CELEBRATING OUR ONE-HUNDRED TWENTY-FIFTH YEAR OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM Monday, December 8, 2014
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
ACADEMICS
Classes give opportunity to explore Motor City VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
T.R. Durham, owner of Durham’s Tracklements, showcases one of his products to customers Saturday.
By NEALA BERKOWSKI
Kerrytown fish market 2 brings upscale taste to A Durham’s caters to local, national clientele with speciality products By LINDSEY SCULLEN Daily Staff Reporter
It all started in a bathtub. Sound fishy? Well, it was. Hand-crafted smoked salmon is Durham’s Tracklements’ spe-
cialty. The business started in Amherst, Mass. back in 1992, where Founder of Tracklements T.R. Durham cured — preserved with salt, sugar and maybe some seasoning — salmon in his basement. The bathtub, being a requisite size for salmon, served as his sink. Since then, Tracklements has nixed the bathtub in favor of a large sink in a small shop in Kerrytown, just around the corner from the farmer’s market. At the sink stands Margarito
Dominguez, a member of the Tracklements team since 2002. He’s performing a hand-led dry cure with quick, skilled hands. Using salt, sugar and sometimes some seasoning, he’s smoothing the mixture up and down the fish, applying more to the thicker parts and less to the thinner, Durham explained. “He’s really extremely meticulous,” Durham said. They’ve also since expanded from what used to be a holidaytime service only to a year-round
Detroit courses focus on history, culture and community service Daily Staff Reporter
business — open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and by appointment — that produces and sells smoked salmon varieties and has further filled in its repertoire with other fishes, meats and cheeses. Tracklements moved from Amherst to Ann Arbor in 1996 when Susan Douglas, Durham’s wife, got a job at the University. She’s currently a professor and Chair of Communication StudSee SALMON, Page 3A
Students registering for winter term classes have a range of options for learning about the city of Detroit through culture and history classes, or through community service programs. Rebecca Zurier, an associate professor of art history, who teaches Made in Detroit: A History of Art and Culture in the Motor City, said Detroit has changed so much recently she felt it was important to offer this course and have a discussion about the city with students. Her course gives students insight to trends in modern art, architecture and history by seeing how they were stressed on a world stage. “The arts are playing a bigger and bigger role in this Detroit
WELLNESS
TECHNOLOGY
Health experts debate merits of circumcision Researchers discuss ethical issues, new CDC medical recommendations By IRENE PARK Daily Staff Reporter
The National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers of Michigan sponsored an event Sunday, titled “New Perspectives on Circumcision,” at the Michigan League in order to discuss the merits and pitfalls of the debated practice. John Geisheker, executive director of the nonprofit Doctors Opposing Circumcision, and Robert Van Howe, professor and interim chair of Pediatrics at the Central Michigan University College of Medicine, spoke. The event addressed medical and ethical problems associated with circumcision, a surgical procedure that removes the foreskin around the tip of the penis most
commonly performed on newborn males. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control released a set of guidelines last Tuesday that recommends doctors to discuss the option of circumcision with their patients. Jonathan Mermin, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS at the CDC, stated that circumcision is beneficial for men’s health, especially for disease prevention. “The first thing that’s important to know is male circumcision has been associated with a 50 to 60 percent reduction of HIV transmission as well as a reduction in sexually transmitted infections such as herpes, bacterial vaginosis and the human papilloma virus, which causes penile and cervical cancer,” Mermin told The New York Times on Tuesday. During his Sunday talk, Van Howe rebutted CDC’s guidelines and said there is currently no scientific evidence that circumcision is beneficial, saying that he See HEALTH, Page 2A
that is kind of growing informally,” she said. “The arts are an important insight into the city and they have something to do with its growth, so that’s a good thing to think about in a classroom with a group of really committed and interesting students.” In the course, which is cross-listed in art history and American culture, students will discuss specific pieces of art and architecture along with more general topics including the story of the Detroit Institute of Arts during the Detroit bankruptcy trials. For students interested in taking classes in Detroit, Detroiters Speak is a six-week public mini-course aiming to give students and the public a better understanding of historic and contemporary topics in Detroit. Students listen to a panel of Detroiters and experts talk about various topics. Semester in Detroit and the University’s Detroit Center are co-sponsors of the series that is held weekly at the UM Detroit Center. Transportation is proSee DETROIT, Page 2A
‘U’ sponsors Twitter chat on activism, new media VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
Students participate in a “die-in,” a silent protest organized by the Black Law Students Alliance at the Law Library Friday. Students lay on the ground for 4.5 minutes representing the 4.5 hours Michael Brown’s body lay on the ground after he was shot in Ferguson, Mo.
Students organize ‘die-in’ to protest police brutality Black Law Student Association calls attention to grand jury decisions By ALLANA AKHTAR Daily Staff Reporter
Students and faculty gathered on the Law Quadrangle Friday afternoon to show their
solidarity with protestors across the country who are rallying for justice in the killings of two unarmed Black men at the hands of police. Recent protests were spurred nationwide by a grand jury’s decision last month not to indict the Ferguson, Missouri police officer who fatally shot teenager Michael Brown. Protests continued this week after a New York grand jury decided not to charge the offi-
cer that killed 43-year-old Eric Garner while holding him in a chokehold. On the Law Quad, participants were photographed displaying the “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture that has become a symbol of the movement nationwide. They also laid on the ground in the Law Library for four and a half minutes in a staged “die-in,” intended to represent the number of hours See BROWN, Page 3A
Questions focus on journalism, social justice after Ferguson decision By IRENE PARK Daily Staff Reporter
The University hosted a live Twitter chat event Friday titled “The Power of Social Media in Journalism Today” with three panelists: Gregory Anderson, editorial director at Yahoo and Knight Wallace Fellow; Martha Jones, professor of history and Afroamerican and African studies; and Jennifer Calfas, 2015 Editor in Chief of The Michigan Daily. Twitter users submitted their questions using the hashtag #UMichChat before and during the event, and the University Twitter account chose 15 questions out of the pool to ask the three panelists. Questions covered a variety of topics within the theme of social See TWITTER, Page 2A
No Joke It’s True NJIT knocked off the Wolverines Saturday, 72-70, despite Caris LeVert’s career game.
» INSIDE WEATHER TOMORROW
HI: 40 LO: 27
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Lil Wayne airs grievances on Twitter MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS
INDEX
Vol. CXXIV, No. 38 ©2014 The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com
NEWS......................... 2A SUDOKU..... ................ 2A OPINION.....................4A
ARTS........................... 5A CL ASSIFIEDS............... 5A S P O R T S M O N DAY. . . . . . . . .1 B
News
2A — Monday, December 8, 2014
MONDAY: This Week in History
TUESDAY: Professor Profiles
WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers
THURSDAY: Alumni Profiles
Regents oppose increase in state control
ON THE WEB... THE FILTER
Lil Wayne BY LEJLA BAJGORIC
Daily Arts Blogger Lejla Bajgoric discusses a recent spat at Cash Money Records, revealed by Lil Wayne through his Twitter account on Dec. 4. The veteran rapper claimed that label head Birdman attempted to wrest creative control over his upcoming The Carter V project and that the album won’t be relased on schedule.
THE FILTER
“Iron from Ice” BY KIM BATCHELOR
Daily Arts blogger Kim Batchelor breaks down the gameplay and storyline of “Iron from Ice,” a pointand-click adventure game released by Telltale Games. The game is set in the “Game of Thrones” universe, featuring new characters taken from George R. R. Martin’s book series.
DETROIT From Page 1A vided through the UM DetroitCenter Connector. LSA senior Tangela Woodley wrote in an e-mail she was able to learn about issues the city is currently facing by taking this course. “So many times have I been able to strike up deep and meaningful conversations with strangers about the things I had learned about in this class,” she wrote. “I would always leave hungry for more knowledge and information around the matter. I think this is what classes are supposed to be. They should make our mind curious, make us ask questions, and make us really think about our role as members of society.” Other Semester in Detroit classes will also be open to students, including Detroit: Beyond the Other, a creative writing course. For students with a background in Spanish interested in doing community service in Detroit, The Spanish Language Internship Program provides stu-
made into an agency of the state.” Other recommendations thought to be included in the report were an increase in student financial aid, a state-funded workstudy program and merit scholarships for high-school students interested in teaching. Twenty years ago this week (Dec. 12, 1994) University students rallied on the Diag to protest California’s Proposition 187, which would restrict access to certain public services for undocumented immigrants. Almost 200 students took part in the protest, which was organized by M-STOP 187, a coalition
of campus student groups. One student, then-LSA junior Sam Copi, was arrested on charges of obstructing a police officer and failure to obey the lawful order of a police officer. Copi, who was holding a banner that stretched across State Street when arrested, claimed that he was picked out of the crowd at random and other people standing in the street were not arrested. He added he was not warned he would be arrested. LSA sophomore Angelo Cisneros, a member of the Latino fraternity Sigma Lambda Beta, one of the groups in the coalition, said the purpose of the protest was to demonstrate support. — SHOHAM GEVA
FRIDAY: Photos of the Week
O N S TA G E
THIRTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (DEC. 8, 1984)
The University’s Board of Regents came out in strong opposition to a proposal that sought to replace elected state university governing bodies with appointed boards. Per media reports, the recommendation was set to be included as part of a six-page outline from the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a committee charged with examining the functioning of the state’s public universities. Regent Thomas Roach (D– Saline) acknowledged the problems with elected regents because people don’t understand what they do and vote along party lines. However, he said the proposed plan would allow the University to “be
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ROBERT DUNNE/Daily
School of Music student Alex Greenzieg performs in the Undergraduate Opera Studio Scenes Program at the School of Music Friday.
Sport injuries Therapy dogs dialogue in the UGLi
WHAT: The Vermont-born folk artist will play his music on Monday night, which is a blend of jazz and traditional folk. He recently appeared on NPR’s “World Cafe.” WHO: Michigan Union Ticket Office WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark, 316 S. Main Street
WHAT: Dr. Jeff Kutcher, associate neurology professor and Director of the Michigan NeuroSport Program, will discuss recent developments in concussion research. WHO: University Library WHEN: Today from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Hatcher Graduate Library
WHAT: Therapy dogs from Therapaws of Michigan will help students fight the stress of finals when they visit Monday. They will return Wednesday. WHO: University Library WHEN: Today from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Shapiro Library, Browsing Collection on the first floor
Senior piano recital
Scholar symposium
Orchestra recital
WHAT: Music Senior Dalal Yassawi will perform compositions such as Bach’s Keybard Concerto no. 1 in D Minor and Scriabin’s Preludes op. 11. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall
WHAT: College students hailing from African universities in the University African Presidential Scholars Program will present their research. WHO: African Studies Center WHEN: Today from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School, Assembly Hall
WHAT: Guest conductor Oriol Sans will conduct the philharmonic orchestra. It will feature pieces from Haydn and Corigliano. WHEN: Today at 8 p.m. WHERE: Hill Auditorium CORRECTIONS: Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com.
Follow us on twitter
@MICHIGANDAILY
Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 dougsolo@michigandaily.com
Newsroom
News Tips
734-418-4115 opt. 3
news@michigandaily.com
Corrections
Letters to the Editor
corrections@michigandaily.com
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Arts Section
Editorial Page
arts@michigandaily.com
opinion@michigandaily.com
Sports Section
Photography Section
sports@michigandaily.com
photo@michigandaily.com
Display Sales
Classified Sales
dailydisplay@gmail.com
classified@michigandaily.com
Online Sales
Finance
onlineads@michigandaily.com
finance@michigandaily.com
Katie Burke Managing Editor Jennifer Calfas Managing News Editor
Sam Amidon concert
ents and that’s what they will be doing this semester as well.” LSA sophomore Maria Lopez, who is going into her second semester with the Spanish Language Internship Program working at Western International High School, said she worked with students on various skills including their confidence and the college application process. “I remember when I was in high school, I was really shy when I did presentations or anything upfront,” said Lopez, who is a Western International High School alum. “So when I went inside a classroom for the first time, I went and told them that I was there too. I was sitting in those same seats that you are, but now look at all the things I have accomplished because I really want to do something for myself and not depend on my parents or end up in a low-paying job.” Students of all levels of Spanish can participate in the program, but those who wish to register must first meet with SanchezSnell and receive permission. Students who are advanced in French can volunteer at Freedom House through the Residential College. The house offers shelter and legal help to victims of persecution seeking asylum in the U.S., many of whom come from French-speaking West Africa said Program Director Dominique Butler-Borruat, a lecturer and head of the French program in the RC. Butler-Borruat said students spend three hours on-site per week to help the residents develop their skills in English, gain a better understanding of American culture, and socialize with the residents during their evening meal. Students also learn more about the social and historical contexts of Francophone West African countries.
Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 pjshahin@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL STAFF
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
dents with transportation to do community service in Ann Arbor and Detroit, said program coordinator Teresa Sanchez-Snell, who has been with the program for 11 years. Students receive one credit for doing three hours of community service a week and attending discussion “In the City of Detroit, there are so many possibilities to learn and do community service work,” she said. “I strongly believe in giving your time and giving your special skills whatever they are in order to help someone else. I think that’s very rewarding in itself and you can learn so much as an undergraduate.” Sanchez-Snell said the program is currently partnered with Western International High School and Justice for Our Neighbors, a faith-based ministry providing free legal services and education for immigrants in Detroit. “Justice for our Neighbors hosts clinics in Southwest Detroit, so we partner with them, but our students meet both with the staff attorney at one of the local churches and with clients twice a month,” she said. “They’re in communication with the cli-
420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN DOUGLAS SOLOMON
THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY
1
Eleven people were killed during a failed rescue mission in Yemen for U.S. hostage Luke Somers and one other hostage, Reuters reported on Sunday. Two American hostages, including Somers, were killed, as well as a ten year old boy.
2 3
An Indian Uber driver was arrested on Sunday for raping a 26-year-old female passanger in Delhi, Reuters reported on Sunday. Local police plan to take legal action against Uber, as other assault allegations have been made against their drivers.
TWITTER From Page 1A media and journalism, such as how social media has changed modern journalism, the integrity of reporting through social media and the role of social media in the recent political events. All three panelists agreed that social media provide important forums for journalism. “To survive, journalism needs to go where the audience is,” Anderson wrote via his Twitter account. “Increasingly, that place is online and connected socially.” Jones wrote that she is an avid user of social media to get the latest news and communicate with her students and colleagues. “Twitter and Facebook are now my morning front page and headlines,” Jones wrote. “I’m on Twitter. A lot. That’s where my students are. And some colleagues too.” Calfas said social media have expedited the spread of information, but it has come with a price. “Social media allows information to spread to more people at a faster rate,” Calfas wrote. “(But it) runs the risk of spreading false information too quickly.”
HEALTH From Page 1A believes the studies used to support circumcision are biased and inaccurate. “The studies are identical in their methodology and share the same sources of bias,” Van Howe said. “(The researchers) thought it was already proven that circumcision prevents HIV. So they determined what the results were going to be before the study.” In addition, Van Howe said circumcision is unnecessary because there are better options to prevent HIV infections. “We know that among other things that are out there, there are more effective, less expensive, and less invasive ways to prevent illness,” Van Howe said. Geisheker added that circumcision may not only be unnecessary but may actually be
jcalfas@michigandaily.com
SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Ian Dillingham, Sam Gringlas, Will Greenberg, Rachel Premack and Stephanie Shenouda ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Allana Akhtar, Neala Berkowski, Claire Bryan, Shoham Geva, Amabel Karoub, Emma Kerr, Thomas McBrien, Emilie Plesset, Michael Sugerman and Jack Turman
Megan McDonald and Daniel Wang Editorial Page Editors
opinioneditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Aarica Marsh and Victoria Noble ASSISTANT EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Matthew Seligman and David Harris
Greg Garno and Alejandro Zúñiga
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com
SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Max Cohen, Alexa Dettelbach, Lev Facher, Rajat Khare, Jake Lourim and Jeremy Summitt ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Max Bultman, Minh Doan, Daniel Feldman, Simon Kaufman, Erin Lennon, Jake Lourim and Jason Rubinstein
John Lynch and Akshay Seth Managing Arts Editors
jplynch@michigandaily.com akse@michigandaily.com
SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Giancarlo Buonomo, Natalie Gadbois, Erika Harwood and Alec Stern ASSISTANT ARTS EDITORS: Jamie Bircoll, Jackson Howard, Gillian Jakab and Maddie Thomas
Teresa Mathew and Paul Sherman Managing Photo Editors
photo@michigandaily.com
SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Allison Farrand and Ruby Wallau ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS: Luna Anna Archey, McKenzie Berezin, James Coller, Virginia Lozano, and Nicholas Williams
Carolyn Gearig and Gabriela Vasquez Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
SENIOR DESIGN EDITORS: Amy Mackens and Alicia Kovalcheck
Carlina Duan Magazine Editor
In 2007, the New Jersey of Technology men’s basketball team lost every game it played. Saturday, the Wolverines were upset by the same team by the score of 72-70. Check out all of our content from the game. >> FOR MORE, SEE SPORTSMONDAY
kgburke@michigandaily.com
statement@michigandaily.com
DEPUTY MAGAZINE EDITORS: Max Radwin and Amrutha Sivakumar STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Ruby Wallau STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Amy Mackens
Mark Ossolinski and Meaghan Thompson Managing Copy Editors
copydesk@michigandaily.com
SENIOR COPY EDITORS: Mariam Sheikh and Alisha Qiu
Austen Hufford
Online Editor
ahufford@michigandaily.com
VIDEO EDITORS: Paula Friedrich and James Reslier-Wells SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR: Brianne Johnson
BUSINESS STAFF Madeline Lacey University Accounts Manager Ailie Steir Classified Manager Simonne Kapadia Local Accounts Manager Lotus An National Accounts Manager Olivia Jones Production Managers Nolan Loh Special Projects Coordinator Jason Anterasian Finance Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $110. Winter term (January through April) is $115, yearlong (September through April) is $195. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and The Associated Collegiate Press.
However, Calfas also said that just because the reporting did not come from the more traditional outlets, does not mean that reporting via social media compromises integrity. “Regardless of social media, journalism ethics are the same,” Calfas wrote. In addition to faster spread of information, Anderson wrote that social media has opened doors to ordinary citizens to report stories as well. Anderson also said that social media has the power to transform stories into actual political movements, as with the recent protests spurred by a grand jury’s decision not to a indict Ferguson police officer in the death of an unarmed Black teenager. “It’s made it easier to organize protests,” Anderson wrote. “Online movements absolutely get real results.” Jones added that social media has also played a role in organizing student protests at the University, referencing a protest that occurred Friday afternoon in the University’s Law Library. “Students are now taking over the library where I’m working in protest,” Jones said. “That is the strength of Twitter!”
The three panelists were not the only ones who shared their opinions through the forum. Matthew Adams, LSA social media manager, participated in the event and provided his own answers to the chosen questions. In an e-mail to the Daily, he said he sees social media as platforms for social interaction and engagement. “I wanted to participate in #UMichChat because I value the medium of Twitter as a conversational space,” Adams wrote in the e-mail. “It’s the kind of conversation I would stop and observe if it were happening, say, after a lecture or a seminar.” Nikki Sunstrum, the University’s social media director, wrote in an e-mail that the Twitter chat events provide opportunities for the University to to initiate conversations through social media. “#UMichChat is intended to provide our social audiences unparalleled access and exclusive opportunities to converse with our leaders, experts and athletes. It is an opportunity to leverage the power of social media, open the channels of communication and lead thought-provoking dialogue for change,” she wrote.
harmful since surgeons are often not properly trained to perform the procedure. “There is very little training for circumcision,” Geisheker said. “There is no training protocol. It’s very common that it is the very first surgery for the surgery residents.” According to Geisheker, circumcision of newborns is also unethical because the newborn has no say in the decision. “(Children) have to be protected until they are able to protect themselves. (Parents) should save decisions for the child that could be made in the future,” Geisheker said. Rackham student Andrew Kohler, member of the University’s chapter of the National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers, said he believes that circumcision violates one of the most fundamental human rights. “I think the ownership of one’s
own body is one of the most fundamental human rights,” Kohler said. “Especially in the nonconsensual genital modification, it is a serious violation.” Van Howe said in spite of the evidence against circumcision, the practice remains common in the U.S. possibly because people have difficulty admitting that they have been circumcised. “People have to first admit that they have been harmed,” Van Howe said. “And that is very difficult for guys to do. We also know that circumcision interferes with men talking about their feelings, and that makes it worse for circumcised men.” Norm Cohen, director of NOCIRC Michigan, said raising awareness about circumcision is important for the university students since they may have to decide circumcising their children in the future. “It is very important to make the right choice,” Cohen said.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Monday, December 8, 2014 — 3A
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
TOP LEFT: Durham’s Tracklements employee Peter Arno prepares a fillet of salmon for display Saturday. TOP RIGHT: Durham and Arno work in the store. BOTTOM RIGHT: Durham cuts smoked salmon, one of the products sold at Durham’s Tracklements. BOTTOM LEFT: A large fillet of salmon is on display at the entrance.
