ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
BUSINESS
526 clinical trials
26,000 MICHIGAN MEDICINE 3,160 $417.6 million 5,000
3
faculty, staff, students, trainees and volunteers
hospitals
1,059
physicians
beds
40
in sponsored research revenues
outpatient facilities
nurses
Ross alumni honored on Forbes’ “30 under 30” The pair co-founded application which aims to send mail as easily as email KEVIN BIGLIN
Daily Staff Reporter DESIGN BY: AVA WEINER
Source: Michigan Medicine 2015 Annual Report
The University Health System rebranded as Michigan Medicine
Name to better reflect collaboration between education, research and patient care CARLY RYAN & RASHEED ABDULLAH Daily Staff Reporters
The University of Michigan Health System has been renamed Michigan Medicine in an effort to ref lect the collaboration between the system’s education, research and patient care branches. The new name, which took effect on Jan. 9, signifies the appointment of a single leader of both the University Medical
School and Medical Affairs for the University of Michigan. Marschall S. Runge, M.D., will serve in that position, putting him in charge of both the medical school and hospital operations. The name of the University Medical School is not changing, but it will remain a part of Michigan Medicine. Runge is dean of the University Medical School, executive vice president for medical affairs and CEO of Michigan Medicine. Before
coming to the University, Runge was the executive dean for the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a professor of medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill and chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Medicine. The University’s Board of Regents approved this combined position in September, hoping it would facilitate more seamless implementation of the system’s three-part mission: patient care, education and research. “Becoming Michigan Medicine is more than a
name change,” Runge said in an article from Michigan Medicine. “This new name ref lects a growing trend among world-class academic medical centers to showcase the integration of their missions: medical education, health care research and patient care.” Medical School student William Froehlich said in an interview with the Daily though some people worry the new name erases the health system’s history and tradition, See MEDICINE, Page 3
Two University of Michigan Ross School of Business alumni and former classmates, Harry Zhang and Leore Avidar, were honored on the Forbes 30 Under 30 rankings under the category Enterprise Technology for co-founding Lob.com, a company that specializes in sending physical mail as easily as email through a suite of application program interfaces. After beginning as an idea in 2013, Lob now operates out of San Francisco with a team of more than 25 individuals. According to their website, Lob creates customized pieces, sends them on their customers’ behalf, helps A/B test different variants and tracks mail as it’s delivered. This occurs all under the idea that “sending physical mail should be as easy as sending email.”
SACUA addresses “unfair” demotion Bill signed to aid Nat. for faculty through new resolution
Avidar said they are empowering developers to build applications. “Our goal is to enable developers and enterprises to build applications that they couldn’t previously,” he said. Prior to creating Lob, Zhang, who graduated in 2011, began as a product marketing manager at Microsoft, where he worked as a domain expert in direct mail, taking 60 to 90 days to send out millions of pieces of mail at a time. Avidar, who also graduated in 2011, gained experience working in the web services department at Amazon, where he learned how to build and sell APIs. At Amazon, Avidar said it took 30 seconds to send one million emails. The two domain experts were able to combine their respective talents in making an API similar to Amazon’s, which could send physical mail as easily as email on an automated schedule. “We were domain experts See ROSS, Page 3
GOVERNMENT
ANN ARBOR
Guard with tuition cost
The committee will present resolution to the Senate Assembly on Jan. 23
MI DNR approves 2017 deer cull plans
Synder signs legislation to streamline 10 million dollar college program
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs had their first meeting of the winter semester on Monday to discuss the Academic Affairs Advisory Committee resolution to protect faculty from unfair demotions. The committee discussed whether it should endorse the AAAC’s resolution regarding salary cuts and demotions of tenured and tenure-track professors. This resolution was written in response to a tenured professor receiving a notice from their department chair that their salary was being reduced by 10 percent. Those in attendance di d not give any identifying details about this incident. According to Dan Sharphorn, the former Deputy General Counsel of the University of Michigan, it is legally acceptable to reduce a professor’s salary by 10 percent each year for a certain amount of years or 30 percent overall. However, most issues involving salary reductions are problematic because they do not follow due process, said SACUA member John Lehman, who is also a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. He and the other AAAC members drafted a resolution that they will present to the Senate Assembly —
HEATHER COLLEY Daily Staff Reporter
On Monday, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation that will streamline tuition assistance for members of the Michigan National Guard. House Bill 6013 was introduced in November to the Michigan Legislature and sponsored by state Rep. Bruce Rendon (R–Lake City). It was referred to the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, which reported on the bill with recommendation without amendment. In December, the bill was referred to the committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Homeland Security, all of whom favored the bill without amendment, and recommended its immediate effect. The bill seeks to adjust the Michigan National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program, which is housed within the state’s Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, in assisting members of the National Guard in paying for higher education. Michiganbegan revamping See TUITION, Page 3
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter
the governing body of the University which represents the interests and concerns of faculty — at its meeting on Jan. 23. The resolution calls for the enforcement of due process in situations where salary is lowered. The AAAC is a committee of the Senate Assembly, while SACUA is its executive branch. “The AAAC is not comfortable with these actions
that have been taken,” Lehman said. “What we are saying is that the Senate Assembly hereby declares that any reduction to an individual faculty member’s base academic salary constitutes a demotion, and entitles the affected faculty member to all of due process provisions … We’re not saying you can’t do it, you just have to follow the bylaws.” After Lehman’s presentation of the resolution, the SACUA
members moved into a discussion of whether or not they would endorse the resolution for the Senate Assembly, attempting to find the boundaries of what constitutes a demotion. SACUA Vice Chair Dave Wright, a Business School professor, said there was a key flaw in the recommendation. He was concerned with how See SACUA, Page 3
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs discusses a resolution at their weekly meeting in the Fleming Administration Building on Monday.
For more stories and coverage, visit
michigandaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 5 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
The elimination will occur over a two week period starting Jan. 30 ISHI MORI
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources approved Ann Arbor’s 2017 deer cull plan Friday. Which aims to eliminate 100 deer over the course of two weeks from Jan. 30 to Feb. 13. This year’s deer management program will introduce deer sterilization for the first time. According to the city, between the hours of 3 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Jan. 22 to 29, professionals from White Buffalo Inc. will dart doe with tranquilizers to conduct ovariectomies — surgical procedures that remove ovaries — on them at a temporary surgical site. Every sterilized deer will have a numbered ear tag attached to it, and one doe from each group will be fitted with a radio collar to track migration patterns and analyze survival rates. The program aims to sterilize at least 50 deer by the end of the week. City Councilmember Jason Frenzel (D–Ward 1) said the sterilization aspect was added in response to anti-cull groups, which have been demanding See DEER, Page 2
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................7
News
2 — Tuesday, January 10, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ON THE DAILY: TRUMP TWEETS PRAISE FORD AND CHRYSLER President-elect Donald Trump tweeted appreciation to Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Jan. 9 following recent announcements by both companies to invest in U.S. plants. During the Detroit Auto Show, Fiat Chrysler announced a $1 billion investment in its Warren, Mich. and Toledo, Ohio plants by 2020. Fiat Chrysler’s plans to make a Jeep pickup and resume production of the classic Wagoneer is expected to create 2,000 jobs. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, warned the company would have to close plants if Trump imposed a tariff on imports from Mexico. Ford announced earlier in January its plan to expand its Flat Rock plant, investing $700 million and hiring 700 new hourly workers to build self-
UMich Catholics @UmichCatholics
driving and electric vehicles. plants in Mexico. investment in Michigan The plant currently produces He expressed gratitude specifically. the Mustang and Lincoln to Ford and Fiat Chrysler in a Continental. Ford also canceled tweet, noting his appreciation plans to build a $1.6 billion plant for their in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Trump retweeted an article following the announcement, which indicated the presidentelect’s influence on the decision. Trump won Michigan, an auto industry hub, in November with promises to revive American manufacturing. Earlier in his campaign, he threatened to impose tariffs on cars made in Mexico by General EMMA RICHTER/Daily Trump supporters gather at a rally in Grand Rapids, MI in November 2016. Motors and repeatedly criticized Ford for their
Every flight of Mason Hall stairs = 45 minutes of uniterrupted nap time no arguments
SUPPORTERS
umich ARTS & CULTURE @umichARTS GOLDEN GLOBES: Congrats to #umich alums @pasekandpaul, who won Best Original Song for @LaLaLand’s “City of Stars”
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES String Showcase
WHAT: Recruiters working for startups and UM advisers will give advice on writing clear resumes and offer interview practice. WHO: Innovate Blue WHEN: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. WHERE: Duderstadt Center, Media Union
WHAT: The health effects of the 2008 northern California wildfires will be investigated using a spatiotemporal approach. WHO: Center for Mildlife Science WHEN: Noon to 1 p.m. WHERE: Room 3755, School of Public Health Building 1
WHAT: SMTD string soloists and chamber music groups selected by faculty will perform in this monthly series. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 3 p.m. WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall
Native Gardens at Home
Winter Fest
LSA Internship Forum
WHAT: Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum director and UM landscape architecture professor will explore the advantages of having native gardens at home. WHO: Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum WHEN: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
WHAT: Find more and new student organizations to join this semester. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union
WHAT: Learn more about internship experiences, crafting cover letters and resumes and talk to career advisers. WHO: University Career Center WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Henderson Room
Startup Career Fair: Resumes and Interviews
WHAT: UM piano faculty will perform classical pieces on the piano of Vladimir Horowitz. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 7:30 p.m. WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, Britton Recital Hall
Depression, Anxiety and Time Management WHAT: A Q&A presentation will focus on how to cope with challenges presented by depression, anxiety and mood swings. WHO: Depression Center WHEN: 5:30 to 7 p.m. WHERE: Chrysler Center, Room 265
DEER From Page 1 the city explore alternative and experimental methods of solution. “One of the concerns that was brought up by a number of different individuals and groups was the city’s lack of implementing any non-lethal methods,” Frenzel said. “There were some groups in town that were interesting in pursuing that option and this is an attempt to go down that road to see if it is a workable situation here.” The cull was highly unpopular among many citizens and some members of City Council when it was first introduced in the Fall of 2015. Many Ann Arbor citizens expressed concern over residents’ safety and the moral considerations of implementing a cull in the city. However, the cull was approved 8-1 by the City Council, and a majority of residents surveyed were in favor of it. The culling phase also received an update, taking last year’s data on neighborhood
EASY AS 1 2 3.
