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ARB IN BLOOM
HOSPITAL
Pre-surgery ‘U’ program awarded $6.3 million
NEWS
Fracking debate Report details Michigan resident’s concerns about the controversial practice >> SEE PAGE 2
Researchers to explore improving outcomes for highrisk patients
OPINION
Proposition 1 From the Daily: Reforms to state tax code could benefit small business >> SEE PAGE 4
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Alum Tony Stark and his daughter Ilya play in the blooming Peony Garden at Nichols Arboretum on Monday.
ARTS
GOVERNMENT
OITNB Season 2 of the popular Netflix series looks at new storylines, characters >> SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
Preparations Confident Nick Stauskas begins workouts in Charlotte before NBA draft >> SEE PAGE 12
INDEX Vol. CXXIV, No. 110 | © 2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS .................................... 2 OPINION ...............................4 ARTS ......................................6 CLASSIFIEDS.........................8 CROSSWORD........................8 SPORTS................................ 10
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Obama signs executive order to address student loan debt Previously existing payment reduction plan extended to older borrowers SHOHAM GEVA Managing News Editor
Five million borrowers became eligible to have payments lowered on their student loans Monday after President Obama signed a new executive order expanding access to a previously existing government program that decreased monthly payments for low-income individuals. The President also announced measures to renegotiate the
financial incentives for on-time repayment, reduce paperwork for active duty military with loans who receive a 6% interest cap and increase awareness of reducedpayment plans. A White House press release stated making college degrees more affordable and accessible has been a longtime priority for the President. “As part of his year of action to expand opportunity for all Americans, the President is committed to building on these efforts by using his pen and his phone to make student debt more affordable and more manageable to repay,” the release read. The order specifically addressed the Pay As You Earn repayment plan, which previously only applied to borrowers who
received at least one disbursement of a federal direct loan during or after 2011, and first borrowed after or in 2007 . The plan limits monthly payments to 10 percent of an individual’s discretionary income, which must be lower than the monthly payment under a standard federal repayment plan. It also limits the amount of interest that can capitalize — the practice of adding unpaid interest to the original amount of the loan, which can raise both minimum monthly payments and interest — to 10 percent of the original loan and allows individuals who make qualifying payments to the plan for 20 years to have any remaining debt forgiven. Following implementation of the order, which is expected See LOANS, Page 3
By EMMA KERR Daily Staff Reporter
The University’s Michigan Surgical Home & Optimization Program has received $6.3 million from the Health Care Innovation Award to fund the implementation of their structured, pre-surgery program. MSHOP seeks to improve surgical outcomes in high-risk cases through four basic steps taken during the time between a patient’s decision to have surgery and the scheduled surgery date. Patients in the program are encouraged to be active, quit smoking, eat properly and practice relaxation techniques designed to boost optimism. Dr. Michael J. Englesbe, associate professor of surgery and a principal investigator on the project, said the new habits introduced in the study, such as increased physical activity and proper nutrition, have the potential to produce better post-surgery results even in a short time period. “The program is similar to the training for a 5k race, as a two hour operation has a similar effect on the body, and you can imagine what See SURGERY, Page 3
2 NEWS
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Study examines concerns over ‘fracking’ in Mich. Residents express concerns despite low rates of utilization By IAN DILLINGHAM Editor in Chief
As debates occur nationwide over the continued use of hydraulic fracturing — colloquially known as fracking — to extract oil and natural gas from shale deposits deep beneath the surface of the earth, University researchers have released a report examining public perceptions of this controversial practice in Michigan. The Center for Local, State and Urban Policy published the report last week, compiled with data from the center’s biannual Michigan Public Policy Survey of local governments. About 1,350 jurisdictions responded to the survey, which also gauged perceptions on issues pertaining to wind energy, bankruptcy and the Great Lakes. CLOSUP program manager Thomas Ivacko said the survey’s goal was to shed light on public opinion, especially given that the issue will likely only intensify moving forward as it has in other states. “The objective was to get a sense of how fracking is playing out as an
issue in Michigan communities,” Ivacko said. “Even though it’s not happening much, it is a topic of conversation in quite a few places.” The survey revealed surprising results in several areas. For example, it demonstrated that fracking is still a rare occurrence in Michigan despite the media attention it has received. Only 6 percent of jurisdictions reported that the practice was occurring in their area. The study also showed public perception of fracking may not be very clearly defined. While only 11 percent of officials said the majority of their jurisdiction would support fracking, almost one-third of those same officials said they support fracking themselves. In addition, the data also pointed to some regional disparities on the issue, with greater support for fracking in northern regions of the Lower Peninsula where the practice is more commonly implemented. Ivacko noted that fracking is not a new occurrence. In fact, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, oil and gas companies have been using the technique — pumping water, sand and chemicals into wells to allow for the release of natural gas and
oil — since 1952. Recently, however, some companies have utilized an updated method, known as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, to service larger areas and extract greater quantities of oil and gas. These wells descend up to 5,000 feet below the ground and extend horizontally once they reach an ideal depth. Ivacko said the new technique is controversial, in part, because it uses more water and chemicals. Whereas vertical wells may use up to 100,000 gallons of water, some horizontal wells can require as much as 20 million gallons. However, the Michigan DEQ has said that current practices do not present a safety risk to humans and are not placing a strain on resources. Among the factors encouraging fracking, survey respondents listed — in order — “revenue for land-owners,” “local property tax revenue” and “potential environmental benefits from cleanerburning gas instead of coal” as the top three. The top three factors discouraging factors were “potential risks to water resources”, “potential environmental damage linked to fracking operations, such as spills, leaks, etc.” and “potential risks to citizens’ health”.
The study found the opinions varied between jurisdictions, but that most, regardless of how they viewed fracking, wanted greater control over regulating the practice. Among local officials, 63 percent felt that local governments should have a great deal of authority in regulating fracking in their jurisdiction, whereas only 16 and 45 percent felt federal and state governments should have a great deal of authority, respectively. Current law places the majority of regulatory power in the hands of the state government, as opposed to local ones. “Local governments in Michigan really are pretty severely restricted in what they can do about fracking,” Ivacko said. “Certainly for townships and for counties, it’s going to be a great uphill battle for them to stop any kind of fracking in their jurisdiction.” While cities, townships and counties do all have varying degrees of control over fracking operations, Ivacko said they remain limited. “At the moment, for the most part, local governments are going to lose out,” he said. “Clearly this is a state-level policy topic and the state has reserved the authority to regulate it for themselves.”
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New grocery store to replace Kroger on S. Industrial Lucky’s Market will focus on accesible, healthy food and building community By MARGO LEVY For the Daily
Ann Arbor now has one less Kroger, but the number of grocery stores in the area should hold constant. The chain grocery store, which previously had three locations in Ann Arbor, closed its South Industrial location Saturday after operating in the area since the 1980s due to contract disputes
over the lease. The Plymouth Road and South Maple Road locations will remain open. However, the lease for the South Industrial property will be taken over by another grocery store: independently owned Lucky’s Market, which currently plans to open in January 2015 after completing renovations on the space. Lucky’s Market founder Bo Sharon, who founded the company in Boulder, Colo., said he started the chain in 2003 with a commitment to fresh food and an emphasis on community. Today, the company has expanded its stores to Ohio, Missouri, Montana and Kentucky. “We sell natural food at what
we call conventional prices, so it’s open to everybody,” Sharon said. The store will feature local produce and groceries and Sharon said store managers typically have a large degree of autonomy in deciding what they sell and are encouraged to get to know the community and the farmers in the area. “Each store has the ability to put a product on a shelf,” he said. “We encourage our grocery managers to go to Farmer’s Markets and talk to people and find products.” He added that, beyond the products they sell, the company also emphasizes community by donating to local organizations or individuals, with each employee
having a say in the who receives the funding. “We create a fund for each store to support their team members, to support the community, their customers and their vendors or anyone else that’s in need,” Sharon said. The company already has some familiarity with several food items within Ann Arbor’s food markets — Lucky’s Market currently sells Zingerman’s products at many of their stores around the U.S. — and Sharon said overall, the company is looking forward to joining the business community here. “Ann Arbor just feels like home,” he said. “We’re just excited to open up.”
