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Wedneday, September 13, 2017
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statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2017
A releases $55 million plan for trail: the Treeline 2
The urban path spans nearly three miles, aims to connect Huron River, downtown MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter
JORDYN BAKER/DAILY NEWS REPORTER
US Secretary of Transportation talks automated driving system At event at Mcity, Elaine Chao, other industry leaders talk safety and innovation JORDYN BAKER Daily Staff Reporter
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, United States Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao unveiled the release of the department’s new guidance for automated driving system safety, titled A Vision for Safety 2.0. As part of an all
day event, the press conference also welcomed Lieutenant Governor of Michigan Brian Calley; U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D- Ann Arbor, Debbie Dingell; Mitch Bainwol, CEO and president of Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers; Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind; University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel; and
Mcity Director Huei Peng. The event was hosted at Mcity, a test site for driverless cars that opened on North Campus in July 2015. The site — which includes features necessary for standard transportation by car such as freeways, road signs and highway tunnels — has been used by companies such as Ford and was a pivotal resource in the debut of the first self-
driving passenger shuttle in North America. “At Michigan, working with our partners in government and industry, we are driving the future of mobility towards a society that is safer, more sustainable and economically powerful for our state and nation,” Schlissel said during the conference. See MCITY, Page 3A
Ann Arbor City Council has revealed the master plan for a new state-of-the-art urban trail through the city. The trail, which will be known as The Treeline: Allen Creek Urban Trail, began as a citizens’ initiative and has garnered wide support from City Council in the last two years. The current draft of the trail’s route spans 2.75 miles and aims to connect the Huron River area of the city with downtown. It is expected to cost around $55 million to complete. Although trail routes are still tentative, the city hopes it will be able to connect the trail to the Border-to-Border trail, which runs alongside
the Huron River and connects much of Washtenaw County by bike path. They also hope to make the trail adjacent to the University of Michigan campus. City Administrator Howard Lazarus said the city is excited about the opportunities this new trail could bring, and thinks the creation of the trail will accomplish many goals Ann Arbor has set for itself. “It provides connections, ways for people to get around, opportunities for family recreations,” Lazarus said. “It can also be a nice development tool because in many cases it’s been proven that access to high quality bicycle and pedestrian facilities raise property values and make properties more attractive.” While $55 million dollars See TRAIL, Page 3A
New York Times bestseller Daniel CSG body Reps. talk discusses Pink talks success in the workplace upcoming
ACADEMICS
several fall initiatives The student leaders focused on voting, Wi-Fi on central campus Diag DYLAN LACROIX Daily Staff Reporter
University of Michigan Central Student Government convened Tuesday night, introducing the various initiatives of their executive committees for the academic year and passing revisions to the CSG Elections Code. On par with a wider initiative of schools in the Big Ten Conference, CSG Vice President Nadine Jawad, a Public Policy senior, announced efforts for the University to partake in a University-side campaign to compete against other institutions to register students to vote as Sept. 26 — National Voter Registration Day in the United States — approaches. CSG President Anushka Sarkar, an LSA senior, redressed concerns among the assembly about registering students to vote in the state of Michigan, which may not be their permanent residency. “We will not be encouraging people to be registered to vote in Michigan or Ann Arbor if this is not their regular residence because there are ethical concerns,” Sarkar See CSG, Page 3A
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Author also outlined managing social, career shifts in an information age AMARA SHAIKH Daily Staff Reporter
An audience of 3,500 in Hill Auditorium burst into applause at the sight of The New York Times best-selling author Daniel Pink’s “Fear the Khaki” T-shirt on Tuesday evening. Pink donned the shirt as part of the first anecdote during his presentation, “The Mind of the Future: How to Survive an Outsourced, Automated Age.” Pink’s talk highlighted useful lessons on what it takes to be successful in the workplace as society shifts from the information age to the conceptual age. Aside from an author, Daniel Pink is also a well known business strategist who was named one of the top ten business minds in the world by Thinkers50 in 2015. His TED Talk on science and motivation has also been viewed almost 19 million times. Pink also served as former Vice President Al Gore’s chief speechwriter from 1995 to 1997. Pink’s presentation was a part of the Joseph and Sally Handleman Lecture Series, which presents the University of Michigan with the nation’s leading experts in areas of business, academia and government.
Business freshman Drew Tyson was one of the students taking advantage of the lecture. Before the event, Tyson was looking forward to hearing Pink’s lessons — especially those concerning future success. “I want to study finance
and accounting and sort of how to manage your money and tips for being successful when I’m older, so I hope to learn some stuff about that,” he said, explaining how his interest in business prompted him to attend the event. Pink’s presentation
highlighted Asia, automation and abundance as the three main challenges that individuals face in today’s economy. He ref lected on how Asia’s large and capable population has resulted in outsourcing of many jobs See AUTHOR, Page 3A
goals for new term
Democrats, Republicans discuss reforming auto insurance, opioids, etc. CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter
BRIAN AUSTIN KOSASIH/DAILY Daniel Pink discuess how to survive in an automated age in Hill Auditorium Tuesday evening.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 88 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
As the state legislature reconvened after their summer holiday, many congressmen expressed eagerness to implement new legislation. In the coming term, state senators and representatives plan to address Flint and the opioid epidemic as well as other issues like medical marijuana and auto insurance reform. State Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-Ottawa Amber McCann, state Sen. Meekhof’s press secretary, said the Michigan Senate will be focusing on several local priorities from the senator’s district. According to MLive, Michigan has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country, prompting 72 percent of Michiganders to want to reform the state’s no-fault auto insurance policy. “We will also continue to discuss possible no-fault auto insurance reform,” McCann See MICHIGAN, Page 3A
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Univ. of Michigan @UMich Autonomous vehicles bring unprecedented opportunity to people with disabilities Mark Riccobono President, National Federation of the Blind
“It has two meanings to me. I am apart of the Baha’i faith and our bicentennial is this year too. The founder of the faith was born 200 years ago, and our faith is about diversity and respect for human beings and I respect the University of Michigan for having similar goals. The University respects different culture and different people, so I get to celebrate acceptance in two ways.
Tad @tadrado it’s diag preacher season boys
Kenn Thomas, Information and Research Specialist at Hatcher Graduate Library EMMA RICHTER/Daily
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Ta-You Wu Lecture: Gravitational Waves
Cornell Memorial Lecture: Bonnie Bassler
WHAT: Professor Scott Kurashige of University of Washington will discuss his book “The Fifty Year Rebellion: How the U.S. Political Crisis Began in Detroit” WHO: Ginsberg Center WHEN: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Ginsberg Center
WHAT: This year’s annual lecture will feature Kip. S. Thorne and Richard P. Feynman, professors from California Technical Insistute. WHO: Department of Colloquia WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Auditorium
WHAT: Dr. Bonnie Bassler from Princeton University will deliver the 14th annual Patricia Cornell Memorial Lecture on Quorum Sensing WHO: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology WHEN: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Amphitheatre
Lecture on Women and Shari’a Law
Positive Links Speaker Series
Author Paul Dimond Discusses New Book
Information on the ADA and ‘U’ Accommodations
WHAT: Professor Oussenia Alidou from Rutgers University will discuss the impacts of Shari’a law on women in Northern Nigeria WHO: Islamic Studies Program WHEN: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Haven Hall Rm 4701
WHAT: Edward J. Frey Dean of Ross Scott DeRue will be featured in this Q&A on the importance of positive business structures WHO: Michigan Ross Center for Positive Organizations WHEN: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Ross School of Business, Colloquium 5th Floor
WHAT: This lecture will feature Paul Dimond who will talk about his book “The Belle of Two Arbors” WHO: University Library WHEN: 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Ann Arbor District Library
WHAT: This session will explore how to best accommodate for individuals with disabilities in everyday life WHO: LSA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion WHEN: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. WHERE: LSA Building, Rm 2001
Environmental Law & Policy EPA Panel
Lessons from the Detroit Riots after 50 years
WHAT: In the first session of a lecture series, General Counsels from former presidential administrations will discuss key environmental policies WHO: Michigan Law Enrivonmental Law and Policy Program WHEN: 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: South Hall Rm. 1225
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announces run for governor CARLY RYAN
After months of anticipation, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the launch of his gubernatorial campaign Tuesday evening. Schuette already expected by political analysts to be the Republican frontrunner. Schuette made his announcement at the Midland County Fairgrounds in his hometown. He stressed his campaign will focus on income taxes, growing Michigan’s economy and helping the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. “Michigan needs leaders who are laserfocused on jobs,” Schuette said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “More jobs, more paychecks, and more people.” Schuette also said during the event the 2018 gubernatorial election will present voters with a choice between economic
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Schuette said. Schuette has faced criticism from both the left and right — mainly for his involvement with the Bush family and his support of President Donald Trump. Regardless, Schuette is expected to be the GOP frontrunner and polls noted by the Detroit Free Press already suggest he has pulled ahead of former frontrunners Gretchen Whitmer and Geoffrey Fieger.
Peter III @PeterLucidoIII Ann Arbor housing is crazy u get to pay $900 a month to live in an old TV box with a stove that has one working burner.
EMMA KINERY
stagnancy or growth. “We must have a governor who won’t accept the fate assigned to us by the liberal elite, who look down on manufacturing,”
Michigan needs leaders who are laserfocused on jobs
ok umich where’s that mid mid mid fall break cuz ya homie needs it rn to catch up on life
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Schuette was expected to run alongside Gretchen Whitmer, Geoffrey Fieger Daily Staff Reporter
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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 $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
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said. She went on to reaffirm the motives of the committee and CSG as solely purposed in getting better student voter turnout rates in elections. “The whole point of this is to get people to register to vote; we don’t really care where they’re voting,” Sarkar spoke. Fulfilling an initiative outlined in their platform as candidates last semester, Jawad announced at assembly she will be meeting with the University’s Information Technology Services as soon as next week to discuss initiatives of installing Wi-Fi on Central Campus’s Diag. With the widespread campaign efforts of the eMerge party during last winter, the Information and Technology Services began working on the initiative in June, Sarkar told the committee. With due diligence, Sarkar told the committee that students could see Wi-Fi on the Diag as soon as the latter half of the Winter 2018 semester. In rewriting Article VI of the University Election Commission, CSG also instituted the position of special prosecutor for Student Government elections, citing a need for a more impartial hearing process for parties filing complaints to the elections director. Under the new position, the special prosecutor will serve as a petitioner for any case whose complainant requests and be responsible for gathering evidence and presenting cases at hearing before the elections counsel.
