ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
The Statement
The house is jumpin’
How the process of gentrification has changed Detroit’s economic and social landscape
Nonprofit sets up White House bounce house on North University Ave.
» Page 3A
» Page 1B
CLAIRE ABDO/Daily
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Democratic vice presidential nominee, speaks to University of Michigan students and the Ann Arbor community on the Diag Tuesday.
VP candidate Tim Kaine discusses student debt, gender gap at ‘U’ visit Students gathered in Diag Tuesday afternoon to attend Democratic political rally EMMA KINERY Daily News Editor
Democratic officials encouraged Wolverines to follow their instincts and “go blue” this election Tuesday afternoon when Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA),
the Democratic vice presidential nominee, visited the University of Michigan’s campus to give a speech on the Diag. Kaine’s visit marks the first time Hillary Clinton’s campaign has visited campus and the vice presidential nominee’s second time in the state, which went to
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the Democratic primary, partially due to young voters. Kaine’s last stop in Michigan was in early August in Grand Rapids. Before heading to the rally on the Diag, the vice presidential nominee first went to Espresso Royale on State Street, where he
met with students as well as Ann Arbor residents. Much of Kaine’s speech centered on student debt and bolstering Clinton’s higher education reform plan, along with civil rights and the importance of Michigan as a swing state. Speaking before See KAINE, Page 3A
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Democratic vice presidential nominee, poses for a photo with Laura Marsh, LSA junior and vice chair of the University of Michigan’s chapter of College Democrats after Kaine’s speech on the Diag Tuesday.
Author Malcolm Gladwell lectures on Study finds Perception Mich. loan risks and realities of entrepreneurship of health
ADMINISTRATION
debt peaks at $29,450
SCIENCE
Talk hosted by Ross as part of the Joseph and Sally Handleman discussion series
University strives to balance rising tuition, financial aid KATHERINE CURRAN Daily Staff Reporter
Sixty-two percent of Michigan students graduate with debt of about $29,450 — making the state the ninthhighest in the nation for student debt — according to a new report from the Michigan League for Public Policy, a nonpartisan economic policy institute. The report pointed to several possible reasons for the debt, including rising tuition and stagnant levels of federal and state aid. Since 2003, public tuition has increased by 100 to 150 percent on average in Michigan. Meanwhile, in 2003, the Pell grant covered 40 to 66 percent of tuition. Now, the grant covers less than 40 percent at nearly all Michigan universities. At the University of Michigan specifically, in 2015, the federal Pell grant covered 26 percent of tuition. Michigan’s investment in need-based financial aid grants has also fallen since the 1990s, even amid raising tuition. The state spends less per student on See DEBT, Page 3A
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
EMILY MIILLER Daily Staff Reporter
Author Malcolm Gladwell’s lecture on the risks and realities of entrepreneurship Tuesday drew an audience large enough to fill Hill Auditorium. The talk, which explored the careers of scientist Emil Freireich who helped invent modern chemotherapy; Steve Jobs, who founded Apple; and Ingvar Kamprad, who founded IKEA, was part of The Joseph and Sally Handleman Lecture Series hosted by the Ross School of Business. Gladwell challenged the audience to reframe the traditional discourse surrounding entrepreneurship, encouraging them to consider the social implications as well. “I think we spend a lot of time talking about the innovation part of entrepreneurship and not enough time talking about the social part of entrepreneurship,” Gladwell said. “That’s what I want to talk about this evening.” He added that entrepreneurs are defined by exigency rather than competence or resources, highlighting Jobs’ attempt to produce the Macintosh computer as quickly as possible. “That’s what sets (Jobs) apart, that sense of urgency,”
Gladwell said. “That’s what gives an entrepreneur their sense of direction and their sense of purpose.” He also outlined three common characteristics shared by all entrepreneurs: openness to creativity, conscientiousness and disagreeableness in terms of
a disregard for the approval of others. To illustrate this notion of disagreeableness, he pointed to Freireich’s struggle with the medical community’s disapproval and accusations of immorality. Despite this obstacle, Freireich continued his groundbreaking work.
“If Freireich needed approval, leukemia would still exist,” he said. Gladwell said a successful entrepreneur believes in the nature of a dynamic society, a vision which fuels the entrepreneur to implement change. See GLADWELL, Page 3A
differs for genders
Mortality risks may be connected to varying self assesmements ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
JEREMY MITNICK/Daily
Author Malcolm Gladwell speaks as a part of the Joseph and Sally Handleman Lecture Series in Hill Auditorium Tuesday.
For more stories and coverage, visit
michigandaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXV, No. 134 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
Men and women self-rate their health differently — and this might explain in part why women live longer — according to a recent University of Michigan study. The study found women rate themselves as less healthy more often than men, even though women tend to live longer. The study, therefore, could predict mortality better in men who viewed themselves as extremely healthy, perhaps because they were more likely not to seek medical help. Initially designed to compare health between Black and white people, the study followed 1,500 adults ages 66 and older for three years between 2001 and 2004 and discovered that gender differences play a large role in subjectively predicting risk of mortality later in life. “Regardless of the domain, women perceive their health being poorer — if it is mental health, if it quality of life, if it is anxiety or depression, See PERSONALITY, Page 3A
NEWS......................... 2A OPINION.....................4A CL ASSIFIEDS...............6A
SUDOKU.....................2A ARTS..................5A S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7A
News
2A — Wednesday, September 14, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ON THE DAILY
and managed to move through it and forward to a cost-effective meal. free T-shirt, pair of sunglasses or a get his food in about 30 minutes. “I’m very excited for the $1 string bag featuring the restaurant’s For University of Michigan “I mean, it’s one dollar, might as burrito; I actually only have one logo to customers when they got to students who worked up an appetite well,” Kodali said. dollar in my wallet so I’m hoping the front of the line. The promotion from start of the second week of class, Similarly, Engineering freshman there’s no sales tax,” Hermanoff said. was done in partnership with local Pancheros Mexican Grill on South Robby Hermanoff saw the promotion In addition to the $1 burritos, sports radio station 97.1 The Ticket, University Avenue offered some relief on Instagram and said he was looking Pancheros also offered a choice of a according to CBS Detroit. Tuesday in the form of $1 burritos between 2 and 4 p.m. After seeing advertisements on social media or hearing about the promotion through word of mouth, students like Public Policy junior Emily Fulks decided to take advantage of the opportunity for a discounted meal. Fulks said she saw the advertisement on a Facebook post and decided to head down to Pancheros to get some food. “I am very hype for this burrito, because I love the guacamole they have here at Pancheros,” Fulks said. By 2:10 p.m. — just 10 minutes into the promotion — the line had already stretched out the door and down South University almost all the way to South Forest Avenue. While the line CAROLYN GEARING/Daily Fenton resident Tom Moran holds a sign that reads “Donald Trump Mocks the Disabled Degrades Women Belittles his Critics America was long, Business sophomore Siva Deserves Better” near where U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Democratic vice presidential nominee, gives a speech on the Diag Tuesday. Kodali said he got there at 1:45 p.m.
Follow @michigandaily
Tweets
Dimitri Przes @dprzes I just really like Tim Kaine’s face. It’s very friendly
A N T I -T R U M P
Miles Smith @SmithFriess @timkaine rally blocking my way to class. How rude! #GoBlue
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Introduction to the Ann Arbor Film Festival
Pre-Health 101 Advising Presentation
International Studies Orientation and Q&A
International Programs in Engineering Fair
WHAT: A presentation of several short films as well as a talk to learn more about the Ann Arbor Film Festival and its screening process. WHO: Screen Arts & Cultures WHEN: 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. WHERE: North Quad room 2435
WHAT: A discussion led by an LSA Newman Pre-Health Adviser for students interested in pursuing medical-related professions. WHO: Newman LSA Academic Advising Center WHEN: 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. WHERE: Angell Hall room G243
WHAT: Presentation and Q&A session for students considering a major or minor in International Studies. WHO: Program in International and Comparative Studies WHEN: 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building room 1644
WHAT: Opportunity for Michigan Engineering students to find out more about winter study abroad opportunities. WHO: International Programs in Engineering WHEN: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. WHERE: Duderstadt Atrium
Student Veterans of America Event
African Studies Fall Reception
WHAT: Initial fall meeting and welcoming event for student veterans and those currently serving in the military.
WHAT: Welcome reception for students, faculty and staff of the African Studies Center, featuring food and refreshments. WHO: African Studies Center WHEN: 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. WHERE: School of Social Work Building courtyard
WHO: Campus Information WHEN: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. WHERE: Mason Hall room 2336
Adam Theisen @adam_ theisen95
Class was canceled today bc of @timkaine ‘s visit - that’s one way to win votes!
Jane Kim @kimjane_ Biomedicine Seminar
WHAT: A free one-day seminar with the theme “Advancing Precision Medicine through Complex Systems Biology.” WHO: Center for Study of Complex Systems WHEN: 8:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. WHERE: Kahn Auditorium, Taubman Biomedical Science Research Building
Engineering Interview Workshop
remember when Tim Kaine was on campus today and I couldn’t see him bc I had class
WHAT: Workshop to develop and improve students’ interviewing skills and resumes. WHO: University Career Center WHEN: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. WHERE: 1014 Dow Building, 2300 Hayward Street
Regents to consider $122M renovations to Dental School and Kellogg building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com
Project would consolidate Kinesiology programs, renovate facility ALEXA ST. JOHN Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan’s Board of Regents will vote Thursday on a proposed renovation and addition to the Edward Henry Kraus Building, as well as an expansion and renovation to the W.K. Kellogg Institute and Dental Building. Proposed changes to the Kellogg Institute include renovating the building to be better prepared for future growth of academic, research and clinical programs. This project would add 37,000 gross square feet and a new freight elevator, and would address maintenance issues regarding the building’s electrical and plumbing systems. The project would create a “more welcoming, accessible facility with an improved patient entrance; modern teaching
NO 80 DEGREES AC. & SUNNY.
clinics with flexible furniture and equipment that can be reconfigured as needs change,” according to the action request on the agenda. Renovations to the Kellogg Institute and Dental Building are estimated to cost $122 million. The proposed changes to the Kraus Building would include relocating the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology to the Biological Science Building, which is currently under construction. The project would enable the School of Kinesiology to consolidate its programs and operations in the Kinesiology Building, the Central Campus Recreation Building and the Kraus Building to provide space for future growth. The Kraus Building changes are projected to cost $120 million.
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
Proposed bylaw changes The board will also vote on several proposed changes to the Board of Regents bylaws — the governing powers allocated to the regents. The first change would add language to the bylaws that ensure executive members reach out to students when making decisions on behalf of the student body. Central Student Government suggested the change because student voices are valuable to University decision-making, CSG President David Schafer said. “We just wanted to reaffirm the importance of including student voices in University matters and decisions,” Schafer said. “It was all of us coming together saying ‘Yes, we acknowledge that student voice is important’ and going from there.” The second change would ensure no student is recommended for a degree until the student’s requirements for the degree have been met. An additional proposal would allow eight members of the faculty to be appointed to the School of Nursing Executive Committee by the board, an increase from six members in the past. Dearborn campus constructions Accompanying these proposals, the board will also vote on a proposed $90 million construction project on the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus, which would construct a new building to replace its current Engineering Lab. This new building would include new teaching laboratories designed to complement more product development-oriented laboratories of industry partners and aims to encourage multidisciplinary collaboration.
SHOHAM GEVA
HUSSEIN HAKIM
Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 sageva@michigandaily.com
Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 hjhakim@michigandaily.com
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
NEWS TIPS
ARTS SECTION
photo@michigandaily.com
news@michigandaily.com
CLASSIFIED SALES
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
classified@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
734-418-4115 opt. 3
tothedaily@michigandaily.com opinion@michigandaily.com
arts@michigandaily.com
NEWSROOM
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
CORRECTIONS
DISPLAY SALES
dailydisplay@gmail.com
corrections@michigandaily.com
Editorial Staff
AMANDA ALLEN and GRANT HARDY
LAURA SCHINAGLE
Senior Photo Editors: Zoey Holmstrom, Ryan McLoughlin, Zach Moore Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Abdo, Sinduja Kilaru, Sam Mousigian, Marina Ross, David Song
Managing Editor
Managing Photo Editors schlaura@michigandaily.com
EMMA KERR
Managing News Editor emkerr@michigandaily.com Senior News Editors: Allana Akhtar, Jacqueline Charniga, Emma Kinery, Camy Metwally, Katie Penrod Assistant News Editors: Riyah Basha, Kevin Biglin, Caleb Chadwell, Tim Cohn, Will Feuer, Nisa Khan, Jennifer Meer, Lydia Murray, Caitlin Reedy, Alexa St. John
CLAIRE BRYAN and REGAN DETWILER
Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com Senior Opinion Editors: Caitlin Heenan, Ben Keller, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Rebecca Tarnopol, Stephanie Trierweiler
MAX BULTMAN and JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Senior Sports Editors: Minh Doan, Jacob Gase, Kelly Hall, Ted Janes, Kevin Santo, Brad Whipple Assistant Sports Editors: Betelhem Ashame, Chloe Aubuchon, Laney Byler, Chris Crowder, Sylvanna Gross, Mike Persak
KATHLEEN DAVIS and ADAM THEISEN
Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Senior Arts Editors: Caroline Filips, Melina Glusac, Jacob Rich, Ben Rosenstock Arts Beat Editors: Matthew Barnauskas, Christian Kennedy, Rebecca Lerner, Natalie Zak
ANJALI ALANGADEN and FRANCESCA KIELB
Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Senior Design Arts Editor: Jacklyn Thomas
KARL WILLIAMS
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Deputy Statement Editor: Nabeel Chollampat Statement Photo Editor: Zoey Holmstrom Statement Lead Designer: Shane Achenbach Statement Creative Director: Emilie Farrugia
EMILY CAMPBELL and ALEXIS NOWICKI
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com Senior Copy Editors: Danielle Jackson, Taylor Grandinetti
NIVEDITA KARKI
Managing Online Editor nivkarki@michigandaily.com Senior Web Developers: Dylan Lawton, Bob Lesser
LEVIN KIM
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Michael Kessler, Abe Lofy, Emma Winowiecki
DEMARIO LONGMIRE and TONI WANG
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Sabrina Bilimoria, Christian Paneda, Ashley Tjhung
MICHAEL SCHRAMM Special Projects Manager
EMMA SUTHERLAND Social Media Editor
Business Staff
SONIA SHEKAR
ASJA KEPES
National Accounts Manager
Sales Manager
ANNA HE
Special Publications and Events Manager
photo@michigandaily.com
Digital Marketing Manager
EMILY RICHNER JULIA SELSKY
Local Accounts Manager
CLAIRE BUTZ
Production and Layout 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.
