ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | N OV E M B E R 2 9, 2017
ADMINISTRATION
Schlissel talks Board of Regents, #UMDivest
Emphasizes top priority, physical safety of community, Ann Arbor in interview AYUSH THAKAR/DAILY Students on the Diag gather to protest the University’s consideration of hosting Richard Spencer Tuesday.
Campus organizers unite to block Richard Spencer speaking request
Left-leaning student organizations form #StopSpencer, launch ‘Week of Action’ ELIZABETH LAWRENCE & LEAH GRAHAM Daily Staff Reporter & For The Daily
Handmade posters littered the f loor of the Lecturers’ Employee Organization office on East Liberty Street while a half-open laptop played
music on Monday night. On the whiteboard, someone had written several guiding slogans in blue Expo marker; “Hail Not Heil” and “#SchlisselW YA” provided go-to options should inspiration otherwise fail. Stop Spencer at the University of Michigan, a coalition of student organizations protesting the University’s decision to
proceed with negotiations with Richard Spencer, began their Week of Action with a signmaking party. It was a calm start to what has been a week packed with teach-ins, student walkouts and rallies, all aiming to dissuade the University from giving Spencer, a white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer, a
platform to speak. Nearly a dozen left-leaning groups on campus have banded together to organize in opposition to Spencer’s request, from radfun and the University’s chapter of College Democrats to the Lecturers’ Employee Organization. Lauren Schandevel, See #STOPSPENCER, Page 3A
ANDREW HIYAMA & KAELA THEUT Daily Staff Reporters
The Michigan Daily sat down for an interview with University President Mark Schlissel to address several current issues on campus, including a potential visit from Richard Spencer, Central Student Government’s vote for #UMDivest and more. The Michigan Daily: Starting with Richard Spencer — in the Regent’s Meeting called last week, safety seemed like a big topic of discussion, that’s your top priority that you’re stating in your negotiations and that was a major concern for students. So, in
Sit in, teach-out attempt to educate CSG talks resolution, students on controversial speaker
the negotiation process, how are you defining safety? Obviously there are many components, physical, mental and emotional, but how do you work through that? University President Mark Schlissel: I think the most unambiguous one is the physical safety of our community, and not just our students but the people that will come here, or may come here, to protest for or against and the safety of the speaker, the physical safety of the speaker and then of Ann Arbor. You know, the town and the University are intimately linked and we want to be sure as we move forward, if we do move forward, that we’re taking everyone’s physical safety See SCHLISSEL, Page 2A
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
prospect of Spencer
Deans urge professors not to strike Thursday
BAMN also calls on the assembly to condemn white nationalist’s visit HAYLEY MCLAUGHLIN For the Daily
The Central Student Government meeting Tuesday night revisited the recent passing of #UMDivest and the prospect of white supremacist Richard Spencer speaking on the University of Michigan’s campus. Post #UMDivest debate The meeting began with a guest presentation from history professor Victor Lieberman, who had not been allowed to speak at the divestment resolution vote after objections arose from CSG representatives. These objections stemmed from a concern that Lieberman, who has taught on the Arab-Israeli conflict, would cause a power imbalance during the vote by expressing his anti-divestment views. While speaking to the assembly, Lieberman took a historical approach to examining the ArabIsraeli conflict, citing examples of human rights violations by other countries, which he believes to be greater than the alleged violations by Israel. “Because there’s a growing American political lobby against See CSG, Page 3A
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Law student explains University could face legal ramifications if Spencer is denied AMARA SHAIKH & REMI MURREY Daily Staff Reporters
On Tuesday evening, a crowd of about 100 students, faculty and community members joined together in the Diag for the #StopSpencer Speak Out with one common message: Richard Spencer is not welcome at the University of Michigan. The Speak Out was one of the 11 #StopSpencer Week of Action events taking place to protest the University’s decision to cooperate with Spencer — an American white supremacist — and his team’s request to speak on campus. The event was organized by a coalition of student groups including Stop Spencer at the University of Michigan, Students4Justice and more. The goal of the Speak Out was to offer individuals who feel they have been ignored by the administration a platform to voice their concerns. Many speakers and audience members at the event expressed their frustration with the University’s willingness to put the safety and comfort of minority students at risk in order to work with Spencer’s request. One of these individuals was LSA junior Alex Chow, who explained by choosing not to deny Spencer’s request,
the University was leaving students of color to fend for themselves. “The University and its administration has made it clear that they’re not going to protect us so we have to protect ourselves,” Chow said. “The burden is now put on people of color, LGBT people, Muslim people and Jewish people. All of us have to protect ourselves because
they refuse to say ‘no.’” Chow also felt the issue involving Spencer was not one of free speech, but instead one involving hate speech. “They’re claiming that they can’t say no to him because there is a risk of litigation, but they’ve said no to speakers in the past,” Chow said. “They have a world-renowned law school, but I don’t think that’s what the main issue is. The
issue is that someone wants to come here and tell us that we shouldn’t exist, and that we should be killed, and that our lives aren’t important.” Calls for continued action against Spencer were heard at the Speak Out, whether it be student laborers refusing to work for the Spencer event or students continuing to show up at events in protest. See SIT IN, Page 3A
SARAH KUNKEL/Daily
LSA Professor Amanda Armstrong presents at the #StopSpencer Week of Action Teach In in Rackham Tuesday.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 38 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
Email announces LSA, Education classes will not be cancelled for protest KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
LSA Dean Andrew Martin and Elizabeth Birr Moje, dean of the School of Education, announced in separate emails that LSA and Education classes would not be canceled in response to ongoing student protests this week as part of the #StopSpencer campaign. The “#StopSpencer Week of Action” is holding events on campus to protest the University of Michigan’s decision to consider allowing white supremacist Richard Spencer’s request to speak on campus. Students4Justice and other student organizations called upon faculty and administration in an open letter to waive classes on Thursday for the student strike against Spencer, in which students plan to strike all classes Thursday. There are also plans for a walk-out Wednesday morning morning, at which time students are gathering to protest in the Diag. See STRIKE, Page 3A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................5
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS...................7
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2A — Wednesday, November 29, 2017
SCHLISSEL From Page 1A into account. TMD: What kinds of things are you going to specifically, in the negotiations, what kinds of things do you think could contribute to making a more or less safe environment? Schlissel: What the law allows us to consider is the time and the place and the manner of speaking. So for example, it would be very easy for us to say no if Mr. Spencer insisted on speaking on the Diag at 11 in the morning on a class day with a bullhorn. Right? Because he would disrupt everyone’s class. So, using that as an example, what we would look for is a time of the day and time of the year and a location that our professional security people tell us is the safest possible way to do this. It would be silly to discuss these things in public and these are things that we want to discuss with Mr. Spencer’s representatives to figure out whether we can do something that’s safe.
TMD: So then in the negotiations going forward, which voices will you consider? Are there any faculty or student organization voices which will take precedence over one another? Furthermore, is there an expected timeline for
how long these deliberations may take? Schlissel: I don’t know, I don’t want to prejudice them. I want to make clear again, I have no particular interest in hearing this person speak and I have no
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
particular interest in having this person come to the University of Michigan. The idea is that he’s made a request to rent a room, and
ang @angalevu
See CONTINUED, Page 2A
STUDE NT GOVE RNME NT, FACULT Y INPUT
When u and ur friends from umich have the same spring break, litttt!!!!!!