that are based solely on routine. Pink also noted many professions, such as accounting and law, are slowly becoming automated as the steps for each job are becoming more and more present on the internet. Finally, Pink explained the large amount of goods present in the country is also becoming problematic for the working class. “There is this incessant need to come up with something new or create something better,” Pink said. Pink also touched on the importance of students becoming T-shaped; in other words, having not only a specialized knowledge of a certain subject, but also a more general understanding of other subjects. He acknowledged the danger of hyperspecialization in today’s economy, especially given how quickly it can
MICHIGAN From Page 1A said. Additionally, the majority leader is interested in starting a signature-gathering effort to repeal existing wage laws. State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint Flint still does not have clean water, landing a solution to the water crisis at the top of state Sen. Ananich’s agenda. In addition to local solutions, Ananich said he is intent on preventing similar water crises from happening around the state. He said despite Michigan having such large amount of fresh water, many communities have had issues with housing over the price of water, which he said is inacceptable. “We need to protect all of our waterways, not just the Great Lakes,” Ananich said. “We shouldn’t have any more crises –– it happened to me personally and I have no other motivation than making sure it doesn’t happen to other people.” For those who have had to endure the crisis, Ananich is hoping to establish a needbased scholarship by the end of the year. The scholarship, named the Flint Promise, would make Flint the 11th city in Michigan designated a “promise zone,” or a city offering free tuition to those in need. Ananich also said with so much insecurity in Washington, the state is looking to provide policy solutions for issues not federally addressed,
such as price gouging in pharmaceutical companies. State House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt State House Speaker Tom Leonard wrote in an email interview he has three top priorities for the fall, with mental health reform topping
We created new options for high school students this spring, and we are working on new reforms to help prepare future students for the modern economy the list. “This is a problem that does not have easy answers, but it is something we must address. I created a special task force this summer to travel around the state and talk to people who have been affected and learn what we can do to make a difference,” Leonard wrote. Leonard also wants to support skilled trade schools, giving high school students more education options and adding more skilled labor to
change. “You can specialize in a programming language that ends up disappearing, or you can specialize in a type of technology that ends up becoming obsolete pretty quickly,” he said. “I think that some specialization is okay, but I think hyperspecialization at this age is really dangerous because the world is going to be different in 20 years. What you need is a versatile portfolio of skills, a great mindset and the ability to learn.” The presentation also highlighted the value of the arts and creativity in today’s economy. However, Pink acknowledged the challenge many of this generation’s students face in terms of feeling the need to focus only on developing logical skills, calling for educators to incorporate a multifaceted definition of subjects included in STEM fields. “I think that we shortsell STEM by thinking of it as a purely reductive linear thing — it’s not,” Pink said. “I think
the economy. “We created new options for high school students this spring, and we are working on new reforms to help prepare future students for the modern economy,” he said. Like Meekhof, Leonard expressed interest in auto insurance reform, citing the same high rates. “Michigan families currently pay the highest rates in the country for auto insurance, and it is not close. We have to do whatever we can to lower rates for Michigan drivers,” he said. State Rep. Peter Lucido, D-Macomb State Rep. Lucido has introduced the most bills this term compared to the rest of the Michigan representatives. Hoping to find solutions for auto insurance like many other congressmen, Lucido mentioned the need to efficiently create reform. He said that 22 percent of Michigan drivers currently do not have insurance, creating a sluggish Secretary of State. “We will know when you got insurance, how long it was purchased for, and so it goes right from the company to the secretary of state,” Lucido said. “As soon as police officers pull you over, they will know whether or not you have insurance.” In addition to predictions that 2018 will see legislation on medical marijuana, Lucido said alleviating the opioid epidemic requires continued education for doctors and patients, and that correction reform is needed. “We currently spend $2 million on corrections –– that’s too much,” he said.
that in our school system we often think of STEM as the AP
There is this incessant need to come up with something new or create something better,
biology where you’re answering multiple choice questions, when that’s not what STEM is. It’s exploration, experimentation,
TRAIL From Page 1A may seem like a hefty price tag for a bike-and-pedestrian trail, Lazarus explained the costs are all in the name of safety. “The master plan has a lot of great separated crossings, so that pedestrians don’t have to compete with cars to cross intersections,” he said. “I think that’s what gives some of the cost. Particularly when you get to the North Bank, the connection to the Border-toBorder trail, there’s some pretty heavy infrastructure required.” Furthermore, the city is exploring options of private funding so that the trail will not have to be funded entirely by taxpayers. “We would find a way to set funding aside,” Lazarus said. “We want to look for grant opportunities as well. The city also does bring some property along the Border-to-Border trail that we could leverage for some secure funding.” Ann Arbor residents are excited about the new recreation and transportation opportunities the trail will bring them. According to Councilmember Jason Frenzel, D-Ward 1, who represents a large part of the city that the trail is slated to run through,
MCITY From Page 1A The idea of autonomous travel discussed by speakers highlighted current issues with automotive transportation and the goals that the Department of Transportation hopes to achieve with the release of their new federal guidance. Bainwol explained that more than 90 percent of crashes are related to human error and the use of driverless cars will primarily address these issues — as well as provide for a cleaner, more efficient and more productive form of transportation. The factors necessary to achieve such an autonomous future, Bainwol explained, include technology and public policy. “The idea of autonomous cars has been a dream for a long time, but now, following decades of investment, it’s becoming a reality,” he said. “Policy can either harness and slow down innovations or it can help accelerate the lifesaving, life-changing benefits, and that’s why what Secretary Chao is announcing today is so significant.” The speakers also emphasized the advantages such methods of transportation would provide those with disabilities, specifically the blind. Riccobono noted that while vision has always been a necessity for driving, a society in which automated vehicles are used by everyone would provide those with physical disabilities the opportunity to make use of these methods of transportation. “Equal access to reliable, affordable, f lexible and barrier-free transportation is one of the most significant obstacles preventing people with disabilities, who represent one out of every five Americans, from fully
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 — 3A multidisciplinary, teams working together. You basically have to give your generation a reality check on what STEM actually is.” Pink ended his talk with an explanation of benefits of the arts — specifically regarding composition, coordination and compassion. He explained while not everyone might be naturally gifted in areas like art or music, they can work towards having sufficient skills. He commended both the Ross School of Business and the University on taking an interdisciplinary approach to education. “I think that being part of the overall University of Michigan is really valuable because tonight somewhere there was a dance performance, there was
a play, there was a concert,” he said. “You’re not in just a specialized area. I think that Ross lodged in the context of the U of M is in a pretty good place.” In terms of the future, Pink speculated the economy will focus more on a search for meaning. “I think that one thing I can see happening is the economy becoming more focused on the search for meaning. I think that human beings in general want to live a life of meaning which can be hard to do if you’re just trying to survive, and if more people aren’t simply trying to survive you might encourage more people to try and find a sense of meaning.”
citizens like the master plan because it ensures the trail will line up with the core values the city holds. “The response kept getting more and more positive over time,” Frenzel said. “When I talk to the residents who have not been involved in that planning and they see it for the first time, they’re generally really, really positive. It’s shiny and coollooking, and it’s an innovative idea that holds Ann Arbor’s value sets with stewardship and active recreation and placemaking all to standard. I hear people excited because of those components.” On the other hand, the University is not quite as on board with the master plan as Ann Arbor residents. Lazarus said the school has some concerns about the trail interfering with its own master plan. “We’re going to continue to work with them on that,” Lazarus said. “They are first and foremost an educational institution, so they need to be concerned with how to support their educational mission. But they do realize that the connection to the community is important to students, faculty, and visitors. … It’ll run along the periphery of campus. Having a facility students can use is important. At some point in the future it may cross
through different parts of campus.” For his part, Kinesiology senior Connor Mora is excited for the trail. Though Mora will graduate before the trail is completed, as a member of the men’s cross country team, he is enthusiastic the opportunities it opens for the future team. “Some of our routes can get pretty monotonous, so new routes are always very exciting,” Mora said. “The new track is being built right now, and it would be really convenient for the teams located in the South Campus area to be able to use the trail, too.” Frenzel said the trail still has to undergo many stages before it can be used by citizens. City Council has accepted it for public comment, and staff will be seeking additional input from future stakeholders of the trail. Then the council will review the revised plan again, look for funding and then begin construction. “I think it’s really important for people to recognize that a lot of the really big and important things that we have in our community have taken decades to implement,” Frenzel said. “We can do really big things on moderate time horizons. This is one of those things that will take a few years, but when we get it done it will be a treasure for this community.”
contributing their talents and achieving full integration in our communities,” he said. “The race to bring fully autonomous vehicles to America’s roads brings an unprecedented opportunity to ensure equal access for people with disabilities.” When announcing the guidance, which includes aspects from previous policy but is updated with input from public comments and Congressional hearings, Chao explained how the information will help to ensure safety and effective practice by states and policymakers. She stated that the vision “is not a static document,” and that the vehicles of tomorrow will continue to build upon policies established by the guidance. While today’s vehicles include many automated features, the future of transportation will include new computing powers, sensors and cameras. “The future of this innovative, new technology is so full of promise,” she said. “It’s a future where vehicles increasingly help drivers avoid crashes. It’s a future where the time spent commuting is dramatically reduced, and where millions more, including the elderly and people with disabilities, gain access to the freedom of the open road. Especially important, it’s a future where highway fatalities and injuries are significantly reduced.” A Vision for Safety 2.0, developed with the assistance of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is laid out in new booklet. This replaces the previous Version 1.0, otherwise known as the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy, and seeks to provide a productive path in which safe and effective automated vehicles can further be successful through four main objectives: the encouragement of new ideas, updating
department processes by following private sector innovation and supporting partnership with the public and stakeholders in regard to this innovation and making use of the best practices and assistance for state legislators. “As technology advances and the department gathers new and more information from stakeholders and consumers, we will continue to refine and update this guidance,” Chao said. “In fact, the department, and all of its modes, are already planning for Version 3.0 to be released in 2018.” Chao also emphasized this is not an enforcement document and in conjunction with each state’s interest in legislating autonomous vehicles will continue to provide an approach for a world with increasing technological changes to make use of such resources for public efficiency and safety. The new announcement mirrors legislation which was recently passed by the House of Representatives. In a statement released following the conference, Dingell expressed her support of the new measures. “This updated policy guidance also compliments legislation passed unanimously in the House of Representatives, the SELF DRIVE Act, which establishes a framework for the regulation of self-driving vehicles for the first time,” Dingell said in the statement. “Automated vehicles have the potential to transform mobility in this country — improving our economy and saving lives on the road. This is a unique opportunity for members of both parties to come together to improve safety, support the auto industry’s comeback, and help create more cuttingedge jobs in our state. Today’s announcement brings us one step closer to making this new technology a reality.”
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Redefining business casual
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hen school is finally but I also have encountered out and summer mixed signals when deciding arrives, I often find what is appropriate to wear myself browsing the latest to a certain gathering. When trends. However, reading the words this summer I “business casual” got a “real world” in an email from a office job and, potential employer, instead of looking my mind f loods with for high-waisted outfit possibilities. shorts and tanks, Should I wear a blazer I found myself and pants? Dress looking for blazers pants or casual jeans? and dress pants. Flats or heels? Will After spending a think I am a MICHELLE they small fortune on tramp if my heels are PHILLIPS too high? What about clothes that made me feel uncomfortable and the length of my skirt? Will look like a box, I thought it they be offended if I show my would be worth it. I had to look shoulders? professional, right? I guarantee my boyfriend As women, we are sent does not ask himself that many many mixed signals on what questions when he gets ready it means to look professional. for an interview. The fashion I remember standing in the industry makes a fortune bathroom between meetings off marketing each season’s at the beginning of my “hot new look” to the female internship, disgusted by the consumer, so they provide middle-aged woman I looked her with endless options. like I had become. I had never Thank you, Macy’s, I really do worn anything of this nature in appreciate it, but the pressure my life, and this sudden change I feel to “dress my best” cannot made me uncomfortable. be eliminated by shopping at Through my experience as a your semi-annual sale. young woman in a professional Women must constantly workplace, I found that having decide what outfit will best suit a lot of options regarding ways the situation. The way women to dress myself can serve as are traditionally represented in a positive opportunity for fashion advertisements is often personal expression. But upon what one would expect to see in further analysis I have come the bedroom, not the cubicle. to realize all the ways this Despite the stereotypes and freedom puts unnecessary implications women have in burdens on women in the society, many women strive for workplace. equality between the sexes in On my first day, I quickly the workplace. noticed that men did not go In the ’70s, fashion designers through the same stress of recognized what these women getting dressed for work as were missing, and thus, the women do. Growing up, boys pantsuit rose to popularity. are dressed by their parents Pantsuits allowed women in button-downs and khakis to dress just like their male from the age of 3. By the time counterparts in a demand for they enter the workplace, they equal respect in the workplace. know exactly how to present For centuries, it was frowned themselves to the professional upon for women to wear world. They have been dressing pants, let alone a masculinethe same way their entire lives. looking suit. The pantsuit led The same attire they wear to a the way for women to dress in wedding or celebration could a professional style that was be worn to the office as well. similar to men’s, and it made As a woman, I have found headway in the fight for equal liberation in my outfit choices, rights. However, as time went
FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.
on and fashion evolved after the pantsuit hit stores, women were bombarded with mixed signals about what it meant to dress “business casual.” Blazers and skirts became a smashing combo for the office, and loafers became acceptable for women to wear to work. I have found that, depending on the office environment, the norms for what women wear can be vastly different. Working at a tech startup versus working for the government calls for women to dress in vastly different ways. However, no matter the office environment, most of what men wear remains the same. Formal or casual, he will most likely to be pressured to wear a shirt with a collar. I have found that one’s comfort should not be compromised by what one might be pressured into wearing to work. Out of all the boxy clothes I bought for my summer job, I ended up wearing dark pants and a white blouse nearly every day. It became my summer uniform. Strangely, I found freedom in not having to think about what to wear to work every day. That is probably the way men feel, too. I could go to work focused on what I needed to accomplish that day, rather than worrying if my necklace matched my shoes. As women, we have more freedom than men in deciding what to wear. The everevolving fashion industry leaves it up to us to choose which pieces best fit our style and the occasion. This summer, without intending to, I ended up taking comfort in wearing basically the same outfit to work every day, and it was strangely liberating. Perhaps all the choices women encounter in selecting just the right outfit, while fun, ignore the fact that we are also in the office to work.
