Leading the Defend Affirmative Action Party — which is tightly linked to minority rights advocacy group BAMN — are LSA junior Keysha Wall and LSA sophomore Katie Kennedy running for CSG president and CSG vice president. The party is passionate about systemic issues, such as racism and bigotry, and wants to increase diversity and transparency on campus. While these are urgent concerns of the University, the party is too focused on a single issue, and therefore lacks the breadth of experience and knowledge required of CSG leadership. This is on top of the fact that both candidates lack experience working with University administration — a must-have for a student representative. The Central Student Government should incorporate all student voices to effectively represent the entire student body on campus. All parties’ platforms voice student concerns but do not properly establish programs that will effectively combat these issues. The Michigan Daily’s editorial board is endorsing The Team because their platform most thoroughly addresses issues of diversity on campus by working with student groups such as the Black Student Union; issues of mental health by expanding CAPS to more locations; and issues of sexual assault by providing faculty training. Despite our endorsement, we urge The Team to expand its initiatives to combat sexual assault culture on campus, including education programs for student organization. The Team must work to repair the negative perception surrounding Fidel as a result of Sigma Alpha Mu’s dissolution and the fraternity’s handling of the issues stemming from their ski trip. The Team presents ideas and claims to be inclusionary of all ideas and groups. This must persist should they win office. Vote The Team candidates Will Royster and Matt Fidel for CSG president and vice president.
At first glance, a token seems like a valuable thing. A token is a symbol of importance, wealth and worth. A token is not light — it seems to carry some weight. But the truth is that tokens are only symbols of worth; they don’t hold any real value. Too often on this campus, my identities have been tokenized. My brownness and my gender have been used to “diversify” a room of campus leaders. My voice, my experiences and my feelings have been swept aside by people who promised they would listen — those I trusted to validate my narratives. For them, my physical presence was enough to fill the quota for diversity in the room, nothing more. As this year’s CSG election season approached, I didn’t have any desire to be involved in campaign politics. I was content with the work I am doing with student leaders and administrators from across campus. We have made great strides to promote interfaith collaboration, combat sexual violence and increase campus accessibility this year. But still, I felt uneasy about my
decision to stay out of all the electioneering. I knew that I couldn’t stand by and watch another year of typical campaigns. I needed to take part in changing the culture of CSG elections. I wanted to support candidates who honestly live out their values; candidates who serve with humility, strive to develop a deep understanding of the issues that face our campus and are willing to fight for change; candidates who focus on the well-being of the student body. I wanted to support candidates who truly value my voice and the voices of my peers. Before this school year, I didn’t know Will Royster or Matt Fidel. When I first spoke to them about their candidacy, I questioned their desire to get involved in CSG at the executive level. I wanted to know about their track records on campus — what had they accomplished so far? I asked about their motivations for running — were they in it for the right reasons? After some long conversations, I decided I had to join The Team. There was no longer any doubt in my mind.
I am constantly inspired by Will’s humility and desire to improve the campus climate. With Will, it’s never about him; it was always about The Team. Will’s genuine desire to listen to all narratives, as well as his selfless leadership, makes him the ideal candidate for student body president. I am thoroughly impressed with Matt’s work in the social justice realm on campus. His thoughtfulness, open-mindedness and genuine compassion undoubtedly make him the right choice for the next vice president. The Team’s party leadership and representative slate are some of the most outstanding people I have worked with on campus. As I enter every meeting for The Team, I am embraced with warmth and love. We say “there’s a place for everyone on The Team” and we mean it. Polls are open at vote.umich. edu Wednesday, March 25, and Thursday, March 26. I hope you’ll choose to join The Team. Meaghan Shokar is an LSA junior.
INTERESTED IN CAMPUS ISSUES? POLITICS? SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK’N’ROLL? Check out The Daily’s editorial board meetings. Every Monday and Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Daily’s opinion staff meets to discuss both University and national affairs and write editorials. E-mail tothedaily@michigandaily.com to join in the debate.
T
I almost bought a cat last weekend
his past Saturday morning I thought it would be nice to have a kitten, so that afternoon I went to the humane society. This is something my mom might call “impulsive decision-making,” but as it was she called it “being spontaneous” — probably because SYDNEY she’s the one who HARTLE drove me to the animal shelter. Adopting a kitten right now would be a bad idea for a multitude of reasons: my apartment doesn’t allow pets, I’m leaving the country in four months, and I’m allergic to cats. But I really wanted one. And that was more than good enough for my mom, because it’s the first thing I’ve actively wanted in a long time. Let’s back up to last Friday, which is when I told my therapist that the only thing that made me feel okay was being with animals. It’d be nice, I said, to spend time with something alive and mildly social that didn’t require any conversation. I thought a dog might be good, or maybe a cat, since they aren’t as loud or such persistent mouth-breathers. “So go get one,” she said. Like it was just that easy. Animals could be very therapeutic, apparently. When I recounted this interaction to my mom, thinking she would also laugh at the oversimplification of how to solve my problem, she surprised me by agreeing that I should just get one. She already had her car keys in hand. That’s when I realized just how desperately the people in my life wanted to help me. That they’d try anything — even jumping in the car to go adopt a cat that didn’t make any sense for me to bring into my life. It reminded me of something of which I was already
painfully aware: my problem affects the people around me. I have struggled with depression for years now, which is something that I try to be very open about. But it gets harder to discuss frankly when I’m in the throes of it. It’s a kind of recurring nightmare that I can only comfortably recount when it’s long over. So when my attention started slipping early in the semester, I just tried not to think about it. It got harder to ignore when I began barely making assignment deadlines, then handing in assignments late, then not handing them in at all. I don’t really want to talk about what depression feels like. Too many people already know the experience. But the effect is something that looks a lot like apathy, and leaves the people who care not knowing how to help. So I got in the passenger seat of my mom’s car and my 15-year-old sister hopped into the back, immediately speculating what kind of kitten would be best for me. She thought, most importantly, it ought to be a girl. My mom said to just pick a nice one. We got to the animal shelter 15 minutes before it closed and passed the cages of anxiously yowling dogs to a room where they kept the kittens, a room where they kept a kitten. All of the cages were empty except for one, where one kitten had pressed itself to the back wall, nearly invisible in the shadows. The sign said her name was Pumpkin. Kittens aren’t usually born until spring, it turns out, but we weren’t immediately deterred by the lack of selection. My sister cooed and wiggled her fingers inside the cage, which surprisingly did rouse Pumpkin’s interest. My mom asked a volunteer if we could hold the kitten, and she said no. It had bitten someone and we would have to fill out a lot of paper work, but there
were some older cats in the front we could look at. So we went to the front. There was a room with free-roaming cats lounging on the benches, and in a litter box was the largest cat I’ve ever seen. He was shaped like a meatloaf and took up the entire box. When we entered the room he tried to raise himself, but gave up the task when his heft proved too much to lift. I looked at my mom and grinned. “Absolutely not,” she said. We pet some lazy cats and my sister took an obscene number of Snapchat videos, but eventually we had to leave empty-handed. I felt a little disappointed and a lot itchy (I really am allergic to cats). When we got back in the car, my mom looked sadder than I did. “Now really isn’t a good time for me to get a cat anyway,” I said. She nodded, but I still felt badly. She said she and my sister would keep looking while I was at school, and while I realized I had gotten over the whim of getting a new pet, I still told her that was a good idea. I felt I had to let her continue the obsessive kitten search, because while she couldn’t cure my depression, she could absolutely scour the Internet for kittens for sale in Michigan. The hard thing about recovering from depression is that it’s hard to take care of myself when I don’t necessarily feel I’m worth taking care of. Yet I allowed myself to get swept up in the cat mania because my mom hoped a cat could cure me, and if I couldn’t make myself happy, I could at least try to make her happy. The fix might not be as easy as adopting a new pet, but maybe that’s how recovery works sometimes: you try to help the people who care to help you, even if you can’t help yourself. —Sydney Hartle can be reached at hartles@umich.edu.
