ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Monday, February 13, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
michigandaily.com
In full bloom
The Michigan men’s basketball team traveled to Bloomington and notched its first road win of the season, leaving Assembly Hall with a victory for the first time since 2009. » Page 1B
CAMPUS LIFE
Bicentennial panel covers ‘U’ history of race, gender ILLUSTRATION BY CARLY BERGER
Recent incidents expose divide between DEI plan and students
Activists criticize institutional responses, officials express long-term optimism JENNIFER MEER Daily Staff Reporter
In response to recent hate acts and a changing political climate, students are questioning the nature and progress of the University of Michigan’s five-year plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Program leaders are replying by emphasizing long-term goals and voicing optimism for short-term strategies. Announced in February 2015, the DEI plan officially launched in October 2016 as a program aimed at fostering an inclusive and equitable campus climate. The five-year operation will cost $85 million, in
addition to its annual investment of $40 million. The Universitywide plan consists of 49 sub-plans, each organized by a University unit of administration, academics or athletics. Among the plan’s various initiatives are Wolverine Pathways and the HAIL Program, which aim to increase minority student
enrollment and socioeconomic diversity, as well as a diversityrelated training program for faculty and staff. It also includes a strategy to offer financial support to departments that conduct diversityrelated research. Construction of the new Trotter Multicultural Center closer to central campus is See DEI, Page 3A
Second LSA symposium examines Reconstruction, female admission RASHEED ABDULLAH Daily Staff Reporter
The LSA Bicentennial Theme Semester hosted its second symposium Friday in East Quad entitled “1877: Reconstructing the University of Michigan.” The event was a panel discussion Reconstruction in the aftermath of the Civil War in Michigan, including how the University’s modern image was shaped by the admittance of female students. Michelle McClellan, associate history and Residential College professor explained how Reconstruction was a time of disarray, in which the country was trying to experiment with ways to reunite the country.
“Reconstruction is really the era where we would start to recognize the world as we know it,” McClellan said. “This last quarter of the 19th century is where, if we could time travel, we would start to recognize the outlines then of what we know now.” According to Martin Hershock, professor of history at UM-Dearborn, Michigan was considered a standard of progression in the country with the creation of the Republican Party. “Michigan replicated that intense religious fervor and evangelical commitment to change,” he said. “Many referred to Michigan in very idealistic See BICENTENNIAL, Page 3A
Over 400 pro-choice activists counter Alum wins Importance prestigious rally to “Defund Planned Parenthood” of purpose
ACADEMICS
BUSINESS
Cambridge scholarship
Opposing viewpoints expressed at local, nationwide Planned Parenthood demonstrations
Scholar Anna ForringerBeal to pursue Master’s degree in gender studies
Early Saturday morning approximately 30 abortion opponents from throughout Michigan were met with an overwhelming number of about 400 abortion rights advocates, mostly from Ann Arbor, chanting, “My body, my choice” along the sidewalks in front of west Ann Arbor’s Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization that offers reproductive health care services as well as testing for STIs, breast cancer screenings and services for the LGBTQ community. The abortion opponent rally was initiated by the national organization Protest Planned Parenthood, which aims to defund Planned Parenthood and tax-funded abortions. Planned Parenthood provides health care for women and only three percent of their budget goes towards abortions. The event was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. which concluded at about 10:30 a.m. A counter-rally was organized in response by the local organization Stop Trump Ann Arbor, which seeks to defend the abortion services of Planned Parenthood. Its event to defend Planned Parenthood was scheduled to organize an hour earlier starting at 8 a.m. and lasting until about 10:30 a.m. Jessica Prozinski, a founder of Stop Trump Ann Arbor, organized and led the abortion
MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter
When Anna Forringer-Beal, a 2016 University of Michigan graduate of LSA, found out she had won a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to study at Cambridge University next year, she had to take a minute to digest the news. “I was working when I found out, and I was on break, and I just left and walked around the block a couple times,” she said. “I was so excited — just so much energy — but I also really see it as a responsibility. It certainly feels like I’m responsible to share what I learn with others … so it can go beyond me and just my one year at Cambridge.” Forringer-Beal is one of just 36 American scholars to earn the scholarship this year. She and the rest of the American cohort will be joined by 54 other international scholars whose names have not yet been announced. Established in 2000 by an endowment from Bill and Melinda Gates, the scholarship will enable her to spend a year at Cambridge University in England and earn a Master’s degree in multi-disciplinary gender studies. See SCHOLARSHIP, Page 3A
GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
DYLAN LACROIX For the Daily
rights counter-rally over the course of three weeks. In a rebuttal to defend the services of Planned Parenthood, Prozinski said her motivations for organizing the counter-rally were the importance and immediate concern for the safety and health of women who have abortions. “We will not go back to the days of back-alley abortions and coat-hanger atrocities,” Prozinski said. “There is no way we’re going
back and we’re building a new integrative women’s movement to fight for women’s rights and for the rights of all people.” Prozinski also shared how the counter-rally is just one-step forward in the movement for women’s health and how people’s perspectives across the country are changing. “We are going to keep fighting from keeping the forces of reaction from claiming our country,”
Prozinski said. “We’re going to build a new social movement to make our country finally equal and democratic.” Ypsilanti resident Mariel de Soleil, a member of the local organization Citizens for Pro-Life Society, got the idea of organizing a local rally from the national movement and sought support through the effort through emails to friends and colleagues. De Soleil See PROTEST, Page 3A
CAROLYN GEARIG/Daily
Jessica Prozinski, the founder of Stop Trump Ann Arbor, speaks to dozens of pro-choice and pro-life activists in front of Planned Parenthood on Saturday morning.
For more stories and coverage, visit
michigandaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 28 ©2016 The Michigan Daily
stressed at conference
Susan Taylor, CEO of CARES Mentoring Movement, speaks to 100 DYLAN LACROIX For the Daily
Susan Taylor, former editorin-chief of Essence magazine and founder and CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement — a movement aiming to reduce the cycle of intergenerational poverty among African Americans — delivered a keynote speech about finding one’s purpose to approximately 100 people in the Ross School of Business Robertson Auditorium Friday night. The speech was a part of the kick-off even of the 41st annual Alfred L. Edwards conference, hosted and organized by the Ross Black Business Students Association. The Ross Black Business Students Association, one of the largest professional student-led organizations in the Business School, is devoted to the recruitment of undergraduate and graduate Black business students and the professional and academic development of its members. The association does this through program initiatives focused on professional and academic development events throughout the academic year. See EIC, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS.............B INSERT
News
2A — Monday, February 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ON THE DAILY: SPECIAL NEEDS PROM GOERS TREATED AS ROYALTY More than 400 party-goers and volunteers danced the night away this Friday during the Night to Shine special needs prom at Ann Arbor’s 2|42 Community Church. Sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, an organization set up by the professional athlete, the annual event is held all across the world so people with special needs can experience the excitement of prom night in a safe, judgment-free environment. According to the foundation’s website, any person with special needs over the age of 14 can attend and are allowed to bring guests. 2|42 has hosted the party for three years at their Brighton location, but this was the first year it was also held in Ann Arbor. This was Ann Arbor resident Kylee Claey’s first year as head
organizer for the event, but she drew a large crowd by going to all the high schools and special needs centers in Ann Arbor to spread the word. She told MLive the event was all about letting attendees be themselves. “Everyone just gets to do their own thing and it allows them to be themselves in just a royal way,” Claeys said. The night began with each guest receiving the royal treatment — everyone was given a crown as they walked into the party through a tunnel of cheering volunteers. Dinner was served, and the guests danced for the rest of the time. Last year’s head organizer, Julie Davis, also told MLive the event is important because it shows an often-overlooked group of people that they are valued in the community, and that there is a place for them.
“I think it’s a community of people who have a lot to offer who often get overlooked,” Davis sad. “The idea is to make them feel like the kings and queens
Tweets Coach Harbaugh @CoachJim4UM
that they are. So just let them have a night that’s all about them and not the stereotypes and stigma.” - MAYA GOLDMAN
Detroit, & the entire sports world, has lost an icon with the passing of Mike Illitch. U of M’s thoughts & prayers with family & friends.
M A K E I T U P A S YO U G O
UMich Campus Info @umichcampusinfo Congrats to @umichLSA & its launch of the @UMichLSAhub! Brochures, beanies, hot cocoa, + advisor office hours to help you w/internships!
MAX KUANG/Daily The Midnight Book Club improv troupe performs “A Tribute to Shirley Temple” at Angell Hall on Friday night.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES How to Land an Internship
Finding Women in the State
WHAT: Internship Program Coordinator Kelly Day will provide attendees with information on internships and internship resources on campus. WHO: Department of Psychology WHEN: 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: East Hall, Room 1866
WHAT: A faculty panel will discuss a book about the revolution by socialist feminists in China. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: 3:10 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Lane Hall, Room 2239
Community Town Hall
LRC’s 2nd Annual International Film Festival
WHAT: President Schlissel will host an information session about the search for University’s next Provost, followed by a Q&A session. WHO: Campus Information WHEN: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Vandenburg Room
WHAT: The Language Resource Center will screen the 2015 Hungarian film, “Son of Saul,” and serve regional food as part of its week-long film festival. WHO: Language Resource Center WHEN: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: North Quad, Room 1500
Perspectives on Im/ Migration, Exclusion and Discrimination WHAT: A series of short talks will focus on the links between the histories of displacement and exclusion of several cultural groups. WHO: Judaic Studies WHEN: 4:10 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. WHERE: 202 S. Thayer St., Room 1022
Michigan News @UMichiganNews
PitE Internship Information Session
New 2-legged, 3rd gen biped robot is coming to #UMich via @UMengineering @EECSatMI
WHAT: Faculty, advisers and employers will present information on finding internships in sustainability or environmental fields. WHO: Program in the Environment WHEN: 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Michigan Room
Emmie Barron @EmmieBar5
Consent by De-Zine Release Party
Children of Aleppo Movie Screening
WHAT: The release SAPAC’s zine, which is a compliation of art, poetry and prose related to health and consent, will be celebrated with a party. WHO: SAPAC WHEN: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. WHERE: North Quad, Space 2435
WHAT: The PBS documentary of the same name, which shows stories of children affected by the Syrian crisis, will be screened. WHO: Syrian Orphans Sponsorship Association WHEN: 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. WHERE: 1339 Mason Hall
Prof. develops strategies to manage social anxiety, nerves in interviews
420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com
Self-consciousness, pressure of job-seeking contribute to an individual’s concerns JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
Whether you are applying for your first summer job or a highstakes professional career, job interviews are often the most frightful part of the entire hiring process. LSA senior Krysten Dorfman is one of countless job-seekers who has felt this
LOVE IS IN THE AIR.