Michelle Phillips can be reached at mphi@umich.edu.
When adulthood gets lonely
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hen I was around 13 years old, I became absolutely desperate to be in my 20s. I was just old enough to desire independence but still too immature to handle it. I imagined my 20s as this glittering time in my life when I would have my own apartment, spend my evenings partying and eventually meet the love of my life. I envisioned my 20s as the best decade of my life; I wouldn’t be burdened with children yet, and I would still be young and in shape. I would also have a high-power, high-paying job. I would never be alone, and my life would be magical. Though I’m not too far into my 20s, I have to say this experience hasn’t been what I expected. From what I’ve seen so far, adulthood actually consists of living with roommates in cheap apartments, praying to find a well-paying job after graduation and using mobile apps to hook up with people you hope aren’t weird. Overall, this decade will most likely consist of inconsistency, of never settling in one place long enough to establish a community. Once you make friends in one place, you find yourself moving again to a different city. And from what I’ve been told by those in their late 20s, life won’t really settle down until long after college is over. You move out of your parents’ home, try to make friends wherever you go and get used to being alone. Instead of being called “the most exciting decade of your life,” maybe this decade should be labeled “the loneliest decade of your life.”
This year, I’ll be a senior. Since starting college, I have switched living arrangements five times and moved permanent residences once. I believe this living situation is pretty normal for a college student, but the process of constantly changing homes creates a real feeling of isolation. When the people you usually see on a day-to-day basis suddenly change, you have to find comfort and a feeling of home inside yourself instead of in those around you.
Without the influence of outside voices, you really begin to know what makes you, you. I’ve come to recognize many aspects of my life — my possessions, my goals, even my friendships — as temporary. Upon graduating, I won’t know when I’ll see my friends in person again. What I once considered to be perennial facets of my daily life have now become temporary situations I’ll need to prepare to live without. Yet I’ve also discovered there are some benefits of being lonely for an extended period of time. Of course, when you’re living in that solitary moment, it’s hard to
see what good can come out of a long period of solitude. But nothing helps two people get to know each other better than being forced to spend a lot of time together; the same works for getting to know yourself. When you are forced to be alone, you learn a lot more about how you function, what your likes and dislikes are and thus how you can better succeed. Without the inf luence of outside voices, you really begin to know what makes you, you. And I have found that a place or a city is most accessible not when I have a lot of friends there, but when I’m not afraid of exploring it on my own. True confidence and self-assurance don’t come from being surrounded by friends and family, but from knowing yourself well enough to be able to spend an extended period of time alone. It’s true that my 20s haven’t quite yet lived up to the expectations I held when I was 13. I’m not super rich and I don’t have a bajillion friends and as clichéd as this sounds, I’ve come to the awful understanding that our lives are not at all like the young-people sitcoms we used to watch. But every day I learn something new about myself, and every day I’m a little bit stronger, a little bit more confident for it. And even though I can’t wait until I’m (hopefully) financially and personally settled in my 30s, I’m trying to enjoy the freedom and independence I know I only get to experience when I’m on my own.
Elena Hubbell can be reached at elepearl@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 600 to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. JOSEPH FRALEY | OP-ED
The importance of admitting ignorance
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am fortunate enough to surround myself with people who are generally politically motivated, leftleaning individuals. I live in a co-op filled with murals praising liberal and socialist views. I frequently visit Metal Frat, a place where it often seems difficult to visit without having a political conversation. I write for The Michigan Daily, a clearly liberal-leaning college newspaper. I’m majoring in Arts and Ideas, a major where my class conversations about art often lead to discussions about the art’s impact on the political climate during its conception. Through all of this, I have talked to many people who I view as being both intellectually superior to me and much more informed on the current political climate than I am. I like to pride myself on staying fairly well-informed and educated, yet I do often find myself in circumstances where I cannot keep with the conversation. Here is where I try to admit my ignorance and attempt to learn. If there’s one thing I’m passionate about when it comes to politics, it’s caring. You have to care about something. No matter what specific issues you’re passionate about, as long as you have that passion, that’s what matters. Apathy is the enemy of progress and dialogue. I can accept disagreeing with someone, but I cannot accept them not being involved in the conversation. I have talked to several friends who try to stay out of politics. When I asked them why they don’t have opinions, the answer I hear time and time again is that they are afraid of not knowing information during a debate or conversation. This is quite understandable. In a world where we are in
constant contact with others, losing face is a scary thing. Yet however understandable it may be, it does not excuse the action. One way to help cure t his phenomenon would be to norma lize t he admit ta nce of ig nora nce. I remember a specific moment not too long ago when rumors first started spreading that President Donald Trump was going to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. I admittedly had no idea what DACA was at the time, but two of my classmates were very fired up about the issue.
“Apathy is the enemy of progress and dialogue.” I think that even only a year ago, I would have kept quiet, alienating myself from these two people and fearing judgement, but this time I spoke up and inquired about DACA. This simple action made me feel like I was part of the conversation and less intimidated from intellectual political discourse. The only way anyone can learn about economic and social issues is if they are taught, whether that’s through academia or their peers. Knowledge does not magically appear into someone’s head. If people become less afraid of not knowing, then maybe they will become more eager to learn. This is particularly hard on our campus here at the University of Michigan, where
most of us pride ourselves on our intelligence and individuality. If someone feels that either of those things has the potential of being taken away from them, they would more likely not speak than risk the loss. As a community, we need to make people feel more comfortable with admitting their ignorance on a topic without feeling like their intelligence is being insulted. Hopefully, this will encourage people to participate more in current political dialogue. If there ever was a time to participate, it’s now. The current political climate almost doesn’t feel like real life at this point. Often when I read the news I have to remind myself that this isn’t a movie and we can’t just take the film out of the projector. Trump blazed a trail of unrealistic promises and hate across the campaign trail. Now, over 200 days into his presidency, our country’s reality is worse than most of us could have even imagined. I know a lot of people who didn’t vote during the 2016 presidential election because they were still sucked into their own apathy. Now is the time to come together, to learn and to make our country a better place. We can’t do that without votes. Decisions on every level of government affect our community, whether transparent or not. I am still very uninformed on local and state politics. I hope to learn a lot more about the lower levels of government during my junior year at the University. I hope to take that knowledge and share it with anyone that is willing to listen. Joseph Fraley is an LSA junior and a Daily Arts writer
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
TV REVIEW
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 — 5
ALBUM REVIEW
SACRED BONES RECORDS Zola Jesus. Yeah.
Zola Jesus’s ‘Okovi’ is intimate yet existential ‘You’re the Worst’ returns for it’s fourth season
FXX
‘You’re the Worst’ deals with post-breakup woes FXX show returns for its fourth season with its signature dark comedy delivering laughs with a few stumbles along the way SAM ROSENBERG Daily Arts Writer
One of the defining characteristics of “You’re the Worst,” Stephen Falk’s brilliantly underrated antirom-com, is that it embraces and subverts conventions at the same time. The story’s central protagonists — arrogant British novelist Jimmy (Chris Geere, “After Earth”) and selfish music rep Gretchen (Aya Cash, “Easy”) — are essentially the antithesis of a gung-ho healthy relationship. And yet, with their toxic personalities and regressive attitudes, they’re made for one another. Throughout the series — now entering its fourth season — the two have reached almost every possible “normal couple” milestone: moving in together, declaring their love and proposing marriage. But with each milestone, Jimmy and Gretchen found themselves in quiet emotional turmoil, both uncertain for their future together and unable to properly communicate their anxieties. Given how Jimmy impulsively backtracked his proposal to Gretchen and abandoned her in last season’s (literal and figurative) cliff hanger finale, the prospect for their reconciliation looks dim. Fortunately, despite the abrupt end to their already fragile romance, there may be some compelling soulsearching on the horizon for this season. Unlike the chaotic, sometimes wayward season three, the newest season of “You’re the Worst” opens on a much more confident note. The premiere’s hour-long twoparter, “It’s Been,” allows some breathing room for the show’s often fast-paced setup. Each part, both written and directed by Falk, cleverly splits time between Jimmy and Gretchen three months after their unexpected breakup, and how they’ve coped with the trauma
of ending their relationship. episode’s funniest scenes occur The stunning first half during Gretchen’s story, but showcases a scruffy and Gretchen’s compulsive craving laconic Jimmy adjusting to a for stimulation falls somewhat completely new environment flat in comparison to Jimmy’s in upstate California. Squatting dramatic plot. She ends up in a trailer park community for crawling back to her ex, Ty seniors, Jimmy has chosen a (Stephen Schneider, “Broad simpler life for himself, going so City”), making for a plausible far as to completely yet predictable disconnect from character “You’re the technology development. altogether. Even Most of Worst” with his newfound the winning Season 4 bachelor lifestyle, moments in this he still projects an episode belong Premiere unfulfilled desire to the series’ for connection onto Wednesdays at incredible Bert (Raymond supporting 10 p.m. J. Berry), a players, the misanthropic hedonistic FXX local who would Lindsay (Kether rather watch crime Donohue, “Pitch procedurals with Perfect”) and Jimmy than get boba tea with the sincere, pot-smoking his chummy neighbors. veteran Edgar (Desmin During an entertaining Borges, “Carrie Pilby”). subplot in which Jimmy helps In contrast to Jimmy and Bert retrieve his stolen car keys, Gretchen’s individual and Jimmy finally sees just how joint dysfunction, Lindsay and reckless Bert can be on his own. Edgar work well together and He realizes on their own, with Lindsay he must not temping as a fashion assistant only re-enter and Edgar as a sketch comedy civilization for writer. But after Lindsay and the sake of his Edgar end up in bed together, own sanity, but the two inadvertently become also confront friends with benefits, a the issues he deal that feels like a subtle left behind so foreshadowing of relationship he doesn’t grow problems ahead for these into a detached characters. But it’s good to see hermit like that Lindsay and Edgar have Bert. This found some inner peace after uneasiness going through some emotional is best turbulence in previous seasons. exemplified “It’s Been” continues to when Jimmy display “You’re The Worst”’s decides to trademark mix of black turn his dusty comedy and pathos, furthering iPhone back Falk’s nuanced portrayal of on, only to modern romance and mental be hit with illness. It would have been an anxiety- nice if Gretchen had the inducing ample plot that Jimmy had, symphony of especially since her story text message doesn’t hit as many strong and voicemail emotional beats. Regardless of notifications the episode’s slight imbalance, from Gretchen. it conveys a solid illustration While Jimmy comes to his of the limitations of their senses, the second half of the post-breakup solitude. Like episode finds Gretchen in a Jimmy and Gretchen, there’s manic state. Her portion of a strong, lonesome heart the episode, though hilarious beating underneath the show’s and equally harrowing, is not cynical, twisted shell. The nearly as emotionally potent characters are continuing to as the first part. Instead develop into complex people of shrinking back into a and veer away from the selfdepression like in season two, destructive behavior that Gretchen opts for a hyperactive dictated their actions before. persona, which includes It’ll be hard to know how long speedily reciting ‘90s hits like the show will last, given how it the Cranberries’ “Zombie” primarily revolves around the and the Barenaked Ladies’ fate of Jimmy and Gretchen’s “One Week,” smoking a bowl relationship. But here’s hoping of crack and drawing dinosaur that “You’re the Worst” keeps murals to pass the time. The being the best.