Keelin Kraemer @keelinkraemer
Environmental Research Seminar
Department of Piano Faculty Recital
safety and deer presence into consideration. Frenzel said updates include the shortening of the culling period, which was reduced from roughly two months to two weeks from January 30 to February 13 from 3 p.m. to midnight. The number of parks where lethal shooting will take place is also reduced because of the non-lethal initiative. “There’s a little bit of shifting around of parks,” Frenzel said. “(Last year) some of the parks were simply too small, some of the parks contiguous with other parks so it was confusing … and there were a couple of locations that were used heavily for children’s routes to school and those were removed.” There are 10 areas throughout the city that will be closed during the cull program. Three University of Michigan property areas will also be closed from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 from 3 p.m. to midnight, including the Nichols Arboretum. Tanya Hilgendorf, CEO of the Humane Society of Huron Valley, who is opposed to the deer management program,
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
expressed her displeasure at this dual sterilizationculling approach. She argued that the city’s claim of deer overpopulation is not scientifically valid and is instead motivated by residents wanting to protect the pristine condition of their backyards. “(We) do not think a mixed approach of killing and sterilizing makes sense philosophically or scientifically,” Hilgendorf wrote in an email interview with the Daily. “If we don’t think it is okay to use gun violence to try to solve problems between people then we shouldn’t use gun violence against wildlife in our community parks.” Hilgendorf criticized the University for opening its land up to sharpshooters, arguing that it is selfish for the University to create a haven for deer and then remove them when they become a nuisance. “The UM called the Arb a ‘living laboratory’ – shouldn’t a living laboratory embrace life?” Hilgendorf wrote. “We planted the tasty plants that deer love to eat. We essentially invited them to dinner and then became outraged when they took up our offer. Now they are being shot and going through surgery just to appease those looking for easy answers.” One of the concerns detailed in last year’s deer management report was the need for better enforcing park closing during culling hours and a small number of anti-cull activists who spread misinformation to create “alarm” among residents. Mayor Christopher Taylor (D) said he does not believe a misinformation campaign is going on, but rather that residents are interpreting information in a different way. “Whatever happened last year, I have no reason to believe that there’ll be people spreading misinformation this year,” Taylor said. “People get their information from a variety of ways. I have no reason to think that it’s an intentional campaign.”
Follow @michigandaily
Tweets
Sylly week won
Tom Horsman @TomHorsman It’s ironic that the Ohio flag was designed by a graduate of @UMich.
420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com
EMMA KINERY
Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 kineryem@michigandaily.com
NEWS TIPS
HUSSEIN HAKIM
Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 hjhakim@michigandaily.com
ARTS SECTION
PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION
news@michigandaily.com
arts@michigandaily.com
photo@michigandaily.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
NEWSROOM
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EDITORIAL PAGE
734-418-4115 opt. 3
CORRECTIONS
opinion@michigandaily.com
SPORTS SECTION
sports@michigandaily.com
corrections@michigandaily.com
ADVERTISING
dailydisplay@gmail.com
Editorial Staff
AMELIA CACCHIONE and EMMA RICHTER
REBECCA LERNER
Senior Photo Editors: Zoey Holmstrom, Evan Aaron, Claire Abdo Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Meingast, Emilie Farrugia, Sinduja Kilaru, Sam Mousigian, Marina Ross
Managing Editor
Managing Photo Editors rebler@michigandaily.com
ALEXA ST.JOHN
Managing News Editor alexastj@michigandaily.com Senior News Editors: Riyah Basha, Tim Cohn, Lydia Murray, Nisa Khan, Sophie Sherry
photo@michigandaily.com
LARA MOEHLMAN
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Deputy Statement Editor: Matt Gallatin Yoshiko Iwa Statement Lead Designer: Katie Spak
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com Senior Opinion Editors: Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Max Lubell, Stephanie Trierweiler
BETELHEM ASHAME and KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Senior Sports Editors: Laney Byler, Mike Persak, Orion Sang, Minh Doan, Chloe Aubuchon, Sylvanna Gross, Chris Crowder Assistant Sports Editors: Rob Hefter, Max Marcovitch, Avi Sholkoff, Ethan Wolfe, Matthew Kennedy, Paige Voeffray
ANAY KATYAL and NATALIE ZAK
Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Senior Arts Editors: Tess Garcia, Dayton Hare, Nabeel Chollanpat, Madeline Gaudin, Carly Snider Arts Beat Editors: Caroline Filips, Danielle Yacobson, Danny Hensel, Erika Shevchek, Matt Gallatin
MICHELLE PHILLIPS and AVA WEINER
Managing Design Editors
design@michigandaily.com
DANIELLE JACKSON and TAYLOR GRANDINETTI
Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com Senior Copy Editors: Marisa Frey, Ibrahim Rasheed
DYLAN LAWTON and BOB LESSER
Managing Online Editor lesserrc@michigandaily.com Senior Web Developers: Erik Forkin, Jordan Wolff
ABE LOFY
Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Video Editors: Gilly Yerrington, Matt Nolan, Aarthi Janakiraman, Emily Wolfe
JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG
Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Christian Paneda, Tanya Madhani, Neel Swamy, Adam Brodnax, Areeba Haider, Halimat Olaniyan, Sivanthy Visanthan
ELLIE HOMANT
Managing Social Media Editor Senior Social Media Editors: Carolyn Watson, Molly Force
Business Staff
SONIA SHEKAR
EMILY RICHNER
National Accounts Manager
Sales Manager
ANNA HE
Special Publications and Events Manager
Digital Marketing Manager
JESSICA STEWART 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 September-April are $225 and year long subscriptions are $250. 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
ROSS From Page 1 in building up these tools,” Avidar said. “We would create a script using the tool that we had built then we would send it out. So that was kind of the ‘aha’ moment. We were like,
It’s empowering to our team that we hit a milestone and we can celebrate it. But we have many more milestones that we need to achieve
‘hey, let’s build the exact same tool that Amazon has built but for a different medium.’ ” Avidar said the company made over $9 million in revenue last year and has received over $29 million in funding since its inception. “So we are providing them a toolkit,” Avidar said. “The best metaphor that I can say is that most people were using pen and paper beforehand, and we’re providing the new age calculator to the developer.” Avidar said being honored by Forbes was a validation of Lob as a company, but won’t change their day-to-day operations going forward. “It’s not really a recognition of myself, because I’m not a sole builder of Lob,” Avidar said. “So it’s more of a recognition for my team. What it means is that my team has done a great job building the company over the last three and a half years. I have a team that’s dedicated to a really important mission. I think it’s just validation for our team and validation for our idea. It will build more trust for the customers deciding whether or not to use Lob.” Avidar credited a lot of his and his company’s success to his ties with the University of Michigan, where he met Zhang in the Business School. Avidar and Zhang reunited in Seattle, where they continued not only their business endeavors, but their friendship.
SACUA From Page 1 theresolution dealt with scenarios where teaching responsibilities were increased but salary was not. “There’s another way to reduce someone’s salary effectively, which is to say that the base is still the same but your teaching load is (increased),” Wright said. “This wouldn’t catch that.” This sparked some debate within the committee, as SACUA member David Smith, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences, disagreed with Wright’s comment. He felt that increasing a professor’s teaching load is an acceptable course of action for a department to take, and does not count as a demotion. “I think it’s legal to give people more responsibilities with service or teaching, if, say, their research falls down,” Smith said. “What (the unwarranted salary decreases) seem a clear attempt to do, at least to me, is to bypass (the bylaw) and make it uncomfortable in a financial sense for the person to want to remain at the University.” Committee member SilkeMaria Weineck, professor of German studies and comparative literature, disagreed with Smith’s notion that teaching responsibilities could be increased to substitute for lagging research and felt that it in some cases, it could be more
“He was the first person I reached out to,” Avidar said. “Me and him grew very close when I was there; we have the same interests. We both have the business acumen. We both respect each other as people. He has led us to get amazing companies at Lob.” Zhang leads Sales and Marketing, and has been able to gain access to companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Square. Avidar said the four core members of Lob met while attending the University. Avidar stressed the importance of working closely with people in college because you might again in the future. “The Michigan ties are huge,” Avidar said. “Don’t underestimate the people you went to school with or the person that sat next to you in class. You never know, one day you might be starting a company with them. I am building a company, but at the same time it feels like me working with a bunch of friends.” The Business School also made a statement congratulating the two businessmen. “Congratulations to two Michigan Ross alumni, Leore Avidar and Harry Zhang, BBA ‘11, on being honored on Forbes’ annual ‘30 Under 30’ list,” the statement read. Avidar said there is a new API being released in March and another at the end of the year, with the long-term mission being to create a suite of APIs for companies to choose from. “We want to show that we are the best at building and selling APIs,” Avidar said. “It’s empowering to our team that we hit a milestone and we can celebrate it. But we have many more milestones that we need to achieve. It’ll push us to our next milestone.” Business School Dean Scott DeRue wrote in an email interview he believes the success of Avidar and Zhang demonstrates the benefits of a business education at the University. “We’re so proud of Leore and Harry for their success with Lob.com,” he wrote. “Being named to Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ List is an achievement that speaks to their outstanding creativity, determination, and leadership abilities. Leore and Harry’s story is a wonderful example of Michigan Ross’ tradition of excellence in entrepreneurship, and it is an inspiration for students across the University of Michigan who also possess bold ideas for the future of business.”
harmful than a salary decrease. “Salary is actually much more fluid than teaching load,” Weineck said. “In some disciplines where you publish more frequently, you can gauge research output more easily, but in the humanities, it’s not so easy to gauge whether someone is doing research.” Committee member Stefan Szymanski, a Kinesiology professor, said the definition of a demotion may have to be modified. He reasoned that the definition of demotion is a lowering of status and the explanation made by the AAAC does not explicitly cover this or a salary decrease nor does a teaching increase satisfy this definition. Wright suggested the committee revise the resolution to broaden the definition of demotion and clarify other terms regarding the increase of teaching responsibilities. However, since the resolution was written by the AAAC, the new additions had to be written in a separate resolution, he said. A new resolution was quickly written by Weineck and presented to the committee. The two resolutions on the table were brought up for vote by the committee. The original proposal to endorse the AAAC’s resolution was passed by SACUA by a vote of 4 to 2. The later resolution to clarify the definition of demotion failed with a tied vote, but can still be brought up independently at the Senate Assembly meeting.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 — 3
AUTHOR AMBA SSADOR
Omar Saif Ghobash, UAE ambassador to Russia, discusses his book Letters to a Young Muslim at Rackham on Monday.