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Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SURGERY From Page 1 “The program is similar to the training for a 5k race, as a two hour operation has a similar effect on the body, and you can imagine what that would be like for an 85-year-old,” Englesbe said. “They have to quit smoking, walk every day, and the family kind of participates in the care and process.” Eligible patients of any age or health in the program are given firm, obtainable goals and tools, like interactive smart-phone apps, to create optimal conditions and be as prepared as possible for surgery. MSHOP has been used in the University’s hospital system for approximately a year and a half, with over 300 patients participating in the program. The program has demonstrated a 30 percent decrease in the time patients spend in the hospital and a subsequent 30 percent decrease in the cost of care. The Health Care Innovation Award, given by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is one of many awards offered through the Social Security Act to demonstrate support for various health care providers, health care institutions and programs that have the potential to be
NEWS 3
D AV I D S E D A R I S transformative for the healthcare field such as MSHOP. The award is funded by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and other legislation set through the centers which aim to lower the cost of healthcare by providing more accurate information prior to surgery and taking measures to improve patients’ health prior to surgery if they choose more aggressive treatment options. Englesbe added that beyond the introduction of healthier habits, MSHOP also uses preoperative imagery like CAT scans to help patients see how healthy they are internally before making decisions about surgery. “A person could be 68 but have a body equivalent to an 85 year old on the inside,” he said. “We are using this sort of technology to help patients have a better understanding of what to expect, and often patients reconsider whether they want aggressive surgery.” The award will fund the program’s implementation, and the actual training of patients, in over 40 hospitals within the next three years. Along with the University, MSHOP also partners with the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative and insurance company Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan.
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Alum Priya Khangura and LSA junior Sola Mumo wait in line in the rain to see author and comedian David Sedaris at Literati Bookstore on Wednesday.
LOANS From Page 1 Department of Education completes the process of modifying its regulations, low-income individuals who borrowed before 2007 or stopped borrowing before 2011 will also have access to the PAYE repayment option. Previously, these borrowers were eligible for the income repayment plan, which capped payments at 15% of discretionary income and offered loan forgiveness after 25 years. As of 2011-2012, 38 percent of University students received some form of federal direct loan, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The data doesn’t delineate when borrowers first took out a loan, which is necessary to calculate new eligibility, but a report from the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Domestic Policy Council released Tuesday stated the state of Michigan as a whole has almost 193,000 individuals who could benefit from the executive order. In general, college affordability has become a pressing concern for Michigan residents. The state currently ranks as 45th in the nation
for college affordability, according to a yearly report by College Board, and a May report from the Center for Michigan found that college affordability is a top concern for people in the state. Democratic Congressional candidate Debbie Dingell, who has made student loans an area of focus in her campaign and is also the chair of Wayne State University’s Board of Governors, said the impact of college affordability has become a growing issue in the state. “I’ve been on the Wayne State board for eight years,” Dingell said. “Every single year, it seems like it’s becoming more challenging and more difficult and harder to afford a higher education. And every single day, I am meeting young people who are graduating with staggering debt.” She added that while college affordability is a nationwide issue, in Michigan it may be particularly pressing because of trends in public university funding, which has been dropping since the early 2000s and was hit particularly hard when Governor Rick Snyder instituted a 15% percent cut in his FY2012 budget. “It used to be that in Michigan,
higher ed was respected as the top of the country,” she said. “We stopped investing in higher education.” During Monday’s announcement, the President also expressed support for legislation in the U.S. Senate that would allow borrowers to refinance their student loans at lower interest rates. The legislation, which would benefit 963,000 Michigan borrowers according to the White House report, was blocked in the Senate Wednesday following a Republican filibuster. However, Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president of Edvisors, which manages several financial aid and college websites, said both initiatives may have a limited impact overall because they don’t address the root causes, such as the decreasing amount of non-loan federal money available for students that lead students to take out so many loans. “If we were to double the average Pell Grant, the debt would go down,” Kantrowitz said. “And that’s the real problem — there’s too much debt at graduation. The payment plan is a safety net, but the real problem is the debt in the first place.”
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4 OPINION
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Consumerism psychology
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu IAN DILLINGHAM EDITOR IN CHIEF
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STEPHANIE SHENOUDA 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
Better for business Michigan residents should vote in favor of Proposal 1 in August
O
n Aug. 5 Michigan residents will have the opportunity to vote on a state ballot initiative that’s set to help small businesses. If passed, Proposal 1 will begin the elimination of Michigan’s personal property tax on business and commercial equipment. Most midwestern states overturned personal property taxes due to various detrimental effects on state businesses. In 2012, Michigan followed the path of its surrounding states when the legislation voted to phase out most aspects of the personal property tax by 2023. Michigan voters should follow the legislation’s direction on this topic and vote yes on Prop. 1 in the coming fall elections. Eliminating the personal property tax will help attract businesses to Michigan. The personal property tax ensures businesses must pay taxes on any business or office supplies. This ranges from computers to desks to land. Since businesses already pay the six percent Michigan sales tax on items when they’re originally purchased, businesses are essentially being double-taxed for items. Businesses will oftentimes take this cost into consideration when deciding where to start a company. Because Michigan is the only Midwest state using the property tax, startups may be deterred from coming to Michigan. Therefore, eliminating the tax effectively boosts our economy. Though revenue is unstable,
the personal property tax makes up large amounts of the tax revenue in industrial cities. To ensure municipalities still have access to revenue after the personal property tax on businesses is phased out, the initiative proposes using funds from the state use tax that will total about $600 million in 10 years. The state will allow for $600 million in business tax credits to expire during the same time period to makeup for the new cost to use tax revenues. While incentivizing businesses is a persuasive reason to vote yes for Prop. 1, the property tax is inefficient for other reasons. Not only does it double-tax — an improper and unfair method of gaining revenue — but the property tax is also unreliable. Since the prices
of goods fluctuate given the year, region and idiosyncratic sales, the money received from the tax is dependent on a variety of uncontrollable factors. The state cannot effectively predict the generated revenue. Michigan needs a system that allows for predictable taxes. This helps the state create a more reliable budget, and helps businesses better predict and plan for costs. Prop. 1 includes an effective method to regain tax money. Allowing arbitrary and outdated business tax to expire is a commendable initiative. However, voters and the legislation must ensure that effective business tax credits that incentivize green energy and small business growth aren’t cut during the tax credit expiration period.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL MICHIGAN BUSINESSES!