“It’s Been” continues to display “You’re The Worst”’s trademark mix of black comedy and pathos, furthering Falk’s nuanced portrayal of modern romance and mental illness
Zola Jesus brings an expansive, dynamic sound to her fifth studio album in which she explores questions of fear and doubt SHIMA SADAGHIYANI Daily Arts Writer
Cathedrals always seem to inspire awe in a way independent of religious affiliation. The infinite reach of soaring ceilings infuses grandeur into the air; curved arches cradle simple elegance in their graceful lines. A hush stretches indefinitely through the gaps of pews: a space for reverence and reflection. “Doma,” the first track off Nika Roza Danilova’s (recording under the name Zola Jesus) fifth studio album, Okovi, ignites a similar sort of introspection. Compositionally, the track is sparse: the harmony of ambiguous vocals and white noise fades in and out. Yet, despite its uniformity, the song captivates. Its gossamer hum creates a space for Danilova’s voice to reverberate into towering points and lofty canopies — the faint outline of a cathedral begins to take shape. “Doma” flickers like a candle at the altar of Okovi, introducing a deeply personal album awash in unrestrained layers of emotion. From “Doma,” Zola Jesus wastes no time developing its hazy form into a solid presence. The second track, “Exhumed,” pulls the original flat ambiance into a dynamic collision of
cutting instrumentals and sentiment. The simple balance feverous beats. If “Doma” between Danilova’s vocals was the consistent gray of an and the quiet instrumental overcast sky, “Exhumed” is a background weaves a desire torrential downpour, primal for others to see their own and inhibited. In this sudden potential into the melody of expansiveness, Danilova is a “Witness;” the unyielding powerhouse: projecting, “Bury chorus of “‘Cause we’d rather the tongue between the teeth clean the blood of a living man / Open the jaw and sink in / We’d rather lean over, hold deep” from the heavens with your warm, warm hand / We’d an intensity that splinters and love to clean the blood of a a desperation that is almost living man / We’d hate to see overwhelming; you give into those a catharsis that cold, dark nights Okovi threatens to wash inside your head” Zola Jesus away the earth. in “Siphon” fights “Exhumed” against apathy and Sacred Bones flows into “Soak,” self-destruction. a track that The dramatic shift Records maintains the in temperament same forceful between “Soak” undercurrent of sincerity but and “Witness” or between mellows from “Siphon” and the darkly the jagged existential questionings of explosiveness the song “Veka” is abrupt and of “Exhumed.” unexplained. Withdrawn Zola Jesus seems to tempos and be debating with herself, controlled ruminating on the meaning rhythms of life under the inevitability create a muted of death. Her songs offer no repetitiousness answers, only half-finished that forms explorations of contrasting a sense of arguments. disillusionment; The jumble of incongruity deadweight is difficult to keep up with, yet hangs from every powerful all the same. aspect of “Soak.” More than anything, Okovi is The overall an album created by Zola Jesus lifelessness for herself. Rather than a concise of the sound narrative, it is a passionately corresponds with the pieced-together collection of hopelessness of the lyrics intimate thoughts and past themselves, exploring the experiences. Fears, doubts and futility of life. unanswerable questions come It’s a bleak perspective; one together to form a holy ground, that is quickly contested through a place where the shackles that songs “Witness” and “Siphon.” burden Zola Jesus start to feel a Both hold a more hopeful little bit lighter.
The jumble of incongruity is difficult to keep up with, yet powerful all the same
SINGLE REVIEW It’s been about three years since Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour debuted and the world was introduced to his somewhat cheesy (yet entirely beautiful) “Sad Boy” persona. Now, in 2017, Sam Smith is just as sad. In the three years of his fame, Smith jumped between crooning about past relationships over soulful instrumentation and belting with Disclosure on the duo’s most popular tracks. On his new single “Too Good At Goodbyes,” Smith finds a happy medium between “Stay With Me” and “Latch.” Co-written with Stargate, the production duo behind everything from Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” to Rihanna’s “S&M,” the track has a slight R&B undertone. Smith opens with just his voice and piano, followed by a progressive layering of light strings and snaps. About 1:15 in, a head-bobbing bass guitar comes in over a simple bass drum beat, showcasing Stargate’s R&B expertise. Smith’s voice sounds phenomenal and sheds light on his extensive range, despite a setback from vocal cord surgery. A friend of mine even compared
CAPITAL
his voice on “Too Good At Goodbyes” to a saxophone. That rings true, especially on the chorus. Lyrically, “Too Good At Goodbyes” is classic Sam Smith. He describes how a past lover hurt him so many times that he’s now adept at moving on (essentially the motif of In the Lonely Hour). The single is nothing new in terms of content, but instrumentally Smith delivers a welcomed update to his usual, string-heavy production. He’s still sad, but sadness and Sam Smith are like Rihanna and sex-appeal – it’s just innate. — DANNY MADION
Arts
6 — Wednesday, September 13, 2017
DAILY COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN
A lesson from the Inklings
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
Columnist Bailey Kadian talks about her time with Inklings at Oxford I often think to myself, The Inklings met to discuss Maybe this doesn’t make any their writings, their lives, sense. ideas and dreams. These You may ask what “this” writers moved learning into a refers to. “This” can be a lot category of living. That is what of things. My career, my goals, I believe my experience was. how I see the next ten years Beyond sitting in a classroom of my life unfolding, how I and reading the texts of these plan to use my time, how I writers, we found that the currently use my time, what I learning was woven through wish I could get more involved every experience. I learned in, what I think should happen the most about people and in my life, what is happening their lives while sitting on in my life. The list goes on. the lawn before dinner, or Over the years, I riding on a bus to have drawn a parallel an excursion. Yes, between how I see many of us had the trajectory of similar interests in my life and what I literature, but my believe would be the love for Lewis was most logical way to vastly different compose its course. than others’ I have viewed my interest in Tolkien, education, and or love for fantasy. the experiences We learned from that surround it, one another as an entity that because of these requires a clear, set differences. BAILEY path. I worry that Our education KADIAN my studies don’t stretches far necessarily align beyond the limits with my long-term goals, of a course or field of study. like one day maybe owning a What I saw before as a failure business or having a family. in finding a clear path to my I have muddled the idea of future, I now recognize needs freedom in my education with to be reordered. There is no a belief that my future has to such thing as one way to learn, be practical or “make sense.” I or one way to follow a passion. have put school in one category However, there is one way to of learning and everything miss it. We can remain too else, like volunteering or social limited in what we know or events, in another. what we have grown used to. It has taken some time to That makes us unable to see unravel such a view of things. our need for something new. This past summer, I had the When Tolkien and Lewis opportunity to study at Oxford met among the other Inklings, and during my time abroad, I they didn’t just sit and confirm experienced a taste of what it what they already believed to was like to move my education be true. They pushed against outside of its usual constraints. their views of fantasy, religion, I met many different students, romance and language. By with different interests, studying the way these writers dreams and passions. I went engaged with each other and into the program thinking: as challenged each other, I feel an English major, studying at I need to implement these an institution such as this one, habits in my own educational with faculty of such value, I experience. The Inklings saw will be able to further engage one another as teachers, and in my study of literature, greatly valued every opinion and better about their understand work. The its place in my fellowship education. of this group Many of those encourages initial hopes me to consider did come to who I surround fruition, but not myself with, in a conventional and how way. The willing I am experience of to learn from learning in a them. new place, with We become new people, comfortable taught me more — and remain than anything fixed — in a out of a book or lifestyle that lecture. When makes sense you are thrown to us, or aligns into an entirely with our new setting goals. But we and forced to need things adapt, you learn to disrupt our the most about positions. We yourself. I don’t need people to mean to project question why this in some we believe cliché form of what we traveling abroad believe, or love to “find myself.” what we love. It I mean that while is only in those you are abroad, surrounded by moments that we can firmly new people, you start to see the hold onto the very ideals we way you view your life outside build our lives upon. While of its usual structures. When surrounded by so many people, those boundaries blurred a bit, you cling to common interests, what I found was invaluable. and possibly diverge on certain In class, I saw the principles. But through the differences that bring students common thread of accepting together to study a certain the experience, you are forced author or text. We came at it to grow. from different angles, yet we In ref lection of his time found commonalities across with the Inklings, Lewis what moved us and why. I once wrote, “What I owe to took a course on the Inklings, them all is incalculable.” Use a group of writers who met those around you to grow as a weekly literary group in and learn, and allow the Magdalen College. Among views that challenge your them were C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. own to teach you more about Tolkien, Owen Barfield and yourself. Dismissing such an Charles Williams. opportunity for the sake of Some students loved “The comfort robs you of plenty. Lord of the Rings,” some were Once you abandon the rigid fascinated by Lewis’s religious track you feel you must follow writings and others were and look outside of it — you’ll particularly interested in each likely find your path more writer’s ties to Oxford and transparent than ever before. their lasting legacy.
By studying the way these writers engaged with each other and challenged each other, I feel I need to implement such habits in my own educational experience
NEON One night only event!
‘The B-Side’ overstays its welcome Documentary provides nuanced if not long-winded look at a beat photographer DANIEL HENSEL Daily Film Editor
The latest documentary from Errol Morris (“The Unknown Known”) is much too long for its subject matter. At the center of “The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography” is a now eighty-year-old woman who moved to New York in 1959, took up photography and ended up capturing many seminal Beat generation figures through her camera lens. Among her most impressive works is a series of 1975 photographs
featuring Bob Dylan and Allen to use large-format Polaroid Ginsberg. Later, photography, even she became past the format’s Ginsberg’s popularity. “The B-Side: trusted But while photographer, Dorfman’s life, Elsa Dorfman’s capturing him especially in the Portrait as he aged. 1960s, is naturally Dorfman intriguing, Photography” turned to more Morris’s Neon commercial, documentary family-oriented is cinematic The Michigan portrait overkill. Even at photography a lean seventyTheater as she settled six minutes, the in Cambridge, film feels at least MA, where she half an hour too now lives. Dorfman continues long, and at times more of an
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advertisement for Dorfman’s services from a friend rather than a prodding examination of lives and cultures one can expect from a documentarian of Morris’s stature. That’s not to say the whole film is a bust — Dorfman is a warm personality who offers a rather unique perspective on a closely-studied generation of people, and her photography is as compelling as herself — but the film may feel more at home as an informative program running on a helpful television next to a temporary art exhibit.