SALMON From Page 1A ies. Judith Lowe, a Tracklements customer, has been around since the Ann Arbor grand opening. “About every two and a half or three weeks, I buy a large piece of smoked highland salmon,” Lowe said. “And I also buy his smoked puissant, his smoked mackerel, his gravlax — most anything he’s got is good.” Florence Fabricant of the New York Times featured Tracklements in her Food Notes for their “trendier varieties” in 1994, noting the salmon was cured “Thaistyle, with a ginger flavoring.” “Actually they weren’t trendy at the time,” Durham said. “They were brand new. No one had ever done flavored varieties of smoked salmon. There was Scottish smoked salmon, Swiss smoked salmon, Irish smoked salmon, Norwegian smoked salmon, but one thing they all had in common was that they were just smoked salmon.” Now, however, “trendy” does seems an appropriate word. In addition to its review in the Times, Tracklements has been featured by Food and Wine and the Boston Globe, among others. They have mail-order customers on the East Coast and elsewhere, regular retail buyers in Ann Arbor and wholesale buyers too, Durham said. The flavor added to the smoked salmon, in innovative combinations, was the key that brought Tracklements the press and ensuing success. It was a marketing venture. “For a small and rather impoverished smoker to start, it’s important to have something that’s
BROWN From Page 1A Brown’s body lay on the street after he was killed. Students from the University’s Black Law Student Association organized Friday’s event. The demonstration followed a larger vigil on the Diag last week, which was attended by over 1,000 students, faculty and members of the community. Friday, more than 200 people registered for the event on the group’s Facebook page and more than one hundred students turned out on the Law Quad. Law student Emerson Girardeau III, co-chair of the Black Law Student Association, said the student group wanted to create a space for University students to voice their opposition to police brutality and express solidarity with protestors across the nation. Girardeau said the goal of the picture and die-in was to raise awareness about the issue of police killings. “There are still a lot of stu-
eye-catching, that gets attention,” Durham said. Another flavored variety with a ginger flavoring, like the one mentioned by the Times’ Food Notes, is one that’s cured in miso, a Japanese technique Durham read about in an old Japanese cookbook. “So we whipped up a batch of miso with a marinade, with tamari, with honey, some ginger and other things, and then started curing the salmon with a marinade of those, and it’s been far and away our best-selling smoked salmon product,” Durham said. “It happened within two weeks.” At its core, Durham’s process is one of refined trial and error. He reads cookbooks — many of which line the shelf below the cash register — he travels and he hires people with diverse food knowledge. But the crux of the process, the one that makes it all work, is the feedback he gets from his customers. “The great thing about Ann Arbor in terms of setting up a little boutique business like this is that there are a lot of people who are very avid foodies, to use the trendier term,” Durham said. “I mean there are a number of neat things, but one very important thing is that you get immediate feedback from them about new products, so within a week or two you can tell if you’ve got a winner or a dog.” Though it still happens occasionally, over the years the Tracklements team has evolved its process in such a way that makes “dog” varieties rare. From this stable process, combined with the different bits of food knowledge brought to the table by his team members in hodgepodge style, unique products emerge. One such product is smoked salmon that tastes like
dents across the campus and people across the country that are unaware and unconcerned about what’s going on,” he said. “It takes protests and it takes people voicing those concerns to make people aware.” Britney Littles, another co-chair of the organization, stressed the importance of holding the event at the Law School, as the issue revolves around a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officers responsible for shooting Brown and placing Garner in a fatal chokehold. “As attorneys, we have to go out and do the work that make sure these injustices don’t happen,” Littles said. “Even if you decide to go to work at a law firm, whatever the case may be, we still have a responsibility to care about what’s happening in this nation and make a change.” Law School Prof. Samuel Gross also said the holding the event at the law school highlighted the significance of the legal system in the situation. He said change can be fostered through the nationwide attention following the protests around the country, though he
pastrami. It’s like eating pastrami that’s healthy, Durham said. Tracklements tried this product a long time ago — when it was requested by a deli business in New York. Since then, however, it’s become Tracklements team member Ellen Wizniewski’s “hobby horse.” “It’s really good, the salmon really takes those spices very well,” Wizniewski said. “It’s about eight or 10 spices, predominantly paprika, and it just infuses the flavor for pastrami spice.” Ellen Wizniewski has been with Tracklements for about seven years, taking time away only for a short hiatus in Ireland with her husband. She joined the Tracklements team originally after meeting Durham in the store’s parking lot by the dumpsters. Her parents were among Tracklements’ first clients at the beginning of the Ann Arbor phase, a time when they had few local customers. Tracklements team member Pete Arno brings bacon and other pork-related products to the table. He’s an “Ann Arbor guy” who’s worked with Tracklements for about three or four years now. One of the many sticky notes on the wall reads, “Pete’s bacon — the best bacon I’ve ever had.” Since 1992, Durham too has been bringing unique bits and pieces of information to the Tracklements table. Wizniewski said since college or before, Durham has been a cook and a traveller interested in everything food and culture. “He’s continuously questing for new ideas, and seeing how things come together, and channeling people’s interests into creativity with his product,” Wizniewski said. “He’s really brilliant.” The name “Durham’s Tracklements” itself manifests the way
said the change should occur by improving law enforcement training, especially when working with minority groups that are more frequently subject to brutality. Though he expressed hope in bringing change through peaceful protesting, he noted the country’s fragmented policing system could pose problems in implementing new policies. Like many government institutions, the criminal justice system is decentralized and locally run. Each local area has it’s own set of police forces, ranging from very large forces in metropolitan cities such as New York or Chicago to places that have only a few officers. Because every state and local area has its own criminal code and policies surrounding police training, Gross said achieving nationwide change could be a challenge. “Getting practices to change across the entire country is very hard and takes quite a lot of time,” he said. Business graduate student Stefanie Thomas said she attended Friday’s event to bring
bits of information converge to produce the Tracklements products. It was coined by English culinary writer Dorothy Hartley to mean “a savory condiment to be served with meat.” While Durham’s Tracklements has only occasionally used tracklements like chutneys, relishes and mustards throughout the years, the word still reflects Tracklements’ process of producing such widely renowned salmon for the following reason: Hartley evolved her word “tracklements” from the word “tranklement,” which means “bits of things.” Durham could loosely be called the Steve Jobs of the salmon food industry, pooling “bits of things” — information and people — in a way that maximizes creative output. He turned a hobby he picked up from Dunken Stewart — the manager of a cottage he rented in Scotland who was smoking fish that his friends had poached from some nearby sport fishing estates — into a flourishing local business in Ann Arbor, Michigan. However, Durham receives one common question: Why doesn’t a local business like Tracklements get their fish locally, from the Great Lakes? “Basically, it’s not as good for what we do, and it’s not available year around,” Durham said. “And a lot of people don’t want it.” Great Lakes salmon is a freshwater fish, but as it doesn’t have the same salt content as oceanbred salmon — it doesn’t hold up as well. More than that, mail order customers on the East Coast especially have expressed their concern about pollution in the Great Lakes and contaminated salmon products. Bigger fish like salmon, being high up on the lake’s food chain, accumulate more contaminants
awareness to what she called a racially biased police system and give voice to the underrepresented minorities most affected by the bias. “Regardless of your ethnicity, your race, you’re interacting with police or law enforcement,” Thomas said. “They’re job is to protect and serve, I think that people should not feel threatened by it.” LSA freshman Hadiya Williams also said she wanted to bring awareness to the issue on campus in an effort to reshape the justice system and police training. “Things are going to change, it’s not going to get swept up under the rug,” she said. “We’re going to protest things and let our voice be heard.” Graduate students Tara Dosum Diener and Jasimen Bailey were solemn after the event. Bailey was moved to tears. Diener expressed the difficulty in having to explain to her children why the officers were not indicted. “This cannot keep happening, and it happened again today,” she said. “This is ridiculous.”
than would smaller fish in the same waters. So because Tracklements deals primarily with large fish like salmon, they count on farmed, Atlantic salmon. “Atlantic salmon has for a long time been at least widely perceived — and I think there’s some real basis of fact in this — as the best for cold smoking,” Durham said. As for the often controversial issue of farmed fish, in his cookbook The Smoked Seafood Cookbook: Easy, Innovative Recipes from America’s Best Fish Smokery, Durham mentions that he has a rant prepared, one he calls “The bogus war against farm salmon.” While he acknowledges that many complaints against farmed salmon do warrant attention, like “contaminated feed, coloring agents with possible health implications … and adverse effects on the local marine ecology,” the industry has generally given all of these concerns the attention they need. Exemplifying their attention to detail, Tracklements gets the fish for their cold smoked varieties from the Faroe Islands, an archipelago cluster between Norway and Iceland on the Arctic Circle. Their hot smoked varieties they get from the Bay of Fundy, at the edge of the Gulf of Maine, between Canadian provinces New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In addition to their mail order and retail customers, Tracklements also has a large wholesale market, in the Ann Arbor area especially. Except for whitefish — one of the fish varieties Tracklements does not sell — they’ve provided neighboring Zingerman’s restaurant with all other fish varieties since 2008. Likewise, they’ve
supplied Cafe Zola for around 12 years. But professional business connections with buyers of their products are not their only community relationships. The Kerrytown local business community is “like a very small, incestuous family,” Tracklements team member David Wells said. Wells’ wife Mary Campbell is the owner of Everyday Wines, a nearby Kerrytown shop. “David’s in and out of there, and we’re in and out of there, they’re in and out of here. So like David said, it is sort of incestuous, around food and wine,” Durham said. Wells is aware that Durham and Campbell share “a philosophical stance.” “Small business forever,” Durham said. Beyond Durham, Wizniewski, Dominguez, Arno and Wells, Tracklements also has a few other part-timers, like Lucus Cole, the son of Kate Tremel, a woman whose ceramics brochures sit on the makeshift counter above the “Taking Holiday Orders” chalkboard sign. Tracklements generally has at least one team member in high school working; they often start in eighth or ninth grade and work up through university, Durham said. Cole, however, doesn’t work all that often due to Saturday soccer commitments. In any case, Tracklements is holding up pretty well. “They have the best smoked salmon anywhere around, and they have a lot of other really good smoked products too, and they’re really nice people,” Lowe said. “They do things like going out of their way to really help you out with what you want and calling you when they’ve got what you need. They’re just terrific.”
Opinion
Page 4A — Monday, December 8, 2014
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com PETER SHAHIN EDITOR IN CHIEF
MEGAN MCDONALD and DANIEL WANG EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
KATIE BURKE 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
Aggregating opportunity
New data system allows for monitoring of student activity
T
he New York Times recently published an article describing the decisions of universities to employ data analytics as a tool to monitor the activity of students more closely. These universities, which included Ball State University, Arizona State University and Georgia State University intend to use an individual student’s data to examine his or her class attendance, gauge engagement in extracurricular activities or help students stay on course toward achieving their degree. For example, Ball State specialists call or e-mail students who have stopped “swiping” into their typical activities. While there is potential in this technology to create a more personalized student experience, if the University were to implement a similar system, they should be aware of concerns regarding its possible invasiveness into students’ lives. Data collection offers a comprehensive way to support students. For students with lower socioeconomic status, a focus of some universities’ efforts, this means more individualized attention, as universities can flag students and check in with them throughout their college career. Keeping in touch and emphasizing relevant resources for academic achievement can help low-income students stay on track. In fact, the graduation rate of lower-income students at Arizona State has already significantly increased in the past three years. This system may prove helpful to other students as well, especially larger schools like the University where students can feel lost and disconnected. Reminders provided through this system could help all students remain active and focused on their studies. Big data can play a critical role in recognizing aggregate student behavior through collection in a centralized manner. Universities already have access to dining habits and gym visits. However, these systems are separate from one another. The recently developed systems allow for more comprehensive information to be analyzed from a single pool of data. This, in turn, offers a huge variety of benefits, not only in drawing correlations between student behaviors and making findings available to students themselves, but also in using the information to fine-tune academic and other university-led services. For example, generally poor attendance and grades in a certain class could signal further investigation into the course. Measuring the times students visit
T
services like gyms could prompt opening for different hours to accommodate these trends. The University should consider using these new tools to assess the student body as a whole. However, the University should be wary of targeting students and contacting them individually, as other institutions have been doing. The more personalized aspects of the new systems can quickly turn into privacy violations, and calls could seem intrusive or accusatory to many students. These systems leave ample opportunity for misunderstandings as well. For instance, if a student stops attending lectures because they prefer to study at home, or if they drop out of a club whose meetings they previously attended, it should not necessarily be the responsibility of the University to dictate how the student shapes their academic experience. If the University decides to implement similar strategies to those of Ball State, they should use less invasive techniques to identify students who are in need of support. An alternative to direct phone calls could be group e-mails encouraging students to come to advising appointments, as well as other reminders to nudge students toward extracurricular involvement. It’s also important to recognize higher education is a service students pay for, and if they do not wish to be approached by staff, they should have the choice to opt out of the program. Lastly, the University should consider the significant monetary investments required to process this data. If less expensive avenues exist to directly aid students, those should be taken into account first.