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
The world is on fire. Yes! Your world is on fire. But you know what? Your mommy’s here and everyone’s here to make sure the world you grow up in is better.” — Republican presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz said to a three-year-old girl at a recent campaign event in New Hampshire.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 — 5
TV REVIEW
COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN
Marling echoes The problem with retro heartbreak celebrities and art Singer-songwriter’s new album takes influence from the West Coast greats By AMELIA ZAK Daily Music Editor
“To find a queen without a king / They say she plays guitar and cries and sings” Legend has it that these lyrics from the famous Led Zeppelin A record, “Going to California,” Short Movie were written by the Robert Plant Laura Marling and Jimmy Page Ribbon Music upon meeting Joni Mitchell among the groupies and drugged-up music scene of California in the ’70s. Her ethereal appearance, free-form spirit and inexplicably firm grasp on the emotions of the human heart had the boys enamored, leaving her as an object of affection for the hopelessly romantic, excessively drugged rock ‘n’ rollers of the California communes. Joni held her fair share of heartbreak, too. Her 1971 album, Blue, with its octave-jumping vocals, glossy piano and acoustic guitar instrumentations, is still considered one of the most perfect relationship postmortem records. It’s a retrospective looking back on the good and bad of a relationship, with added reflections of her experiences in California and tattered relationships — drawing the face of Leonard Cohen on the map of Canada in “A Case of You” — and continues to sonically mend the breaking hearts of today. A critical eye can easily demarcate the modern folk/singer-songwriter genre as one domineered by men. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, Joni was matched by a number of female singer-songwriters: Carly Simon, Carole King, Janis Ian and Joan Baez, just to name a few. The music anthologies of the past decade are seemingly lacking popular, well-written female folk music. Much is seemingly lost to the electronics and production styles of the 21st century. To rescue the genre, to pioneer a voice similar to that of the all feeling, unafraid Joni – a woman finding confidence
and understanding in her poetic description of her life experiences – is found in a 25-year-old, pixiecut, thin English young woman. The voice Joni once provided so many decades ago is recreated and individualized in the musical anthology of Laura Marling. The daughter of a recording studio owner, Marling was the youngest daughter of three to the Sir Charles William Somerset Marling, the 5th Marling Baronet. Her introduction to music was early, and by the age of sixteen she had written her first hit in the light, simple single “New Romantic.” Re-settling on the outskirts of London with her sisters, Marling’s career took off almost immediately. She was swept into numerous impressive recording studios and the “nufolk” community that had begun to emerge from the London music scene in the mid-’00s, among the like being the now-famous names of Mumford & Sons, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn or Emmy the Great. Laura performed and recorded with these acts in her early career, and famously fell into romantic relationships with two of these burgeoning artists. In a very Joni fashion, Laura has songs written about her by exboyfriends Marcus Mumford and Charlie Fink. Laura’s thoughts on love and romance are unchangeably embedded in her lyrics over her past four albums. Vacillating flawlessly between the vulnerability, hurt and bliss of relationships of the personal and fictional kind, her past four albums have carried breathtaking, yet similar, lyrical themes with undeniably congruent instrumentations — sometimes hazy or sometimes stormy production styles, an acoustic guitar and Marling’s immensely intriguing vocal range. So in order to descend from her consistencies, to escape her doubts in her earlyfame music career, and to re-center her life’s inspiration, Laura, like Joni, went to California. “How did I get lost looking for God in Santa Cruz? / Where you go to lose your mind” sings Marling on “Easy.” Marling transformed her world prior to her writing and recording of her fifth studio album, Short Movie. She moved to Los Angeles in 2012 for a boy she had fallen in love with, but a short amount of time
revealed that her visa was to last much longer than the relationship. She decided to extend her time in the States, bought a house in California and drove around to indifferent regions of the United States to perform small and completely self-organized gigs. In her recent interview with The Guardian, Marling describes herself as “physically wrecked and spiritually broken” by her time on the road and decided to take six months off. Here, she truly came undone: applying anonymously and then facing rejection from a poetry workshop in Saratoga Springs, New York, taking up a small restaurant job in California to cover excess costs and spending time with the shamans and hippies she met in the small places of California. With this new collection of experiences, voices and perspectives Marling reworked her sound into an exquisite album. To match the underlying aggression, the album’s sound and lyrics appear to hold, Short Movie adds more electric guitar and heavy production sounds than any album Marling has previously recorded. There’s more room to the album’s songs, with less strict acoustic guitar lines and more fading bass notes. Despite the album’s innovation, however, Short Movie continues to hold the honest and storytelling lyrics Marling has consistently provided. “I don’t believe this shit / You know I was doing fine without it” sings Marling in “Walk Alone” as she beckons herself to rediscover her independence following the rejection of a former love. Poetic anecdotes continue in the electrified track “False Hope,” a song that illustrates Marling’s experience on the Upper West Side of New York City during 2014’s Hurricane Sandy storms. But in the album’s title track, “Short Movie,” the greatest poetic punch is found. Quoting the life mantra of a shaman shared with her in a California bar, Marling excessively repeats, “It’s a short fucking movie, man.” For Mitchell or Marling listeners, those who connect and thrive on their musical poetry, there is much to gain from shaman’s advice: Despite the doubts, heartaches, and neverending life crises, sometimes the life analysis must end and the living must continue.