W
hile wiping my hands in an Angell Hall restroom, a sticker on the paper towel dispenser caught my eye. In friendly green print, it said: “These come from trees.” And I replied, without sarcasm, “Holy shit, we must’ve forgotten.” ZAK I don’t mean “forgotten” in the WITUS sense of declarative knowledge — like, if I asked someone else in the bathroom where paper towel comes from, I’m sure they could tell me. I mean forgotten in the sense of active or working knowledge; in the moment of consumption, most people — myself included — aren’t thinking about what they’re actually consuming: what it’s made of, who’s making it, where it comes from, where it goes, etc. This issue pertains to almost every commodity that one doesn’t personally produce — everything from paper products to hamburgers to gasoline. So, my basic question is, “Why do we habitually forget the elementary truths about what it is we’re consuming?” And my basic answer is, “We forget because we want to forget.” The next question is: Why do we want to forget? I think the answer has to do with the famous saying, “Laws are like sausages — it’s better not to see them being made.” We want to eat sausage, but if we knew how sausage was made (or actively thought about the gruesome details while eating it), we would probably be too disgusted to keep eating. So, therefore we ought not know how sausage is made. This kind of moral reasoning is ubiquitous in today’s consumerist world, and presumes that we want to eat and enjoy more than we want to know or think, because knowing and thinking sometimes lead to disgust. I reject the view that we should sacrifice knowledge for the sake of enjoyment. Matter-of-factly speaking, we violate this moral routinely, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. Our disgust with how sausage is made seems to reflect an intuitive moral that we’d rather not confront consciously. Deep down, many of us feel that it’s wrong to slaughter animals for food, like how many of us feel it’s wrong to mow down forests for paper towel. Herein lies a common dilemma for consumers: we must consume to survive, but our consumption routinely violates our own ethics. This is the biggest psychological and philosophical
problem for today’s consumers. To keep the origin of commodities in mind would be to consciously violate our own moral principles and, furthermore, undermine our mental images of ourselves as moral beings. The disgust we would feel would not only be directed externally, but internally as well. In order to avoid this anxiety and self-disgust we opt for the far easy, convenient task of erasing or suppressing the troublesome information. And thus we “forget” where paper towel comes from because we don’t approve of the truth nor do we approve of ourselves. A tremendous obstacle in solving this ethical dilemma lies in a key enabler of our motivated forgetting: the physical and consequently psychical distance between us and the process of production. We aren’t actually seeing the stuff we’re consuming, only the end product. Today our gaze hardly extends beyond the reach of our fork; McDonald’s hamburgers seem to sprout from the ground fully formed. To subvert this ideology of eating by suggesting that hamburgers are in fact cooked cow flesh is considered vulgar or, as Mom would say, “inappropriate dinner conversation.” For her, as for many people, thinking about a chicken (the bird that clucks) while we’re eating chicken (the white meat that tastes good with gravy) ruins her appetite. Avoiding the former reality becomes so much easier because we don’t raise our own chickens or slaughter our own cows. “Forgetting” the disgusting reality of our consumption is imperative for allowing us to enjoy it. My hope is that by exposing these ugly truths we will be forced to confront them and I won’t have to retain my current view that, “Morals are like sausages — it’s better not to see them being made.” I’d rather we not erase or suppress troublesome information. Instead, we should adopt the far more difficult and inconvenient task of individual as well as societal reform and/or revolution. Overall the challenging solution is that we must learn to allow ourselves to enjoy less. So long as we continue to physically and psychologically cover up, flush away or otherwise “get rid of” these disgusting realities, we will continue to violate our own morals — not to mention destroy our planet and its inhabitants. But, if we’re willing to critique our own consumerist habits and sacrifice a bit of ignorant bliss, then we can align our actions with our higher ecological ethics. Maybe then we can live cleanly on Earth for a little bit longer. — Zak Witus can be reached at zakwitus@umich.edu.
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
T
When N=1
he more data points, the better — ask any graduate student. This is especially true for statistical studies that draw inferences about a diverse population from a smaller subset of N individuMIKE als, where N YEE is referred to as the sample size. All else being equal, larger values of N lead to concomitant increases in the ability to detect the presence of an effect in a particular experiment. Intuitively, one might say that having more information available to the observer reduces uncertainty, and allows for more confidence in a conclusion wellsupported by the evidence. It should come as no surprise then that just as we glorify studies where N is large, so too do we demonize those with small N. As the sample size decreases, the faith we have in the experiment as a whole diminishes rapidly. Concerns mount about whether the group in question is representative of the target population, as well as whether the results could have been due to chance alone. And what of the case study, the special situation where N=1? Scientists look askance at any attempt to generalize from a single data point. When N=1, what one has isn’t an experiment at all, but an anecdote, an observation which could just as easily be a fluke, an aberration, a coincidence. Perhaps this inherent distrust of low N is part of what makes issues surrounding the abuse of graduate students so hard to tackle. Sequestered for days on end in lab, studio or office, away from friends, family and loved ones, the life of a graduate student can be intensely isolating. Randomly distributed across campus, blinded to the conditions under which their peers toil, graduate students are constantly running parallel experiments on themselves, with N=1, attempting to gauge whether the problems they must deal with on a daily basis are a result of extrinsic or intrinsic factors. The graduate student has a
unique relationship with his or her advisor. As one’s principal research investigator and sometimes sole source of funding, the advisor is the hand that feeds, the eyes that read and the way to succeed, all at once. “Publish or perish,” the saying goes; without clear delineation between work and non-work, between the end of one project and the beginning of the next, there can be substantial pressure on the graduate student to spend more and more time and effort in pursuit of an ever-moving and possibly illusory goal. Where is the boundary between keeping one’s trainees on task and overworking those entrusted to one’s supervision? It’s murky enough territory for the faculty advisor, but for the graduate student, that division can be quite indistinct. Though gathered en masse students often degenerate into complaints and commiseration, seldom do they air those concerns which truly trouble them, perhaps out of a fear of revealing a deeply-rooted intellectual or character flaw; enough graduate students grapple with “impostor syndrome” even outside times of stress. Are the difficulties that one encounters a reflection of the research or the researcher? For the individual, with N=1, it can be downright impossible to tell. Graduate students may be even more reluctant to speak up if they perceive there’s a chance of retaliation, or if there is little expectation that definitive action will come of the complaint. What is known for certain is that abuse has far-reaching effects, contributing to the increasingly recognized problem of depression on college campuses as well as the attrition and burnout that causes many students to switch advisors or leave their programs entirely. Though we have made great strides in combating exploitation, ridicule and neglect, much work remains to be done. For now, students remain vulnerable to mistreatment, and small sample sizes make it difficult to gauge whether or not one’s travails are “normal.” For now, ambiguity aids the abusive and vagueness validates the vindictive. For now, the N justifies the mean. — Mike Yee can be reached at mayee@engin.umich.edu.