Reversion to an old self
his past Thanksgiving I travelled to Connecticut, where my extended family congregated over two days of Thanksgiving meals, two turkeys, innumerable amounts of pie, stuffings and love in the form of aliment. There’s a cathartic feeling associated with the gathering of family. My ego is stroked by the recognition I receive from distant family members. I revert to vulgar jokes around my comic uncles. I take plea- ABBY sure in the intimacy of long TASKIER overdue conversations. There tends to be a certain type of affection and generosity that might otherwise be absent if it didn’t exist within a space and time dedicated to thanks. But although love exists here, so does the reversion to old habits, an old self I feel I’ve avoided in order to create a present one. I’m the youngest of three girls. While I believe that both my sisters and I have formed our personalities based off of individual interests, habits and capabilities, such attributes seem to have been founded upon our roles within the family sphere. It seems that each of us embody the role indicative of our birth order. My oldest sister, Madeline, is in medical school. Sasha, the middle child, is the family mediator. I, the youngest, am passionate and directionless. At least that’s what my family seems to think. When I go home, I scan the old journals and scrap pieces of paper that lie preserved and untouched within my desk drawers. I don’t look at old pieces of writing in order to encourage new ideas. In fact, looking at the feelings that inhabited my younger self’s brain makes me cringe — there are so many misspellings, clumsy phrases and pretentious thoughts that are not fleshed out. Mostly though, a lot of the words I wrote as a high schooler just make me sad. An old piece of paper reads, “All unhappy people are just more interesting.” Is this really what I thought about during what now seems like such
an uncomplicated time? Such words make me crave the distance between my present and past self that much more. The reminder of that uncomfortable and reliant 16-year-old appears time and again in the company of my home. On family outings, I never bring my wallet. As the youngest, I never did, and for some reason, although I’ve gone to college for three plus years and have lived in a foreign country where the only English words spoken are “beautiful lady,” I can’t seem to depend on myself when in the presence of my own family. To my parents, this marks me as careless and childish. To my sisters, I’m still unable to take care of myself. For some reason, no matter how much I’ve grown up, I neglect that growth in old surroundings. Further, growing up alongside two sisters who seemed to have constantly been in relationships, I’ve been characterized as the lone black sheep, who over the Thanksgiving dinner table has been called out as being a lesbian by my grandmother. It means that one of my uncles, who identifies as the black sheep of his siblings, sent me a poem about all of the black sheep in the world — assuring me that I wasn’t, and would never be alone no matter how alone I might have felt. Did this mean though, that whenever around my family, I’d always be seen as different? It feels natural to distance my current self from the one that sits at the family dinner table — unsure of herself, anxious and maybe a little bit misdirected. It’s a time for new pathways, when employers will say, “tell us about yourself,” and I’ll tell them about what I’m doing presently rather than who I presently am. The key is that, although it’s uncomfortable to face the person I used to be, I am a cumulative being. Humans are building blocks, evolving over time into new structures. And when I’m reminded of the underdeveloped kid I once was, that girl who forgot her wallet is a part of the reason I’m now able to answer the employer’s question with confidence, self-assurance and poise. — Abby Taskier can be reached at ataskier@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The story of Frank Clark
F
rank Clark spent the first half of his life in the crime, drug and violence-ridden Los Angeles neighborhood of Crenshaw. His mother was addicted to drugs, and his father lived halfway across the country. A profile in MLive from early this fall JAMES described Clark’s BRENNAN childhood living situation as “nomadic,” staying with friends or at shelters. A more accurate term for Clark and his mother at this time would be “homeless.” “I’d walk for hours with my mother wondering where we were going next, what we were going to do next,” Clark told MLive reporter Brendan Quinn. Frank Clark was no older than 10. He moved to Cleveland about a decade ago, leaving his mother behind. At the time of the MLive article’s publication, Frank Clark had not seen her since. Cleveland was better than Crenshaw, but Clark continued to live amongst high crime, high violence and intense segregation. Clark attended Ginn Academy, an alternative, all-boys public high school. Because Ginn Academy does not have athletics, Clark played football at Glenville High School. Glenville is a national powerhouse in football, having produced NFL players like Ted Ginn, Jr. and Troy
Smith, a Heisman Trophy winner. Ted Ginn’s father, Ted, Sr., is Glenville’s head football coach and the mind behind Ginn Academy. According to Location, a locationbased data provider, the average per capita income in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland is less than $13,368 a year, and Glenville is one of the most dangerous places in the city. In 2011, the year Clark graduated, the student body at Ginn Academy was 98 percent Black. Glenville High School’s enrollment was 99 percent Black. Clark played football from a young age, and his abilities as a defensive end got him a scholarship to the University. In other words, he was given free tuition, plus room and board, for his ability to hit people. Do it well enough, he was told, and he could find himself making millions of dollars entertaining people with sanctioned violence. Three years later, Nov. 15, Frank Clark allegedly got into an argument with his girlfriend. According to reports, he punched her in the face, and she knocked over a lamp as she fell to the ground. Clark picked her up by her neck and slammed her down. She laid there unconscious, her younger siblings thinking Clark had killed her. He easily could have. In the years leading up to this, while Clark was busy practicing, training and trying to balance the other commitments of student life, did he ever see a therapist? Did he ever go into Counseling and Psychological Services, looking to talk about his childhood and
his mother? Did anyone on the football team ever take him aside and say, “Hey man, you had a really rough upbringing — have you ever thought about going to see someone?” I don’t know the answers to any of these questions. Maybe Clark did see someone. Maybe he even had long-term treatment from a psychiatrist. Maybe the Athletic Department cared about his mental health as much as they cared about his performance on the field. This is not to advocate for sympathy or pity for a man who hit a woman, but let us remember that the man who attacked his girlfriend last month was once a boy. A boy who was homeless. A boy who was told that certain forms of violence are not only OK but in fact his only way to a better life. A boy who spent half his life with no father, and the other half with no mother. Clark told MLive that he dreamed of his mother coming to senior day at Michigan Stadium, saying that her presence would be “the best thing ever.” Clark was dismissed from the football team less than three days after being charged with domestic violence, meaning he was absent for the final home game of his senior season. Clark has not posted on his Twitter since being dismissed. His bio section reads: “Simply, All I want to do is make my momma proud.” — James Brennan can be reached at jmbthree@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Edvinas Berzanskis, Devin Eggert, David Harris, Rachel John, Jordyn Kay, Aarica Marsh, Megan McDonald, Victoria Noble, Michael Paul, Allison Raeck, Melissa Scholke, Michael Schramm, Matthew Seligman, Mary Kate Winn, Jenny Wang, Daniel Wang, Derek Wolfe
Responsible reporting on sexual assault
R
olling Stone magazine is no friend to those targeted by crime of any kind. The magazine’s history of sensationalizing serious crime includes its infamous August 2013 cover, where it featured a sepiatoned glamour shot of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — the VICTORIA alleged perpetrator NOBLE of the Boston Marathon terrorist attack. Under a thinly veiled guise of “serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day,” Rolling Stone published an intentionally shocking cover, which sold over twice as many copies as its average issue at the expense of the more than 260 people injured by the attack and the friends and families of those killed. So when Rolling Stone published the story of “Jackie,” a UVA student who had been, according to the story, gang raped and mutilated at a fraternity party, the best readers could hope for was that Rolling Stone had learned from past mistakes. Well, as it turned out, they apparently haven’t. The magazine published the predictably explosive story without diligently factchecking sources. After details of the story were called into question, Managing Editor Will Dana issued probably the most unprofessional statement I have ever read, which claimed that the publication “trusted” Jackie, whom the story identified as a rape victim, and that they had “come to the conclusion that (their) trust in her was misplaced.” After considerable criticism, the statement was updated, albeit with no note of its change, another ethical violation. The revised statement detailed some factual discrepancies — found in part by The Washington Post, not Rolling Stone — and added that the “mistakes are on Rolling
“
Stone, not on Jackie.” For about a year, I’ve worked as a senior opinion editor for The Michigan Daily, and just from that experience alone, without ever having received formal journalistic training or working for a professional publication, I can identify several actions taken by Rolling Stone that demonstrate, at best, reckless lapses in judgment, and more seriously, a callous disregard for ethics. Rolling Stone is a national publication staffed by industry professionals and graduates from top journalism schools, so I seriously doubt what occurred was the result of the former. Either way, Rolling Stone has seriously harmed the public’s faith in professional journalism and sexual assault survivors. When the story was published, it almost immediately spurred discussion on the issue of sexual assault on college campuses — places where sexual violence is endemic, rarely reported and often improperly investigated. Given the fact that our own University is currently being investigated for its handling of sexual assault cases, or that a Centers for Disease Control study found that nearly one in five American women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, why does it take dramatic stories like the one in Rolling Stone to reignite discussion on the issue? Rolling Stone’s story, which graphically detailed an incident of a gang rape, was shocking to say the least, and reading the piece was discomforting and powerful all at once. It inspired the emotions necessary for action. The piece sparked conversation and protests, and forced the issue into the minds of people who, until that point, hadn’t been paying attention. One woman even told me that the story had convinced her that sexual assault must really be happening on college campuses. Now, issues surrounding the story threaten to reverse not only that progress, but also that which
occurred before its publication. But here’s the thing — Rolling Stone’s article should’ve never mattered in the way we allowed it to. Jackie’s story only served as an illustration, a particularly dramatic example of a serious type of crime — sexual assault — that regularly occurs on college campuses. Regardless of whether Jackie’s story is true, half-true or complete fiction, sexual assault is so prevalent that it’s nearly statistically impossible, on a campus as large as the University’s, not to know a survivor of it. And while the story provided a particularly violent, bloody example, all forms of sexual assault are violent, serious crimes and should be treated as such. If robbers or murderers went unconvicted at the rate that rapists are today, we would seriously question the ways in which our justice system was failing to protect us. The fact that 97 out of 100 rapists are never punished should be extremely worrisome. If we can’t expect the criminal justice system to adequately deter sexual assault, we need to address the issue as a campus community. At the minimum, that will require continual consideration and discussion of the issue, even absent powerful media anecdotes. Sexual assault certainly affects survivors and perpetrators, but it affects the entire community as well. Students have a right to feel safe on campus. But instead, students, especially females, are taught to fear walking alone at night, getting too drunk at parties or spending time alone with men behind closed doors. We should carry mace in our purses, watch our drinks and ignore strangers on the street. We don’t need a magazine article to tell us that living in fear is no longer an option. As a campus community, it’s time to step up and address sexual assault. — Victoria Noble can be reached at vjnoble@umich.edu.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
We’re trying to get into the American East conference. I want to get into the Big Ten. How about opening a spot for us?” — New Jersey Institute of Technology basketball coach Jim Engles said after his team defeated the Michigan men’s basketball team Saturday. The team is the only Division I independent in the nation.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV REVIEW
Monday, December 8, 2014 — 5A
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
NBC
Peter Shahin looks good in tights, too.
‘Peter Pan’ flies By ALEX INTNER
filled by Carrie Underwood, a singer who lacked the acting ability to nail the part of Maria Von After the popular but poor Trapp. This time, the producers “The Sound of Music Live!,” my decided to cast a proven actress expectations for this year’s fol- as Peter. Even if the lower-profile low-up, “Peter cost them viewers and didn’t quite Pan Live!” B+ have Underwood’s vocal chops, it were low. still was a net gain for the produc“Music” was tion. She brought the character to plagued with life with a performance that was problems from brimming with energy and the the moment Event available sense that she was having a lot of it was cast for streaming and fun in the role. to the actual replaying on Dec. 13 The casting directors did well performance by Williams, surrounding her NBC — hampered with a talented group of screen by its drab proand stage actors. There were duction value. In the year since times in the show where Walken that production, producers Craig was hamming up his character to Zaden and Neil Maron (“Smash”) great levels, especially in “Caphave apparently learned some tain Hook’s Waltz.” In others, it important lessons and pieced seemed like he wasn’t putting in together an entertaining broad- a lot of effort (Though, Walken’s cast. “Peter Pan” was an improve- half-assed tap dancing may be ment in almost every way from the funniest thing to come from “The Sound of Music,” giving the night.) University alum Taylor me hope that these yearly pre- Louderman brought her beautisentations will become must-see ful voice and sense of wonder to events. the role of Wendy. Even if there “Peter Pan Live!” follows the wasn’t enough of Kelli O’Hara story of the classic musical by Jule (“South Pacific”) as Mrs. DarStyne, Betty Comdon and Adolph ling, her stunning soprano was Green. When Peter Pan (Allison refreshing to the ear each time Williams, “Girls”) is discovered in she was on screen. The one hole in the bedroom of the Darling Chil- the ensemble was the young actor dren trying to find his shadow, he who played Michael Darling. He teaches them how to fly and takes looked like he was having a blast them away to Neverland where but wasn’t given enough direction they play with the Lost Boys and to calm down his mannerisms. the Indians on the Island and Other areas where “Peter Pan” fight the menacing Captain Hook progressed greatly over “Sound (Christopher Walken, “Hair- of Music” were in the producspray”). tion design and the theatricalThe biggest upgrade from the ity. Last year’s show had dull previous year was in the casting. backgrounds and costumes that In “Music,” the leading role was took away from the quality of the Daily Arts Writer
“Peter Pan Live!”
broadcast. This year, the show used its higher budget to create sets which had lots of excellent art and intricate details. The Neverland set looked gorgeous on TV. This year’s production was much more theatrical, with strong flying work, fantastic choreography (especially in the number “True Blood Brothers”) and magnificent CGI effects. The idea of having CGI Tinkerbell instead of the traditional spotlight took awhile for me to warm up to, but by the end, each appearance was welcomed. The one thing that weakened from “Music” was the camerawork. Television director Glenn Weiss (known for his many award show broadcasts) brought a more diverse set of camera angles and movement to the screen. However, in the opening flying sequence, the show’s painstaking effort to not show the lighting rigs on the top of the set killed any momentum that “I’m Flying” was building. “Peter Pan Live!” was not perfect. There were mistakes in the casting of supporting actors and the television direction sometimes hindered scenes. However, by the time Williams was asking us to clap if we believed in fairies and the last chords of the wistful “Never Never Land” played, I was filled with a childlike sense of wonder and happiness. Zaden and Maron should be proud of themselves for the steps they took in this production. Hopefully the softer ratings don’t scare NBC out of doing more musicals, because, given the strides taken in “Pan,” the next go-around could be truly special.
CASH M0NEY
“Real sad they’re not releasing my album...”