TV REVIEW
‘Bloodline’ unnerves By HAILEY MIDDLEBROOK Daily Arts Writer
This past Friday brought two things: the beginning of spring and the release of “Bloodline” on Netflix. Upon first glance, Athese events didn’t seem too Bloodline far removed, for both marked the Season 1 start of a sea- Premiere son — one with Netflix warmer weather, renewed relationships and fresh hope for the future. Set in the emerald-hued hum of the Florida Keys, “Bloodline” follows the Rayburns, a prominent island family with a successful beachside inn. To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the family business, Mama (Sissy Spacek, “The Help”) and Papa (Sam Shepard, “Mud”) Rayburn have invited their four adult children and dozens of guests to a party draped with Mason-jar lanterns and champagne — a sundress affair with kicked-off cork wedges, salty breezes and bare feet spraying sand into the green Gulf Stream. Sounds like the kind of summer-dreaming indulgence everyone needs to watch come springtime, right? But as anyone familiar with the tropics knows, it’s not all margaritas and sunshine. Wetness doesn’t just stay in the sea — it pervades the land, floods murky mangroves and drenches its inhabitants, mak-
ing everything just soggy enough to never dry out completely. Likewise, though the Rayburns wear cheery faces, something very dark festers beneath their surface like a hidden pocket of mold. For “Bloodline” viewers, however, the Rayburns’s shady past is made painstakingly visible. The first episode opens with a gorgeous view of the islands’ Seven Mile Bridge surrounded by water, coupled with a foreboding voiceover: “Sometimes, you know something’s coming. You can feel it. In the air. In your gut. And you don’t sleep at night. The voice in your head is telling you that something is going to go terribly wrong and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.” The voice is soon revealed to be John “the Pope” Rayburn’s, the middle son of the family whose moral duties as sheriff extend far beyond the police headquarters, a role naturally filled by Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”). Perpetually wearing a shirt and tie despite the searing heat, John plays the father figure among his siblings — his word is final, though it may not always be as fair and good as his reassuring voice spins it to be. As sheriff, John can sense an imminent threat — the “something’s coming” he warns of is his older brother, Danny, played by Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn (“The Dark Knight Rises”). Labeled frequently as the “black sheep” of the family, Danny obviously sticks out among
the other Rayburns — where the other children have resided close to their parents in Florida, Danny has been M.I.A. His clothes are greasy, his pockets jammed with pain medicine and cigarettes. Though his intentions seem innocent — coming to his family’s celebration, bringing home a date, having a drink with dad — Danny’s body language oozes threat. He downs his rum a little too quickly; the date he brings is intolerably drunk. His movements ripple tension along the beach, causing everyone to question his real reasons for returning. Danny’s presence rocks the Rayburns the most, who all seem to hold something against him. The youngest son and “hot-head” of the family, Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz, “Dan in Real Life”), is convinced that his brother is back for revenge, aiming to hurt both the family and the inn. Meanwhile their sister, Meg (Linda Cardellini, “Freaks and Geeks”), is a lawyer and struggles to choose a side that won’t make her the bad guy — by agreeing with her father that Danny should be sent away, she’d lose her older brother forever. Though they all have different reasons to dread their brother’s return, through jolting flashbacks and flashforwards, it becomes clear that something in the past — and in the near future — went horribly wrong. So if the first few episodes of “Bloodline” seem to be stuck in the doldrums, keep in mind that there’s always a calm before the storm.
O
h, MoMA. The New York museum, considered the world’s top resource for modern art, has been undergoing serious flack for its universally panned retrospective on the indescribable Icelandic KATHLEEN tour de force, Björk. The New DAVIS Yorker called it “embarrassing,” The Atlantic preferred “misconceived.” Art Net News settled for a headline that proved both straightforward and scathing: “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Björk Show at MoMA is Bad, Really Bad.” Even in an ambitious Google search you’d be hard pressed to find any semblance of a positive reaction to the event, which still plans to run until June 7. The question of the tip of every art critic’s tongue is, to put it bluntly, how did MoMA fuck up so bad? While I haven’t been able to see the exhibit in person, all accounts say pretty much the same thing. The exhibit is sparse and the setup is horribly inconvenient for foot traffic. An accompanying audio recording proves both bizarre and disconcerting for listeners and distracts from the artifacts that highlight Björks multi-decade career. The Economist even accused the
show of fetishizing the ethereal foreignness of the singer into some sort of intrepid pixie. Yikes. The Museum of Modern Art has a longstanding relationship with celebrity artists. The museum held a retrospective of macabre director Tim Burton in 2009 (also deemed subpar by critics, but not to the extent of the Björk show), Marina Abramovic sat in a chair for two months in 2010 and stared at a rotating array of strangers and celebrities and Tilda Swinton slept in a glass box in the museum’s atrium for six hours in 2013. These shows are fun to attend and provide an interesting experience that viewers can’t find anywhere else, and, alternatively, they bring in a ton of revenue with tourists who want to tell their friends, “Yeah, I saw Tilda sleep in a glass box. It was no big deal.” However, it’s the style of exhibiting, almost exploiting the celebrity that often dilutes the intention of the artist, and it falls on the audience to realize that they’re getting the short end of the stick, which the attendees of the Björk exhibit became aware of. The Bjork disaster exemplifies a problem that has been creeping into modern art for quite some time: When a big name is behind the art, it becomes too easy to lean on the celebrity and not the content, leaving much to be desired for the viewer. The celebrity prob-
lem is not exclusive to MoMA or the world of modern art. A similar problem plagued the recent debut of Yeezy Season 1, a ready-to-wear collaboration between adidas Originals and rapper Kanye West. Critics’s reactions varied, but the majority rode the line between “eh” and accusations of copying established designers like Rick Owens. While it’s anticipated the line will sell big (it was recently announced that the luxury department store Barney’s will begin to sell the collection later this year), the question of artistic merit remains the same: Is the product selling because of the face behind the collection or because of its content? In a way, this is the ultimate question of artistic taste. As audiences and consumers, we often buy into fashion and art due to the famous connotations behind them. We’re excited by the possibility of finding a tangible way to connect with our favorite celebrities, and the veil of stardom provides a convenient cover for lacking substance. MoMA learned the hard way with the Björk retrospective, but in creating a highly publicized example of a collection gone bad, audiences can learn to be wary of what is a gimmick and what is art. Davis is thinking about Tilda Swinton in her glass box. To enter the box, email her at katjacqu@umich.edu.