MEDICINE From Page 1 the name Michigan Medicine encapsulates a more cohesive sentiment that could do its traditions more justice. “While it’s less descriptive than the very literal old name, the name Michigan Medicine feels more like a brand,” Froehlich said. “That could make our health system even more recognizable.” The Board also approved a new partnership between the University and Metro Health in Grand Rapids last September. Metro Health CEO Michael Faas said in an earlier press
TUITION From Page 1 its National Guard Tuition Assistance Program in 2014 by creating a tuition fund within the state treasury, capped at $10 million. Despite these efforts to improve education funding for members of the Michigan National Guard, the program introduced in 2014 struggled
The new language increases efficiency and reduces manpower by eliminating the middle person in the process
with red tape complexities. According to Brig. Gen. Michael Stone, assistant adjutant general for installations of the Michigan Army National Guard, a multitude of obstructing steps were necessary in order to approve tuition assistance
release that partnering with the University will add options for increased care to Metro Health patients, particularly in the Grand Rapids community. “It is no secret that U-M has some of the best providers in the state and country,” Faas wrote in a statement in June. “By joining the ‘leaders and best’ we can build on our existing expertise and provide our patients and community with enhanced access to specialized health care services, scientific discovery and advanced technology.” With its 500 physicians and 208-bed hospital, Metro Health hopes to increase accessibility and options for its patients
through this new relationship. Michigan Medicine allows for these increased options with
for members of the Michigan National Guard. The signed bill, which is now Public Act 531 of 2016, amends the current program to expand the financial discretion of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The Michigan National Guard Tuition Assistance Fund can distribute money to either an individual member of the National Guard or his or her academic institution. Under the new legislation, Maj. Gen. Gregory Vadnais, adjutant general and director of Military and Veterans Affairs for the Michigan National Guard, has the power to allocate money directly to an individual’s institution. The act limits lengthy administrative obstructions that previously hindered members of the Michigan National Guard from receiving timely educational funding. “The changes essentially allow us to pay the school directly, which increases efficiency,” Stone said. “The new language increases efficiency and reduces manpower by eliminating the middle person in the process. A Michigan Guard member can complete an online application and have tuition paid directly to his or her school.” The Michigan National Guard State Tuition Program may now award soldiers and airmen of the Michigan National Guard up to $600 per credit hour with a $6,000 cap at nearly all Michigan public or
private universities, vocational schools, tech schools or trade schools. “Those who serve to defend and protect our state deserve the ability to also reach their academic goals,” Snyder said. “This bill gives greater f lexibility to the National Guard Tuition Assistance Fund in order to provide tuition assistance to those who bravely serve their state and nation.” LSA junior Colin Kelly, president of the University’s chapter of College Democrats, said because of the straightforward nature of this legislation, the organization did not wish to comment. LSA student Audrey Carlstrom has been in the Michigan Air National Guard since Dec. 2013, and has been a full-time student at the University since Jan. 2014. Carlstrom said she had never applied for tuition aid until this semester. “Before now I never applied because I never thought I qualified even though I had read the requirements,” Carlstrom said. “I’m not fully aware of the new changes to be honest, but in the past I’ve felt disqualified before even trying because of the limited benefits of the state, the university I attend, and the federal I receive through the GI Bill and the state.” Engineering sophomore Emma Terbeek, vice president of the University’s chapter of College Republicans, is originally from Michigan and supports Gov. Snyder’s efforts
It is no secret that U-M has some of the best providers in the state and country
AARON BAKER/Daily
the University’s three hospitals, 40 outpatient locations and home care operations that handle more than 2.1 million outpatient visits a year. According to the Michigan Medicine’s press release, Board Chair Mark Bernstein (D) said the new partnership is evidence of the University’s goal to expand outside Ann Arbor. Runge agrees, believing the new title will fit the new health system and its future ambitions better. “We expect Michigan Medicine will help generate a better understanding of the strengths of our academic medical center and will energize all our faculty and staff,” Runge wrote.
to support members of the Michigan National Guard who deserve affordable education for their service.
In the past I’ve felt disqualified before even trying because of the limited benefits of the state, the university I attend and the federal I receive through the GI Bill and the state
“I think it’s great that Governor Snyder is trying to make it easier for those that serve our country and my state to have access to money to afford a college education,” Terbeek said. “It also incentivizes people joining National Guard because of the streamlined way they will be paying for college tuition.”
THE MICHIGAN DAILY IS HIRING Interested in writing? Design? Coding? Multimedia? Come to 420 Maynard on January 19, 23, 26 or 30 at 7 p.m.
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Tuesday, January 10, 2017
ISAIAH ZEAVIN-MOSS | COLUMN
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com
EMMA KINERY Editor in Chief
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors
REBECCA LERNER Managing Editor
EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Carolyn Ayaub Caitlin Heenan Jeremy Kaplan Max Lubell Alexis Megdanoff
Madeline Nowicki Anna Polumbo-Levy Jason Rowland Ali Safawi Kevin Sweitzer
Rebecca Tarnopol Ashley Tjhung Stephanie Trierweiler
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.
REBECCA TARNOPOL | OP-ED
Rethinking science education
REBECCA TARNOPOL
L
ast year, as I sat in my organic chemistry lecture, a rather disturbing thought passed through my mind: This professor could say pretty much anything, and I’d believe it. After much reflection, I’ve come to realize this thought rests on two premises. First is the notion that science, as a discipline, consists of an anthology of objective, unquestionable truths. Second is that in order to really understand these truths, one must persevere through years and years of education, slowly but surely garnering an understanding for both the concepts and the jargon in a given field. These two premises contribute to the studentteacher dynamic felt in most lecture courses: The professor, who holds a doctorate degree, serves as the end-all-be-all reservoir of knowledge for the content covered in the course, and the hundreds of undergrads enrolled in the course sit quietly and listen, absorbing this information, only interrupting for clarification. This dynamic endangers the very future of science. I’ll admit that though this thought dawned on me in organic chemistry, I didn’t really feel the weight of it then. Professors walked through chemistry concepts at the same pace students took notes. Exam problems required students to apply concepts, presenting them with novel problems from primary literature. I left the course feeling as if I had gained a solid understanding of the principles underlying organic chemistry. It wasn’t until this semester, as I sat listening to professors rattle off names of compounds and processes off 60-plus slide lectures, being told to be able to “recognize” them for exams and nothing more, that I realized the full implications of this professorstudent dynamic. In a course taught like this — where the expectation is to memorize terms instead of applying concepts or solving problems — students feel pressure to adhere strictly to what the professor presents. This results in a class full of future doctors, researchers and engineers accepting information at face value, afraid to challenge the professor, in fear of jeopardizing a grade in a course that will grant them a spot in a professional or graduate school. The course turns into a game of memorization, rather than
“
an opportunity to understand how these facts fit into a greater scientific whole. I found this especially problematic during times when my professors would contradict themselves by saying something incompatible with previous content presented in the lecture. I struggled with how I was supposed to navigate these contradictions — was I supposed to seek out the “truth,” or accept what the professor said as the “truth” within the context of the course? But even if students try to memorize and regurgitate all the information they learned for an exam, they don’t necessarily secure a good grade in the course. According to research conducted by University of Michigan professors, students, on average, performed worse in large introductory STEM lecture courses than they did in courses in other disciplines. Though all students experienced this grade penalty, female students experienced a larger penalty than their male counterparts, a difference attributed to factors like stereotype threat. I wouldn’t be too surprised if research revealed similar findings for other minority groups in science as well. Of course, it may be argued that the lower grades are a result of the material being “more difficult” in STEM courses than in other disciplines, but difficulty is only one factor among many that can adversely affect student performance. I’d argue that poor grades in these types of courses can also arise from the lack of a true studentteacher relationship due to class size or the lack of student engagement with the course material — memorizing facts and figures isn’t a particularly stimulating task. However, the bigger implication of these findings is that poor grades in these large lecture courses discourage key groups of people from pursuing scientific careers, eliminating diversity in science from the get-go. The same study found that grade penalties against women were not present in lab courses, which more readily resemble the types of environments that professionals in scientific careers encounter. Yet large lecture courses are often a student’s first taste of science at a collegiate level, and I can only imagine how many stereotype-threatened groups (or students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, whose schools might not have had strong science programs) abandon a science major before even realizing their prowess in the field. The problems caused by the unquestionable “objectivity”
and jargon that characterize scientific discourse transcend the classroom and render the discipline largely inaccessible to the general public. Perhaps the reason we live amid such rampant climate change denial is because much of the scientific evidence is incomprehensible to the average person; that is, the average person would likely more readily believe political pandering about a scientific topic than believe that elevated carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are correlated with rising temperatures. A similar assessment may be made to the camps driving antibiotic overuse and skepticism toward vaccination, two other salient issues that may endanger public health in the coming decades. I’m not arguing that we should water down science education to make it more inclusive, but rather that we should increase the accessibility of scientific ideas by presenting them without condescension and in a way that fosters inquiry rather than blind acceptance. The former starts with us: We mustn’t be so quick to dismiss people as unintelligent for failing to agree with scientific evidence that they likely do not understand. Instead, we must invite these people to the scientific conversation, acknowledge their side of the argument and give them the resources and guidance necessary to understand the implications of scientific research. As for creating courses that encourage inquiry and discussion, departments and faculty must work to revise curricula in their fields. The University already offers some courses that accomplish this task, such as the Authentic Research Connection sections of introductory biology and chemistry labs, which foster an inquiry-based alternative to the normal curricula for a small group of students each semester. REBUILD is also working on curricula revision across “foundational courses” in different STEM fields to foster “active learning” and make the courses more accessible to students of all identities. Making this shift across all introductory courses — especially large lecture courses — will undoubtedly take much time, thought and money, but it is integral for the creation of stronger, more inclusive science education. Until that happens, however, students must keep thinking critically about the “facts” they are presented. The future of science depends on us, after all. Rebecca Tarnopol is a co-editorial page editor of The Michigan Daily.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong. So don’t be afraid. — Michelle Obama addresses students while delivering her final remarks as first lady in the White House on January 6th.