OPINION 5
The syllabus isn’t enough
A
couple bikes past my window, lollipops jangling in their mouths. It’s summer-gray in Michigan, and the wind carries tiny puffs of dandelion past fluorescent CARLINA lights, past baskets of DUAN cherries, past the blue recycle bins hunkered on East Washington Street. I feel as if it’s going to rain. The air is tight, and the wind — tighter, brushing my lip dry. Cars flip past. Dogs shout. A man holds another man’s hand. I press my wrist to the glass, willing everything to stay. Recently, everything has been reminding me of departure. I’m graduating in one year, and as each day pumps by, I want to get out of this city, with its plastic packages of tea and women in thick wedge heels. I lift my face and clouds roll, mosquitoes spark. Friends I love graduate, go away for the summers, don’t come back. Friends I love get sick. My family sleeps in their green-shuttered house. My mother plants gardenias on the back porch, and their petals light up in the heat — shy, white muscles lifting their frills to meet grass. I get restless, caught up in a sleeve of undergraduate worry and panic. I eat grapefruit and spend my money on cheap comics and sticks of mint gum. I feel like an imminent flunk. Recently, at work, I was asked why I chose to study English in college. “What do you want to do with that?” a co-worker asked politely, biting the square of her lip. It’s a question most of us have been asked repeatedly, regardless of our field. Yet despite three years of intensive study in literature and
language, I still have no idea. I want to do handstands. I want to make postcards. I want to touch diamonds of cheddar from the overpriced supermarket down my street; I want to hold other people’s massive hands, bite the basil plant, wear red lipstick. I want, so badly, for me to graduate from this University in one year and believe that a degree in English is enough. That I will feel confident and capable enough to plug the world into my body, that I’ll have the skills and service and experience needed to carve out space for myself. But perhaps the truth of the matter is: The classroom doesn’t prepare you for anything other than a few intellectual growth spurts. You read books. You raise your hand shyly in class, you get wet in the rain. When I started at this University three years ago, school was about stretching the brain to its brightest shapes. I’ve always felt that as a student, it’s my own responsibility to actively seek out thrill, curiosity, discomfort — whether in punching numbers into a database, or in piling my tray with dining hall cookies. But during college, I’ve also found that it’s become increasingly important for me to understand and come face-toface with moments of shiny fear, rage. To slam sparks through the brain. To make eye contact. To craft assignments for myself. At times, the syllabus is not enough. If anything, I’ve found that my classes in English have raised me to question what is — and isn’t — within the textbook. As an incoming senior, I’m hyper-aware of what I’m unsettled by within the classroom: what gets left out, or talked around, or pushed
over. As students, it becomes increasingly important to not shy away. We need to take initiative for ourselves and unearth the classroom vocabulary. This doesn’t mean that what we learn in our classrooms is unimportant. On the contrary, the syllabus becomes even more important in the context that we’re building upon and beyond it, seeking more. As students of the classroom and of the planet, we have to raise the stakes. As an English major, I want to read about Chaucer, but also about sassy Chinese women. I want to read about daughters of immigrants. I want to talk about shame, and inheritance, and the black hairs on my legs. I haven’t necessarily found that I’ve been able to read or discuss these issues in my classes. So I read outside of school. So I write poems. So I build. When I graduate in a year, it won’t necessarily be about all the papers I’ve written, or the medieval English I’ve read. It’ll be about pushing out beyond the curriculum — which takes courage, muscle. Going beyond the syllabus means that we do not become stuck within it. It means we challenge ourselves, continuously, to lift and look and ask. I still have no idea what I want to “do” with my English degree. But I know in one year, I want to still be digging. I don’t want to constantly nod my head. I want to ask questions. I want to remain restless. I want my brain to whir at high speeds. I want to learn, I want to celebrate. I want to create.
I know that in one year I want to still be digging.
— Carlina Duan can be reached at linaduan@umich.edu.
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6 ARTS
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
TV REVIEW
‘Orange’ is new and back
‘Edge’ thrills By KARSTEN SMOLINSKI Daily Arts Writer
NETFLIX
Red and Vee have a standoff
Acclaimed Netflix series returns with improvement and diversity By CATHERINE SULPIZO For The Daily
“Smart Entertainment“ is the buzzword floating around “Orange is the New Black”, Netflix’s wildly popular original TV series. It’s a case of content
molding to form. By the nature of Netflix’s distribution (all at once), certain shows can maintain their B+ integrity, but the best minutely- Orange Is drawn, complex the New TV universes prime time Black and cable have Season Two given us don’t translate well Netflix into the bingeheavy scheme of Netflix Instant Watch. So
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“Orange is the New Black” was never expected to be the perfect meditation on race, oppressive prison systems and class, but it still offers up a fairly intelligent dialogue without sacrificing its guilty-pleasure roots ... mostly. In Season One, the structure of the show often ran up against its “Smart Entertainment” wall, and the incredible cast diversity (in race, sexuality, and body type) felt like it was wasted on familiar tropes and stereotypes, like the sexy Latinas with snappy tongues or the Black characters who popped up too often for comic relief. Season Two has improved on this problem, partly by shifting the lenses away from its white “Trojan Horse,” the-easy-todespise privileged Piper (Taylor Schilling) and spending more time with the characters who actually inhabit America’s prison-system. Taystee’s backstory, in particular, deftly carves out a realistic background that introduces Season Two’s main villainess, the fabulous Vee (Lorraine Toussaint), a sociopathic drug distributor who acts as a surrogate mother for the neighborhood kids in exchange for involvement in her local “business.” Apparently, like the island on “Lost,” everyone seems to end up at Lichtfield, so it’s not really a surprise when Vee walks through the door by the end of the episode (and that she and Red are old frenemies). The show rarely goes in an unexpected See ORANGE, Page 8
What if you had to relive the exact same day, over and over again? That may not seem too terrible B+ depending on the day. What Edge of if it was the day Tomorrow you died? In the sci- Warner Bros. fi action film Rave and “Edge of Quality 16 Tomorrow”, a military promoter with no combat experience named Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Tom Cruise, “Mission: Impossible”) finds himself thrust into a mechanized combat suit and a suicidal assault against strange alien forces known as the Mimics. Caught in a time loop following his first quick death on the beaches of France, Cage must play out this fateful “Groundhog Day” like scenario in the midst of a gruesome slaughter. He perishes again and again, only to reawaken on the day before the attack. As Cage struggles to survive each new day, he encounters Special Forces soldier Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt, “Looper”), a war hero who experienced a similar time loop during the sole human victory at Verdun. Together, they plan to destroy the alien leader in a desperate bid to end both the invasion and Cage’s time loop for good. With each brutal death, Cage slowly transforms from hopeless alien bait to flawless killing machine. Endlessly repeating the same day isn’t an entirely novel idea. 2011’s “Source Code” used a similar device, and the repetition could get tiresome quickly. Watching humans in mechanized combat suits blast, bombard and slice up tentacle-waving aliens does provide an engaging viewing experience. However, the movie’s massive, explosion packed battles never stand above the large pool of action flicks. Luckily, the action sequences never dominate the film. Instead, “Edge of Tomorrow” shines when showing how Cage learns to manipulate the events
around him by predicting people’s words and actions. It’s almost like a videogame, with each new death teaching the player what not to do before restarting at the checkpoint. No scenario plays the same way twice, while the plot moves at a fast pace to keep the audience engrossed. Watching Cage’s failed attempts proves surprisingly humorous even as repeatedly seeing the bloodied bodies of his comrades provides Cage with the incentive to fight on. Cruise previously excelled in sci-fi action in films such as “Minority Report” or last year’s “Oblivion”, and “Edge of Tomorrow” proves no exception. Blunt
Cruise and Blunt balance wit and violence never misses a step as the battlehardened badass. Bill Paxton (“Aliens”) gives a dead-on target performance as the no-nonsense, death-or-glory, duty-bound Master Sergeant Farell, adding to both the laughs and the peculiar sense of inescapable fate. With damaged transport planes falling from the sky like a burning metal rain and aliens exploding into glowing goo, the action in “Edge of Tomorrow” entertains viewers but never astounds. Fortunately, while Cage must use violence to overcome this alien menace, it’s the film’s wit that proves most enjoyable. Though learning to overcome each new death stretches Cage’s endurance to its limits, the film’s quick editing sweeps audiences along on an effortless thrill ride. It may resemble “Groundhog Day” with a sci-fi action twist, but this particular battle for the fate of all mankind remains one not quite like any other, unafraid to explore the depths of psychological evil while dealing a fatal blow to the good guys.