Bryce Pickett @brycestopher21 crazy that i would die to have this one person at umich, however he has no clue JOHN YAEGER/Daily LSA Professor Victor Lieberman addresses the CSG assembly in the Union Tuesday.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Fair Lane Music Guild
WHAT: Mswing, a student organization of “people who just like to dance” is hosting an open dance session. They will be teaching hustle, aerials, and flips. Beginners are welcome. WHO: Mswing WHEN: 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Michigan League, Kessler Room
WHAT: The Fair Lane Music Guild will be presenting an evening of holiday music. Vanguard Chorale’s 24 singers will sing various English carols. WHO: Fair Lane Music Guild WHEN: 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. WHERE: University of MichiganDearborn, 4901 Evergreen Rd. - Pool Room
Gender: New Works, New Questions Panel
Let’s Talk About It: Mental Health in America
Contemporary London Info Session
WHAT: Petra Kuppers, as well as a panel of other U-M faculty, will examine PearlStitch, her recently published collection of poetry. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: 3:10 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. WHERE: Lane Hall - Room 2239
The Origins of Japanese Studies at Michigan
WHAT: Joannah Teske of Carnegie Observatories will discuss stigmas and research into mental health in academia. WHO: Michigan Institute for Research in Astrophysics WHEN: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. WHERE: West Hall - Room 340
WHAT: Intercultural Program Advisor Nyanatee Bailey will host an info session on this spring study abroad program with two U-M faculty and other students. WHO: Center for Global and Intercultural Study WHEN: 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. WHERE: Weiser Hall - Suite 255
WHAT: This day-long conference will examine the history of the Center and its founding in 1947. WHO: Center for Japanese Studies WHEN: 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. WHERE: Rackham - East Conference Room
we’re obligated to consider that request without consideration of what he wants to talk about so with that in mind, as I’ve said publicly, we’re certainly allowed to put restrictions on the time, place and manner of speech to maintain the safety of our community and to minimize the disruption to our mission, and that’s what we’ll try to do. You could think of ways we might do this, but I’m not going to describe in a newspaper article how the University is going to try to negotiate the safest possible way to do this, because that would be against our interest in doing it the safest possible way. If we do arrive at a way to move forward, we would certainly give our community plenty of notice, we would discuss with the community all of our best advice about how people can maintain their own personal safety, we would discuss ways to protest and to express yourselves if that’s what
you want to do. We’ve promised to work with student groups and other groups on campus for alternative programming and if people want things in different places so they can be together with one another, rather than sitting around wondering what’s going on with this crazy person on a different part of our campus, so we’ll do all of those things but there’s not really much we can do until (we know) whether it would be possible to do this safely and when and where it would be, and we don’t know those things yet. You know, one thing I’m really concerned about and presuming you were going to ask me about this, is students are protesting this decision to determine whether we can move forward in a safe fashion, and some people have called for a boycott of classes, and one thing I’m very worried about is by expressing the way we feel about this person, we may be inadvertently playing into his hands and giving him material he can use for fundraising and giving him the sense of power that none of us think he deserves, I certainly don’t think he deserves. So I have
Cheeto Fried Chicken at North Quad WHAT: Wednesday night is “chef’s choice dinner”, and Chef Brandon has chosen his favorite Cheeto fried chicken. Meal plan/blue bucks/individual purchase required. WHO: Michigan Dining WHEN: 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. WHERE: North Quad
this picture of this person sitting in a room somewhere laughing at us. Laughing at us because his asking to rent a room and come and say words are enough to have people decide they don’t want to go to class on Thursday, and I fear that we’re giving this man too much power over us. TMD: Can you tell us who, besides you and Richard Spencer and his team, will be directly involved in those sort of negotiations? Schlissel: I don’t want to discuss the details — it will be people that are trusted to understand the legal issues that are involved and the public safety issues involved. TMD: And, as far as alternative events offered to students, is there anything in place yet? Or in the works? Schlissel: No because we don’t know if or when he’s coming. What I can imagine is a series of events developed in collaboration with students and faculty for the same day he’s here if he does come here and then perhaps a moderate time thereafter of days or a week or two weeks after, a major event expressing different points of view that we might want to sponsor that more express our values. That remains abstract until we know whether he’s coming. Students have already been sending me suggestions for who they might like to see and here to express alternate viewpoints which is what we should be doing. TMD: Before we shift topics, back to the resources you touched on — the student strike on Thursday, I think the idea behind that from protesters is that this kind of organizing and resistance takes a lot of time and effort, that maybe distracts from — Schlissel: From their studies, and what they’re trying to accomplish as students.
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lo. @_lurenalyssa Had an amazing time listening to the words of @ repjohnlewis tonight in Hill Auditorium. I am inspired to get into some “good and necessary trouble” in my next few years at umich
Marching Forward: A Research and Scholarship Symposium
Open Swing
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WHAT: This symposium, open to the public, intends to explore civil rights issues. WHO: Department of Psychology WHEN: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. WHERE: Weiser Hall - 10th floor
Jordan Doww @JordanDoww 59 surgeries later and my momma is CURED. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the doctors at @UMich for saving my moms life today/the last 5 years.
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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid.
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SIT IN From Page 1A Public Health student Dana Greene was one of the people who took the stage at the Speak Out. Greene reminded the audience that by refusing to be complicit, the power of the University does not lie with the administration, but instead with the student body. “President Schlissel and the Regents don’t run this campus, the students and the faculty and staff do,” Greene said. “So if we take a stand collectively then we can prevent this from happening but if we are complicit and willing to stand by and let it happen, then that’s what we allow to happen.” History lecturer Anne Berg also spoke, pointing out the lack of faculty members present, and called on them to come out and support the efforts of marginalized communities. “I see my students in fear, I see that they’re not just terrified about what’s going to happen to them but they also feel terribly alone,” Berg said. “The leadership is really absent, and the people who are supposed to be experts and guiding the students are not guiding them.” Greene also echoed Berg’s call for the involvement from more members of the University community, and emphasized the need to stand up for one another, even if the issues at hand may not be directly pertinent to everyone. “I want to make a call to people who are here and those who are not, that we can’t be complicit and allow this to happen,” Greene said. “Even if white supremacy don’t affect you, which it should, it affects everybody, but if your identity isn’t directly targeted by that you should still feel compelled to come out because it’s not just about me, it’s not just about you, it’s about everybody.” Moving forward, Berg hopes the University decides to reject Spencer’s request
STRIKE From Page 1A “The most important thing we do as educators is to teach, and for that reason, we do not support calls by students and faculty to cancel classes,” Martin wrote. Martin and Moje both wrote they support the right
CSG From Page 1A Israel, but not against these other countries … that’s why,” he said, rhetorically asking why other countries are not facing a similar resolution. Business junior Lauren Ward, a CSG representative, then questioned the purpose of Lieberman’s visit to the CSG chambers. “Why come back and throw all of these clearly emotionally appealing persuasive arguments in student’s faces when that’s not at all the point of the resolution?” she asked. Lieberman fired back: “You can’t judge international events on the base of your emotions … it requires an intellectual and historical analysis,” Lieberman responded. A group of CSG representatives including LSA junior Ali Rosenblatt and Information senior Elle Shwer then took the podium to speak to their fellow student government members about the lack of respect they felt loomed over the divestment resolution vote two weeks ago. “This assembly emboldened the BDS movement,” Andrew Watkins, a Public Policy senior, said. SAFE previously stated #UMDivest is not associated with the BDS movement. “They did not say a word to denounce the movement, and to me, that silence rings louder than anything else they said,” he said. Watkins also brought up the
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even if it means losing a legal battle. “I hope that they go the legal route, that they deny the request, withdraw from negotiations and let this go to court,” Berg said. “Yes, we may lose, but then there is a record that we fought.” She also explained it was unjust for the University to comply with Spencer, when so many other schools are facing lawsuits for standing up to him. “I don’t think that it’s fair that other institutions have taken that route, and that we are basically throwing them under the bus,” Berg said. “I don’t think this is an issue of free speech, I think this is an issue that is mobilized in ways that are really problematic.” In terms of safety on campus, there was a large consensus that rejecting Spencer’s talk of white supremacy is the most certain way of ensuring that people, especially people of color, on campus will not be harmed. “It doesn’t advance learning, it does not advance education — that doesn’t help anything,” Berg said. “All it does is inspire violence and hatred, and giving that a platform puts people’s lives at stake.” Later Tuesday night, students gathered at Rackham Auditorium for a teach-in on free and hate speech, white supremacy, and anti-fascist organizing. Throughout the event, a group of panelists and students examined the distinction between these components in addition to emphasizing the importance of all students’ safety, especially those from marginalized communities. Assistant history professor Amanda Armstrong from the Michigan Society of Fellows, a speaker at the event, discussed the issue behind increased police enforcement. “The administration has decided the only way they can possibly deny Spencer the platform to speak is if the police department says that it’s not going to be safe,” she said. “I think even if the police decide they are not going to let him on campus,
that sets as a norm this idea of intensifying policing in response to the events and protests on campus.” Armstrong emphasized policing should not be prioritized when dealing with a controversial speaker — it should be the students. “I think the grounds for denying Spencer a platform should have nothing to do with the police,” she said. “We should oppose the police being involved in this because it is making room for fascists, and we should not promote this type of work.” Law student Lakshmi Gopal taught students the legal ramifications the University could have faced for denying Spencer the space to speak. While she was explaining the First Amendment structure to the crowd, Gopal also added she was not defending the administration’s rhetoric. “Richard Spencer chose to rent a space from the University of Michigan. As a result, this puts the University at a completely different space. If there was an invitation to him, then the University of Michigan could have re-sent the invitation,” she explained. “The University of Michigan has to go through a fair process to deny his application.” Gopal added the University had another option. “If the content of his event is in conflict with the fundamental purpose of the University, then the situation would be different,” she said. “The reality is if Richard Spencer comes and speaks here, the University of Michigan would have to protect his ability to speak without disturbance.” LSA junior Chanelle Davis she said she was interested in learning the difference between free speech and hate speech. She said she also wanted to learn from different groups within the social justice realm. “I feel there are so many different views, and with me being a Black student, I sometimes feel like my own community isn’t on the same page,” Davis said. “I believe it is important for me to continue to learn about different things outside of the classroom, and trying to get educated before I can do more in terms of activism personally.”