nervousness when seeking employment opportunities. “You’re coming in and talking to someone who’s a stranger and you don’t know who they are, they don’t know who you are,” Dorfman said. “I feel like there’s a lot of pressure to present yourself really well, really quickly and really efficiently.” For those suffering from social anxiety, however, job interviews
puzzle by sudokusyndication.com
are more than just a brief bout of stomach-churning nerves — they are excessive triggers of fear and self-consciousness and can often lead to a total avoidance of crucial interviews. Joseph Himle, professor of social work and psychology, researches mental health and social anxiety and, specifically, how social ability functions in today’s workforce and economy. According to a recent article published by University of Michigan Research, Himle’s research led him to a project in Detroit, where he helped unemployed adults who experience social anxiety both manage their symptoms and find resources for employment. What Himle has found, however, is that the effects of social anxiety usually become relevant before the job interviews themselves, and remain present long after employment begins. “It interferes with asking for job leads, certainly can interfere with going to an interview, or how you do an interview, but it can also cause you problems once you get to work,” Himle said in an interview with the Daily. “It can cause you problems when you talk to your supervisors or co-workers, and sometimes you don’t build relationships or your supervisor doesn’t know what you’re doing well and what you’re not doing so well.” LSA senior Victoria Rai is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity, where she assists in interviewing incoming pledge members and providing feedback on their interviews. When one of her family members, who experiences several symptoms of social anxiety, was preparing for an interview, Rai said she was able to use her experience from Alpha Kappa Psi as well as
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
why do I vividly remember eating a KFC biscuit last night
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 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 Assistant News Editors: Kevin Biglin, Caleb Chadwell, Heather Colley, Erin Doherty, Maya Goldman, Matt Harmon, Andrew Hiyama, Jen Meer, Carly Ryan, Kaela Theut
ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com Senior Opinion Editors: Caitlin Heenan, Jeremy Kaplan, Max Lubell, Madeline Nowicki, 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
photo@michigandaily.com
LARA MOEHLMAN
Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Deputy Statement Editor: Brian Kuang Yoshiko Iwa
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
Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Senior Design Editors: Alex Leav, Carly Berger, Christine Lee
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
DEI From Page 1A another aspect of the program. “The campus-wide plan is a set of actions for today,” said University President Mark Schlissel when the plan launched in October. “We cannot live up to our full potential as a University unless everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute and to benefit.” Now, several months into the program, students are criticizing the DEI plan for failing to create a safe environment given recent events. Tuesday evening, hours after racist and anti-Semitic emails threatening Black and Jewish students were sent to University computer science and engineering undergraduate students, several students gathered for a midnight protest in front of the president’s house. Schlissel came outside to meet the crowd. Citing incidents of racist flyering, protesters chanted “action, not emails,” referencing the University’s digital statement in response to the attacks, as opposed to “action” on the ground. Students protesters throughout the year have been critical of DEI
BICENTENNIAL From Page 1A terms as this sort of beacon of liberty. It had a terminal port in the Underground Railroad. It was the birthplace of the Republican Party. A number of its leading politicians were committed to reform and leading abolition.” John Quist, professor of history at Shippensburg University, described Michigan Republican voters as distrusting of former Confederate states and said resident Republicans did not wanting them to rejoin the Union. “Most Michigan Republicans are affiliated with the party’s radical wing,” Quist said. “The Republicans were divided into moderates and radicals. Radicals were the ones who not only favored high standards for readmission of the former states of the Confederacy into the Union, restrictions on Confederates
SCHOLARSHIP From Page 1A While at the University, Forringer-Beal studied women’s studies and anthropology, completing an honors thesis with the assistance of Anthropology Assistant Prof. Jason De León about the migration experiences of undocumented women as they move from Central America to the United States. At Cambridge, she hopes to do a comparative study between the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from the United States and the Modern Slavery Act in the U.K. This interest stems from her current work at the National Human Trafficking Hotline in Washington, D.C., as well as her undergraduate research and work with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center at the University. As for after Cambridge, Forringer-Beal already has big plans to use her educational background. She wants to pursue a law degree and a Ph.D. in sociology so she can both practice law and do academic work. “I really want to be able to interrogate the law and how
PROTEST From Page 1A said her motivation and reasoning behind protesting the attempt at defunding the organization stems from what she describes as corruption. “They’re criminal,” de Soleil said. “It’s a corrupt organization and if you Google ‘Planned Parenthood crime’ you will come up with 550 hits. We want the 550 million dollars plus of our taxpayer money to go to, to be redirected, to be shifted to other health clinics that do comprehensive care. Defund, shift the money, end of story.” De Soleil commented that she, along with the other protesters,
initiatives, particularly of the 49 individual plans. Outside Schlissel’s home, LSA junior Jenise Williams emphasized the need for collective action from the University. “We want actual action,” Williams said. “My parents were here 30 years ago fighting for the same things … and (now) I didn’t want my sister to come here because of the shit I deal with here.” Chief Diversity Officer Rob Sellers, vice provost for equity and inclusion, oversees the execution of the DEI plan. He said he lamented, however, that the plan cannot prevent individual racist attacks. “If DEI is held up to keeping any individual or groups of individuals from acting in these particular ways, and (for) that matter, if that’s the same expectation for President Schlissel, then it’s natural for people to feel like nothing is happening,” he said. “But I think it’s quite frankly not reasonable to have that expectation.” Sellers added in a time when so many are concerned about the University in relation to a tense national political climate, he doesn’t want people to blame DEI for specific events, such as the emails. “We have a whole lot of incidents that are sparks, and these sparks are being thrown on a floor that
is full of gasoline and so these fires are raging,” he said. “(We) cannot prevent the sparks. What the DEI is trying to do is create an environment where those sparks do not lead to explosions and fires. The fact of the matter is it’s going to take a while before we see all of the changes.” In the days following the emails last week, campus community members expressed further concern about the gap between the University’s response to inflammatory attacks and student needs. Postdoctoral fellow Austin McCoy, who studies racial justice, is a graduate student instructor. He spent his class on Wednesday discussing the emails and cited the DEI efforts to diversify campus, in addition to increased student activism, as reasons for these racially-charged attacks. In response to a statement from the University’s Office of Public Affairs and Internal Communications announcing a joint investigation into the emails between the Division of Public Safety and Security and the FBI, McCoy suggested the University often handles such incidents with a predictable routine. “From the administration, I anticipate them sending out
voting and holding office, but radicals also favored voting and citizen rights for African Americans.” That year, the University also took steps toward gender equality in opting to admit women. Gayle Rubin, professor of anthropology and women’s studies, said the decision was met with intense debate, but ultimately resulted in women being admitted into the University. At this point in time, only four women in the world had doctorate degrees. “The formal admission of female students to Michigan took place in the late 19th century after several years of acrimonious debate, interrupted by the Civil War,” Rubin said. “So, technically, the admission of women took place during Reconstruction. According to the sources I’m using, the first female student was Madelon Stockwell, for whom the dormitory I used to walk by was named.”
Yet, despite its progressive reputation, the state also had its downfalls — Hershock explained that Michigan was the site of many lynchings and had a strong base for the white-supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan. “Moreover, in spite of the wonderful and positive advancements that marked Michigan’s Reconstruction era, civil rights legacy, the state, like every other part of the nation, showed its dark underbelly in issues of race and equality,” Hershock said. “There were lynchings in Michigan, the KKK became a powerful force in Michigan in the 1920s and nearly elected a man for the mayor of the city of Detroit.” Yet, Hershock believes the University’s response to many recent events is evidence of some of the Reconstruction-era based initiatives. “The University’s strong defense of affirmative action in the
gender plays a part in the laws we construct,” Forringer-Beal said. The Cambridge program will require intensive research, but Forringer-Beal is no stranger to the lab or the field. She began as a research assistant to De León as a senior in high school. Once she entered college, ForringerBeal worked as an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program student in his lab for two years, then did an independent study in the lab as a junior. The summer before her senior year, she and De León took a trip to Mexico, where Forringer-Beal collected much of the data for her senior honors thesis in anthropology. After watching her grow over the past five years, De León said he was thrilled to hear Forringer-Beal had won the scholarship. “She was always someone who was very interested in doing research and being involved in social justice issues … and I think there was a time where she considered those things to be fairly separate,” he said. “Eventually, those worlds sort of collided, and I think the work she’s planning on doing in England is a reflection of that growth and the combination of those two interests.” For students who might want to
pursue a similar path to ForringerBeal’s, De León stresses the importance of research. “Anna is a really wonderful example of (taking) advantage of all the things Michigan has to offer its undergraduate students,” De León said. “(Students should) get involved with independent research really early on. UROP is a great program to help students fine-tune their interests. I think, most times, students come to the independent research too late, and it’s kind of a crash course in senior year. But if you get involved early on, it’s only going to benefit you.” Similarly, Forringer-Beal said her research impacted the course of her studies profoundly, primarily because it interested her so much. “Probably one of the most impactful things for me was my thesis research,” she said. Forringer-Beal is the eighth Gates Cambridge scholar to come from the University, and University students frequently win other prestigious fellowships and scholarships as well. However, most students, including ForringerBeal, have had to seek these opportunities out for themselves.
are not discouraged at all by the sheer number of attendees of the counter-rally. “I feel energized,” de Soleil said. “All over the United States there are people standing for life and it doesn’t matter to me the number. To me we’re on the side of good and that is protecting human beings in the womb. So, yeah, I’m feeling good.” De Soleil also mentioned she has marched with the University of Michigan’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center and has taught self-defense classes to college-aged women. Students from the University also came out in large numbers in support of the abortion rights rally. Law students Lauren Powell and Rebecca Michael expressed their
motivation for supporting the rally as people who have both relied and used the services offered by Planned Parenthood. “They kept me safe and healthy,” Michael said. “I actually specifically used the Planned Parenthood in Ann Arbor both in high school and in undergrad, so I wanted to show support for the organization that’s been so good to me.” Both students iterated the high number of supporters of Planned Parenthood throughout the Law School and the University community was encouraging. “I would say the majority of students, especially female students that I talk to, are in support of Planned Parenthood,” Powell said.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
probably an email and saying that they condemn the acts and then that they’re investigating, but other than that, I don’t know what else the administration plans to do,” he said. Though neither Schlissel nor Sellers released a statement directly in response to the racist emails, LSA seniors David Schafer and Micah Griggs, the president and vice president of Central Student Government, respectively, sent a campus-wide email Thursday condemning the acts. Next steps to be taken, according to the email message, include tweeting out new developments from DPSS and the Office of Public Affairs, continuing to update media outlets and returning calls from parents. In tweets to Schlissel, McCoy offered suggestions from his students. He said students only ever see what he described as reactionary DEI, emails and diversity statements — and it seems to them that someone will need to get hurt before Schlissel takes action. Engineering senior Greg McMurtry, president of the University’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, said administrators need to follow up with students who have voiced concerns to tell them what actions
case of Grutter vs. Bollinger and, more recently, President (Mark) Schlissel’s bold pronouncement in response to the recent executive orders, these are just a handful of examples that speak to the University’s legacy,” Hershock said. LSA junior Emma McGlashen talked about how the issues the panel discussed are still relevant today. She mentioned that observing national history can help answer modern questions of equality and American identity. “Our country is still embroiled in a lot of those debates — what does an ‘American’ look like and how do they behave in relation to other identities?” she said. “What does ‘equality’ look like and how do we go about reaching that goal? I think because we’re still fighting those fights, it’s useful to look at our national history and the political and legal precedent for those arguments on a national scale.”