TV REVIEW
Harrowing ‘24 Days’ By LAUREN WOOD For The Daily
From the opening scene, “24 Days,” directed by Alexandre Arcady (“What the Day Owes the Night”) and released B+ last April, does not let you for- 24 Days get that it’s not just a crime State Theater drama; it’s the New Light Films recreation of a horrifying and very true event. Following the kidnapping and eventual death of young Frenchman Ilan Halimi, the victim of a vicious 2006 anti-Semitic crime that sparked a series of massive protests, the film works to further personalize the cataclysmic event and remind its audience that, at the heart of this larger issue of French antiSemitism, there was one young man and his family.
Forces the viewer to experience the story. After Shabbat dinner in January 2006, Ilan Halimi (Syrus Shahidi, “Quantum Love”) leaves to get drinks with a mysterious girl he met earlier that day at work. His family, who believes he’s with his girlfriend, thinks little
of his late night. While wondering why he isn’t at lunch the next day, his family receives a harrowing e-mail demanding an impossible ransom in exchange for Ilan’s life. They are set on a turbulent and emotionally charged path, negotiating with the police and the large network of kidnappers for over three weeks before Ilan is released unexpectedly, dying en route to the hospital from injuries sustained after weeks of torture. A gripping story in itself, the narrative structure of the film is straightforward and entirely plot-driven, forcing the viewer to experience the story alongside the family and kidnappers as changes are made to the case. The focus shifts chronologically between the two groups as information about Ilan’s captors is revealed and the police learn more about the large network of criminals, from the bottom-tier beautiful “lures” (attractive women hired as bait to entice their targets and get them alone) and mindless musclemen all the way to a ruthless mastermind working from the Ivory Coast. This focus seems to detract from the experiences of the family and risks shifting our sympathies to the lowertier criminals coerced into the group out of financial necessity. We experience the family’s life through the structure of major plot points, and while this does force the viewer to experience every facet of the horrifying case, it also ends up almost depersonalizing the family as each new piece of information is presented in the same way as the last. It’s easy to
become emotionally numb to the barrage of tormenting twists, and there’s little room to breathe between the concentration of impactful scenes, detracting from the harrowing performances from Ilan’s parents and sisters. It’s Ilan’s mother, Ruth Halimi (Zabou Breitman, “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life”), who reclaims the film’s humanity with bookended direct addresses to the audience. While the film seems to lose its focus in the middle and edge into the realm of crime dramas, these moments of vulnerable honesty effectively bring the emphasis back on Ilan’s impact on the French-Jewish community and reminds its audience that this high-intensity story isn’t a trick for the screen, it’s an attempt to capture the truth of unbelievable real life events. Although Ilan is seen throughout the film during his imprisonment, we know little about him and are left to understand his character through the eyes of his family as they simultaneously fight for his life and mourn the loss of their son, brother and friend. Because of this, the film’s success hinges on our ability to connect with those most invested in his survival. After watching the story evolve from the family’s initial and very personal shock to the massive riots against anti-Semitic crimes, the appearance of Ruth at the open and close of the story allows viewers to re-contextualize the events they have watched be blown to epic proportions, keeping the story from becoming commoditized on screen and retain its humanity.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, March 24, 2015
TV REVIEW
Internet revival Fan favorite ‘Community’ returns to Yahoo Screen By ADAM THEISEN Senior Arts Editor
“Community” is immortal. Not only has it survived practically certain death by cancellation multiple years in a row, but it has gone on to outlast every B+ comedy NBC tried to replace it Community with. Now, a few Season 6 cast members Premiere short, the show has moved from Yahoo Screen network TV to New episodes Yahoo Screen, released every where it will Tuesday serve not as the main product, but as a means to draw the few-million, fiercely loyal remaining “Community” fans into the fledgling online platform. Though it’s missing a few key organs (only four of the seven in the original group are still at Greendale), what’s left of the show is just as alive and unique as Frankenstein’s monster. “Community” isn’t quite as quick or groundbreaking as it was in its prime, and it now exists in such a bubble of its own creation that it’s impossible to imagine the show as accessible to anyone checking it out for the first time. However, the first two episodes of the sixth season are more than entertaining enough for hardcore fans, and after all these incarnations, “Community” is still funnier and more unique than it has any right to be. The fantastic cold open of the first episode will likely be a sea-
son highlight. After a classic Dean (Jim Rash, “The Way Way Back”) announcement to, as Abed (Danny Pudi, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) puts it, “catch everyone up,” (“Welcome to Greendale! Now ranked fifth on Colorado’s alphabetical listing of community colleges! Rest in peace, Fatboy Slim’s DJ School”), the one problem that the group forgot to solve last season comes back to bite them: the roof collapses due to an overload of Frisbees. Soon after, we’re introduced to Francesca “Frankie” Dart (Paget Brewster, “Criminal Minds”), a consultant brought to Greendale to fix all of its problems. The always hyper-aware Abed describes the pompous Frankie as having “the most interesting take on not being interesting,” as she appears to be devoid of quirks and entirely professional. She immediately imposes rationality on the school, solving many of its ridiculous problems in a much faster way than the old “Save Greendale” group ever did. For a while, her plans work, but Jeff (Joel McHale, “The Soup”), Britta (Gillian Jacobs, “Life Partners”) and Annie (Alison Brie, “The Lego Movie”) quickly rebel, setting up a secret speakeasy in the back of Shirley’s old sandwich shop. The rationality that Frankie tries to impose on the whimsicality of Greendale calls to mind the conflict of Captain Hook and Peter Pan’s Lost Boys, in which the study group that’s been stuck at a low-tier community college for six years continues to use Greendale as a way to avoid growing up or facing the real world. The second episode contains a funny, if a bit insignificant, plot featuring the Dean’s new entirely inefficient virtual-reality system, in which simple tasks require incredi-
ble fitness (to delete a file, for example, one must slowly suffocate it in water). This storyline mainly served to introduce new group member Elroy Patashnik (Keith David, “The Princess and the Frog”), a tech inventor who has seen better days. Patashnik, as the gruff older guy, replaces last season’s Buzz Hickey (Jonathan Banks, “Breaking Bad”), who replaced Chevy Chase’s original Pierce Hawthorne. The other main plot of episode two features our first-ever meeting with Britta’s parents. Though Britta has been rebelling against her parents since the show began, this episode revealed that, well, there’s not much to be rebelling against. Her parents are lovable hippies who are infatuated with their daughter, and make the closest contact they can by covertly assisting Britta financially through her friends. Britta’s freak-out when she discovers this news and long-term imagined rebellion establishes her once again as the character that “Community” has never gotten quite right. After playing Jeff’s intellectual equal in the early episodes, Britta has spent years backsliding into the role of the group’s ditzy screw-up, a characterization that can be funny, but just doesn’t feel natural. It’s the one area of “Community” where Dan Harmon and crew’s incisive wit just doesn’t hit the mark. The beginning of “Community” ’s sixth season shows us that the show can be just as silly as it ever was. Though it has flaws — and it has regularly been flawed through its entire run — those flaws can be forgiven when a show is as different and hysterical as “Community.” It’s not meant for the casual fans, but if the episodes keep up in quality, hardcore fans will be watching the show for as long as its characters are stuck at Greendale.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
DOWN 1 Synagogue official 2 It has a floor but no ceiling
3 Competition with knights 4 Olympian’s blade 5 Novelist Harper 6 “It’s a Wonderful Life” director 7 Strand during a blizzard, say 8 Yankee shortstop Jeter 9 Online “Wow!” 10 “Hey, the light is green!” 11 Wing it at the lectern 12 Augusta’s home 13 Birch family tree 18 Flier usually shorter than its tail 22 Gun lobby gp. 25 False idol 26 “Grumpy” movie heroes 28 Sunflower State capital 30 __ Beta Kappa 31 A.L. East team 33 Cul-de-__ 34 Biblical suffix 35 50-Across milieu 37 Season in a Shakespeare title 38 “Chopsticks __ fork?”