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS 7
ALBUM REVIEW
Jack White proves he can still rock New album Lazaretto has moments of both inspiration and weakness By ADAM THEISEN Senior Arts Editor
Despite being a lifelong Jack White fan, I did not expect to like Lazaretto. Blun- B derbuss, his first Lazaretto true solo effort, was mostly just Jack White filled with songs based around Third Man stale blues riffs and a few boilerplate, lovelorn acoustic tracks. Furthermore, I spent the week leading up to Lazaretto reading pieces like the one Steven Hyden wrote for Grantland about how Jack needs his former White Stripes partner back in order to stay relevant. However, while The White Stripes needed Meg White, Lazaretto proves Jack doesn’t need anyone else to prove that he’s a fantastic musician capable of creating electrifying rock. However, upon multiple listens, the excitement of the album can wear off, and Jack’s shortcomings become
more apparent. It’s likely that how you feel about Jack White lines up with how you feel about rock music in general. To oversimplify, he’s either the supercool last bastion of “realness” among a constantly rising tide of electronic pop music, or he’s a behind-thetimes Luddite who romanticizes a Golden Age that was never really that golden. White’s pop sensibilities always seem to be underestimated — after all, he did a James Bond theme song with Alicia Keys, and every football Saturday at The Big House Jack White with his new blue color scheme 100,000 people sing the “Seven Nation Army” hook, which he wrote. (though occasionally chauvinisThe slinky, accusing piano number tic) coolness. “What gives me the “Would You Fight For My Love?,” right?” he asks, “Well these women among others, shows off his ability must be gettin’ somethin’ ‘cause to write catchy vocal melodies, but they come and see me every night.” he keeps his sizeable amount of rock However, White’s lack of strength as cred (and probably even gains some) a lyricist is a big weak point on the by featuring an extensive backing record. Instead of drawing listeners band that showcases all of the clas- in with metaphors or obscured persic rock ‘n’ roll instruments. Guitars, sonal details a la his idol, Bob Dylan, pianos, drums and even the bass all White mostly just falls back on oldget solos on Lazaretto. school tropes like booze and women. Lead-off hitter “Three Women,” White also proves on Lazaretto probably the album’s highlight, that he can still shred with the best shows why Jack is held up and idol- of them. Right in the middle of the ized as a true rock ‘n’ roll savior. The seemingly-improvised but also full band steps up the garage-rock intense lyrics of the title track, he simplicity of White’s early days, as casually throws in a killer guitar the track crackles with classic enjoy- solo, a classic Zeppelin-esque burst able blues energy, and White’s vocals whose coolness, again, is imposshow off his incredibly assured sible to deny. Even the instrumental
FILM NOTEBOOK
Cruise-ing along Say what you want, Tom Cruise is an awesome movie star By JAMIE BIRCOLL Daily Film Editor
Of the 37 screen credits to his name, Tom Cruise runs significantly in 19 of them: 19 glorious, unencumbered sprints at varying velocities, each one with its own definitive qualities. Take “Mission Impossible IV,” where Cruise runs at a 90-degree angle down a building, or “The Firm,” where Cruise gallops at blistering speeds in a suit and suspenders whilst carrying a briefcase, or “Collateral,” in which Cruise runs doing his best “Tom Cruise as the Terminator” impression. With
the release of “Edge of Tomorrow,” Cruise will go for a run again, and again, and again. Each charge carries a certain bravura, an aesthetic quality that translates to an art form: you want to run like Tom Cruise, you need to run like Tom Cruise. But Mr. Thomas Mapother IV brings something else to his films: exceptional star power. For the last 30 years, no actor has commanded the screen quite like him: not Hugh Jackman, not Brad Pitt, not Leonardo DiCaprio and not George Clooney. Because each of those actors can bring toughness or subtlety or charisma to the table, but none of them do it with Cruise’s brand of flare. No matter the genre, no matter how bad the movie (“Rock of Ages”), you’re in for a spectacle when Cruise steps forward.
It’s a brand really, the Tom Cruise film; his characters tend to have similar trademark characteristics: the whisper turned shout, the aforementioned running, the smile and the dazed stare with mouth agape, a look that radiates a quiet yet burning intensity. And every character has those traits because that’s what you want to see, because Cruise looks so damn cool doing them. But still, even in the action films, his characters are rarely one-dimensional franchise drivers. Ethan Hunt of “Mission Impossible” is constantly balancing his drive for justice with his desire to have a personal life, and you can see the pain in his eyes when one or both of those goals don’t work out. Vincent of “Collateral,” Cruise’s finest, most over-looked role, is a sleek, philosophizing killer with scars from his past and an unusual desire to motivate others into organizing their own life goals — it’s a complicated role that Cruise balances perfectly. His smaller, supporting parts from “The Outsiders”
song “High Ball Stepper” is one of the record’s most compelling tracks because of the tantalizing stop-andstart piano and palpable hard-rock guitar jamming. What I’ve left out so far is that half of the songs on Lazaretto could probably qualify as country music. While even the rockers have the occasional fiddle placed in the mix, “Entitlement” appropriates full-on the genre’s stereotypical twang, and while White has some experience with lighter folk music (see classics like “Hotel Yorba” or “We’re Going to Be Friends”), the songs that populate the record’s second half lack the childlike joy and enthusiasm that his older music featured and come off as weak imitations. Hearing Jack’s voice sing them will just make you
want to listen to old White Stripes albums. Jack spends the second half of Lazaretto trying to recapture the timeless feel of classic folk ballads with songs like “Want and Able,” but the tone just comes off as forced oldtimeyness. Old folk songs are great not just because of how they sound but because of the legends and stories that come with them. You can’t put a vintage filter on an Instagram picture and expect it to feel the same as an actual black and white photograph. It’s likely true that Jack White’s capital-I Important records are behind him. White’s no savior, and The White Stripes didn’t turn out to be the second coming of The Rolling Stones, but for those who still listen, White still makes some great rock ‘n’ roll. Lazaretto wouldn’t be any better with Meg White on drums. In fact, it might even be worse: a failed attempt to recapture their magic. While the “Jack White is back!” excitement of the first half wears off by the dull, burned-out back half, White is an incredible musician with a strong fanbase, and he certainly does enough to make them satisfied. Any newcomers (are there any new rock fans these days?), though, should take a long listen through his back catalog before checking this one out.
to “Tropic Thunder” are always captivating. And of course there are his award-caliber performances in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Magnolia,” “Jerry Maguire” and “A Few Good Men.” Those credits combined with a resume that includes working with such directors as Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson, among others, yield a successful, notable and impressive body of work. Surprisingly, with “Edge of Tomorrow,” many critics are hailing Cruise for his expansion into new acting territory as a coward rather than a hero — at the age of 51, with more than 30 years of work and with enough success that’d make a less motivated actor complacent, Cruise can still break new ground for himself. Yes, maybe Cruise’s ego occasionally writes a check you don’t really want to cash, maybe he seems a little off every now and again, but the guy
does pretty much always deliver — these last few years, his films haven’t been quite up-to-par with most of his previous works, but Cruise nothing if not resilient. I don’t know if I’d call Cruise an artist, maybe a performer with flashes of artistry, like Sonny & Cher, but he deserves credit where credit is due: for changing the action genre with “Mission Impossible” and again with “Minority Report,” for the 80s classics “Risky Business” (and the joke that is “Top Gun”) and for defining the modern romantic comedy in “Jerry Maguire,” but perhaps most importantly for providing audiences with an unparalleled sort of entertainment for thirty years. Cruise knows what he is, and the public should know too. He’s a personality, an entertainer and sometimes even a caricature, and he’s fantastic at what he does. Ever self-aware, his twitter bio states the following: actor, producer, running in movies since 1981. Here’s to many more Cruise — keep on running.