of students to protest, but encouraged students not to participate in order not to give a platform to Spencer’s ideas. “We urge you not to participate in such a protest, which gives power to the people who spread falsehoods and hate,” Moje wrote. “Instead, we urge you to teach your courses and use them as an opportunity to engage
our students in discussions about free speech, the power of multiple perspectives, how to launch productive protests, and about the right to the opportunity to learn for all people.” Both Martin and Moje also expressed their distaste for Spencer and his white supremacist beliefs, calling them “noxious” and “repugnant.”
swastika in the MLB bathroom the following day. CSG Social Work Rep. Brittney Williams took issue with Lieberman’s appearance, calling his speech “scare-tactics cloaked as intellectual discourse.” “I believe that he was here to attempt to put us back in our place,” she said. “He wanted to be here in person to rub our noses in what he believed to be the wrong decision.” CSG Vice President Nadine Jawad, a Public Policy senior, and her support of #UMDivest during the resolution night were also called into question — one representative said she leveraged her status as vice president, creating a power imbalance. Jawad, however, emphasized she spoke during community concerns and not executive communications. “Are you all clear that I spoke during community concerns as opposed to during executive communications to try and share my narrative (despite) being an executive?” she said. “And though I know that it wasn’t a way to take away what I am as the vice president, it wasn’t my intent to abuse my power. Are you aware that other (executive) members including the president and former vice president of student body vocally supported a stance on the actual politics and not on the resolution?” The resolution has been supported by many student organizations and social justice groups on campus including the School of Social Work Student Union and Black Student Union.
Richard Spencer resolution Members of the coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight For Equality By Any Means Necessary also asked CSG to pass a resolution to condemn white nationalist Richard Spencer’s possible visit to campus. The University administration said they are in talks about providing a space for Spencer, if safety is not compromised. Kate Stenvig, an organizer for BAMN, drew connections both to the violence that unfolded in Charlottesville, Va., in August and to Michigan State University’s decision to not allow him to speak on campus. “There are a lot of campuses that have denied him … and that doesn’t have anything to do with the First Amendment,” she said. “Everywhere Richard Spencer has gone has been accompanied with physical violence.” CSG President Anushka Sarkar, an LSA senior, expressed the need to amend the resolution as it stands. She said the resolution should communicate that it is the threat to physical safety, not the content of Spencer’s speech, that is of concern. “It’s pretty likely that University will go to court regardless,” she said. “If we pass a resolution that says that we reject him speaking here because of the content of his speech, they will use that to win the lawsuit. The resolution should focus on the fact that Spencer and his followers bring about violence.” The resolution will be passed to the Resolutions Committee for further review.
#STOPSPENCER From Page 1A communications director for the University’s chapter of College Democrats, said in the past they have been cautious in attaching their name to certain causes to avoid politicization, “opting instead to show up as allies rather than political affiliates.” “In this instance, however, we believe that Spencer and his movement are enough of a political threat to justify our direct involvement,” Schandevel said. “Our goal — which I think is the main goal of many of the other student groups involved — is to protect marginalized students from violence. Spencer’s presence on university campuses — and frankly anywhere — brings heightened tensions with it. Not to mention if his supporters show up to see him speak, we could be hosting a Nazi rally on campus in the name of free speech. That isn’t a safe environment for anyone, let alone the students targeted by his rhetoric.” In an email to students, University President Mark Schlissel emphasized student safety is his utmost priority, and a deciding factor in whether Spencer’s event will take place. “If we cannot assure a reasonably safe setting for the event, we will not allow it to go forward,” Schlissel wrote. Students4Justice, one of the primary organizers of #StopSpencer, issued a statement responding to Schlissel’s email, claiming it will be impossible for safety to be ensured if Spencer speaks. They cited previous racist incidents on campus and noted the University boasts one of the country’s largest state militias, a KKK base in Howell, 30 minutes away from Ann Arbor, members of which tend to support white supremacy. “There is no ‘safe’ setting possible when white supremacists and neo-Nazis are given permission to come to college campuses,” the statement read. In his email, Schlissel also mentioned the potential legal complications the University could face if they bar Spencer from speaking. Spencer’s lawyer previously threatened to sue the University if they did not reach a decision by Nov. 24; now, however, the University has until Dec. 8 to make a decision. “We are legally prohibited from blocking such requests based solely on the content of that speech, however sickening it is,” Schlissel said. History professor Katherine French doesn’t believe these legal problems are enough grounds for allowing Spencer to speak.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 — 3A “I’d rather that the money we’re going to have to spend on security be spent on actually arguing that this isn’t about education and about free speech, this is about safety,” French said. Spencer has requested to speak at various other universities, including Michigan State University and Ohio State University. “It seems like the rivalry between Michigan and Ohio State should maybe be invoked,” French said. “They’ve turned him down. I’m not fully convinced on President Schlissel’s stand. With one of the top-ranked law schools in the country I’m sure we have faculty who could articulate this point in a court of law.” Amanda Delekta, vice president of the University’s chapter of College Republicans, said while she disagrees with Spencer and the “altright” movement, he should be allowed to speak if student safety can be ensured. “I don’t think anyone wants Spencer to be able to speak on campus, but he has the same First Amendment rights that every other American citizen has,” Delekta said. “If the proper safety procedures and precautions are put into place, I don’t see how the University can justify preventing his speech.” Schandevel agreed student safety was of paramount importance. “It is our biggest priority,” Schandevel said. “That, and making sure Nazis don’t have a platform anywhere.” Students4Justice and other organizers also called on faculty and staff to walk out of classes Wednesday and to cancel classes on Thursday to show support for students “who have been affected by our oppressive campus environment.” French said she plans on walking out of class. “I’m glad the students are protesting,” French said. “I don’t think Spencer belongs on our campus. And I don’t think it’s a free speech issue.” French currently teaches a class titled “The Rise and Fall of the Middle Ages.” She said the “alt-right”’ attempts to “co-opt medieval history” in order to legitimize white supremacy worry her. “I’m pretty concerned about the level of legitimacy that white supremacy is being given,” French said. “I don’t want my class to be construed in any way as supporting that agenda. It’s a wrong reading of medieval history. I’m pretty anxious about what all this means.” Philip Christman, co-chair of the Lectures’ Employee Organization, said he appreciates students are taking action. He especially admires the statement takes note of
the fact not everyone is able to participate in all the events. “They seemed to kind of acknowledge that canceling classes doesn’t really mean the same thing for every teacher,” Christman said. “For a person with tenure or a grad student or a lecturer like me, we might face different kinds of sanctions. They left some room in their statement. They talked about, whether you cancel classes or not, think about how you can offer extra support to your students of color and your Jewish students who are really bearing the brunt of all this.” Christman believes the faculty’s main role should be providing support and educating students on the larger picture behind Spencer speaking. “We have to give context and help our students understand why this is happening,” Christman said. “I think some acknowledgement of the larger context and finding whatever gestures you can make to help your students is important.” In emails sent to LSA and School of Education list servs, Dean Andrew Martin and Elizabeth Birr Moje, dean of the School of Education, informed faculty members classes would not be canceled Thursday in response to Spencer’s visit or the protests. “The most important thing we do as educators is to teach, and for that reason, we do not support calls by students and faculty to cancel classes,” Martin wrote. Associate Dean Angela Dillard said while the group of associate deans who helped write the statement along with Martin don’t agree on how the University should handle Spencer’s visit, they all believe that “this is a time to teach and be in the classroom.” “My personal hope is that my colleagues teaching on Thursday will use this as an opportunity to teach hard and teach well, and that they’ll consider turning over some valuable class time for discussions and debates about democratic engagement, antiracist education and the unique role that college campuses have played in debates about free speech and the right to protest,” Dillard said. The Semester in Detroit Program recently released a statement in support of the Stop Spencer Protests. Program Director Dr. Stephen Ward said the University should have no role in helping Spencer propagate his views. “I don’t think we should describe him as provocative and radical, because those give him more legitimacy than he deserves,” Ward said. “He’s a purveyor of hateful and potentially harmful, violent and deadly language. That’s beyond controversial or provocative. It’s incendiary, it’s hateful.”