News
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Inflatable bounce house on North University aims to educate voters about poverty issues Nonpartisan organization ONE sets up advocacy effort near Diag CALEB CHADWELL Daily Staff Reporter
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, might have been closer to the White House than he thought on Tuesday — across the street from the Diag, where students, faculty and staff gathered to hear Kaine talk about gender equality for female officials and the cost of tuition, a giant bounce-house version of the White House stood on North University Avenue for the day. The inf latable was part of a station set up by the nonpartisan organization ONE to educate voters about extreme poverty across the country as part of its ONE Vote initiative. Co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono, ONE “raise(s) public awareness and press(es) political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs,” according to their website. The event featured a virtual reality simulator that allowed participants to watch and experience poverty in Africa through a short video as well as learn about what the organization is doing to help. Maggie Bridges, the ONE Vote campaign representative, said
participants were then asked to sign a petition to both of the presidential nominees, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and businessman Donald Trump, to encourage them to take measures toward ending extreme poverty in Africa upon entering the White House. “We’re taking this all over the country; we launched it at the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention and will be taking it all across the country until the end of the election,” Bridges said. “The point of it is to ask the presidential candidates to have a plan to fight extreme poverty when they enter the White House.” After signing the petition, participants were encouraged to enjoy a few minutes in the White House-themed bounce house, Bridges added. “The point of a giant bounce house is to give people an opportunity to cast their ballot and say what is important to them before they ‘enter the White House,’ ” she said. The caravan is slated to continue traveling around to different college campuses in America, including Hofstra University in New York for the first presidential debate on Sept. 26. Bridges said it was coincidental that the ONE
caravan came to the University of Michigan on the same day as Kaine’s rally in the Diag, but it was a pleasant surprise. “U of M was one of the spots we were working to come to for a while now and we found out yesterday or the day before that Tim Kaine was going to be here, so that was a pretty cool thing,” Bridges said. “We’d love for him to come by.” Bridges said they had reached out to both campaigns asking for campaign representatives to stop by and meet with them. Idealists for Hillary activist Jeffrey Stacey, an LSA class of 1991 alum, stopped by the ONE Vote event to make connections with the initiative. Stacey said he works closely with Clinton’s campaign and is currently working to educate young progressives who formerly supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–VT) or the Green Party about Clinton’s agenda. Stacey is a Democrat, but says he admires the universal, nonpartisan goals that ONE strives for. “You see it right there; fighting extreme poverty, that is something we are in lockstep with them on,” Stacey said. “They’re so committed to getting people to act on their political opinions that they’re nonpartisan — they’re a great organization.”
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 —3A
DEBT From Page 1A financial aid than most other Midwestern states, spending just an average of $223 per undergraduate full-time equivalent student. The state also only spends 42 percent of the national average on financial aid grants per fulltime student. When it comes to the other side of the equation — tuition — the University announced a 3.9 percent tuition increase for in-state undergraduate students this summer, which corresponds to an increase of $546 per year. This is similar to increases in past years. In response to the report, University of Michigan Provost Martha Pollack emphasized the University’s pledge to meet the financial needs of in-state students. She cited the University’s commitment to providing better services to students as an explanation for rising costs. “If people want a world-class faculty, you have to pay for world-class faculty,” Pollack said. She also pointed to inflation costs and raising funds for financial aid, as well as as the commitment to providing an improved education, as the three main reasons for tuition increase. However, she also stressed the difference between the sticker price of tuition and the amount actually paid by
students, saying the number is not an accurate indication of affordability because of the amount of aid provided. Overall, about 70 percent of in-state students receive some kind of financial aid, according to Pollack. This year’s proposed increase in tuition includes a 10.8 percent increase in needbased grant aid — as of this year, the University has gone seven years with no increase in full-cost attendance for in-state students in need, Pollack said. The High Achieving Involved Leader scholarship, a need-based scholarship program launched by the University last year, is one of the new programs that will be funded by the increase in tuition. The program provides a select group of low income, in-state students with four years free of tuition. Beyond individual choices to raise tuition at universities and stagnant financial aid from the state and federal government, state funding to universities also plays a large role in determining college costs and subsequent loan burdens for Michigan students. In 2011, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) announced a 15-percent cost cut of in-state public university funding across the board, cutting funding specifically to UM by 21.6 percent. The most recent $16 billion education budget, for 2017, allows for a 2.9-percent increase in funding to public in-state universities
but doesn’t quite return to the pre-2011 levels. Peter Ruark, a senior policy analyst at the Michigan League of Public Policy, said the decrease in state funding may be a “slow privatization” of Michigan’s public university system. “It’s a big mistake to disinvest in education,” Ruark said. CSG Vice President Micah Griggs, an LSA senior, said the constant increase in tuition taints the struggling student’s college experience. “Students at the University of Michigan and nationwide are graduating college with more and more student loan debt and it does have an effect on our college experience,” Griggs said. “Decisions such as what classes to take, what student organizations to join and how to support yourself financially while on campus is becoming harder.” Pollack also charged that most coverage of rising costs hasn’t acknowledged that the University is below the national average annual tuition cost, and that UM graduates are above the national average in earnings post-graduation. “These newspaper stories are fixated on the sticker price, and our strategy is to try and have people pay a lot less if their families have less money,” Pollack said. “What you need to look at is what people actually pay.”
In the Midwest, Michigan Students Pay the Largest Share of University Expenses
69% KAINE From Page 1A he took the stage, LSA junior Shavon Edwards emphasized the importance of voting for Clinton because of her commitment to higher education. “As students, affordability of college is a huge issue,” Edwards said. “Now we have the opportunity to make history and to take away that burden by electing our next president Mrs. Clinton and next vice president Mr. Tim Kaine.” During the primary season and previous elections, Clinton has had mixed success with younger voters, especially on college campuses like the University’s. During the 2008 campaign, voters aged 18 to 29 favored her opponent nowPresident Barack Obama by a margin of 57 to 41 percent. Eight years later in the 2016 primaries, Sanders won Washtenaw County, 55.4 percent to Clinton’s 43.7 percent, taking Michigan overall in an upset win. He visited campus in March, as well as visiting Eastern Michigan University, and made a higher education policy — free college — one of the cornerstones of his campaign. After dropping out of the race, Sanders worked with Clinton to expand her higher education platform to encompass some of the ideas presented in Sanders’ such as offering free in-state tuition for families making under $125,000. In his speech Tuesday, Kaine emphasized Michigan connections to Clinton’s plan, saying that 90 percent of Michigan families would be eligible for free in-state tuition if the proposed reforms are implemented. Currently, Michigan residents, like those in many other states, face significant loan debt burdens — overall, Michigan residents owe over $39 billion in federal student loans. Kaine also focused on contrasts between Clinton’s and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s visions on higher education policy. Noting that Trump has not yet released a specific platform on higher education reform, the vice presidential nominee suggested students refer instead to Trump’s
GLADWELL From Page 1A “Entrepreneurs believe in the inherent volatility of the world,” he said. LSA freshman Jillian Gordner commented that the
background in higher education, citing Trump University — a educational program launched by Trump currently facing multiple lawsuits over charges that it defrauded students. “Who understands higher education? Who understands the power of an education?” Kaine said. “The choice is very, very clear: If you want a proeducation president, it’s got to be Hillary Clinton.” Kaine also emphasized contrasts between Clinton and Trump on other issues, charging that Trump encourages hateful speech and behavior. “If you cannot call out bigotry, if you cannot call out racism, xenophobia — if you can’t call it out and you stand back and you’re silent around it, you’re enabling it to grow,” he said. “You’re enabling it to become more powerful … so I’m happy to be on a ticket with someone
“Who understands higher education? Who understands the power of an education? The choice is very, very clear: If you want a pro-education president, it’s got to be Hillary Clinton.” who’s not afraid to call it out.” He also touched on equity issues, calling the election a greater movement toward equality through “breaking the glass ceiling” and electing a female president. Referencing the low numbers of women in Congress — currently they make up 19 percent, which is the highest it has ever been —Kaine said it is time for the United States to step
up to the plate. “We are good at a lot of things,” he said. “But electing women to federal office is not one of them.” Engineering freshman Evan Ciancio, who attended the rally, said that emphasis is what attracts him to the campaign. “They’re supporting equality,” Ciancio said. “I see everyone at Michigan as equal, and I like how they also see that.” Beyond appealing to the college setting through an emphasis on higher education, Kaine also kept his speech local by focusing on issues affecting the state of Michigan — such as the improvement of the auto industry — and the role the state has the potential to play in the election. “Michigan is really really important. Both sides are competing very heavy in Michigan,” Kaine said. “We like what we see in Ann Arbor — I’d rather be us than them — but, it’s close.” Currently, Clinton leads Trump 45.3 to 39.7 percent in Michigan, according to an average of polls from RealClearPolitics, though Trump and his campaign have expressed the goal of turning the state red several times. The state has not voted for a Republican presidential nominee since President Ronald Reagan. Kaine ended his remarks with that focus, encouraging students to be mindful of the role the state could play in the general election and volunteer for the campaign. For many students who attended the event, the perceived importance of the 2016 election is already on their mind. “It’s really important all the students are out showing that we actually do care about something like voting,” said LSA sophomore Natalie Burr, “because it is going to be really important in this state for Tim Kaine and Hillary Clinton to win the election.” Not all agree with Kaine’s remarks, though. Sam Barke, a freshman at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, traveled to Ann Arbor to protest Kaine’s Diag speech. “I think that Hillary Clinton stands for more of the same of what’s been going on in this country in the eight years of failed Obama policies,” Barke said. “She’s corrupt.”
business lens was an interesting way to examine Gladwell’s work, and she found his approach to entrepreneurship unique. “I haven’t heard him speak much in an entrepreneurship context,” she said.” It was a cool way to use entrepreneur a lot
of different ways, and I think what he has to say is relevant to everyone in all educational domains.” However, LSA senior Anu Vora said she wished Gladwell would have discussed a subject he’s more familiar with himself, noting that she
61%
60%
58%
57% 48%
32%
Michigan
Ohio
Iowa
Minnesota
Indiana
Wisconsin
Illinois
Source: State Higher Education Executive Officers
PERSONALITY From Page 1A sleep, self-rated health — but they live longer,” said Shervin Assari, the School of Public Health psychiatric research investigator who conducted the study. “So there is a paradox that they say ‘I’m not as good’ but they live longer.” Men naturally perceive risk differently than women with regard to health issues, Assari said. “The brain is designed in a way to protect men from perception of risk,” Assari said. Assari attributed much of his findings not only to evolutionary tendencies but also to personality differences between men and women — something that similar studies in Europe and Canada have revealed as well. “Being a woman is associated with awareness of symptoms, awareness of their body and also perception of risk,” Assari said. “Regardless of the domain of risk, if it is nuclear bombing, if it is a new political change or if it is a reactor in their city or
does not consider him to be an entrepreneur. “He’s a very creative writer in journalism,” Vora said. “At the same time, I don’t necessarily agree that you can boil entrepreneurship down into three qualities. There’s a lot more that goes into being
anything, women perceive the same risk as higher.” Psychology Prof. Robin Edelstein, who was not involved in the study but investigates individual personality differences related to hormones, said she would support the findings of the study, noting that women are generally more conscientious, which could lead to them seeking out medical care more often. Women also tend to be higher in neuroticism, which could correlate to them worrying about other factors in addition to their health. “Men are probably underreporting symptoms for self-presentation reasons,” Edelstein said. “For men there’s this idea that they want to report they are healthier than they really are.” Edelstein added that she doesn’t believe these differences are reflected in structures of the brain. “I would say it’s probably about how men and women are socialized,” Edelstein said. “Men are probably socialized to not complain about their health and to be tough and
an entrepreneur, which I’ve learned firsthand working with startups on campus and growing up in a very entrepreneurial home. It’s not possible to accommodate all entrepreneurs in this model.” However, Business sophomore Becca Rudman
masculine.” Ultimately, Assari said his research serves multiple purposes. First, when patients report poor health, it is proven to likely predict mortality, so their concerns should be taken into account. Additionally, research that considers self-rated health as a screening tool for eligibility for certain services should be aware of the predictor’s health implications as well. He also cited the significance of this data in the world of precision medicine — a customized approach to treating illnesses and developing individual treatment plans based on understanding a patient’s full medical history and physical state. “There is a new increasing interest about precision medicine that indicators of health should be differently used for differing individuals, and treatments should be tailored based on that person,” Assari said. “These types of works can contribute to precision medicine because they say, if you are a member of this group here, men, that single item is more serious.”
found herself inspired by Gladwell, reconsidering her possible involvement in the world of entrepreneurship given the challenges and personality types Gladwell outlined. “It made me question whether I could be an entrepreneur,” she said.
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com SHOHAM GEVA EDITOR IN CHIEF
CLAIRE BRYAN AND REGAN DETWILER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
LAURA SCHINAGLE 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.