Call: #734-418-4115 Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
HELP WANTED
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Green Angry Birds animals 5 Salon style 9 “Jabberwocky” opener 13 Les __-Unis 15 Eye layer 16 “For __ jolly ... ” 17 Name on a twoliter bottle (and what’s inside) 19 Double-crossers 20 Like microwavable meals 21 Valued caches 23 Independently owned suds producer (and the suds in question) 26 Parthenon goddess 29 “How cool!” 30 Length of most TV dramas 31 WWI battleship Graf __ 33 Kin by marriage 37 CIO partner 38 Where Starbucks began (and a product it popularized) 40 __ snail’s pace 41 Note above A 43 Snoop (around) 44 Blockage 45 Slangy “It’s cool” 47 Currently combusting 49 Pepperidge Farm treat (and its ideal companion) 53 Novelist Waugh 54 Scolds harshly 58 Jones with a locker 59 What’s clued in parentheses for each of four answers, and found in corresponding sets of puzzle circles 62 Don Juan’s mother 63 Just 64 __ protector 65 Give a darn 66 Horseshoes turn 67 Dijon dad
DOWN 1 Cop’s quarry 2 “Like __ lump ... ” 3 Marvin of Motown 4 Speech therapist’s challenge 5 More virtuous 6 President Morales of Bolivia 7 DVR “back up” button 8 Chanted word 9 Add, as a shrimp to the barbie 10 Go this way and that 11 Autumn bloom 12 Flip 14 “‘And hast thou __ the Jabberwock?’” 18 Music box? 22 Deal with, as loose laces 24 “Almost there!” 25 Borscht veggies 26 Quaker captain of literature 27 Fashionable Brit 28 Ship frame 32 Freak out 34 2016 Best Picture nominee “__ Land”
35 All-inclusive 36 Salary 38 Like a path that’s cobbled together? 39 Allowed to get out 42 Examine in detail 44 Go from cloudy to fair 46 Wisecrack 48 Tweeters 49 Physician at the front
50 The first Mrs. Trump 51 Prying tool 52 Acts like a good dog 55 Lose steam 56 Elec. or mech. expert 57 __-Ball: arcade game 60 Suffix with concert 61 Big tee sizes
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Sports
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 — 7
The case for Wilton Speight The redshirt junior has made uncharacteristic mistakes to open the season, but the starting job belongs to him, and it should remain his
W
hen Wilton Speight steps up to the podium, he exudes a quality few college athletes — let alone students — possess in the face of intense criticism: professionalism. Saturday was no different. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh described the natural butterf lies KEVIN this youthful SANTO team must overcome. Speight is one of a few exceptions. As a redshirt freshman, he won a game on the road, at night, with his team down five in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. Nearly a year later, he threw the 40-yard touchdown pass that beat then-No. 8 Wisconsin. Seven games later, he started on the road against Ohio State with a shoulder he wouldn’t admit was injured — but undoubtedly was — only to come three points shy in a heartbreaker. “ When mistakes are made, nothing ’s gonna faze him,” said f if th-year senior center Patrick Kugler. “Af ter a big play, he’s not super high or super low. He’s a poised leader out there. Especially in the huddle, you know that he has a command that you want to follow him.” And for that reason, the redshirt junior is — and should remain — Michigan’s starting quarterback. I’m not going to make excuses for Speight. This season, he has underperformed, plain and simple, no doubt about it. He threw two pick-sixes in Michigan’s season opener against Florida. He should be absolved for the first. The pass hit sophomore wide receiver Kekoa Crawford’s hands and cornerback Duke Dawson took it to the house. The other was his fault. Speight sailed a ball over Grant Perry’s head and cornerback CJ Henderson made him pay for the mistake. Against Cincinnati, he fumbled twice — both on
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight has faced a large share of criticism lately, but that doesn’t change the fact that his coach and his teammates still believe he is the starter for the Wolverines.
botched handoffs. On the first, Speight tried to hand the ball off with one hand — something Harbaugh said he repeatedly cautioned his quarterback against doing. He warned that it would eventually come back to bite him. It finally did. The second came on an end-around attempt intended for Crawford. The play ended with Cincinnati recovering a fumble. Speight was fortunate that his defense bailed him out with three straight stops. Through two games, Speight is 28-for-54 for 402 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. At this point last year, he was 35-for-50 for 457 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. Hawaii and Central Florida aren’t Florida and Cincinnati, though. Still, this is Speight’s second year under center. With that experience comes higher expectations, and
“He wants everyone to do the best that they can.”
with good reason. Many are waiting to see Speight take a game over. He hasn’t done that yet — not even close. And when Harbaugh brief ly sat Speight against the Gators, it was supposed to be an opportunity for Speight to gather himself, settle into the f low of the game and examine Florida’s defense. The strateg y worked. In the first series of the second half, he went 5-for-7 for 52 yards on a crucial touchdown drive. Speight’s time on the sideline may have opened up the dialog ue of a quarterback competition when there isn’t one at all. Monday afternoon became the most recent instance that Harbaugh has publicly backed Speight. “Wilton’s the starting quarterback,” he said. Yet, the other options at quarterback remain unrealistically romanticized. John O’Korn’s underwhelming performances against Indiana in 2016
and against Florida in the opener are suddenly being chalked up to a case of small sample size worthy of further experimentation. Brandon Peters’ unexpectedly strong performance in Michigan’s Spring Game suddenly seems very appealing. Even true freshman Dylan McCaffrey is drawing intrig ue, with talk of 2017 being a year to rebuild and prepare young talent for a true title push in 2018. Harbaugh could trot out McCaffrey or Peters and let them take their lumps. But in all likelihood, a young team led by a young quarterback would stumble to a record that isn’t indicative of the talent the Wolverines have. Or Harbaugh could start O’Korn. The fifthyear senior would take snaps under center for a year before his eligibility is exhausted, all in the name of stopping the bleeding — if he’s even capable of doing so. McCaffrey and Peters still wouldn’t get the experience that seems so appealing to many as they look to the future. Then there is Speight. He has a year of experience. He has a year of eligibility left. The Wolverines get a quarterback capable of leading a roster ample with youth, and develop Peters and McCaffrey for a year — all while Speight continues to develop himself. If, come next year, Speight isn’t best suited to lead Michigan, then the torch still gets passed to his successor. And if he is Harbaugh’s choice — which would speak volumes, as it already should — the Wolverines have a two-year starter leading a crop of receivers brimming with potential. In Speight, Michigan has a man praised for his ability to lead a team when faced with adversity — the Wolverines being booed for the first time in the Harbaugh era against Cincinnati serving as the most recent example.
“I appreciate him having the mindset of a true leader.”
“Everyone sees it, but it doesn’t faze him, so it’s not gonna faze us,” Kugler said, when asked if the team recognizes the criticism Speight has received. “So as long he keeps it cool — and I know he will — because he’s a great leader, he’s poised, no matter the circumstance. He’s our quarterback. He’s our leader, so I’ll follow him.”
Added f ullback K halid Hill: “Next play, that ’s just his mindset. It ’s always been his mindset, ever since he beca me a sta rter. I appreciate him having the mindset of a true leader. He leads by exa mple a nd he wa nts ever yone to do the best that they ca n. I applaud him for that.” Last year, Speight didn’t need to be a leader. Enough seniors around him could assume that role. And yet, Kugler explained, Speight led any way. He isn’t a “rahrah” g uy, but he is a steadying force. That should be more than enough on a young team that will be prone to making mistakes — even if Speight is making them himself.
Santo can be reached at kmsanto@umich.edu or on Twitter @Kevin_ M _ Santo.
Sports
8 — Wednesday, September 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Black off to impressive Michigan, Amazon team start to his career at ‘M’ up to create docu-series TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Freshman receiver Tarik Black has earned a starting spot early in his career.
Tarik Black’s first two games for Michigan have been nothing short of exceptional. A freshman receiver from Connecticut — not Texas, Florida or any other football hotbed — is starting for the seventhranked team in the country. He’s starting over his classmate, the former No. 1 wide receiver in the nation, and producing well beyond his years. In two career games, Black has caught six passes for 94 receiving yards, and he even scored a touchdown on his first career reception. “Coming in, (making an impact) was definitely something I wanted to do,” Black said to media Tuesday. “I knew I had to work my tail off and learn that playbook, but I knew things would happen for me.” Enrolling early last winter, he had time to learn the playbook. Black’s impact on the field is already apparent, but he admits that he struggled adjusting to the college game. At first, Black found that getting accustomed to a new playbook and new routes was not so easy. “I struggled a little bit with the playbook,” Black said. “That was the hardest part. Once I got that down I was able to do what I came here to do.” The nuances of actually getting open hadn’t been part of Black’s game in high school. Both in speed and in his overall skillset, he was a step ahead of all of his opponents, so beating out a safety or cornerback for a catch was never a problem. Though, with defensive backs around college football — as he’ll soon learn in the Big Ten season — it’s not as easy to break free. In high school, Black did not have to worry about whether to sit in a zone or take the open
space, and reading defenses had never been a concern. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 1 overall player in Connecticut — getting open back then was not an issue. At Michigan, though, there has been a lot more to learn. “We just run a lot of routes here,” Black said. “The more you do it, you’re going to continue to get better at it. The amount of routes you run is the reason why you get better at route running.” Having gone through spring practice, fall camp and now two games, Black is fairly confident that he has already proven himself. However, he says that he still has a lot to work on, especially in being more physical in order to beat out cornerbacks off the line of scrimmage. “At this level, you actually have to work to release,” Black said. “You’re not just going to run off the ball and run by everybody like I used to do in high school. That’s something I had to add to my game in order to get open.” Physical play will come with time as Black continues to grow stronger. But his mental game is where he feels he has been able to make the most strides. Black watches game film with redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight. He has already built a strong relationship with his new quarterback, and going over film together has helped him solidify that bond. “(Speight) definitely teaches me a lot,” Black said. “I’ve learned a lot from him about college football. It’s definitely different than what I’m used to.” When Black was “used to” high school football, he was lighting up backfields and earning his chance to play in the U.S. Army All-American game. With almost a hundred receiving yards and a touchdown already, if he’s not “used to” the college game yet, Michigan fans have plenty to look forward to.
“At this level, you actually have to work to release.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Pulitzer Prize-winning alumni of The Michigan Daily in an afternoon of panel discussions Friday, September 15th 1 pm in Rackham Auditorium Free and open to the public Featured are Eugene Robinson, Ann Marie Lipinski, Dan Biddle, Amy Harmon, Stephen Henderson, Lisa Pollak, Rebecca Blumenstein and Neil Chase
Prize-winning journalists are joined by other distinguished Daily alumni and student staff in discussions of newsroom diversity, sports in the era of social media, and alternative career paths for journalists, plus reflections on changes over the decades at UM Student Publications . Sponsored by:
Michiganensian Y E A R B O O K
For more information please contact Lisa Powers, lisapow@umich.edu, or call 734-418-4115, ext.1244
TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
Starting in January, Wolverine fans will get an inside look at the 2017 season, as the Michigan football program announced a partnership with Amazon Prime on Tuesday — geared toward creating an eight-episode documentary series about how Team 138 operates during the season. The documentary will be released on Amazon Prime following the end of the season, and is part of a partnership between Michigan, Amazon, The Montag Group and Big Ten Network. The show will document the lives of the Michigan players, coaches and staff during the season — both at home and on the road — and also follow the studentathletes into the classroom. “We are proud to partner with Amazon Prime Video in documenting our University of Michigan student-athletes’ daily experiences and the lifelong lessons learned both on the football field and in the classroom,” said Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh in the press release. “We welcome judgement! We embrace this opportunity to showcase our 2017 University of Michigan football team to a vast audience around the world.” The series will likely bear resemblance to documentaries like Last Chance U and Hard Knocks that give a behindthe-scenes peek at college and professional football teams. Last Chance U, a docu-series on Netflix, follows the lives of various college athletes that have had offthe-field issues. Those athletes wound up at East Mississippi Community College, where they were given another shot at playing football. The Netflix show is popular among the Michigan football team. Sophomore safety Josh Metellus watches Last Chance U with some of his teammates, and at one point he thought to himself that making a documentary would be a good thing for someone to do about their own football team here in Michigan. His wish came true, and now he’s got a show of his own. The cameras have been following him
and the other Wolverines around campus — to practice, team meetings, classes and anywhere else. Constantly having a camera crew on his tail could seem distracting, but Metellus noted that it’s nothing he isn’t used to. “We got people following us around every day whether or not there’s cameras,” Metellus said. The camera crew also only comes three days a week, and Metellus described it as “nothing too serious.” With a year under his belt, Metellus has gotten used to the media attention. The freshmen on the team, though, are the ones relishing the newfound fame. “You can just tell by all the videos we have that (freshmen) post from the Michigan twitter page,” Metellus said. “They love the camera — mostly the offensive players. They just love being the flashy type of guys. You know, on defense, we don’t really get all that recognition, because we play defense. The offense likes to take it.” So far, the cameras have been following around “the guys who get the ball,” according to fifthyear senior Henry Poggi. That includes most of the players you would usually hear about — guys like redshirt junior quarterback Wilton Speight and freshman wide receiver Tarik Black. For Poggi, not so much. “I’d be surprised if they featured me,” Poggi joked. Poggi, a self-proclaimed fan of MTV’s Real World, admitted that the Michigan football documentary would not be including any major confessions like the hit reality show used to. “Much to the viewers’ dismay,” he laughed. Nonetheless, he and others felt that the series could be helpful to the program by giving fans an inside look at the inner-workings of the Michigan football team. It will certainly pay dividends on the recruiting front, but sophomore offensive lineman Ben Bredeson had his own personal reasons for liking the show. “It’s going to help answer a lot of questions from Mom and Dad who always want to know what’s going on every day,” Bredeson said with a grin. “I’ll just tell them to watch, and we’ll be good.”