Opinion
4A — Wednesday, November 29, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
STEPHANIE MULLINGS | COLUMN
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MICHAEL MORDARSKI | COLUMN
M
Departing lessons
y most anxious times selfish viewpoint prevented used to be weekend me from seeing the others nights. experiencing the same shit I I remember spending was going through every day. countless Saturday And instead of taking nights staring out a breath, asking for my window at the help or breaking out frozen landscape of of my reserved social campus — imagining self, I did the worst that all of the lights thing I could’ve done. from dorm rooms, I wished that apartments and the next years of houses were filled college would f ly by. with students I proceeded to spend laughing, partying too many nights MICHAEL and just enjoying MORDARKSI angry at myself the few hours of for not instantly downtime that college life grants. jumping into the ideal life I And ignorantly, I deluded had imagined existed during myself into believing that I was those “four greatest years of the only student whose first your life.” winter of college was dominated by this anxiety induced from the social obligation that seems to accompany dark hours — that my case was unique; I was the screwed up anomaly who was missing out on the college experience I had been led to believe existed. While everyone else was out interacting, building friendships and relationships, I had locked myself in my fourth floor dorm room with a stack of paperbacks and a Netflix app How much I regret that now. that constantly asked if I was Because as my college still watching “Mad Men.” experience now comes to a There is nothing wrong with close, one of the most important being alone, but that first year lessons I’ve learned is how I fell into an unhealthy cycle precious your time is. That is of self-hatred that I believe a lesson that is unbelievably thousands of kids experience, difficult to convey to young started by the pressure to people, because in our minds it adjust from home to college feels like we’ll be kids forever. life, constantly measuring their It feels like the present day social success against others. life will never end, that the Because what is never passage of time has selfishly conveyed to young kids arriving stopped for us. to college is just how profoundly But it doesn’t, and the difficult it is to make that opportunity and privilege transition at this point in their we have here as students is lives and, more importantly, something not to be wasted. how it is not instantaneous. Time is precious and wasting it From the outside, I was stressing over your social image always looking at the lives of or how you have not yet fit in — kids who so easily adapted and all of that eats away at literally integrated. Yet that blatantly some of the most invaluable
It feels like... the passage of time has selfishly stopped for us
NIA LEE | CONTACT NIA AT LEENIA@UMICH.EDU
moments of our lives. This adjustment varies in degrees of difficulty from person to person, but upon arriving here, understand that your home and high school image of yourself are unknown, that you have to break out of that comfort zone completely, and that you’re never going back to that life. So, actually taking the time to meet new people, to knock on new doors, to try things you never thought you would — all add up and begin to shape the actual character of who you really are. Find a radically diverse number of social groups and see what makes sense. Try everything, instead of being upset over nothing. As someone who has been in nearly every social setting this city offers, from punk rock concerts to political debate clubs, sorority formals to drag shows, I can say that every single one of those experiences has helped me understand a little bit more about who the hell I really am. And as college will end for me in the next few months, the time I do look back on happily are the times I branched out — when I decided to leave that comfort zone, to try these new things, and most importantly incorporate them into life going forward. Because eventually, at some point, you’ll run into something or someone that clicks, as a few things did for me. When that happens, it is incredible how that pressure and stress literally evaporate, how suddenly you feel like you belong. This campus is full of students feeling the exact same nervous way, I can guarantee that. Relax. Enjoy your college experience. It will be over before you know it.
Michael Mordarski can be reached at mmordars@umich.edu.
J
ust a few weeks ago, when the IFC announced it would temporarily suspend all social events, I remember saying to myself, “That’s a stretch.” However, not for the reasons you may think. I didn’t think it was a stretch because the decision was harsh or uncalled for. I thought this because social media and campus news outlets blew up immediately following the release of this decision. On Twitter people made statements like, “ALL of umich Greek life got shut down until further notice,” and published overdramatic analyses on why the world could potentially implode because of the lack of date parties this season. The stretch to me is that such a dense population of the student body believes the fraternities that encompass the IFC social organizations represent the entirety of University of Michigan Greek life. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I have no ties to Greek life, nor do I intend to in the near future. I do not want this to be viewed as me being a “hater” or “antiGreek.” I offer this as a reasonably fair assessment of what I have observed in the Greek scene for the last three years. Did you know all nine of the historically Black Greek fraternities and sororities have been represented on campus throughout University history and that they form a Panhellenic council? What about historically Latino fraternities and Latina sororities? I have also seen dedication to community service represented in Michigan Greek life and in preprofessional organizations. So why is it that now the IFC has been suspended, “ALL of umich Greek life got shut down!” I am not sure about you, but I felt personally offended for those who were indirectly excluded from Michigan Greek life in the wake of
The stretch
the IFC suspension. It’s like getting invited to a party, going and having a great time, only to find out later that it wasn’t actually a good party because the “cool” kids didn’t show up. Even before this, when first arriving to campus, I could notice the very large divide between IFC Greek life and the remainder, which includes multicultural, pre-professional and service fraternities and sororities. I can say with 100 percent confidence that in three years I have never been to an IFC social event, including tailgates, parties, date parties… all of these sorts of
There is more to Greek Life at the University than the IFC
things. I can also say that the majority of my closest friends on campus have not either. Yet we have all attended Michigan Greek life events. That being said — and this is just a hunch here — I highly doubt that Michigan Greek life is “resting in peace.” I am sure that students on campus know there is more to Greek life at the University than the IFC and its social functions. However, that knowledge was not reflected in the general commentary regarding the news of the IFC suspension. Thus, the implication that the IFC is what “makes” the University’s Greek life is a dangerous one. Sure, a vast majority of students may love tailgates and date parties sponsored by IFC fraternities, but is this social aspect of the University too much of a vacuum? What I mean to say is, is the student
body getting so sucked into the social ongoings of the fraternities encompassed in the IFC that they are blind to other diverse portions of the University’s Greek life? It is extremely important we make campus a truly inclusive environment. Though it may be seemingly minor to let this extend to Greek life on campus, it is still relevant to maintain the ideals of a holistic and welcoming environment for all, despite what is considered “popular.” As a campus tour guide — I know, I am one of those annoying people who blocks major entrances and exits to buildings with groups of parents — I tell visitors that about 20 percent of the undergraduate student body is involved in Greek life. I always follow this up by saying, “This includes pre-professional and service fraternities as well.” I became so pressed with questions about things like “bidding” and “rushing” by incoming freshmen, and I had absolutely no idea what this meant. Accustomed to the inner workings of historically Black Greek life, which encompasses an entirely different “rushing” process, I went home and searched “rushing,” “bidding” and things of this nature for other forms of Greek life on the Internet. This means that, though it was outside of the bubble I know of Greek life, I was willing to respect and acknowledge its other forms and variations, ultimately educating myself. In one simple statement, I am able to include all, so that there are no misrepresented groups. I say this because I think it would have been simple enough for news outlets or students speaking out on Twitter to be conscious enough to do the same.
Stephanie Mullings can be reached at srmulli@umich.edu.
MEMBERS OF STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY AND GREEN WOLVERINE | OP-ED
What’s up with marijuana in Michigan?