THIRD MAN RECORDS
8 ARTS
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ORANGE From Page 6
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PARKING
RELEASE DATE– Thursday, June 12, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 *Place to cuddle 5 Gush 9 As well 13 *Minnesota player 14 Dominoes unit 15 False god 16 Occult symbols 18 Like some audiobooks 19 Porter’s “__ Girls” 20 Scooby-Doo, e.g. 21 *__ stop 23 Reunion attendee 25 “Memoirs of a Geisha” sash 26 *Tend to the garden 27 Versatile blood donor 29 Impede legally 31 Area with briefs and cases 33 __ Arbor 35 One may be rolled up 36 Tuber cultivated in the Andes 37 Memorized, perhaps 41 Police record 43 Egg: Pref. 44 Simple step 46 Word on a deodorant label 47 Surprised cry 48 Accommodate 50 Contract details 54 *Actor Phoenix 56 Gist 58 Philosophical 59 *Consolation for one who doesn’t strike 60 Barnacle site, perhaps 62 “Arabian Nights” name 63 Just slightly 64 Full of nonsense talk 67 Undertake 68 German wheels 69 *London rental 70 Rubberneck 71 “Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they” speaker 72 *Lawn party rental
DOWN 1 Like a cold stare 2 Comes clean 3 Clothier’s concern 4 Med sch. class 5 Disco device 6 Benched player? 7 Suburban tree 8 1973 thriller featuring Yul Brynner as an android gunman 9 Roughly 10 Knight of note 11 Picnic competition 12 Tiresome 16 Land map 17 Gunk 22 Sympathetic connection 24 Malicious 28 Theoretically 30 Picked-up item 32 Mars’ realm 34 Title wanderer in a 1948 Nat King Cole hit 37 Bunny’s mom 38 Abuse, as one’s welcome 39 User-edited reference entry 40 Tyke 42 Leaderless?
45 Summer camp sight, and a hint to what each contiguous pair of answers to starred clues graphically represents 49 Mexican state or its capital 51 “Man is not free unless government is limited” speaker
52 First National Leaguer to hit 500 homers 53 Game show turn 55 “Star Wars” villain 57 __-esprit: wit 61 Stop, as an embargo 63 Bedazzle 65 Mil. address 66 Phillies’ div.
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direction, and if you have a semiobservant eye or just watch a lot of TV, you’ll be able to map out the trajectory of a lot of subplots as soon as they appear. Case in point: as soon as we see a frazzled Polly walking topless around Larry and bemoaning her absent husband, it’s inevitable that they’re going to get together. In other plot arcs, this over-transparency is negated by a strong cast that picks up the predictable narrative structure’s slack, but since Larry and Polly (especially together) offer no redeemable characterization, it was superfluous. Especially since these scenes take us out of the Lichtfield microcosm: Season Two integrates some ambitious commentary on institutional corruption (especially prescient with the recent news on the atrocious conditions at Riverhead correctional facility, where OINTB is shot) that felt absent last season. In one of the most poignant character arcs, and one that was constructed with surprising subtlety and restraint, Jimmy (Pat Squire) renders a wholly moving portrait of the dire mental health and geratric care afforded to inmates. That plotline feels more successful than Figueroa’s (Alysia Reiner) money-laundering one, which falls into the heavy-handed problem, though it is reassuring to see the writers are equal opportunists about doling out clichés. However, the theme of external bureaucratic shuffling provides a smart foil to the building racial tensions that dominated Season Two, and the adjoining prison politics. In Season One, the prison milieu was too vast at times, and it evaded any interesting inter-group conflict (or just contact). The looming prison war that Season Two steadily builds up to addresses that problem. On the entertainment side, the show’s comedic writing is sharper than ever. Not only in the acerbic prison one-liners (Piper’s memorable line, “He’s a hitman? I thought he was a rapist. I’m so relieved!”), but also the acerbic and far-reaching references peppered throughout (The Fault in the Stars, Louis Althusser, Big Pharma all get funny mentions) make the show undeniably watchable. But that was never OINTB’s weak point.
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM COLUMN
Rich characters, strong performances fill ‘The Fault in our Stars’ By NOAH COHEN Daily Arts Writer
“The Fault in Our Stars” was first a book written by John Green, who, building on a huge and growing edifice of progressive teen fiction, is right now winning the proverbial lottery in the Young Adult literature world. The success of “The Fault in Our Stars” and the strange apotheosis of John Green is the culmination of a large international group of savvy young adults expressing their admiration for a writer/ video-blogger who treats young adults as real people, whose inner truths resist the sugary simplicity of the genre that names them. “The Fault in Our Stars” is about a girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley, “Divergent”) who, apart from being a fairly normal teenager, an avid reader and an introvert, happens to have a case of Stage 4 thyroid cancer that will almost definitely kill her in the not-sodistant future. Her mom, (Laura Dern, “Jurassic Park”), forces her to go to a support group for kids with cancer, where she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort, “Divergent”), an endearingly pompous boy who immediately starts hitting on Hazel; so begins the central courtship, between two teenagers living on borrowed time. The cancer movie minigenre is treacherous territory for up-andcoming directors like Josh Boone. Boone had to depend utterly on his cancer-ridden characters to cradle the emotional grenade of imminent death beside the casual reality of the everyday. In this respect, this movie knocks it out of the park. The pacing is simple but effective, and the leads are on-point when it most matters. Unexpectedly, against all precedent, the parents are important characters whose inclusion create an atmosphere that is believable and intimate. Recall that when kids get romantic arcs in fiction, there’s usually some dis-
tance keeping their interactions away from the romance-killing gaze of their parents, but for kids with cancer, this simply isn’t an option. The movie (following the book’s example) compassionately addresses the inner lives of its secondary characters, foreshadowing a life for Hazel’s parents after she passes, and giving Isaac (Nat Wolff, “Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding”), a friend of Gus’s, ample screen-time for his own personal struggles. Wolff plays up the goofy, injecting some much-needed comic relief. The romantic aspect of “The
In general, this movie is a rollercoaster that only goes up. Fault in Our Stars,” jump-started by the shameless bravado of Elgort’s character, takes off with an easy chemistry enhanced by the young actors’ time together on the set of “Divergent.” Woodley seems normal, intelligent, hesitant, and faithful to her character’s circumstances, but Elgort? Elgort is extraordinary. Elgort brings Gus to life with a bright, mock-pretentious swagger that even the book, with many more lines, struggled to produce. One scene in particular, the scene where Gus declares that he is in love with Hazel, shines in memory as a perfect translation of a book scene to a movie scene, thanks in large part to Elgort’s charming and complete grasp of Augustus Waters. Some faults include the unnecessary FX with which the movie portrays the texting episodes; the later dramatic FX are equally unnecessary and make the scene of Hazel’s hospitalization less relatable. Woodley’s overdub
at times feels affected, and the dumbing-down of some dialogue between Hazel and Gus was bothersome, though perhaps less so if you haven’t read the book. The beginning feels too heavy, partly because of Woodley’s overdub, but in general, this movie is a rollercoaster that only goes up. The sonic background is beautiful, incorporating Charli XCX, STRFKR and Ed Sheeran, the lyrics of each song bleeding into the narrative. The movie makes an especially bold sonic gesture when the couple visit Anne Frank’s house, overdubbing Anne Frank’s mature words onto a Hazel laboriously climbing the house stairs with her crappy lungs. The boldness of the overdub is a fierce directorial statement, rebuffing cynicism about young thinkers (NB: Anne Frank) and exalting in the private heroism of personal struggle. It is not necessary to have read the book before seeing the movie. Nor is it necessary to watch the video-blog of John Green and his brother, Hank Green. But to be in-the-know provides several treats when watching the movie; for instance, in one episode of his video-blog, Green filmed himself on a bridge in the Netherlands that would be in the movie. In another entry, he hilariously mispronounces some of the Dutch food his characters eat, and tells movie-relevant stories about math, water and tulips. If you like this movie, it’s strongly recommended that you look up the Vlogbrothers. It’s jarring to recognize book quotes thrown into the movie, and perhaps the movie experience is smoother if you haven’t read the book. My friend hadn’t read it, so I asked him on the drive home what it was like for him, seeing the movie without my background. He said, quote: “I fucking definitely have to read that fucking book,” and advised me to give the movie an “A” in this review.