Label refuses to release ‘Carter V’ By LEJLA BAJGORIC Daily Arts Blogger
Weezy F Baby and the F is for frustrated. On Dec. 4, Wayne revealed that The Carter V, which fans have been anxiously anticipating since 2013, won’t be released at all this December “bekuz Baby & Cash Money Rec. refuse to release it,” according to his Twitter account. Needless to say, this couldn’t be more shocking. And he is beyond frustrated. It seems that Wayne has totally given up on any chance of reconciling and wants complete independence from the label and Baby, who is not just a boss, but more of a father-figure to Weezy. There have been certain controversial allegations about the pair in the past, but nothing as shocking as this. “This is not my fault. I am truly and deeply sorry to all my fans but most of all to myself and my family for putting us in this situation,”
Wayne tweeted. “I want off this label and nothing to do with these people but unfortunately it ain’t that easy ... I am a prisoner and so is my creativity Again,I am truly sorry and I don’t blame ya if ya fed up with waiting 4 me & this album. But thk u.” The following day, TMZ released footage of one of their reporters probing Cortez Bryant, Weezy’s manager, who claimed that the relationship between Wayne and Baby is problem-free. Cortez asserted that his pulling up to the club and smiling in a lavish whip should be proof that there isn’t anything to be concerned about at all. But Cash Money’s record of not treating their artists with an appropriate amount of integrity — even Drake has previously complained about not being paid properly by the label — makes it much easier to doubt Cortez and feel for Wayne. And people really do feel for him. Fans immediately
drafted a petition on ipetition. com asking Baby to reconsider releasing what would be both Wayne’s final installment in the Carter series as well as his last solo album. Pusha-T also felt the need to aid Wayne in this troubling time. Push has previously spoken on the subject with his “Exodus 23:1” track, but this time he went a step further and encouraged Wayne to leave Cash Money for good and join G.O.O.D. Music, currently home to Push, Big Sean and others. Presumably, Wayne would be able to get out his dreams, and his album, at this label. “If u wanna drop albums & don’t want your CEO’s rubbing they hands all in your videos, COME TO GOOD MUSIC!! (Suge Knight voice),” Pusha-T tweeted. Time will tell what will happens. Until then, to quote Wayne’s last Dec. First seen on 4 tweet, “pray.”
the filter
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
A musical trip back in time The hidden treasures of finding your middle school iPod By CARLY SNIDER Daily Arts Writer
I have recently taken a trip back in time — I found my old iPod, stocked with music from my middle school and early high school years. Scrolling through the tracks, I’m faced with so many questions about my previous self, I begin to wonder if I am even the same person. Why did I like Coldplay so much? What was Death Cab for Cutie doing between 2007 and 2010 that was so interesting to me? Skrillex, really? I can almost feel the braces on my teeth. The mix is largely made up of angstdriven pop punk, a smattering of acoustic singer-songwriters and what I then thought was really cool, obscure electronic music. But I can’t be too hard on 13-year-old me. Aside from the more questionable, highly embarrassing records, a lot of the songs immediately bring back great memories; the kinds of songs that take you back just by hearing the first few chords. Images of concerts, friends and summer hangouts fill my mind. To this day, whenever I think about old music my mind immediately jumps to my first concert experience — Panic! at the Disco, fifth grade, Palace of Auburn Hills, with my friend and her dad. Oy, how times have changed. (Who am I kidding? I still love Panic). More so than a strong memory of the concert is a memory of all the emotions
attached with it. A certain feeling comes along with this kind of nostalgia, something only music can achieve. There are no images being presented to you, no direct narratives to jog your memory — only the moments and people you have personally linked to that track or experience. Though the music I listened to when I was younger may not be the most inspired or wellcrafted, it was only the beginning of my love for the arts. I was just starting to explore all that was out there, not even really knowing how or where to find new artists. Listening to it all again now, I’m able to notice so many little nuances in the music and wordplay in the lyrics that I didn’t catch in my earlier years. I appreciate it not so much for its overall content or composition, but for the role these tracks have played in my musical journey. Many of the artists on that iPod lead me to discover some of my favorites of today. They laid the groundwork for what genres and sounds I liked most, and I was able to go from there. Crystal Castles led me to Purity Ring and Grimes, The Killers helped me find The Smiths, Kanye led to even more Kanye and the list goes on. I don’t think of these new faves as replacements, but rather as improvements. As my knowledge of music grows, so does my appreciation for genres outside of my usual sphere. I learned that there is so much to be discovered, listened to and experienced that I can’t help but be fond of where all my interests started. Even if that means admitting my love for all things Coldplay.
Classifieds RELEASE DATE– Monday, December 8, 2014
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
FOR RENT
SERVICES
! NORTH CAMPUS 1‑2 Bdrm. ! ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! ! www.HRPAA.com !
THESIS EDITING. LANGUAGE, organization, format. All Disciplines. 734/996‑0566 or writeon@iserv.net
2015‑2016 LEASING Apartments Going Fast! Prime Student Housing 734‑761‑8000 www.primesh.com
HELP WANTED
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 “__ Mia!”: ABBA musical 6 Bit of baby talk 10 Defensive trench 14 So all can hear 15 Apple MP3 player 16 Makes mistakes 17 Secretary of state before Hillary Clinton 20 Approx. landing hours 21 To be, to Caesar 22 Golf shoe feature 23 Theater level 25 Changes for the better 26 Score symbol that usually has a stem 31 Shirt with a band’s logo, maybe 32 __ shower: prewedding event 33 Correct a pencil mistake 35 Throw in the first chips 36 Dude 37 Swabbing tools 41 New England fish 44 Flagged down 46 Word repeated before “black sheep” 49 Digit-shaped sponge cakes 51 Performed better than 53 __ close to schedule 54 Shenanigan 55 Cowpoke’s pal 57 Target practice supply 61 Spot between a rock and a hard place ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 26- and 49Across 64 Backsplash material 65 Truth or __?: party game 66 Tied up in knots 67 Aegean and Irish 68 Fr. holy women 69 Polishes text DOWN 1 Self-defense spray 2 More often than not
3 “__ Lisa” 4 Saturated hillside hazards 5 Kerfuffle 6 Fuel for semis 7 “Dawn of the Planet of the __” 8 Sleep lightly 9 Wood-shaping tool 10 Travis or Haggard of country music 11 Point in the proper direction 12 Pinball player’s place 13 Dangerous fly 18 Not prohibited 19 High points 24 South American tuber 25 “One thing __ time” 26 Management deg. 27 Coffee vessel 28 Obedience school command 29 Far from cool 30 Gold, in Granada 34 Moved to a new country 36 Hunk’s physique
38 Encouragement for a flamenco dancer 39 Part of mph 40 ’60s radical gp. 42 Mouse sound 43 “Far out, man!” 44 Bhagavad-Gita student, likely 45 “I’ll take that as __” 46 Blows one’s own horn 47 Em, to Dorothy
48 Leader of the Huns 50 Strong points 52 Cuts into cubes 55 Exam for high school jrs. 56 Suffix with million 58 Knee-showing skirt 59 Lion’s share 60 Vending machine bills 62 QB’s gains 63 Had a bite
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Efficiencies: 726 S. State (1 Left) $735 344 S. Division $825/$845 508 Division (1 Left) $800 610 S. Forest $870 1 Bedrooms: 511 Hoover ‑ $1025/$1045 508 Division $925/$945
xwordeditor@aol.com
12/08/14
4 BEDROOM APARTMENTS Central and South Campus Fall 2015‑16 321 S. Division 1&4: $2690/2750 + Elec. 432 S. Division #5 ‑ $2600 + Electric 1015 Packard #1 ‑ $2680 + Utilities Call 734‑996‑1991 to sched a viewing
COMMERCIAL CLEANERS Fulltime position in the Ann Arbor area Must pass drug screen & extensive background check. Own transportation required. 586‑759‑3700
4 BEDROOM HOUSE Fall 2015‑16 North Campus: Off Fuller by UM Hospital 2 Baths, Wshr./Dryer, 3 Prkg spaces, Pet & Smoke free. $2300 + utilities 1010 Cedar Bend Dr. 734‑996‑1991
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
5 & 6 Bedroom Apartments On Vaughn St. Fall 2015‑16 Apt #1: 1st flr 5 bdrm ‑ $3,125 + Utilities Apt #2: 2nd flr 6 bdrm ‑ $3,300 + Utilities Coin laundry on site. 3 prkg spaces/unit. Call 734‑996‑1991
NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S PRE‑ MIER co‑ed summer camp is looking for counselors for the 2015 season. Please visit our website to learn more about us, www.campwaldenmi.com. To apply just click on “Work at Walden.”
6 BEDROOM HOUSE 511 Linden. East of CC Little btwn Geddes&South U. 2 Bath, Wshr./Dryer, 2 Prkg. spaces, Pet & Smoke free. Fall 2015‑16 $3,995 + utilities. 734‑996‑1991
PARKING
EFF, 1 & 2 Bedrooms Avail Fall 2015‑16 $750 ‑ $1420. Most include Heat and Water. Parking where avail: $50‑80/mo. Coin Laundry access on site/nearby. www.cappomanagement.com Call 734‑996‑1991
“PRIME” PARKING FOR Sale 721 S. Forest “Forest Place” Discounted Limited Passes Remaining Now thru April or August 2015 734‑761‑8000 primesh.com
WWW.CARLSONPROPERTIES.‑ COM 734‑332‑6000
By C.W. Stewart ©2014 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
12/08/14
BIG BROTHER /TUTOR Math tutor and mentor needed for HS sophomore after recent death of father. Wolverine family, Ann Arbor area. Transportation as needed, pay negotiable. Homefront Hugs USA (734) 330‑8203
WWW.CHURCHSTREETRENTALS.‑ COM 734‑320‑1244. 721 Church Cen‑ tral Campus/Across from East Quad. 1 bdrm apts avail for 2015‑2016
Happy Monday!
Arts
6A — Monday, December 8, 2014
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
RCA
‘My December’
Making the case for X-mas music Ghostface sticks to
TOMMY BOY
“Something’s gotta pay for the kids’ college tuition...”
By CHRISTIAN KENNEDY Daily Arts Writer
The calendar has slid into 2014’s final month and, just in case someone hasn’t noticed from the over-stressed and under-slept students or the bitter, cold wind blowing them down State Street., we can always count on one thing to slap us across the face with a heavy dose of December: holiday music in public places. It’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “All I Want for Christmas is You” that remind shoppers they need to keep their eyes peeled for that perfect snow globe to add to Grandma’s collection or that quesadilla maker from Kohl’s their favorite Daily Arts Writer has been eyeing (*wink*). Throughout the month, the soundtrack to our lives is strategically altered and encourages over-spending and general happiness, and that is 100 percent OK. Bring it on, Target. That said, holiday tunes must be restricted to holiday stores. It gets a little freaky when you’re in the Safe Sex Shop looking for a
dildo to use in a family game over winter break and Frank Sinatra’s rendition of “Jingle Bells” comes on. All of the “bells” magically turn into “balls” when you’re confronted with a six-foot display covered in condoms. Christmas music, pick your battles please. Will you rein me into my third copy of Kelly Clarkson’s Wrapped in Red? More than likely. A box set of flavored condoms? Probably not (OK, well just the peppermint ones). Peppermint-flavored products aside, the holiday music may have gone too far. Everyone has an opinion on when Christmas music should be played (not until after Halloween or Thanksgiving, etc.), but few take notice of where it should be played. Clearly, it’s always acceptable through headphones no matter time or place; do your thang. Deciding which background music to play in public places is trickier. Let’s start here: if there’s an entire section devoted to the holiday, let it play. The same can be said for department stores and coffee shops (Peppermint mocha, anyone?). Restaurants are a bit more
complicated. It may be the holiday season, but restaurants are not directly holiday-related like department stores where people shop, nor do they usually roll out holiday-themed menus like coffee shops. However, the closer holidays get, the more acceptable holiday music is in restaurants. A Christmas album on repeat starting Dec. 1 is a little intense, Applebee’s. Furthermore, Christmas music should never be played in bars. That is the set up for a sad scene in a “Grey’s Anatomy” holiday episode. The only exception is Bob and Doug McKenzie’s “12 Days of Christmas.” If you don’t know it, do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s time to stop complaining that “it’s too early for Christmas music.” That debate has been argued every which way and no one will agree. It’s time to complain that “it’s not the place for Christmas music.” Pick your battles, holiday tunes and whoever is the DJ behind that intercom. It’s time to get it together because Christmas music in a sex shop (and many other venues) just is not going to cut it.
ALBUM REVIEW
COUNTER POINT
Yoga pants.