Monday, February 13, 2017 — 3A have been taken and ask if they are working. Sellers, however, pointed to positive changes through DEI that students may not be aware of. According to Sellers, DEI has allowed for the consolidation of the Division of Student Life’s Bias Response Team. In the past, faculty, staff and students had to look to different resources to receive support following a bias incident, but the BRT now employs a group of professional staff who respond to all targeted community members. In addition to helping victims navigate the appropriate long-term responses, the team aims to provide emotional and mental support. “We’ve coordinated those efforts so everything comes into a central repository,” Sellers said. “The Bias Response Team is going to respond regardless, because it has members of each of those groups that are working together.” Other accomplishments of DEI, according to Sellers, are new courses for faculty to learn how to appropriately address campus climate issues in the classroom. These courses, created in tandem with University Human Resources, cover topics ranging from intercultural awareness to basic skills for fostering diversity, equity
EIC From Page 1A As a part of her keynote, entitled “Mindful Brilliance: The Deliberate, Courageous Path to Purpose,” Taylor described the foundation and creation of the National CARES Mentoring Movement Taylor described her inspiration for founding the National CARES Mentoring Movement, and shared personal stories of her experiences with both that organization and Essence magazine. She also offered advice on becoming a successful individual by talking about what she values in life and how she learns the most from her failures, not her successes. “(Life) is not a playground, but it’s a school room,” Taylor said. “We’re here to refine ourselves and I haven’t learned so much in my joy but in my pain, in my
and inclusion. Sellers said students have expressed concerns about faculty not addressing issues in their classes, but faculty have struggled with not knowing how to start the discussions. “Where the DEI can be helpful is to provide more of that professional development so that we as a community are more resilient to these attacks,” he said. According to Sellers, the goal of DEI is to minimize the impact, and not necessarily the occurrence, of attacks so as to enhance the security and educational experience of vulnerable students. “I think it is reasonable for us to have the expectation that we do everything that we can to minimize the impact and not allow it to deter us from a much larger goal of institutional change, opening up greater opportunities for more folks who have historically not had those opportunities,” he said. Though students often object to the lack of community voices sought in the planning process, Sellers said one strength of DEI is that it was designed to be flexible and open to suggestions and in order to better serve the community.
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
sorrow, in my losses … When I was wise enough to just stop and say, ‘Ok, what do I have to learn from this?’ That’s where I really began to develop.” Furthermore, she repeatedly reflected on the current nature of the United States education system and what she learned from her groundwork with her organization. “How are we allowing a system to measure our children’s success who are living in poverty, who come to school hungry,” she said. “They’re measuring with the same yardstick that my lovely granddaughter, who’s now at Spellman and graduated from some lovely high school somewhere in Johns Creek, Georgia with 35 clubs that they could belong to, when the schools (CARES mentors) are working with don’t even have computers.”
Read more online at
michigandaily.com
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A — Monday, February 13, 2017
MEGAN BURNS | COLUMN
A threat to public education
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
MEGAN BURNS
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 Megan Burns Samantha Goldstein 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.
MICHAEL MORDARSKI | COLUMN
T
An outsider’s introspection
hree years ago, pathetic do people like us live?” This and arrogant, I began question permeates society in college at Michigan the United States. Where do State University with a people like us live? Where can pessimistic attitude we find our past lives that only ceased to in these new futures? exist at certain blood The daunting and alcohol content levels. overwhelming new That clichéd first environments life semester of college takes us to require joy was overshadowed new understandings by my petty jealousy about ourselves toward the students and our hopes. We at the University come to realize of Michigan, an that our pasts are MICHAEL institution that had the only tangible denied me. In my MORDARSKI evidence of who we mind, the purpose of actually are and that college was to serve as a social our expectations of new lives and economic class ladder, are often plagued by desires to allowing individuals to ascend replicate such pasts, whether we to more desirable and influential realize it or not. lives. And the University was Yet sometimes we even desire everything MSU was not — to shed our pasts completely, prestigious, wealthy, elite and, to forget everything we came more importantly, filled with from, no matter how positive or students like me. negative. We vehemently pursue “Like me.” My unaware, futures that have been crafted in 18-year-old mind actually believed our overambitious imaginations. that I was more like the fictional In the United States, this is upper-class students of the directly related to social class. University, that only if I were to be We like to believe that, in this accepted there could my roadmap country, if we move to a new toward an influential life begin. I place, get a new job, make new pictured myself as an Ann Arbor friends and connections, then we kid trapped in East Lansing, an can finally become the people we Englishman in New York. had only once had imagined. And through a combination of Yet this is simply not true. A hard work, undying pessimism social caste system exists in the and a disturbing level of jealousy, United States, whether we see it I was finally able to join those or not. And though the belief that students with the acceptance of through admirable hard work my transfer application. I, in the and determination individuals trademarked University sense, can ascend to the highest levels was finally “hoMe.” I would no of wealth and power, they never longer feel like an outsider; I would forget or completely lose the past finally be part of the in crowd. that has shaped them. You can Yet, ignorant and newly never completely drop the past optimistic, I did not understand that essentially created you. or care that the concept My past has shaped who I of “hoMe” was far more am and how I act today. I come complicated than the fantasy from a working middle-class that I had concocted in my town full of Polish and German imagination. I came to realize families who work on assembly that MSU wasn’t so different lines, as police officers, sales from the University, that a new reps, electricians and other home doesn’t instantly unlock typical, dying middle class some hidden character within careers. Careers in which sizable you and that you cannot and chunks of income are put toward should not shed your past for the tuition for Catholic schools that hopes of your imaginative future. are less like private East Coast Esquire recently published preparatory academies and an article by Dwight Garner more reminiscent of the 1950s, on social class in America, when priests still hit kids and centering on a question posed recess was held on a scorching by a New Jersey family moving blacktop parking lot. I come from to California in the ’60s: “Where neighborhoods where lawns are
ERIN WAKELAND | CONTACT ERIN AT ERINRAY@UMICH.EDU
filled with the dumped bikes of kids who are climbing trees, harassing their younger siblings and beating the hell out of each other in tackle football. But I was always different from the other kids — a little more mature, less interested in sports than in books. I had an exceptionality that made me stand out back home, that grew into an unchecked ego, that led me to believe I was better than other kids and to blindly imagine a future where my social status justified such arrogance. But I finally was forced to ask, like the Jersey family in California, where do people like me go? The feelings that once convinced me I was far too good academically and socially for home or Michigan State had been replaced by feelings of inferiority and belittlement due to being around students who are smarter, richer and far better connected than I could ever hope to be. My freshman year fantasies of fitting right into place were not reality. But like every fairy tale, I eventually found my place here. It comes through the recognition of realizing the duality of knowing where you come from and where you’re going. Finding my way in Ann Arbor was almost like taking off a mask covering up the past. I had been convincing myself and others only of someone I hoped to be, but never was. Embracing where you come from is embracing who you are and helps to guide you in the right direction, free from the distraction of lofty imaginations. I’m not saying the class you are born into dictates your future; I have a little more faith in my country than that. But the overall effect is that you are permanently tied to who you were, and I believe it is necessary to reflect on where you come from to find your home in the future. I found my exceptionality in Ann Arbor. A workingclass kid with an expensive haircut, a young man who will intersperse swear words between multisyllabic political terminology in a discussion. All and all, never forget your roots. Michael Mordarski can be reached at mmordars@umich.edu.
I
grew up with the smell of linoleum cleaner and Clorox wipes, with sticky desks and haphazard piles of children’s books. I grew up being passed along teacher to teacher, as my mother’s colleagues and friends were either my own teachers, second mothers or confidantes — I mixed these up frequently. My mother and I studied and worked at different schools. Her responsibilities as a teacher prevented her from caring for me and my brother after school, so we attended a different school in the district. Outside my own classrooms, I spent hours upon hours in my mother’s fourth grade classroom, cleaning and sweeping, setting up and tearing down brightly colored infographics and multiplication charts. When I finally reached f ourth grade, I organized a pen pal program, connecting the students of my classroom with the students of my mother’s. I lived, ate and breathed school. Even when I thought I hated it, even when I had hours of homework, even when I came home crying, having failed a quiz or been delegated to the chorus in a school musical, I loved school. My elementary school provided students with an impressive drama program, admired both by students and parents alike. In middle school, I was able to learn American Sign Language, learn to play an instrument in band class and even test out of math and science classes. In high school, I had opportunities to take a number of AP courses, join the National Honor Society and embrace creativity and problem-solving in Destination Imagination. My opportunities were limitless throughout my education. My school district was in no way perfect and our nation’s public education system is deeply flawed. Nevertheless, I felt, and still feel, lucky to have had such a positive experience with public education. I am proud of my education. Even after coming to the University of Michigan
and immersing myself with students from well-funded, sought-after public schools and elite private schools, I compete, I thrive, I succeed. All of this is not in spite of my public education, but because of it. The confirmation of Betsy DeVos as the secretary of education is a slap in the face to students and alumni of public institutions everywhere. A woman who has never herself attended a public school and who hasn’t sent her own children to public schools is suddenly in charge of this nation’s education system. We have witnessed the prioritization of wealth exceed the relevance of experience, knowledge and intellect. The very ideal public education is built on — that if you study and work hard you can succeed — has been shattered. DeVos promotes the privatization of publicly funded schooling through voucher programs and charter schools. Voucher programs allow for families to opt out of attending public schools and they promote racial and socioeconomic segregation, which is already perpetuated in the wealthy pursuit of private education. Well-meaning families want the best for their children, but moving wealthy, intelligent students out of public schools can be harmful to the growth and achievement of those who remain. Charter schools create a zero-sum game with public schools, such that when charter schools gain, public schools necessarily lose. Charter schools use the public funding allotted to each student to fund educations, which are not held up to the same standards as public schools. Charter schools often seem inviting to those who wish to escape impoverished (and often racially diverse) schools. This also leaves room for the convergence of religion and education, and considering the necessary demise of public schools in order to facilitate the success of charter schools, federal and national standards need not apply. Teachers and the unions that protect their rights and wages are also threatened by the charter schools movement.
Once again, the zero-sum game between charter schools and public schools necessitates that public schools lose funding when charter schools gain funding. If public schools lose enough students, and subsequently lose enough funding, they close and teachers are laid off. Teachers’ options are limited; since there are few teacher’s unions present in charter schools, the livelihoods and salaries of our educators are not protected in any way. Even more, DeVos’s voucher program is not viable for students with disabilities and further divides students in terms of race, socioeconomic status and intellect. When dividing students on these terms, we perpetuate segregation and deter growth. We deny the benefits of diversity and intellectual discussion from these students. Voucher programs also divide funding between schools, granting more funding to the most successful schools, while schools most in need of assistance or additional funding are forgotten. K-12 education is transient but powerful. By the time a student graduates, he or she has spent more than 80 percent of his or her life in the school system. Public education creates a national community for students, one that includes members of all backgrounds, incomes, nationalities, races, abilities, etc. The diversity of public education cannot be undermined. Without diversity, we would lose a fundamental American attribute: equality of opportunity. The public education system is far from perfect. It fails to account for segregation of all forms, problematic universal testing standards, you name it. But for many students like me, it gave me the opportunity to make my own choices, to learn about worlds beyond my own, to meet students diverse in ways beyond the standard measures of diversity. Every spelling quiz, scale jury, AP exam and ACT practice test was and will be a product of public education. It is not just our histories at stake, but our futures. Megan Burns can be reached at megburns@umich.edu.