39 “Game of Thrones” patriarch Stark 41 Making possible 42 __-friendly 47 Epidemic-fighting agcy. 49 Kept the party hopping, briefly 50 Cape Cod catch 51 New York governor Andrew
52 Like city folk 53 Poetic feet 54 Lab containers 55 Follow 57 Way to get info, on retro phones 58 Kind of navel 61 “Present!” 63 Grafton’s “__ for Noose” 65 Lead-in for plunk or flooey
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
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03/24/15
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
TOP DAWG
I’ll pimp your butterfly.
Rap and the crosscultural experience By REGAN DETWILER For The Daily
I’m the last person you would guess that listens to rap. Though I respect it as an art form and am amazed by the talent of musicians such as The Notorious B.I.G, Lauryn Hill, Jay Z and Drake, I’ve just never been into it. As an former ballet dancer and eager British alternative-pop listener, it’s almost comical to imagine my sometimes high-strung, neurotic self attempting to dance to something like Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d city. Another thing: I’m a middle class white girl who grew up in a Midwestern suburb that was 89.6 percent white in 2010. The first time I even started hearing any real rap — rap that wasn’t just featured in a pop song — was at high school parties, where I would see other privileged white teenagers nod-
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ACROSS 1 Mythical bird 4 Spanish hero played by Heston 9 Bush successor 14 Oktoberfest gripe 15 Protest sign word 16 Purple Heart, e.g. 17 *One harvesting honey 19 Freezing cold 20 Count in music 21 Nothing, in Normandy 23 Floor cleaner scent 24 MIT part: Abbr. 25 *One planning a job 27 Words before grip or life 29 Pub offering 30 Mom-and-pop org. 32 Havens 36 Exorcism target 40 *One calling strikes 43 Cara or Castle 44 Pursue 45 Pop 46 Westminster show org. 48 Wraps up 50 *One working at a low level 56 Dench of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” 59 Biceps exercise 60 Genesis brother 61 Surround 62 Bird that lays blue eggs 64 Lone Ranger epithet, or what each answer to a starred clue often is 66 Muscat resident 67 Not as happy 68 Yale Bowl rooter 69 Class-ending sounds 70 River to the Rhone 71 Fish eggs
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ding their heads and rapping along. At these parties I would observe my peers and consciously listen. I would listen to the lyrics behind the heavy beats and the often cacophonous syllables spewing from the rappers’ mouths. What I heard were anthems of life in the streets, of gang violence and innocence lost to institutionalized racism that plagues our society. What I saw were my white peers nodding along as if they understood. It seemed to me like my peers only listened to rap in order to adopt some sort of image, to exude an attitude of cool, of detached understanding of what’s really going on. But the lyrics told heart-wrenching stories of tragedy – of hurt, of oppression, of death, of coping. And these traumas are the harms inflicted largely upon members of the Black population in America and elsewhere, not of the stereotypical, affluent white kid.
My pain is not the same as his, but I can still feel his soul. Along with my apparent inability to dance like a normal person, it was this element of rap in the context of my identity and my listening environment that made me feel uncomfortable nodding and swaying to the beat. How could I pretend to empathize with such heavy damages? The root of my discomfort is that I felt like I couldn’t justifiably enjoy the music if I didn’t fully understand the cultural background of the musician, especially as a member of the group that has historically oppressed the people who identify with this culture. I started throwing this idea around with friends, one of whom challenged me in a way that sort of eliminated the issue of race. This friend identifies with rap because she grew up in a very rural area whose inhabitants have a generally lower socioeconomic status, resulting in hardships similar to those referenced in a lot of rap lyrics. Although she’s white and the area she grew up in is predominantly white, other elements of her life allow her to deeply empathize with the true meanings of the music. The recent release of Kendrick Lamar’s new album To Pimp A Butterf ly is what sparked this introspection into my own disconnect with rap. Having read a book about adolescents in the drug exchange of Detroit in Anthro 101 and now taking a linguistic anthropol-
ogy class called Language and Discrimination, I felt like I had a new understanding of the Black community’s experiences in places like Compton, where Lamar is from, when I listened to the album. After listening to it, I started reading some articles about the artist and his latest release. In a piece from the New York Times, Kendrick says, “You take a kid out of Compton, and he has to meet these different types of people that are not black,” referencing the sense of obligation he feels to communicate with his ever-expanding fan base. Though his fan base is increasingly diverse and he does seem to feel an obligation to communicate with populations that aren’t Black, Kendrick emphasizes in this article that he isn’t creating music for the purpose of commercial success. If anything, both the sound and lyrics of To Pimp A Butterf ly are more dense than in his previous releases, “daring fans to invest in close readings” instead of selling out. He’s forcing his broad fan base to confront the issues that are at the heart of mainstream rap, regardless of listeners’ backgrounds. All of the things I’m mentioning seem to raise the same question: Is it possible to enjoy music without understanding the cultural background and empathizing with the emotional experiences of the musician? This question, however, has the underlying assumption that affluent white kids listening to rap, who make up a substantial portion of Lamar’s followers, aren’t understanding or empathizing with what they’re listening to. Though this may seem like the case on the outside, it may not be entirely true. What led me to this conclusion is another one of Lamar’s quotes from the same article. “This is me pouring out my soul on the record,” he said. “You’re gonna feel it because you too have pain. It might not be like mine, but you’re gonna feel it.” That’s what converted me. With race relations in the United States being one of the most prominent issues within communities, politics, the media and elsewhere, it’s understandable for someone like me to feel like they don’t “have the right” to enjoy rap. But music in general is about the human experience — the joys and hardships we face and the emotions we feel resulting from these things. While it’s absolutely imperative to recognize and honor the cultural and historical background of music, listening to rap doesn’t have to be solely about race; it can also be about the shared experience of being human. Now, I listen to Kendrick Lamar’s album with a newfound sense of pleasure. My pain is not the same as his, but I can still feel the soul he’s poured into it.