Film just scratches surface of iconic life By REBECCA LERNER Daily Arts Writer
“Awake: The Life of Yogananda” is a shallow introduction to the fascinating life of Paramahansa Yogananda, C+ who brought the spiritualism of the East to the materialistic West in the 1920s. Despite cen- Counterpoint tering on the Films importance Michigan Theater of meditative experiences, the movie’s disjointed and rushed feelings may misalign your chakras. Checking all the boxes for a biopic, the film travels through Yogananda’s childhood and adolescent propensity for spirituality. After he finds his spiritual master and founds a school in India, he realizes his journey must be taken to the materialistic and spiritually uneducated West. In Boston
“Awake: The life of Yogananda”
and then California, Yogananda establishes his foundation and begins to teach the masses his theories of enlightenment. Much of the movie focuses not on the life of the yogi, but on his inf luence on others. Frequently distributed throughout the film, interviews are from diverse subjects, ranging from George Harrison of The Beatles, who constantly sought out life advice from Yogananda’s autobiography, to a Harvard physicist who confirms that Yogananda’s methods were based in neurological sciences. However, the interrupting interviews that lionize the yogi distract the viewer from the actual story of his life. The most interesting parts of the movie are centered on the sources of conf lict in the yogi’s life. Entering the roaring 1920s as a dark-skinned man teaching foreign concepts, Yogananda is the victim of racism and yellow journalism. The yogi lectures and lives through World War II and the bombing of Hiroshima — events that
fundamentally contradict his views of the world. But even with subject matter as compelling as the arduous life and forward thinking beliefs of the yogi, the film hurries through this content. This movie seems like an introduction to the life of someone who inf luenced the world with yoga, using the spirituality of the practice to try to achieve peace instead of as an ab workout, as is the case with most modern yoga. Other biopics this year, such as “Get On Up” about soul singer James Brown and “The Theory of Everything” about physicist Stephen Hawking, have a profound and confidential nature in their details that make the audience identify with the subject. Instead of acquainting the audience with the personality and f laws of the man behind the legend, the film focuses its energy on the glorification of Yogananda. “Awake” barely scratches the surface of a complex man who deserved a better exploration of his depths.
old tricks on ‘Seasons’ Rapper struggles to move forward on new album By BRIAN BURLAGE Daily Arts Writer
Ghostface Killah is back after 36 seasons. That translates roughly to nine years, he tells us on the album’s Bopening track “The Battlefield.” Staten Island Ghostface has changed Killah quite a bit since he Tommy Boy Records left. Now the “cops stay screwin’” and his name’s “faded out like some damn old socks.” Kids smoke weed in the schoolyard. No one’s afraid to breach enemy territory. Bottom line, Ghostface says: there’s no respect. All of these feelings and reflections converge with the track’s melancholic hook: “Been on the battlefield for a long, long time / I can see life closing in on this old body of mine.” Stop and think for a minute. When was the last time you heard Ghostface Killah cop to any kind of resignation? Defeat? Transient meditation? The soulful, embittered voice of Tre Williams delivers those words, which get pinched between two somewhat antagonistic and typically aggressive verses. It’s a pretty clever production technique. Stuff antithetical emotion into the hook, then stuff the hook in between two opposite messages. The result here with 36 Seasons is a kind of sad and reminiscent survey of what Ghostface has lost in his home town in Staten Island, only it’s too out-of-character to hold
36 Seasons
up for the duration of the album. At 44, Ghostface Killah is one of the older rappers in the industry, and he’s acutely aware of his seniority. But with 36 Seasons, he’s not asking listeners to ignore that fact, nor is he trying to usher them back toward the Supreme Clientele era and say, “this is where I want you to stay.” Instead, he’s asking listeners to and accept his age with him. By no means is it a comfortable process; sometimes the album feels a bit overdone, a bit clichéd. But then think about the first line of “The Battlefield” and let it frame the rest of the album. Nine years puts Ghostface at the inception of Fischscale, his most successful and acclaimed album of the last 14 years, and now, with 36 Seasons, he’s back. He considers this album to be a revival of sorts, a reflective statement at the end of a long odyssey — a return to form. This return is particularly
At times, the album can be a little hard to swallow. hard to swallow, though, since 36 Seasons doesn’t sound or feel like a grand statement. Ghostface addresses love, loyalty, friendship and change through the vein of soul, and these slow beats and drawnout horn sections serve only to conjure some feeling of nostalgia. For example, on “Love Don’t Live Here No More,” he raps about coming home to his girl after nine long
years away. She claims she thought he was dead and tells him that she’s moved on, she’s got a new man who can take care of her kid. “So I turned my head down and walked away from the crib,” Ghostface raps at the end of the verse, followed by a stark silence that’s actually shocking. This is the same guy who says he’s sold more drugs and witnessed more homicides than he could rap about in a career, and yet, when it comes to family, he knows when to walk away and let the nonmusic speak for him. Unfortunately, that’s not the whole story. Later in the song, Ghostface’s newfound wisdom is checked as he rattles off a few lines of misogynistic talkbehind-the-back. “I never did a damn thing to deserve it / This is a man’s world, I go away come home lookin’ for you / Now you fuckin’ up the plans, girl,” he raps with the same snarl that he’d supposedly outgrown. If the album is to be about change and the depth of its effect, then a verse like this can put a halt on the emotional momentum. And it does. 36 Seasons reveals that Ghostface hasn’t lost a beat in the way of his storytelling or his gusto, but the latter might not be a good thing. There are plenty of heartfelt and sincere moments here; the problem is that they’re too frequently negated by instances of unrequited anger and unfairness. And while the album is filled with the sound of soul and retro East coast rap styling, it all feels like a kind of conjuring trick in the end. That after nine years of learning, music-making and growing up, Ghostface Killah still relies on the tricks and traps of the rapper who rests in peace with Fishscale.
THIS IS THE LAST DEAD AD I’M GOING TO WRITE SO DO IT FOR ‘LIL’ SHAY’ (MAE AKSHAY SETH) @MICHIGANDAILY
FOLLOW TMD ON TWITTER
WHAT’S NEW ON
CHECK THE LATEST ENTERTAINMENT NEWS ON THE ONLINE ARTS BLOG
SportsMonday B
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | December 8, 2014
NJIT 72, Michigan 70
LY N N - S A N I T Y PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
The team no one Red-hot NJIT stuns wanted has its moment Michigan at Crisler W ith 13.6 seconds left in one of the great-
est upsets in college basketball history, AlTariq Lynn was two rows behind the visitor’s MAX bench, smilBULTMAN ing from ear to ear. New Jersey Institute of Technology coach Jim Engles was tense, not caving in to the optimism Lynn exuded eight feet behind him. NJIT wasn’t supposed to have a prayer Saturday. No. 17 Michigan was going to roll the Highlanders, then put in its substitutes and roll them some
more. “Coming into the season, I sort of penciled this one in as an ‘L,’ ” Engles would later say. This was a team coming off a Final Four and an Elite Eight in its last two seasons against the lone independent in Division I men’s college basketball — a team that’s independent for a reason. No one wanted the NJIT Highlanders, the team that went 0-29 in 2007-08. They’ve been trying to get into the America East for years, but the league won’t take them. But here’s the thing about the team no one wants: it’s made up of players that no one wanted — no one except NJIT. And when a team like that gets a national stage against a ranked opponent, they tend to
HE MEANS BUSINESS
n Athletic Director Jim Hackett is here to stay, as he proved in Tuesday’s press conference. SportsMonday Column, Page 2B
remember how unwanted they once were. They play better than they’re supposed to. They play better than maybe they even are. And Michigan coach John Beilein knew they would. “Those guys, the crowds don’t faze them,” he said. “Those guys live on the road.” That’s what happened Saturday when Damon Lynn, the Highlanders freshman guard who wanted to play at Michigan, dropped 20 on the Wolverines. He saw every Derrick Walton Jr. 3-pointer and matched it. He wasn’t fazed by Caris LeVert’s bank shot and kept going. What did he have to lose? So Lynn’s dad, Al-Tariq, stood there with time frozen, smiling and remembering how See BULTMAN, Page 2B
Nation’s only Division I independent knocks off No. 17 Michigan By JAKE LOURIM Daily Sports Editor
Appalachian State had Armanti Edwards in 2007. New Jersey Institute of Technology had Damon Lynn on Saturday. Lynn scored 20 points as NJIT pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history, shocking the Michigan men’s basketball team at Crisler Center, 72-70. NJIT, which joined Division I in 2006, went 0-29 in 2007-08 and is the nation’s only Division
I independent, pulled it off when freshman guard Aubrey Dawkins’ desperate last-second full-court shot fell well short at the buzzer. With 4.3 seconds left, NJIT’s Daquan Holiday sank two free throws to make it a threepoint game. The Highlanders fouled Michigan freshman forward Kameron Chatman on purpose with 2.6 seconds left. Chatman made the first free throw and missed the second intentionally, but NJIT pulled down the rebound with 1.2 seconds left, and the fans began to file out of Crisler Center. “New Jersey deserved to win the game today,” said a despondent Michigan coach John Beilein. “They were the better team today.” Four days removed from a
FRESHMAN WALL
n Michigan needs more out of its freshmen to accompany the scoring of its four veterans, writes Simon Kaufman. Page 4B
win over Syracuse, Saturday was a lesson in consistency for a young Michigan team, and the Highlanders were more than willing to capitalize. They shot 59 percent and made 11 of 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Lynn was 6-for-10 from long range, including two step-back daggers in the final 4:32 that helped preserve the lead. Still, with less than a minute left, NJIT had the ball and led by only one. Michigan forced a miss as the shot clock went down, but after a battle for possession under the basket, Holiday emerged with the ball. The Wolverines fouled him immediately, and he lay outstretched on the floor, pumping his fists with victory imminent. See NJIT, Page 2B
SportsMonday
2B — December 8, 2014
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
Meet the new Michigan Man
Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett strolled into his press conference Tuesday afternoon, his job status no more certain than the man he had GREG chosen to GARNO fire. Two weeks ago, he said his position was up to University President Mark Schlissel and that the pair would work together in finding a permanent replacement. “When I took this job, it was clearly as interim AD,” Hackett said on Nov. 22. Later he remarked, “I first have to talk to Kathy Hackett about (staying full time), because she’s asked me the same thing. The challenge right now, I’m so focused on that. “For me, for Jim Hackett to be asked to be interim athletic director and to accept it, was about, we need help right now so would you come and do it? So I’m glad to do it.” That Saturday afternoon he made a list of goals he had planned. He expressed his interest in connecting with athletes, students and fans. He noted he’d continue the development of renovating and expanding the athletic facilities. And he said how he’d handle the status of the head football coach. But Tuesday, when he left the media room after speaking for 14 minutes and 57 seconds, the interim title might as well have disappeared too. Because in less than 15 minutes, Hackett made one thing clear in his press conference without having to say it explicitly: He’s here
NJIT From Page 1B “I thought we were due to get a couple of stops, and obviously we got the last one down one with 10 seconds to go, but didn’t get the rebound,” Beilein said. “I thought we were going to get one of those stops, and that’s what I was telling them. When we got down seven, we just gotta get stops one at a time and we’ll get back in the game.” The teams had traded the lead for the final 13 minutes, but NJIT never back down, even as an antsy Crisler Center crowd implored Michigan to take control. Finally, with 11:59 left in the game, NJIT guard Ky Howard gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game, 46-44. Just
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett asserted himself as a viable long-term leader of Michigan’s Athletic Department during Tuesday’s press conference.
to stay, and he’s not messing around. Hackett isn’t here to lead the Michigan Athletic Department for another 30 days, and he’s not here to be an athletic director that goes through the motions. Just over a month into his job as Dave Brandon’s replacement, Hackett has made his biggest decision facing the Athletic Department. And he did so like someone who had practiced, with the conviction of someone
who had been practicing for this moment his entire life. That’s not to say he’ll be working for two decades when he’s older and retired, but his definition of interim is measured in years, not months. Consider that Hackett was given the responsibility to handle Brady Hoke’s future, not a board of regents or group of associate athletic directors. And when Hackett said he made his decision to fire someone, he
under 90 seconds later, Lynn knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a five-point game. “(Lynn) was just sensational,” Beilein said. “We really don’t have a defense for those stepback jump shots he hit over people. Those nine points, those three straight (3-pointers) were a big difference in the game.” The upset alert was officially on. Inside the eight-minute mark, Michigan finally turned up the intensity. Junior guard Caris LeVert and sophomore forward Zak Irvin hit back-to-back 3-pointers, drawing the Wolverines
within one. They got the crowd energized, and after an NJIT charge, LeVert drained another triple to give Michigan its first lead in more than seven minutes. On the ensuing possession, Lynn answered with a 3-pointer of his own. “He’s ridiculous,” said NJIT coach Jim Engles. “He’s a freshman, and he’s ridiculous. I was just trying to get as many opportunities for him to touch the ball (as I could). At the end of the game, it was basically LeVert or Damon, who was going to have the ball at the end. We were lucky enough to be able to finish out those 4.3 seconds.” When the teams tipped off just after noon, an upset alert was unthinkable. The Highlanders turned the ball over on each of their first four possessions, and though the Wolverines started just 3-for-8, they led 8-0 early on and appeared to be off to the races. But NJIT chipped away at the lead and wouldn’t let Michigan pull away. That eight-point deficit was the largest of the game. Before long, the upset alert was on. Michigan fans won’t forget it any time soon.