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. MARTHA S. JONES | OP-ED
The future University community is now
T
he University of Michigan’s third century has begun with a challenge. In the past days, acts of hate — the Islamophobic defilement of a site often used for religious reflection and the illicit use of email to spread racist and anti-Semitic slurs — have required us to work hard at remaining a University community. How should we respond when our collective and its commitment to learning, research and the public good are under attack? I wish this were a simple question, one easy to answer. But at the University of Michigan, it is not so now, nor has it ever been. This is not the first time the University has been shaped by forces that denigrate members of our collective and seek to undermine our mission. Our past includes stories of how some on campus have chosen homogeneity over diversity, inequality over equity and separation over inclusion. The experience of Alpheus Tucker reminds us that we have stumbled over the meaning of community before. As Curator of Manuscripts Cheney Schopieray recounts in the forthcoming issue of the Clements Library’s publication,
The Quarto, Tucker was an African-American student enrolled at the University’s medical school in 1863. When harassed by classmates because of his race, University faculty did not rise to Tucker’s defense. Nor did they rebuke the offending students. Instead, the young man was encouraged to leave, which he did, only to enroll at the University of Iowa, where he completed his studies. The cost was personal for Tucker. But the University also paid a price, trading its commitment to training excellent medical practitioners for racism and the exclusion of Black Americans. The stakes in such moments are high. Just recently, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and German Justice Susanne Baer talked in Hill Auditorium about how their work as high court jurists grows out of a commitment to democracy. They reminded us that the University community also plays a role in sustaining democracy through the learning, research and public service at the core of its mission. The justices did not sugarcoat how difficult it is to remain steadfast in the face of hate, violence and provocation. And neither should we. In the past
week, our Muslim, Jewish and African-American community members have been among those on the front lines of a campaign that aims to intimidate students into leaving our community, just as Alpheus Tucker was more than 150 years ago. We are not the first generation of Wolverines to experience how the actions of some can marginalize and exclude others. New, however, is how purveyors of hate also hope to disrupt and even destroy the University community writ large. Racism, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are the weapons of people who reject our collective mission and aim to undercut our contribution to democracy. In the weeks and months to come, we will continue to live and work together as students, staff and faculty. We will confront, challenge and debate one another as we endure the hate-filled season that is upon us. The hope for the future University community lies in our commitment to a third century of struggle to become the diverse, equitable and inclusive community we aspire to be. Martha S. Jones is a Presidential Bicentennial Professor of History and Afroamerican and African Studies.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Monday, February 13, 2017 — 5A
TV REVIEW
Kitamura and Bakopoulos to talk fiction at Literati Professor Natalie Bakopoulos and novelist Katie Kitamura preview Kitamura’s new novel at popular local bookstore
BRAVO Brian Benben as Max in “Imposters”
ELI RALLO
Daily Arts Writer
Katie Kitamura’s writing style is inimitably different from the majority of modern American literature stocking national bookstore shelves. An American novelist, art critic and journalist, Katie Kitamura earned her PhD in American literature from the London Consortium after graduating from Princeton University in 1999. She has written both nonfiction and fiction pieces of literature, in addition to writing articles for The Guardian, The New York Times and Wired. Monday night, Kitamura will converse about her new novel “A Separation” with Natalie Bakopoulos, an author and professor of Modern Greek, who is a graduate of the MFA program at Michigan. Kitamura’s novel, which was published earlier this month, has already been widely read and acclaimed. “The novel is about a woman who is only recently separated from her husband when she is told that he is missing,” Kitamura said. “She travels to a remote part of Greece to look for him, and
the story unspools from there. book and three fiction novels. The landscape in the southern “Fiction is really where my heart Peloponnese was in a lot of ways is — I find that it’s easier for me to the origin of the book — I was be direct in fiction,” Kitamura said looking for a character, and a when asked about her preference narrative voice, that would reflect between the two genres. that landscape.” “Nonfiction tends to make me more Due to the self-conscious, which intriguing plot is never useful for a of her story, Literati: Katie writer.” the book has Kitamura has also Kitamura gained enough dabbled in journalism recognition throughout her with Natalie to be turned career, and she into a movie. believes it beneficial Bakopoulos Kitamura’s to be exposed to other Literati Bookstore book will be artists’ work. adapted later this “I only have one Monday February year, starring piece of advice, which 13th @ 7 P.M. Katherine is to read as much as Free Waterston. possible,” Kitamura The novel is said. “I don’t know a mesmerizing and follows a story single good writer who is not also a that is not commonly depicted in good reader.” literature and film. She explores Both Bakopoulos and Kitamura the themes of divorce and the emphasize the importance of being disintegration of relationships in both a writer and a reader. a unique setting. Kitamura’s prose “Art takes time. It cannot has been described as “somewhat be rushed,” Bakopoulos said, hypnotic” by various book mirroring Kitamura’s words. “You reviewers on a variety of online have to commit, and you have to blogs and as a must-read for lovers commit fully. Try to experience as of all genres. much art as you can. If you want Kitamura is an established and to be a writer, read. And read. And knowledgeable author, and has read. Otherwise you won’t be any already written one nonfiction good.”
FILM REVIEW
Oscar-nominated Isabelle Huppert in “Elle”
SONY PICTURES
Huppert delivers strong performance in ‘Elle’ Thriller explores the life of rape survivor with a sordid past WILL STEWART Daily Arts Writer
“Elle” does not gradually ease into perversion and graphic content. At the beginning of the film, Michele, played perfectly by Oscar-nominated Isabelle Huppert (“Amour”), is sexually assaulted on the floor of her home by a balaclava-wearing man. It’s first shown through the expressions of her cat rather than her own. Following the horrific crime, it seems natural to linger on the immediate effects of it, the viewer expects the victim to call the police or exert further signs of trauma. But “Elle” doesn’t do this. Rather, it lets the aftermath unravel through 130 minutes of paranoia and fear-driven action. Michele is an owner of a successful video game company that she runs with her best friend, Anna (Anne Consigny, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”). Her son, Vincent (Jonas Bloquet, “3 Days to Kill”), needs her financial assistance after moving into a larger apartment to house his girlfriend’s newborn. Michele’s ex-husband, Richard (Charles Berling, “March of the Penguins”), is dating a younger yoga instructor, which makes her jealous. On top of this, Michele is having an affair with Anna’s husband, and her mom is getting married to a much younger man. Needless to say, people are
the cause of much conflict for a woman in a male dominated Michele. industry is the most rewarding Beyond the most villainous experience of the entire movie. and disturbing moments of rape The movie handles the topic in the movie, “Elle” depicts of rape with ambiguity. It’s numerous consensual — though not always clear as the movie unhealthy — sexual relationships. progresses how it affects Ultimately, no relationship feels Michele, and it may seem to positive and mutually beneficial. trivialize the issue. However, However, it is Michele’s neighbor its lack of melodrama is not that causes her the most trouble. necessarily a weak point. The Patrick, played by torturing effects Laurent Lafitte on Michele are “Elle” (“Asterix and portrayed even Obelix: Mansion stronger as a result Sony Pictures of the Gods”), of the movie’s Classics is wealthy, subtler approach to Michigan Theater handsome and showing emotion. charming. Among Nevertheless, the other selfish some of the movie’s characters, Patrick seems many complex relationships to be the only virtuous and add unnecessary bulk to the trustworthy person for Michele. movie. And, Michele’s familial “Elle,” at its core, is a suspense- backstory doesn’t seem to add thriller, but in a convoluted way. much to the plot. Huppert’s Director Paul Verhoeven (“Black performance, however, is Book”) paces the movie slowly, well deserving of an Oscar but leads up to critical moments nomination. She is the center extremely effectively. At every of attention throughout the moment, Michele remains entire film and lives up to the susceptible to the rapist, even high standards set by such in her own home. He sends responsibility. her demented texts and leaves The graphic nature of the perverted messages everywhere rape scenes should not be she goes. Clues lead up to the big taken lightly. Certainly, it’s reveal of the rapist’s identity, pushing the boundaries of what and this moment is arguably can be displayed in a major the movie’s strongest moment. motion picture. Considering Beyond the story, “Elle” is that women’s stories of sexual as much a character study assault have been covered up as a thriller. Learning about and marginalized over time, it’s Michele’s past family conflict necessary that victims’ voices and how she deals with being be heard.
‘Imposters’ impresses with intriguing premise CONNOR GRADY For the Daily
For a series premiere, “Imposters” is impressively selfaware. A new venture from Bravo into the intersection of love and the art of the con, “Imposters” strikes an effective balance between comedy and drama. The show approaches its somewhat unrealistic premise with a heavy dose of juvenile humor that is both well-executed and enjoyable. While not the most deftly produced program, and one without any semblance of star power among its cast, “Imposters” entertains with its snappy dialogue and compelling tale that indicates gratifying vengeance lies on the horizon for both its characters and its audience. In “Imposters,” Inbar Lavi (“Gang Related”) stars as Maddie, a master con with a flair for the dramatic who relishes in her ruthlessness. Along with her cunning partners Max (Brian Benben, “Dream On”) and Sally (Katherine LaNasa, “The Campaign”), the trio infiltrate the lives of single, wealthy individuals and seduce them. After winning their affection, they’ll take their subjects for all they have — they’ll empty their bank accounts and max out their credit cards. These victims learn their fate quickly and mercilessly, and the series begins just as Maddie’s latest victim, Ezra (Rob Heaps, “Home Fires”), accepts the fact that he’s been played. It’s not the most plausible premise, especially when the show
gets into the exact details of each well at giving the show a lighter con, but there aren’t enough holes tone. in it to sink the series. With its quality writing, it “Imposters” brings a nice twist is rather disappointing that to the traditional con storyline: real “Imposters” does not boast a emotional investment. Maddie’s stronger or more diverse cast. targets aren’t just abandoned to Outside of Lavi’s strong lead be broke and indebted — they’re performance, many of the show’s emotionally devastated, having actors bring little experience, and lost their longtime girlfriend, or it shows from the opening minutes. even wspouse, in some instances. Although they both handle the It’s a wholly novel take that gives comedic duties of their parts well, the story weight and inspires Heaps and Jenkins consistently more brutal, calculating revenge fail to bring emotional depth to from these victims. Maddie may their roles. Their overall response be confident in to Maddie’s her belief that con is both “Imposters” her victims “will underwhelming Series Premiere never see [her] and unconvincing, again,” but this leading viewers to Bravo unique brand of question whether Tuesdays at 10:00 motivation will they’re truly as evidently put her upset about losing PM future schemes to their spouses as the test. they claim to be. To complement its emotionally- Similarly, Benben and LaNasa charged storylines, the series relies neglect to bring anything lasting on an effective blend of crude and to the screen, even though their self-deprecating humor. Led by roles as Maddie’s partners would Ezra, Maddie’s past targets take seem to afford them an excellent time to roast themselves for their opportunity to develop intriguing current state and for ignoring and complex characters. the initial signs of her con. In a Having such an anonymous and particularly funny scene, as Ezra replaceable cast is one of the sympathizes with another of series’s biggest flaws, and it may Maddie’s past spouses, Bobby ultimately hinder “Imposters” (Andrew Jenkins, “Lost Solace”), from gaining serious momentum. he asks if he, too, drowned his At a time when television sorrows with “booze and a lot of appears to consistently churn out crying.” To Ezra’s chagrin, Bobby underdone pilots and half-baked simply responds, “No,” before test-runs, “Imposters” breaks the going on to explain that he’s mold. Well-crafted and intriguing coped without frequent sobbing. throughout its premiere, the There’s nothing earth-shattering series has the potential for real, about these scenes, but the jokes sustained success — if its cast can are conveyed precisely and work get its act together.