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ARTS 9
WEEKEND R O U NDUP Ann Arbor Summer Festival Begins Friday By Zach Shaw
Lonely without its main contingent of students, downtown Ann Arbor will be abuzz yet again Friday, as the Ann Arbor Summer Festival kicks off for its 31st year. The event will run from June 13 to July 6, and will feature more than 140 concerts and events, most of which will be free beneath the evening sky at the Ingalls Mall Tuesday through Sunday. In addition to the free outdoor concerts, premium attractions such as comedian Lily Tomlin (Saturday) and Cake (Sunday) will occur at nearby Hill Auditorium, with tickets ranging from $40 to $60. But the best way to enjoy the Festival is to stick with what made it great. Commonly referred to as Top of the Park — due to it originally taking place on top of a parking garage — the three-week event brings out locals of all ages thanks to its authentic charm. Musicians of all genres play upbeat music for visitors to dance, drink and picnic to. As the sun sets over downtown, moviegoers flock with blankets in tow for movies — ranging from the Wizard of Oz to Sci-Fi classics to Despicable Me 2. After a long, hot summer day of school, work or doing nothing at all, there’s no better way to unwind than relaxing with the Ann Arbor Summer Festival.
Enjoying the World Cup, whether you actually care or not By Daniel Feldman
The 2014 FIFA World Cup is set to begin Thursday with the opening match between host country Brazil and Croatia, marking the perfect time to start to pretend to care about soccer, or fútbol, or whatever you want to call it to sound cultured about “the beautiful game.” Though Team USA doesn’t begin play until Monday afternoon, Thursday through Sunday will allow you, the viewer, to take in a total of 12 games to enhance your knowledge of a sport you may have played in your youth because of the reward of Capri Sun and orange slices from that hot mom. Yes, you know the one. Even if you don’t know the difference between a striker and a stopper, the action from Brazil still allows you to enjoy a world’s cup of your own. Want to take a shot every time a shot on goal occurs? Sure, go for it. Want to actually try to learn something about a game almost every country besides the United States sees as the most popular? Sure, you can listen to former United States men’s national team forward and 2010 World Cup hero Landon Donovan provide analysis for ESPN. It’s not like he wants to still be playing or anything. Whether you take anything out of this weekend or the World Cup in general, not all is lost. However, try to learn something useful before the Big House hosts Manchester United and Real Madrid on August 2.
10 SPORTS
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Bourque, Szkutnik taken in MLB Draft
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
By ZACH SHAW Daily Sports Writer
Last Saturday, two Michigan baseball juniors were given an opportunity to play professional baseball. But they started to earn that opportunity years earlier, as teammates, years before joining the Wolverines. The Washington Nationals took right-hander James Bourque in the 14th round, and the Detroit Tigers took left-hander Trent Szkutnik six rounds later. Both traveled to Florida this week to undergo physicals and sign with their respective teams. During the season, the two were key components on one of the Big Ten’s premier pitching
staffs. But their history together extends before 2014, or even their three-year careers at Michigan. Bourque and Szkutnik became teammates at age 14, as a part of an Ann Arbor Travelers team that produced 20 Division I baseball players and five members of the 2014 Michigan baseball team, and have been friends since. Now, the two starkly different players will finally play for different teams, chasing their longtime dreams of making the show in the process. To say Szkutnik and Bourque are different types of pitchers would be an understatement. Szkutnik, the 6-foot left-handed ace of Michigan’s staff, boasts a solid four-pitch arsenal with the
same fluid motion he’s had since middle school. “Trent’s always been advanced physically,” said Travelers coach Jordon Banfield, now an assistant at Illinois-Springfield. “The biggest thing for him was getting the mental ability down to be a nextlevel pitcher, but he’s always been an advanced pitcher.” Bourque, who arrived to campus as a 6-foot-4, 175-pound righthander, was far from an ace, and was dangerously close to quitting baseball altogether in high school. But after working with the Travelers and Wolverines, the junior has added 20 pounds to his long frame and sports a fastball that can now reach 96 miles per hour. “When James came to me, he
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
James Bourque (left) and Trent Szkutnik were selected in the MLB Draft.
was 14, 5-foot-7, 110 pounds and threw 70 miles an hour,” Banfield said. “He kept growing and developing physically, but it wasn’t until later on in high school that he was looking like a real prospect pitcher. He was interested in other sports and was looking at schools for academics, and I had to push him and his family to stick with baseball.” Despite the differences, both were given an opportunity to play under Banfield at age 14. The energetic and relentless training of Banfield, then 23, allowed both players to develop into college-ready pitchers. The Travelers — a squad that also included Michigan juniors Donnie Eaton and Kyle Jusick and sophomore Travis Maezes — won 20 tournament titles and became the first Michigan team to qualify for back-to-back Connie Mack World Series, but it was the offseason training and dedication by Banfield that had the greatest impact. “Everyone on that team improved an unbelievable amount,” Szkutnik said. “It really speaks to the passion (Banfield) showed to us on and off the field. Whenever anyone wanted to hit or throw or work on something, he was there to make it happen.” The journeys contrasted, but when Bourque committed to Michigan the spring of his senior year, the two were going to continue to be teammates at the next level. At Michigan, both pitchers
improved each year until 2014, when the possibility of being drafted became more possible than ever for both. Szkutnik posted a 3.38 earnedrun average and 57 strikeouts in 15 starts for the Wolverines, while Bourque pitched 40.1 innings in 25 appearances on the mound, striking out 33 and holding opponents to a .247 batting average. “We used to joke around that we can’t wait until we get drafted our junior year,” Bourque said. “But the closer we got, the more it became a possibility. Looking back, the odds were so slim, but the help we had and the work we all put in made it happen.” Following draft day, the two have both made their respective trips to Florida to sign majorleague contracts, as the former Ann Arbor Travelers finally travel away from Ann Arbor. They won’t be teammates anymore, but after seven years alongside each other, there’s no questioning the day nearly every kid dreams about was even more special when shared with a longtime teammate. “As a program, we met every one of our goals,” Banfield said. “Twenty Division I players, four players drafted now and there’s definitely still a family and everyone stays in touch. Even though the team’s in the past, I tell them all that I’m happy to help if they want to keep working. All I ask in return is tickets to their first games.”
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS 11
Porikos commits to ‘M’ hockey Ann Arbor native adds size, experience to small 2015 class By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer
COURTESY OF MICHIGAN RUGBY
The Michigan club rugby team won the Big Ten title and reached the national quarterfinals before losing to Kutztown.