”
The necessary messiness of our histories
I
’m going to tell you a a vitally destructive mode of personal anecdote and then examining one’s history. The relate it to an advertisement caption denies that Michigan I saw on campus; these two was ever not “valiant.” For things, together, example, James will help me make Burrill Angell, the my point. I promise longest-standing they relate to one president of the another. This does University (from not mean, despite my 1871 to 1909), best wishes to live in played a vital role in the world of “maybe drafting the Chinese it’s Maybelline,” Exclusion Act, signed that my life is an in 1882. This act ISAIAH advertisement. If denied immigration my life were an ZEAVIN-MOSS to the United States advertisement, if any by Chinese laborers of our lives were advertisements, and served as the foundation we would be fucked. OK? for restrictive, divisive In the days before our Winter immigration law today. Break, I went to the Central And yet, we valorize him. Campus Recreation Building Most students on this campus twice. These were my first times would only know his name going to the gym at school. By because one of our most the end of the second trip, I had illustrious, celebrated buildings to hold the banister with both of is named after him. I insist that my hands as I walked down the we must reckon with this past steps in my cooperative house in order to better understand to prevent myself from falling. ourselves today. The phrase My whole body ached. I began “Always Valiant” denies any to ask myself, “When can I start sense of humility or recognition considering myself a ‘gym rat?’ ” or introspection. How are I have a brother who has we meant to create a more always been more athletic equitable culture today if we do than I am, and I was raised by not even attempt to understand two parents who really care from where we are coming? about their health and their How will we know what is bodies. I have never really wrong, what is evil, if we refuse gotten into that whole thing, to study it, all in an attempt to despite their best efforts to glorify ourselves? push me toward the g ym. Yes, the University has I recognize this. I recognize taken active strides to combat that by going to the gym a instances of bigotry and hate couple of times, I am not speech on campus. I am serving going to make any great on the student board for the changes to my body or to my Diversity, Equity & Inclusion understanding of myself. This Plan, and I have spoken with work is continuous. It demands administrators who genuinely sustained, unrelenting effort. care about these issues and, I After the second of these believe, will work in our favor two trips to the gym, I saw an for the sake of combatting advertisement for the University these issues. But why do hate of Michigan Bicentennial. It crimes happen here? Why do contained two photographs, racist posters adorn the walls positioned vertically, with one of our campus? What are above the other. In the top the roots of these cancerous photo, taken in black and white, elements which are given five white students sit, looking space to bubble and thrive on goofy as they eat and drink our campus? Why are we so while looking at the camera. afraid to study these roots? In the bottom photo, in color, Why do we insist upon our two Asian students sit on the eternal, long-lasting sanctity? grass, chatting. Accompanying I posit that these two these photographs were the moments — my grappling words, written in capitalized with my understanding of my font, “Always Michigan/Forever body while going to the gym Valiant.” and this advertisement — This advertisement represents demonstrate the destruction
that accompanies a presentist mindset, a perspective which focuses solely on the present moment and refuses to reckon with its past. Two trips to the gym do not change me. And contemporary advertising campaigns and “initiatives” do not change the history of this campus. Our past always informs our present and our future. We must study it in order to assure ourselves that it does not happen again. The threats of a reversion to a less equitable world are imminent, always looming. For evidence, we can use the number of hate crimes and instances of racism on our campus that took place last semester, and will, in some form, explicit or not, characterize the semester that has just beg un. These forces of hate have not been successfully defeated, I believe, precisely because we have thus far refused to engage with our history. Instead of only focusing on moving past these instances of hatred, I posit that we study their origins, that we understand the limitations of our perspective — we, a university that glorifies and celebrates Angell, also honors Clarence Cook Little, a prominent eugenicist. Little was also a University president, as if once one becomes a president at our school, they achieve a certain undeniable, unquestionable glory. Their careers of working toward institutional division and hatred are discarded, in order to construct an unrealistic, ignorant profile, which we can subsequently admire. The solution also does not lie simply in changing the names of the buildings this University has named after these men. That would be a move of intentional erasure, and this is not what we need. Let the names linger for some time while we study their meanings and their impacts. Let them soak in their disgusting, soiled, foul history. Let the unsullied reputations of these men die, through dialogue and recognition and consciousness. Only then can we move forward. Isaiah Zeavin-Moss can be reached at izeavinm@umich.edu.
ASHLEY ZHANG | COLUMN
Making peace with imperfection
M
y AP teachers in that many of my new schoolmates high school loved shared my feelings: I believed to brag that we the statistics, but there was no were undoubtedly prepared way that I would fall victim to for college, that them. High school our educations had had, frankly, been a ingrained in us piece of cake for me, superb study habits and I was confident and learning skills that college would be that would put us far no different. beyond our college How naive I was. peers. Yet, while I do Now here I am, a mere believe that my high half-year later with school did a good a semester under my ASHLEY job of preparing me belt and a less-thanand my classmates perfect GPA, eating ZHANG for higher education, my own words. I had college was not the walk in the come to expect my grade earlier park that I’d been promised; in the semester as the possibility most of my new peers came just of earning an A diminished with as prepared as me, if not more. each passing exam, but there I still remember my second was still something crushing day of freshman orientation, about seeing it officially mar my when the College of Engineering transcript: B+. B stands for bad. B and School of Music, Theatre & is a blemish. Bs don’t get you into Dance students were shuttled med school (this is a common on a bus to the mysterious misconception, by the way). North Campus that I now call Now, I hadn’t cried about home. A histogram of the grade my grades since the first test point averages of the members I’d failed in AP Chemistry of the incoming class was way back when, but my voice projected on the screen, heavily was still tinged with dismay skewed right — the median was when I told my parents about a whopping 3.9. Then, the graph my first B. I’m not exactly changed to display the GPAs of sure what I was expecting, engineering students after a but I was surprised when few semesters at the University. they responded without a The difference between the two trace of negativity. They histograms was drastic: The understood that college was graph of engineering students’ a different playing field from GPAs after a few semesters at high school, and a B+ was a the University showed a much perfectly acceptable grade. larger spread with a much It took me a while lower median GPA. longer to come to the same “Most of you breezed through understanding. In a way, I felt high school with a 4.0,” stated like I’d let myself down. I’d the adviser, and I looked around always excelled at school, and the room to see a sea of nodding some time along the way, I’d heads, my own included. “But tied my self-worth to it. When many of you will find it much I suddenly had to work my ass more difficult to maintain in off for the first time and it college, and that’s OK.” still wasn’t enough, I felt like The reaction was not as I’d lost something integral to obvious this time, but I suspect my identity.
Winter break was a time for reflection, a coming-toterms with the past semester. If I could describe my first semester here in one word, I would call it “humbling.” I have met some of the best and brightest people here, and they have taught me so much about chemistry, math and modesty. I’ve learned that even the smartest people I know have stumbled academically at times, and that a single letter should not — and cannot — define me. I’ve realized that, although academics should be a priority, there is so much more to the college experience, and it would be a shame to waste these four short years in the library, worrying about maintaining a 4.0. Though I was disappointed to earn a B so early in my college career, in a way, I’m glad it came this way. The Band-Aid has been ripped off, the perfection shattered, and now I’m free. Rather than view my GPA as something that’s been broken beyond repair, I see it as a burden off my back. There is freedom, now, to be adventurous with my curriculum and dive into classes that interest me without worrying about their difficulty or curve. As I think back to the adviser’s words at freshman orientation that I had such contempt for a mere six months ago, I realize how they resonate the truth. Though an imperfect GPA had once felt like a death sentence for any future I had in mind, I’ve come to peace with it, and I am — just like the adviser predicted — OK.
