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Friday, November 3, 2017

Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Sarasota success Karan Higdon beat the odds in his hometown and used football to get out Florida. He couldn’t have done it without the help of his mother and high school coach.

» Page 1B CRIME

Hearing held for student attacked by roommates

Court orders personal protection order after claims of hostile environment DESIGN BY CASEY TIN

Black students 519% more likely to face discrimination, survey reports

Campus-wide DEI survey finds majority of student body satisfied with diversity climate ANDREW HIYAMA Daily Staff Reporter

One in five students at the University of Michigan — and 43.8 percent of all underrepresented minority undergraduates, defined as non-white and nonAsian — reported experiencing a

discriminatory event in the last year. These metrics and more were released Thursday afternoon in results of a campus-wide climate survey on diversity, equity and inclusion. While a majority of campus –– 72 percent of students, faculty and staff –– reported overall

GOVERNMENT

Gretchen Whitmer campaigns on campus Democrat vying in race for governor stumps on education, gun control COLIN BERESFORD Daily Staff Reporter

Former state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer spoke to students and answered their questions during an event at the University of Michigan on Thursday night at an event sponsored by the University’s chapter of College Democrats. In January, Whitmer declared her candidacy for governor, following 14 years in Michigan legislature. She previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives and in the Michigan Senate. Whitmer spoke briefly about why she decided to run, reminiscing on the state she knew when she was growing up and what she hopes to rebuild. Some of her areas of concern are public education, repealing the emergency manager law and getting rid of gerrymandering in the state of Michigan. “And right now I look around at the Michigan that you’re in, that I’m in, that my kids are growing up in and I see a state that ranks 41st in fourth grade literacy in our country because of 25 years of Betsy Devos agenda by the way,” Whitmer said. “I am proud of having been the See CAMPAIGN, Page 3A

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satisfaction with the campus climate with respect to diversity, minority students are much more likely to feel dissatisfied and experience discrimination. 34.8 percent of Asian students and 7.5 percent of white students said they had experienced racial discrimination. Among undergraduates, 37.1 percent

of women, 29.3 percent of LGBTQ students, 28.1 percent of international students and 47.7 percent of disabled students reported experiencing at least one incident of discrimination in the past 12 months. Robert Sellers, vice provost for equity and inclusion, said the See CLIMATE, Page 2A

A2 council considers lack of student voters before election As elections approach, data suggests few students turn out MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter

In November 2015, while other students were focusing on midterms, football games and the fast-approaching Michigan winter, then-LSA senior Zachary Ackerman had something else on his mind. He was running for Ann Arbor City Council. “I grew up in Ann Arbor and grew up as a pretty nerdy kid. When I was 15 and a student at Pioneer High School, that nerdiness channeled itself into an interest in politics and government. Figuring local government was the most approachable, I started attending City Council meetings,” Ackerman wrote in an email interview. “By early 2015, I had grown pretty unhappy with my representation on City Council and went out to find an alternative candidate. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find one, so I threw my hat in the ring instead.” He was not the first person to run for or sit on City Council as a student, but his involvement in local politics is certainly not the current norm for University of Michigan students. When Ackerman ran in 2015, The Daily reported a voter turnout of 0.81 percent of those registered in Ward 1’s first and second precinct and a voter turnout of 1.15 percent for Ward 4’s first precinct — all student-heavy areas. At Palmer Commons that year, a total of seven ballots were cast.

Ann Arbor has over 117,000 residents, but the University has over 44,000 students. Students make up a sizeable portion of the city, and many issues in town directly affect them. So why aren’t they voting? “Students were obviously a very big part of that” Low voter turnout among students is nothing new, nor is it unique to the University. According to the Center for Information and Research on

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Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, voter turnout at universities across the country in 2014 was just 19 percent. People under 30 voted at a rate of only 21 percent. The rest of the nation had a much higher turnout rate of 36 percent. As director of the Campus Vote Project, an arm of the Fair Elections Legal Network, Michael Burns is hoping to change that reality. See ELECTION, Page 3A

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NISA KHAN & RIYAH BASHA

Daily News Editors

Business junior Matthew Mansour was granted a personal protection order against his roommate, Business senior Abhishek McFarland, based on a tense living environment in which Mansour was too afraid to come back to his apartment at Landmark Apartments on South University Avenue. McFarland will have to move out of the apartment with police present. The terms of the PPO also mandate McFarland cannot have any contact with Mansour. While McFarland’s attorney pointed out the two were in the same school and possibly the same apartment, Washtenaw County judge Patrick J. Conlin said McFarland should take the effort to avoid him and that Mansour should not go to the police if he simply passes McFarland in the apartment. Close to 40 students packed the Washtenaw County Trial Court Thursday afternoon to support Mansour, who claimed in a viral Facebook post yesterday evening he was targeted for being a gay man. While McFarland’s attorney argued it was an eviction situation to be kept at a Landmark level and Mansour sought a PPO for his own convenience, Conlin ruled the environment was hostile enough to grant the order. Conlin expressed disbelief at the McFarland’s stories and said his witness recount involved too many people and was too inconsistent. The case is also currently an open investigation with the Ann Arbor Police Department. AAPD detective Jessica Oliverio testified Thursday, but did not have many details to add to the case. Mansour said while he was out on Fall Break, his friend Michelle Vander Lugt, Engineering senior, went to borrow groceries from him when she noticed all his kitchen utensils and dog toys — later estimated to be $600 in worth — were missing. Additionally, she said the roommate who opened the door for her warned her she might not find anything. She then took pictures of knife marks on Mansour’s door, a damaged doorknob and windowsill. Mansour said the environment felt more lifethreatening after he came out on National Coming Out Day earlier this month.

DESIGN BY ROSEANNE CHAO

INDEX

Mansour previously petitioned the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on the basis of sexual discrimination. Conlin, however, said he did not see evidence of anti-gay behavior strictly by McFarland, but agreed there have been too many incidents that targeted Mansour. Mansour testified Landmark randomly assigned Mansour to McFarland’s apartment with two roommates. Mansour owned a service dog for his anxiety, to which McFarland reacted harshly on the first day and continued to call him expletives. During his time living with his roommates this semester, Mansour argued McFarland created a toxic environment, cheering on a roommate to urinate in his dog’s bowl and throwing his property out the window. He said the roommates were also stealing exit signs, and when Mansour brought this up to Landmark authorities, he said McFarland called him a “bitch” several times. He then said he banged on the wall while Mansour was in his bedroom, saying “All gays go to hell.” In his statement to the court, McFarland said he was frustrated with the situation and admitted to swearing at Mansour once. He said he was allergic to dogs and did not realize the service animal was hypoallergenic. However, Conlin said McFarland’s frustrations with living with a dog were targeted at Mansour rather than brought up to Landmark. Mansour played a recording of a male voice saying the expletives to the court. McFarland countered the voice belonged to his friend. When McFarland came to the stand, he insisted he would be happy to welcome Mansour back. While he admitted to the other roommate urinating in his dog’s bowl, he said he did not urge neither did he say the anti-gay slurs. He insisted it was another friend. McFarland also said the knife marks on the door was because of another friend during the weekend of the University versus Michigan State football game, not Fall Break. McFarland and Mansour’s roommate came as another witness on McFarland’s behalf. As he approached the stand, the witness’s gait was wavering and speech slurred, prompting the judge to ask him if he was under the influence. The roommate replied he was not. The witness’s story conflicted with Mansour’s See HEARING, Page 3A

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News

2A — Friday, November 3, 2017

FRIDAY’S BICENTENNIAL FEATURE: WINTER SCENE COLD AND CRISP OFFERS VAST OPPORTUNITY FOR SPORTS Every Friday, The Michigan Daily republishes an article from The Daily’s archives from a moment in University history. December 16,1956 — Winter has the dubious distinction of being the leading season for gripes and complaints about the ever popular subject of weather. Days are short, walking and driving are often treacherous and the wind is sharp and biting. For some it is a convenient time to count the days until spring and vow fervently to “go south next year and stay there.” But for others all is not lost. The snow covering the ground offers vast opportunities for fun and frolic. Racing down snow covered slopes is exhilarating to mind and body. The dangers add a challenge to the skills of the skier. Tobogganing and ice skating provide hours of fun for the enterprising sportsman.

The snow, a frustrating stimulating vigor of winter. time of beauty as only nature can enemy if one is in a hurry, is also For the winter-lover it is a time create beauty. a picturesque thing of beauty. of crisp, cold air and rigorous Even those who long for summer outdoor life. For one and all it is a —RONALD PARK appreciate the impressive views of landscapes and buildings covered AMERICAN ART with a clean, fresh blanket of snow. Snow covered porch rails, broken down fences and the barren limbs of trees become the subjects for camera lovers and the old, fondly recalling happy winter days of their youth. For the young and the young at heart, it is a time for the creation of all sorts of things in snow. The children build the ever-popular snowman with the pipe in his mouth and of course the “fort” for an exciting snow-ball fight. College students hold winter carnivals and build everything from ships to houses, all from DANYEL THAKUR/Daily snow. Contests and parties are Artist Valerie Hegarty discusses artwork in her exhibition “American held in the atmosphere of the

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Berserk” at the LSA Institute for the Humantities Gallery Thursday.

CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Sarani: The Allure of Adventure

G-Fest

WHAT: Enjoy the rich history of India through the largest student-run cultural show in all of North America. Music and dance performances from a wide variety of regions and traditions in India will be showcased. WHO: Indian American Student Association WHEN: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. WHERE: Hill Auditorium

WHAT: The University’s premier performance groups will showcase their talents in a night of singing, dancing and more. WHO: Michigan Union Ticket Office WHEN: 8:00 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School

National Sandwich Day WHAT: Celebrate National Sandwich Day with the Markley and Twigs Dining Halls with a wide variety of different sandwiches. WHO: Michigan Union WHEN: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WHERE: Oxford Housing & Mary Markley Hall

CLIMATE From Page 1A primary utility of the survey was to target further Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan efforts. The questionnaire sought demographic information such as sexual orientation, disability status and racial or ethnic identity — including a category for Middle Eastern or North African students. The group has not been tracked at the University in the past; the DEI survey found the group makes up less than 4 percent of the student body. “(The survey) also allows us to effectively look at certain populations separately from other populations, recognizing the nuance with respect to experiences,” Sellers said. “Historically, (MENA students) have … been forced to either identify as ‘White’ or ‘other.’ By being able to include them in the survey, we have a more accurate assessment of, first and foremost, how many folks are actually here, and then to be able to look at their experiences separately. That also reaffirms our sense that they are Sudoku Syndication an important community in and of themselves.”