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News
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 — 7
Israeli leader makes apology Netanyahu addresses remarks made during last week’s election JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Israel’s Arab citizens on Monday for remarks he made during last week’s parliament election that offended members of the community. The move appeared to be an attempt to heal rifts and mute criticism at home and in the United States. Netanyahu drew accusations of racism in Israel, especially from its Arab minority, and a White House rebuke when, just a few hours before polling stations were to close across the country, he warned that Arab citizens were voting “in droves.” But President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Denis McDonough, rejected Netanyahu’s attempt to distance himself from his comments, telling an Israel advocacy group Monday that the U.S. can’t just overlook what Netanyahu said on the eve of his re-election. Netanyahu, whose Likud Party won re-election in the vote, met with members of the Arab community at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday and apologized. He said he knows his “comments last week offended some Israeli citizens and offended members of the Israeli-Arab community.” “This was never my intent. I apologize for this,” Netanyahu said. “I view myself as the prime minister of each and every citizen of Israel, without any prejudice based on religion, ethnicity or gender.” “I view all Israeli citizens as partners in the building of a pros-
perous and safe state of Israel, for all Israelis,” he also said. A recently established alliance of four small, mostly Arab parties called the Joint List made unprecedented gains in the March 17 election, earning enough votes to make it the third-largest party in Israel’s parliament. Arab citizens make up 20 percent of Israel’s population. Equality is guaranteed in Israel’s laws but many Arabs have long complained of discrimination, mainly in the job and housing market. Ayman Odeh, the head of the Joint List, told channel 2 TV that Netanyahu’s apology was not accepted. “This is not a real apology,” Odeh said. “He incited against citizens who were exercising their basic right to vote for Knesset.” Odeh also accused Netanyahu of “zigzagging” by saying one thing one day and a different another. In the final days of the campaign, Netanyahu angered the U.S. by taking a tough stance toward the Palestinians and by saying a Palestinian state will not be established on his watch in the current climate of regional chaos and violence. Resolving the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in a two state solution is a key U.S. foreign policy priority. In his speech to J Street, an Israel advocacy group that is sharply critical of Netanyahu, McDonough warned Israel against annexing the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to establish their future state. He said Netanyahu’s prediction that a Palestinian state wouldn’t come about on his watch was “very troubling” and questioned Netanyahu’s broader commitment to the two-state solution the U.S. and Israel have officially supported for years.
EVAN VUCCI/AP
Secretary of State John Kerry, right, shakes hands with Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, left, and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after a news conference at Camp David Presidential retreat, on Monday, March 23 in Camp David, Md.
Afghan, U.S. leaders discuss relations after 14 year war Officials lay groundwork for security plans CAMP DAVID, Maryland (AP) — In a show of unity, U.S. and Afghan officials laid the groundwork for new relations between the two countries on Monday, including plans to seek American funding to maintain an Afghan security force of 352,000 and long-term counterterrorism efforts. Discussions over future U.S. troop levels continue as the war winds down. In an all-day session at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin mountains, dozens of U.S. and Afghan officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry, Defense Secretary Ash Carter, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and chief
RICK BOWMER/AP
In this Feb. 5, 2015, file photo, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert speaks to members of the media during a news conference at the Utah State Capitol, in Salt Lake City.
Utah to use firing squads if lethal drugs unavailable
Law could help overcome difficulty obtaining fatal injections SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah became the only state to allow firing squads for executions when Gov. Gary Herbert signed a law Monday approving the method for use when no lethal injection drugs are available, even though he has called it “a little bit gruesome.” The Republican governor has said Utah is a capital punishment state and needs a backup execution method in case a shortage of the drugs persists. “We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty, and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued,” Herbert spokesman Marty Carpenter said. However, enforcing death sentences is “the obligation of the executive branch.” The governor’s office, in a statement announcing the new law, noted that other states
allow execution methods other than lethal injection. In Washington state, inmates can request hanging. In New Hampshire, hangings are fallback if lethal injections can’t be given. And an Oklahoma law would allow the state to use firing squads if lethal injections and electrocutions are ever declared unconstitutional. Utah’s new approval of firing squads carries no such legal caveat and represents the latest example of frustration over botched executions and the difficulty of obtaining lethal injection drugs as manufacturers opposed to capital punishment have made them off-limits to prisons. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Paul Ray of Clearfield, argued that a team of trained marksmen is faster and more decent than the drawn-out deaths involved when lethal injections go awry — or even if they go as planned. Though Utah’s next execution is probably a few years away, Ray said wants to settle on a backup method now so authorities are not racing to find a solution if the drug shortage drags on. Ray didn’t return messages seeking
comment Monday. Opponents of the measure say firing squads are barbaric, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah saying the bill makes the state “look backward and backwoods.” Utah lawmakers stopped offering inmates the choice of firing squad in 2004, saying the method attracted intense media interest and took attention away from victims. Utah is the only state in the past 40 years to carry out such a death sentence, with three executions by firing squad since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The last was in 2010, when Ronnie Lee Gardner was put to death by five police officers with .30-caliber Winchester rifles in an event that generated international interest and elicited condemnation from many. Gardner killed a bartender and later shot a lawyer to death and wounded a bailiff during a 1985 courthouse escape attempt. The bailiff’s widow, VelDean Kirk, who witnessed Gardner’s execution, said she supports the new law. “I don’t think it’s barbaric,” she said. “I think that’s the best way to do it.”