I
f you have ever set foot in Ann Arbor, you know why it’s called “tree city.” And we are not talking about the fall foliage — we are referring to weed. Ever since Ann Arbor first decriminalized marijuana consumption in the 1970s, the city has been associated nationally with relatively open attitudes for the plant that persist to this day. The Michigan Daily has previously reported on current student attitudes regarding cannabis and found that the student body is generally receptive. Several medical marijuana dispensaries are located on the periphery of the University of Michigan campus, but do students really know the ins and outs on the implications of cannabis? This is why Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Green Wolverine (affiliated with the Ross School of Business) seek to educate students on the nature of cannabis and all of its consequences for public health, policy and business. On Dec. 3, we are hosting the first annual Michigan Cannabis Leaders Summit in order to fulfill this goal. While the legalization of recreational marijuana in Michigan is potentially imminent, our state is in need of deep reckoning. As students at the University of Michigan, we find that the time is right to get other students involved in the countless facets of the recreational marijuana industry. The joint effort between members of the University’s chapter of SSDP and Green Wolverine is one of shared outlooks regarding how students can become acquainted with cannabis. This familiarity should not just be limited to getting high; there is an entire cannabis industry in its infancy which needs future lawyers, policymakers, doctors, researchers, business leaders and many other professionals to carry out the industry’s vitality and legitimacy. However, we recognize that
students may not have positive beliefs regarding cannabis or, for that matter, may not know much at all regarding its usage. These student concerns need to be addressed. This is why SSDP and Green Wolverine both wish to educate the University community on the implications of cannabis under new legal circumstances. Firstly, what is marijuana from a medical perspective? Marijuana can be used for a variety of ailments, including chronic pain, dementia and HIV/AIDS. Marijuana, for its medical application, need not be limited in use to the most severe of ailments; in its varying methods of consumption, marijuana may also be used as a prophylactic. While marijuana was popularized as a means to get high, cannabis consumption in general does not always lead to a psychoactive response. For example, cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, contains no psychoactive elements and has a multitude of medical benefits. As mentioned before, the campaign to put recreational marijuana on the ballot in 2018 looks promising. If passed by the majority of Michigan voters next year, our state would look more or less like the states in which marijuana is legalized, such as Colorado and the seven other states excluding the District of Columbia that have already passed legalization measures. The ballot initiative up for consideration in Michigan, for example, would set up a system for taxation on marijuana purchases, give local governments the ability to govern how marijuana is sold in their communities and allow individuals to grow up to 12 marijuana plants at home, among other provisions. However, the exact rollout — which is contingent upon whether or not the legalization proposal will be on the ballot — remains to be seen. Though the initiative received many more signatures than is required by state law, the secretary of state must decide
whether or not to respect the wishes of the 360,000 Michigan voters who signed the proposal. For students looking to achieve a career in the cannabis industry, the time is ripe. New businesses will need to facilitate the production, distribution and sales of recreational marijuana once Michigan votes for legalization. Other business models are also needed: ancillary businesses (who do not “touch the plant”) must also be taken into account. These businesses include those dealing in scientific testing, technology and even private equity. According to the Detroit Free Press, full legalization would bring about $1 billion in sales annually in Michigan. This is an opportunity that must be seized. The event, which includes a panel of experts in science, medicine, policy, activism and business, will be a worthwhile experience where students should expect to walk away with a clear picture of the still inchoate cannabis industry in Michigan. Aside from the educational component of the event, there will be networking opportunities with the panelists in addition to prize giveaways from our sponsors. We hope this event will be a way for students to understand both the complexities and accessibility of the cannabis environment in Michigan. There could not be a more fitting time for this to occur. The Michigan Cannabis Leaders Summit will be held in the Robertson Auditorium located within the Ross School of Business on Dec. 3 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Confirmed attendees include state Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor), former state Rep. Jeff Irwin and Stephen Goldner, an adviser to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Additional attendees will come from various professions in law, science and business. The event will include a combination of interactive lectures, discussions, live music and networking.
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
FILM REVIEW
5A — Wednesday, November 29, 2017
TV NOTEBOOK
Thi is a Netflix picture but we’re talking about her Hulu show just so you know
NETFLIX
Reckoning with the art of ‘The Man Who Invented problematic once-heroes Christmas’ lively & fresh How do we proceed in the face of the art versus artist debate? BLEECKER STREET
Silly film starring a schizophrenic Dickens
The latest Scrooge story rings in a season of holiday movies JEREMIAH VANDERHELM Daily Arts Writer
“A Christmas Carol” is one of those stories that has been told and told again year after year to the point that it’s hard for any new adaptation to do much more than retread the same material. That’s not necessarily a detriment to those retellings; it’s just the nature of bringing to the big screen a story that all but reinvented the way Christmas is celebrated. Audiences know what to expect. Ebenezer Scrooge is a miser. He is visited on Christmas Eve by three ghosts who force him to change his ways. He becomes a better person. God bless us every one. Because of the potential for repetition, it’s to the utmost credit of Bharat Nalluri’s (“MI5”) new film “The Man Who Invented Christmas” that it has found a new way to examine the story of “A Christmas Story” by looking at the story of its creation. Instead of Scrooge becoming a more kind-hearted person, we watch as author Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens, “Legion”) must confront his resentful feelings toward his father for a childhood that saw him employed at a work house. Instead of just the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future, Dickens plays host to the entire cast of the novella. Instead of the same story repackaged with different faces, the film has the appeal of something entirely new. At the center of the film is
Stevens as Dickens, with the actor once more proving himself to be one of the most versatile performers at work today. Ably switching between the mania of a writer consumed by his craft and the turmoil underneath, it’s a dynamic performance through which Stevens commands the screen. The role of Dickens’s mental projection of Scrooge goes to Christopher Plummer (“The Exception”), who is given the opportunity to not only recreate the most iconic moments of “A
“The Man Who Invented Christmas” Bleecker Street Goodrich Quality 16 Christmas Carol” but to approach them from the different angle allowed by the film’s unique spin on the material. The veteran actor proves more than up to the challenge, and his portrayal of the legendary character is one for the books. And ultimately, much of what “The Man Who Invented Christmas” does so well comes down to the way it broaches the material. We know the steps Scrooge’s redemption will follow, but watching it be informed by and contrasted with Dickens’s struggles lends them new weight.
The emotional climax is a truly fantastic repurposing of the Christmas Future scenes that puts a lovely bow on both stories, and while the dialogue doesn’t always sing as well as writer Susan Coyne (“Mozart in the Jungle”) seems to think it does — there are moments that seem to have been scripted specifically to provide “trailer lines” — there’s a certain joy to be found in watching Dickens banter with some of his most famous characters. With that being said, it’s impossible to deny that the image of Dickens consulting literal manifestations of Ebenezer Scrooge and his fellow characters is just the least bit silly. Nalluri and Stevens handle it well enough by lending these moments an almost dreamlike quality in both visuals and performance, but Dickens, as he’s portrayed here, is borderline schizophrenic. He seems to be one superpowered alter-ego from turning into The Beast from “Split.” It’s easy to take the silliness in stride once one considers that “The Man Who Invented Christmas” is currently the best Christmas movie playing in theaters. It embodies the spirit of the season and of Dickens’s work in a novel way that will likely please fans of “A Christmas Carol” and those who, like me, know it more for the Muppets’ take on the material than anything else. It’s doubtlessly absurd, but in a way, even that serves to buoy its charm and spirit.
What does activism mean to us?
Looking at the role of activism in personal lives and on campus campus. Some disregard such distinctions and simply view change as change. I’m perplexed at how complicated it is to fully understand how we view activism in our society. I find it absolutely outrageous when I see some people who are so outwardly vocal about what they cannot stand: this political leader, that professor, that campus organization or that classmate, but yet, they are the same people who sit on their couch and expect the problems that they have identified to eventually go away. They raise a hand in class to share their two cents about the problems around them, yet nothing in their everyday life seems to be adjusted or sacrificed in order to create the change they wish to see. May I add that change does
Daily Arts Writer
“Can you love someone who did bad things?” This is the question posed by comedian Sarah Silverman during the cold open of her Hulu show, “I Love You, America.” Silverman’s monologue was dedicated to comments on the recent revelations against her close friend and fellow comedian Louis C.K., who was accused by five women of masturbating in front of them without their consent. The comedian later admitted that these accusations were true saying, “I have spent my long and lucky career talking and saying anything I want. I will now step back and take a long time to listen.” Silverman and C.K. have been friends for decades, and Silverman was a frequent guest on C.K.’s FX show, “Louie.” Her comments on his sexual misconduct were highly anticipated and much-needed, as she has been very public about both her support of feminism and her friendship with C.K. Though visibly upset, Silverman emphasized the importance of the recent barrage of sexual assault allegations in Hollywood, comparing it to tumors being removed. “Some of our heroes will be taken down,” she said, “and we will discover bad things about people we like or in some cases, people we love.” As our idols and role models begin to deal with the fact that many of their colleagues and