Ashley Zhang can be reached at ashleyzh@umich.edu.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, January 10, 2017 — 5
LITERATURE COLUMN
FILM REVIEW
The Cult of Girlhood The challenge of defining adolescence in print and real life
What makes you ugly cry? Submit responses to cnsnider@umich.edu
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
‘Fences’ hopes to break away from theatre roots Despite Viola Davis’ s strong performance, film adaptation of classic August Wilson play falls short of expectations to clear. The plot of the film follows Senior Arts Editor Troy as he tries to reconcile his past failures and deal with his son’s desire to play college Someone give Viola Davis football (played by Jovan an Oscar right now. Right Adepo of “The Leftovers”). now. Don’t even wait until Troy was once a great baseball February. player, but never made it to The actress, made famous the major leagues, a failure by her role as Annalise he blames on his race. He Keating on “How to Get Away worries the same will happen With Murder,” is the shining to his son if he tries to make light of the film it to the NFL, adaptation of so Troy pushes “Fences.” The him away power and grit of from sports. her performance The tension “Fences” as Rose, a 1950s and conf lict Pittsburgh between the Paramount housewife, is two men is Pictures unmatched, underdeveloped not only in the and largely Rave, Quality 16 film itself, but unexplored, in this entire which is awards season. disappointing, She’s up for as for the best supporting majority of the actress at the Golden Globes film it is the central source of and likely will be for the conf lict. Oscars as well. I really But, “Fences” is stuck in can’t say enough about her its theatrical roots. Almost performance. She’s perfect. all of the action takes place We do not deserve Viola Davis. in and around the Maxom Denzel Washington (“The family house. For an almost Magnificent Seven”), who also two and a half hour movie, directed the film, has a hard visually, it’s boring. Most the time keeping up with Davis. time, the characters appear in He plays Troy Maxom, Rose’s medium or long shot, the type husband and the central of view one would have of an figure in the film. He’s also in actor on the stage. The actors, a uniquely difficult position. most noticeably Washington, “Fences” first premiered as a feel like they’re giving a play with the same name by performance for the person in August Wilson in which Davis the back row who might not be and Washington previously able to see or hear — something starred. The most iconic that’s unnecessary in a film. It portrayal of Troy is that by feels, ultimately, like you’re James Earl Jones (famous watching a recording of a play, for his roles as Darth Vader instead of a film. and Michigan hype video As a play, it works. As a narrator) in the original movie, it’s disappointing in production of the play. Jones its unwillingness to take won a Tony for the role and set advantage of its medium. the bar impossibly high — at There’s a reason Denzel least too high for Washington Washington didn’t build MADELEINE GAUDIN
B-
his career on his directorial abilities. There are moments in “Fences” of real visual beauty, but many of the shots are lazy — tracking shots lose their subjects, the camera switches from stable to handheld in jarring transitions. The editorial and cinematic seams are on full display. The story Washington has to work with is incredibly rich. August Wilson is a poet of the everyday, spinning vernacular into lyrical dialogue. He weaves the lives of the Maxom family together with exquisite intricacy. The transition from stage to screen seems to be one of the most difficult to make (unless you’re Shakespeare, I guess). “August: Osage County” is a great example of a work that excelled as a play and fell f lat as a film. Unlike literary adaptations, with plays there
As a movie, it’s disappointing in its unwillingness to take advantage of its medium is already a visual record of the work, so films adapted from plays tend to feel more like remakes than adaptations. “Fences” is the perfect example of a stage to screen adaptation that falls victim to its transition. Unfortunately, “Fences” cannot escape its origins.
DO YOU LIE TO YOURSELF TO FILL THE EMPTY SPACES IN YOUR HEART JUST LIKE WE USE DEAD ADS TO FILL UP EMPTY SPACES IN OUR PAPER? If you’re in as deep an abyss as we are, apply to Daily Arts! Contact Anay Katyal at anay@umich.edu and Natalie Zak at npzak@umich.edu for an application and our favorite piece of existential dietary advice.
As we grow into ourselves, The reason that Evie enlists our minds become instruments in the group at all is her instant for categorization. Everything attraction to Suzanne, one of becomes relational, easily the older girls in the cult. Evie compared to something else. We tolerates Russell, but she is obsessively classify what we see, instantly and deeply in love with identifying the people and things Suzanne. Evie explains, in the around us as “this,” but not “that.” astral prose that surges through It helps us make the novel, “girls are the sense of a potently only ones who can really dynamic world, but give each other close categorization is attention, the kind we dangerous. It leads equate with being loved. to pigeonholing and They noticed what we expectations of what want noticed.” Russell people can and can’t creates the toxicity be. of the hallucinatory, Characters in kaleidoscopic commune literature often evade — none of the members REBECCA have any money, but these anticipations. But the trend of the girls are forced into LERNER Managing Editor a sexual and emotional disintegrating the boundaries barter system when constructed around identity is, for interacting with the men who me, most openly apparent in books frequent the commune. Only that examine girls crossing the the girls have any interest in threshold into womanhood, and constructing a home out of the causalities that so often occur the commune, attempting to during that in-between state. create a semblance of a domestic Teenage girls are written as atmosphere. The girls all “share” adrift, beautifully damaged and Russell, emotionally and sexually, desperately looking for love. The and some have children who difference between typical high live with them as well. Though school romance novels and heart the girls are still close to being wrenching literature is where children themselves, they act with they find this love. the weight of adulthood on their In “The Girls,” the debut novel shoulders. Evie, Suzanne and by Emma Cline, protagonist Evie the other girls must constantly Boyd retrospectively reflects on balance their burgeoning her time in a cult in the late 1960s. sexuality with the imposed Inspired by the gruesome Manson humiliation of their desire; they murders, fourteen year old Evie is must cope with their uneasy quickly inducted into the swirling, feelings about their supposedly dreamy world created by cult harmonious, unconventional leader Russell. A charismatic living situation. narcissist, Russell surrounds While I read “The Girls,” I himself with runaway teenage couldn’t help but think of another girls who are mesmerized by his book in which a band of sisters nonchalant power. gathered to be more than what And yet, the novel barely anyone thought they possibly focuses on what the collective could be. In Jeffrey Eugenides’ culture has remained fascinated “The Virgin Suicides,” the with — the new incarnation Lisbon sisters, beautiful, blonde, of Manson in Russell and the and perpetually unattainable, violence that he was able to incite. personify teenage angst. Another Cline is much more preoccupied retrospective novel told from with the girls who join him and the perspective of the currently their reasoning, their struggles middle aged male worshippers and their dreams. of the Lisbon sisters, “The Virgin
Suicides” allows the men to indulge their nostalgia and try to figure out what went wrong. Why did these hauntingly beautiful girls, bored in their pastel suburbia of Grosse Point, Michigan, kill themselves? In “The Virgin Suicides,” the boys eventually steal the diaries of one of the sisters, in an attempt to get in their minds. The boys never actually speak to the girls — all communication is done through music played over a telephone or notes left around town. The boys begin to realize how much they don’t understand about the Lisbon sisters, explaining, “we felt the imprisonment of being a girl, the way it made your mind active and dreamy, and how you ended up knowing which colors went together. We knew that the girls were our twins, that we all existed in space like animals with identical skins, and that they knew everything about us though we couldn’t fathom them at all. We knew, finally, that the girls were really women in disguise, that they understood love and even death, and that our job was merely to create the noise that seemed to fascinate them.” These teenagers only have ideas of each other, but also only have ideas of themselves. It takes reading the novel as an adult to see how much is a purported, assumed identity; none of them actually understand themselves or the world around them, but being a teenager makes you good at faking it. So what does it mean to be a teenager, in print and in life? Is it the blatant defiance of categorization, the ability to contain multiplicities and contradictions without being concerned about an identity that makes sense? I don’t know. I think it’s the way that everything becomes saturated with meaning, how people and places and words and colors ring through your brain without a purpose. I wonder if we would continue this concentrated significance to adulthood if we could. But it might hurt too much.
FILM NOTEBOOK
If this shows up on my Facebook feed one more time I’m going to lose it
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
How ‘Bee’ turned meme WILL STEWART Daily Arts Writer
Memes are the most inexplicable “cultural” products of today. What becomes a meme is so unpredictable, and it’s that randomness which makes them so hilarious — of course, only if it isn’t a “stale” meme. The amount of time a meme is relevant ranges anywhere from one week to nearly three months or longer. And, when a meme is deemed old, it loses all credibility; it falls to the dark depths of meme purgatory. In the Fall of 2016, DreamWorks’ “Bee Movie” was introduced to the honorable ranks of memestardom. Although the meme itself has died, its legacy will live on forever, inspiring memes for months (or weeks) to come. Memes are not limited to a picture captioned with white block text in Impact font. In fact, this meme style is rather archaic. Today, memes can be anything from short videos on Vine and Instagram to a picture of a clenched fist from the childhood cartoon “Arthur.” Comic Sans is generally the font of choice for meme creators. Strangely enough, the “Bee Movie” memes tend
to be edits and mashups of the movie itself, like the aptly titled YouTube video “The entire bee movie but every time they say bee it gets faster,” that received an astonishing 15 million views — a meme miracle. The origins of the “Bee Movie” meme are ambiguous. By November 2016, it gained significant momentum and eventually became the most popular meme on the web. Discovering a meme ahead of the curve is like discovering a band before they get big. There’s a sense of disappointment due to the meme, or band, feeling less special once everyone knows about it — but also pride. “I found this first, therefore I’m cool!” Other similar mashups and edits of “Bee Movie” have been shared on Facebook and Instagram. According to the meme expert Anthony Fantano — more famously known as The Needle Drop — the “Bee Movie” meme is “disoriented, mind altering and almost psychedelic, in a way.” Despite there being no original content, some amount of creativity is still needed to produce these mashups. Someone had to watch “Bee Movie” and actively think about making a meme out of it. For this, I applaud the creator,
whoever this individual may be. Memes are a godsend for weird, awkward internet-forum dwellers across the world. That creepy kid from high school who sat in the back of every classroom drawing questionable pictures is now probably a virtual star. Although it’s impossible to tell what will become a meme, the “Bee Movie” is an ideal candidate. It’s not a great movie, but also not a terrible movie. It’s not new, but old enough to have some amount of nostalgic value. To top it all off, Jerry Seinfeld (“Seinfeld”) voices Barry, the loveable bee who falls in love with a human voiced by Renée Zellweger (“Bridget Jones’s Baby”). Meme culture loves ’90s nostalgia, so it only makes sense that a movie written by and starring Jerry Seinfeld would transcend into the meme world. The mashup style and the edited format of the “Bee Movie” meme have already impacted others. In December, an influx of “Star Wars” meme-videos of lightsaber fights dubbed with random dialogue every time a lightsaber collides invaded the Internet. Nonetheless, a similar meme as popular as the “Bee Movie” meme has yet to come, and it will be nearly impossible to do so.