The Sounds & Stories of Michigan

Survivor UMix

WHAT: Margaret Noodin, a profesor specializing in Native American literature at UW-Milwaukee, will teach some basic Ojibwe, one of the indigenous languages of Michigan. WHO: Native American Student Association WHEN: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WHERE: Mason Hall, Room 3437

WHAT: This tropical UMix will feature a screening of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, free midnight buffet, pet rock crafting and DIY message bottles. WHO: Center for Campus Involvement WHEN: 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. WHERE: Michigan Union

Elegance Fashion Model Calls

The Pioneer Americanists

Fridays After 5

WHAT: Student models of all sizes, ethnicities, genders and styles are encouraged to audition for the 40th anniversary of the largest fashion show on campus. WHO: Elegance Fashion WHEN: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Wolverine Room

WHAT: A panoramic window on the history of Americana prior to 1900, particularly through looking at rare manuscripts from eight generation of Americanists. WHO: William L. Clements Library WHEN: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. WHERE: William L. Clements Library, Avenir Foundation Room

WHAT: Enjoy special exhibitions and engaging activities during one of the few evenings the museum is open after 5 p.m. WHO: University of Michigan Museum of Art WHEN: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. WHERE: University of Michigan Museum of Art

Michigan Students @UMichStudents Beyoncé has been cast as Nala in The Lion King and I just want to thank her mom, her dad, Blue, and anyone else that helped make this happen.

Betsey Stevenson @BetseyStevenson Yep, I tax my kids candy and I encourage them to learn the benefits fo trade. A wellfunctioning market economy has social insurance.

University President Mark opinions you might not have Schlissel noted the data was expected ahead of time,” he said. collected during Fall Semester “I am no longer ever surprised last year –– before many of the to find a percentage, often a recent incidents of racism and hate small percentage, who have an speech that are now the focus of experience you’re not expecting student action. to see.” 420 Maynard St. “Whatever the context was in The most commonly reported Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com people’s minds last fall was the reason for discrimination among context in which they answered all students, undergrad and those questions,” Schlissel said at grad, was political orientation, EMMA KINERY NATHAN GUPTA Editor in Chief Business Manager the announcement of the survey which accounted for 21 percent 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 results in the Michigan Union. of the reports of discrimination, kineryem@michigandaily.com nathankg@michigandaily.com The survey designed by the followed by race and gender at 20 Office of Diversity, Equity and percent each. Inclusion received responses Sellers said he wasn’t expecting from 2,065 students, 2,583 staff so many students to report NEWS TIPS ARTS SECTION PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION members and 1,061 faculty discrimination based on their news@michigandaily.com arts@michigandaily.com photo@michigandaily.com members, at response rates of 59 political orientation. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SPORTS SECTION NEWSROOM percent, 73.8 percent and 70.7 “One of the things that was tothedaily@michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com 734-418-4115 opt. 3 percent, respectively. surprising was the finding that EDITORIAL PAGE ADVERTISING CORRECTIONS Responding to the 7.5 percent of undergraduate students, a high opinion@michigandaily.com dailydisplay@gmail.com corrections@michigandaily.com white undergraduates reporting number of them report relatively racial discrimination, William fewer opportunities to interact Axinn, professor of survey across political orientation research, said he encountered and higher frequencies of surprises like this in almost all the discrimination around political AMELIA CACCHIONE and EMMA RICHTER surveys he has conducted. orientation than I personally Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com Senior Photo Editors: Zoey Holmstrom, Evan Aaron, Alexis Rankin, “My experience conducting would have predicted,” he said. REBECCA LERNER Zach Moore surveys on all topics, and with As a result, Sellers said, the Managing Editor rebler@michigandaily.com Assistant Photo Editors: Claire Meingast, Katelyn Mulcahy, Aaron this topic, is you discover the full University is organizing and Baker, Sam Mousigian, Kevin Zheng diversity of what’s out there when hosting a series of symposia ALEXA ST.JOHN LARA MOEHLMAN Managing News Editor alexastj@michigandaily.com you take a survey that samples centered around free speech Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Senior News Editors: Riyah Basha, Tim Cohn, Lydia Murray, from the general population in a during the winter semester, Deputy Statement Editor: Brian Kuang, Yoshiko Iwai http://sudokusyndication.com/sudoku/generator/print/ Nisa Khan, Sophie Sherry scientific way, you will discover focusing specifically on differences Assistant News Editors: Jordyn Baker, Colin Beresford, Rhea people with experiences and in political backgrounds. Other Cheeti, Maya Goldman, Matt Harmon, Andrew Hiyama, Jen ELIZABETH DOKAS and TAYLOR GRANDINETTI Meer, Ishi Mori, Carly Ryan, Kaela Theut action items more broadly include a Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com streamlined bias response process ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY and REBECCA TARNOPOL Senior Copy Editors: Marisa Frey, Ibrahim Rasheed Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com — with boosted student awareness — the Inclusive Teaching Initiative DYLAN LAWTON and BOB LESSER Senior Opinion Editors: Anu Roy-Chaudhury, Ashley Zhang, and incorporating DEI efforts into Managing Online Editor lesserrc@michigandaily.com Max Lubell, Madeline Nowicki, Stephanie Trierweiler MEDIUM Senior Web Developers: Erik Forkin, Jordan Wolff faculty and staff performance BETELHEM ASHAME and KEVIN SANTO reviews. ABE LOFY Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com The survey also included data Managing Video Editor video@michigandaily.com Senior Sports Editors: Laney Byler, Mike Persak, Orion Sang, Senior Video Editors: Gilly Yerrington, Matt Nolan, Aarthi on the disabled community on Max Marcovich, Ethan Wolfe, Chris Crowder Janakiraman, Emily Wolfe campus. Making up 5 percent of Assistant Sports Editors: Rob Hefter, Avi Sholkoff, Matthew Kennedy, Paige Voeffray, Mark Calcagno, Jacob Shames the student body, students with JASON ROWLAND and ASHLEY TJHUNG Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com a disability are 287 percent more ANAY KATYAL and NATALIE ZAK Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Christian Paneda, Adam likely to experience discrimination Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com Brodnax, Halibut Olaniyan, Tanya Madhani, Sivanthy Vasanthan and 145 percent more likely to Senior Arts Editors: Dayton Hare, Nabeel Chollanpat, report feeling neutral, unsatisfied Madeline Gaudin, Carly Snider Arts Beat Editors: Danielle Yacobson, Danny Hensel, Erika or very unsatisfied with the ELLIE HOMANT Shevchek, Matt Gallatin, Naresh Iyengar Managing Social Media Editor University. The words “disability” Senior Social Media Editors: Kayla Waterman and Anna Haritos and “disabilities” are mentioned MICHELLE PHILLIPS and AVA WEINER a total of five times in the 40-plus Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com page campuswide strategic plan. Sellers pointed to other CAYLIN WATERS programs, such as the Inclusive Brand Manager EMILY RICHNER Teaching Initiative, that implicitly CLAIRE BUTZ Sales Manager cater to disabled students. Business Development Manager JUEUI HONG “Nowhere in that initiative as JULIA SELSKY Special Projects Manager Local Accounts Manager it’s described is it described as a CAROLINE GOLD disability-focused initiative, but SANJANA PANDIT Media Consulting Manager Production Manager the benefits will be accrued by students with disabilities,” he said. © sudokusolver.com. For personal use only.

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Opinion

4A — Friday, November 3, 2017

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Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

EMMA KINERY Editor in Chief

ANNA POLUMBO-LEVY

and REBECCA TARNOPOL Editorial Page Editors

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EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Carolyn Ayaub Megan Burns Samantha Goldstein Caitlin Heenan Jeremy Kaplan Sarah Khan Anurima Kumar

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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

TOM AIELLO | COLUMN

Kill your political darlings

thought popped into my the short attention span of the head as I walked out of internet reward charisma over Hill Auditorium after policy substance. a live Q&A with a Additionally, politician I deeply the current respect, Hillary extreme political Clinton. I realized that, polarization within to my recollection, the U.S. encourages Clinton didn’t mention unquestioned loyalty a single word about to and admiration the mistakes her for party candidates. campaign made in Polls from 2014 2016. To be sure, indicate Americans Russian interference, are more likely TOM voter suppression than ever before to AIELLO and former FBI consistently express a director Jim Comey’s liberal or conservative statements had an enormous viewpoint. This ideological impact on the ultimate outcome. consistency carries over to However, surely the Clinton people’s friend groups and social campaign would change some media; over a third of Americans aspects of their strategy if they only see one ideological viewpoint could run all over again. represented on their social media I worry my blindness in the feeds. These sort of echo chambers moment to Clinton’s mistakes is encourage political groupthink indicative of a larger, problematic by expressing the same opinions trend in the United States. over and over again. If a voter The American voter tends to observes near constant praise for mythologize the political figures their party’s preferred candidate we support, transforming them online, they may be more likely into heroes whom we project our to observe that politician as an hopes and dreams onto. Idolizing infallible hero. politicians in this way can only The idolization of politicians lead to disappointment and carries troubling implications political fragmentation. for American democracy. First, The realities of modern viewing politicians as heroes campaigning exacerbate the blinds voters to their candidate’s American tendency to herald flaws. A perfect example lies in our chosen candidates as heroes. the Democratic opinion of Barack Campaigns run relentless ads Obama’s economic policies. A exalting their candidate as a Reuters poll from 2015 indicated pillar of American exceptionalism 64 percent of Democrats believed and ruthlessly demonizing Obama’s policies improved the their opponent. For example, economy. However, economic Ed Gillespie, Republican and data indicates the economy has Virginia gubernatorial candidate, improved mostly for the rich, not ran a commercial about a for those of lower socioeconomic month ago tying his opponent status, thus exacerbating to the notoriously violent MS-13 economic inequality. Evidence gang. The words “Kill, Rape, indicates Obama’s policies Control” flash across the screen directly contributed to the rise of a split second before Gillespie’s the rich and stagnation of middle opponent’s face appears. By American incomes; when the contrast, the ad paints Gillespie economy collapsed, the Doddas a conquering hero ready to Frank Wall Street Reform Act vanquish the dangers of gang left giant loopholes for financiers violence. Ads like these exploit to jump through, instead of primal human emotions like fear tightening regulations on big to convince voters that politicians banks and Wall Street. exist as either evil villains or Of course, this sort of blindness virtuous heroes. extends to the other side of the Viral marketing and social aisle. How else could 81 percent media further distort American of white Evangelical Christians perceptions of politicians. When vote for Donald Trump (a man we circulate memes of politicians who brags openly about sexual online, when we watch politicians assault and was pro-choice until in funny late night TV bits and 2011)? Though Trump’s behavior when we unquestioningly retweet arguably violates Christian politicians, we imbue our elected morals, Evangelicals voted for officials with celebrity status. him because they believed the This social media content and Republican party would advance

MADISON

important goals like pro-life legislation and curbing illegal immigration. Political idolization prevents voters from holding officials accountable for their policy and moral failures. When we put our politicians on pedastals, we imbue them with more power than they actually have to make change; this inevitably leads to disappointment. The U.S. political system was designed to preserve the status quo. Politicians aiming to make change must confront three branches of government, a bicameral legislature, federalism, factional and partisan politics and hostile special interests every step of the way. In recent years, about only three percent of bills considered in Congress became laws. The enormous gap between voter expectations and the legislative reality only breeds disappointment and resentment, as demonstrated by Congress’s current 13 percent approval rating. This sort of frustration may be a significant cause of America’s embarrassingly low voter turnout rate. Tempering our expectations may ultimately reduce our collective cynicism about the democratic process. Lastly, worshipping a single politician can blind voters to the merits of other candidates who may advance their interests. The phenomenon of the small amount of Bernie Sanders supporters who voted for Donald Trump demonstrates this danger. The proportion may seem insignificant at an estimated 12 percent. However, Trump’s margin of victory was very small in states like Michigan; perhaps those lost votes could have made a difference if they went to Hillary Clinton. Though Bernie falls ideologically left of Clinton, surely a President Clinton would have advanced policies more favorable to Bernie supporters than President Trump has. I’m not advocating adopting a jaded stance toward all politicians. Elected officials can be great role models, and I believe most are true patriots. I only ask we hold our favorite politicians accountable for their actions and not fall into blind devotion.