to working in education reform and finding ways to provide opportunities for students who are academically capable, but are not provided the proper resources and preparation to be able to access quality education. I have found ways to give my time to campus organizations and nonprofit organizations that are oriented around similar goals. Therefore, I believe my activism is the process of devoting myself not happen in the form of a long to the issues I feel I am most Facebook post, where you can capable of solving. hide behind a screen and outline Activism, seeking justice, what you believe are the major achieving equality — however injustices of this world. we choose to define Once you feel you have this topic — reveal the properly voiced them, inherently personal you sign off, close your nature in activism screen and resume that I feel our campus your comfortable often overlooks. lifestyle of observing One person’s way what you feel is wrong of seeking change, from the outside. Your like participating in “activism” doesn’t a protest, may prove leave your front door. completely ineffective BAILEY Some people believe for someone else. Not that change will come for the purpose of KADIAN when they dehumanize why there is a protest, those who oppose them. Their but simply what it asks of its voices can be heard loud enough members. You cannot adequately and clear enough, as long as they participate in a movement in have properly silenced those on which you don’t feel you can the other side. positively contribute. What I have My idea of activism is rooted defined as the “personal nature” in what I’m sincerely passionate to activism is the individualistic about. I want to devote my career side of change, which is derived
DAILY COMMUNITY CULTURE COLUMN
How do we define activism? I ask not because I have an answer or even the slightest idea of how to answer such a question. I ask simply because it matters. One of the most amazing aspects of this University is that it provides the opportunity for us to immerse ourselves in all that it offers, particularly in using our collective power to seek change and work with others to achieve a number of goals. It is a forum that includes circulating ideas, varying experiences and incredible perspectives. Some students on this campus demand we look at our communities and encourage political change. Others admit they are not as passionate about politics, but incredibly committed to social reform and equality among the student body and beyond our
SAMANTHA DELLA FERA
friends are less-than-moral people, we must also face our own reality. Even if you were never a fan of somebody who has been accused of sexual misconduct or any other type of abuse, what if tomorrow it is your hero’s face splashed across the front page of the New York Times? How will you react? Can you be a fan of something created by someone so horrible? Is it possible to separate the art from the artist? Can you still love someone who did bad things? I wish there were simple answers to these questions. I wish that good and bad was as easy as black and white, and that there would be no gray area in between. Most of all, I wish that men and women alike would stop using their positions to take advantage of people desperate for their careers to take off. Unfortunately, we are living in an unkind world, and these difficult questions must be managed or else they will continue to persist. I have no emotional connection to Louis C.K.. Nor did I to Harvey Weinstein, Charlie Rose, Nick Carter, Kevin Spacey or any of the other countless men accused of sexual misconduct. From the outside, it is easy to immediately discredit those who try and stand by these people. What they did is horrible, yes, and there is absolutely no excuse for their vile behavior. But I cannot shake the nagging feeling that soon enough, somebody that I have loved and admired will be the next one exposed. I imagine
feeling sad, disappointed, even betrayed, but I cannot honestly say that I would exile this person, or the things they created, completely from my life. It is hard to separate art from the artist when you know that a show or song or joke came from the the same mind that made the decision to harm another person or make derogatory comments. It is even harder to appreciate a piece of art when, in the back of your head, you know that someone else will look at that same thing and be struck with fear and trauma from what happened to them. We don’t have to feel guilty or shameful, we don’t have to force ourselves to stop liking the art that these people created, but what we do have to do is condemn their actions and refrain from making excuses. It hurts to see your heroes fall, but it hurts even more to be a victim of harassment or abuse and see people try and discredit your feelings just because the person who harmed you makes them laugh. As Silverman noted in her monologue, this moment in time is vital not just for Hollywood, but for a world that too often allows for misconduct to be swept under the carpet. We have to expect more from the people we idolize and move towards a culture that does not allow them to use their status to exploit those under them. Until that happens, believe the victims, denounce the offenders and try to keep faith that we as a society will one day be better.
from a personal evaluation of what matters most to you. We all have our own strengths and abilities. I believe we should put these assets towards our existing systems — we enter, disrupt what exists and attempt to restructure what is there in a better way. This past Monday at Hill Auditorium, I attended Congressman John Lewis’s keynote lecture, and one student asked a question regarding the idea of “levels” of activism, that is, some believe certain forms of activism are more powerful or worthy than others. She is a student in the School of Education, and she wanted to know how we can coordinate our various understandings of activism and allow these movements to work in conjunction with one another, particularly through how we educate one another. I have often felt like this campus glorifies a certain type of activist, the loudest ones in the room, while others who are involved with equally important movements are seen as complacent or not as influential. This idea of “hierarchal” activism, which Nate Powell addressed in the lecture, raises questions of how educators and influencers can promote activism without suggesting there is one
way to do it. When we operate under this “top-down” mindset, we tend to believe that politicians or other elected officials are the members of society most able to influence. In some ways, they can influence and promote change in ways that are inaccessible to others. However, the depth to which they contribute does not necessarily vary much from those in government to students on a campus who want reform. How can members of a community like teachers, politicians, students or parents feel they are active in change, though they approach it in different ways? More generally, how do we recognize and reward such differences? Congressman Lewis spoke powerful and encouraging words to all of us gathered in Hill. He urged us to go after what we see that is not right and speak up. Activism is not defined one way and similarly, cannot be conducted in just one way. It is to be stretched, changed and designed by our unique passions and what we believe must be altered within our society. In a world that demands improvement, it is essential we realize what the path to change looks like — considering what surrounds it, and those that we encourage to walk along it.
Arts
6A — Wednesday, November 29, 2017
DAILY FILM COLUMN
I love you. You’re slouching.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
CONCERT REVIEW
The universality of ‘Lady Bird’’s mother/daughter relationship “Lady Bird” is now the highestrated movie on Rotten Tomatoes. Ever. It’s also quite possibly the most wonderful movie. Ever. But universal acclaim hasn’t saved Greta Gerwig’s masterpiece from a serving of hot (and very bad) takes. Recently, an article popped up on my Twitter: “’Lady Bird’ and Cycles of Abuse,” in which the writer poses an argument that “Lady Bird” is not a careful portrait of the complexities of a motherdaughter relationship, but in fact a story about maternal abuse. This is, of course, wrong. And I won’t dedicate much more space to the ways in which someone named “Jim” missed the nuances and complexities of the motherdaughter relationship in “Lady Bird” (except to say that he missed them all). But his misstep did get me thinking about everything “Lady Bird” gets right. Gerwig gets all the details of semi-suburban adolescence correct: the defiant rejection of Catholic school communion, the popular girl’s Range Rover, the sensitive (and closeted) heartthrob’s puka shell necklace. Justin Timberlake plays at a party where the parents are upstairs, but “they don’t care if we drink.” All those little, carefully chosen details create a world that is both factually and emotionally real. The emotional reality comes from the delicacy and honesty with which Gerwig handles her character’s relationships. There is no “good” and “bad” in “Lady Bird.” We don’t want Lady Bird to win against (or despite of) her mother or Danny or even Kyle or Jenna. Because none of those characters, though they make life harder for our heroine, are bad. And even Lady Bird can fluctuate between cruelty and compassion, often within the same scene. Lady Bird and Marion’s relationship is built on this duality. In one scene, Lady Bird can grab a notepad and demand her mother tell her how much it costs to raise her so she can one day pay her back and “never have to see her again,” and in another see Marion pick up
that same pad and struggle to write a letter to her daughter as she gets ready to leave for college. And we can understand that those actions are both attempts at the impossible but inevitable process of separation. Lady Bird will leave Marion, and sometime in the distant but approaching future, Marion will leave Lady Bird. And neither one of them can be ready for either departure. Before Lady Bird leaves, Marion scrambles to prepare her for the unknowable beast that is the world outside her home. And through that rushed preparation, “You’re dragging your feet” becomes a different way of saying “I love you.” That moment — which comes up twice during the course of the film — as the two shop for dresses,
MADELEINE GAUDIN is one of the most obviously recognizable for any mother or daughter. I went to prom in 2015 as opposed to 2002, so after my mom and I fought in a department store I went home and bought my dress online. That act — choosing a dress without my mom — is in the same family as Lady Bird choosing to go to Danny’s Thanksgiving or hiding her college process from her mother. It’s a conscious act of exclusion that serves as preparation for a time in the near future when that type of inclusion won’t always be an option. Lady Bird and her mother spend the movie creating space between each other. They push each other away, but they rarely — save Lady Bird’s dramatic exit in the first scene — try to escape each other. They fight, but stay in the same room after.
That’s why Marion’s silence isn’t abusive and her criticism isn’t cruel. It must be a complicated brand of love to prepare your child to leave you. Marion wants Lady Bird to be the best version of herself she can be so she tells her to stand up straight and hang up her uniform and apply to in-state colleges. What it takes for Marion’s wish to be fulfilled is for Lady Bird to fly the nest. I talk about my mother now in a way my 18 or even 20-year-old self could never imagine. With a kind of love and reverence and frequency that I didn’t realize was in such opposition to the way I used to talk about her until I saw the movie. I talk about her the way Lady Bird starts to at the end of the film. She spends the film rejecting everything her mother has given her—her name, her hair color—and then finally, miles away from her mother, she starts taking them back. And that concession of guilt, that apology, is an impossible one to articulate. So, when she calls Marion at the end of the film all she can say is: “Did you get emotional the first time you drove in Sacramento?” And we get it. That in itself is a kind of apology for a kind of cruelty that doesn’t always warrant one. It’s a reconnection that tries to do yet another impossible thing: make up for lost time. Now, older and wiser, I look back on the anger my high school self spit at my mother and I regret it. I regret all the hours of silence and fights in the car and times I slammed my door. But I know I couldn’t change it. The stage after teen angst doesn’t have a good name. Existential dread, maybe? My twenties? Whatever this thing is called, I’m in it. And, at the end of the movie, “Lady Bird” is entering it. Picking up the pieces of the things our mothers gave us that we threw away and trying to say sorry, without being able — of course — to actually say it.