Classifieds
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
RELEASE DATE– Monday, February 13, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
HELP WANTED
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Show affection to, as a dog 4 Barton of the Red Cross 9 The Congo, formerly 14 Martinique, par exemple 15 Archaeological find 16 Bother 17 *Track event with batons 19 Night, in Naples 20 Congregational “Absolutely!” 21 “__ beaucoup” 23 Lab rodent 24 Schoolbook, or much of its contents 25 *Romantic outing for four 27 “Romanian Rhapsodies” composer 29 Wears away 30 John, Paul and George: Abbr. 31 Under-the-sink fitting 35 For fear that 36 *Romantic ideal 39 Farmland measure 42 Steinway or Yamaha 43 Crone 46 Yellow Teletubby 49 Meditative music genre 51 *Machinist’s hole maker 55 Ache 56 Announcer Hall 57 Use a loom 58 What aces may count as 59 Black, in Burgundy 61 Players on the same side ... and what the starts of the answers to starred clues can be 64 Hues 65 The “I” in IV 66 High season on the Riviera 67 Grain disease 68 Ruby Dee’s husband Davis 69 Period, e.g.
DOWN 1 High seas bandits 2 Periodic table listing 3 Fax forerunners 4 Bawl 5 The Once-__: “The Lorax” character 6 Mission to remember 7 Houston sch. 8 Biting, as criticism 9 More wacky 10 Period with 365 días 11 For services rendered instead of cash 12 Revolves 13 Driver’s license requirement 18 Aardvark fare 22 The NFL’s Browns, on sports tickers 25 Pour affection (on) 26 Sweetie pie 28 EMT procedure 32 Knock hard 33 Parisian pal 34 Ryder Cup org.
36 Big name in computers 37 Holiday and Days 38 Caviar 39 Firm, as pasta 40 It’s usually locked after parking 41 Attacking, as the fridge 43 Full of ghosts 44 Go along with 45 Prepares
47 L.A. Angels’ division 48 Big galoot 50 Stagecoach driver’s “Stop!” 52 4:1, e.g. 53 Alternative to odds 54 Theater chairs 60 Classic car 62 CAT scan cousin 63 Fannie or Ginnie follower
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
DOMINICK’S NOWHIRING all posi‑ tions FT/PT. Call 734‑834‑5021.
FOR RENT 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 935 S. DIVISION 2 Bedroom + Study Fall 2017? Max Occupancy is 4 ? 2 Parking Spaces Washer/Dryer $2250 + Utilities Cappo Mgmt 734‑996‑1991 ARBOR PROPERTIES Award‑Winning Rentals in Kerrytown, Central Campus, Old West Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for 2017. 734‑649‑8637. www.arborprops.com
xwordeditor@aol.com
02/13/17
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
By Kurt Krauss ©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
02/13/17
Arts
6A — Monday, February 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
TV/NEW MEDIA COLMN
The path forward for ‘Jane the Virgin’ Exploring the future of romantic comedy in the wake of loss and mixed emotions BEN ROSENSTOCK
Daily TV/New Media Columnist
Character deaths on TV rarely get to me. Even on my favorite shows, the most heartbreaking deaths usually make me sad for a moment — and then, when the episode is over, I move on and think about something else. A lot of the time, too, killing off a particular character makes so much sense for the story that my appreciation of its narrative efficiency far offsets my emotional reaction to it. But man, when Jane Villanueva’s husband died on the last episode of “Jane the Virgin,” I was a wreck. I was so in shock that I didn’t actually cry; I know that the real tears will come in the next few episodes, when I’ve accepted that Michael Cordero is dead, and that he’s not coming back. As the final five minutes of the episode passed, I sat in bed with my hands pressed tightly over
my cheeks, thinking: “No, this isn’t real. This is a fantasy. Jane’s about to wake up and Michael will be lying next to her and it will all be OK.” But then Jane picked up the phone and I heard the word “died,” and then the show skipped three years into the future, and I knew it was real. This is the kind of character death that hit me hard enough to briefly disable my critical faculties. I didn’t know if this was good for the show or not, and I didn’t really care. I was just sad. I felt that core sadness that you feel when anything bad happens: a breakup or a death in the family or any kind of random tragedy; I wish this thing didn’t happen. After a while, I was able to think about it logically. The third season of “Jane the Virgin” has been a little unexciting. It’s not necessarily a step down in quality, but I’ve gotten used to the elements that previously seemed so novel
when the show first premiered. It’s a reliably entertaining show, but no longer a truly thrilling, surprising one. But there were ways to deal with that stagnation without killing off Michael. Part of me wishes the three-year time jump happened without Michael’s death — we could skip forward to a point when Michael was done with law school, when Rafael was out of jail, and we’d still have the mystery of the wedding to look forward to. For me, Jane’s marriage to Michael wasn’t a factor in the staleness of the third season. In fact, back when Michael got shot in the second season finale, I had a long time to think about the possibility of him dying, and I ultimately decided it was better for the show to keep him alive. To kill off the love of Jane’s life, especially on the day of their wedding, right before Jane was going to lose her “virgin” moniker,
seemed excessively cruel. It would shroud the series in darkness, and honestly, I don’t watch “Jane the Virgin” for its tragic twists and misery porn. I watch it to feel happy and hopeful. Besides, in a TV world populated with decaying marriages, marriages fraught with infidelity, lies, manipulation and miscommunication, Jane and Michael were a shining light. They were a couple who occasionally fought, but who always worked through their disagreements by speaking openly and honestly to each other, learning from their past mistakes and striving to become better people. There aren’t a lot of couples like that on TV. Sure, maybe it’s “unrealistic” to have a husband as perfect as Michael, someone who’s so endlessly accommodating and understanding, but is there anything wrong with indulging in fantasies once in a while (especially in a telenovela)? Isn’t it
OK to depict the gold standard of a healthy relationship, to give us all something to strive for in our own? The third season of “Jane the Virgin,” while it might’ve betrayed the show’s first signs of age, should be commended for keeping the Jane/Michael relationship fresh, interesting and swoon-worthy. Part of me still believes the greatest sign of the show’s strength would be to marry off its main character in the second season and keep the couple together for the entirety of the show — five, or six or seven seasons — while staying unpredictable and interesting. If anyone could do it, it’d be the writers of “Jane the Virgin.” And yet, after having some time to mull it over, to move past my initial soul-crushing sadness and think about what the show will be going forward, I’m optimistic. It might’ve been bold to keep Jane and Michael together forever, but what the show chose to do instead
is undeniably gutsy. Rather than settling for a simple happy ending (which, of course, has its time and place, and this show seems like a worthy candidate), “Jane the Virgin” is going to become a series about moving on from tragedy, about how happy endings can still be possible in the wake of unimaginable grief. The next few episodes of the show will really be a test. Maybe it’ll become clear the show is running on fumes, that this move was a gimmicky stab at retaining interest by killing off a main character and teasing a wedding with a dramatic time jump. Or maybe the show will prove that it’s a more thoughtful show than most people ever gave it credit for, that it can keep its joyful, optimistic tone intact despite the unspeakable loss the main character has experienced. Knowing “Jane the Virgin,” I think I know which one it’s going to be.
B
The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | February 13, 2017
Michigan 75, Indiana 63
The Wolverines captured their first road win of the season as well as their first victory at Assembly Hall since 2009. MINH DOAN
Daily Sports Editor
BLOOMINGTON — January 7, 2009. That was the last time the Michigan men’s basketball team won a game inside Assembly Hall. And that win came during the first year of Indiana’s NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations. The Hoosiers ended up 6-25 that season, going 1-17 in the Big Ten. On Sunday afternoon, the Wolverines once again visited Assembly Hall, where the implications loomed much larger. With just seven games remaining in the Big Ten season to add to their résumé and the team squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Wolverines had their backs up against the wall in Bloomington. As odd as it sounds, Michigan was playing a must-win game at Assembly Hall, a place it had won only once in its last 18 contests. To make matters worse, the Wolverines were winless in six games on the road this season. But they proved up to the task, beating the Hoosiers, another
Split decision
The Michigan hockey team won the final “Duel in the D” at Joe Louis Arena — where Mike Ilitch was honored — but fell to the Spartans on Saturday at Yost Ice Arena.
» Page 3B
bubble team, 75-63. “This was a really good win for our guys today,” said Michigan coach John Beilein. “I can’t (talk) enough about how they came in here and played with such enthusiasm and so much conviction to win this game. “(Assembly Hall) is a hard place for every team that has ever played in the Big Ten to win in, and it’s so good for our team to come out here, get a lead and keep a lead.” While the Wolverines (6-6 Big Ten, 16-9 overall) jumped out to a 35-25 lead to end the first half, Michigan’s offense struggled in the frame’s final few minutes as it was held scoreless over the last 3:25. Indiana (5-8, 15-11), though, couldn’t take advantage of the Wolverines’ scoring drought. Michigan scored 13 points off 10 forced turnovers in the first half, as it took a 10-point lead into the break. Paving the way for the Wolverines was senior guard Derrick Walton Jr., who led Michigan with 10 points in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting. Walton finished with a gamehigh 25 points. Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner handled his matchup
with Indiana center Thomas Bryant well, grabbing four rebounds in the first half and holding Bryant to just four points. While Wagner missed a couple of layups, he contributed heavily on the defensive end of the floor. After coming into the game averaging 20.2 points on 68.4 percent shooting in his past five games, Bryant finished with just eight points total against the combination of Wagner and redshirt sophomore DJ Wilson’s help defense down low. “Moe and (redshirt junior forward Mark Donnal) have been doing a good job fronting the post, not allowing them to get as many touches in the post,” Wilson said. “Then we executed our game plan on defense as far as setting the other one up to trap the post guy, and it worked out.” The second half began slowly for both teams, with neither side scoring until Hoosier guard Josh Newkirk hit a running layup with almost three minutes gone in the half. It took about two more minutes for Michigan to get going, as it didn’t score its first points of the half until the 15:43 mark, when Wagner nailed a
3-pointer. The trey ended an almost nine-minute scoring drought by the Wolverines dating back to the first half. From there, Michigan’s offense returned to its earlier efficiency as it shot 8-of-9 in the following minutes to extend its lead to double digits. That lead became insurmountable for the Hoosiers, and the Wolverines closed the door on an Indiana comeback to grab their first win at Assembly Hall since 2009. “It’s not really whether we play or who we play, we just needed a win,” Wagner said. “We knew that. (The win) was very important with our backs against the wall.” Once again, Michigan’s defense led the way. With Bryant held in check, junior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRakhman also held Indiana’s leading scorer in guard James Blackmon Jr. to just three points on 1-for-6 shooting. While the Wolverines’ road win in a tough venue will put them on the right side of the bubble, they still have a long way to go. But for now, Michigan will celebrate a victory at a place where it hasn’t been able to in seven years.