HALIMAT OLANIYAN | MICHIGAN IN COLOR
Reconsructing cultural norms of pain
I
was 7 years old when I had my first attack. The accusations swarmed my head: “Stop pretending,” “you just want attention,” “you’re being over dramatic.” I head for my school’s office. My back hurts more than any pain I have ever experienced. My eyes are flooding, but I break through the tears and manage to ask to call home. My mom’s panic beamed through the phone. “Just try to relax, hold it in if you can.” My dad drives past our home and pulls the car up to the Detroit Medical Center’s emergency drop-off zone. There they got the nurses to assess my pain. “Can you rank your pain from one to 10? One is OK and 10 is bad.” “It’s an 11!” As if ambivalent to my response, they place an I.V. in me and take some blood from me. Then I was stuck waiting for the results. Three hours later … The doctors brought proof of the pain they now believed I had because they saw it in my blood tests. “She has sickle cell anemia. Her hemoglobin is lower than average, and her white blood cell count is high. It’s a chronic disorder,” again acting as if I were not there. I feel I am no longer a 7-year-old girl but rather an object— like a computer my parents brought in for repair, only to find out I was permanently damaged. Then I am trapped. So I walk around the hospital with the I.V. in my arm and push the machine that is connected to it. Several doctors consult with me. A psychologist interviews me to make sure I am “handling my chronic illness.” A physical therapist helps me move around after my pain becomes “manageable.” A physician checks in on me periodically and asks how my pain is. There are also several nurses on rotation. They come in, write their names for me, sometimes give me more medicine, but always move on to the next patient. It all feels like an assembly line. I am just another part in line for a repair that is only going to fix me temporarily. After the doctors do all they can to make my pain “manageable,” I am finally released. Yet the sickle cell attacks come back sporadically. One minute I feel fine and the next I scream with pain. “Be strong,” my parents say, “so we don’t have to take you back to the hospital.” I tried with all my might to “hold it in” and avoid confinement. But the pain is stronger than I am. There is a red, angry wave pulsing through my body. It forces itself through the channels meant only for my blood without care or hesitation. It is a bully. It pushes itself through my veins, and wherever it passes, the pain follows. The house shakes with my pain. It tears my family apart and wreaks havoc wherever I am. It is not biased. It does not discriminate. It does not care that I am “just a little Muslim girl from Nigeria,” as my parents would say. It does not care if I am well-mannered or if I misbehave. It does not care if I am at school, a friend’s house or at home. It frightens my parents and fills them with worry. Yet, no one can understand how I feel. They want me to stop expressing my pain. But I cannot stop. It is a force out of my control. I try to explain to them but I have lost my biggest means of communication. I open my mouth to attempt to form words but the pain chokes them. My larynx is gone and in its place is a broken tape recorder. “My
dearest daughter, please stop screaming, the neighbors will hear you and think something bad is happening.” I wonder why expressing my pain is such a “bad” thing. At school, I was given the chance to express myself through art. So I took a piece of cardboard and used a black sharpie to highlight its imperfections. My art teacher looked at it with confusion but did not question my creation. I looked at it with awe. I felt that I had just created something beautiful out of the cardboard’s pain and hoped I could do the same with my own. I struggle to feel good when I am in pain, however. I try to cry and kick the pain out of me, but those actions do nothing. My parents tell me to “just pray,” and that “Allah does not give someone what they cannot handle.” But I feel that God has forsaken me; that my pain was His way of punishing me; that for some reason unknown to me, God was upset with me. I find it hard to pray in so much pain. Even when I did pray, the pain came back. Even while praying, the pain persisted. Even after praying, the pain did not disappear. However, I managed to stay out of the hospital for a while; seven years, to be exact. But I was not pain free. I just stayed at home. I sometimes missed school because the pain was too much. My mom did her best to soothe me, but there was only so much she could do. I had to learn how to manage my pain. Over the years, it became more tolerable. I realized what I would have called an 11 back when I was 7 years old was now an eight. I got better at suppressing my pain and muting my screams. No one knew I had a “chronic disorder” unless I told them. I only conveyed that fact when I was in pain. I was 14 years old the second time I was admitted to the hospital. I was doing so well in school. It was nearing the end of my freshmen year, and so far I had straight A’s. I suppose the stress of finals was getting to me. The doctors told me stress could cause “sickle cell attacks.” Well I guess my back really felt the stress. While in the hospital, I was restless. I could not help but feel surrounded and restricted by the machines. I wanted nothing more than to be released as soon as possible so I could return to school. I thought it was normal to desire to be back in school, so I was surprised to find out that the girl in the next room was begging to stay in the hospital. I could not imagine why she did not want to go back to school. My nurse told me I was special and that most of the other sickle cell patients prefer to stay in the hospital than return to school. No one had ever referred to my pain as special. Until then I thought I was the only one who had to deal with such pain. I felt fortunate to be so motivated in school and thought that maybe God had not forsaken me after all. I became proud of my pain and my ability to not let it define who I am, even though the pain still came back.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com —Michigan in Color is the Daily’s designated space for and by students of color at the University of Michigan. To contribute your voice or find out more about MiC, e-mail michiganincolor@umich.edu.
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Carolyn Ayaub, Claire Bryan, Regan Detwiler, Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Ben Keller, Minsoo Kim, Payton Luokkala, Kit Maher, Madeline Nowicki, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, Kevin Sweitzer, Rebecca Tarnopol,Ashley Tjhung, Stephanie Trierweiler MICHELLE SHENG
email michelle at shengmi@umich.edu
P
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Incarceration won’t stop assault
eople seem to think we can fix rape culture and sexual assault by putting rapists in prison for a long time. Take CLARISSA for example DONNELLYthe response DEROVEN to the Brock Turner case: people yelling for him to be imprisoned for way longer, people outraged at his early release, a mobilization to recall the judge who sentenced him to six months, as well as the passage of a mandatory minimum sentence law for specific types of sexual assault by the California legislature. This reaction is understandable; people aren’t wrong for wanting rapists to go to prison since we’ve been given no avenue other than incarceration as a suggestion for how we might resolve the harms done to individuals and to communities through sexual assault and rape. But to me, there seems to be something faulty with this line of thinking which assumes that we can fix something as dehumanizing, violating and oppressive as sexual assault with something as dehumanizing, violating and oppressive as prison. If Brock Turner, or anyone for that matter, rapes someone again, which likely will be the case given the rate of serial rapists, it won’t be because we didn’t lock him up for long enough. It’ll be because of his unaddressed sexism, sexual entitlement and toxic masculinity (among other problematic behavioral traits); it’ll be because he was never truly rehabilitated; and it’ll be because, I think, the structure of our criminal justice system is incompatible with achieving real justice for sexual assault victims and survivors. In order to prevent rape, you need to know why it happens, and it doesn’t happen because we’re not sending people to prison for 14 years. It happens because our society is full of patriarchy and sexism and problematic power relationships. The prison environment reinforces and amplifies harmful power dynamics that feminists and anti-rape advocates are trying to eradicate. Prison is not the place to rehabilitate rapists because it replicates the dynamics, hierarchies and aggressive hypermasculine culture that are all at
W
least partially responsible for the normalization, acceptance and proliferation of sexual assault. In addition to the issue of using an oppressive environment to correct an oppressive behavior, our justice system also seems to be ill set up to prosecute sexual assault cases and ultimately incapable of really achieving justice for survivors and victims of sexual assault. Often, the reason people report their assault is because they want their assailant to take responsibility for the harm they inflicted. In other words — and this is very basic — many survivors and victims want their rapists to acknowledge and recognize the pain they inflicted: they want an apology. Take the viral victim impact statement from the Brock Turner case, where she writes: “I also told the probation officer that what I truly wanted was for Brock to get it, to understand and admit to his wrongdoing.” Our system is not set up for this. It actively disincentives any admission of responsibility, what it calls being ‘guilty,’ through its threat of severe punishment, i.e. prison. People charged with felonies are understandably afraid to admit guilt because that likely would mean going to prison. Because our system is punitive instead of restorative, it incentivizes selfishness and selfpreservation over compassion, dialogue and true resolution. Also, the established way guilt is decided in the courts is through the jurors. Socially, we’re to understand jurors as people who provide outside, objective evaluations of the evidence in order to arrive at a fair assessment of the defendant’s guilt or innocence. But it’s mostly impossible for jurors to do this because 1. There’s hardly ever any concrete evidence for jurors to review in rape cases and 2. Jurors exist in the same world we do, and by that I mean jurors are ensconced in all the same rapeculture bullshit the rest of us are and are thus likely to be swayed by sexist tropes and victim-blaming myths in the deliberation process. What ought to be the guiding principle of handling sexual assault and rape cases is that a person — the survivor/victim — feels like they were violated and so they were. We
must accept this truth and create alternative models of restorative justice to rectify this harm. This means the creation of survivor/ victim-centered spaces for resolving rape and sexual assault, spaces that are radically divergent from the current ones we have, whether that be the college sexual-assault panel or the official court room trial. In these spaces the question isn’t if this person was violated, but rather accepting that this person was violated and that we as a community need to do something about it with the survivor/victim as the leader of the process. This might seem really outrageous and unachievable, but we already do accept and practice this principle in other aspects of our lives. There’s an episode of Louie that talks about it: Louie tells his friend that he, the friend, Lenny, hurt him when he hit him. Lenny says he didn’t hurt him, and then Louie says “I’m telling you that it hurt and you don’t get to deny that. When a person tells you that you hurt them you don’t get to decide that you didn’t.” In this process of resolving sexual assault and rape not the perpetrator, nor anyone else, gets to decide against or argue about the survivor/victim’s account of the assault. They don’t get to decide that they didn’t assault them. The perpetrator’s opinion and anyone else’s opinion of the perpetrators guilt/innocence is irrelevant. The only account of what happened that can hold any weight is that of the person who was assaulted. Collectively, we’re responsible for cultivating an environment where the survivor/victim is able to heal, where the perpetrator recognizes what harm they caused and is required and desires to do something to resolve the harm. This represents a major and necessary departure from our established principles of justice by removing the threat of severe punishment (i.e. prison). We deter the rampant selfishness and selfpreservation that exists in our current justice system through this paradigm shift — by moving towards a model that prioritizes honesty, healing, compassion and humane reparations. —Clarissa Donnelly-DeRoven can be reached at cedon@umich.edu.
The politics of diagnosis
ith Pavlovian rhythm, my phone buzzed and I diverted attention from my Sunday homework routine to check the CNN notification that flashed across my screen. It read: “Hillary Clinton was diagnosed with BRETT pneumonia GRAHAM on Friday, her doctor says. The doctor revealed the condition hours after Clinton stumbled while leaving a 9/11 event.” So, like any political junkie worth his salt, I minimized Canvas and put Google to work on the handful of questions I now had. If she was diagnosed on Friday, why are we finding out two days later? What exactly does stumbling look like? How serious is this? As someone whose knowledge of medicine begins and ends with episodes of “Scrubs,” I was hoping for a straightforward response. It seemed to me that there would be little room for interpretation with something as straightforward as pneumonia — either the incident was cause for concern from a medical standpoint or it was not. But, as with any news story that drifts within the orbit of Trump Tower or the so-called Clinton World, facts are secondary to spin. My eye naturally combed through the feed, I learned the facts of the story and I returned to my homework. Here are the facts of the story that I learned: The Democratic frontrunner for president has been campaigning through illness for several days now and became overheated while toughing it out through a 9/11 commemoration service. As Bloomberg Politics correspondent Jennifer Epstein tweeted on the day she was diagnosed, “...She appeared at 2 fundraisers, ran a 2-hour natl security mtg, sat for CNN intvu.” What a champion! Hours later, I saw a video of her walking out of daughter Chelsea’s New York
apartment, smiling and claiming to be “feeling great.” I saw the statistic that more than 1.1 million Americans are admitted to hospitals for pneumonia every year. Things were more or less the same as I expected. And I moved on. Here are the facts of the story I could have learned if I had different political leanings: After two days of covering up a serious illness, Hillary Clinton fainted and had to be dragged into a waiting van. While her campaign is claiming that the cause is pneumonia (which can be fatal in its own right), doctors are questioning whether this incident, and the cough she has tried to hide for weeks, may be representative of something more serious, like Parkinson’s. At 68 years old, she clearly lacks the stamina to assume the office of the president. If I hated Hillary Clinton, things were more or less the same as I would have expected. And I would have moved on. For better or worse, the health of our presidential candidates has become an important issue during this campaign. Rather than seeking impartial diagnosis, however, or getting second opinions as one would for themselves or a loved one, the American voter in 2016 seeks whatever bill of health makes them comfortable — whether that be the absurd and over-the-top letter from Trump’s doctor Harold Bornstein claiming that his patient would be “the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” or the note from Clinton’s doctor Lisa Bardack, who brushed off the episode as caused by dehydration and assured the Democratic faithful that their champion was “recovering nicely.” Alternatively, the voter could tumble down the wormhole of internet diagnoses, into the world where the difference between the common cold and typhoid is just three clicks. Or, as was seen with this most recent incident, there can be diagnosis by committee, constituted of nonmedical professionals posting on Twitter or Facebook what their thoroughly (un)informed opinion may be. At no point was the consideration
made that the health of both major party presidential candidates could be reported objectively, without partisanship or agenda. Of course, presidential candidates are human, and an exam in September by no means guarantees a clean bill of health for the next four years. And, in retrospect, many Americans have learned just how human presidents can be — from John F. Kennedy’s Addison’s disease to Woodrow Wilson’s stroke, from Abraham Lincoln’s battle with depression and the state of Ronald Reagan’s mental faculties toward the end of his second term. Learning about these after the fact — only once these people are already out of office — the American people turned a blind eye, refusing to allow the disease to stain the legacy of the man. But would JFK have been elected if Americans had seen his weight loss and frailty, when he was feverish and struggling to get through a day on the campaign trail? Absolutely not; presidential candidates should show vigor, stamina, strength and energy. Unfortunately, the odds of finding a candidate that fits the bill this year are slim. On election day, the major party candidates will have a combined age of 139. One is currently battling a lung infection and the other has a reputation of eating too much fast food while operating on an irregular sleep schedule. Neither is the spitting image of health. So if the American people have decided that the physical health of the president is an issue in this campaign, fine. But let it be an issue like tax returns or reports of donations to the Federal Election Commission — concrete, factual and indisputable. Otherwise, the reports out of each camp from personal doctors should be recognized to be just as partisan, biased and predisposed as statements from campaign surrogates in the spin room after a debate. —Brett Graham can be reached at btgraham@umich.edu.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
ALBUM REVIEW
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 — 5A
TV REVIEW
MTV WARNER BROS MUSIC
Which one is Becky with the good hair?
Despite flaws, ‘Jane’ ‘Signs’ is a solid brings laughs to MTV Queen with her daddies.
indie-pop record By SEAN LANG For the Daily
On their third studio album (and first for Warner Bros. Records), Seattle-based indie rock band The Head and the Heart Bcontinue to deliver reliably Signs of catchy, singable melodies. Light Though clearly The Head and a creation of the Heart the same band Warner Bros. that gave us 2011’s The Head Music and the Heart and 2013’s Let’s Be Still, Signs of Light takes more cues from pop rock than the garage-band brand of indie Americana that defined their debut. More often, electric guitar — a new introduction to TH&TH’s instrumentation — takes the lead rather than the violin (or any other instrument, for that matter, aside from frontman Jonathan Russell’s voice). Whether it’s directly a result of the electric guitar or more representative of a shift in songwriting mentality, the band presents a more filledout sound here than on previous albums, growing in tandem with their audience. Signs of Light opens with crowd-rising anthem “All We Ever Knew,” probably the most successful song as well as the rare track in which the violin takes a prominent role in carving out the melody. The chorus — for the most part, a catchy but meaningless “la la la” — opens with the
line “All we ever do is all we ever knew.” While in the context of the song, this references the cyclical or recurrent nature of relationship woes, it also seems wellsuited as an introduction to the album as a whole. It’s pleasant to listen to, with some sonic tweaks, but thematically, The Head and the Heart are rehashing familiar territory. Most songs deal with an ambiguous sort of love or loss (or sometimes both), hinging largely on clichés — particularly ironic given the lyric, “ ’Cause I’m looking for the truth / Not some tired cheap cliché,” in “False Alarm.” Dayto-day mundanity, nostalgia and wounds healed only by the passing of time are all common themes throughout the album. TH&TH also appear to have found a morethan-casual interest in dreams and sleep, with lyrics referring to one or both appearing in seven of the 13 songs on the album, and even one song titled “Dreamer.” It’s difficult to decipher what exactly inspired this theme, or whether it was an intentional or a subconscious inclusion. Perhaps it’s in some way tied to the band’s lengthy separation between Let’s Be Still and this release, or perhaps it’s, even better, just coincidence. In any event, food for thought. While Signs of Light boasts a greater range of instrumentation than all of their previous material, as well as a more confident (and rightly so) falsetto out of Russell, there is a striking lack of Charity Rose Thielen’s voice. Though she does back a range of tracks, her
only solo verse comes in the middle of “Colors.” Whatever the reason for her lack of vocal feature on the album, the absence of her effervescent, delicately wavering voice leaves a noticeable void. Trading much of their indie charm in exchange for wider appeal, the sound of Signs of Light is a surprisingly accurate reflection of TH&TH’s move to Warner Bros. Records. For the vast majority of longtime fans, this album is sure to delight, but many will also lament the days when “Rivers and Roads” was a thorough representation of the band’s sound. There are valuable moments here, to be sure; “All We Ever Knew” is a clinic on earworm melodies (sporting about four distinct tunes itself), and the back-to-back “Oh My Dear” and “I Don’t Mind” present some of the strongest songwriting on the album and provide some of the only moments where it sounds like the band is actually challenging themselves sonically. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the album, per se, there’s just nothing new or particularly compelling about it. It seems that the only factor differentiating TH&TH from other altindie-pop-rock-folk bands, at this point, is Russell’s and Thielen’s voices. Ultimately, Signs of Light makes for a thoroughly pleasant listening experience. Unfortunately, even after multiple listens, the album fails to reveal any meaning deeper than what is indicated on the surface, and there aren’t many truly innovative, exciting moments, with fewer still challenging ones.