2
Career games Tarik Black has played for Michigan
1
Touchdowns scored
6
Passes caught
94
Yards gained AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will give Amazon a closer look at his program.
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2017
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2017
Managaing Statement Editor: Lara Moehlman
Editor in Chief: Emma Kinery
Managing Editor: Rebecca Lerner
Deputy Editors: Yoshiko Iwai Brian Kuang
Design Staff: Michelle Phillips Emily Hardie Erin Tolar Nicole Doctoroff
Copy Editors: Elizabeth Dokas Taylor Grandinetti
Photo Editor: Alexis Rankin
Personal Statement: Four Months at the Helm of the News Desk BY JENNIFER MEER, DAILY STAFF REPORTER
F
or four months of my life, I served as boss, editor, reporter, writer and tyrant all at once: This summer I worked as the managing news editor of The Michigan
Daily. It was a position I was surprised to hold for a number of reasons — the first being I didn’t see myself pursuing journalism after school. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy journalism or my time at the Daily. From it, I’ve become a more competent writer, I’ve made friends and I learned more about current events and social issues than had I simply been sitting in a classroom all summer. I absolutely love the organized chaos that composes a newsroom, and having been part of a few different publications in college and high school, I have met some of the most intelligent individuals. Though I have nothing but respect for the field, I still didn’t see myself as a journalist. I pictured myself, and still do to an extent, as a lawyer or working in academia. Some think I’m crazy for considering a Ph.D. program in sociology, as these can take more than seven years to complete, and if I decide to pursue law school immediately after completing my undergrad, I should be well on my way to studying for the LSAT right now … which I’m not. My dad is a lawyer who teaches a course in business law, so I’ve always imagined myself, like him, teaching something that interests me. I enjoy school, as much as I complain about the workload, and I see myself continuing in an academic setting. And in my mind, pursuing journalism as a career doesn’t fit that mold — especially a managing editor. I never envisioned myself as a boss. I suppose I imagined myself in a sort of background role — no less important, just not at the front. I feel I contribute thoroughly to group assignments. I’m a good listener, and I partake in discussions. I’ve always felt comfortable as an asset to a team I’m not responsible for. I like the idea of proving myself — not in a self-deprecating way, but in an aspirational way — to those above me. It’s a feeling comparable to my interest in academia. Therefore, I didn’t see myself assuming a managerial role. I was used to being told what stories to write by higher powers, to attend a protest at which
the Graduate Employees’ Organization would be rallying in support of a new contract with the University, to abruptly call state Rep. Adam Zemke to obtain a last-minute quote for an article on the night that it is due, to cover a Central Student
messages as I did on that day to the writers, other news editors, the editor-in-chief, copy editors and photographers. It was a late night. I wish I could say it was all uphill from there, but it wasn’t. There were many late nights, several instances of confusion over article deadlines (Yes, it’s still 5 p.m.), story angles, communicating with sources and questions about editing. And there were hundreds — maybe thousands — more text messages. In my time as managing news editor, I asked as many questions as I answered. I communicated with hundreds of people — reporters, fellow editors, protesters, professors, students, state representatives and even my own father, who kindly explained to me the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. I sent out hundreds of emails, to the point where I wouldn’t be upset if I never had to write an email again, and I wrote well over 50 articles and contributed to dozens more. Since the summer staff at The Michigan Daily only meets once a week in the newsroom to create a print paper, a large part of my job was ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN TOLAR done remotely. As my inbox became flooded with emails I realized my experience would be as much Government meeting with 20 minutes’ notice, a learning experience as the academia I hoped to semi-quiet place on campus — likely in a stairwell continue pursuing. somewhere — to conduct a phone interview. Journalism is raw and fast-paced, but it is still However, planning to stay in Ann Arbor for the just as multifaceted as any field of study. It’s like summer, I wanted a challenge. I disregarded my academia in real-time, if that makes sense. concerns because I wanted to try something new I learned early on that the staffwould not function — and I cannot deny, I have a soft spot for The without group chats — several group chats, in fact Michigan Daily. — to keep editors and photographers on the same Upon embarking on the role, I was quickly page as stories went through the editing process. humbled, stressed and, frankly, tired. I learned Ann Arbor City Council meetings It was a learning experience to say the least are a lot easier for me to understand than CSG because I was unsure of how exactly I would meetings, and that it’s a bad idea to conduct an perform: Would I be aggressive, too easygoing or interview while walking in the Arb. plainly ineffective? I learned the newsroom at the Daily on a hot I feared that I wouldn’t know how to assign July night is kept at an icy 55 degrees and so it is stories evenly; I feared I wouldn’t know where to important to dress in layers. place stories on a page for print publication; I was And above all, I discovered the collaborative terrified I would overlook an important event in efforts that I merely wished to be a member of Ann Arbor or on campus — and what would I do if I were very much alive as I served at the top. couldn’t manage my time well enough? Perhaps, it’s these little things that keep me in On my first night in charge, three stories came the newsroom past 1:00 in the morning debating in, rather late, from three competent, but very new, the minor details of a tuition hikes with my reporters. I don’t think I’ve ever sent as many text editor.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
Personal Statement: Letters to My Sister
“
Love you and miss you loads! Can’t wait to hear more adventures next week! XOXO...” When was the last time you sent someone a letter? I don’t mean birthday cards or thank you notes. When was the last time you sent a loved one a handwritten letter and kept a correspondence going through snail mail? I would imagine only a few people still communicate through this outdated medium, but letter-writing remains a timeless mechanism that can bridge an emotional and physical gap between two people. Letter-writing has played a particularly important role in the resurgence of my relationship with my older sister, Adina. Other than the occasional argument that most siblings have at one point or another, we didn’t have a lot of issues growing up. Our strong bond as brother and sister was rooted in listening to mashups of pop songs, watching “America’s Next Top Model” and making each other laugh, often to annoy and vex our parents. After she left for college, however, our conversations became sporadic, and I began to see the limitations of our communication and our closeness. I would only get to see her during school breaks or religious holidays. It was in her absence that I realized how little I knew about what was going on in her life. Being the younger sibling, I didn’t think to ask about whom she was dating or her thoughts on current events. Selfishly, I figured that it wasn’t my place to inquire about such ideas. As a result of this apprehension, we began to drift apart. What I value most in my relationship with my sister — other than the sweet childhood memories we share and our similar tastes in music and
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BY SAM ROSENBERG, DAILY ARTS WRITER
TV — is the necessity for transparent communication. More specifically, the necessity for our exchanges to be more than just the generic “Hey, how are you?” The necessity of openly discussing heavy, hotbutton issues and our current pop culture obsessions. I was looking to evolve our olderyounger sibling dynamic into something akin to a mature close friend-colleague-type relationship. During my first two years of college, my sister and I hit a rough patch. We weren’t talking or texting each other much. Often, I wouldn’t get a response to a text I sent her until two days after. When we did talk, it was always at an inconvenient time and typically the same one-sided conversation: I’d tell her at length about my life at the moment and she’d only tell me vague details about hers. Our lives couldn’t have been more different — me, being a college student and her, working as a high school special education teacher in Seattle. Given the weight of daily stresses straining our routines, our conversations became inert. What bothered me wasn’t just that our communication lacked depth and dynamism, but that somehow our closeness as siblings was gradually dissolving because of lack of communication. We both knew it, yet neither of us wanted to admit it or confront it because it would open up all kinds of uncomfortable wounds that had been deeply suppressed from years of reticence. On a family vacation in Palm
Springs last winter, the rut deepened into an all-time low. Our conversations quickly went from tepid to passive aggressive to hostile. Tension stirred between us during long bouts of simmering angry silence on the drive there and back. Staying in the same hotel room for a few nights didn’t help either. We were acting as if we weren’t even siblings anymore, just two disgruntled young adults who happened to be related to each other. After we apologized and reconciled, things got somewhat better. We both recognized each other’s needs: She wanted me to ask more
to experience life without my phone or computer, but also I would learn to connect with my friends and family outside NELP through physical, handwritten letters — the “oldfashioned” way. When I wrote my first letter to Adina, in addition to the rest of my family, I instantly noticed a change in the way I communicated. My inner thoughts flowed more fluidly from my fingertips. I paid closer attention to the kinds of words I used to describe my experience away from home, integrating daily anecdotes with pensive, personal reflection. I felt like a better version of myself writing these letters. And when I received my first reply from Adina in the mail, I grew giddy. She wrote a long, thoughtful response back, asking me questions about the experiences that I shared with her and divulging her own vivid stories about her early summer days. I loved the letters she sent me, because I, too, believed Adina was the best version of herself ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN TOLAR in her letters. I felt mindful questions and I wanted her dynamic spirit in the way her to give me more thorough she emphasized her emotions answers. Still, something through capitalized words and was missing, especially when multiple exclamation points. our discourse returned to its I sensed her compassionate normal, lackluster state. attention to detail in the way During this past spring she asked me about the classes semester, I attended the New I was taking on New England England Literature Program, authors, weekly camping trips a six-week academic retreat in and other various activities. the woods of New Hampshire, But perhaps most importantly, where technology was I learned so much more about nonexistent and the only means her from how thorough she was of outside communication in recounting her day-to-day was via letter-writing. Along happenings. Her letters made with the other elements of the me feel a lot less lonely and program, I found the tech- alienated in our siblingship, and free environment particularly I’d like to believe she harbors a exciting and liberating. Not similar feeling. only would I get the chance In one of Adina’s last letters
to me at NELP, she proposed that we keep writing letters to each other after the program was over. At first, I was a little unsure — why keep corresponding through letters when we could just text, call or FaceTime? It sounded redundant, but I figured I’d give it try, since I enjoyed writing to her anyway and wanted to see if it would further develop our revitalized closeness. Post-NELP, we continued writing letters, giving descriptive accounts about what we were both up to since our last correspondence. Soon, we texted more frequently and direct-messaged funny memes to each other. I stopped getting mad at her when she wouldn’t respond to my texts, because there was more than just one line of communication. Now, our day to day felt riper and livelier. Through Twitter and texting, we talked about our pop culture icons (some of our favorites are Issa Rae, RuPaul and Fiona the Hippo), exchanged ideas for tweets and discussed our thoughts on relationships and current events. As slow and time-consuming as writing letters may be, they have the power to open up a whole new channel in an emotionally dormant relationship. Even if technology offers a faster route for communication, there is something so authentic, so cathartic and so gratifying about handwriting a letter to someone, awaiting their response and then reading their reply over and over again. Sure, the process requires some extra patience, effort and commitment. Conflicting schedules might lengthen the waiting period. But letter writing shouldn’t feel like a chore. Rather, think of it as a regular conversation, one in which you and another person can make up for lost time. “I can hear your voice through your words. I’ll write back as soon as I can.”