Turning the corner
After blowing out Michigan State last Tuesday, Michigan found a sign of hope in its win over the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall. » SportsMonday Column Page 2B
SportsMonday
2B — February 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
I
A big one in Bloomington
f the Michigan men’s basketball team is still looking for its identity after that, it’s looking too hard. On Sunday, the Wolverines had their most important win of their recent resurgence, an odd thing to say days after they rolled their in-state rival by 29. But the reason MAX Michigan’s BULTMAN 75-63 win over Indiana was so impressive was about more than Derrick Walton Jr.’s continued scoring tear or D.J. Wilson’s defensive dominance — though both were critical. It’s about time and place. It’s about context. It’s about all the ways the game could have gone wrong and didn’t — because the Wolverines wouldn’t let it. In every moment you thought they’d finally cave, they only got tougher. Their senior point guard looked like an AllAmerican. Their defense took balls away near the basket. And they did all this at Assembly Hall, a place in which they hadn’t won since 2009. It was all enough to ask, “Who are we talking about here?” For the first time in a long time, the answer was the Michigan men’s basketball team. Coming off a blowout win in a rivalry that has been torturous of late, the Wolverines somehow delivered a more impressive win in the follow up. Michigan may not have actually played any better than it did when it dispatched the Spartans on Thursday, but when you take rivalry out of
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
Redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson and his fellow Wolverines finally won on the road, and in many ways, it felt more important than a win over an in-state rival.
the equation, Sunday’s victory could go a lot farther. First, and most importantly,
It’s one thing to win when your home crowd is behind you
the Wolverines got an allimportant road win. And, again, the context mattered. Entering Sunday’s matchup, Michigan
was 0-6 on the road yet probably needed to win three of its final five road games to have good shot at the NCAA Tournament. With a loss to the Hoosiers, those odds would have decreased in a hurry. The fact that the Wolverines won on the road is what pushes the Indiana win ahead in the importance standings. It’s one thing to win when your home crowd is behind you, but another entirely to do it in hostile confines. Second, Michigan received its contributions from the right places — even with one of the most important contributors notably absent. Walton notched his fifth straight game with
20 or more points. Wilson scored 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, plus three blocks and three steals, including one stretch where he stole two passes and blocked a shot on three consecutive possessions. Sophomore center Moritz Wagner tallied a double-double and redshirt junior wing Duncan Robinson added eight points off the bench. And they did all of this without much of anything from senior wing Zak Irvin, who, presumably, can’t stay this cold forever. It’s hard to understate how impressive Michigan has been this week while getting little to nothing from Irvin, arguably the team’s most
important scorer. In fact, Irvin may be the only key piece of the team’s puzzle
They have done two things ... that no one on the team had done previously
that’s not in alignment right now. And if you assume he will eventually find some semblance of the player he was earlier this
season, that bodes extremely well for the Wolverines if they can maintain this level of energy. That energy, along with the staggering breakout of Walton, seems to be the key in accounting for this recent run. It was best seen Sunday through the team’s offensive rebounding effort, including three by Wagner, but it was also evident from Wilson’s extendoarms on defense and the way Indiana’s runs didn’t prove catastrophic. Energy would at least partially explain why Michigan won the game with relative security, even while shooting markedly worse (by 13 percent from the floor and 11 percent on 3-pointers) than they did against the Spartans on Tuesday. Perhaps most important is not what this energy caused, but what it could be a sign of: hope. The Wolverines have now won four of their last six. They have done two things — blowing out Michigan State and winning at Indiana — that no one on the team had done previously. They are peaking just in time to get maximum exposure for their resume-building wins. With No. 7 Wisconsin set to visit Ann Arbor on Thursday, Michigan has an opportunity for an NCAA Tournament resume headliner this week. And if the Wolverines do indeed end up punching their ticket to the tournament, they can look back on Sunday as the day they fortified the three things you can’t make it through March without: A resume, an identity, and hope. Bultman can be reached at bultmanm@umich. edu and on Twitter @m_ bultman. Please @ him.
‘M’ peaking heading into Big Tens MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Writer
With merely a couple of weeks to go before the Big Ten Championships for the men’s and women’s track and field teams, both Michigan squads know the most important competitions of their seasons are still in front of them. But from their performances at both the SPIRE D1 Invitational and the Iowa State Classic, both teams can glean one major takeaway from their weekend meets: they’re peaking at the right time. “That is what our goal is, to peak toward the Big Ten (Championships),” said Michigan women’s track and field coach James Henry. “And we’re improving … you can’t ask for more than that.” Spearheaded by the continued dominance of senior distance runner Erin Finn and freshman phenom sprinter Jade Harrison, the tenth-ranked Wolverines capped off their final full weekend before the Big Ten Championships in style, with 11 athletes improving their personal records on Saturday alone. Harrison headlined the group’s notable ascension, posting times that nearly broke Michigan records. On Friday, her time of 24.23 in the 200-meter dash came within a quarter of a second of breaking the school record. On Saturday, her time of 54.12 in the 400-meter dash gave her fourth place overall and was just half a second off the program best. Though those records will likely be shattered before Harrison leaves Michigan, Henry insists that records are not her focus. “She’s like the team. She’s improving, she’s a good athlete,” Henry said. “She’s not chasing records, she just wants to get better.” Finn posted a nation-leading time of 15:34.36 in the 5,000meter race Saturday. The time was also good for the SPIRE facility record, breaking Finn’s own mark of 15:37.31 that won her the Big Ten title last season. With Finn and the rest of the
Wolverines returning for the Big Ten Championships in two weeks, the senior will undoubtedly be looking to best that mark once more. Dual-sport athlete Claire Kieffer-Wright took home Michigan’s only individual win on Saturday, emerging victorious in the high-jump. Her seasonbest jump of 1.78 meters came just two centimeters shy of her career best. For Henry, getting KiefferWright — also a member of the volleyball team — into highjumping shape has presented a challenge, though Kieffer-Wright has been up to the task. “That’s probably one of the hardest things that I have to do as a coach,” Henry said. “She wants to be a two-sport athlete and she’s working in both sports simultaneously. I’m very impressed with her work ethic and patience to get better.” For the men, another dualsport athlete bested his own personal record. Junior Drake Johnson finished as the runner-
up in the 60-meter hurdles, earning a career-best time of 7.93 seconds at the SPIRE Invitational. In the shot put, senior Grant Cartwright also finished second. Cartwright currently sits on the outside looking in at the NCAA Championship picture; he ranks 18th nationally, with just the top 16 athletes advancing to the finals. According to Michigan coach Jerry Clayton, “It’ll take right at his personal best” for Cartwright to sneak into the top-16. The Wolverines, though, recognize that the results in two weeks at the same location will matter more. This tune-up gave Clayton an opportunity to send a younger group to SPIRE and allow them to get their feet wet in the same location. After all, it will be that same setting that determines their ultimate Big Ten fate. “I thought overall we had a lot of consistency from event to event,” Clayton said. “I think now we just need to refocus and get set on the championship and go there with a positive attitude.”
EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Senior Erin Finn posted a nation-leading time in the 5,000-meter race Saturday.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
February 13, 2017 — 3B
Michigan opens season 3-2 at USF Wilson-Demarini Tournament BENJAMIN KATZ Daily Sports Writer
Seventeen innings played in a nine-hour span. Almost 300 pitches thrown. But in the end, the effort just left the Wolverines with two tallies in the loss column for the day. Saturday was tough to swallow for the No. 6 Michigan softball team. After winning their first two games at the USF Wilson-Demarini Tournament in Tampa, Fla., on Friday against Delaware and Illinois State, the Wolverines (3-2) dropped two straight Saturday. The first was a 2-1 defeat in 10 innings against No. 4 Florida, while the second was a 6-4 rout to No. 25 South Florida. A commanding 12-2 run-rule, bounce-back victory over St. John’s salvaged the weekend — marking the third win in five contests. For Michigan coach Carol Hutchins, the losses are simply a sign of a young team still trying to develop their identity. “I’m really not caught up in outcomes at this point in the year and I told a few of the upperclassmen, if you look at all the games, we were this close to being 5-0,” Hutchins said. “Both those games (Saturday) were ours to take, and we didn’t take them. But we were in them. And I said, if we were 5-0, I would feel exactly the same way I feel right now, which is that we have some growing to do as a team, and it starts to do with our trust and belief in ourselves and our trust and belief in our team.” Against Florida — a familiar foe that’s had Michigan’s number for the past three years — the Wolverines fell in heartbreaking fashion in a game that can be marked down as another classic in the intense series. A chess match from the outset, it was a pitcher’s duel at its finest. In one of her top career performances, senior right-hander Megan Betsa tossed 190 pitches, recorded 12 strikeouts, left 14 baserunners stranded and yielded just six hits
in 10 innings pitched. Runs in the top and bottom of the fourth inning proved to be all the offenses could muster against both Betsa and Gator ace Kelly Barnhill. After seven innings, the game remained deadlocked at one. In the extra stanzas, the momentum seemed to shift in Michigan’s favor. Back-to-back plays at the plate in the eighth thwarted Florida’s opportunities and preserved a 1-1 tie. With runners on second and third with one out, a fielder’s choice caught the runner at home off a throw from senior shortstop Abby Ramirez. A wild pitch during the ensuing at-bat led to sophomore catcher Alex Sobczak tracking the ball down and throwing it to Betsa for the tag. But the Wolverine hurler failed to receive enough run support needed to squeeze out a victory. Even senior center fielder Kelly Christner’s 4-for-4 day at the plate wasn’t enough to crack the code. Playing under the international tiebreaker rules — each team begins extra innings with a runner on second base — Michigan stranded a runner on third in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings. The Gators finally got the best of Betsa with two outs in the tenth, a blooper to center field that scored the winning run. Hutchins decided to let Betsa go the distance against Florida because, even after a slow start, the Wolverine ace found her stride and began to find the answer to the potent Gator lineup. “She got better as the Florida game went on because she started competing and going after them and she started really attacking them,” Hutchins said. “It’s a really tough game to lose when the winning run was given to them by the (international tiebreaker) rule. But it’s the name of the game and we had our opportunities. We were the home team and … did not score.” Christner’s offensive explosion against Florida was only part of her successful weekend. The senior