FRANNIE MILLER | CONTACT FRANNIE AT FRMILLER@UMICH.EDU

Tom Aiello can be reached at thomaiel@umich.edu.

Editor’s note: The writer’s name has been changed to protect their identity. :47 p.m.: My appointment is at 1:00 p.m., so I decide to take an Uber to the clinic, wondering if the driver can sense my discomfort. The worst day of my life was not the night of my rape. It wasn’t printing out a coupon for Plan B the next day. It also wasn’t when I wrote my suicide note seven months later and went to bed hoping I wouldn’t wake up in the morning. It is this day, two months after my assault, sobbing in a strange bathroom for 45 minutes, that is seared into my memory. 1:15 p.m.: I am sitting in the waiting room of Planned Parenthood, slightly shaking as I fill out paperwork. Post-traumatic stress disorder is strange and unpredictable. It had my brain inputting my assaulter’s face on nearly all men in my life, avoiding walking anywhere from my usual routes and forgetting important details of that night only for them to come back in jarring flashbacks. I avoided intentionally thinking or talking about anything relating to my assault, which is why I waited to get tested for STIs and HIV until two months after I was raped. 1:43 p.m.: The results of my rapid HIV test are negative. We just need a urine sample for the STI test, the nurse says, adding that they won’t call me unless it’s proven positive. To say I am cautious regarding sex would be a huge understatement. I had always been so careful with condoms

and birth control in order to minimize any risk of pregnancy and disease. The night I was raped, I was unsure of anything that occurred; I had no control in the situation. I remembered few details, and I didn’t trust his account. I felt so stupid. This never should have happened. How could I have let this happen to me? 2:28 p.m.: I have been sitting on the toilet for 30 minutes now, with the water running to garner a urine sample of any sort. The sooner I get this done, the sooner I can leave, I think, with tears streaming down my cheeks. Why me? I couldn’t look at myself anymore, feeling disgusted and betrayed by my own body. I remember looking in the mirror 10 minutes after my assault and telling myself that I was a whore. A controlling, long-distance ex-boyfriend would get angry when I partied and said that one day I would get raped. He was right. 2:41 p.m.: I shut the bathroom door behind me and tell the nurse I couldn’t do the urine sample between sobs. She takes me aside, and I tell her I was assaulted. She asks if I am seeing a therapist, I tell her I am currently seeing two. The first close friend I told said to not make a big deal about it. The first therapist I told said I needed to take responsibility for my drinking. I became more guarded than I ever had been. For months, I would stay up until early hours in the morning, searching the internet for resources to tell me if I was right or if they were. 2:52 p.m.: I finish the cup of water the nurse gave me and compose myself enough to walk out of the office. I schedule an appointment for 4:00 p.m. later

that day in hopes my bladder will comply. Saying the word “rape” wasn’t something I could do until nearly a year later. Rape was violent and I never fought back that night; I just laid there and tried to get it over with as soon as possible. I remember thinking, “No I don’t want this and I don’t like him holding my head down, but I’m too drunk to fend him off and I said no earlier so why would he listen now and it will be over soon enough.” It wasn’t sex, I was just a body to masturbate into. What worth do I have now? Who would ever love a damaged girl? 4:12 p.m.: I return to the clinic in fresh makeup and finally complete the urine test. I don’t receive a call from the clinic, meaning I am clean. I breathe for what seems like the first time in months. I ache for all those girls who were before me, as I am sure I was not the only one. I ache for my friends who all say they have had something similar happen to them before. I ache for my parents who learned months later and never wanted to believe something like this could happen to their baby girl. But I don’t ache for myself. For months, I went into survival mode and did the absolute minimum to go on to the next day. I haven’t felt anything since the night where my body, trust and innocence were taken from me. As if under anesthesia, I feel pressure but no pain — just absolute numbness. Madison is an LSA student.

This is the third piece in the Survivors Speak series, which seeks to share the varied, first-person experiences of survivors of sexual assault.

DAVID KAMPER | COLUMN

I’m not a “democratic socialist.”

n discourse about politics, I “right thing” to say — and people see increased divisiveness, retweet, like and pat them on the cynicism and an averseness back for doing so. to perspective and For example, some debate. In laying out cite Bernie Sanders the problematic ideas on the importance of and beliefs I see coming free college education. from “democratic A common solution socialists,” I can provided is taxing confidently say (as more of the wealthy someone who defines corporations so that himself as a moderate/ our education could centrist liberal) the be paid. But do you terms “liberal” and understand the tax DAVID “democratic socialists” involved? KAMPER systems are not synonymous. Do you understand Political commentator the necessary restructuring of David Sirota, a self-professed existing policy? Do you reckon progressive liberal, states that some privileges might be that “there is a fundamental taken away? I reckon that almost difference” between a centrist all these individuals who abide by liberal and a “progressive.” such beliefs don’t know; rather, The term “progressive” or they faithfully follow the leader. “democratic socialist,” which This is highly problematic. Though I find to mean the same, is reduced college fees certainly normally a politically fiscal aren’t unreasonable, it is still our concept. According to Sirota, duty as citizens to understand “‘liberals’ ... are those who focus policy and logically develop our on using taxpayer money to help own ideas, not base our logic in better society.” He continues, niceties and emotional rhetoric. “‘progressive’(s) are those who In addition, the “progressive” focus on using government power movement has begun to use to make large institutions play by tactics scarily similar to the Tea a set of rules.” In addition to this Party’s, much of which includes definition, I find “democratic their response to President socialism/progressivism” Obama’s stimulus bailout package has developed an ideology in 2009. What started as an issue where self-referentiality is the on fiscal policy quickly became foundation of morality. an organization that popularized Let me be clear: There are issues and espoused some deeply our country needs to fix. I certainly questionable ideas, such as the want and work for women to be birther movement, and welcomed treated respectfully, and that problematic people, such as everyone, regardless of gender, Donald Trump. In addition, people race or religion, should receive in the Tea Party had a sense of equal opportunities. To me, this disdain for dialogue and believed is simply being a good human. the system doesn’t need to be But when these morally sound improved, but destroyed. From my baselines are hyper-contorted to perspective, eerily similar notions fit ideology, not policy, the issues from the “democratic socialists” become misconstrued. There isn’t are being espoused. The biggest actually a push for progress, but difference is that the baseline rather a tit-for-tat competition of notions of progressivism are good, who can be the most “progressive.” but their intents are taken far out One of the larger issues I’ve of proportion. noticed is the “democratic An issue in “progressivism” is socialist” mindset — a blind faith an aversion to introspection on the in some policies not because they morality of the movement, since are understood, but because they many of the underlying values sound nice. This leads to easily- are moral and just. Therefore, repeated phrases and slogans whenever there is a “screaming (“resist, resist, resist”) that, I match” against a campus speaker, guarantee you, most of their users there’s a sense of a moral “high do not understand. It’s just the ground” because it is “in the name

of” equality. Therefore, any action (though possibly uncouth and quite morally dubious) that defeats the “perpetrator” is acceptable. There’s no actual dialogue to question, to think about their own ideas and to debunk questionable notions. It’s just a mob looking for a person or group to blame and demolish. “Democratic socialism” now isn’t about change — it’s about getting even. I find that, in the name of increased dialogue, equality, justice and other good things, the “progressive” movement has played a bit of mental gymnastics with the semantics of these words. These words push politics into a competition, not actually hoping for true progress, but a sense of camaraderie among only certain individuals and a personal need for acceptance. The movement has become a contest of who can be more “progressive” and who needs to be done away with — rather than persuaded and reformed. Furthermore, the sense of morality is almost entirely based on self-referentiality. If only one person has qualms about a certain phrase, word or minute action, everything associated with that deed is regarded as morally problematic. Though this sometimes is fine, my problem is that “progressives” today deem this the end of the discussion. There are no follow-up questions, or only some social group can comment. Otherwise, any remarks are seen as unethical and an egregious act against a particular group of people. I hope that the Democratic Party, which I usually support, takes a step back and doesn’t adopt this ideology into its platforms. If the Democrats want to win in 2018, they must begin to distance themselves from this mindset. Though the baselines for this movement are things I work and advocate for, the aggressive, exclusionary, hyper-partisan rhetoric the “democratic socialists” push will only create more divide, which then creates more tumult to the chagrin of more retweets, more likes and smugger political sport. David Kamper can be reached at dgkamper@umich.edu.

Arts

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

ARTIST IN PROFILE

Friday, November 3, 2017 — 5A

TV NOTEBOOK

ATLANTIC Who is A. Boogie?

‘No Questions About Lil B’: In conversation with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie SALVATORE DIGIOIA Daily Arts Writer

I’ve been obsessing over A. Boogie Wit Da Hoodie for quite some time now. His trademarked sound (a natural yet unexpected blend of post-Drake era harmonies with gritty horror-core subject matter) has made him a fixture within hip hop’s emergent generation — the rare youngster who’s neither wholly resistant to nor blindly acceptant of old school practices. For this reason, I employed the Bronx-raised crooner as a centerpiece in my ode to New York hip hop last winter, and in February, I drove all the way to Columbus, OH for his concert (which turned out to be a lousy club walkthrough). I even eagerly anticipated the late September release of his debut album, The Bigger Artist, which enhanced production value and earned the number one spot on Billboard’s hip hop/R&B chart. However, last week, when news began circulating that A. Boogie had physically attacked Lil B “THE BASED GOD” at Rolling Loud Music Festival, I consequently unfollowed him on multiple social media under an assumption that I would no longer be able to root for his success. So, what was I to do when, on Sunday evening, I got offered a 10 minute phone conversation with A. Boogie in promotion of his upcoming concert in Detroit? I instinctively accepted then constructed a mental strategy in which I expected to transition from casual small talk to a more combative discussion about the BASED GOD. (“Shouts out to a boogie,” Lil B wrote on Twitter, publicly diffusing tensions after the altercation; “Is it really all love?” I imagined myself inquiring.) This plan almost actualized too, until exactly two minutes prior to my Tuesday conversation with A. Boogie, when I received a confirmation from his team bearing exactly one condition: “Heads up has been given and no questions about LIL B,” the email read. Immediately, I found myself navigating a journalistic semicrisis, weighing the pros and cons of agitating a newly-platinum rapper who’s bragged of having “shooters beside (him).” Even whilst speaking with A. Boogie, I remained undecided on the issue and suppressant of my intrinsic desire to surge for the story. I was