executive Abdullah Abdullah gathered to relaunch a relationship strained by nearly 14-years of war and often-testy relations with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. During the meeting, the U.S. agreed to seek funding through 2017 for an Afghan force of 352,000, a level the nation has yet to meet, Carter said. U.S. officials said the Afghan government is trying to improve recruiting to make up for security forces who leave the service. They also agreed to require the Afghan government to complete specific reforms and meet other milestones in order to receive up to $800 million. U.S. officials said the Afghans suggested the incentive-based funding idea. The leaders of the two nations also said they would restart routine ministerial-level Defense and State Department
meetings. Ghani is to meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, an engagement during which officials expect the U.S. to make clear its decision to slow the pace of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Ghani and Abdullah fought a contentious election last year to replace Karzai, and their power-sharing agreement was lauded by Kerry, who played a key role in brokering it. “It is easy today to underestimate the measure of courage and leadership and selflessness that was demanded at that moment, and that both of these leaders continue to show in their commitment to a unity government,” Kerry said. He added that “huge challenges remain” but that the agreements to be reached this week will help pave the way for stabil-
ity and security. Kerry said that the joint appearance at Camp David, along with the White House meetings, should serve as notice to the Taliban that the U.S.-Afghan relationship is back on track and they should negotiate rather than fight. “All of these underscore to any Taliban, to anybody who wants to engage in violence that we are prepared in the long term to support our friends in Afghanistan,” Kerry said. Obama has promised to pull remaining U.S. troops out by the end of his presidency. But deficiencies in the Afghan security forces, heavy casualties in the ranks of the Afghan army and police, a fragile new government and fears that Islamic State fighters could gain a foothold in Afghanistan have combined to persuade Obama to slow the withdrawal.
Sports
8 — Tuesday, March 24, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
‘M’ advances in WNIT Flaherty, Thompson star By MINH DOAN Daily Sports Writer
TOLEDO, Ohio — As the buzzer sounded to signal the end of regulation, Michigan women’s basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico’s MICHIGAN 74 children 58 TOLEDO charged through the stands to congratulate their mom after a huge 74-58 win over Toledo. But just as they reached the court, an usher stopped them, not knowing exactly who the kids were. Barnes Arico had to signal to the usher to let them through so she could experience the joyous moment she deserved after leading her team to the WNIT round of 16. “(The usher) didn’t know who they were, so I had to tell him,” Barnes Arico said. “They had to get home to get to bed, so I didn’t want them to hang out (too long). “They are at the age now that they know what’s going on. When we lose, they cry. When they win, they’re so excited.” And for a moment, it seemed as if Barnes Arico’s kids would be crying after the game. Five minutes into Michigan’s second-round WNIT matchup with Toledo, backed by a raucous crowd at Savage Arena, the Rockets made their first three shots, while the Wolverines shot just 1-for-5 to start the game. It seemed like it would be another rough night for Michigan away from Crisler Center. But things were different this time, and freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty was the player to ignite the Wolverines on Monday night to bring them into the WNIT round of 16. With 5:07 left in the first half and senior forward Cyesha
Goree off the floor due to foul trouble, Flaherty drove inside and put up a shot through of forest of bodies. The layup went in, and the once-rocking crowd at Savage Arena was silenced. Flaherty’s 3-point play ignited the Wolverines to a 16-0 run to end the half — all without Goree, their leading scorer, on the floor. “At the beginning of the year, if Cyesha picked up her second foul and (senior guard Shannon Smith) picked up her second foul, or any two of our seniors, we would’ve thought to be in serious trouble,” Barnes Arico said. “To finish that first half with two freshmen, a sophomore, a junior and a senior on the floor during a 16-0 run got me super excited.” Flaherty led Michigan with 25 points, while sophomore guard Siera Thompson, despite not starting for the second game in row, scored 20 points. “It was nice to see Katelynn and Siera knock down some shots,” Barnes Arico said. “They’ve been kind of a streaky lately, so it was great to see them have an incredible night.” The Wolverines picked up right where they left off in the second half, shooting 40 percent and outscoring the Rockets by two. And when Goree picked up her third foul with 12:52 left in the game, it was freshman forward Jillian Dunston who came up big for the Wolverines. Just like in the first half when Goree left the game, Dunston’s physical presence inside was enough to throw off the Rockets. “In practice, we work on getting younger players, like Jillian, ready so she can step in at big times like tonight,” Thompson said. “I think she played very well tonight.” But with the crowd on
Toledo’s side, the Rockets never seemed like they were completely out of the game. Midway through the second half, Toledo went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 10. But that was as close as the Rockets got. Once again, it was Flaherty who sank three straight shots to widen the gap. While Toledo put up a good fight, it wasn’t meant to be for a team ranked 59 spots behind Michigan in the RPI. Rockets guard Inma Zanoguera — Toledo’s leading scorer — finished with 14 points, while guard Brenae Harris, who played for Michigan between 2011 and 2013, finished with 11. The Wolverines now move on to play Missouri in the round of 16 at home on Thursday. But considering its road woes this season, Michigan will celebrate its victory, at least until tomorrow’s practice. “It’s a great feeling (to win),” Thompson said. “We’re not done though. We want to keep working and keep winning.”
By MAX BULTMAN Daily Sports Editor
TOLEDO, Ohio — After an unceremonious WNIT opener that saw the Michigan women’s basketball team shoot a combined 6-for-18 from the field in a win over Cleveland State, freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty and sophomore guard Siera Thompson got to work. They, along with the other Wolverine guards, went in to take extra shots on their day off Friday with assistant coach Megan Duffy. And in the Wolverines’ 74-58 win over Toledo at Savage Arena on Friday, it showed, as the two combined to shoot an almost nonsensical 17-for-23 from the floor, lifting Michigan into the tournament’s third round. “My last game, I think I shot 3-for-11,” Flaherty said. “Getting the ball back in our hands when we’re not having a good shooting day really gives us confidence.” Neither Thompson nor Flaherty started Monday
for the Wolverines, but they made the difference in a hostile environment. Without Thompson and Flaherty’s astounding 74-percent shooting, the Wolverines’ line would have been 9-for-30. And while both players are undoubtedly deep threats every night, Monday’s outburst was still somewhat unexpected. While Flaherty started the season as one of the team’s premier shooters, she has struggled to get her shot going in her last three games. “Katelynn is funny — she’s still such a youngster that so much of her game is still predicated on the first shot, or the second shot,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “If she’s 0-for-1 or 0-for-2 I start to get nervous, because I think she hesitates instead of taking threes. But tonight she got the first one to fall, and then her confidence was flowing.” But Flaherty didn’t just get the first one to fall Monday. She got the first eight. In fact, she didn’t miss a shot until there was just 11:29 remaining, and that was
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty scored 25 points off the bench in Michigan’s second-round WNIT victory.