By MEGAN MITCHELL Daily Arts Writer
It sparks little surprise that MTV’s newest weed-infused comedy series is by executive producer Snoop Dogg. “Mary + BJane” revolves around the Mary + concepts embodied by Jane both the rap- Season 1 Premiere per and the Mondays at front of MTV 10 p.m. alike, “Mary + Jane” running MTV on a “mainstreamed” focus and relying on millennials to identify with the life that the series’ protagonists live on a daily basis. The only problem with this concept is that, as a viewer, the line tends to become blurred between genuine and satirical humor. It’s almost impossible to tell the difference between serious points of parody and humorously placed ideas. Though one character’s t-shirt reading “Some band you’ve never heard of” accurately satirizes the hipster movement, an L.A. restaurant that only serves dry toast à la carte for $15 feels overbearing and doesn’t blend well into the grand scheme of the show. It is pretty funny, though. The premise of the show is simple. Roommates and best friends Paige (Jessica Rothe, “Next Time
on Lonny”) and Jordan (Scout Durwood, “The List”) are on a mission to top the marijuana industry of East L.A., aiming at reaching drug-dealer stardom as one of the top 15 dealers of the region. To do so, they cater to clients via their weed business, conveniently titled “Mary + Jane,” which is slowly drawing more attention from celebrity icons and competition alike. At the very least, the series shows promise in setting long-term goals and an active running plot to keep the show interesting over mindless gigs. However, it’s unfortunate that high-reaching goals are the only things that seem to matter in the series besides Paige and Jordan themselves. Although romantic interests are few and far between — for Paige at least, as Jordan is constantly ravaged by lust — the romantics that ensue are far from intimate in the series. Besides the leading ladies, nobody else seems to matter, given their small and fleeting roles in the pilot. In any other case, this would seem refreshing and agreeable to the series’s intent of skimming the norms of society. But in “Mary + Jane,” it stands out more as a flaw in character development than a cry against the mainstream. If the writers wish to introduce substantial supporting characters other than Paige and Jordan, they should really consider doing so now, before the series lives too
much up to its name. Despite the many flaws that plague this drug-induced sitcom (one has to wonder how that table read went...), there are redeemable qualities to be found in “Mary + Jane.” The greatest example appears as a long-running joke — that Jordan’s “Legally Blonde”-esque chihuahua is intimately interested in Paige. The puppy’s insatiable lust is humorously expressed throughout the show by stints that involve notso-edible underwear and sexual subtitles that stand out brazenly to viewers. Another talking point comes from a covert ops celebrity delivery involving high-tech security and the probable forced slavery of performers to spoiled children. After taking too much of her own product, Jordan delivers the not-so-prescription weed to the couple, who are unidentified in her drug-induced haze, and perceived as a skeleton and a raw chicken. However, despite these strange and silly antics, the lack of close interpersonal relationships in the series paints a picture of detachment, and not in a way that’s in best interests of the show. Perhaps it’s because the series runs on a time limit of twenty-odd minutes as a sitcom, but if Jordan and Paige don’t begin making friends soon, then “Mary + Jane” might not make it past the whole casual, scroll-through watch phase.
ALBUM REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
clipping. is ‘Misery’ By DANIELLE IMMERMAN Daily Arts Writer
Daveed Diggs’s experimental rap group, clipping., just dropped its second studio album. Splendor & Misery only holds true to the second half of C its name. Sure, one can find Splendor enjoyment in & Misery Diggs’s erratic, skipping flow, clipping. but the produc- Sub Pop tion makes the album sink. For the most part, it sounds like someone recorded a maintenance crew on a spaceship, and then said, “This sounds awful, but whatever. We’re doing it.” clipping. began in Los Angeles in 2009. The group consists of the aforementioned Diggs as its vocalist, with William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes providing production. Their first album, Midcity, was released in 2013 on the group’s website. Shortly after that, they were signed to the record label Sub Pop and proceeded to release CLPPNG in 2014. Their latest album, the first since Diggs found fame through his role in the musical “Hamilton,” feels out of reach. Perhaps it’s because of the outlandish and extraterrestrial production. Maybe it’s because the album’s plot, which “follows the sole survivor of a slave uprising on an interstellar
cargo ship, and the onboard computer that falls in love with him.” Maybe it’s because of lines like “flesh is hanging in sun” on the track “True Believer.” Maybe it’s because of Diggs himself, who dances and glides over the beat at such a breakneck pace that the listener has little time to absorb his message. At certain points in the album, Diggs switches his flow up, choosing to go on robotic diatribes instead. This change in pace is evident on the album’s final track, “A Better Place,” which is also the album’s most optimistic piece. Daveed Diggs can say a whole bunch of words in a very small amount of time and still sound cool. At the risk of gross oversimplification, this is his skill. He captivated audiences throughout his dual performances as Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette in “Hamilton.” His rhymes seem to barely touch the air, like bubbles in a fresh glass of champagne. The charisma of his persona has also pushed Diggs into the spotlight. His muscular build, wild hair and garish fashion choices all contribute to the growing fame of the actor/rapper. Since he is primarily known for his Tony-winning performance in “Hamilton,” those who listen to Splendor & Misery are in for a rude awakening. Throughout Splendor & Misery, the essence of Diggs’s lyrical style remains, but the abrasive
instrumentals make the listening experience a strenuous one. The struggle is apparent from the first track of the album, “Long Way Away (Intro).” One is greeted to the sound of overwhelming vibration, the same vibration that comes from your roommate’s subwoofer at 2 a.m. as you try to sleep or from a rocket ship. It’s tough to tell at 2 a.m. It’s an annoying song, but it’s not intolerable as a short opening track. The second track, “The Breach,” begins with Diggs rapping as a computer aboard a spaceship, describing a human that has been found in one of the cabins. It’s an undoubtedly interesting introduction, which shows off the rapper’s tremendous lyrical versatility. It’s also an undoubtedly unpleasant beginning that ends with the reverberations of broken glass, gunfire and radio static. These harsh vibrations provide a strong foreshadowing for the rest of the album. There are some albums out there that aren’t exactly fun, but they’re important and thus require listening: for instance, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. The album’s cocktail of jazz-fusion and hip hop contributes to a incredibly celebrated and sophisticated work, but it isn’t fun. Neither is Splendor & Misery, but it also lacks the cultural value to be considered important.
RCA RECORDS
Just like your fedora-slingin’ boy next door.
New DeGraw album is not ‘Worth Saving’ By DANIELLE IMMERMAN Daily Arts Writer
The other night I maliciously subjected my roommates to Gavin DeGraw’s latest album, Something Worth Saving. Don’t get Bme wrong — I love Gavin, I Something could listen to Worth One Tree Hill’s theme song, “I Saving Don’t Want To Gavin DeGraw Be,” on a loop for the rest of RCA Records my life and I would probably belt the chorus every time. However, Something Worth Saving is somewhat of a departure from OG Gavin. This Gavin is more upbeat, less angsty and a lot more bubbly. When the first track started rolling, I thought Adam Levine
was serenading me with another one of Maroon 5’s corny pop ballads. But that annoyingly happy and upbeat sound pouring out of the speakers was none other than Gavin DeGraw making the best out of a bad situation. For those of you who know of Gavin DeGraw, good for you. But I would be willing to bet that a lot of people don’t know of him or, at the very least, couldn’t name a song other than “I Don’t Want To Be.” So in an attempt to remain somewhat relevant, Gavin put out the ten-track, juvenile Something Worth Saving. It’s not that the album is horrendously, unbearably awful, it’s just an immature effort for a seemingly experienced musician whose last album came out three years ago. Despite the album’s overall mediocracy, there were some tiny peaks — albeit, only noticeable with the aid of a magnifying
glass — throughout, such as “Kite Like Girl.” “Kite Like Girl” is actually quite catchy and I jammed to it like a little girl. With an upbeat tempo and a peppy Maroon 5 meets John Mayer chorus, it’s by far the most stylistically distinct track on the album. Another peak would be “Something Worth Saving,” for the sole reason that it actually made me realize that I’m single. It’s sad, melodic and maybe even a little bit beautiful. The Ron Pope-esque, “I’m-weapingover-my-guitar” sound carries throughout, making “Something Worth Saving” the ideal song to eat an entire pint of Halo Top 240 cal. ice cream to (I know, God really does exist). These two songs, though, are it. The remaining eight tracks are unremarkable — not bad, not great, just unremarkable. But then again, that’s Gavin DeGraw.
Arts
6A — Wednesday, September 14, 2016
SOCIAL MEDIA COLUMN
The soul-sucking pit of capitalism By SAM ROSENBERG Daily Social Media Columnist
W
e live in an age where originality is gradually dying out. From superhero blockbuster movies to Top 40 pop music to network sitcoms, almost every medium relies on a formula and it’s becoming more apparent every day. Though certain works have tweaked their respective formulas in new and exciting ways, there are some that can’t help but be processed and standardized into the same product with a subtly different appeal. What’s even more appalling is how people who use these formulas are able to accrue social currency and monetary value by simply copying off of more talented and lesserknown artists. This pattern of copycatting other people is especially evident on social media outlets like Instagram, where popular users like @TheFatJewish (8.9m followers) and @fuckjerry (9.7m followers) are known for reposting funny memes that have originally appeared on Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur and Twitter. They may credit the original creators, but the way @TheFatJewish, @ fuckjerry and similar accounts capitalize on other people’s creativity feels somewhat greedy and even downright immoral. @TheFatJewish, @ fuckjerry and other copycat Instagrammers — @miinute (80k followers), @thefunnyintrovert (237k followers) and @ americadoingthings (81.9k followers) — have managed to make a lucrative lifestyle for themselves, simply by re-captioning a picture to make it seem as though they’ve changed it to fit their own personality. In particular, @TheFatJewish, whose real name is Josh Ostrovsky, has become a massive success due to his immensely popular Instagram account. Currently raking in six figures, @ TheFatJewish signed with CAA
in 2015 and also helped launch White Girl Rosé, a wine targeted to his millennial audience. @ fuckjerry, also known as Elliot Tebele, has also made a paramount empire for himself, having founded his own agency titled Jerry Media. He is set to make $1.5 million to 3 million in revenue over the next 12 months, according to a Forbes interview in April. Tebele has also branched out, creating other meme-filled accounts, including a Kanye parody account (@kanyedoingthings, 919k followers) and a daily pizza picture blog (@pizza, 455k followers), and a fashion meme Instagram (@ beigecardigan, 2.5m followers). Both of their successes are definitely admirable, considering how they know exactly how to market themselves. However, that doesn’t excuse the fact that both @TheFatJewish and @ fuckjerry make careers out of stealing intellectual property from other people for the sake of entertaining avid Instagram users and subsequently grossing lots of money. @TheFatJewish has especially attracted controversy from other artists and comedians for stealing jokes and ideas, provoking the ire of Timothy Simons, Patton Oswalt and Kumail Nanjiani. And while @ fuckjerry has attempted to expand on his social media enterprise, he continues to capitalize on providing “funny, relatable” content that already exists on other platforms and attempts to fit his own spritz of a joke in the caption to make it seem more “authentic.” To me, it seems rather unfair for people to dilute posts, made by others who actually put in effort, to make a buck. Twitter accounts like tina (@tinatbh, 777k followers) and Common White Girl (@ girlposts, 6.44m followers) also share similar copycat approaches, generating a massive amount of followers from reposting funny videos and memes that are clearly from different sources. On a more psychological level, online copycat culture also reinforces the idea
Classifieds
that in order to be funny or make money, you as a millennial should take advantage of social media and copy other people as well. Do people not see the plagiaristic façade behind these accounts? Is anything even original anymore? Does God exist? The answers to these questions are uncertain. Granted, for those wanting to succeed, it is really hard to make your own individual voice stand out from a crowd of like-minded people. This is probably why it’s much easier to use other people’s work as a means of not only generating content, but attracting a bigger audience. Heck, I’ll even admit that in high school, I used to copy funny Tumblr posts and pass them off as my own Facebook statuses without crediting the original creator. I loved getting likes from people, but I didn’t know then what I know now about the morals of intellectual property. As a social media user, the most effective way to honestly portray your ideas and thoughts is through your own voice. It’s OK to be inspired and influenced by other artists and yes, sometimes using borrowing (and crediting) the work of another person can help articulate your idea for an essay or article more clearly. But if you want to make a genuine living, please don’t try and steal someone else’s work and pass it off as your own. Simultaneously, even if you credit other people for using their work, it still doesn’t justify taking advantage of them and making gargantuan amounts of money. Sure, you might be able to score an interview with Katie Couric like TheFatJewish or create your own meme-based board game called “What Do You Meme?” like fuckjerry. But to quote from a cool Pinterest post I saw, “Create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside.” Rosenberg is The Daily’s new Social Media Columnist. Email him at samjrose@umich.edu.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Hershey’s toffee bar 5 Res __ loquitur: the thing speaks for itself 9 Online shopping mecca 14 Chip in a chip 15 Seasonal song 16 Hunky-dory 17 Start of a knitting project 18 Prefix with space 19 Dry Italian wine 20 Tailpipe emission 23 Hot state 24 Beatty/Hoffman box office flop 28 Tug-of-war injuries 32 Former fillies 34 Ready for a refill 35 Freelancer’s email attachment: Abbr. 36 Glider on runners 37 Flowing garments 38 Sonar signal 39 Word in a bride’s bio 40 Went a-courting 41 Two-time US Open winner 42 Hair-smoothing hairs 45 Library machine 46 “__ the Walrus” 47 Shellfish cookouts 54 Medicare prescription drug section 57 Pre-coll. 58 Brandy bottle letters 59 Prospero’s servant 60 Highest sudoku digit 61 Hip bones 62 Free, in France 63 Armoire feature 64 Counting-out word DOWN 1 Cyber Monday event 2 Fort with lots of bars
3 “Then again,” in tweets 4 Fixed 5 “Be right with you” 6 Pound, but not ounce 7 Medieval laborer 8 Six-time All-Star Moises 9 Slips past 10 __ pork: Chinese dish served with pancakes 11 Letters often after a perp’s name 12 Loo 13 Corrosive substance 21 “Exodus” author 22 Money makers 25 Warbles 26 Musical set in an orphanage 27 Replies to an invite, for short 28 Make available 29 “__ coffee?” 30 Louvre Pyramid architect 31 Pages with views
32 Rachel Maddow’s network 33 Final Olds made 37 Charming snake? 38 2007 animated film in which Sting voices himself 40 Coax 41 Big chunk 43 Many a bridesmaid
44 Less cluttered 48 Shift (for oneself) 49 Hodgepodge 50 “How awful!” 51 Cruise stop 52 Pork choice 53 Do a vet’s job 54 Chum 55 NPR journalist Shapiro 56 Bone in a cage
4 BEDROOM HOME at 945 Dewey available now.1 mi to campus. $2100/mo plus utilities. Call 734‑971‑2533 WWW.CARLSONPROPERTIES.COM 734‑332‑6000
HELP WANTED
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: KERRYTOWN MARKET & SHOPS NOW HIRING part‑time janitorial/main‑ tenance employee. College student ideal. Starting at $12/hr. 10‑20 hrs/wk. 3:30p‑ 9p typically. Email preferred: karen@ kerrytown; can call 734‑662‑5008 for more information and applying.
xwordeditor@aol.com
By Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke ©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/14/16
09/14/16
SEEKING PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE student with interest/experience in OCD/Tourette syndrome to work as a home companion for a 20 year old male. Located in Brighton, 16‑24 hours weekly for $16‑20/hour. Contact Patricia Cagnoli, MD at (810)986‑6468 or patriciacagnoli@gmail.com.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALBUM REVIEW
EPIC
Too spooky.