finally convinced not to, though, by A. Boogie’s genuine likability: Throughout our conversation, he displayed both a focused work-ethic and passionate belief in loyalty; he simultaneously presented the unapologetic attitude of a street-raised business bull (think Jay Z, one of his idols) aside the softer, calmer tone of a sweetheart big brother. Who is A. Boogie? That remains up for interpretation (much like the circumstances that led to his controversy with Lil B). What’s known for certain, though, is that he won’t allow himself to be boxed in — not by his geographically, generationally or even by the “BASED GOD.” *** You’ve had a wildly exciting year: Between the birth of your daughter in February to the recent release of your debut album, a lot of milestones have been crossed. How do you manage to stay grounded amidst such consistent growth? I just keep positive people around me, I keep the same, same day ones around me, you feel me? And I just keep doing what I’m doing plus more. As long as you keep doing what you’re doing plus more, you always gonna succeed and be successful. How did it feel to have The Bigger Artist debut as the number one album on Billboard’s R&B / Hip-Hop charts? Was that something you were striving for? Yeah, man, that’s something I feel like, I checked it off my checklist and I’m on to the next one. Now, I’m trying to win a Grammy, feel me? One of the album’s most deepcutting songs is its introduction, “No Promises,” on which you rap: “Lifestyle getting out of control, lifestyle getting ludicrous / I made a mili in less than a year and I blew that on stupid shit.” What were some of the first things that you splurged on after initially becoming successful? Man, some of the first things I bought, I went right to Avianne, copped mad ice, got my mom a crib, gave my mom some bread, I gave a lot of love to a lot of family when I first got money. What’s different about being in New York City now, as a celebrity, versus being there before as a regular kid from the Bronx? Man, being from New York City, first of all it’s hard coming out of

NYC, making it though. So, I’m just, I feel like I could do a lot, just ‘cause I did that. It’s a blessing, you feel me, and I feel like I got that prince, I feel like I’m in that prince spot right now. You told Complex that growing up, you rarely traveled out of Highbridge because: “The Bronx really don’t get along like that.” Is it all love everywhere when you go back now? Yeah, I feel like that’s everywhere though. Like, when you go to Brooklyn, people in Brooklyn don’t get along with Brooklyn people, Bronx don’t get along with Bronx people, just cause like, you’re all too close to each other and everything I feel like though. It’s different. As you head out on this world tour, headlining concerts in Europe and different countries, what are you most excited to see or do for the first time? Um, I don’t really know, I’m just looking forward to learning new things and seeing new things, and knowing what the whole overseas thing is about. Everywhere you go is always different, so you never know what to expect … I’m excited to perform in London. I sold out in London. Are we ever going to get those collab projects with Don Q or PnB Rock that you’ve been teasing? Man, I’m good at those, but … I got everybody’s songs. I’m gonna release a whole bunch of music out of nowhere, so … How did it feel to be a part of the XXL Freshman Class? Do you feel connected to that new wave in hip hop that’s emerging, or are you kind of like an old head within that crowd? Nah, I still fuck with the old heads, but I fuck with my generation too. I’m learning. Like, my generation is still new to me, so I’m still learning new things about hip hop these days. That XXL part right there was just like, man … I’m glad I did that ‘cause my whole teenage life was just looking at the XXL (and) who was on it on the next year, on the next year … So, me being on it for last year was just a blessing bro. You told Billboard that you’re considering going back to school. Would you ever consider coming here, to the University of Michigan? I can give you a tour if you need. Who knows? Who knows where I end up man, you’ll probably catch me somewhere in the cut with a hoodie.

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW Across her various phases, Taylor Swift’s music has garnered a wide-ranging set of opinions. Despite this, she has consistently released fantastic music videos; case and point is the first single from her forthcoming LP Reputation, “Look What You Made Me Do” and its accompanying video. The song was polarizing, yet the video was an impressively complex and well-thought-out spectacle. Her streak of excellent music videos just ended. The latest addition to her repertoire — the visual accompaniment to new single “...Ready For It?” — is uncharacteristically bad, despite being the strongest track we’ve heard off of Reputation thus far. The sci-fi-inspired “...Ready For It?” video unsuccessfully attempts a cliché narrative,

pitting a Taylor Swift dressed in S&M inspired black with a Taylor in a skin-colored bodysuit that makes her look nude. Clearly, we are leagues past “Teardrops On My Guitar.” The bodysuit itself, an apparent reference to the garb worn by the protagonist of the “Ghost in the Shell” franchise, generated a Twitter eruption and seemed to be one of the few things worth commenting on from the entire video. Otherwise, we have a poorly developed storyline that attempts to paint nude-bodysuit Taylor (who eventually morphs into white-bodysuit Taylor) as a sympathetic character trapped in a glass box, who ultimately escapes by defeating black-hooded Taylor. In the process we discover the latter

is actually a robot. How can Swift expect the public to buy into her latest bad girl persona when it’s the white-clad Taylor who is destroying the villainous Taylor? Given the size of her PR team, one would expect this new phase to be significantly more refined than it is. The only redeeming quality of the video is the visual editing. It seems like Swift and director Joseph Kahn wanted to hit every button on the effects dashboard, resulting in an incredible menage of lightning bolts, armored horses, mechanical eyeballs, glowing orbs and robotic spiders — the video is certainly a spectacle. However, it sacrifices content and storyline in the name of effects and ultimately falls flat as a result. — JESS ZEISLOFT

‘American Horror Story’ is currently on its seventh season

It’s time to break up with ‘American Horror Story’ One writer’s look at the slow decline of the popular FX show SOFIA LYNCH For the Daily

Before the co-creators of “Glee” Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk debuted their anthology series “American Horror Story” back in 2011, the television world had no idea what it was in for. With the help of some ambiguous, visuallyenticing trailers, the creators left prospective viewers with more questions than answers on what to expect — effectively creating a widespread buzz before the show’s premiere. A genius marketing technique could have been enough alone to launch lesser shows, but the Murphy and Falchuk had so many more tricks up their sleeves. When I first heard the creators of “Glee” were making a horror show, I scoffed. I thought: Haven’t they done enough damage to the realm of TV with their tacky, musical contribution? So imagine my surprise when I found myself tuning in for their new show every week, counting down the days to each new episode. “American Horror Story” was like nothing I had ever seen before, and being someone with a DNA-deep aversion to scary things, it spoke to the show’s quality that even I could withstand the spooks. Season one of “AHS” was everything I could ask for from a TV show. It was cinemagraphic, well-written, sexy, suspenseful, compelling and the list goes on. Amidst all the sexual and horrordriven thrills, season one, “Murder House,” had a cohesive plot and a knockout concept. The idea of a victorian age home holding all the spirits who had ever come to pass within its walls made for a wide playing field for the writers — and they used it wisely. The addition of backstories of tangential characters being added slowly to the greater story line of the

Harmon family gave encapturing tidbits of these surrounding spirits, intercutting between different periods of time, all without detracting from the story arc. Aside from the consistency in directorial style and strength in the base concept, just about everything great about season one would come to slowly fall away in those following. Many cite the beginning of the end with season three, “Coven,” — which did undeniably suck — but to me the issues that would become the all out downfall of “AHS” were birthed in season two. The idea of a horror story in a 1960s asylum was by far the theme that resonated with me the most. It felt, however, as though the creators lost all sense of restraint from this season forward — perhaps on the high of a wild success in their first season. The addition of Adam Levine (“The Voice”) and Jenna Dewan Tatum (“Step Up”) to the cast highlighted what would continue to be a pointless piece of the “AHS” rhetoric: Irrelevant celebrities being added on for the sake of star power. Cough, cough — I love you, Stevie Nicks, but you had no business coming on this supposed horror show. Season two, like every season of “AHS,” was incredible in its concept, but rather than letting the strength of that stand on its own, the creators stuffed each episode full of every bit of shock value they could get their hands on. Adding in alien probings, flesh-eating creatures and a polyamorous ending for Evan Peters (“X-Men: Apocalypse”), the season just ended on a sour note for me, which was indicative of what was to come. While horror is about making a viewer squirm and jump, the show became less about beautifully built-up tragic or terrifying storylines that made

it what it was and more about pushing the “Did they really just do that?” feeling. By season four, “Freak Show,” it felt as though Murphy and Falchuk were just drunk off the power of this empire they had created, feeling they could do no wrong. Again, while this season had things that worked, they continued trying to squish in every star, every OMG moment, every grotesque sex scene they possibly could. To add insult to injury, the creators let their true colors seep through with the addition of terribly tacky and pointless musical numbers. I could have gone the rest of my life without hearing Evan Peters perform Nirvana, or without hearing Sarah Paulson (“American Gothic”) do the ugliest cry known to mankind throughout every season, for that matter. While nothing can take away the majesty of season one, the steady decline of “AHS” ’s quality has just desecrated the good name it once made for itself. Mind you, many of the flaws were forgivable enough, considering I made it through season seven, “Roanoke.” But that was more out of a morbid curiosity of how much worse the show could have possibly gotten and what jaw-dropping boundaries they would be pushing this season. Where I draw the line, however, is the most recent season, “Cult.” It took about under 10 minutes for me to recognize that all I had once loved about the show had vanished, and in its place was just an obnoxious soap box for social commentary, hidden under the thin veil of a shitty plot. I really never wanted to lose faith in you, “AHS” (I really tried), but it’s just gone too far. I wish I could say the creators should quit while they’re ahead, but that chance already came and went.

Arts

6A — Friday, November 3, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

BOOK REVIEW

TV REVIEW

‘A Good Cry’ is a comfort Giovanni’s latest is is both a call to safety and a call to arms JULIA MOSS For the Daily

SHOWTIME ‘White Noise’ premiered on Showtime this past Sunday

‘White Famous’ could be funny, if it wasn’t just lazy Jay Pharaoh’s new show offers little humor with bad, sexist writing SAMANTHA DELLA FERA For the Daily

“Saturday Night Live” has become known as a machine for cranking out comedy stars. Input a famished improv actor who does a decent George W. Bush impression, and out pops a shiny new celebrity with two book deals and a TV show already signed on for three seasons. With his new Showtime comedy, Jay Pharaoh is the most recent and former “SNL” cast member trying to take advantage of that seemingly flawless formula. Unfortunately for him, the machine is still working out some kinks. “White Famous” has a great idea delivered through a bad TV show. Floyd Mooney (Jay Pharoah) is a young comedian trying not to betray his hometown roots as he works toward becoming “white famous.” He’s got everything you’d expect a bright-eyed, up-and-coming comedian to have: An overzealous agent (Utkarsh Ambudkar, “The Mindy Project”), an on-again / off-again relationship with the mother of his child (Cleopatra Coleman, “The Last Man on Earth” ), an implicitly racist boss (Stephen Tobolowsky, “One Day at a Time”) and even an encouraging yet slightly crazed mentor Jamie Foxx (“Baby Driver”) who plays himself. But even with a talented cast and a solid concept,

the show struggles to feel like something substantive and worthy of more than just a single episode. You know when the ticket person at the movie theater says “enjoy the movie” and you respond with “thanks, you too?” That is what it feels like to watch “White Famous.” It’s not completely wrong, but it does leave everyone involved feeling just a little bit off. Pharoah’s character seems to be stuck in a single, ongoing comedy sketch, and the joke wears down