captain led Michigan in batting average (.533) and hits (eight), including three doubles. Hutchins believes that after a slow start in the first two games, Christner rose to the occasion as both a force on and off the field. “Friday, she wasn’t on her game and I was just really pleased with her turning it around on Saturday,” Hutchins said. “She really had both games, big performances, she stepped up, both physically, but really her mindset was, ‘We’re going after this guys.’ She really did everything she could to pick the team up and put them on her back.” Following the narrow loss to the Gators, the Wolverines couldn’t recover against host South Florida in Saturday’s nightcap. After jumping to an early 3-0 lead that included a double from Ramirez and an RBI single from junior right-hander Tera Blanco, the Bulls outscored Michigan 6-1 the rest of the way, hitting a two-run insidethe-park home run in the third and scoring four more times in the sixth. In the top of the seventh, the Wolverines loaded the bases with one out, but a game-ending double play halted the comeback attempt. Despite Saturday’s rough patch, Michigan found promise in its three season-opening tournament wins, including dominant showings Friday — 7-0 over Delaware and 4-2 over Illinois State. The Wolverines’ sophomores led them offensively, with left fielder Courtney Richardson, second baseman Faith Canfield, right fielder Natalie Peters and Sobczak accounting for 12 of 19 hits and eight of 10 RBI on opening day. The trio of Richardson, Canfield and Peters tallied consecutive hits in both the second and sixth against Delaware, igniting the Wolverines’ offense and widening the margin over the Blue Hens. Peters’ second-inning double, one of her three hits in the game, gave Michigan an early 1-0 lead, one it would never surrender. Hours later, Richardson — who went 3-for-4 against Delaware on Friday — launched a three-run home run
Michigan thrashed by Spartans LANEY BYLER
Daily Sports Editor
On Friday night, the Michigan hockey team returned from Detroit after winning in its final “Duel in the D” battle at Joe Louis Arena. A 4-4 tie with Michigan State had 4 forced the MSU 1 MICHIGAN game into a shootout, and junior defenseman Sam Piazza’s goal allowed the team to take home the Iron D trophy. Saturday’s game didn’t turn out as well. The Wolverines (2-8-2-2 Big Ten, 9-14-3 overall) fell to the Spartans, 4-1. The stark contrast between the weekend’s games proved to be enough for Michigan State (2-8-2-0, 6-17-3) to salvage a split in the series. In the beginning, a Michigan win didn’t seem unattainable. Freshman goaltender Jack LaFontaine faced 14 shots from the Spartans throughout the first period, and even when it looked guaranteed that the puck would go in, it didn’t. When Michigan State forward Mason Appleton brought the puck close on a breakaway, LaFontaine knocked it away. When a mess broke out in front of the Wolverines’ net and a shot bounced off LaFontaine onto the stick of a Spartan forward, he still managed to block the follow-up shot. Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon faced a significantly smaller challenge — he saw just five shots compared to LaFontaine’s 14 — but managed to keep the score locked at zero. “We didn’t compete hard enough,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “For me, it’s compete. It’s preparation and compete. Whether last night’s game influenced tonight’s game in anyway, I don’t know. I thought we had to be better tonight, and we weren’t even close to being better. We took a step backwards.” As the clock wound down to end the first period, freshman forward Adam Winborg brought the puck to the Spartans’ end of the ice. The crowd pressured him to shoot it, and he did, but with
no luck. Both teams entered the second period scoreless. A penalty on sophomore forward Brendan Warren almost led to Michigan State’s first goal of the game. The puck was left in perfect position for a goal after bouncing off LaFontaine, but was immediately knocked away by a Michigan defensemen, and the penalty kill proved to be sufficient. But from there, the night seemed to derail. A little over seven minutes into the period, Spartan forward Rhett Holland scored to put Michigan State ahead. And after a short scuffle in front of the net, it looked as if LaFontaine would have to be taken out of the game after a player fell on his leg. Though he ended up staying in the game for a few additional minutes, he was ultimately replaced by senior goaltender Zach Nagelvoort with 8:04 left in the game. After the change in net, a turnover in the Wolverines’ zone led to a second Spartan goal, this time by defenseman Zach Osburn. And with 50 seconds left on the clock in the second period, Michigan State forward Taro Hirose scored on a short-handed breakaway to push the Spartans to a three-goal lead. With Michigan State
defenseman Mitch Elliot serving a penalty at the beginning of the third period, it seemed as if Michigan might be able to cut the deficit. But less than a minute in, Appleton brought the puck close to the net, and this time, he didn’t fail to capitalize — propelling the puck past Nagelvoort for the fourth goal of the night. “It’s unacceptable,” said senior defenseman Nolan De Jong. “You go on a man advantage and you’ve got to keep a five-on-five mentality. You’ve got to be able to go out there and compete and outwork a team even though you have that extra man. It just comes down to a matter of making smart plays and putting it on the line, which we didn’t do.” Following the Spartans’ fourth goal, a shot from De Jong almost resulted in a Michigan goal but bounced off the post. A number of Michigan State penalties provided power-play opportunities for the Wolverines, but none of them were capitalized on. Freshman defenseman Griffin Luce was able to score off a faceoff from the point with nine seconds left on a power play — his first goal of the season — but it wasn’t enough to combat the four-goal lead built up by the Spartans. This time, there was no win and no trophy.
against the Redbirds, which was ultimately the difference-maker in the contest. Betsa fanned 15 Blue Hens in her final opening day as a Wolverine and Blanco added eight of her own against Illinois State, both pitchers throwing complete games. Betsa easily stifled Delaware rallies in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, relinquishing a meager three hits and never allowing a runner past second base. Blanco tried to match her teammate, retiring seven straight batters after allowing a three-run Redbird home run. Blanco again got the nod Sunday morning against St. John’s and received ample help from her offense from the first pitch of the game. The top of the lineup, featuring Peters, Canfield and Christner, contributed seven of 14 hits and five of 12 RBI. Christner added onto her successful weekend, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Peters — who Hutchins deemed one of the “steadiest performers” from the weekend — continued her solid debut in her starting lead-off role,
going 2-for-3 with a run and one RBI, while also showcasing strong defensive play in the outfield. After just five innings played, Michigan won 12-2 via the run-rule. Coming into Sunday and turning out such a dominant performance was evidence of a Wolverine team that faces adversity with apparent ease. “I think (Saturday) obviously was a very hard day, two pretty tight losses, long games, got to sleep late and had to wake up early, but I think we came out (Sunday) and we all had a lot of energy and wanted to help out the pitchers,” Christner said. “And just the fact that we were able to score runs every inning and help our pitchers out just showed that after any loss, we’re stronger than before.” Right-hander Leah Crockett earned her first pitching prospect of the season against the Red Storm, relieving Blanco after three innings to finish the rest of game. The sophomore gave up two runs over two innings but successfully pitched out of a jam in the fourth,
leaving runners on first and third. Even with tough defeats at the hands of ranked opponents, Hutchins and her team are looking to move past the losses and focus on improving certain technical skills on both offense and defense before next weekend’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Raleigh, N.C. “It starts to do with our trust and belief in ourselves and our trust and belief in our team,” Hutchins said. “… We have to do a better job of uniting as a group in our mindset, and our mindset has to be what our process statements are, which are one pitch and trust, trust your pitch, trust your process. We’re not very good at that yet and we’ve got some mechanical things as well that we will continue to work at and I expect we’ll get a lot better.” Saturday was tough to swallow for the sixth-ranked Wolverines. But learning from mistakes from the opening weekend will be crucial for a young team looking to assert its long-standing identity as one of the most elite teams in the nation.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Senior center fielder Kelly Christner returned to form, leading Michigan with a 4-for-4 day at the plate against Florida.
Wolverines and Spartans unite to honor Mike Ilitch AVI SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writer
DETROIT — On Friday night, thousands of people in Joe Louis Arena anxiously awaited the puck drop for the “Duel in the D,” between the Michigan hockey team and its bitter rivals, Michigan State. The announcer introduced the players to a chorus of rousing cheers and boos as minutes remained before the opening faceoff in the storied hockey rink set up to be replaced by Little Caesars Arena. Before the Spartan band began to play the national anthem, though, the announcer urged for a moment of silence. Just hours before this special game, Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch passed away. The crowd of 17,720 stood in awe as they memorialized the Motor City icon. For a few moments, both Wolverine and Spartan fans stood united together to commemorate a true hero. While minutes later the game would begin and aggressive checking and fighting would ensue, there
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
The Michigan hockey team stood on the ice as Mike Ilitch was honored at the “Duel in the D” at Joe Louis Arena on Friday.
was a sense of mutual respect. Members of both Michigan and Michigan State — especially those from the Great Lakes State — had a personal connection to the late Red Wings owner. “It’s really sad,” said senior forward Max Shuart. “I honestly couldn’t believe it when I heard it. It seems like that guy’s timeless. He’s been around so long and I’m sure there’s a lot of heavy hearts in the Detroit community especially among the hockey players.” According to Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon, he and his teammates expressed similar feelings of shock. Few of them even knew he was in the hospital, and because they found out just before the game, the Spartans quickly needed to refocus. In a game that carried extra meaning for Lethemon and fellow Northville native Shuart, the latter saw an opportunity to honor the late Red Wings’ owner. The senior scored his second goal of the season Friday night, helping contribute to an eventual shootout victory for the Wolverines. While the players reflected on time spent watching the Red Wings growing up, both Michigan State coach Tom Anastos and Michigan coach Red Berenson reflected on Ilitch’s work in growing the sport of college hockey. They credited both his passion for the game and his support of the Wolverines and the Spartans. Berenson explained that Ilitch nearly singlehandedly spearheaded the annual “Duel in the D,” as well as the yearly Great Lakes Invitational competitions. “(He supported it) whether it drew well or not,” Berenson said. “It wasn’t a moneymaker, it was doing the right thing for college hockey. Mike Ilitch and (his wife) Marian were so good for college hockey and Detroit.” Added Anastos: “He’s been a huge advocate of the sport at all
levels, whether it’s the NHL or youth hockey. He’s certainly a big advocate of college hockey. and one of the reasons we’ve been able to elevate college hockey to the profile it has today.” For Berenson, though, it wasn’t an experience he had at Michigan that stood out to him the most about Ilitch, rather, he recalls moments spent with the owner and his family when he sought a coaching position for the Red Wings. “I interviewed for the Red Wings job years ago,” Berenson said. “When I was cut from the St. Louis Blues, I spent the day with Ilitch and his family. What a first class group they were, and we always had a friendship after that. He had family that went to Michigan so he had some ties at Michigan, and he would call me from time to time and talk about hockey or talk about Michigan.” Like Berenson, Anastos shared his own experiences with Ilitch. Despite Ilitch’s connections with Michigan— his daughter Denise has served as a Regent for the University since 2008— he found opportunities to connect with Michigan State as well. “When I was with the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (with Michigan State), we worked with the Ilitch family and I got to know Mr. Ilitch,” Anastos said. “… He invested his passion for the game. He loved the game, he loved his players, he loved his city and that was infectious toward anybody who was around him. I was very much moved by how passionate he was about all those things.” Friday night served as the last time the two teams will play in Joe Louis Arena. And it is likely that this weekend will be the last game between the two this season. There are few better ways to honor Ilitch than playing in “the Joe.” According to Shuart at least, “It’s the house that Mike built.”