‘Bird’ is zany progress By SHAYAN SHAFII Daily Arts Writer
If you do the same thing long enough, eventually something will stick. Hip hop is constantly changing, but Bthat can be mostly attrib- Birds in the uted to new and Trap Sing unique artists bursting onto McKnight the scene year Travis Scott after year, rathEpic er than established stalwarts reinventing themselves album after album. Popular rap music is a revolving door; last year’s Bobby Shmurda was this year’s Fetty Wap, who has already been eclipsed by the unforgettable Desiigner. Travis Scott is the guy who stands on the other side of that door, taking photos with rappers as they enter while covering his face and talking about “vibes.” It’s been a couple of years, and now he’s just “that guy.” It’s finally stuck. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight is a continuation of what Travis has always done; it’s like he just changed clothes and invented a new gang sign. He’ll never be as influential or memorable as any of the rappers he poses with, but that’s fine. Maybe “the culture” needs an annual aggregator in the form of a “Travis Scott Album” — a summary of the year’s most exciting entrants and sonic trends. Much like how Kanye West has made a living out of orchestrating unlikely collaborations (think: Chief Keef with Justin Vernon) to make music greater than the sum of its parts, Travis tailors the red carpet for each of his album’s guests. In a way, it’s actually remarkable how he coordi-
nates appearances from Kendrick Lamar and Andre 3000 to make a project that doesn’t feel like a DJ Khaled album. Yet, like Khaled, Travis Scott is more brand than man. The album credits just fuel his status as the shape-shifting kid with cool friends. Even the title — Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight — feels fit for some sort of luxury-trap motion picture. It conjures imagery of doves pouring out of an Atlanta kitchen window while Curtis Snow cooks crack in a Pyrex pot. It has nothing to do with his music, message, fans, whatever, but it sounds as cool as he wants it to be. To focus too much on the context of a Travis Scott album would be reductive in nature, though. At the end of the day, it’s 54 minutes of actual music. I can’t tell you to like or dislike it. If you only listen to music because it sounds cool on Xanax, I guess you’ll like this album. Executive-produced and mixed by Houston legend Mike Dean, Birds features some of the most lush production this year, ensuring that the project will at least rest easy on the ears. “Coordinate” lurches under a synth melody from TM88, with a hook that’s guaranteed to feature on every fit-pic caption this year: “Coordinate the Xan with the lean in my rockstar skinnies”. The track feels mostly inspired by Metro Boomin’s record-breaking run through Summer 2015, and Xanax too. “Way Back” features classic GOOD Music ad-libs and Swizz Beatz vocal samples while lifting a synth melody straight from MadeinTYO’s “Uber Everywhere.” Travis juxtaposes nostalgia for Dark Twisted Fantasy-era West with newer and more disposable SoundCloud-rap, which is actually a creative palette unique
to him. Swizz’s voice echoes and reverberates off the walls of Travis’s imaginary trap; neon-haired friends nod in enjoyment. “Through the Late Night” is a song about staying up late, at night, while your parents sleep down the hall. Kid Cudi finally collaborates with his surrogate child, humming for most of his verse before rapping about dimethyltryptamine and “effervescent vibes.” Paying homage, Travis actually interpolates lyrics from Cudi’s 2009 smash hit “Day ‘N’ Night,” another song about not sleeping. The album’s standout track, “Goosebumps,” has shades of “Antidote” — Travis’s most successful pop crossover attempt thus far. The Cardo and Yung Exclusive beat is reminiscent of the atmospheric tones that characterized Kendrick Lamar’s untitled unmastered., but with Travis’s knack for earworm melodies and textures layered on top. Kendrick himself makes an appearance and drops the best verse of the entire album, alternating flows like he’s trying to dodge the beat. He moves to a steep falsetto after mirroring the melody of the hook, stuttering and stopping to catch his breath but moving again before you can even catch a glimpse. All in all, the new Travis Scott album sounds nice. The beats are cool. No one will complain if you play this at a party. Your friends might admit it could have been better “lyrically” and recommend you check out Rodeo, where Travis really lays down his “life story” or something. If you’re into stuff like being outside, at night, while wearing vintage band tees, I recommend you check out the hot new Travis Scott album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, in stores now. Xans sold separately.
TV REVIEW
‘Mississippi’ explores grief on a spectrum By DANIELLE YACOBSON Daily Arts Writer
Watching “One Mississippi” feels like laughing at a funeral. The Amazon original, justly advertised as a dark comedy, falls B somewhere between hav- One ing a fantastic Mississippi sense of humor and being seri- Now Streaming ously messed- Amazon Prime up. As the show explores weighty themes — death, loss, illness — a bitter hilarity levitates the grief, just like that inappropriate smile that loves to wickedly curl during a sad story. Inspired by comedian Tig Notaro’s (“In A World”) life, the series follows a version of Tig as she returns to her hometown in Mississippi after her mother’s sudden death. As she copes, heavily relying on sarcasm and deadpan jabs, she is forced to face her own mortality in the aftermath of her recent cancer treatments. While her twisted humor can often read as apathetic, perhaps it’s Notaro’s aloofness that makes “One Mississippi” so endearing. It’s almost as if Tig is learning to walk all over again, taking her first steps in a world that is com-
pletely unfamiliar. Grief has many faces; it can be cold and hot, loud and quiet, sometimes even completely silent. “One Mississippi” delicately illustrates a spectrum of mourning through the strained relationship forced between Tig and her stepfather, Bill (John Rothman, “Ghostbusters”). Bill, a serious and reserved man, is completely removed from the humor that Tig uses to cope with tragedy. Riddled with obsessive-compulsive-tendencies, he actively distances himself from sentiment. Yet, however absent he seems at the beginning, the series meticulously chips away at his cold exterior to reveal a genuine care for Tig. In “Effects,” the second of the six episodes released on Amazon Prime, Bill’s rigorous internet search for treatments of Tig’s C Diff (a bacterial disruption of the colon) leads to the episode’s gutwrenching punchline: a fecal transplant. The joke seems juvenile and uncomfortable, which is perhaps what makes laughing irresistible. But despite the slew of poop jokes that Tig doesn’t hesitate to share, Bill offers to be the fecal donor without hesitation. Maybe that’s what family is all about? While comedy is often used to take a break from the sadness, the series employs a beau-
tiful artistry in its treatment of tragedy. The script isn’t packed with dialogue or soul-searching monologues on the meaning of life and death. Instead, pain and sadness are best articulated in just a few, well-selected words. On the night before the funeral, Tig’s girlfriend, Brooke (Casey Wilson, “Happy Endings”), tells her that tomorrow is a big day. “Every day is now a small day,” Tig replies. As she retraces her steps throughout her hometown, Tig remembers her mother, Caroline (Rya Khilstedt, “Home Alone 3”) in a series of flashbacks. Dressed in vibrant florals with a metallic snake coiled around her forearm, Caroline ironically breathes life into “One Mississippi.” Memories of her are filled with laughter and spunk, characteristics that are devoid in the shattered family she left behind. She is the source of happiness which, by itself, is laced bittersweet. While at times the acting feels stilted and the characters detached from their surroundings, the series is relatable to anyone who needs a little laughter to ease the pain. The soundtrack is riddled with the same irony, as Tig cues “One of Us is Dead” by The Earlies. It’s delicate and sarcastic; funny, yet unthinkably tragic.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com T E A M
S T A T S MICH 57.0 24.5 212.5 5.3 6 267.0 72.1 8.8 7 1 70.5 479.5 60.0% 75.0% 3.5 8.2 18.5 45.7 3-3 2/0 26.5 31:10
Points/Game First Downs/Game Rush Yards/Game Yards/Rush Rushing TDs Passing Yards/Game Completion % Yards/Pass Passing TDs Interceptions Offensive Plays/Game Total Offense 3rd-down Conversions 4th-down Conversions Sacks/Game Kick return average Punt return average Punting average Field Goals-Attempts Fumbles/Lost Penalty Yards/Game Time of Poss
OPP 8.5 15.5 178.0 4.3 2 103.5 40.0 4.6 0 2 64.0 281.5 12.0% 42.9% 1.0 17.2 12.0 38.6 1-3 5/2 68.0 28:50
I N D I V I D U A L S PASSING Player Speight O’Korn Morris TOTALS
Cmp 35 5 4 44
RUSHING Player C. Evans Smith, D. Isaac Higdon McDoom Davis Morris Hill Crawford Chesson O’Korn Hirsch Beneducci Hewlett Allen Speight TOTALS RECEIVING Player Darboh Chesson Butt Ways McDoom Crawford Hill Hirsch Poggi Jocz Perry McKeon Bunting Smith, D. Evans TOTALS
Att 50 7 4 61
Yds 457 32 45 534
TD 7 0 0 7
INT 1 0 0 1
Att 17 16 12 12 3 2 1 6 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 80
Yds Avg 147 8.6 65 4.1 58 4.8 56 4.7 50 16.7 17 8.5 14 14.0 13 2.2 11 11.0 11 5.5 4 2.0 2 2.0 1 1.0 -1 -1.0 -11 -11.0 -12 -6.0 425 5.3
Lg 43 17 12 19 19 10 14 4 11 15 2 2 1 0 0 0 43
TD 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
No. 8 7 8 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 1 2 2 2 1 44
Yds Avg 153 19.1 127 18.1 105 13.1 22 22.0 20 6.7 18 18.0 16 5.3 15 15.0 13 4.3 12 12.0 12 12.0 10 5.0 6 3.0 3 1.5 2 2.0 534 12.1
Lg 45 35 25 22 8 18 7 15 8 12 12 5 4 8 2 45
TD 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7
PUNT RETURNS Player No. Peppers 4 TOTALS 4
Yds 74 74
Avg. Long 18.5 35 18.5 35
TD 0 0
INTERCEPTIONS Player Stribling Hill, D. TOTALS
Yds Avg. Long 51 51.0 51 27 27.0 27 78 39.0 51
TD 1 1 2
No. 1 1 2
KICKOFF RETURNS Player No. Henderson 2 Hill, K. 2 TOTALS 4
Yds 28 5 33
Avg. Long 14.0 15 2.5 5 8.3 15
TD 0 0 0
KICKOFFS Player Allen Foug TOTALS
No. 13 7 20
Yds 840 403 1243
Avg. 64.6 57.6 62.2
TB 8 2 10
PUNTING Player Allen TOTALS
No. 3 3
Yds 137 137
Avg. 45.7 45.7
Lg 55 55
FIELD GOALS Player FG Pct. 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Lg Allen 3-3 100% 0-0 1-1 2-2 0-0 0-0 37 DEFENSE Player Peppers McCray Winovich Gedeon Gary Glasgow, R. Thomas Godin Wormley Kinnel Watson Clark Stribling Hill, D. Bush Wroblewski Marshall Glasgow, J. Dwumfour Hudson Hurst Allen Smith, D. Charlton Pearson Miller Hill, L. TOTALS
A P
Solo Ast Tot 13 3 16 9 6 15 4 7 11 3 7 10 4 5 9 4 3 7 5 2 7 3 3 6 3 3 6 4 1 5 3 2 5 4 4 3 1 4 2 2 4 2 1 3 3 3 1 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 78 54 132
T O P
1. Alabama (2-0) 2. Florida State (2-0) 3. Ohio State (2-0) 4. Michigan (2-0) 5. Clemson (2-0) 6. Houston (2-0) 7. Stanford (1-0) 8. Washington (2-0) 9. Wisconsin (2-0) 10. Louisville (2-0) 11. Texas (2-0) 12. Michigan St. (1-0) 13. Iowa (2-0)
2 5
TFL 4.0 5.0 1.0 3.0 2.5 1.0 1.5 1.0 1.0 20.0
SK PBU 1.0 2.0 2 1.0 1.5 0.5 1.0 2 1 1 7.0 6
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 — 7A
O-Line faces growing expectations By KELLY HALL Daily Sports Editor
All game long, you could see the discontent from fans: the Michigan football team wasn’t having success running the ball. Though the fourth-ranked Wolverines racked up nearly 120 yards on the ground, it averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on 41 rushing attempts — not the ratio it was looking for. Central Florida was jamming five to six Knights in the box throughout all four quarters, quieting Michigan’s rushing efforts. Though the Wolverines still emerged victorious in a 51-14 rout, some fans were upset with the running game, and a great deal of that blame was put on the offensive line. Fifth-year senior right tackle Kyle Kalis wasn’t too upset with the fingerpointing, though. He’s grown used to it after hearing about it in previous years. “(The fans) gotta relax,” Kalis said. “They gotta relax. We’re fine. … Most fans don’t understand, they don’t really understand the game of football to the level that people who play it do. When they stack the box like that and they stop the run game, you don’t get mad as an O-lineman, you pass the ball because that’s just, schemewise, that’s the only option you have. So that’s what we did.” Back in 2014, when Michigan finished 115th in FBS Total Offense rankings, the offensive line took a lot of the criticism for its 5-7 season. Thinking back to it now, Kalis still thinks the blame was misattributed, but he understands how fans easily grew frustrated with the offensive line and used it as a scapegoat. That criticism will remain as expectations grow for the highly touted Wolverines. “Hopefully one day, the old stink will be gone,” Kalis said. “I think we’re doing a good job of
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Fifth-year senior guard Kyle Kalis (67) is pleased with the offensive line’s progress despite a down week statistically against Central Florida on Saturday.
trying to eliminate that, because it’s not there, I’m telling you.” The matchup with UCF proved that Michigan can handle pressure against the run by changing gears, and, if anything, it was good exposure for what may come later in the season. “As an offensive line, it’s nice, because even if we aren’t that successful in the run, just getting the practice at that, getting the practice to see that many guys in the box,” Kalis said. “Eventually, down the season, down the line, we may have to play a team that does it again to us in a dire situation when we have to run the ball, so we have to be prepared.” Throughout Saturday’s game, the Wolverines did what they needed to do and what they will need to do in the future when
they can’t run the ball: they went through the air. Redshirt sophomore Wilton Speight threw for 312 yards and four touchdowns, including a 45-yard touchdown pass to fifthyear senior wide receiver Amara Darboh for his longest pass of the season. “Coach Harbaugh was actually talking about it the other day, about how he hasn’t had a quarterback who could complete the deep post route in like five or six years or something, on a consistent basis,” Kalis said. “Wilton, being able to
“Hopefully one day, the old stink will be gone.”