White Famous Series premiere Sundays at 10 p.m. Showtime about 10 minutes into the halfhour-long episode. By the time you’re done watching, there’s nothing left to look forward to. Mooney gets a job on a big movie set, him and his ex-girlfriend are on relatively friendly terms and the agent he fired at the beginning of the episode is already back working for him. Every conflict that arises as a possible storyline is resolved by the episode’s end, leaving no reason to tune in next week or any week after that. It’s disappointing given the show’s potential to address real

Classifieds

problems present in Hollywood. At one point, Mooney complains to Foxx that everytime a Black man tries to climb the ladder in Hollywood, directors try to emasculate him by putting him in a dress. It’s a fascinating point, and one that can be seen in Dwayne Johnson’s “Tooth Fairy” and Tyler Perry’s “Madea” series, among numerous other examples. Yet instead of exploring this topic, Foxx brushes off the comment, and it’s never really addressed again. The show’s capacity to humorously address the societal pressure of being a Black man in Hollywood is also ruined by its blatant sexism. You can’t pick and choose what minority group you aren’t going to offend and which one you are — it’s kind of an allin, all-out deal. If you can’t be funny without uncomfortable Bill Cosby jokes and an old White dude that’s racist and sexist (but we’re supposed to understand that’s wrong, so it’s a joke), than you aren’t really funny, you’re just lazy. There’s no doubt that Jay Pharaoh is a talented young comedian whose talents extend beyond the impressions that defined his run on “SNL,” but “White Famous” is not the show to demonstrate that. If, like his character, Pharaoh wants to become the next Eddie Murphy or Chris Rock, he may have to put on that hypothetical dress and take some more daring steps to stardom.

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RELEASE DATE– Friday, November 3, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

FOR RENT

DOWN 1 Turner of “The Bad and the Beautiful” 2 It’s a turnoff 3 What’s up at the deadline? 4 Mushy lump 5 “Yikes!” 6 Traffic or turn follower 7 Influence with flattery 8 Studying like crazy, say 9 Tub soothers 10 Interstate rumbler 11 Condemned Titan 12 Jumped 13 “Game of Thrones” accumulation 22 Zener cards presumably tested for it 23 “Show Boat” author Ferber 24 Take a load off 26 __ monster 27 Was required to pay 28 Yucatán youngster 29 Sunni’s religion 30 Indoor __

33 Force user 34 NASA prefix 35 Muffin option 37 Left nothing out 38 Big event lead-in 39 Data measure 41 Ballet jump 42 Do a surfing maneuver 43 Shakes hands with, say 44 Bonded 45 Weigh station unit

46 Get rid of 47 Wood for grilling planks 48 What “x” may be in trigonometry 51 Former NHL winger Kovalchuk 52 Uncertain 53 Gusto 54 “Just one more thing ... ” 55 Narrow valley 59 Sound of woe

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11/03/17

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Nikki Giovanni HarperCollins October 24, 2017 Giovanni is able to sit comfortably at the midline between light and dark, hope and hopelessness. If anything, her choice to write about seemingly quotidien subjects reveals an admirable lack of selfconsciousness that comes from her wealth of experience. The poems in this collection reveal Giovanni’s thematic obsessions, many of which revolve around time, memory and age. In poems like “Heritage” and “If I Have to Hospital,” she considers old age with refreshing equanimity. In “Surveillance,” “Baby West” and “I Married My Mother,” she

CINEFLEX We’re not a fan

YouTube film critique’s swift and plaguing rise Vloggers surge in popularity threatens cinephile community Daily Arts Writer

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A Good Cry

looks back on her childhood, and particularly her troubled family relationships, with a refusal to either idealize or condemn; and in “Rita Dove” she looks forward to the next generation with enduring hope. Giovanni also writes about friendship, particularly her friendship with fellow writer Maya Angelou, with an intensity that many poets ascribe only to romantic relationships, insisting on solidarity and connection as the most important human experiences. Many of the poems in this collection correspond with Giovanni’s lifetime of work as a civil rights activist; she views the Civil Rights movement as both a triumph and an ongoing struggle, making this collection an essential read in the current political climate. The common thread running through this collection, and perhaps the greatest virtue of Giovanni’s work, is her ability to confront joy and tragedy in a single swoop. She demands connection in a world where we are bound to be isolated, and honorable intentions even under the worst of circumstances. Her message, both a comfort and a call-to-arms, is best expressed in “Introduction to Tim O’Brien”: “You cannot make the tragedy go whole / You cannot make the hurt heal / You can do nothing but embrace / The best within yourself.”

FILM NOTEBOOK

WILL STEWART

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Free 6 Crusty formation 10 One in a farm array 14 Truism 15 Kappa preceder 16 Entry 17 Saint toppers 18 Equine footwork 19 Glitz 20 Renewed one’s energy, in a way 21 Counseling for boomers’ kids? 24 Santa __: Sonoma County seat 25 Complimentary writers 26 Sign on a film studio employee’s door? 31 Words of desire 32 Room at the hacienda 33 Fast hit 36 Gave for a while 37 Some rank indicators 39 Corona product 40 Disturbance 41 “Write once, run anywhere” software 42 One with many mouths to feed? 43 Altered clone of actor Richard? 46 French gambling game 49 Zero 50 Molecular manipulation technique ... and a hint to the starts of the three other longest puzzle answers 53 Sudden turn 56 Advantage 57 Bunches 58 Immune system component 60 Food preservative 61 Cithara relative 62 Clear, in a way 63 “__ bien!” 64 Word appearing twice in a Woody Guthrie title 65 Synthetic polymer

“A Good Cry” is Nikki Giovanni’s 21st collection of poems to be published, and the experience shows. As one of America’s most prolific and recognizable living poets, this new collection proves that Giovanni is settling into her role as senior poet with grace, elegance and a continued immediacy that makes her work as relevant today as it was in the 1960s and ’70s. The poems in “A Good Cry” are written in Giovanni’s signature style, combining the lyrical with the endearingly colloquial. At her best, she revels in simplicity: Simple language and images thoughtfully bundled together to express great complexity and intensity of feeling. Poems like “Bread,” “Thirst” and “Morning Breakfast Routines” elevate the mundane pleasures of food and drink to a dream-like state of poetry, and “On a Snowy Day” is an ode to the impact of small acts of kindness from strangers. The emotional backbone of this collection, in both its lightest and darkest moments, is Giovanni’s complete sincerity, and this makes each poem, no matter how simple, vibrate with honesty. At times, the poems might falter in the direction of being

too simple. For example, the acrostic “A Poem for Morris” and the prose poem “A Poem for Joanne” say nothing that hasn’t been said before by other writers in more nuanced ways. These poems are saved, however, by Giovanni’s enduring earnestness, her affection for the subjects shining through in every word. It would be a mistake to confuse her preference for simple, everyday subjects with an inability to cope with complexity and ambiguity;

Tony Zhou struck internet gold in 2014. His YouTube channel Every Frame a Painting, with over a million subscribers, produces video essays analyzing nuances in filmmaking, like the Coen Brothers’ reverse shots or the use of silence in “Raging Bull.” Along with other popular channels — CineFix, Nerdwriter, Closer Look and Karsten Runquist — Every Frame a Painting is a major player in a booming market for video essays. That market, however, is very one-dimensional: A man, presumably in his mid-20s, talks about why a director, often David Fincher, is just so damn great after pointing out a somewhat obvious filmmaking technique. People watch these videos without having seen the movies he’s critiquing and close their laptops feeling smart. Worse yet, they feel like they never have to see the movie at all. CineFix’s content in particular irks me and is the epitome of why these essays produce a new level of pretentiousness. This channel creates listicle videos ranking the “best” of something, like the most beautiful shots in cinema. One video discusses the most beautiful movies of all time: Stanley Kubrick’s (“Eyes Wide Shut”) “Barry Lyndon” is

listed for its shots that replicate paintings. Truth be told, at least 95 percent of the video’s viewers haven’t seen the movie. And a high percentage of that group probably never will. If those who never saw the movie accepted their ignorance and didn’t act knowledgeable, all would be well. Sadly, this is rarely true. I’ve had conversations with devoted CineFix viewers where I’ll be bombarded with information about how beautiful “Barry Lyndon” is. But when I ask them their favorite scene, they daftly reply, “Oh, I’ve never seen it.” Watching a video essay does not give you the right to talk about a movie as if it’s your favorite, especially when you couldn’t be bothered to spend 187 minutes sitting through “Barry Lyndon.” The origins of the rising popularity of video essays likely dates back to Anthony Fantano’s popular music channel, The Needle Drop. Although he’s not producing video essays, per se, his content involves in-depth music critique reflecting his wide, developed taste for just about every genre of music. He paved the way for future video essayists to make their own statements. Fantano, however, doesn’t take himself too seriously, unlike many of his essayist successors. In many ways, the film criticism community loosening its barriers to entry is a feat. But we’ll always need a decent

amount of tweed-wearing academics writing lengthy film critiques. The truth is, a lot of the video essayists’ content is not entirely original and comes from the work of PhD-holding professors. Everyone should be able to express their opinions about films. But not everyone can be a film critic, at least not in the scholarly sense of the word. Obviously, not all video essays are bad. Kogonada, prominent up-and-comer responsible for “Columbus,” began his career making video essays on Vimeo, that other video sharing website that never fails to disappoint the two times a year I use it. His videos are always expressive and original, making him an important voice in film criticism today. Video essays’ rising popularity is an equalizer of sorts, giving voices to those who deserve more attention but lack the Hollywood connections. For people looking to blow off steam and watch intellectually stimulating content, there’s nothing wrong with video essays. YouTube becoming plagued with video essayists, however, is offputting, especially considering the lack of gender diversity within the community. Watching a movie and having an opinion is essential. Sharing these opinions is always welcome. Watching video essays instead and pretending to be an expert on film is nothing but obnoxious.

NOVEMBER 4, 2017: MINNESOTA

2017 Schedule

It looks like the Michigan football team has itself a new quarterback. Brandon Peters finally got meaningful game time against Rutgers, and he didn’t disappoint — throwing for 124 yards and a touchdown. While Jim Harbaugh wouldn’t say Peters will definitively start against Minnesota, the redshirt freshman will still have a chance to help the Wolverines hang on to the Little Brown Jug.

Betelhem Ashame, Ted Janes, Orion Sang, Kevin Santo

3 4 6 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Daily talked with Minnesota defensive lineman Steven Richardson. When Michigan running back Karan Higdon takes the field, he’s running for his mother and everyone back in Sarasota, Fla. Will Minnesota burn Michigan on a direct snap? That and other things to watch for. The Daily breaks down what to watch for when the Wolverines face Minnesota.

Florida (Sept. 2): ***Jaws theme song***

Penn State (Oct. 21): Michigan should get an assist for Barkley’s Heisman.

Cincinnati (Sept. 9): The Bearcats are the only team from Ohio that almost won last week.