TV NOTEBOOK
Tim and Eric star in “Tim and Eric Awesome Show”
ABSO LUTELY PRODUCTIONS
Lasting influence of Tim and Eric’s comedy empire How the duo created a legacy with Abso Lutely Productions WILL STEWART Daily Arts Writer
I was just a pimply teenage boy learning to cope with my abundant awkwardness when I first stumbled upon “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.” It was a beam of godly sunshine,
the entertainment I needed to feel like my freakish sense of humor was actually shared with others equally strange. Since then, Tim Heidecker (“Fantastic Four”) and Eric Wareheim (“Master of None”) have spread their unique brand of humor to create a comedy empire. Abso Lutely, the duo’s
production company formed in 2007, produces some of the funniest shows on TV today, all embodying the Tim and Eric spirit. Describing this spirit, however, is like enduring a painstakingly awkward interaction with a stranger; we can’t say why, but it leaves us feeling uneasy. With “The Eric
Mura Masa performed in Detroit the Friday before Thanksgiving
INTERSCOPE
Mura Masa’s meticulous magic stuns at Majestic British DJ brought mellowness and majesty to the Detroit venue JESS ZEISLOFT Daily Arts Writer
There’s a fine line between concerts and listening parties. Both involve listening to an artist’s music with a large group of people; you can dance at both, you can sing along at both. The artist is often times in attendance at both (less frequently for the latter). Both are even rather tightly produced — concerts may seem more freeform than playing a recording, but often times they too are planned with immense detail. So how are they different? In concerts we get an insight into the person behind the artist enigma. We see them in their music-making element and, from this, draw evidence to piece together who they are and what they are like. This was on display at Detroit’s The Majestic, where 21 year-old British DJ Alex Crossan (known best by his stage name Mura Masa) exhibited a rather mellow presence; however, he didn’t come across as disinterested or bored, but rather highly focused and detail-oriented. The stage was set with a laptop, multiple drums sets, microphones, keyboards and a guitar. He shifted through instruments, demonstrating
Andre Show” and “Nathan for You,” two increasingly popular and acclaimed shows, Abso Lutely Productions has become one of the most influential production companies in comedy. Tim and Eric, though, were anything but overnight stars. After meeting at Temple University, the two have worked together since, first creating the animated Adult Swim series “Tom Goes to the Mayor.” The show began as an internet web series before Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”) found it, immediately noticing their brilliance. Eclectic and absurd, “Tom Goes to the Mayor” laid the roots for what would eventually become “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!,” the duo’s creative highpoint. “Awesome Show” takes over where Odenkirk and David Cross’s (“Arrested Development”) 90s sketch comedy series “Mr. Show” left off. Each episode begins with the duo, generally dressed in frumpy outfits, scheming or bickering and varies from playing a million-dollar tennis match to recovering a lost testicle from Eric’s stomach. But what makes this show unique is its sketches, often featuring an equally hilarious actor or comedian. It’s shocking to see the plethora of talent — Zach Galifianakis (“Lego Batman Movie”), Will Ferrell (“Daddy’s Home 2”) and Maria Bamford (“Lady Dynamite”) to name a few — always in vulnerable situations, perfectly matching Tim and Eric’s cringe-inducing style.
the breadth of his talent and adding layers to his intricate tracks. Mura Masa rarely showed emotion; he broke from the flow of his set only briefly to check in on the crowd with a “How are you doing, Detroit?” Yet this lack of animation appeared a necessary side effect of the DJ’s sharp concentration on delivering really spectacular music. The music most definitely took focus. However, the action on stage was far from dull. On featureless tracks or tracks that Crossan chose to lend vocals to, the producer held the crowd’s attention as if caught in a trance. I stood in awe of a person my own age single-handedly creating such complex music. Many of his most popular tracks have guest features. Rather than playing recordings, he was accompanied by British vocalist Fliss who flexed her versatility, singing and rapping tracks originally delivered by artists ranging from NAO to Charli XCX. Her performance of mainstream breakout single “Love$ick” rivaled the A$AP Rocky original. Given her energetic presence, she also seemed to double as a hype woman, dancing around the stage and calling for the room to dance with her. No number of shiny features
The show’s most well-known recurring character Dr. Steve Brule, effortlessly played by John C. Reilly (“Kong: Skull Island”), gives viewers important life advice and even earned a spin-off series, “Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule.” A valuable addition to the Abso Lutely catalog, “Check It Out” rivals its predecessor in hilarity and ventures into even
Describing this spirit, however, is like enduring a painstakingly awkward interaction with a stranger
darker territory. Throughout the series, Brule investigates no-frill locations and interviews various professionals. Dangerously addicting and relentlessly bizarre, “Check It Out” kept “Awesome Show”’s legacy alive in full form. Later in 2012, Tim and Eric produced “The Eric Andre Show,” a spoof of late night talkshows. Unlike “Awesome Show,” the show has reached a wider audience thanks to its long list of
could dampen Mura Masa’s demanding presence though. There were plenty of beatsonly breaks throughout the night that allowed the DJ’s production abilities to take center stage. Even during the features, he lent an anchoring quality to the show — everything played was produced by him which made for a cohesive concert. Throughout the show, my hope that we would catch the DJ in a less serious moment slowly diminished — he seemed keen on preserving his intense focus. Finally, during the first song of the encore, the shell showed a crack. The DJ called his girlfriend in the midst of a solo rendition of “Blu” and left the whole crowd standing on their toes, trying to read his lips as he spoke to her. I guess we all wanted to understand what it’s like to be friends with Alex Crossan. Given the lack animation from the headline artist, the show had the potential to resemble a listening party, rather that a concert. However, Mura Masa’s stoic presence gave the audience an equally rich understanding of who Alex Crossan is. We learned this young producer is immensely talented, meticulously detailoriented and not afraid to show he’s having fun every once in a while.
celebrity interviews, like Tyler the Creator (“Loiter Squad”), T.I. and Jack Black. It’s in the same vein as “Awesome Show,” with a greater emphasis on shock humor in its on-the-street skits, showing Eric Andre in ridiculous situations. The show’s mellow co-host Hannibal Buress (“Spiderman: Homecoming”) is responsible for an almost equal amount of laughs as Andre, acting as the ideal foil to the host’s energetic, rambunctious attitude and unpredictability. “The Eric Andre Show” is an extension of Tim and Eric’s comedic vision but at a higher octane; the result is a frenetic, hysterical show, one I would consider to be the funniest of today. “Nathan for You” is the least obnoxious yet wittiest show produced by Abso Lutely. Nathan Fielder stars as a business consultant who gives advice to struggling small businesses on how to succeed. Abandoning the more explicitly in-your-face surreal tinge of the other shows, “Nathan for You” is the holy grail of awkward, cringe-worthy humor. It’s also the most easily accessible of the bunch, but this isn’t necessarily saying a whole lot. Abso Lutely Productions practically transformed awkwardness into a form of art. With their signature transitions, nihilistic outlook and admiration for all things surreal, Tim and Eric created their own watermark of sorts, a clear style unparalleled by anyone else.