“I want to get rid of the word ‘Michigan Man.’ ”
knew he “better take the time to think about it.” However long Hackett stays in charge, he’s serious about his plans. He handled Tuesday’s press conference with a measured seriousness, without smiling or joking. Hackett was given the task of picking the next head football coach on his own schedule. He spent that time refusing to acknowledge the details of his coaching search process, which
he said included search firms and charts with candidates. Those aren’t tasks you can pass on to someone else the way a CEO passes along a memo to his secretary, though. As an athletic director, Hackett is going to hire the coach that he wants, not someone who will please the next guy. He wouldn’t hire someone only to leave months after bringing him in. He’ll see the task through and he’ll watch the results,
“The standard here is not time. The standard is issues.”
which inevitably, won’t come in one year. After all, he saw what happened when you get too excited with a coach after one year. And what coach would want to work for a guy who is going to leave right away? Most importantly, he tackled an issue that has reverberated with the University for 25 years, not just an issue he could address in 30 seconds. “I want to get rid of the word ‘Michigan Man,’ ” Hackett said, his face as stern as ever. “This is a point about how we stand for the team first. … The competitive spirit in my lifetime and with others that you see around here that played, we knew that we had to work really hard. It wasn’t arrogance. It was about being competitive.” Those aren’t comments you make unless you’re in it for the long haul, because this isn’t something anyone else will handle. And that’s why it should have been easy to see what he meant when he talked about his timetable for the future. “The standard here is not time,” Hackett said in November. “The standard is issues. We go to work on important issues, and I’m really excited about that right now.” He may be similar to his predecessor, who so many people despised. He doesn’t have the experience in athletics that other candidates have. And he isn’t the big name that would automatically attract a bigname coach. But it’s time to get comfortable with Jim Hackett for the time being, because he’s here to stay. And he’s not messing around. Garno can be reached at ggarno@umich.edu or on Twitter @G_Garno.
“I thought we were due to get a couple of stops.”
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Michigan lost at home for just the third time in two seasons against NJIT.
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Daily
NJIT, which joined Division I in 2006, is the only Division I team in the country without a conference.
BULTMAN From Page 1B his son was “too small” to get an offer from Michigan. “What happens if they win?” he was asked. “There’s no if,” he said. “It’s gonna happen.” The Highlanders huddled together, at first without their coach. They gave each other the usual words of encouragement, “let’s go,” and “we got this,” but the real message was in their eyes. Not one of them flinched. When Engles joined them, they passed around a white towel, wiping off thick drops of sweat and catching their breath. They were hunched over, gathering all the air they could, watching their coach draw up an inbounds play to try to seal a momentous upset with 13.6 seconds left. “It’s the most confidence I’ve seen every person on our team have in a while,” said guard Ky Howard. “Everybody counted us out, so we went into the situation knowing, if we lose, it’s expected. If we win, we shock the country.” The Highlanders didn’t win off the inbounds. Daquan Holiday got fouled and hit two free throws to go up by three, smirking the whole time he was at the line. And eventually, after an eternity of free throws and
swallowed breaths, the buzzer sounded and their celebration began. They jumped, arms blurring with legs, while their cries of joy replaced the air they had just sucked out of Crisler Center. In a moment like that, everything is a freeze frame. “I honestly wanted to cry,” Howard said. “The coaches, the guys — we’ve worked so hard to prove ourselves over and over. We felt like, honestly, earlier this year, when we were at Marquette, we were close. And now, to get one of those games that we really wanted, it’s a blessing.” Added Highlanders forward Terrence Smith: “Right when it happened, it was amazing. We tried to be calm and wait to the end, but we couldn’t. At that point it was like, ‘Yo, we did it.’ ” Smith didn’t play a minute in Saturday’s game, but he still felt on top of the world. In moments like that, it doesn’t matter who played the most, or who scored the points, or who hit the free throws or who was recruited by whom. Every one of those unwanted players knocked off Michigan. Right in the middle of it was Lynn, the undersized guard from New Jersey who would have gone to Michigan if he could have — if they had wanted him. “A lot of people doubted me,” he said. “That chip is on my
shoulder for the rest of my life. Everybody doubted me. I’m not doubting myself, though.” In Engles’ post-game press conference, he joked about not being accepted into a conference yet. “We’re trying to get into the American East conference,” he said. “I want to get into the Big Ten. How about opening a spot for us?” While all of this was happening, Smith and Howard walked up the court in the nowempty arena, crossing the spot where freshman guard Aubrey Dawkins took a last-ditch heave that fell short. They walked to the block ‘M’ at center court and looked around. A man packing up equipment flagged them down, so they walked over. For an autograph? For a congratulatory handshake? Nope. He saw the two players, fresh off the biggest win of their lives, and handed them his phone. He wanted them to take a picture of him and his son. Things aren’t going to change for NJIT overnight. It still won’t get the respect it craves, and the Highlanders might still be kept out of the America East. But they had their moment, and they made a hell of a sales pitch. Bultman can be reached at bultmanm@umich.edu and on Twitter @m_bultman.
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
December 8, 2014 — 3B
MEN’S SWIMMING
In rematch, Michigan falls behind Louisville Bosch, Funk’s efforts not awarded points as Michigan finishes second By TED JANES Daily Sports Writer
In a swim meet that gave no credit to foreign swimmers, the Michigan internationals overshadowed the rest. But they could not help the Wolverines against Louisville. In their first multi-day meet that included both preliminary and championship races, the No. 5 Michigan men’s swimming and diving team placed second at the AT&T Winter National Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. The meet, hosted by USA Swimming, included many professional swimmers as well as collegiate athletes. The structure and scoring of the meet only hurt the Wolverines, as international swimmers were not awarded any points. Michigan finished behind No. 8 Louisville, though the second-place finish did not make much of an impression on Michigan coach Mike Bottom. “At this meet, it’s not about the team championship, because it’s not a team championship,” Bottom said. “It’s only the U.S. guys on your team that count. (Junior) Dylan Bosch did not score a point for us. Neither did (senior) Richard Funk. Those were our two wins. It’s really hard to call that a team championship, and it’s hard to say that Louisville beat us, because if they had scored all of our team, we would’ve
beat them.” Though Michigan was missing Anders Nielsen, who was competing for Denmark at the 2014 FINA Short Course World Championships in Doha, Qatar, the junior wouldn’t have been able to bring in any points for the Wolverines, either. Bosch, who also swims for South Africa, took the gold medal in the 200-yard butterfly on the final day of the meet. He swam a plethora of events for the Wolverines, qualifying for the championship rounds in both the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle. Bosch elected to only swim the 200-yard IM championship, and Bosch reached the podium, finishing second in the race. “This is a middle-season meet, and we’re trying to determine what events they’re going to be swimming at the end of the year,” Bottom said. “We realized his advantage is going to be in the 200 IM, so we were able to drop the 500 free and let him practice.” Funk, a Canadian, was Michigan’s other victor, taking gold in the 100-yard breaststroke. The race pitted Funk up against his former teammates Kyle Whitaker and Zach Hayden, who swim for Club Wolverine, an elite-level training program. In a race that could have easily been mistaken as a dual meet, Funk also swam alongside senior teammate Bruno Ortiz,
and out of the other four swimmers in the pool, three came from Louisville. “It added to my mindset of wanting to win that race, because so many swimmers had affiliations to both schools,” Funk said. “It translated into a great race. There was a lot of energy on the deck. Both teams were going crazy.” In late October, Michigan and Louisville met in a fourteam meet in Ann Arbor, and the Wolverines took the victory. For this recent weekend, the Cardinals had rested up, lightening the training in hopes a top performance in this meet. Bottom didn’t give his squad this kind of break, opting to save the rest for later in the season. “When we swam against them in the quad meet, both teams were in heavy training and not really prepared to race at their peak performances,” Funk said. “At this, there were differing levels of preparation in terms of rest. Down the road, by having different preparations we’ll go into racing our best. “We’ll have some more rest. We’re on track to be great at the end of the season. At this point, we’re not geared toward putting up our fastest times, it showed this weekend.” Regardless of the score this weekend, Michigan and Louisville will certainly see each other again. Next time, the stakes will be even higher.
“There was a lot of energy on the deck. Both teams were going crazy.”
WOMEN’S SWIMMING
Michigan shatters records, expectations Women’s swimming team sets five new school records By SERENA SAAKE For the Daily
After completing three of the most grueling workouts of the season last week, coming off just four days of rest, it would’ve been easy for the Michigan women’s swim team to treat its next meet as just another midseason checkpoint. There wasn’t any hint of complacency though, as the team left the AT&T Winter Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a secondplace finish, numerous personal bests, three golds in relays and five new school records. Freshman Gillian Ryan began the trend by smashing the school record in the 550-yard freestyle on the second day of competition, following it up with another record-breaking swim in the 200-yard freestyle the next evening. Freshmen Clara Smiddy and Emily Kopas joined Ryan in the record books, both recording program bests on the fourth and final day of competition. Smiddy clocked a 1:52.24 200-yard backstroke, coming in more than two seconds ahead of the previous record holder, while Kopas broke the school record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:09.70. As impressive as the individual performances were,
the relay races were where the excitement really picked up. On the first day of competition, the 800-yard relay team composed of Ryan, Smiddy, freshman Hannah Moore and sophomore Claudia Goswell took second place, finshing less than three seconds after Indiana. On day two, Smiddy and Kopas were joined by juniors Zoe Mattingly and Ali DeLoof to take first in the 400-yard relay. Their time of 3:33.91 broke the previous school record from 2011. While the relay swimmers have worked tirelessly in the past weeks after a grueling stretch in the season, they still weren’t expecting to be the first team in Michigan history to swim a sub- 3:34 relay. “I remember being in the warmup pool, thinking about the splits from the record that was set my freshman year,” Mattingly said. “I was like, ‘There might be an outside chance of doing that,’ but it was just something in the back of my mind.” But when she saw their time on the board after DeLoof finished the freestyle leg of the race, Mattingly knew right away that they had beaten the record. “We just gave each other all a huge hug,” Kopas said. “I was so shocked and excited because we had each done so well.” The celebration, though, was not limited to the four swimmers on the relay team. Michigan coach Mike Bottom has emphasized the team aspect of swimming to such an extent that Mattingly says she doesn’t
“It tells the world that Michigan is one team.”
even consider swimming to be an individual sport anymore. “The officials were telling us that they were having dreams about us yelling ‘Go Blue!’ ” Kopas said. “There wasn’t a single race that there wasn’t someone cheering and putting forward that positive energy.” The momentum created by their enthusiasm and impressive performances carried on into day three when Mattingly, DeLoof, Smiddy, and sophomore Madeline Frost took gold in the 200-yard freestyle relay, clocking in at 1:29.84. “We would have one good swim and it would be like a domino effect,” Mattingly said. “We would all get even more excited and be cheering even louder, and the energy just really pushed us all to do the best for our team.” Unlike for the Big Ten or NCAA Championships, the men’s and women’s teams traveled and competed together for the meet. Individually, both teams finished in second place, behind Louisville and UCLA, respectively. However, when scores were combined, Michigan took home the combined team title. “It tells the world that Michigan is one team,” Bottom said. “That’s what we’re going for and that’s how we’re going to look at it for the future.” The Wolverines return to action in 2015 at the Orange Bowl Classic in Florida, with even higher expectations. With DeLoof closing in on the 100-yard freestyle school record and the continued success of the relay teams, Kopas is anticipating more record-breaking races this season. “With the work we’ve been putting in every day at practice,” Kopas said. “There’s no way we could possibly fail.”