Sophomore safety tipped two gamechanging punts Saturday vs. UCF By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor
Tyree Kinnel didn’t have to wait long for the moment he had anticipated. About 80 seconds into Michigan’s game against Central Florida on Saturday, Kinnel lined up on the punt-block team — Grant Perry to his left, Brandon Watson to his right. Kinnel knew one of the three was going to get a hand on the ball.
All week, Michigan had observed weaknesses to exploit in UCF’s punt team and saw an opportunity to strike early. Sure enough, with seven Wolverines against five Knights on the line of scrimmage, two UCF players leaked out to cover the punt. “We were bringing quite a few up the middle, and I knew they had overloaded a side,” Kinnel said. Kinnel was the differencemaker. Perry engaged with one member of the last line of blockers, and Watson took the other two. That freed space up the middle for Kinnel to lunge and tip the kick. The altered punt traveled just 13 yards, but Michigan’s offense went three-and-out on
the ensuing possession. So the defense forced another Knights punt, the Wolverines lined up in the same formation and Kinnel got there again. This time, the punt went 27 yards, and Michigan took over in UCF territory and scored on each of its next six possessions. Whatever may have happened without that edge in field position, it was clear Kinnel’s fingertips changed the game. The sophomore safety from
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Sophomore safety Tyree Kinnel (left) is one of Michigan’s biggest contributors on special teams.
9/3
9/10
9/17
9/24
HAWAII (1-2)
UCF (1-1)
COLORADO (2-0)
PENN ST. (1-1)
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium, BTN
Michigan Stadium
10/1
10/8
WISCONSIN (2-0) at RUTGERS (1-1) Michigan Stadium
7 or 8 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.
Wayne, Ohio, has been close before. Last year, Kinnel nearly blocked a punt against Ohio State in the regular-season finale, only to draw a flag for roughing the kicker and extend the drive. The Buckeyes scored the first points of the game four plays later and went on to win 42-13. “(This time,) Coach just told me, ‘Don’t go after it, just go get it,’ ” Kinnel said. “And if you’re taught the right way, you’ll go get it.” By now, Kinnel is familiar with fine lines. He knows the difference between blocking punts and coming close, between seeing the field and standing on the sidelines, even between winning programs and losing programs. Kinnel’s senior year of high school was the infamous 2014 season, in which Michigan finished 5-7 and ousted coach Brady Hoke, to whom Kinnel committed. Unlike several other recruits, Kinnel honored his commitment and started attending Michigan last fall. Since then, he has fought to see the field. He was a standout on offense and defense in high school, but never played special teams. Only when he arrived in Ann Arbor did he see the unit as his path onto the field. “It’s just attitude and effort when it comes to special teams,” Kinnel said. “It’s about knowing who wants it more, knowing it’s a key factor in the game.” He learned that lesson from former special teams coordinator John Baxter, who
“It’s just attitude and effort when it comes to special teams.”
P O L L
W, 63-3 (1-0) W, 51-14 (2-0)
newcomers like freshmen Ben Bredeson and Michael Onwenu has made the group even hotter. Without a doubt, the offensive line is experiencing the most depth it has had in recent years. Finally, after playing with teams much less experienced than the 2016 Wolverines, Kalis is getting to see what it’s like to play for the No. 4 team in the nation, which is as high of an honor Michigan has seen since the 2007 Rose Bowl. “A lot of guys might say, ‘The rankings don’t mean anything, we don’t care about the rankings,’ but no, we care about the rankings,” Kalis said. “We want to be the highest ranked as we can possibly be. The expectation is getting higher every week, so that’s the goal.”
Kinnel becoming a special teams ace
14. Oklahoma (1-1) 15. Tennessee (2-0) 16. Georgia (2-0) 17. Texas A&M (2-0) 18. Notre Dame (1-1) 19. Ole Miss (1-1) 20. LSU (1-1) 21. Baylor (2-0) 22. Oregon (2-0) 23. Florida (2-0) 24. Arkansas (2-0) 25. Miami (2-0)
2016 SCHEDULE
complete those big passes this early on is a good thing for all of us.” Kalis thinks that Speight is doing a “hell of a job,” and when you couple that with the prolific wide receivers and the protection coming from the offensive line, Michigan has a winning recipe. On the offensive line itself, three fifthyear senior starters (Kalis, Erik Magnuson and Ben Braden) have led the way with help from junior center Mason Cole and sophomore left tackle Grant Newsome. Competition from
10/22 ILLINOIS (1-1) 3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
10/29
11/5
at MICH. ST. (1-0) MARYLAND (2-0) East Lansing, Mich.
Michigan Stadium
spent one season at Michigan last year before returning to Southern California. Many regard Baxter as one of the top special teams coaches in the country, citing his track record of blocked kicks. But the Wolverines didn’t connect on any last season before tipping two punts and two field-goal attempts Saturday. “The schemes aren’t really much different,” Kinnel said. “I think we’re just giving more effort.” Just more than a year after trying special teams for the first time, Kinnel now sees that job as his role on the team, certainly a vital one Saturday. As for defense, Kinnel has made progress there, too, seeing time as a reserve safety behind seniors Delano Hill and Dymonte Thomas. To a coaching staff that values every effort, his success in the punting game has to be of value. “I don’t think it goes ignored,” Kinnel said. “(I) ended up getting special teams player of the week, so they like it. It’s a coaches’ thing, how that goes.” For the time being, Kinnel still wants more on special teams. He thinks he may soon be able to fully block a kick, getting a hand on it instead of just a fingertip. The punt block is one of the fastest plays in sports, where milliseconds separate an altered kick and a perfectly executed one. But in many aspects, Kinnel has learned to trust his preparation. He knew the punt block unit could break through Saturday, and it did. And in 2014, he knew Michigan’s fortunes would change, and they did. “In high school, when they were struggling, I think I always wanted to be here,” Kinnel said. “I think things were going to change regardless.”
11/12
11/19
11/26
at IOWA (2-0)
INDIANA (2-0)
at OHIO ST. (2-0)
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
Michigan Stadium
Columbus, Ohio
Sports
8A — Wednesday, September 14, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines fueled by youth movement After losing top goal scorers from 2015, ‘M’ enjoying earlyseason success
together.” With this year’s team, the upperclassmen say they don’t think of the freshmen or sophomores in terms of on-field experience — they’re simply “younger friends,” as Trombetta puts it, who are eager to learn the ropes. It may sound idealized, but the Wolverines say everyone simply gets along, and that’s what has allowed Michigan’s freshmen to adapt so quickly and successfully. With the Wolverines meshed together as a more cohesive unit, they’re able to compete with the nation’s best despite their youth. “A couple of our teammates from last year have come back and watched (us play),” Trombetta said. “The biggest thing they say is that there’s no one superstar, and we really do play as one big team that passes. Everyone is getting subbed in, everyone’s getting cycled in, everyone knows what their job is. It’s very much one big team that plays together the entire time.”
By ORION SANG Daily Sports Writer
At first glance, the 10th-ranked team in the nation beating the first-ranked team doesn’t seem like much of an upset. But when you consider just who the Michigan field hockey lost to graduation, its 1-0 victory over then-No. 1 North Carolina is much more impressive. Michigan (4-1), now ranked eighth in the nation, graduated not only both of last season’s leading goal scorers in AllAmerican center back Lauren Thomas and forward Shannon Scavelli, but also its entire backfield — a trio that had played together through the seasons and represented a wealth of experience. “It’s always hard losing your seniors,” said Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz. “We had a first team All-American that we lost. The biggest thing was our backfield had three players that played together all the time and were a really solid unit, and we lost all of them at the same time. So there were a lot of shoes to fill in the backfield experiencewise.” Despite the shortage of returning players, though, Michigan has clearly coped well: In addition to the win over the Tar Heels, the Wolverines
BY THE NUMBERS RYAN MCLAUGHLIN/Daily
The Michigan field hockey team has had surprising success in replacing nearly half its scoring from a year ago and is off to a 4-1 start to the season.
tallied a 2-1 victory over thenNo. 11 Stanford, as well. Just how has Michigan gotten off to such a scorching start? The answer lies in the development of the freshman class. It’s cliche, but it’s hard to argue. And there may be no better example than Bree Bednarski. The freshman forward has serious speed — the type that allows her to reach balls even
“There were a lot of shoes to fill in the backfield.”
her teammates think are headed out of bounds. But to Pankratz, Bednarski’s ability to transition quickly to the collegiate level has been an equally impressive aspect of her game. It’s a trait that — perhaps unlike Bednarski’s speed — is shared by all six freshmen on the team. “We did throw (the freshmen) in the deep end of the pool pretty quickly but so far, so good,” Pankratz said. “They’re really rising to the challenge, training super hard and learning every day, so we’ve been really pleased.” Added junior midfielder Katie
Trombetta: “When we get on the field, (the underclassmen) are really performing and coming into their own, so you forget that they’re freshmen or sophomores. I rely on someone like Bree, who’s a freshman, just as much as I rely on (redshirt junior forward) Carly (Bennett).” There’s a clear lack of a “class division” with this year’s team, which Trombetta says is
evidence of an evolution in team culture over the past couple years. “Where we are now (from) my freshman year, the dynamics have changed and that’s why we’ve done so much better since then,” Trombetta said. “Just the level of community and equalness, not separating by class, really being a real team that just plays together and works hard
“The biggest thing they say is that there’s no one superstar.”
No. 8 Michigan field hockey team
46.43%
Percentage of goals scored last season by players no longer on the roster.
10
Number of departed players from 2015
7
Number of goals scored by underclassmen this season in five games
17
Number of seasons coached by Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz
Bunting, Wanglers try hands at apparel Former QB enlists current players to work on “Valiant” By MAX BULTMAN Managing Sports Editor
Normally, when a Michigan football player walks around Ann Arbor, it’s other students doing double takes. But a couple weeks ago, redshirt sophomore tight end Ian Bunting was the one playing paparazzi when he saw another student walking around in a hat he recognized. “I kind of snuck behind them,” Bunting said, “and took a picture of it and sent it to Mr. Wangler.” Since this past summer, Bunting has been working with
John, Jared and Jack Wangler on a new apparel line called “Valiant.” Bunting said the elder Wangler — of Wangler-to-Carter fame — brought the idea to his sons and Bunting. Together, they started up a side enterprise. Now, the fruits of that labor are for sale in the M Den. Valiant hats, visors and shirts sell in the same store as Michigan’s “Jumpman” apparel. And according to the M Den’s Rose Balzer, the Valiant gear is selling better than you might think. “People are absolutely eating it up,” Balzer said. “They love
it almost as much as the Nike stuff.” The differences are subtle. Balzer noted the women’s apparel having three-quarterlength sleeved shirts, V-cut necklines and hoods, and while the Nike apparel is sleek and clearly wellliked, Balzer says the Valiant gear offers slight variations that go a long way. “A little different niche, just a little bit,” Bunting said of the Valiant apparel. “We love the Jordan stuff, too, though. “It’s just sort of like a little bit of a different target audience.” For Bunting, even the meet-
“They love it almost as much as the Nike stuff.”
ings have been fun. Tuesday, he recalled flying out to New Jersey for a meeting with a part owner that was supposed to be quick — 45 minutes to an hour. Instead, “We ended up being in there for like five hours, just bouncing ideas off each other,” Bunting said. “It was sweet. Really got the ball rolling.” Bunting said the players went through the school’s compliance department and received clearance to work with the company — “It took a little while, but we got it figured out,” he said — and that Mr. Wangler had secured the licensing to use the block ‘M’ on its apparel. For now, Valiant’s identity is tied inseparably to the Michigan brand. Its name comes from the Wolverines’ fight song, and Bunting and the Wanglers are all Wolverines. But soon, the company could take on an identity
MAX BULTMAN/Daily
The M Den sells Valiant apparel at its State Street location.
of its own. Bunting is interested in the prospect of selling street fashion, too, as well as the other design and business aspects he presently enjoys. And for now, he has a measure of exclusivity. Wearing a Valiant hat after practice Tuesday, a
reporter asked him how much it retailed for. He responded that the particular hat, with a wide, maize block “V,” wasn’t for sale yet. Moments later, though, Bunting reassured: “I’m sure eventually we’ll sell this one.”
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Redshirt sophomore tight end Ian Bunting (right) is involved in a new apparel company called “Valiant,” along with John, Jared and Jack Wangler.