Rutgers (Oct. 28): At this rate Rutgers will beat Michigan by 36 points next season.

Air Force (Sept. 16): Air Force was my safety school. (But really thank you for your service.)

Minnesota (Nov. 5): P.J. Fleck-Harbaugh is the next Mayweather-McGregor.

Purdue (Sept. 23): Jeff Brohm probably had better facilities at Western Kentucky.

Maryland (Nov. 11): You don’t live in D.C., stop saying that.

Michigan State (Oct. 7): The Michigan Daily has beaten the State News 13 years in a row.

Wisconsin (Nov. 18): I brought my tent to Camp Randall and was wildly disappointed.

Indiana (Oct. 14): Hoosier? I barely know her.

Ohio State (Nov. 25): We finally found someone who loves college more than Asher Roth: tenth-year senior J.T. Barrett.

STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers pick against the spread to predict scores around college football in the 2017 football season. South Carolina (+23.5) at No. 1 Georgia

Orion Sang

Ted Janes

Betelhem Ashame Georgia

South Carolina

Rebecca Lerner,

Kevin Santo Georgia

Managing Editor Georgia

Georgia

No. 19 LSU (+21.5) at No. 2 Alabama

Alabama

LSU

Alabama

LSU

Wake Forest (+14) at No. 3 Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Wake Forest

Notre Dame

No. 4 Clemson (-7.5) at No. 20 NC State

Clemson

NC State

No. 5 Oklahoma (+2.5) at No. 11 Ok. State

Oklahoma

Ok. State

No. 6 Ohio State (-17.5) at Iowa

Ohio State

Iowa

Ohio State

No. 7 Penn State (-9) at No. 24 Michigan State

Penn State

Texas (+7) at No. 8 TCU

TCU

Texas

No. 9 Wisconsin (-13.5) at Indiana

Wisconsin

No. 13 Virginia Tech (-2.5) at No. 10 Miami

Miami

Virginia Tech

Virgina Tech

Miami

Oregon (+17.5) at No. 12 Washington

Washington

Oregon

No. 14 Auburn (-15) at Texas A&M

Auburn

No. 15 Iowa State (+2.5) at West Virginia

Iowa State

West Virginia

UMass (+31.5) at No. 16 Mississippi State

Mississippi State

UMass

Mississippi State

UMass

No. 22 Arizona (+7.5) at No. 17 USC

Southern California

Arizona

Southern California

No. 18 Central Florida (-14.5) at SMU

Central Florida

SMU

Central Florida

No. 21 Stanford (+2) at No. 25 Washington St

Stanford

Washington State

Stanford

Washington State

Stanford

No. 23 Memphis at Tulsa

Memphis

Minnesota (-15.5) at Michigan

Minnesota

Michigan

Minnesota

Michigan

Northwestern (+1) at Nebraska

Nebraska

Northwestern

Nebraska

Maryland (-3) at Rutgers

Maryland

Illinois (+14) at Purdue

Purdue

Illinois

Purdue

Florida (+3) at Missouri

Missouri

Florida

Missouri

Florida

Ole Miss (+3.5) at Kentucky

Kentucky

Ole Miss

Colorado (+3.5) at Arizona State

Colorado

Arizona State

Slippery Rock (-90) at Seton Hill College

Slippery Rock

FootballSaturday, November 4, 2017

Behind Enemy Lines: Steven Richardson The Daily spoke with the Minnesota defensive lineman at Big Ten Media Days in July ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

It was a tumultuous offseason for the Minnesota football team. After 10 players were suspended following an accusation of sexual assault, the team threatened to sit out the Holiday Bowl. Former head coach Tracy Claeys supported the boycott, which was eventually dropped. Claeys lost his job shortly after. In his absence stepped P.J. Fleck, the charismatic former coach of Western Michigan. Fleck earned a reputation for his off-the-wall behavior — if you’ve ever heard ‘Row the boat’ used in a motivational fashion, it’s thanks to him — but is also an accomplished coach. In his final year coaching the Broncos, Fleck led them to a 13-1 record and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl after an undefeated regular season.

His first year at Minnesota has seen the Golden Gophers struggle through conference play. Yet it was apparent after a conversation with senior defensive tackle Steven Richardson at Big Ten Media Days in July that Fleck has already made a positive impact on the program. The Daily spoke with Richardson about the coaching transition, everyday conversations with Fleck and his impressions of Jim Harbaugh. TMD: “Can you take us back to the first time you met him, when he was recruiting you (at Western Michigan)?” SR: “My first impression was, this guy’s good. I was close to just saying yes, because, I mean, he’s very charismatic. He’s a very genuine coach. He says a lot of stuff and has a lot of phrases, but he backs it up all the time.” TMD: “The previous coaching

transition between Coach Kill and Coach Claeys seemed like it would be more seamless. Has it been much different going to Coach Fleck this summer?” SR: “Yes. There’s just a lot more energy. He brought in a great culture that has helped us not just on the field but also off the field, too, socially. He’s bringing in a lot of other people that are helping us. We just learned how to cook. We learned how to eat dinner the right way — eat with the silverware outside-in. Just little things like that. It’s more than X’s and O’s with him.” TMD: “How long did it take you to adjust to this — are you still adjusting now?” SR: “There’s always growth. That’s what the culture brings in. … You’re changing every day, you’re growing every day. That’s what the culture is. I’m still growing right now. Coach has

done that to me.” Q: “Is there anything that he said, that you just kinda like, ‘Did he really say that?’ ” SR: “I can’t remember anything like that.” Q: “What’s the funniest thing he’s said?” SR: “I’m not sure. He has a lot of phrases. It’s like his own dictionary. It’s crazy. I wouldn’t even say that they’re funny. They all make sense and they all back up. It’s very motivational.” TMD: “Do you find those phrases working themselves into your daily conversations now?” SR: “Yeah. I will actually say the ‘elite’ thing threw me off. People ask me, ‘How are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘I’m good.’ Just a normal answer. But he was like, ‘But what’s wrong?’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about? I just said I’m good.’ He’s like, ‘No, no, you didn’t say you’re elite.’

FILE PHOTO/Daily

First-year coach P.J. Fleck will face the Wolverines for the first time in his Minnesota career Saturday night, hoping to reclaim the Little Brown Jug for the Golden Gophers.

So it’s like, obviously have to get used to those kind of things, but there’s definitely a difference, and that’s what the culture has brought in.” Q: “Given what transpired at the end of last season with the controversy and everything like that, did it almost feel like you guys had to go in a completely different direction with a different type of personality?” SR: “Before I say anything, I want to say that I respect the coaches that I had. But I think it was necessary that we had to have the change. We’re learning things outside of just football. We’re learning socially. We’re learning how to treat women. … Like treat them as if they’re a queen. We’re talking about changing a narrative and not just having a stereotypical studentathlete picture on how football players treat women. We’re changing the narrative to just becoming better men overall.” TMD: “You guys played Michigan in 2015. It was Harbaugh’s first year. Do you have any impression of Harbaugh as a coach?” SR: “I think he’s a good coach. He’s a very tough coach to play against. That was a very emotional week because that’s when Coach Kill stepped down. Even though that was a really tough week and we still lost, that was still a really fun game. It was all the way down to the very last play. Going back to your question, he’s a really good coach. I respect him.” TMD: “His antics are in the news often. Does that draw any similarities to Coach Fleck?” SR: “I actually never thought about that connection, but yeah, I can definitely see it. How they’re just out there and very energetic coaches.” TMD: “The way the game ended in 2015, does that provide any extra motivation when you guys play them this year?” SR: “No, that’s just in the past. We’re going to play them like it’s any other game. We’re going to play them hard, like Coach talks about, changing our best. We’re going to play Buffalo the first game and that’s all we’re focused on.”

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

Karan Higdon’s Sarasota success story Michigan’s running back saw one way out of Florida. With the help of his mother, he took it and ran. TED JANES

Daily Sports Writer

When Sarasota, a town in southwestern Florida, was rated America’s meanest city in 2006, Karan Higdon was just a nine-year-old kid who wore size nine-and-a-half shoes. He was a big kid, no doubt, who went to the Boys and Girls Club most days after school and sometimes met his friends for kickball outside in the neighborhood. He played Pee Wee football for the Port Charlotte Bandits, and even back then he was running over every tackler in his path. Todd Johnson, though, spent that year with the Chicago Bears. Then in his late 20s, the professional defensive back was in his fourth season in the National Football League since getting drafted out of the University of Florida. After games, Johnson would pick up leftover football gloves and shoes from the Bears’ locker room to send back to Sarasota’s Riverview High School, his alma mater. It was also the year Karan’s mother, Samantha Christian, decided the family should move out of Newtown. On the outskirts of Sarasota’s inner city, Newtown was a tight-knit community where everyone knew everyone, but it was also an area where you didn’t want to make a wrong turn. Higdon, Johnson and Christian are just three characters in a bigger story of how one boy from Florida did what so many others couldn’t — get out. Higdon’s story is one of motivation, hard work and commitment. It’s a story about someone who made the right choices when others didn’t and stuck by them against adversity. It’s a story

about a protagonist and a supporting cast that never left each other’s side. This story begins in Sarasota. *** Karan Higdon almost quit football when he was five years old. It was too hot, and they had him running laps. After one day of flag football with the Sarasota Redskins, the kindergartner decided it was enough. One of the other boys’ fathers was the team’s coach, so that boy got to play running back. That’s how youth football teams usually worked — the coach’s son got to play a position that always got the ball, and if the coach had a nephew as well, then that kid might get a few runs. The other kids, though, were usually just thrown in wherever. For Karan, that position was center. Eventually, after Karan’s mother told him to “suck it up” and go play, one of the coaches noticed how fast he could run. So in the next game, Karan played running back, they handed him the ball and it was all go from there. Karan was still young, but realized that running out in the Florida heat wasn’t so bad when he had the ball in his hands. He also realized that people were invested in him, and nobody more so than his mother. Christian wanted to be Karan’s biggest fan and be just as involved in his life as her parents were for her, especially her mother. Christian’s mother never skipped her daughter’s sporting events, award ceremonies or parentteacher conferences. She made sure her daughter had whatever resources she needed to succeed. “To see my mother sitting in the stands as I’m playing

basketball or see her in the stands as I’m running the 100yard dash, it meant everything to me,” Christian said. “I didn’t care if nobody else was there to support me. I wanted my mother there.” So when Christian became a mother to three boys, she approached parenthood the very same way: staying as involved as possible in her kids’ upbringing. Growing up, Christian pushed Karan to be very active. She described him as bubbly, happy and always smiling. When he wasn’t in class, he was playing sports. He’d meet up with other friends in the neighborhood to play touch football, because that’s what most of the kids in Sarasota would do. Christian had also grown up in Sarasota, though, and she knew all too well how easy it was for boys like Karan to

get distracted. Newtown’s neighboring areas were fairly impoverished, and homelessness was a major problem for the city. On certain streets, Christian always saw kids getting caught up by older guys. There were fights and drugs, and Christian knew how malleable a young boy growing up there would be seeing people flaunting around money with shiny jewelry and the newest pairs of shoes. She didn’t want Karan seeing police officers handcuffing drug dealers or attending a school where he’d hear about “so-and-so’s parents getting busted” and going to jail. She didn’t want Karan to get the idea that stealing or selling drugs was a productive way to go through life. “I didn’t want Karan to

get hypnotized with the fascination of that illusion of what a man is supposed to be,” Christian said. She’d grown up in the city and seen it all herself. So when Karan was nine, Christian moved the family out of the inner city to North Port, a neighborhood much further south of the county. She wanted to make sure that Karan didn’t become like some of the people she had seen in Newtown, because as he moved up into middle school, she was starting to realize how significant football could really be for him. *** When Karan was playing Pop Warner football at the age of 12, his nickname was “Nightmare.” “This kid was literally a nightmare on the football field on offense and defense,”

Christian said about her son. “He was just unbelievable. He used to carry his team on his shoulders. They would run Karan so much, that I was like, ‘Hey coach, don’t you think you need to give the ball to somebody else? You’re running him so much!’ But Karan was able to carry that load. He would average at least four touchdowns a game.” Karan, too, started to realize how good he was. “I was pretty big as a kid, compared to other kids, so I would just run through a lot of people,” he said. High school coaches started paying attention, too. It became clear that wherever Karan went for school, he would go straight to varsity. Riverview High School was always the likely candidate to land Karan. Christian had gone to Riverview herself, and

I didn’t want Karan to get hypnotized with the fascination of that illusion of what a man is supposed to be.