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
Lessons in Silence Navigating our digital world
b y R e b e c c a Ta r n o p o l ,
S
ome dreary November day my junior year of high school, I plugged away at a calculus test. As I calculated how quickly the height of water was changing in a tank draining at some fixed rate, I felt it emanating from my right pocket. Buzz. I knew exactly what it was: a group chat of my friends who attended another high school, texting over their lunch hour. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence — my phone often blew up during this class, text after text, notification after notification. But this time its incessant buzzing was certainly audible in the silent test room. When I turned in the test, a mixture of embarrassment and indignation prompted me to set my phone on silent. It has remained on silent ever since. *** I got my first smartphone — an iPhone 5S — in 2013. I was 16 years old. Even then, I entered the smartphone world late. In 2012, the average age children got their first smartphone was 12. By 2016, this age lowered to 10. Nonetheless, I now stand among the majority of American adults who own smartphones. According to a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, 77 percent of U.S. adults own smartphones, compared to 43 percent in September 2012. This skyrocketing trend suggests these numbers will only increase, especially as younger generations enter adulthood: 99 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. owned smartphones as of 2016. The ubiquity of smartphones and social media usage — particularly among young people — has prompted criticism from researchers and writers alike. But the statistics show smartphones are here to stay, at least until the next thing comes to replace them. Perhaps instead of lamenting the damage, we should examine how exactly smartphones change our interactions with the world around us. *** When I left for the New England Literature Program this spring, the concept of living without electronics was not novel to me. From the age of ten, I was lucky enough to attend overnight summer camps with strict “no cellphone” policies. I regard these summers as
Editorial Page Editor
formative to the person I am today, largely due to the community created in an environment free of digital distractions. It was this community-driven environment that initially attracted me to NELP, a University of Michigan program in which students spend six weeks in rural New Hampshire reading the works of New England authors, writing voraciously in journals and exploring the New England landscape — all without technology. But NELP marked the first time in four years I had been device-less (staff at my summer camp had the “privilege” of bringing their phones to use on off hours), and perhaps the first time in my academic career I had an entirely analog educational experience (barring the Play-Doh and spaghetti paint halfdays of preschool). In the days leading up to NELP, I worried about the severance from my primary mechanism of communication. What will my friends be talking about without me? What if someone important emails me about an opportunity I’d regret to miss? What memes would crop up while I was gone? Don’t get me wrong: Even in my phone’s silence, it commands my attention. My editing job at the Daily often demands I attend to texts and emails quickly, and course sites like Canvas allow instructors to update assignments at any hour of the day, beckoning an obsessive student like myself to check in as often as possible. Yet I’d be lying if I said I only obsessively checked my phone for business. I often receive compliments for my Facebook presence, and any of my friends can tell you I respond to texts and Snapchats at a record pace — for the most part (sorry, Mom). My arrival at NELP killed many long-standing Snapstreaks, the longest of which lasted 397 days before I turned in my phone for the spring (sorry, Jess). The initial unease of turning in my phone at the beginning of NELP wasn’t enough to make me realize my dependency on it. Within hours I had forgotten about my phone, and I never once wished I had it. It wasn’t until weeks into the program, when I subconsciously reached for my phone in my pocket, feeling for its
weight as if it were some ghost limb, that it hit me how ingrained in my life my phone had become. *** “When I meet new people and they hear about my job, often their first question is something like: ‘Whoa, how do you deal with taking phones away from your students? That must be really hard,’” Aric Knuth, director of NELP, said. “But the fact is, it’s not hard. I think today people … are excited to see what life looks like and feels like without the phone.” Sun poured into Aric’s office the September morning I visited him. He attended NELP as a student in 1997, years before smartphones made their debut, and has taught at the program ever since. Even those not familiar with him can gather that NELP is core to his identity. His office door is plastered with remnants of NELPs past: f lyers for mass meetings and reunions, notes from former students, a lithograph of Henry David Thoreau. Now, he sits in front of me, bespectacled and eager to talk. “Things don’t feel that different to me, which is a strange thing to say because the world has changed so much,” Aric said. “But the fact is, in 1997 and ’98 and ’99 — when I was at NELP before phones — NELP was phoneless. And now, NELP is still phoneless.” He attributes NELP’s unchanged atmosphere to the fact that once students turn in their phones, they don’t lament their absence. Rather, it seems they merely forget about them, clicking into the lifestyle the program facilitates without much trouble. The story seems to turn after students receive their phones at the end of the program. “Before smartphones, it was not uncommon for a NELP student to get their cellphone back and smash it with a rock. I saw that a few times,” Aric said. “But if you’re smashing your iPhone with a rock, you’re losing a lot of money,” he added, contemplating the implications of society’s current investment in technology. “When I say ‘invest,’ I mean that word in all the ways you might mean that word. It’s a financial investment, but your life is invested in it in all these ways too.”
*** “Investment” is a rather apt way to describe the relationship between humans and smartphones. Global revenue from smartphones sales reached $435.1 billion in 2016. Despite the iPhone X’s sticker price of $999, sales are still projected to break records. Where there is an investment in money, there also is an investment in time. Look around any room, and you’re likely to see blue light illuminating someone’s face. On campus, I see students text and Snapchat as they wait for class to start, particularly in large lecture courses. People text away during class, during passing times, during meals. I rarely take an elevator ride where at least one person isn’t avoiding conversation by scrolling through Facebook or Instagram on their phone. I myself am guilty of using my phone in all of these situations. Research corroborates the large time investment I observed. In a 2017 ReportLinker survey, 46 percent of respondents reported checking their phone first thing when they wake up in the morning and 53 percent reported checking their phone before going to bed. People continue to check their phones constantly throughout the day. A 2015 Gallup poll reported more than half of U.S. smartphone owners check their phones at least once an hour, with 11 percent of respondents reporting checking their phones every few minutes. This amounts to U.S. consumers using their phones for an average of five hours over the course of a day. Another 2015 Gallup poll revealed nearly half of U.S. smartphone owners could not imagine their lives without smartphones, a phenomenon they call “smartphone amnesia.” In practice, smartphone amnesia is likely more common, as a smartphone’s convenience often hides itself subtly in our daily lives. Last week in my medieval travel literature course, my professor posed the question: “What do you use when you travel?” The immediate answers were dominated by digital tools: smartphones, Google Maps, apps like GroupOn and Uber. I couldn’t help but think about how just four months before my friends and I had been dropped off at a random location in rural New Hampshire, given a map and a compass and
were told to get back to camp by dinner time. How foreign this analog way of travel had become. *** Back in Aric’s office, he professed his fascination with the ways technology interacts with our daily lives. “I do think often about how these technologies totally shape our vision of the world, in ways that isn’t (sic) always cool,” Aric continued. “The social media stuff, the Facebook algorithm that determines what you see. … The fact that there’s just a thousand people in the world, and my sense of the community I’m a part of is really shaped by this algorithm.” Facebook’s algorithms have grown notorious for their ability to tailor content specifically to each of its users’ tastes. These algorithms have proven to be incredibly powerful at shaping our perceptions. In 2012, Facebook conducted a behavioral experiment wherein algorithms curated people’s newsfeeds to selectively include either uplifting or upsetting content, and researchers found users’ moods shifted accordingly. As he wrapped up a story about an inconsistency in Apple Maps that left him lost in the woods a few weeks earlier, Aric provided a note of caution. “There’s that danger of relying so much on the technology and the way it represents and can misrepresent the world.” *** Misrepresentation is certainly a problem on social media, whose platforms host content that is highly curated both by the people posting it and by the algorithms calculating what exactly each user wants to see. Considering the amount of time people spend on social media, this misrepresentation becomes especially problematic. A 2016 Nielsen report revealed that U.S. adults ages 18 to 34 spend an average of six hours and 19 minutes on social media per week; U.S. adults ages 35 to 49 spend even more — six hours and 58 minutes per week. This means that U.S. adults spend significant amounts of time pouring over the carefully curated highlight reels of other people’s lives. It’s no surprise, then, that research has revealed overwhelmingly negative correlations between social media usage and mental wellbeing. A 2013 study conducted by psychology researchers at the University found that Facebook usage correlated with a decline in “subjective well-being” of young adults. Studies have also cited Instagram as a particularly odious platform for mental well-being. These effects are particularly troubling for a demographic Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, coined as the “iGen.” She defines the “iGen” as people born between 1995 and 2012, whose childhoods were dominated by the internet and rise of smartphones. By these standards, most University undergraduates are members of the “iGen.”
Twenge found higher rates of loneliness, sleep deprivation, depression and suicide among “iGen” teens in the years since smartphones became household items. Twenge fears these ailments will devastate a generation, as these problems will likely linger into adulthood. *** Week five, day six of NELP, I sat on a dock with my friend Kelly, watching the still waters of Lake Winnipesaukee. With the end of the program growing palpably near, we griped about how our phones would soon bombard us with information. I dreaded sifting through the hundreds of texts and emails that would populate my phone as it woke from its six-week slumber. I remember feeling this incredible sadness that NELP inevitably had to end, and I’d have to return to this sea of endless information. My time at NELP had left me content — if not happy — for the longest duration than I had been perhaps since my last phoneless days at camp in 2013. I woke up excited to see what each day would bring. I did not need worry about some exam, some meeting, some post-graduate opportunity lingering in the distant future often made urgent by the constant pestering of a smartphone. But to attribute the happiness I felt at NELP solely to my separation from technology would be inaccurate. There were other factors, too: the rigorous yet supportive academic environment, the regular hiking trips through the New England wilderness, the opportunity to witness the blooming of spring for the second time in a year, the two dogs who laid patiently on the porch daily. If anything, NELP offered a sense of clarity I hadn’t experienced in a long time. All that mattered in the world for those six weeks was right in front of me. I could sit on the dock staring out onto Winnipesaukee, basking in the present, asking myself, to borrow words from Kurt Vonnegut: “how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.” *** At NELP, we weren’t at all strangers to the ideas of technological detractors. Hell, I even took a class about the Unabomber, who was certainly no advocate for technological advancement. Before even leaving for NELP, we were instructed to read the “Economy” chapter of “Walden.” There, among his criticisms of American capitalist culture, Thoreau also denounces advents in communication technologies. “We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate,” Thoreau writes. “We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the Old World some weeks nearer to the New; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad, flapping American ear will be that the Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.” In essence, Thoreau detests the construction of the telegraph because it creates noise that diminishes whatever utility the shiny new technology
might have had to begin with. Still, the novelty of the invention draws people to it, despite its uselessness. 150 years later, Thoreau’s words still hold truth — perhaps more so now than ever before. Social media has granted us the opportunity to communicate (instantly) from Maine to Tehran, Iran, and Princess Adelaide’s affliction has been supplanted by clickbait imploring you to discover whatever shocking ensemble Kylie Jenner wore to dinner the other night. There’s a sort of self-consciousness that surrounds social media usage. I’m keen to believe many of us know we shouldn’t care about our middle school classmate’s trip to the Bahamas or what Kylie Jenner wore to dinner that night. But thousands of years of human social evolution didn’t hardwire us to resist our urges to return yet again to these platforms which radically change the way humans interact with each other. The iPhone itself is only 10 years old, and apps just nine. These are our modern day magnetic telegraphs, and we haven’t yet figured out how to filter out the noise. *** When I returned to “real world” Ann Arbor for the summer, I found myself frustrated at how quickly I fell back into my old habits, spending empty hours leafing aimlessly through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I had gone six weeks without social media and didn’t miss anything important at all — why was it that I now felt as if I’d be missing out on something if I wasn’t always checking my phone? It took me a while to realize NELP was a fantasy land: We were isolated unto ourselves, all 53 of us operating on the same rigid daily schedule. If I wanted to hang out with someone, I only had to walk 500 feet to find them. And we were still able to get access to memes if we wanted them — we’d just have to wait for them to arrive in the mail. The world as we know it doesn’t operate so neatly. We live in large societies, populated by people living incredibly different lives on incredibly different schedules. If I were to walk to a friend’s house unannounced, I’d be lucky if they actually happened to be there. As much as I didn’t like it, I came to realize my phone offered the most efficient way of controlling the entropy of everyday life, to coordinate my life with those around me. It was just that my next task had to be finding balance. *** Where I find fault in much of the current discourse about smartphones and social media usage is its failure to treat what it means to be a human navigating a world that grows increasingly digital with adequate sensitivity. Too often smartphones are written off as entirely detrimental to our existence, when the inventions themselves are not inherently evil. For example, in an op-ed for the New York Times, Cal Newport, associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University, claims that using social media ravages our ability to do impor-
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tant work. Surely, he argues, if we channeled the same energy into our work as we do into perfecting our LinkedIn profiles or crafting our Instagram aesthetic, perhaps we would actually accomplish something of worth. But claiming that social media is of no value to important work is just as egregious as claiming that it is harmless. I, for one, hope to become a research scientist and I think some of the most important work scientists do is share their research on social media. As is, the bulk of scientific knowledge is inaccessible to the general public, either from the thick jargon that litters scientific discourse or the steep subscription fees for scientific journals. In our current cultural moment, the general public is much more apt to believe political pandering than actual scientific data, an issue particularly relevant to climate change. For scientists to forgo the opportunity to reach millions of people on a platform they use by choice — for free, might I add — is irresponsible and possibly even destructive to scientific careers. After all, much basic research is funded by the general public’s tax dollars. Beyond the professional world, social media has also served as a springboard for social change. Social media has given historically subjugated voices a platform to come to the forefront of conversations and organize massive movements. (Though these platforms remain admittedly imperfect on these fronts.) Black Lives Matter, perhaps one of the largest social movements in recent history, started as a hashtag on Twitter. January’s Women’s March grew from a Facebook event into an international affair. At the end of the day, smartphones and social media have made our worlds infinitely larger, and, by extension, have offered us more resources and opportunities than we have time to take up. Sure, there are completely inconsequential opportunities we often engage in — adding that stranger on LinkedIn or picking the right Instagram filter for that photo of your brunch. But if we use these technologies in a measured and mindful way, we can do some truly amazing work. *** Here I am now, back in the noisy world of Canvas announcements, Daily emails and push notifications. It’s been a strange return to the traditional classroom, where the roundtables and notebooks that characterized my NELP education have been replaced by rows of desks and laptops. Other things have come more naturally: My Snapstreaks are slowly regaining traction, the longest of which now clocking in at a measly 79 days. I have taken steps, though, to limit my phone usage, to try to re-establish that clarity I felt at NELP. I keep my phone tucked away in my backpack during class. I ride my bike around campus to keep from texting as I commute. I leave my phone to charge on my desk overnight, far from arm’s reach. Of course, I keep my phone in the same state it has been in since 2013: silent.