Arts
6 — Tuesday, January 10, 2017
TV REVIEW
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
STYLE NOTEBOOK
NETFLIX
I don’t even know what to say about this
‘One Day’ a decent revival Revival of ’75 series brings refreshing diversity to Netflix “quinceañera,” a coming-of-age party for 15-year old girls, as she Daily Arts Writer feels the cultural celebration is rooted in misogyny. These As a new series ringing in the new generational arguments, both with year, Netflix’s “One Day at a Time” equally compelling points, are ponders the teenage experience ultimately what drives this series and celebration of family in a and makes it so captivating. revival of the classic 1975 series What’s so interesting about of the same name. “One Day at a While the term Time” is that “reboot” may be used their arguments to describe many are never idle throwback series, bickering. Rather, “One Day at a “revival” is the more they are deep Time” accurate term for conversations that Series Premiere “One Day at a Time” ponder the larger — though the sitcom issues of money, Netflix may be reminiscent race and class. So of its namesake, it’s while Penelope exclusively one of a might push for kind. her daughter’s The series opens on the Alvarez appreciation of her Cuban family, a Cuban-American heritage, Elena equally fights for household that struggles to find recognition as a modern feminist. balance between dueling cultures. All the while, “abuela” Lydia In a classic battle of the ages, (Rita Moreno, “West Side Story”) Justina Machado (“The Purge: and shopaholic son Alex (Marcel Anarchy”) portrays Penelope, Ruiz, “Snowfall”) balance out the a recently divorced single mom mother and daughter with antics juggling the trials of divorce, work of their own. While Lydia serves and, of course, teenage hormones. as a reminder of the family’s Cuban As hard as Penelope works to heritage, Alex is a reminder of the raise her children in a world of economic struggle and how they’ve opportunity, her children push persevered over the years, despite back harder, with technology lacking a prominent father figure. and left-wing viewpoints. From talks of antidepressants to Opinions are more specifically the war in Afghanistan, this revival propagated by Elena (Isabella is taking a modern spin to the Gomez, “Matador”), Penelope’s American family. feminist teenage daughter who Looking back on the pilot refuses to participate in her own episode, one can see that “One Day MEGAN MITCHELL
B+
Classifieds
at a Time” succeeds where “Fuller House” falls short — capturing that old-school sitcom vibe without falling into cheesy material. While, at times, some aspects tread that thin line, this reboot focuses on family struggles more than pulling some quick laughs. One of the few weaknesses lies in the hipster landlord Schneider (Todd Grinnell, “Nesting”), who offers advice to Penelope’s children with a sidedish of cool attitude and urban slang that falls short of convincing and moves straight into the realm of awkwardness. Even if this is the character trait the series is pulling for, the lines are often overzealous in delivery, breaking the sincerity of the series with an inward cringe. Overall, the Alvarez family is dynamically different from the family of Netflix’s recent revival of the “Full House” series. Not only in race, but in the dynamics of a working American family, struggling to make ends meet from day to day. With an unapologetic look inside the modern family and the struggles of cultural heritage and appreciation, “One Day at a Time” is plunged back onto our screens as a driving force in the world of sitcoms. Although there is still the fluffiness of a sitcom present in Netflix’s revival, the touch of reality makes “One Day at a Time” unique and well-worth the watch. The first season of “One Day at a Time” is currently streaming in its entirety on Netflix.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
RELEASE DATE– Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
FOR RENT
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Doofus 5 Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant 10 Smack on the mouth 14 Letter-shaped support piece 15 “For real!” 16 Pop singer Brickell 17 Dice roller’s exhortation 19 Scrabble piece 20 TV preview 21 Taken as a whole 23 Satchel feature 26 Margarita glass rim coating 27 Curved sword 30 Application info: Abbr. 32 Pool measure 35 What soccer shootouts resolve 36 Peaceful state 38 P-like Greek letter 39 Actress Thurman 40 Actor with nearsynonymous first and last names 41 Museum hanging 42 Amount after costs 43 Suitcase attachments 44 Yuletide 45 Not so hot? 47 __ Lanka 48 Swollen 49 Upper, in Ulm 51 Male voice range 53 “Toodle-oo!” 56 Evaluate for tax purposes 60 Wee bit 61 Cause trouble ... and a hint to this puzzle’s circled letters 64 Time in office 65 Emulate Vesuvius 66 Scarlet letter of fiction 67 Slow Churned ice cream brand 68 Hagar of Van Halen 69 Wine bottle number
DOWN 1 Random House vol. 2 Woodwind instrument 3 Dalai __ 4 Locks on heads 5 Soup mix brand 6 “Blue Bloods” extra 7 Pie-mode connection 8 TV host Kelly 9 Applies weatherstripping to 10 Stovetop whistler 11 Pretty darn simple 12 Housecat’s perch 13 Watermelon eater’s discard 18 Four: Pref. 22 Saddled (with) 24 People with skill 25 Toaster snack 27 Publicity ploy 28 Evangelist __ Semple McPherson 29 Verses by Allen Ginsberg, e.g.
31 Shake it on the dance floor 33 Burglar 34 “Deck the Halls” greenery 36 Free (of) 37 Yearbook gp. 40 One on horseback 44 Room with a crib 46 Steel girders 48 Luxurious 50 Greets the judge 52 Well-dressed
53 Mention in a footnote 54 Broke up some clods 55 Senorita’s “other” 57 Weapon with a tip guard 58 Scotch go-with 59 Walk of Fame figure 62 Periodic table suffix 63 Turntable no.
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
1 BEDROOM APTS Near N. Campus Fall 2017‑18 ‑ $900/m + $25/m Utilities Each unit has one parking space. 909 & 915 Wall St. Deinco Properties 734‑996‑1991 2 BEDROOM + Study Fall 2017 2 Parking Spaces Washer/Dryer Max occupancy is 4 935 S. Division ‑ $2250 + Utilities Cappo Mgmt 734‑996‑1991 2017‑2018 LEASING Apartments Going Fast! Prime Student Housing 761‑8000. www.primesh.com Efficiencies: 344 S. Division $855 610 S. Forest $870 ‑ 1 Left 1 Bedrooms: 511 Hoover $1045/$1065 508 Division $945 *Varies by location: Full Furnished, Parking Included, Free Ethernet 4 BEDROOM HOUSE Fall 2017 3 Parking Spaces Washer/Dryer 827 Brookwood ‑ $2900 + Utilities Deinco Properties 734‑996‑1991
xwordeditor@aol.com
01/10/17
5 BEDROOM APT Fall 2017 Washer Dryer, 3 Parking Spaces 1014 Vaughn #1 ‑ $2900 + Utilities Deinco Properties 734‑996‑1991 EFF, 1 & 2 Bdrm Apts Fall 2017‑18 Many locations near campus Rents from $850 (eff) ‑ $1415 (2 bdrm) Most include Heat and Water www.cappomanagement.com 734‑996‑1991 FALL 2017‑18 Apts @ 1015 Packard 2 Bedroom ‑ $1370 ‑ 2nd floor 3 Bedroom ‑ $1380 ‑ basement 1 parking space avail for $50/m per unit Deinco 734‑996‑1991
HAPPY
By Janice Luttrell ©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/10/17
TUESDAY!
CALVIN KLEIN He’s beauty, he’s grace, he’s Miss United States
Unrequited love: hip-hop and designer fashion Old money, new money and the introduction of hip-hop into the world of high fashion and what this means for the industry NARESH IYENDAR For The Daily
“We are culture. Rap is the new rock ‘n’ roll. We are the rock stars.” —Kanye West From Karl Kani and Cross Colours to Rocawear and Fubu, the hip-hop community has been involved in fashion since before its emergence into the mainstream. The birth of modern streetwear, and the ability for brands like Supreme to coexist with brands like Ralph Lauren, have artists like Damon Dash, Jay Z, Puff Daddy, and many others to thank. Even though these brands have their origins as early as 1989, it wasn’t until recently that rappers were able to break into the high-fashion world. Designer fashion is a completely different beast from brands started in houses and garages. Something that goes along with designer brands is the idea of status: when a customer buys something from Louis Vuitton, they are not always buying it for the pattern itself, but rather because the pattern says something about the quality of their life. Brands like Gucci and Versace are considered to be high class, and hip-hop artists have long been considered to be of a lower class than designers, its the concept of old-money vs. new-money. Things have long been this way, but are beginning to change. Rappers are finally entering into the fold with regard to designer fashion. It’s long overdue. It really was not until late 2008 when an artist like Pharrell was able to have a jewelry collaboration with Louis Vuitton. That was quickly followed up by the brand’s 2009 collaboration
with Kanye West. Still today, only a few houses have admitted their inf luence and appeal to hip-hop culture (Rousteing and Tisci at Balmain and Givenchy come to mind). 2016 has been a muchneeded year for hip-hop stars further disrupting the fashion industry. To highlight a few, A$AP Rocky was named as one of the faces of Dior Homme’s FW16 campaign (and has had successful collaborations with J.W. Anderson and GUESS), Young Thug and Frank Ocean were shown modeling for Calvin Klein, and Travis Scott appeared in a Yves Saint Laurent video. Saint Laurent under Hedi Slimane was often criticized for having a very whitewashed runway show. His Spring/ Summer 15 show featured one black model, who was essentially in a Jimi Hendrix costume, and they have not had many more since. So, Scott’s appearance in the video was a muchwelcomed surprise. The fashion world is changing: Internet forums, Instagram, and other sites are becoming an integral platform for sharing what’s popular in fashion around the world. Consumers are taking cues from hiphop artists and buying into the status association of wearing the same thing as Kanye or A$AP Rocky. Looking back at last year, the biggest question I’m left with is this: Why haven’t more designer houses taken cues from Balmain and
Designer fashion is a completely different beast from brands started in houses and garages
Givenchy to work with hiphop artists? Mainstream popularity drives business, and there’s no denying that hip-hop qualifies as mainstream. One of the most pervasive themes in hiphop is the idea of conspicuous consumption and, whether designers like it or not, these artists are ambassadors for the brands and are driving sales. It makes sense to me to use them as a marketing tool. It’s instantly visible when I’m browsing sites like Grailed for clothes and I see a picture of a highly coveted item worn by Kanye, or Rocky being used as a selling point. It is hard for me to not think about how many extra wallets and bags are sold when Lil Uzi Vert raps “Hunnid bands on the Goyard” in his song, “Of Course We Ghetto Flowers,” or how many more people lookedup the mentioned brands when Rocky says “I see your Jil Sanders, Oliver Peoples/ Costume National, your Ann Demeulemeester” on “Fashion Killa” and then proceeded to save up for a pair of shades or boots. To me it sounds like unrequited love: Loving something so much, only for it to not feel the same. That’s the relationship between hiphop and designer-fashion in the world today. It comes down to class, like I previously mentioned: In the world of high-fashion, the hip-hop community is still viewed by many as a dangerous other. While I don’t know what the solution here is, it’s time for major fashion houses to recognize that they are cannibalizing their own sales by continuing to marginalize such a successful group of customers and all of their fans.