FootballSaturday, November 4, 2017

COURTESY OF SAMANTHA CHRISTIAN

Junior running back Karan Higdon poses with his mother, Samantha, after rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns against Indiana this year.

COURTESY OF SAMANTHA CHRISTIAN

Higdon played high school football at Riverview High School.

Christian’s nephew, D.J., had played football there, so she and Karan often went to see his games. Karan was just 13 years old when Riverview coach John Sprague approached him and Christian to talk about his future. Sprague had followed Karan through Pop Warner, and wanted him to come join the Rams. “Send him to Riverview, Sam,” Sprague had said. “We’ll take good care of him.” Riverview always had a great football program, and its coaches knew how to get their players ready for the next level. They helped players put together film for recruiting and did everything in their power to get players recognized by colleges. Karan was the kind of running back Riverview needed, and Riverview was the kind of school where he could thrive. The coaches there, as Christian learned, cared more about their players than just their football talent.

“Everyone in the community knew, if you wanted your child to get a football scholarship, you need to send your child to Riverview High School,” Christian said. Despite being pursued by almost every school in the area, Karan enrolled at Riverview. The other schools didn’t stand a chance. They didn’t know Karan. They just knew him as a football player, and that’s all they cared about. Manatee High School, which won the 2011 State Championship, heavily recruited him. It seemed like all the aspiring football players wanted to go to Manatee, and Karan had the offer waiting. But he wasn’t interested, according to his mother, because what Manatee cared about most was putting another kid on a roster to try and win a championship. Karan’s academic and career goals couldn’t take a back seat. His dreams of being an orthopedic surgeon would

get blanketed by all the pressure to put football first. That wasn’t what Karan wanted — Karan wanted to prioritize his education. At Riverview, Karan and Christian knew they had that opportunity. Even when Sprague retired from his longtime head-coaching job, where he had been for three decades, the plans never changed. Sprague stepped down in March of Karan’s eighth grade year. He wouldn’t be on the sideline to coach Karan through high school, like he had done successfully for so many players, but Christian knew their decision was still the right one. Sprague’s replacement, after all, wanted the same thing for Karan as she did. *** Over that span, as Karan moved through middle school, Todd Johnson was finishing up his NFL career. After his fourth season with the Bears, he signed a four-year contract with the St. Louis Rams. He had 29 tackles in 2007, and 23 the next season as a backup safety. The Rams waived him from the roster in 2009 and, after a short stint in Buffalo, he returned home permanently to Sarasota. Moving back meant Johnson would be much closer to Riverview High School, where he graduated from in 1998. As a kid, he dreamed of playing for the Riverview Rams, so when he went away to college and the NFL, he always made sure to come back to his roots. He’d work out with Riverview players in his offseasons and stayed connected with his former coach, Sprague, who had been with the school since 1981. Unfortunately, Johnson saw the same challenges that Samantha Christian had seen. He noticed them before he left Sarasota. He noticed them when he came back. “I saw a ton of kids that were talented and gifted that could go on and do great things but didn’t make good decisions, made poor choices and therefore lost out on moving on,” Johnson said. Whether it was falling behind in grades or getting

in trouble with the law, it seemed that every year another great football player could do everything on the field, but did something wrong off it. So when the opportunity opened up to get more involved at Riverview, Johnson threw his hat in the ring. And in April of 2011, Riverview named Johnson its new head coach. Johnson’s NFL career hadn’t been over for even two years before he was right back in the mix at the place where it all started for him. In his first press conference, he spoke about how important it was to mentor every individual, giving them the positive environment they needed to be successful. He wasn’t taking this job just to win football games on his old stomping ground. He took it for the chance to give back. As the summer went on and Johnson transitioned into his new job, more schools continued pursuing Karan. He was a popular, likeable and soughtafter football player, and the cutthroat Florida high school competition wanted to seize him up. Eventually Johnson approached Karan. Rumors of more schools’ interests had circulated around, and Johnson wanted to check in, so he asked Karan what was

going on. “Coach, I’m a Ram from now until forever,” Higdon told him. “I will never leave here. I started here, and this is where I’m gonna finish. “I told you that I’d be here for four years, and that’s not going to change no matter what.” Nothing waivered for Karan. When other schools wanted to talk, Karan had none of it. He had given his coach his word, and stuck by his decision. So Karan was committed, Pee Wee football was long gone and Pop Warner had passed. He was the star in those leagues, but if Karan wanted to succeed — which he so badly did — he’d have to be the star in high school. “Listen here, son,” Christian once told him. “You are going to have a hundred Karan Higdons in high school. The level of competition, that bar has been raised now. You are really going to have to fight and show what you can do.” Just as she predicted, high school brought about new challenges. Karan hadn’t been big on weightlifting, but in middle school football, that didn’t matter. He was so fast and naturally big that he could bulldoze through everyone he played against. But against bigger and stronger high school players, that wouldn’t be the case.

I will never leave here. I started here, and this is where I’m gonna finish.

His natural talent was enough to put him on varsity, but it was in the weight room where he began to really learn. “There comes a point where you got to grow,” Karan said. “You’ve got to learn how to perfect your craft, and I knew that there was going to come a point in time where some guys I’m going to have to make miss and some guys I’m going to have to run through.” High school was that point for him. Johnson and the rest of Riverview’s staff worked on everything with Karan, and he ate it all up. They taught him how to juke his opponents, how to lift right and how to be more explosive. Sometimes he’d use less weight when he benchpressed, bring the weight down slow, and then explode up. For squats and leg presses, he did the same thing. While other kids were out elsewhere, Karan was in the weight room. When he wasn’t there, he was on the football field. If he wasn’t there, he was studying. He was doing it all, and doing all of it really, really well. By the time his first varsity game came around, Karan, Christian and Johnson all knew that he was ready for this next step. Everybody else quickly found out. In a game between Riverview and Booker High School, the coaches called a run play for him. Karan took the ball and darted forward before lowering his shoulder to truck through Booker defensive back Ricky Jones Jr. See HIGDON, Page 6

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Karan Higdon has become the Wolverines’ leading rusher this season, racking up 604 yards on the ground.

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com

HIGDON From Page 5 Jones, a senior All-American who went on to play as a wide receiver at Indiana, was knocked f lat onto his back. He was one of the area’s top recruits, and Karan — a freshman — ran him straight over, and everybody had seen it. It was in that moment that everybody knew this freshman belonged on varsity. Karan’s upward trend only continued. He carried a 4.0 GPA in high school and dominated on the football field. With Johnson’s guidance and his mother’s support, he was thriving at Riverview. One of his teammates, though, couldn’t say the same. “There’s always one kid in the bunch,” Christian recounted. This one kid was a wide receiver on Karan’s team, and as Christian said, “probably could’ve gone anywhere in the country to play football.” Too many people got caught up wondering where he’d play Division I or what NFL team he’d get drafted to, and nobody paid attention to what was really going on. Come time for graduation, the receiver’s grades had tanked and his SAT scores weren’t sufficient. He had to attend community college in an effort to boost his grades, but that year passed him by, and eventually his motivation waned. “It went from, ‘I can go to any school in the United States and play Division I football’ to ‘Now I go to a community college for remediation. You know, forget school, I’ll never see myself on the football field again. I just want to be a rapper,’ ” Christian remembered about Karan’s teammate. It was an unfortunate trend, and one Christian had seen time and time again. Parents got too focused on getting kids to the next level that they didn’t recognize when a child struggled to barely make minimum grades. “It’s sad,” Christian said. “It’s very sad to see that happen to some of these children. They get lost in the system.”

But Karan wasn’t one of them. In a system that could’ve held him down — a system where giving into his environment would’ve been such an easy choice — Karan kept moving up. “It was very apparent that Karan wasn’t going to let anything get in the way,” Johnson said. That’s because Karan just kept plugging away. He kept being friendly to people, making good choices and living the life his mother was dead set on creating for him. He became the ambassador for a football program that had given so much for its community. And after high school, Karan came to Michigan. Three years later, now, he still thinks about all those people when he runs for 100 and 200-yard games for the Wolverines. He plays for his family, his former coaches and Riverview teammates, all of the people that haven’t made it out of the system and all the kids back in Sarasota who someday hope to be just like him. “I’m running for more than just myself,” Karan says. “It’s more than just me when I play this game.” He rushes head on at tacklers because he has a legacy to carry. He goes back to Sarasota and hosts football camps, because he wants to see those kids have the opportunity to succeed. Karan runs so hard, because if he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be where he is today — a junior at Michigan, and the Wolverines’ leading running back. And Karan does it all for his mom, because if she hadn’t believed in him, he might not have either. If not for football and the support he found at Riverview, Karan might have been no different than those people his mom pushed him so hard to surpass. “In Florida, it’s the way out,” he said. “I just take that each and every time I take the field,” he said. He runs harder than everyone else because he has bigger goals and bigger dreams. Karan Higdon wants to write his own story, and so every play, he runs a little bit harder, because his story isn’t over yet.

It’s very sad to see that happen to some of these children.