ILLUSTRATIONS COURTESY OF REBECCA TARNOPOL
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
Let’s Talk About It: Do you speak English? by Rabab Jafri, Columnist
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nglish is the language my tongue commands with the most power and versatility, yet it is the one from which I feel the most estranged — or almost unwelcome. I perform spoken-word poetry in English, I write articles for The Michigan Daily and I plan to teach English in secondary schools. Despite that English is my first and most f luent language I know others will not fully accept me as a native English speaker because when they see my hijab, or Muslim headscarf, they question whether I speak it before any words leave my mouth. The notion that I do not speak English is even more peculiar when considering English is my primary language. To some, my knowledge of English only serves as evidence that the British colonized the countries of my parents and ancestors. In one of my classes last fall, I brought up that European accents are thought of as superior, despite their difference from American accents, while other non-European accents like the South Asian accent are often mocked. I talked about how, although my parents learned English at school in their home countries, their miniscule South Asian accents — or perceived accents — can still be mocked as comedic. My professor then returned my comment with a question that made me stumble: “Isn’t the fact that they learned English in their schools eurocentrism?” I was taken aback as I realized the language I hold such strong command over, that was taught to my parents and grandparents, was only a language learned because of European colonization. This made me think of how English came to be the primary language spoken in my home — because of my eldest brother’s kindergarten teacher. She called my parents one day deeply concerned that he was speaking to her in Urdu — my parents’ native language — instead of English. My parents decided it would best if they stopped teaching us Urdu altogether, a f lawed solution that came as a result of my teacher’s idea that bilingualism is
problematic. In my School of Education courses, I learned this episode was hardly unique to my family. Many children that were originally bilingual are discouraged from speaking their home language. This creates a conf lict of demands that is impossible to satisfy. Even when in public, people have questioned my and my family’s English. How is it that people can want others to know English, and yet, even when they do, it is never considered “good enough?” How is it that I can speak, read and write
part of their lives. It was only because of my childhood friend and her parents that I know as much Urdu as I do now, and they were the only ones who did not judge me for how much I knew. I spent many of my summers listening to them speak to one another or to me in Urdu, and sometimes responded when I felt brave enough. Consequently, I know enough to get by and even help some of my friends by translating for them when sermons are in Urdu at my mosque, but the obstacles that I face with Urdu still frustrate me. At first glance, not many people know how far my interest in language stretches. I’ve spent much of my life studying Arabic and recently used this knowledge when traveling abroad. I am currently learning Farsi and slowly building up my Urdu with practice. I find myself trying to hide the amount I know, and often do not respond to people in Urdu when they speak to me. It was only when I asked my mother that I fully understood what my feelings on this are. Her response was, as always, about the importance of good values. “I think it was more important that we taught you how to be good people, and so I don’t think it really makes a difference whether we taught you Urdu or not.” Her response made me think about all the good that I did learn from my parents. ILLUSTRATION BY RABAB JAFRI Language is not about supein English just as well as the average Eng- riority, and knowing one better than lish speaker, and yet my English ability is another does not make a person better or still questioned? worse, or more or less intelligent. I have Growing up, not being f luent in Urdu been viewed as inferior because of my was frustrating for me. In the mosque I experiences being an English speaker who grew up in, Urdu is a big part of the cul- wears a hijab and being a South Asian that ture and adults and friends often mocked does not speak her mother tongue fluently. me, asking me how much I understood. Yet, it was the more important lessons that “Do you know what ‘cow’ is in Urdu?” were taught in my house — values of treat“Do you understand what I am saying?” ing others with kindness regardless of their “You don’t know Urdu, right?” background, as well as other religious valI was treated as inferior by many of my ues — that formed a culture in my home friends because Urdu was such a central stronger than my South Asian culture.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
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The Picture Stays in the Kid: Days Off
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by Daniel Hensel, Daily Film Editor
he last time someone asked me where I was from, the response itself was long enough to be nominated for a writing award (it certainly wouldn’t win, if anything for lack of lucidity). “I’m from the North Shore suburbs of Chicago, about 30 minutes on the 94, sort of near Northwestern University in Evanston, in John Hughes territory: You know, like “The Breakfast Club” and ‘Ferris Bueller.’”
1980’s “Ordinary People” traced the lives of a grieving family in Lake Forest. “Mean Girls” ostensibly was set at Evanston Township High School, but any North Shore resident will tell you with a wink and perhaps a hushed voice that it’s actually about New Trier Township, Evanston’s wealthier neighbors to the north and the cluster of towns to the east of Northbrook. And all John Hughes’s films — “The Breakfast Club,” “Sixteen Candles,” “Home Alone,”
In fact, I’ll continue, if I haven’t lost the captive attention of my audience, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Breakfast Club” were filmed at my high school in Northbrook, Ill., and were based on them. It’s a fun little fact that sometimes surprises and leads to an additional inquiry or two on the subject, but never lingers beyond ephemeral interest. It was the same for me for the longest time, until it wasn’t. I threw out the fact as a matter of location-sleuthing convenience, and occasionally as an icebreaker, but, as most would think with a fun fact, my high school’s cinematic legacy wasn’t much of my identity — despite the seemingly unending obsession with it that surrounded me growing up. It changed once my passion for film bloomed. I wanted to see myself — the halls I walked, the classes I took — on screen. And “Ferris Bueller” was it. Film-going audiences have watched North Shore Chicago life unfold on screen for years.
and, of course, “Ferris Bueller” — were set in the North Shore, and some specifically in the fictional (but not entirely) town of Shermer (Northbrook was called “Shermerville” before anti-German sentiment in World War I led the town to name itself after the branch of the Chicago River that runs through the town). But there’s something about “Ferris Bueller” specifically that so perfectly captures a suburban Chicago malaise and boredom, and the yearning to escape it. My family drove down to Chicago nearly every week when I grew up, almost always to visit my grandmother who lived at the corner of Michigan and Chicago avenues. It was prime real estate — the famous water tower that survived that 1871 Chicago Fire sat across the street. Her window faced the towering John Hancock Center and a sliver of the Oak Street Beach peeked through the buildings clawing into the sky, north on the Magnificent Mile. I could spend hours staring at that view.
Every week, as I sat in Sunday school classes at synagogue, I couldn’t wait to climb into the car, stop at home briefly to grab some waters and a sweatshirt (“It’s colder by the lake,” my mom reminded us), and head down on I-94. The suburban tree-and-house-scapes that lined the highway would soon give way to the more crowded buildings lining busy streets. We would pass an old church whose ornate exterior came just short of the highway. We would pass a building side with an impressive and ever-
the nation’s best-kept secret, even if 8 million or so people live in its environs and millions more tourists flood the city every year. When my parents moved to Chicago from Washington, D.C., they settled in the city proper, moving around from neighborhood to neighborhood until deciding to move into the suburbs after deciding against a house in Chicago’s Wicker Park, then on the cusp of a rapid bout of gentrification. I understand their decision — and I value liv-
ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY HARDIE changing wall mural. We would pass the Morton Salt rooftop, which featured its logo — the umbrella girl — with the saying, “When it rains it pours.” The same could be said for the city itself. In Chicago, even on the touristy and relatively staid Michigan Avenue, life was lived. Even more so in the peripheral neighborhoods where I began spending more time in recent years: Lincoln Park and Lakeview, the West Loop, Hyde Park. “Ferris Bueller,” I knew, was full of delirious exhilaration, but it was a metaphor for a state of being — of simply being in the city. Ferris dances around to The Beatles’s “Twist and Shout” in a German pride parade. Every moment in the city seems like a celebration, every street corner a meticulously planned work of art. He steals the identity of the fictional Abe Froman, the supposed “sausage king” of the city. Chicago, literally “the second city,” with a massive chip on its shoulder, is I believe
ing in a quiet village on the edge of Cook County — yet I can’t help but mourn the exuberant urban life I could have had. As if my birth itself were a scar in replace of an alternate life, I was born in Evanston while both my brothers and my father were all born in the same hospital in downtown Chicago. I suppose I’m not alone, not even in my immediate family. My dad’s ancestors lived on the southside of Chicago since the 1870s, and his mother moved the family to Glencoe, Ill., only one town east of where I grew up. He, too, traveled to the city frequently to see his grandparents and the extended family in Hyde Park. And yet, at the end of the day, he lived in suburbia, close in proximity, but much farther in culture, from the city a half an hour to the south. When I first watched “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” I was with my dad, who smiled and said, “This is a perfect movie.” I think he knew it too.
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Wednesday, September 13, 2017 // The Statement
V I S UA L STAT E M E NT
FOOTBALL: BEHIND THE SCENES Photos by Amelia Cacchione Last Saturday, I photographed the Michigan football game against Cincinnati. I left my apartment at 9:30 a.m. and did not get home until 5:30 p.m. In between, I found myself on the field of the Big House, dodging footballs as they flew off the field and snapping over 1000 photos. Photographers use the same tunnel entrance to the field as the players. Fellow Daily photographer Sam Mousigian and I walk out 45 minutes before game to ensure we don’t get trampled.
The team huddles on the field before returning to the locker for the last time before the game.
The sidelines often get crowded with TV crews, photographers, cheerleaders and the players vying for space.
The sideline is packed with photographers and everyone must stay off of the field.
A view of the student section from the field.
After the game, senior quarterback Wilton Speight shakes hands with a Cincinnati player.
Everyone follows the team back into the tunnel. The team goes into the locker room, and everyone else goes into the media rooms.