RITA MORRIS/Daily
Freshman Alec Pantaleo finished second in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, but the team placed seventh out of 37.
Pantaleo leads ‘M’ By CHRIS CROWDER Daily Sports Writer
This trip to Las Vegas did not involve going to a casino, waking up with a tiger in the hotel room or getting punched by Mike Tyson. Though the Wolverines came into the two-day Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational ready to dazzle their competition, they slumped to a seventh-place finish out of 37 teams. “I was not happy, and I don’t think the other coaches were happy with finishing seventh,” said Michigan coach Joe McFarland. “We thought we could make a lot of noise at this tournament.” No. 16 Michigan (86 points) finished behind Big Ten competitors No. 2 Minnesota (146 points), No. 6 Ohio State (120 points) and No. 8 Nebraska (89 points), who finished first, second and sixth, respectively. The Wolverines fell just short in crucial point-getting opportunities, including sophomore Adam Coon’s first loss of the season, a 5-3 decision to
Virginia Tech’s Ty Walz. “We lost some close matches, and it was frustrating,” McFarland said. Added freshman Alec Pantaleo: “Our team looked really great the first day and then hit a road block, so we lost a little momentum.” Despite the team’s struggles, Pantaleo was a standout in the fifth meet of his career. He became the story of the tournament as an unranked wrestler who won his first four matches, including wins against the second, seventh and third seeds, respectively. He lost in the 149-pound championship match to top-ranked Chris Villalonga of Cornell, 4-0. Pantaleo was not fazed by the competition or experience he faced en route to the finals. “I just take it one match at a time,” Pantaleo said. “I knew that I could beat anyone at this meet. I didn’t let the seeding affect how I was thinking. And in my eyes, I’m right up there with the top kids.” McFarland was pleased with the freshman and the other wrestlers in his class. Davonte Mahomes finished sixth in
his weight class, and redshirt freshman George Fisher finished with a 3-2 record. “Overall, we had good individual performances, but as a team, we underachieved,” McFarland said. While McFarland may be disappointed in his team’s result, Pantaleo said he sees nothing but potential. “I think that in this year or a couple of years, we could win a national title,” Pantaleo said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of it.” With young talent such as Coon and Pantaleo — junior Rossi Bruno earned a runner-up finish as well — the Wolverines may be able to achieve their goals. If not, they hope to at least come away with unexpected victories, as Pantaleo did, when they take care of business. Having had little in the way of fun in Las Vegas, the Wolverines now have a lot of work ahead. “This was more of a business trip than a vacation,” Pantaleo said. “We were in bed by 9:30 every night. This is a business. That’s what we do.”
SportsMonday
4B — December 8, 2014
Blue line sparks streak Scoring from defense ignites ‘M’ on homestand Daily Sports Editor
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Zach Werenski and the Michigan defense scored 26 points in the team’s seven-game homestand that ended Friday.
against the wall after we got back home from Michigan Tech, and I think we responded really nicely,” said junior forward Andrew Copp. “Other than those three minutes in the Penn State game, I think we have been pretty solid. We like where we’re at and where we are headed, and we’re going in the right direction.” In the past three games, Berenson has found a consistent grouping with his top six defensemen after shuffling the lines more than a superstitious poker player would shuffle his cards. The chemistry between the defensive pairings continues to grow at a rapid rate, and the questions about inexperience that swirled around Michigan’s defensive unit have become inconsequential. There’s one senior in the
Michigan tops EMU in home exhibition Daily Sports Writer
The unranked women’s gymnastics team returned to Crisler Center for the first home exhibition meet of the season on Sunday, giving consistent and enthusiastic performances in all four events. The Wolverines hosted and defeated Eastern Michigan, 196.150-192.400, in a performance that will not count toward the regular season scoring averages or dual meet records. Coming off a Big Ten championship in 2014, the Wolverines are now a young team after losing six of their seniors last season. Sunday was a good opportunity not only for Michigan to preview what it has been working on in practice, but also to give the freshmen an opportunity to perform in their first competition without the added pressure of an official meet. “It’s intimidating being in Crisler for the first time,” said coach Bev Plocki. “I’m just happy that they performed as well as they did today. This is going to give them the confidence to do
lineup — Brennan Serville — playing alongside two freshmen and three sophomores. The learning curve that often comes along with college hockey hasn’t slowed this group down as much as critics had initially believed. Much of that has to do with Serville, for better and for worse. At the beginning of the season, Berenson said Serville “has to have his best season.” Soon after that, Serville struggled, so Berenson benched him. And with one of two senior defensemen omitted from the lineup, the freshmen blue liners were thrust into action. No one took advantage of his opportunity like Cutler Martin did, though, and the East Lansing native continues to impress in his new role. In 10 games, Martin has
“We like where we’re at and where we are headed.”
WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS
By MARINA NAZARIO
THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP 10 POLL The Daily had a reporter in the room as the College Football Playoff Committee decided its rankings this week. We are happy to relay the justification for each team’s ranking, as reasoned by the committee.
By JEREMY SUMMITT
A good defense typically leads to a good offense, but what if your defense is your offense? That’s been the case for the Michigan hockey team as of late. The Wolverines’ recent string of success can be accredited to a defensive unit with a knack for producing goals. Saturday’s 8-3 thrashing of Ohio State is the latest result of Michigan’s seven-game homestand that’s included six wins and 38 goals scored. In that stretch, Wolverine defensemen have combined for 26 points (five goals, 21 assists). The production from the blue line comes as a welcome sight for Michigan coach Red Berenson after his defensemen scored just eight goals in 35 games last season. “We’re getting better offensively,” Berenson said. “And we’re getting better in the offensive zone and getting better in defensive zone, not spending as much time in our zone.” The offensive output during this homestand has been exponentially better than the anemic showing in the first seven games of the year. Before returning to Yost, the Wolverines were 2-5, scoring an average of three goals per game. But in the last seven games at home, Michigan compiled a 6-1 record, a result of scoring an average of 5.42 goals per game. The difference is nightand-day, and after making an emphatic statement during their most recent stretch at home, the Wolverines might have just salvaged their season. “I think we had our backs
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
some of the things they need to in practice in order to improve their routines.” As the team is plagued by injuries — with four girls sitting out during this meet — there is no room for error. The team’s outcome is based on the compilation of each gymnast’s score, with the goal to stay as close to 200.00 as possible. Though the injuries within the team may have been discouraging, the Wolverines were all smiles, giving highenergy performances during floor, vault, uneven bars and beam. “This was about getting the nerves out and being comfortable with ourselves to see what we can do in a competition setting,” said senior Sachi Sugiyama. “We don’t expect to be perfect right now, we don’t need to be perfect right now. We want to peak at the right time, so I think we’re in a really good spot right now.” Top performers from the competition included Sugiyama on floor and vault, receiving a score of 9.850 on both, and sophomore Nicole Artz on the uneven bars and floor with scores of 9.825 and 9.875, respectively.
recorded one goal and five assists. His physical presence is immediate from the first drop of the puck, and the young defenseman never seems to be overwhelmed. Poise and physicality remain his strong suits. Just as the freshmen have had a chance to prove themselves, Serville has worked his way back to a mainstay on the blue line, and his senior leadership will be critical in keeping this defensive unit rolling. In Saturday’s game alone, he tallied three assists and maintained a steady presence in his own zone. Among all Michigan players, Serville ranks second in plus-minus rating with a plus-10 mark. Serville’s improvements after being out of the lineup for several games paid dividends for himself, but it also gave Berenson an opportunity to weigh his options. Now, with a consistent trio of defensive pairings that continue to produce in the offensive zone, Berenson can enjoy a few hard-earned weeks of satisfaction.
1. ALABAMA: “Nick Saban is a godly, statuesque and beautifully sexual creature whose face should grace American television screens for millennia to come.”
2. OREGON: “Phil Knight paid us $436 million to not announce he paid us to put Oregon in the playoff.”
3. FLORIDA STATE: “They serve some damn good crab legs at the Rose Bowl.”
4. OHIO STATE: “If we pick Ohio State, we don’t have to choose between TCU and Baylor. So it’s unanimous? Good.”
5. BAYLOR: “Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. These are things we don’t want in our playoff.”
6. TCU: “I’ll never forgive TCU for luring Eric Taylor from Dillon.” “That was TMU.” “NEVER!”
7. MISSISSIPPI STATE: “Which MSU did we put seventh last week?” “I don’t remember.” “Let’s pick the Confederates.”
8. MICHIGAN STATE: “Sparty? No.”
9. OLE MISS: “M-I-S-S-I-S-SI-P-P-I is a lot of letters. Way too many letters.”
10. RICH RODRIGUEZ: “Don’t you mean Arizona?” “Yeah, but let’s call them Rich Rodriguez. It would be fun to watch Ann Arbor burn.”
MEN’S BASKETBALL
‘M’ in trouble without freshmen
W
ith the Michigan men’s basketball team’s fate nearly sealed against New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday, junior guard Spike Albrecht found himself knocked down. He stayed on the floor for a moment, face buried in the Crisler Center court, SIMON and slapped KAUFMAN the hardwood twice. He was mad, and he should’ve been, because NJIT’s shocking 72-70 upset over No. 17 Michigan wasn’t his fault. He chipped in seven points and played the point guard position admirably. After the game, junior guard Caris LeVert called the loss “embarrassing.” He was mad, too, because this outcome wasn’t his fault, either. He scored a career-high 32 points, and when the Wolverines (6-2) needed him most, he was coldblooded. The 6-foot-6 guard had 15 points in the last six minutes of the game, knocking
down four free throws and hitting two big 3-pointers down the stretch to keep the Wolverines close until the very end. But against an NJIT (3-5) team that didn’t miss late, Michigan needed help from more than a few of the older guys. The two juniors did everything they could to prevent the only independent Division I team from making national headlines. But instead, the little-known school from New Jersey became just the third team to knock off Michigan at home in the past two seasons. Albrecht and LeVert weren’t the problem. Neither was sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr., who went 5-of-9 from the field and finished with 16 points. Even Zak Irvin wasn’t the problem, despite the sophomore forward contributing just five points and going 1-of-8 from 3-point range. “We gotta have guys ready to make plays at any moment,” Irvin said. “There’s going to be days when people are going to have off days, and we have to have that next-man-up mentality.” The problem is, that mentality hasn’t translated into execu-
tion. Saturday, freshman forward Kameron Chatman could’ve been the next man up. With Irvin struggling to get shots to fall, the former four-star recruit could have stepped up. Instead, he went 0-for-6 from the field and struggled defensively. Save for freshman forward Ricky Doyle, who scored two points, and freshman guard Aubrey Dawkins, who came in for less than a minute, the rest of Michigan’s freshmen played no role in the game — Michigan coach John Beilein doesn’t trust them enough to put them in. “We just got to keep working to develop the bench,” Beilein said. “We’re working on it in practice, but not using it enough in the game because they’re still earning some trust. But this is really important that (Dawkins and freshman guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman) can come off the bench and give us a little bit more.” So far, they and the other freshmen haven’t. A highly touted recruiting class of six has contributed less than a quarter of Michigan’s minutes and less than 20 percent of its scoring. The Wolverines’ fresh-
men are talented, but until they develop to a point where Beilein trusts them enough to play them, Michigan will be far too reliant on a handful of veteran players to carry the load. LeVert, Albrecht, Walton and Irvin — Michigan’s most experienced four — have proven they’re capable of doing the heavy lifting. But when one of them doesn’t show up, and the Wolverines don’t get contributions from elsewhere, Michigan is in trouble. If it can’t survive that scenario against NJIT, the prospect of having to rely on contributions from freshmen against Arizona on Saturday and Big Ten opponents later in the season is reason for concern. If LeVert doesn’t take over the game in the final minutes, Michigan doesn’t just get upset, it loses in lopsided fashion to the Highlanders. “We have other guys that are capable of scoring as well,” LeVert said. If that’s the case, they haven’t shown it enough yet. Kaufman can be reached at sjkauf@umich.edu or on Twitter @sjkauf.
BY THE NUMBERS
celebrate the holidays
NJIT Men’s Basketball
51
Straight losses from February 2007 to January 2009, including a winless 200708 season.
$92,000
Amount NJIT was paid to play Michigan, according to ESPN reports
64.7%
Highlanders’ 3-point shooting percentage Saturday
0-22
All-time record against high major opponents coming into the season