THE NEW* DETROIT
*GENTRIFIED
statement T H E M I CH I G A N DA I LY | S E P T E M B E R 14 , 20 1 6
2B
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 / The Statement
t h e s t at e m e n t
the tangent
Magazine Editor: Karl Williams
Editor in Chief: Shoham Geva
Deputy Editors: Nabeel Chollampat Lara Moehlman
Managing Editor: Laura Schinagle
Design Editor: Shane Achenbach Photo Editor: Zoey Holmstrom Creative Director: Emilie Farrugia
TV and Me: The Fall Lineup BY ALEX INTNER
I
t’s that time of year again. Football has kicked off, classes have started, the homework is beginning to pile up and the broadcast networks are starting to wake up from summer hibernation with new and returning series making their fall debuts in the next few weeks. For a long time, the new fall season was like opening a new pack of presents on Christmas morning. Yet it seems the pile of presents has gone from everything I could ever hope for to one filled with socks and lumps of coal. Maybe it’s because my tastes have gotten stricter or the world of #PeakTV gives me more shows to watch, but I don’t feel that same sense of wonder toward the new network season like I have in the past. There appear to be some gems, but this year’s programming mostly seems to be rehashes of old concepts or just plain unnecessary. I want to be hopeful about the new network season each year. Each set of new shows brings a huge set of potential. No networks, except for maybe HBO, spend the amount of money to make and market television that the broadcast networks do. They have plentiful resources (such as money and talent) to make television that’s new and exciting. So, when the new network season comes around, I want to have hope that the new crop of shows will bring something exhilarating to the table. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case this year. The biggest offender of creating generic series is CBS, which will put out a new set of fall shows that feature stars, premises and genres that will be familiar to their viewers. There’s a good reason for this as the network has built its brand on bringing in a relatively older audience to shows with known formats. Its big new drama is Michael Weatherly’s (coming off a long run on “NCIS”) “Bull,” in which he plays a psychiatrist who’s a trial consultant. It looks like a basic law drama with a twist, but not enough of a twist to create separation from the other, better legal dramas on TV. A part of this is the way I watch TV has completely changed over the past several years. When I was a young teenager in middle school, my parents didn’t necessarily let me watch all of the dramas on basic or premium cable with a few exceptions. (They weren’t exactly going to
Copy Editors: Emily Campbell Alexis Nowicki Taylor Grandinetti COVER PHOTO BY CAROLYN GEARIG, DESIGN BY SHANE ACHENBACH
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/DAILY
T H O U GHT B U B B L E : RE ADJUSTING I’m a sophomore, so it’s not like everything’s new. My job for the summer had a super good community, so I’m still adjusting to not having that. – LSA sophomore Hannah Nelson
let a 13-year-old watch “Nip/Tuck” or “The Sopranos”). This meant I was largely left to the broadcast networks to find entertainment. So, each new fall brought me a new group of potential shows to join my regular rotation, and I sometimes spent many weeks waiting for series like the short-lived “V” or “Back to You” to reach their full potential. I would spend hours on Hulu sampling each one in the group, eventually finding some I would stick with for the long haul. The 2007-2008 season was particularly memorable because it brought “Pushing Daisies” and “Chuck” into my life, both of which remain some of my favorites today. Now, I don’t necessarily have the time to go and sample each show like I used to. I miss the spirit of innovation
that brought shows such as “Daisies” and “Chuck” to the air. Only The CW seems to be carrying on that torch, with recent dramas like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Jane the Virgin” that push the mantle of what it means to be a broadcast drama. I understand why the broadcast networks remain risk-averse. Their goal is to reach as many people as possible and shows like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” might not be the best way to do that. Still, there’s so much amazing television out there right now that it’s hard for me to even try shows like “Kevin Can Wait” or “Bull.” They have so many resources to be creative that I can’t help but feel disappointed when I see such overdone and well-trodden premises yet another time.
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILIE FARRUGIA
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 / The Statement
3B
on the record: NBA hall of fame “I can’t tell you how many nights I cried from criticism and people critiquing everything about me and my life and the choices that I made and the mistakes that I made. After all of that, still to be recognized as one of the best ever to play the game is just a great moment.” — ALLEN IVERSON, retired Philadelphia 76ers point guard, who was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 9.
“When I heard that I was speaking first tonight, I thought that someone made a mistake. The first speaker should be the great Allen Iverson. You know why? Because I need more practice than he does.”
“If I know my father, he’s up there arguing with Wilt [Chamberlain] that his son is the best big man in the game. One day when some father quizzes his sons on the greats of the game, I hope Shaquille O’Neal will be the answer.”
—YAO MING, 7-foot-6 retired Houston Rockets center, became the first Chinese inductee into the NBA Hall of Fame.
—SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, retired Los Angeles Lakers Center and 2016 Hall of Fame inductee, on his place in NBA history.
All Around the World: Overcoming the Fear of Terror BY ISOBEL FUT TER Terrorist attack kills scores in Nice, France, Hollande says. That’s the notification that popped up on my phone after midnight on July 15 as I lay in my bed, in Grenoble, just 300 kilometers away. A shooter opened fire and killed more than 80 people while driving his van into a crowd. The victims — who were watching the Bastille Day fireworks — were celebrating the anniversary of the start of the French Revolution. They were celebrating their country and their patriotism. They were laughing, rejoicing and living life before it was so unfairly taken away from them, far too soon.
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILIE FARRUGIA
After reading the breaking news story, I lay in bed, no longer tired despite the eventful day I’d had. I had been enjoying the day, watching the fireworks and engaging to the fullest in the national holiday. Not once did I ponder what I’d do if someone opened fire in the crowds I was in. My mind was racing; where would I have run? Would I have hidden or tried to escape? Would I have been able to help others around me, had they been hurt? For the first time I was in France, I felt truly afraid. People had mentioned to me before I left that the country wasn’t very safe, and they asked me if I was scared to go there. “Are your parents cool with you going?” and “Aren’t you a little concerned about your safety?” were questions I got more often than “Are you excited to go?” France has been the target of numerous killings in the name of the Islamic State over the last year; however, none have occurred in Grenoble. When people asked me about it, I usually shrugged the idea off, noting that I was equally likely, if not more, to be shot in the United States. But now that it had happened somewhat close to me and I was so far away from my home and family, I felt scared for the world. I felt sad that these senseless murders and killings were continuing to happen, becoming more of a norm than a shock. I felt immense grief for the families who had lost parents, children and friends on a day of celebration and unity. And lastly, I felt both guilt and relief simultaneously, for being safe in my warm bed while others around me suffered and mourned. As I lay awake thinking the day over, I thought of all the fear this would instill in people. Every day, we cancel trips, avoid crowds, watch over our shoulders and generate distrust for others out of fear they might hurt us. We anxiously look around airports and busy train stations wondering if this is the day someone will blow it all up. Though it might not be a constant and daily train of thought, at some point each of us is faced with the reality that there are people in this world who want to hurt us and terrorize us. I thought back to the first day of the program in Grenoble: The program hosted an orientation for us to acclimate to the city. One of the biggest topics was how we would address an attack in the city, where we would go, to whom we should reach out. It suddenly seemed
very real. In the United States, I feel a sense of comfort and detachment, as if these sad realities are far away from home and the things that I hear about on the news from time to time. But being in France, in a place where extremist attacks are becoming too often an occurrence, the gravity of the situation became so much more real. Despite the sudden feeling of uneasiness, we were told to remain calm. The program would go on and none of us would be going home. We were told that Nice was far from Grenoble and to reassure parents and friends that we were not hurt. After the tragedy in Nice, the city felt a lot more on edge. My host mom sat me down the following week and warned me that even in the small town of Grenoble, there were groups of people to look out for. In class, we talked about how the government was addressing these issues and how the French people reacted to these types of attacks. Overall, there was a strong sense of fear of the unknown, fear of people that look or act differently from ourselves. When I got back to the United States, the Nice attacks were often top of the list in conversation topics about my trip. “How did that affect you? Were you scared? Did you want to come home?” I won’t deny that being so close to something so horrific scared the crap out of me and definitely made me much warier of my surroundings. But never did I want to come home because of it. I felt like this was an opportunity to experience the world outside of my perceived safe zone in the States. I feel that too often we isolate ourselves from the outside world and reject anything different from our own agendas. We are more concerned about our own safety than embracing life to the fullest and appreciating other ways of life before becoming immediately suspicious. For the rest of my time in Grenoble, I wanted to have the best time of my life and experience the things I came to experience. After all, I only had six weeks to get to know a city, a culture and a language. Even if I was scared, the chances of anything happening to me or my peers were improbable. I was vigilant and aware of my surroundings, but I didn’t let the senseless terror stop me from experiencing my life.
4B
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 // The Statement
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 // The Statement
THE COST OF LIVING IN DETROIT
Photo by CAROLYN GEARIG/ Daily
BY LARA MOEHLMAN AND MARIA ROBINS-SOMERVILLE
When Shelby Oberstaedt was a kid, her suburban family was hesitant to travel downtown to attend Detroit Tigers games, fearing a reputation that painted the city as crime-ridden. And while living downtown as her now-husband played football at Wayne State University, she said, those same feelings of insecurity remained. “Living here was a bit scary,” she recalled. “Fifteen years ago I don’t even think my family would’ve come down here.” However, Oberstaedt has chosen to stick around in Detroit, as a general manager for the Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria and Brewery — one of many individuals part of the rapid process of gentrification Detroit has undergone over the last two decades. Gentrification, a term popularized in the ‘70s, describes the process by which low-income communities are renovated and rebuilt, attracting young professionals but also usually driving up real estate prices and relocating pre-existing residents and businesses. Cities such as Brooklyn, San Francisco and Portland that have undergone this process are hailed today as havens for young urban professionals seeking a culturally vibrant urban experience that comes with a hefty price tag — a far cry from the affordable and even struggling reputations once attached to these communities. In Detroit, the area known as Cass Corridor was rebranded as Midtown in the early 2000s, in an effort to redirect a history of poverty and blight. Following the city’s declaration of bankruptcy in 2013, multiple large-scale efforts to spur economic growth were launched, including a $650 million development plan involving the purchase of neglected buildings to be turned into high-end retailers and luxury apartments. Though many of these properties had been vacant for years, wealthy enterprise and spikes in rent are now characterizing the transforming reality of Midtown, Detroit, in large part because of those efforts. The city’s crime rate also seems to be on a steady decline, with the Free Press reporting a 23-percent drop in stolen automobiles, an 18-percent fall in robberies and a 15-percent drop in burglaries since 2014, though Detroit still maintains the number-one spot on Forbes’ annual Most Dangerous Cities ranking. The city has also recently drawn national attention for the widespread failure of its public school system, magnified by a mass “sickout” that made headlines last May, in which 1,500 teachers called in sick on May 2 after learning their pay was not guaranteed past June. The demonstration temporarily closed 94 of the city’s 97 schools. As Detroit continues to undergo changes and face challenges, some residents and business owners argue the gentrification of Midtown is largely positive, providing jobs for locals and incentives for corporations to invest in the economy. However, others raise concerns that gentrification often overlooks the complexity of poverty, paving over socioeconomic and racial tensions with rapid real estate growth that drives out marginalized communities. In addition to spikes in property values, such developments exacerbate the wealth disparity between those in and outside of the area of gentrification. In Detroit, inhabitants of the areas directly sur-
rounding Midtown earn on average 25 percent less per year than their central counterparts, according to The Guardian. *** The Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria & Brewery, where Oberstaedt works, is an upscale pub located in Detroit’s Cass Corridor. President Barack Obama reportedly ordered a burger, salad and truffle fries there before attending the North American International Auto Show last January. But Jolly Pumpkin, which opened its Detroit location in April 2015, is just one of many highend businesses to open in Midtown within the past few years. Shinola, a luxury watch, bicycle and leather-good brand opened its flagship store just down the street from Jolly Pumpkin in 2013. The company boasts the return of manufacturing jobs to the city, operating out of an old auto lab owned by the College of Creative Studies but also assembling watches made of parts reportedly created overseas. John Varvatos, a Detroit-born men’s fashion designer, opened the doors to a new store location on Woodward Avenue in April 2015 with a star-studded black carpet complete with an Alice Cooper concert. “It’s kind of crazy, to be honest,” Oberstaedt said of the neighborhood’s turnaround. “Now I feel comfortable walking to my car and parking nearby, and you see people from the suburbs coming here, and coming here to go out to eat or to go shopping and it’s not cheap shops — they’re expensive shops.” Oberstaedt estimated about 95 percent of her employees live in downtown Detroit, most within walking distance of the restaurant. Some are Wayne State University students originally from the suburbs while others are native Detroiters. Some live in expensive new lofts on Woodward Avenue while others live closer to the restaurant, paying less than $500 dollars a month in rent. Speaking to concerns of gentrification and rising rents in Midtown, Oberstaedt sees Jolly Pumpkin’s impact on the city as a largely positive one, claiming it mainly promotes fair workplace practices while renewing pride and interest in the city of Detroit. “I think there’s just, like, that appeal to be something hip and cool and someplace that people want to visit,” Oberstaedt said, noting a boost in local morale following Obama’s visit to the restaurant and after other exciting events, such as an album release at Third Man Records, Jack White’s record label, which opened its Detroit branch in November 2015. Oberstaedt added that Jolly Pumpkin also provides its staff members with desirable and much-needed employment opportunities. “There’s a lot of people that were being paid minimum wage — and barely that — and working in underprivileged work environments, and they come to us and they’re like ‘Wow this is a good company to work for,’ ” Oberstaedt said. “You’re bringing jobs to their community, where they don’t have to have transportation to get to them, and they’re not the lowest paid jobs either. It’s giving them the opportunity to, first off, make a little bit more money but also be treated a little bit better.”