Rugby routs OSU, reaches national quarterfinals ‘M’ finishes 3-1 at tournament after Big Ten title By MITCH BECKMAN Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan rugby team rarely gets spotlight. However, when given the opportunity, it took full advantage of it. Playing on NBC last weekend, the Wolverines routed Ohio State, 21-5, at the National Collegiate Rugby Championship. The victory over Ohio State followed wins over Texas and Navy to complete a 3-0 record in pool play. Despite the impressive performance, Michigan fell to eventual runner-up Kutztown in the quarterfinals, 14-0. Kutztown eventually lost to California in the national championship game. Despite the defeat, Michigan coach Matt Trenary saw the season as a big step forward for his program. Michigan captured the Big Ten title before taking part in its first national tournament. “It was a tremendous tournament for us,” Trenary said. “The win over Navy was a high-quality win. We’ve never had a win like that. I think we surpassed everyone else’s expectations. And in the rugby world people are taking
notice. I’m already getting contacts from high-school (kids) that are interested in our program.” While the win over Navy may have been the upset of the weekend for the Wolverines, a dominant performance over the Buckeyes may have been their most impressive match. The win over Ohio State was anchored by stout defense and a balanced offensive attack. Fifthyear senior Christian Mentzer and juniors Sequoyah Burke-Combs and Cole Van Horn each scored tries for the Wolverines. Michigan notched the first points of the game on an impressive sequence that saw five different Wolverines touch the ball and ended with Mentzer dashing almost half the field to score. “After we made a really nice defensive stand on our goal line, we just started attacking,” Trenary said. “Then the ball goes between five or six players and we go the full field and score. Just seeing us utilize the whole team on that sequence was really great.” Ohio State answered quickly, but those were the only points they would score. The stifling Michigan
defense was helped by two more tries and the game quickly opened up in favor of the Wolverines. This win highlighted the strong weekend performance by the Wolverines. They had strong performances on the weekend from Burke-Combs, who scored in all three pool-play games, and senior Alex Davidson, who had three tries on the weekend. Statistics aside, Trenary praised his team’s leadership after suddenly being thrust into the national spotlight. “Sequoyah is a just a real passionate, fiery leader,” Trenary said. “He’s a great athlete and brings a lot of energy to the field. Our captain, (junior) Joel Conzelmann, is the balance to Sequoyah. He’s very even-keel and keeps everybody pointed in the right direction.” Though Michigan didn’t end the weekend as a champion, its 3-1 record on the weekend and trip to the quarterfinals was a benchmark for the program’s success. And for a sport looking to grow in popularity on campus, a win over Ohio State on national television doesn’t hurt.
The Michigan hockey team’s defense just got a much-needed lift. Niko Porikos, a former defenseman for the Hamilton Red Wings of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, has committed to Michigan, per his Twitter account. The program has yet to announce the late addition to its 2014-15 roster. Porikos, an Ann Arbor native, tallied 21 points including nine goals and 12 assists in 51 games with the Red Wings. “Couldn’t be more excited to announce I will be playing hockey for the University of Michigan. #GoBlue,” Porikos tweeted Monday. A 21-year-old freshman, Porikos adds experience to a fiveman freshman class that now includes two defensemen, two forwards and a goaltender. At 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, the left-
hander will also provide necessary size. Incoming freshman forward Dylan Larkin, a projected firstround NHL Draft pick, will also provide a boost to a defense that struggled mightily in Michigan’s second straight season without an NCAA Tournament appearance. Porikos and incoming freshman defenseman Cutler Martin are expected to fill voids left by Mac Bennett and Kevin Clare, who combined for 24 points last season. Like last season, the Wolverines’ defense is young. Despite Michigan’s large freshman class, only rising sophomore Michael Downing played a key role on the top-line pairing next to Bennett. Defenseman Kevin Lohan missed a majority of the regular season with an ACL injury while Nolan De Jong added just five points in 29 games. And it remains to be seen whether forward-turned-defenseman Andrew Sinelli will return to the unit or switch back to offense for his senior campaign. Either way, expect Porikos and Michigan’s underclassmen to play key roles in Michigan coach Red Berenson’s defensiveminded system.
“I think we surpassed everyone else’s expectations.”
PATRICK BARRON/Daily
Red Berenson will bring a five-man recruiting class to Ann Arbor this fall.
12 SPORTS
Thursday, June 12, 2014 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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NBA DRAFT
Stauskas commences NBA Draft workouts By GREG GARNO Daily Sports Editor
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you weren’t aware yet, Nik Stauskas is not just a shooter. Now, he wants you to know that beyond being able to score from anywhere, he’s also someone who has a “high IQ.” “I’m good at reading the floor and making the right plays,” he said. “I feel like I don’t force the action too much, and I’m patient.” But the Charlotte Hornets don’t need a playmaker in the upcoming NBA Draft. They need someone like Stauskas, who can shoot the ball from anywhere on the court and draw defenders away from big man Al Jefferson and guard Kemba Walker. The former Michigan guard, who has been training in Chicago since the NBA Combine, worked out in Charlotte on Wednesday for his first of four pre-draft tryouts. He was originally set to begin workouts with the Los Angeles Lakers last week, but a reported shoulder injury kept him out. He appeared to be fine Wednesday, though, as he performed a 30-plus minute workout devoted primarily to shooting. “There were a little bit of nerves out there,” Stauskas said, “but once you get going the nerves kind of go away. You just get back to doing what you do.” Added Hornets coach Steve Clifford: “He’s very skilled. I think he’s more than a shooter, though. He can play in the pick-and-roll, but the big thing to me is that he has NBA size, which is a big deal. You have to have size, and he has really good size for his position.” The Big Ten Player of the Year is also slated to work out with the Boston Celtics, Lakers and Phoenix Suns. The Hornets have the No. 9 pick in the draft, while the Lakers and Celtics hold the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. Only Phoenix picks outside the top 10 at No. 14, though it could use its two other first-round picks to move up.
ESPN’s Chad Ford predicts Stauskas will fall to the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 13, while DraftExpress.com has him going to Charlotte in its latest mock draft. Stauskas didn’t know where he’d be on draft night, but added Wednesday he hoped to be in New York as one of the selections to walk on stage. An All-American last season, Stauskas finished with 17.5 points and 3.3 assists per game, but stands out for his 47 percent shooting from the field, 44.2 percent from behind the arc. “I’m a guy that can create for others,” Stauskas said. “People started to see it this year. I got to the free-throw line a lot, I was driving and kicking to open threes or dunks. I’m an unselfish player, and I’ll take the open shot when it’s there, but I’ve enjoyed setting my teammates up.” But his body fat could be an issue for some teams, which see 12 percent as too high for their liking. “I don’t know if it’s a lack of lean muscle or what. I don’t think I’m fat, I think I’m skinny,” the 6-foot-6, 205pound Stauskas said. “Maybe it’s baby fat, but in these workouts teams are going to see the way I move. I’ll surprise them with my athleticism.” Stauskas should do well with most offenses in the NBA, though, which utilize the pick-and-roll and high ball screens. He’ll benefit from his former system under Michigan coach John Beilein, who had flex plays that put emphasis on the pickand-roll. Clifford didn’t elaborate on what drills he put Stauskas through, but Charlotte has tested a prospect’s hand size in the past to evaluate how well an athlete can pick up a ball with one hand. “The guys who play for the best coaches are the ones that have the advantage,” Clifford said. “It’s those who play in structured programs where they have demands put on them, have been forced to work hard every day and play in big games.”
“I’ll surprise them with my athleticism.”