FootballSaturday, November 4, 2017

What to Watch For: Minnesota KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

Here we go again. For the second time this season, the Wolverines will be hosting a night game at Michigan Stadium with a trophy on the line. The last time, as you know, didn’t go so well for Michigan. Amidst a torrential downpour, fifth-year senior quarterback John O’Korn threw three interceptions en route to Michigan State’s upset over the Wolverines. Then again, a lot has changed since then. Michigan appears to have a new quarterback in Brandon Peters. The offensive line issues that plagued the Wolverines against the Spartans appear, at least in part, to have been solved, and Michigan’s backfield has reaped the benefits — coming off a performance against Rutgers that featured two 100-yard rushers in Ty Isaac and Karan Higdon. Minnesota, in its own right, boasts a threatening run attack with a mobile quarterback to go with it. The Golden Gophers have pieces in place to threaten to reclaim the Little Brown Jug, and did I mention there’s an 80-percent chance of rain? Here’s what to watch for when Michigan faces Minnesota and its first-year head coach P.J. Fleck: 1. Is this officially Brandon Peters’ job? The redshirt freshman

quarterback finally saw legitimate playing time against Rutgers, replacing O’Korn midway through the second quarter. He didn’t fail to impress, finishing with 10 completions on 14 attempts for 124 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Jim Harbaugh acknowledged that Peters likely exceeded everyone’s expectations — including his own. He went on to say he was optimistic about his new man under center, even seemingly suggesting that this is now Peters’ job to lose. “Right now, I feel really good about the way that (Peters) played,” Harbaugh said, “and feel good about him taking the next step and being the starting quarterback and having a great week of now knowing he’s the starting quarterback in practice.” On Monday, however, Harbaugh seemed to pump the breaks a bit, saying he would not name a starter and that the Wolverines would prepare both Peters and O’Korn. But he did state that it was “likely” Peters would receive his first starting nod — placing his chances at “51 percent”. If one thing is definitive though, it’s that Peters will play. Harbaugh made that much clear. It’s just a question of if he gets his first college start under the lights against Minnesota. 2. Can Minnesota’s run game best Michigan’s

For in-game updates

Follow @Kevin_M_Santo, @tedjanes7, @orion_sang and @betelhem_ashame on Twitter during Saturday’s game. defense? The Wolverines love to bring the pressure, to say the least. The only problem is that the Golden Gophers may be able to counteract it. “They’re gonna run the rock,” said defensive coordinator Don Brown. “Their mantra you can tell is big, strong — I think the best offensive line we’ve played to this point in terms of run blocking. They’ve got multiple running backs that can carry the load. We’ve gotta do a great job in controlling the run game, and then obviously doing a good job on third down from our standpoint.” In large part, as Brown alluded to, that production rests on the trio of Rodney Smith, Shannon Brooks and Kobe McCrary. Brooks and McCrary boast five touchdowns each, while Smith appears to be the workhorse back — turning 153 carries into an average of 78.4 yards per game. Minnesota averages 4.1 yards per carry on the ground and boasts 13 rushing touchdowns, and it’s the first Big Ten team Michigan has encountered with with a top-50 rush offense. See WATCH FOR, Page 7

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brandon Peters could notch his first collegiate start against Minnesota this Saturday.

WATCH FOR From Page 6 All in all, Brown isn’t speaking in hyperbole. The Wolverines have a test waiting for them Saturday. Only time will tell if the defensive unit is capable of passing that test. 3. Can Ambry Thomas take a kick to the house? Michigan’s freshman defensive back debuted as the Wolverines’ kick returner against Purdue. He admitted that the responsibility was intimidating at first, but has since embraced the role. Entering the matchup with Minnesota, Thomas is now averaging just over 25 yards per return. Equipped with speed that Thomas himself says can stack up with the best in the nation, he has f lashed an ability to make big plays on special teams. Last Saturday is the perfect example. After bobbling a kickoff against Rutgers, Thomas took off — weaving his way downfield before being tripped up from behind near the 37-yard

line with open space in front of him. He subsequently drew a delay of game for spiking the ball — something he jokingly justified by saying that he was one man away from breaking loose to the end zone for the third straight week. At the end of the day, Thomas hasn’t had a highlight reel return, at least not yet. Special teams coordinator Chris Partridge said last week that the Wolverines are close. Thomas echoed that sentiment this week. But the missed opportunities still linger in his mind. “Everyday, literally, I picture it,” he said Tuesday. “It’s gonna happen real soon, hopefully a big game.” And with the Wolverines playing their second game under the lights, Thomas may get the big-game return he’s been imagining. 4. Will Minnesota implement the direct snap? If there has been one consistent issue plaguing this Michigan defense, it’s directsnap plays. Then-No. 2 Penn State went

to it early and often in State College. On the second play of the game, Saquon Barkley took a direct snap 69 yards to the end zone. A week later, Rutgers wide receiver Janarion Grant went to the formation again, making Michigan pay with a 65-yard touchdown run of his own. With a trio of backs all with a pension for the big play, Minnesota could try to expose the Wolverines again. And if the Golden Gophers’ backfield doesn’t do it, quarterback Demry Croft might. Minnesota hasn’t shied away from letting Croft run the ball, as the redshirt sophomore boasts 36 carries for 196 yards — highlighted by a 64-yard touchdown run against Oregon State. Brown will surely be preparing Michigan’s defense for the formation, as he said Grant’s touchdown was the one play that “irks the hell” out him. But until the Wolverines prove capable of stopping it, every team they face will be tempted to replicate the success on the direct snap.

Breakdown: ‘M’ has a slight edge BETELHEM ASHAME Managing Sports Editor

For just the fifth time in program history, the Michigan football team will be playing a night game in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines didn’t have to wait very long since the last one. A month ago, Michigan lost a sloppy tilt with nowNo. 24 Michigan State amid a torrential downpour, and had to watch the Spartans walk off its field with the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Saturday night, there will be another trophy on the line. Michigan (3-2 Big Ten, 6-2 overall) will be facing off against Minnesota (1-4, 4-4) for the Little Brown Jug, which the Wolverines claimed after beating the Golden Gophers two years ago thanks to a goal-line stand with seconds remaining on the clock in Minneapolis.

Here’s how Michigan matches up with Minnesota on Saturday night. Michigan pass offense vs Minnesota pass defense Whether coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff choose to admit it publicly or not, Brandon Peters will be the leader under center for the foreseeable future. The redshirt freshman quarterback took full advantage of his first taste of meaningful game action last week, putting a 10-for14, 124-yard, one-touchdown performance on his resume. While he didn’t light up Rutgers, Peters settled into the groove of the offense and did what the Wolverines needed him to do to turn the game around. From his quiet confidence to his poise in the pocket, Peters impressed his teammates and coaches See BREAKDOWN, Page 8

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters will have to prove himself again in Saturday’s game against Minnesota in order to determine whether or not he will become the starter for the forseeable future.

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BREAKDOWN From Page 7

Minnesota at Michigan Matchup: Minnesota 1-4 Big Ten, 4-4 overall; Michigan 3-2, 6-2 When: Saturday 7:30 P.M. Where: Michigan Stadium TV/Radio: FOX as well as the Michigan faithful. He may have jumpstarted the Wolverines’ struggling offense last Saturday, but he needs to show that he can have that much of an impact on a regular basis. Peters will have his work cut out for him in a matchup against the Golden Gophers’ 20th-ranked defense. In eight games, Minnesota has given up just eight touchdowns through the air. It has also allowed an average of 114 passing yards per game, which is 10 less than Peters gained last Saturday. While Peters has yet to throw an interception, the Golden Gophers have forced eight and returned them for 98 yards. Peters is bound to face some bumps in the road eventually. They might come sooner than expected Saturday night. Edge: Minnesota Michigan run offense vs Minnesota run defense It’s not every day that a ground game gains 334 yards. But last Saturday was no ordinary day for the Wolverines’ running back rotation. Junior Karan Higdon and fifth-year senior Ty Isaac both eclipsed 100 yards rushing, and Higdon teamed up with redshirt freshman Kareem Walker to score three touchdowns. As far as Michigan is concerned, it was no f luke. After starting the season with concerning f laws, the offensive line has been on the mend according to fifth-year senior Patrick Kugler. With a mentality to open up holes for

The Wolverines will face a tough task against Minnesota the Wolverines’ talented backs, Kugler and his unit have worked to resolve the little mistakes that plagued them for much of the year. Regardless, Minnesota will provide a more challenging test than they have faced. The Golden Gophers’ trio of linebackers, Thomas Barber, Jonathan Celestin, and Carter Coughlin, have the ability to wreak havoc in stopping the run. Barber leads the team with 75 tackles, Coughlin leads with 8.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks, and Celestin has both an interception return and fumble recovery. The running backs and offensive line had their best outing against Rutgers, and that momentum should be enough to push them past Minnesota’s tough front. Edge: Michigan Minnesota pass offense vs Michigan pass defense More often than not, operating an offense with two different quarterbacks is a recipe for disaster. Despite relatively solid numbers from Minnesota’s Conor Rhoda and Demry Croft, the Golden Gophers are no exception.

Minnesota has one of the worst offenses in the nation, ranking 110th nationally in total offense. Rhoda and Croft have combined for 1,251 yards and just nine touchdowns in eight games played. They should be grateful to have a target like receiver Tyler Johnson, who has caught 31 passes for 591 yards and seven of those scores. Michigan, on the other hand, has one of the best pass defenses in the country. Ranked as the fifth-best unit in passing efficiency, the Wolverines’ secondary has held opponents to just six total scores this season. While their individual statistics might not stand out as much, the chemistry of the back four has been a strength for Michigan. Whichever quarterback takes the field will have a hard time breaking through the defense in the air. Edge: Michigan Minnesota run offense vs Michigan run defense As is the case with the Wolverines, Minnesota’s run game is the dominant offensive unit. And it has a trio of backs of its own in Rodney Smith, Shannon Brooks and Kobe McCrary.

The three have combined for 12 touchdowns, with Brooks and McCrary coming up with five each. Smith is the lead back, though, as he has received the vast majority of carries with 153. Together, they have helped the Golden Gophers rank in the top50 nationally with an average of 182 yards per game. Despite Minnesota’s strength in this area, Michigan has a strength of its own, too. The Wolverines’ defensive line has only improved as the season has progressed, with the combination of fifth-year senior tackle Maurice Hurst and sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary continually causing fits for opposing offenses. As good as Michigan’s front four is, it may not be able to contain Minnesota’s running back trio, though. Edge: Minnesota Special teams It hasn’t been the best of times for redshirt freshman kicker Quinn Nordin. After missing a PAT against Penn State amid rousing boos for the one-time Nittany Lion commit, Nordin missed another kick against Rutgers — this time, a 37-yard field goal. He

is still 14-for-17 on the year, which is good for an 80-percent completion rate, but his recent string of games hasn’t been the most encouraging. Nordin will be up against a kicker with a comparable record in Golden Gopher Emmit Carpenter, who is 11-for-15 — a 73.3 completion percentage. In a game that could turn out to be closer than expected, one of these two kickers might play a role in the decision. Edge: Push Intangibles While it may not have been long since Michigan’s last home night game, it has been a long time since the Wolverines played host to Minnesota. They won’t want to remember it. In the midst of Michigan’s catastrophic 5-7 season back in 2014, the Golden Gophers came away with a 30-14 victory. That was all before Harbaugh took over the program. Under his watch, the Wolverines brought the Little Brown Jug back to Ann Arbor in 2015. They won’t want to give up another trophy. Edge: Michigan Prediction: Michigan 21, Minnesota 17

EVAN AARON/Daily

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and his team are eager to keep the Little Brown Jug in Ann Arbor on Saturday night after taking it back from Minnesota two years ago.

FootballSaturday, November 4, 2017