Paul Green, assistant shop manager at Moosejaw — a major outdoor recreation outfitter that opened a Detroit location in 2012 — echoed Oberstaedt’s opinion of the impact of a booming Midtown on Detroit’s spirit and selfconfidence. He noted that, in previous years, international tourists visiting the city were most likely there for the annual Auto Show or business-related trips. Recently, however, tourists visiting his shop from places including China, Denmark, the United Kingdom and South Africa said they were visiting Detroit because they “just wanted to see it.” Though he’s aware Moosejaw’s pricey outdoor gear may be out of reach for most Detroiters, Green said he remains hopeful that the economic successes of a booming Midtown will eventually reach the city’s struggling outer neighborhoods. “The hope, at least from my end, is that even though we can’t directly provide goods to people who really don’t have the money to buy most of our products, we are contributing in the redevelopment of the city, which will eventually benefit everybody,” Green said. “Or it should. It darn well better.” Green described the process of gentrification — and more specifically rent hikes in downtown Detroit — as frustrating. He maintained hope, however, that city officials would prioritize the needs of the majority of Detroit’s population when faced with issues of zoning and urban planning in the city. “When I think about it, I try and hope that the right things happen — that people make the right decisions in government,” Green added. “They’re the ones who can decide whether or not a vacant property becomes affordable housing or it becomes a retail unit or an expensive loft.” *** For some residents, however, the perspective on the impact of new businesses is a bit different. LSA senior Elizabeth Gonzalez, who grew up in southwest Detroit, said she finds the gentrification of Midtown problematic because her community has not yet received the benefits of the city’s economic growth. “That’s the problem I have when I see articles that say things like ‘oh, Detroit is bouncing back,’ because my side of Detroit looks the exact same,” Gonzalez said. “My Detroit has not changed one bit … Detroit is bouncing back for people from the suburbs, the hipsters moving in, but the rest of Detroit is still the same.” Art & Design senior Jessica Gray, who grew up in Detroit’s Seven Mile area on the western side of the city, specifically noted the racial implications of gentrification in Detroit. She said while the restoration of Midtown sends messages of hope and progress to the public, decades of neglect are felt by those who inhabit the city — those who have been calling attention to the city’s need for economic revitalization long before high-end retailers made Detroit fashionable. “It becomes a problem because, are we, the Black people that are there, the hispanic people that are there — are we not enough to have good things?” she said. “That’s basically how
it makes us feel, as the people who have been pushing Detroit this whole time. We’re not enough to have a rail built before now? We’re not enough to have all of these profitable businesses?” Gray also pointed to racial divides potentially created by rising rent prices downtown. “Gentrification is a problem because they’re not helping the people they’re pushing out,” she said. Richard Smith, a western Detroit native, expressed concern over the disappearance of Black-owned businesses in Midtown. “The migration here and everybody moving back downtown is moving the Black people out,” he said. “There’s this great New Detroit but where are all the Black businesses? They moved all the Black businesses from down there.” Smith’s concerns are reflected by research from Brian Doucet, assistant professor of urban geography at Erasmus University College in the Netherlands, who wrote in an article published by The Guardian in 2015 that — while many benefit from the desirable transformations produced by gentrification — those transformations often depend on the displacement of minority populations. “Those able to afford to live there enjoy great restaurants and bars, well-paid employment, safe and attractive neighbourhoods and reliable public transit,” Doucet writes. “The problem is most Detroiters cannot afford to live here. And like everything else in Southeast Michigan, race is one of the dominant factors. In a city that is 85% African American, Greater Downtown is becoming increasingly white.” *** Ren Farley, a University of Michigan public policy professor, specializes in the history and future of Detroit’s social and industrial landscape. He identified the flux of the city’s history as complex, with the current state of gentrification as neither purely positive nor negative. “It’s complicated. First of all, Detroit is close to hitting bottom, so new investments coming into Detroit, it seems to me, are generally desirable,” Farley said, noting that the incoming high-end retail, real estate and restaurants will increase the tax-base of the city along with employment. “Shinola has made a point of hiring local people to assemble their expensive products,” Farley added. “Nike is one of a number of shops that tries to emphasize that they are involved in a community. When Whole Foods moved in, they made a point of hiring local workers and including some local products in what they sell, so these are what seems to me, quite favorable signs.” However, Farley noted that these benefits come with drawbacks, as the jobs such companies create are split between high-tech jobs and entry-level labor. “Certainly, many of those are high-tech jobs and financial services jobs that require credentials beyond those typically found for Detroit residents,” he continued. “But still, the presence of those jobs generates a lot of other jobs, providing the services those buildings need
5B
and the services that people working there need.” Though Farley identified developments in Detroit as something of an economic renaissance, he questioned the impact of revitalization — and more specifically who it’s for. Farley said these developments are so geographically concentrated in Midtown that one cannot be certain employment opportunities will open up for Detroit’s outer neighborhoods, which face high levels of poverty and unemployment. “The major question is whether that revitalization will help the people who live in the neighborhoods around Detroit or will the benefits of revitalization primarily be for people from outside who come into Detroit to work at the new jobs that are becoming available and make some profits in the investments in new hotels, restaurants and apartment buildings that are opening,” he said. Gonzalez described Midtown as another world compared to her own struggling neighborhood, calling Midtown a “tourist attraction” and suggesting the downtown developments were an improper use of funds. “That money is needed elsewhere,” she said. “Our school systems are falling apart. I don’t think it’s fair, because all that money is going to places where it shouldn’t be, and it’s attracting people from the outside. It’s not doing anything for people from the inside.” Kalaan Nix, who has lived on Detroit’s west side his entire life, said he could see both positives and negatives — while he’s grateful for the increased job opportunities presented by the increase of businesses moving to Midtown, he’s also hesitant to call the migration of people into the city a success for native Detroiters. “There’s always two sides to a coin, so if there’s a positive there’s a negative,” Nix said. “So, to some extent, people moving back into the city isn’t helping solve the problem for people who live in the city — it’s just making it seem like ‘OK, well, we have people coming back because the city looks nice, but what about the people who are already here that haven’t left or couldn’t leave?’ ” Even amid her critique of the city’s rapid gentrification, Gonzalez acknowledged that encouraging people to move to Detroit was not the problem, echoing some of Nix’s sentiments. Rather, she said, an abundance of visitors who fail to engage or take part in improving the community from within instead represent the problem. “I think we really need to start with our school systems because that is one of the main reasons people who work downtown don’t live in the city,” Gonzalez said. “I think starting with that would be a good way to attract people to move into the city and not just commute in.” For her, she said, Detroit is a city whose call is waiting to be answered — in a way that is more equitable and sustainable, extending its promise beyond the boundaries of a luxurious metropolitan epicenter.
6B
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 // The Statement
Finding My Jewish Roots Abroad
I
was told to take off my Star of David before traveling to Spain. Not because Spain is unsafe, necessarily, but because you just don’t know. It was a small detail on my extensive “To Do” list and the impact didn’t really hit me until I landed in Madrid, went to feel the points of the star for comfort and found it missing. I’m not deeply religious. I’m more Jew*ish*, if you get what I’m saying. I don’t attend temple regularly and I’m definitely iffy on who or what presides over us. But I identify as a Jew. I identify because I would feel guilty if I didn’t, because being Jewish is what my family was. It’s in my heritage, it’s what for centuries my ancestors fought to be. And I’ll be damned if I’m the one, in my cushy life in suburban America, to turn my back on the plight of my people. I like to say I “chose” to be Jewish. We always celebrated Hanukkah in our house, and I always knew that my dad and mom, by blood, were Jewish. Passover was, and is, my favorite holiday. But because neither of my parents felt strongly about a proper Hebrew school training, it was up to me to ask to join a temple. And we did, and I was Bat Mitzvah’d and so was my sister, and I even went through 12th grade at Temple Beth Haverim Shir Shalom. In Spain, it is just an expectation that you are Catholic. It’s not rude, it’s just the norm. Muslims are (typically) identified by their clothing choices and their language, but reform Jews hide within plain sight in the folds of normal life. When I first met my host mom, Maria, she told me which churches I could attend if I needed to. I didn’t correct her. Not because I thought that she would have thought less of me, but because it didn’t bother me. So what? I was excited to go to a Mass in one of the ancient cathedrals one day; I was sure the slight discomfort of not knowing what to do would be masked by my enjoyment in another culture. Then time flew by, and being Jewish never truly surfaced to the forefront of my experience in Spain. It’s not that I didn’t miss it, it’s just that I pushed it aside to make room for new experiences and new cultural boundaries. It wasn’t until an excursion to Toledo halfway through the program that it hit me how much I missed my community. After a day of looking at cathedrals and monasteries and a lunch at a decent restaurant, the tour guide took us to a synagogue. A sinagoga. We entered into the Jewish quarter, and on the ground there were three bronze plaques, all reading “The Jewish Quarter.” One each in Spanish, Hebrew and English. Like a Easter egg hunt, there were small markers of Menorahs to identify which buildings and streets belonged to the quarter. Toledo is known for a lot of things: its beauty, its metalworking, El Greco, having existed since the Bronze Age. But it’s also known for the conservation of the Barrio del Judeos (Jewish neighborhood). It was a city with an even mixture of Muslims, Catholics and Jews, and the city represents, even today, that beautiful harmony. But, of course, despite the “tolerance” of the Jews, there were some measures taken to “identify” us.
by Sylvanna Gross, Daily Sports Writer A plaque read: “The clothes Jews wore were no different from their neighbors. However, there were laws imposed on them which required that they wear a little red wheel, a target, as a distinctive sign that they were Jews.” Harmless. Jews occupied three sections of daily life. The most elite were translators, treasurers, trusted advisors to city officials. They were wealthy Sephardic Spaniards who garnered respect. The second tier was the merchants and the loaners, and the third was the artisans. But they all had to wear a red wheel because they were different, because they prayed to one G-d and didn’t hold Jesus Christ in the same light as others. They were different because they had stricter regulations on their food and clothing. They were different because intolerance of differing opinions and faiths was, and still is, rampant in society. My Jewish identity in Spain was cemented with the tour of Toledo. I felt comfortable in the folds of my own community and it reaffirmed my decision to practice Judaism. Visiting La Sinagoga del Transito was interesting and humbling. We had visited cathedral after cathedral, and by no means am I complaining about that. They were gorgeous and they represent the paramount strength of human intellect in design. They are filled with a fantastic history and
ments. So, I’ve never been in a temple that was more than about 60 years old. And all of them that I’ve seen have been very plain with limited decoration. So when I walked (more like pushed my way inside past a wall of people who were inexplicably dawdling in the reception room) into this synagogue, I’m pretty sure I audibly gasped. It’s a different experience than the tall vaults of a cathedral coupled with beautiful rose windows and precious artwork. The synagogue was plain as it was beautiful, as detailed as it was sparse, as empty as it was full. The absence of more was noticeable. The point of the building, unlike the explosion of meaning in a cathedral, was for prayer. It was for community. So when I stood there, gazing up, it felt right. I felt in a home, I felt in the community. And it wasn’t until that moment that I realized I miss the community that I have at home. To stray a little more into the philosophical: People crave feeling like they belong. Everyone. Everyone, on some level, has a need to feel like they belong to something and to feel order and to feel like they occupy the same niche of the world with other people. For many of us, we all have different niches and different needs, but when we feel at home and at peace is when we find a space that makes us feel welcome. And I had many spaces like that in Spain, but I realized I had been missing my religious niche. I had been missing that connection with others, that same understanding of our background. And I’m not just talking about my temple community, because it’s not like I’m there all the time, but just being around others of the same faith. Half my friends are Jewish, most of my family is Jewish and, more importantly, everybody recognizes that I am Jewish. There was no recognition in Salamanca. And there ILLUSTRATION BY ELISE HAADSMA wasn’t any malicious intent behind it; it is depict the wonder of the human will. But, at the same time, just what it is. But there, in Toledo, I felt that connection. they are not mine to claim. They are there for me to visit, It was a small connection, but it meant so much. but not to feel at home. So when I visited the temple, I was I asked my friend to take a picture of me outside the walls delighted. of the temple. I said, “Can you take this picture of me for my As I understand it — and don’t cite me as your main source Grandma?” As in, in my Jewish family my grandmother is — the temple is supposed to be bare of saints and depictions the matriarch of my religious identity. As in, she is the reaof G-d. There is no iconography and the windows are to be son why I feel connected to my religion. As in, I feel beautiset high up (traditionally) for the fear that people will look ful because I am in a space I connect with. in and see us praying. The Jewish people have adapted and My Jewish identity abroad was by no means a struggle. recognized the tendency for hate, and thus wish for private I recognize my own privileges and know that I do not get prayer and opt for a more confined space by placing the win- to complain when I had this amazing chance to live and dows that high. Temples are typically not old. They don’t breathe Salamanca, Spain. But my Jewish identity is a tend to last through the ages. That’s why Toledo was named constant in my life that I had been missing, and I felt like as a Unesco World Heritage site (or part of it) because of I needed to write a long-winded article about it. I needed their conservation of the temples and other religious monu- to kvetch.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 // The Statement
7B
Black Coffee by Danielle Yacobson, Daily Arts Writer
I
drink black coffee and therefore, I am a badass. It suggests that I have places to go, people to see and don’t have the time to fuss around with milk. It gives off the (vital) impression that I have my shit together. My equilibrium is set at a healthy level of caffeination at which I can then proceed to be a functional member of society. Which I am. In my defense, I grew up next door to a coffee shop. Philz, a chain that sprouted within a grocery store in San Francisco, spread throughout the Bay Area and landed just across the street from me. In fact, it’s so close that my home Wi-Fi reaches the outside seating with a strong signal. The Philz aesthetic can best be described as “grungy granola.” The baristas are inked and pierced, questionable indie rock plays overhead, and the pastries are, of course, gluten-free. Back then I was into the doctored-up stuff, ordering my coffee sweet and creamy to hide the bitterness it inherently assumes. My friends and I hung out there after school and tried to study, but mostly just talked and dreamed of our futures. Philz was my fictional escape, my version of Central Perk or Luke’s Diner, the coffee shop where my splendid, teenage shenanigans ensued. There I submitted my college essays and had interviews for schools I didn’t get into. I eavesdropped on some disastrous Match.com dates, which I vigorously transcribed and will later develop into a comedy series called “How Not to Date.” A boy asked me to the school dance with a coffee and a note that said, “It would Phil(z) me up with joy if you went to prom with me.” There was also the matter of the cute barista. He wore tiny black gauges that my parents would have hated and listened to The Growlers, a “psychedelic rock” band that I pretended to like because he did. His Instagram almost exclusively featured his (illegal) graffiti art, and on his breaks he would sit with me and tell me about his sleepless night of artistic inspiration. I thought he was dreamy. He was dark and twisty in all the right ways, so we flirted and he gave me free drinks. I’ve recorded those afternoons at Philz into perfect memories — the sunny California weather, the young people, the coffee. To be fair, the weather was perfect because the state was experiencing its worst drought in decades, but I didn’t care, because I was 16 and in my sweet, creamy bubble. By the end of high school, I was having my coffee with a splash of cream and a teaspoon of sugar. I’d had my first taste of loss, failure and rejection. I’d also learned to steer clear of guys that are into psychedelic rock. My freshman year at the University of Michigan came and went with all-nighters and morning classes. Naturally, my body craved the strong stuff. The endless reel of college life left no room for extras and so my equilibrium had to adjust. My year was fast, exhilarating and always caffeinated. When I returned home for the summer, Philz seemed, at first, just as I’d left it (except for the curious disappearance of the cute barista). Lines of decaf-
feinated civilians wrapped around the door and the smell of roasting beans wafted through my bedroom window at 5:30 in the morning. A year older and somewhat wiser, I returned to Philz and ordered a coffee that my freshman year of
“Maybe black coffee is just a placebo, an attempt to convince myself that I can handle the bitterness that real life is laced with.” pseudo-adulting had inspired: no cream, no sugar. It hit the spot, but this summer, spending time at Philz felt out of place. Sunny afternoons paralyzed me like unwelcomed memories from the past, ones that I couldn’t ever re-live, nor did I want to. I’m still young
and naïve — I know — but I’ve also made a place for myself in a world that is bigger than what it was a year ago. I’m 19 and impatient. I want life go faster, to discover everything faster. Going backward feels so unnatural. Maybe black coffee is just a placebo, an attempt to convince myself that I can handle the bitterness that real life is laced with. Because, as much as I don’t want to admit it, things have changed. The friends that I spent afternoons drinking coffee with, the ones I thought would be mine forever, have drifted into different directions. The fantasies I created from across the street of the house I grew up in — of internships I’d have and men I’d meet and places I’d live — seem less and less realistic. At least for right now. College has turned me into a bit more of a realist, less likely to fall into the traps of the romantic storylines I’d concoct in the safety of the little shop a minute away from home. Maybe it’s OK to grow out of things and grow into new things and try to forget that some things happened all together. I’m a little less sweet now and don’t need as much cream to dilute reality. But, as previously mentioned, I’m also kind of a badass. So I can take it.
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILIE FARRUGIA
8B
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 // The Statement
V I S UA L S TAT E M E N T:
HUMANS OF AFRIKABURN Midway through my time studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, I jumped at the chance to attend Afrikaburn, a Burning Man regional festival in the South African desert. Afrikaburn is a temporary society erected in the desert at the end of each April, where nothing is for sale and everyone is encouraged to give something: donating time to a camp that makes breakfast, creating temporary art structures, volunteering at a first aid tent. For my gift, I took portraits with my film camera. BY CAROLYN GEARIG
Koos Vanderwat is an artist from Johannesburg, South Africa. “I like to paint nasty cosmic monsters.”
Erin, from Plumstead, Cape Town, at her first Afrikaburn.
Manoela, from São Paulo, Brazil, holding the drink she gave out to people at the festival.
Khotso is from Johannesburg but lives and works in Woodstock, Cape Town.
Beth & JC attending their third Afrikaburn together.
A festival attendee wearing face paint.