Why haven’t more designer houses taken cues from Balmain and Givenchy to work with hip-hop artists?
DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH MERYL STREEP AND MERYL STREEP ALONE? #BADBITCHESONLY #STREEP2020 The come talk to us. We mirror our lives after Miranda Priestly. E-mail Anay Katyal at anay@umich.edu for an application.
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, January 10, 2016 — 7
Hamilton to reportedly join coaching staff
Multiple reports in the past few days indicated that Pep Hamilton could become the new assistant head coach and passing game coordinator of the Wolverines
CLEMSON
ORION SANG
According to several reports, current Cleveland Browns assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton is joining Jim Harbaugh and the rest of the Michigan coaching staff as the new assistant head coach and passing game coordinator. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com first reported Saturday that Hamilton was “weighing a departure” from the Browns to join the Wolverines. One day later, Rapoport tweeted that Harbaugh had been “telling recruits for a few days” that Hamilton would be coming to Michigan. Steve Lorenz of Wolverine 247 also told The Daily on Sunday that he was expecting Hamilton to join the staff before Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted Monday night that Hamilton accepted Michigan’s coaching offer. Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com confirmed that Hamilton had taken the offer as well. Meanwhile, Hue Jackson, head coach of the Browns, told reporters on a conference call Sunday that he “felt very comfortable that Pep is staying.” “I have known about the Jim Harbaugh situation from a week and a half ago,” Jackson said, according to the Browns’ official website. “... Anything can happen. We want him to stay. We hope he stays. Like I said, a young man is entitled to do what they feel is best for them, but I’d think we’ve created a good environment and I hope things are still good. As far as I know, things are.” This would not be the first time Hamilton has coached with Harbaugh — he was a part of Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford in 2010, where he served as the wide receivers coach.
Final
35
Daily Sports Editor
420
31
Passing (yards)
155
Rushing (yards)
91 420
221
Receiving (yards)
Fumbles
0
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
ALABAMA
155 0
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will reportedly be reunited with his former wide receivers coach in Pep Hamilton.
Hamilton’s arrival in Ann Arbor would help to fill the staff vacancy created by Jedd Fisch’s departure from the program, as he recently accepted a position as the new offensive coordinator for UCLA. It appears Hamilton would be a perfect fit to replace Fisch, who served as Michigan’s quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. Hamilton has significant experience coaching both positions, as he has served as an offensive coordinator at numerous stops throughout his career. Like Fisch, Hamilton
would bring a unique blend of experience at both the collegiate and professional level. Hamilton began his career at Howard University, where he served as the quarterbacks coach and later as the offensive coordinator before moving on to the professional level — coaching with the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears. He returned to college football in 2010 to join Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford. Under Hamilton, Cardinal receivers combined for 129 catches for 2,026 yards and were part of an offense that scored 40.3 points per
Anything can happen. We want him to stay
game that year, making Stanford the ninth-ranked offense in the nation. After Harbaugh’s departure from the program following the 2010 season, Hamilton took over as the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator for the next two years. With Hamilton in that position, Stanford’s offense averaged 43.2 and 27.9 points per game, respectively, in 2011 and 2012, before he left for the NFL once again. Before his current stint with the Browns, Hamilton was the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts, calling plays for former Stanford players Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener. He joined the Browns after being fired by the Colts in 2015.
Kick returns (yards)
57
130 3
Punt returns (yards)
0 345
This is a developing story. Stay tuned with The Daily for updates.
9
Kicking (yards)
Punting (yards)
27 483
Notebook: Michigan missing pieces before Minnesota Freshman forward Will Lockwood, the Wolverines’ leading scorer, will be sidelined against the Golden Gophers after re-aggravating a shoulder injury at the Great Lakes Invitational in a matchup against Michigan State on Dec. 29 MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor
The Michigan hockey team has yet to play a game with its full roster at its disposal. For the entire fall semester, sophomore forward Cooper Marody was academically ineligible, leaving the Wolverines without one of their best returning players. When Marody finally returned at the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 29, sophomore defenseman Joseph Cecconi departed for Canada to play in the World Junior Championships. This weekend, when Michigan travels to face No. 9 Minnesota, it will again be left shorthanded. This time, though, a new batch of injuries are plaguing the Wolverines. Freshman forward Will Lockwood re-aggravated a shoulder injury in Michigan’s game against Michigan State at the GLI and has not practiced since. Lockwood is currently leading the team in points this season, and is perhaps the Wolverines’ most dangerous offensive threat. And given that the Golden Gophers’ home rink is Olympicsized — 15 feet wider than the typical NHL-sized rink — Michigan will miss Lockwood’s speed and quickness even more than it usually would. “He’s one of our best players, so definitely we’re going to miss him,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “Now Cooper (Marody) is back, and we’ve got to get him going and get that line going, but, yeah, we’ve got to get Will Lockwood back. And the sooner, the better.” In addition to Lockwood, Michigan will also be without freshman defenseman Christian Meike, who injured his knee prior
CLAIRE ABDO/Daily
Freshman forward Will Lockwood has had an impressive start to his career, scoring seven goals in 18 games to lead the Wolverines in points.
to the GLI. While Meike hasn’t played nearly as large of a role as Lockwood — only appearing in three games this season — his absence certainly won’t help. Cecconi returns Michigan does get some good news in terms of personnel. Cecconi will make his return to the Wolverines after winning the World Junior Championship with the United States team. While Cecconi is only in his sophomore season, he has proven to be one of the most consistent players on the team. And with
He’s one of our best players, so definitely we’re going to miss him
him gone, Michigan was forced to play freshmen defensemen Griffin Luce and Luke Martin. Though the two have played often for the Wolverines this season, bringing Cecconi back will be a welcome sight, because of his consistency. “He’s one of our steadiest defenseman,” Berenson said. “I’d say he’s a solid, defensive defenseman. He stays at home, blocks shots, kills penalties, he’s got a smart stick, he’s hard to play against and he’s just one of those elements that you can’t just replace him with another player. “He’s only a sophomore, but he’s taken big strides in his freshman year and then into his sophomore year. So he’s a key guy. (Associate Head Coach) Billy Powers runs the defense, and he really trusts Joseph to do the right thing at the
right time, and he puts him in key situations.” Cecconi isn’t necessarily a big offensive producer for Michigan, but with him back the defense will be getting an upgrade, along with a bit of depth, which is especially pertinent with the loss of Meike. Goaltending battle gets interesting again When Michigan traveled to Penn State earlier this season, it did so without freshman goaltender Hayden Lavigne, who was sidelined with an illness. At that time, Lavigne was ranked first nationally in goals-against average, and had begun solidifying himself as the best goaltender on the Wolverines’ roster. Since then, Lavigne has returned. And in that time, he hasn’t been quite as stout as he was before the illness. In his first
game back, he was shelled by Wisconsin, allowing six goals in just two periods. He then gave up two goals to Michigan Tech in the semifinals of the GLI before being replaced by senior Zach Nagelvoort the next game against the Spartans. “I’d hate to say anyone’s in the lead,” Berenson said of the goaltending competition. “I think we still have confidence in all three of them. I think any one of them can go out and win us a game. I don’t know if anyone has been as consistent as we’d like, but they’ve all shown that they can help our team.”
While goaltenders haven’t been the issue this season for Michigan, it will be interesting to see if Berenson and his staff choose to stick with Lavigne in the future. Sanchez gets first-line opportunity again When the Wolverines took on Michigan State in their second game of the GLI, they were coming off of a shutout loss. As a result, Michigan’s lines were changed somewhat drastically. One of the beneficiaries of that shift was freshman forward James Sanchez. Prior to the game against the Spartans, Sanchez had spent most of the year playing on the third and fourth lines for the Wolverines. But the changes yielded success, as Michigan tallied five goals with the first line of Sanchez, Marody and senior forward Alex Kile being responsible for two of them. Sanchez finished the game with only one assist, but the overall offensive success was enough for Berenson to give him another chance. He says that Sanchez will once again be playing with Marody and Kile against Minnesota. “I think he’s got the offensive instincts,” Berenson said. “Hockey’s a game of, it’s not X’s and O’s, it’s a game of anticipating. It’s like they used to say about Gretzky. ‘He knows what you’re going to do with puck before you know.’ He would go there and he would get there before the puck got there, and then he would get it. “I think James, he’s not Gretzky, but James has an awareness. Like he anticipates well, and then he has decent hands with puck. He can make a good play, he can play with good players, and I think he’s going to become a good player.”