on a blocked layup by Toledo’s Sophie Reecher. She racked up 25 points from just about everywhere on the court, mostly on 3-pointers and a series of long 2s, neither of which the Rockets could do anything about. Even when they closed out on her, Flaherty’s release was still too quick. “We just couldn’t get a hand her face fast enough,” lamented Toledo coach Tricia Cullop. Added Thompson: “(Flaherty) was great tonight. I’ve seen her like that a lot of times, but she was very, very good tonight.” Even if the Rockets had found an answer for Flaherty, Thompson might have been able to carry Michigan herself. She shot a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc, finishing with 16 points. She continuously found ways to get open and make Toledo pay for the holes in its defense. “To (Thompson)’s credit, she’s been out of the starting lineup the last two games, and that’s probably the only time in career she’s been out of the starting lineup,” Barnes Arico said. “She responded tonight, and that was awesome to see.” For one stretch in the second half, Flaherty and Thompson were the Wolverines’ entire offense. After Flaherty hit a 3-pointer to put Michigan up 46-30 with 15:16 to play, no player not named Thompson or Flaherty scored for the Wolverines until senior forward Nicole Elmblad hit a free throw with 2:46 remaining. Luckily for Michigan, that was still more than enough scoring. They totaled 17 points in that span, more than enough to stave off a brief push from Toledo. “They just kind of lost us with all our screens,” Flaherty said. “I know my team needs me to shoot — it’s one of the best things I do.”
The Greek goddess of Wolverines prepare for walks, Sierra Romero Falcons in home opener By TED JANES Daily Sports Writer
Many baseball fans refer to former Red Sox infielder Kevin Youkilis as the “Greek God of Walks.” Michigan softball’s Sierra Romero is challenging him for that title. The junior second baseman has been walked 38 times this season, the third highest in college softball. In a three-game series against Ohio State, the fourthranked Wolverines (3-0 Big Ten, 28-4 overall) swept the Buckeyes, scoring a total of 46 runs and giving up just two. In the first two games, Romero recorded six runs batted in. In the final game, she didn’t record even one. Romero’s lack of RBI on Sunday was not the result of a poor individual performance but a change of strategy from Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. After 12 Michigan batters were walked on Saturday, three of which eventually reached home plate, Hutchins took note and thought of a beneficial adjustment. Sunday, Romero moved up to the leadoff spot in the batting order, away from her usual
position as the third in line. In that game, Romero was walked three of the four times she came to the plate, and she made it around the bases each time she was walked. “We did a great job of taking a lot of free bases,” said Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “In (Saturday’s) game we got 12 walks, and we made them pay for it. When we did strike the ball, we struck it really well, but the key was getting baserunners.” When it comes to on-base percentage, Romero boasts a hefty .699, which ranks second in the country. Romero’s high on-base percentage is largely a result of how often she gets walked. Romero’s dangerous power hitting merits the number of intentional walks she receives. When she is at bat, Romero expects to get on base, and this is a big reason why she is considered one of the best players in country. Since Romero gets on base so much, it only made sense to bring her to the top of the order. Michigan has plenty of other the sluggers to hit her around the bases, but if no one is on base beforehand, there
are fewer runs to be scored. Behind Romero in the batting order were sophomore Kelly Christner and junior Sierra Lawrence. Both follow right behind Romero in on-base percentages, holding a .504 and a .476, respectively. But Romero sticks out. She has shown there is more to offense than just hitting home runs, something she can do with ease. Instead, Romero’s stat sheet demonstrates the importance of getting on base. In her career, Romero has been walked a total of 153 times, the third highest in Michigan softball history. By end of her senior year, the record will likely belong to her. Kevin Youkilis’ 104 walks in 2003 were the among the highest in the minor leagues. Former Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane hired him for just that. As a three time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Youkilis made a nine-year career out of getting walked. Romero is already doing the same. Note: Michigan’s Tuesday game against Western Michigan has been rescheduled to Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at Alumni Field.
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
Junior second baseman Sierra Romero is currently third in the nation with 38 walks. She has a .699 on-base percentage.
By BEN FIDELMAN Daily Sports Writer
After spending its first 22 games on the road, the Michigan baseball team opens its home schedule against Bowling Green on Tuesday at Ray Fisher Stadium. The team will not only Bowling be happy to Green at see its home turf in game Michigan action for the Matchup: first time this Bowling season, but Green 5-13; also to play Michigan 11-11 sub-.500 com- When: Tuespetition after day 4 P.M. being swept at Where: Ray Nebraska last Fisher Stadium weekend. The Falcons (0-3 MAC, 5-13 overall) come into Ann Arbor riding a seven-game losing streak, most recently including a sweep at the hands of Ball State in which they were outscored by a combined 18-3 margin. Though the offense has recently struggled to score runs, two Bowling Green starters have batting averages above .300: catcher Trey Keegan and infielder Greg Basalyga. Heading to the mound for the Falcons is left-hander Brett Fitzwater, who has been one of the team’s most consistent pitchers this season. Carrying a 3.65 earned-run average, the junior has held opponents to a .229 batting average so far this season. The Wolverines (0-3 Big Ten, 11-11 overall) will counter with right-hander Matt Ogden. Coming back from an injury that cost him the entire 2014 season, the redshirt junior has posted a 5.14 ERA through seven innings pitched this year. Tuesday will be his first start of the season. Though the scoreboard didn’t end up looking like what the team wanted, Michigan had a few bright spots against the
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Jackson Glines hit 6-for-13 in Michigan’s series against Nebraska.
Cornhuskers. Three Wolverines hit over .350 on the weekend, including senior outfielder Jackson Glines, who went 6-for13. His season average now sits at a Big Ten-best .472 — nearly 70 points higher than any other player in the conference. In addition to Glines, junior left fielder Cody Bruder, right fielder Carmen Benedetti and first baseman Jacob Cronenworth are having respectable seasons. Benedetti and Bruder rank in the top six Big Ten players in runs batted in, with 22 and 20, respectively. Nearly half of Benedetti’s 22 RBI were recorded in one day, when he slugged in 10 runs in a doubleheader against Toledo and Coastal Carolina on March 7. Benedetti also ranks third in the conference with eight doubles. While it comes as no shock to anyone who watched the team last year, Cronenworth continues to get on base and score runs better than many others.
Last season, he finished second in the conference in walks, accompanied with a 10th-place finish in runs scored. He seems to be on a similar trajectory this year, as he currently sits at second in walks and is tied for third in runs scored among all Big Ten players. Glines, Cronenworth, Benedetti and Bruder are joined by senior shortstop Eric Jacobson to make up the five Michigan players with batting averages above .300 this season. Michigan is looking to right the ship in this midweek game before facing off against No. 20 Maryland this weekend. This is the second year in a row that the Wolverines have started the Big Ten season against two of the best teams in the conference, and they learned last year how important it was to sustain good momentum in weekday games between those major series. The team lost just three midweek games once opening its home schedule last year.