SportsMonday
4B — February 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines hold off Badgers, 75-66 Flaherty resurfaces WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
in win over Badgers
NATHANIEL CLARK Daily Sports Writer
On New Year’s Day, the No. 21 Michigan women’s basketball team traveled to the Kohl Center and defeated Wisconsin, 73-56. Sophomore center Hallie Thome scored 37 points and nabbed 14 rebounds that day. Thome did not have quite as many points or rebounds Sunday — notching 13 and 6, respectively. This time it was junior guard Katelynn Flaherty who led the Wolverines to victory over the Badgers by a score of 75-66. Flaherty finished the game with 35 points, just three shy of her record set on Jan. 7 against Ohio State. Michigan (10-2 Big Ten, 21-5 overall) earned the win despite the struggles of guard Kysre Gondrezick. The freshman sensation scored just three points in the entire contest. “We had to grind out a tough one today,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “Our ability to do that is positive. Anytime you can get a victory, we’re definitely going to take it.” Wisconsin (1-11, 6-19) proved to be a pesky opponent for the Wolverines, as the Badgers trailed just 55-51 with nine minutes to go in the final quarter. But senior guard Siera Thompson pulled down a defensive rebound, found Thome for a layup, and Wisconsin never recovered. It wasn’t only the fourth quarter where the Badgers kept the game close, though. The Wolverines had difficulties on the glass in the first quarter, as Wisconsin outrebounded Michigan, 13-7. Despite those rebounding woes, the Wolverines held a 13-12 advantage at the end of the frame thanks to seven points from Flaherty. The Badgers abetted Michigan’s cause by turning the ball over six times in the opening frame. “We definitely need to rebound better,” Flaherty said. “But eventually we found people in
ETHAN WOLFE Daily Sports Writer
JEREMY MITNICK/Daily
Junior guard Katelynn Flaherty scored 35 points — 14 in the second quarter alone — to help Michigan top Wisconsin.
good positions. I just felt good today. A lot of my shots were open, which wasn’t the case the past couple of games.” More issues cropped up for the Wolverines in the second stanza. Michigan made just six of its 12 free throws and mustered merely two offensive rebounds. Gondrezick added to the woes, by not registering a single point, rebound or assist in the first half. It prompted Barnes Arico to give her five minutes off, and little went right for the Wolverines early in the game. But Flaherty once again came to the rescue. She netted 14 points in the second, including the first five points of the quarter, which allowed Michigan to take a 35-29 lead into halftime. “I’m grateful every day that I have Katelynn Flaherty on our team,” Barnes Arico said. “There are some days when Katelynn’s shot might not be falling, or some days where teams are face guarding her, and she doesn’t get very many open looks. But the
attention that she draws each and every single day, whether she has a day where she scores 35, whether she has a day where she scores 11, is a difference maker for our team.” The third frame threatened to go the way of the first two, as Wisconsin made two quick baskets to cut its deficit to two points. Michigan was in danger of falling to an opponent that walked into Sunday’s contest with only one Big Ten win. Then junior forward Jillian Dunston stepped up. After getting in foul trouble in the first half, her first play of the second half involved forcing a steal, beating Badger forward Marsha Howard to the ball and racing down the court for a layup. The Wolverines maintained a lead of at least four points for the remainder of the game. “When we don’t have (Dunston) in the game, we’re a different team,” Barnes Arico said. “She provides so much energy and so much hustle. She
has such an incredible motor.” From there, sophomore guard Nicole Munger tallied six points in the third quarter, which gave Michigan a 52-46 lead heading into the final quarter. Munger finished Sunday with her first career double-double, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds. The difficulty of the Wolverines’ schedule will increase substantially over the next week, as Michigan prepares to travel to Indiana (7-5, 17-8) on Thursday before taking on Michigan State (6-6, 16-9) at Crisler Center on Sunday. The Wolverines know they will have to clean up Sunday’s issues in order to emerge victorious in those contests. “Today, I don’t think we did a great job of taking away the other team’s strength,” Barnes Arico said. “Knowing your personnel and knowing, ‘Okay, if that kid is going to go right shoulder, right shoulder,’ or if a kid is going to drive left. We need to be able to be locked into those things.”
In the Michigan women’s basketball team’s previous two games, Kysre Gondrezick has been stuffing the stat sheet. The freshman point guard has led the Wolverines in scoring in those contests — typically a mainstay of junior guard Katelynn Flaherty — putting up a career-high 25 points against Purdue on Wednesday. But on Sunday afternoon, Flaherty returned to her role as the team’s most elite scorer, barraging Wisconsin for 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting — including six 3-pointers — in Michigan’s 75-66 win over the Badgers. The performance was her second-best scoring total and trails only the 38-point outburst she posted Jan. 7 in a loss to Ohio State — a game she wishes she could’ve bested against Wisconsin. “I wasn’t really thinking about (breaking my point record) until I saw it and I was kinda frustrated with missing my foul shots. I was just happy that we were winning. … (Jillian Dunston) set great screens so a lot of my shots were wide open, which they haven’t been in the past two games.” Like sophomore center Hallie Thome, who had a career-best 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Wolverines’ previous matchup at Wisconsin, Sunday’s contest offered a similar aura with Flaherty leading the charge. But Flaherty’s efforts proved to be much more important this time around, as the Badgers kept their deficit within single digits throughout most of the match. In the first quarter, Flaherty seemed to be the only player who could put the ball in the basket. While she shot 3-for-5, the rest of the team struggled, going just
3-for-13, and the rest of the game carried along to the same accord. Flaherty’s seven first-quarter points appeared to be just another day at the office for her, but after the first inbounds pass of the following period, Wisconsin couldn’t contain her. She finished the quarter with 14 points, hitting three treys and maneuvering her way to the basket at will. “Some of the shots, me and (assistant coach Megan Duffy) were laughing on the bench,” said sophomore guard Nicole Munger, who finished the game with her first career doubledouble. “She was like five feet behind the 3-point line, fading backward. It’s Kate, she’s gonna make them.” Flaherty kept Michigan alive throughout the game, but her most crucial baskets came in a timely fashion. At both the 3:38 and 2:28 marks of the final quarter, Flaherty aggressively charged toward the basket and picked up consecutive and-1 layups to bring the Wolverines’ lead to double digits and effectively put the game away. “It just gave us such momentum,” said Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico. “She was really incredible. She really did a great job of finishing. You can find people (down low), but making the plays does not always happen and Katelynn can finish so many plays. Her and (Munger) put the team on their backs and really pulled out this victory for us.” Gondrezick’s recent emergence as a prolific scorer has been a welcome sight for Michigan, but after scoring just three points against the Badgers, even she has learned that in light of Flaherty’s previous struggles, it’s always reassuring when Katelynn Flaherty is hitting her shots.
Defense blossoms in Bloomington BRANDON CARNEY Daily Sports Writer
CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily
The Michigan men’s basketball team stepped up on the defensive end of the court against the Hooisers.
BLOOMINGTON — Just a few weeks ago, the Michigan men’s basketball team was completely reliant on its offense in order to win. The Wolverines’ 91-85 win over Nebraska on Jan. 14 showcased what many thought would be the strategy Michigan would have to take to pick up any future wins. Even Michigan head coach John Beilein, knew to a degree, that the Wolverines had to rely solely on their ability to outscore opponents to find any success in the conference schedule. But Beilein believed that inciting any action from the Wolverines on the defensive end would halt their dependence on putting up massive point tallies to win games. “We can score points as you can see,” Beilein said following that win. “Trying to outscore people, you still have to defend better. We’re not doing that. We don’t have the depth or right players to do that. We’ve got to find these little steps to try and get better.” A month after those comments, Michigan won a basketball game — thanks in large part to its defense. On Sunday, the Wolverines prevented Indiana from finding any sort of rhythm on offense, forcing the Hoosiers to commit 15 turnovers in Michigan’s 75-63 win. Though it might be hard to believe, the same team that gave up 85 points to the Cornhuskers’ unspectacular offense in Ann Arbor transformed into the one that shut down Indiana offensively for 40 minutes in Bloomington. “I want to embrace the fact that we had a great overall game, start to finish,” said senior guard Derrick Walton Jr. “We had a great defensive effort and great defensive principle. We stayed in front of guys and knew the scouting report. And most of all, when the going got tough, we never fumbled.” For Michigan, simplifying its defensive scheme and focusing on the basics has helped it get the stops it needs. No player better exemplified the Wolverines’ defensive transformation than junior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. Facing a difficult matchup with
the Hoosiers’ lead scorer, James Blackmon Jr., Abdur-Rahkman didn’t give the Indiana guard any breathing room on the perimeter and took advantage of his weakness in turning the ball over. Blackmon finished with just seven points while committing two turnovers. Abdur-Rahkman had similar success shutting down Blackmon in the Ann Arbor leg of the series on Jan. 26, but the fact that he was able to replicate it in Bloomington was a good sign moving forward for the Wolverines. Michigan’s perimeter defense overall, which had the Big Ten’s worst 3-point conversion rate against for much of the season, has steadily improved, and turned in its best performance to date against Indiana. The Wolverines forced the Hoosiers into shooting 21 percent from behind the arc and converting just four triples the entire game. Indiana entered as one of the conference’s best 3-point shooting teams, not just because of its talented guard play, but because the Hoosiers have a frontcourt that is unafraid to launch long shots. Indiana center Thomas Bryant entered Sunday’s game shooting 45 percent from deep, but didn’t hit a single one of his four attempted threes. Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner and redshirt sophomore forward DJ Wilson stayed in front of Bryant outside the post, and provided help on defense to prevent Bryant from expanding his game and becoming dangerous outside the paint. Abdur-Rahkman, Wilson and Wagner have all also become more vocal on defense, and that has helped Michigan improve its weaknesses on the defensive end, particularly on the perimeter. “It’s really interesting going into a huddle when I hear (Wagner), or I hear (Wilson), or (senior wing Zak Irvin) instructing other players about what we have to do on defense,” Beilein said. “That’s really healthy for us.” The Wolverines’ mentality on the defensive end has completely changed in the past month. While there seemed to be apathy for making defensive stops culminating in the Wolverines’ blowout at Illinois and the barnburner against
the Cornhuskers, Michigan knows it has the bodies and talent to be a top-half Big Ten defense. Walton has taken charge in changing mentalities from the point guard position, becoming a more physical and aggressive presence defending opposing guards. That mindset has trickled down to his teammates, who he believes can all become elite defenders. “We have so much defensive potential with all five guys being able to stay in front of their guy,” Walton said. “There’s a lot of things that go into guarding guys; it’s schemes, it’s different actions. Just making sure we’re on top of that with the same effort level, it’s the only difference.” Michigan’s defense, though, still has several faults. The Wolverines still aren’t a great rebounding team, and were outrebounded again by the Hoosiers 32-29. Their lack of depth puts a cap on how aggressive individual players can be to keep Michigan out of foul trouble. But the Wolverines have an offense powerful enough to overcome some of the lingering problems that remain. Fixing its mentality was Michigan’s biggest hurdle on the defensive end, and Sunday showed how far the Wolverines have come in attempting to fix that problem. “The energy on that side of the ball is just at the level where it was elite in the early conference and early season,” Walton said. “… People know that when we get stops, we have such a potent offense. Nine times out of 10, when we get stops, we’re going to win.” As Michigan enters the homestretch of the regular season, its defense appears to be coming together and helping to win games now more than ever. Holding Indiana to 60 and Michigan State to 57 points earlier in the week shows the potential that the Wolverines have been holding back defensively. Now Michigan has to find a way to bottle that intensity and ensure it can last. “Just knowing that’s the hump we have to get over that made such a great story for us earlier in the season,” Walton said. “Getting back to enjoying playing defense and stopping people is all the difference.”