I think James, he’s not Gretzky, but James has an awareness
Sports
8 — Tuesday, January 10, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan looking for answers after slow start BETELHEM ASHAME Managing Sports Editor
The Michigan men’s basketball team is three games into its Big Ten season, and there are already questions swirling about the Wolverines’ (1-2 Big Ten, 11-5 overall) conference fate this season. Projected to be a relatively average team before the year began, Michigan made a fairly big impression instead, going 10-3 in non-conference play and capturing a 2K Classic championship in New York City. Aside from obvious hiccups at South Carolina, against Virginia Tech and at then-No. 2 UCLA, the Wolverines combined a recalibrated defense with emerging offensive options to notch a double-digit win tally — a majority of which were decided by at least 20 points. Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner and redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson have played the role of breakout starters, taking the place of the expected pair of seniors Duncan Robinson and Mark Donnal. Wagner and Wilson have burst onto the scene in full force, averaging 11.9 points and 10.3 points, respectively, and serving as a reliable combination of big men. Robinson and Donnal, meanwhile, have become dual sixth men, boosting Michigan with a strong dose of energy and effort off the bench while averaging 8.8 and six points, respectively. The cast of characters fit their parts and created a cohesive unit that steamrolled its nonconference opponents, though admittedly they weren’t elite foes. But Big Ten play has been an entirely different story. The first two weeks of the conference season have been filled with surprises across the board. Notably, Minnesota already has more wins and Indiana already has almost as many losses as they had all of
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Senior wing Zak Irvin believes that, after a slow start to Big Ten play, the Wolverines need to begin games with more intensity as the conference season unfolds.
last year with three and two, respectively. What is most striking about the situation the Wolverines find themselves in is just how easily it could be so different. In a seven-day span, Michigan faced off against Iowa on the road and Penn State and Maryland at home. In falling 86-83 in overtime to the Hawkeyes and 77-70 to the Terrapins on opposite ends of a 72-69 win over the Nittany Lions, the Wolverines revealed a crucial flaw that could potentially determine their fate this season. “The edge that a lot of great teams have has been lacking in some games, and there’s no way we can win without that edge,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “There’s just no way.” In Iowa City, the outcome of the game may have gone down to the wire, but Michigan had set
the tone much earlier, and not in career day of 28 points and 14 a good way. While Iowa notched rebounds could save Michigan in a 53.3 shooting percentage from the end. the floor in the first half, the When the Wolverines Wolverines made just 40 percent returned to Ann Arbor to take on of their shots. Michigan had Penn State, they brought those Wilson and his shooting woes 19 points in the back with them. stanza to thank Struggling for keeping the That edge that a lot to establish Wolverines within itself early in of great teams have the ballgame, three at the halftime break. has been lacking in Michigan shot While Michigan 42.3 percent some games turned the tables from the floor on the Hawkeyes and knocked in the second half, down just rediscovering one 3-pointer its shooting stroke with a on 10 attempts. The offense 51.6 shooting percentage, key looked stagnant all half, as the defensive mistakes and late- Wolverines failed to spread the game mismanagements downed floor, move the ball and make the Wolverines in overtime. It good decisions. Beilein could didn’t help that they couldn’t be seen on the sideline growing stop Iowa guard Peter Jok from more and more irritated every going off for 25 points, including time a low-percentage shot went four threes. Not even Wilson’s up early in the shot clock, only to
clank off the rim and bounce out. It took until the halfway mark of the second stanza for Michigan to turn its fortunes around. Following an impassioned speech from senior wing Zak Irvin at the media timeout, the Wolverines put together a 20-6 run kicked off by a quick five points from Robinson and punctuated by an alley-oop slam from Wilson to take the lead. Irvin then put his money where his mouth was, pairing with senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. to score Michigan’s final 10 points and close out the comeback victory. Though the Wolverines managed to pull out the win in the end, it very easily could have gone the other way, a fact that was apparent to the team the following day. “We gotta have that sense of urgency from the tip, and it can’t be a reaction to going down,”
Robinson said. “I think we’ve done it well some games. … But it’s gotta be an everyday mindset, every game mindset.” Less than 72 hours after that grand escape, Michigan put itself in the position of needing to replicate the feat against Maryland. While posting another 40-percent shooting performance in the first half, the Wolverines also let the Terrapins bully them around in the paint. They fell behind by nine points at the break — the largest halftime margin of the three games. Over the course of the second half, Michigan attempted to generate enough momentum to mount a second straight comeback. Scratching and clawing their way back into the game, the Wolverines narrowed the deficit to three or fewer points multiple times, but each time they did, Maryland had a response at the ready. Eventually, Michigan simply ran out of gas. “We had some moments there where we don’t play with the same IQ, the intensity that you need,” Beilein said. “It just bites you in this game. … What was tough was when we made a big play and cut it down, they made one right back. It’s hard to keep doing that.” In their opening week of Big Ten play, the Wolverines played three close contests in which they sat back and let the opponent take the driver’s seat. And as a result, they sit just four points away from a winless start. After the turbulent week, Irvin declared that Michigan can’t afford to wait to be “punched in the mouth” in order to fire up its engine. In a conference season as unpredictable as this one is shaping up to be, the Wolverines would be wise to heed his advice. Until they learn how to execute from start to finish, the questions about their destiny this year won’t be going anywhere.
Wolverines look to rebound against Hoosiers MAGGIE KOLCON Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan women’s basketball team is looking for redemption. After traveling to No. 11 Ohio State and dropping their last game 96-87, the Wolverines (2-1 Matchup: Big Ten, 13-4 Indiana 12-4; overall) are Michigan eager to move 13-4 past their rival When: loss. A win Tuesday against Indiana 6 P.M. (2-1, 12-4) Tuesday night Where: could prevent Crisler a season- Center jarring loss of momentum for Michigan. The Hoosiers played the Buckeyes on Dec. 31, also losing, 92-82. Their common loss, and the closeness of the two team’s records, make Indiana and the Wolverines almost equals — the perfect matchup for an exciting game. But Michigan may take the edge, as junior guard and leading scorer Katelynn Flaherty is expected to bring a missed intensity to the court. While Flaherty has been essential in every game this season, she recently went through a lackluster period compared to her usual high-scoring self; against Wisconsin on Jan. 1, Flaherty managed just eight points. But she found her mojo once more against Ohio State, when she stunned everyone with a career-high 38-point performance. Her eight 3-pointers against the Buckeyes set a new school record, and her post-game
Indiana at Michigan
attitude showed that she was confident in her capabilities — it all stemmed from hard work. “I just try to do what my team needs me to do,” Flaherty said Saturday after the game. “And today it was scoring. So I think I was really persistent with that, and I knew that I need to score to help us be successful.” Added Ohio State coach Kevin Gruff: “That’s one of the byproducts of letting (Flaherty) get so comfortable early in the game, now all the sudden you’re dealing with her feeling good the whole way out. I thought our effort on her got better as the game went, but she was feeling so good that she was making really tough shots. She’s a great player.” While a repeat performance might be tough to attain, Flaherty will have momentum and confidence, which will be a dangerous combination for Indiana to defend against. Junior forward Jillian Dunston and senior guard Siera Thompson were also gamechangers for Michigan against Ohio State, and while they did not sink quite as many baskets as Flaherty, the duo was effective in other areas of the court. Dunston has been an important defensive presence for the Wolverines all season, and with her double-double last game, she reminded onlookers that she is effective on both ends of the court. While her eight defensive rebounds and 10 points weren’t enough to shift the tide of the game in Michigan’s favor, Dunston earned double the defensive rebounds as the next highest Wolverine. Thompson was the only Michigan player to stay on the court for all 40 minutes — unsurprising to anyone who
I just try to do what my team needs me to do. And today it was scoring.
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Junior guard Katelynn Flaherty is looking to build off a season-high 38-point performance against the Buckeyes when Michigan faces Indiana on Tuesday night.
has heard Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico discuss the impact of her co-captain on the rest of the team. Against the Buckeyes, Thompson dished out 10 assists, and was just two points shy of her own double-double. Thompson currently has a team-high 92 assists on the season, and will need to continue playmaking in order for the Wolverines to win against Indiana. While Flaherty, Dunston, and Thompson will attempt to build on their successes of last game, sophomore forward Hallie Thome will be trying to rectify her impact. “Hallie Thome picked up her second foul,” Barnes Arico said. “I thought that was critical. We were out-rebounding them in the first quarter, and then we lost our 6-foot-5 inside presence
and then we drastically dropped down and went small. We didn’t have the same defensive or offensive presence that we did with her in the game.” Despite fouling out, Thome picked up 13 points, making her 23 minutes still the secondmost offensively productive performance for Michigan. Having Thome on the court is necessary for the Wolverines to win. Her field goal percentage this season is 63.5 percent — higher than any team average in the NCAA. Thome’s Jan. 1
performance against Wisconsin netted her 37 points, which was by far Michigan’s best performance of the night, and Thome’s own career high. Even without Thome, the main reason that the Wolverines could not defend against the Buckeyes last game was the sheer depth that Ohio State possessed, with six different players scoring in the double-digits. While that type of game is an anomaly, it proves that an entire team effort is needed to be successful in this league.
Hallie Thome picked up her second foul. I thought that was critical.
Michigan cannot rely on just its starting five. The players coming off the bench, like sophomore guard Nicole Munger, have to be ready to perform at their peak. It would also help the Wolverines if Flaherty and Thome played their best game at the same time. Lately, it seems as though they have been alternating strong showings and more restful games. Though each player is capable of leading Michigan on her own, a standout performance from both leading scorers in the same game could certainly seal a win for the Wolverines. If Flaherty and Thome can manage that, the Hoosiers should be ready for a barrage of some of the most accurate shooting they have faced thus far.