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | N OV E M B E R 2 9, 2017
changing the script
2B
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
statement T H E M I CH I GA N DAI LY | N OV E M B E R 2 9, 2017
Managaing Statement Editor: Lara Moehlman
Editor in Chief: Emma Kinery
Managing Editor: Rebecca Lerner
Deputy Editors: Yoshiko Iwai Brian Kuang
Design Staff: Michelle Phillips Hannah Myers Emily Hardie Erin Tolar Emily Koffsky
Copy Editors: Elizabeth Dokas Taylor Grandinetti
Photo Editor: Alexis Rankin
Let’s talk about it: What it means to keep walking BY RABAB JAFRI, COLUMNIST
“
Passengers please prepare for landing.” I hold onto my seat and look out the window. My stomach jumps as the plane hits the ground and I closed my eyes to feel the earth beneath
me. “Allahuma sali a’la Muhammad wa ale Muhammad” — peace and blessings be upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the passengers on my f light landing in Najaf, Iraq, collectively voiced prayer. On this plane, I was not an outsider. Nobody glared at me as I walked down the aisle, silently wishing that my seat was not next to theirs. I think about my reasoning, my state of mind undertaking this journey as I bid farewell and walk toward the crowds of the largest annual gathering in the world. My yearning to begin sets in as I join the 14 million pilgrims determined to walk 50 miles to reach the holy city of Karbala. Everyone was walking for the same purpose: to commemorate the struggle of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Imam Hussain (alayhi as-salam). The struggle of Imam Hussain is one that speaks to each person making this journey, and so many more around the world. He stood against the tyrant Yazid, refusing to give his allegiance and accept him as the leader. In response, Yazid’s army of 30,000 killed Imam Hussain and his 72 companions on the desert plains of Karbala over 1,400 years ago. Yazid cut off water from Imam Hussain’s army and family, including women and children, for three days. After Imam Hussain and his army were killed, the women and children were taken captive until they were finally set free to bury their loved ones. This return to Karbala is called Arbaeen, the Arabic word for 40, as it was 40 days after the initial battle. This commemoration is sacred to Shia Muslims, the smaller of the two main sects of Islam — although Sunni Muslims also respect Imam Hussain. I started my journey at dawn and felt the Iraqi sun rise overhead. I watched the people around me; some were not wearing shoes, or carrying simple string backpacks, or setting out to walk with only the clothes on their back. I saw an old, blind man walk down the long stretch of road on his own, only his guiding stick as company. I thought about how much I was carrying on my back, and the shoes on my feet as reminders of what I have and
what acts as a distraction to me. I saw parents pushing children in strollers, and children pushing parents in wheelchairs. With each step I took on this dusty, uneven road, I tried to remember my destination, and look up to the f lag people waving around around me with the words “Ya Hussain” — “Oh Hussain” — written on them. Walking
it means to struggle in the way of God. Above all, it is the generosity of the Iraqi people that astounds me most. Every year, Iraqis who live a life of simple means save money to help serve every pilgrim who walks. As I walked, every necessity was provided for me. People stand in the middle of the road, carrying plates of food, bottles of water, bread and tea. Children as young as two stood, poured water, sprayed perfume or handed tissues to pilgrims to practice this tradition of generosity. Massaging the feet of tired pilgrims gives them pleasure, as they know and understand the love that makes you walk for almost three days. No one expects anything in return. People opened their homes or “Mawkibs,” places built for pilgrims to rest or stay the night. They stopped to ask me where I traveled from, and are surprised to learn I came from America. They ask me how long it took me to reach, as many of them came from Iran or other Iraqi cities. They ask me what it’s like to be a Muslim in America. I return to this question as I return to my regular school routine. This journey that I long to take every year is unknown to most, as is the story behind it. And as many people asked me why I was spending a week in Iraq PHOTO COURTESY OF RABAB JAFRI during the school year when I have no continually for multiple hours, I remembered how Imam family there, I could not find the words to explain what it Hussain walked back and forth unsure of how he would means to me. It is seldom spoken about in comparison to tell his wife, Rabab, that when he asked the opposing the narratives of hypocrites in the media, who use Islam army to give his 6-month-old son water, they shot an as justification for their actions put on the forefront, just arrow through his throat. I remembered the heat of the as Yazid and his follower. This is the picture of Islam I’m sun on the day of Ashura — the day of the battle — and often painted with, and as I have already felt this since I the thirst of the army, women and children. I remembered have been back, as I am starting to enter the workforce. each story that I’ve heard told from the halls of my mosque, For me, the walk this year was especially astonishing, year after year, the grief still fresh. as it was only seven months ago that I was too ill to come I walked, and remembered. And so I ensure no one to school. To look back at how life has changed in such forgets, I kept walking. a short time feels unreal. Now, every new challenge The strength of the people I saw around me gave me I face feels like the walk. Every time I feel a situation more determination. Every time someone in my small group is impossible, I remind myself that there were times became tired, I walked with them and listened to the poetic during the walk that felt impossible to me as well, but retelling the stories of Karbala, for the journey is both my potential is so much greater than what I credit myself collective and individual. When walking became difficult for with. I remember the generosity of the Iraqi people and me, people did the same. I started to realize my potential to the simplicity of those around me, all centered around do good was greater than what I had originally understood one goal. it to be. This journey rejuvenates my understanding of what I remember what it means to keep walking.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
3B
Soundtracking: Scheduling
I
BY MATT HARMON, DAILY STAFF REPORTER
t’s the most wonderful time of the year … I’m sitting on my laptop, physically drowning in papers and assignments, when an email notification pops up on my phone — not that I was on my phone instead of doing homework or anything but this is a judgement-free zone so get off my back. I swipe down to check out what all the fuss is about in my inbox. That’s when I see her … The most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed. I fell to my knees. Tears welled up in my eyes. I finally felt some warmth in my body that has been oh so cold for so many years. Seven words, four numbers, 26 letters. “Winter 2018 Course Guide is now live!” Nothing Can Change This Love — Sam Cooke Scheduling is the only thing I look forward to all semester. I understand the irony because I said the same thing last semester and the classes the course guide gave me for fall 2017 have been suckerpunching me in the gut and spitting on my writhing body for the past 12 weeks but I stand by my opinion. The course guide launching is like Christmas or Hanukkah or any denominational celebration that takes place in the winter months. Think about it. You don’t know what you’re gonna get, some gifts are better than others and making your wishlist is often more fun and rewarding than the gifts themselves. I check my enrollment time — the ultimate decider that either lifts you to academic success and mental health or the final nail in your coffin. “December 4th, 12:45 pm” Not bad. I text my friends to check if I’m royally screwed or if I’m in good shape. They respond: “December 4th, 1:00 pm” They Won’t Go When I Go — Stevie Wonder I’m safe. I throw all my other homework aside (as if I were emotionally invested in it in the first place) and dive head-first into the course guide. Who would have thought I was diving into the equivalent of a kiddie pool with a concrete bottom? Balancing my major, my minor, the LSA requirements, academic interests, personal interests, credit load and sanity is not an easy task. Three hours f ly by before you can say, “Hey, Matt, maybe you should focus on your assignment due tomorrow instead of scheduling for classes like a dipshit,” and I finally have one schedule option that fits all my aforementioned categories. The golden schedule. The one true option. The highly coveted.
I have done the impossible. A week goes by and my schedule still sits backpacked in Wolverine Access, right where it belongs. It awaits Dec. 4 so everything can be confirmed. I tuck in my schedule every night and sing it a lullaby so it knows how much I appreciate it. I don’t know why I checked but something told me I should explore the course guide
been. I can’t look for too long unless I want to start crying like when I saw “Marley and Me” in theaters. You can’t tell me you didn’t bawl like a damn baby when Owen Wilson buried that yellow Labrador retriever. I select all the courses and press “Delete.” Along with my Backpack, my heart is empty. Empty — Kevin Abstract I walk with my head hung low back to the dorm to find all my friends who are 15 minutes after me for scheduling times. They knew. They knew something happened. “Something wrong with your sched, Matt? Are you crying?” No, my eyes are just watering. My face is sweaty. I just cut an onion. I explain the situation and how I have to make a whole new schedule in a few days’ time. I may have broken down a few times in the process, but eventually I get the story out in full. Instead of consoling me and reminding me there are plenty of courses in the sea, all I get is a room full of friends laughing at my misfortune, telling me I’m up a creek without a paddle. Thanks, guys. Truth Hurts — Lizzo I spend the next day and a half browsing the course guide once again. This time, I can only find classes that fit a few of my necessary categories. Maybe I want to take a class in my major, but it starts at 8:30 a.m. and I am not about that lifestyle or maybe this class sounds amazing but it interferes with a prior commitment. Suffice it to say, my friends were right. Turns out ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH MYERS I was the one who was destined to be royally screwed. While browsing my own personal hell that is now the course guide, I can barely keep from crying. My mind some more. I go back to one of my classes and see the keeps wandering to how beautiful life was when I had a time of the class changed from 11-12 to 12-1. schedule and all was right in the world. Now, life is gray Changes — Charles Bradley and my schedule has gone down the toilet. One hour. Down — Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne One hour has officially thrown a stone at the I come to the realization that I did this to myself. I glass house that was my schedule. The new 12-1 class can’t mope and think the course guide was out to get interferes with my second class, which, in turn, now me. I was the one who started scheduling before the interferes with my third class, which, you guessed it, class times were finalized. If I had waited, I might have jams a wrench into my schedule’s spokes and screws been able to fix this and cause less pain. I might have over my fourth class. been able to meet with an adviser and get, well, advised. I sit, mouth agape, watching everything I loved and They could have at least outlined my options instead cherished in this world fall apart. I can’t blame myself. I of allowing me to f lop around like a fish in the desert, won’t blame myself. gasping for breath and baking in the sun. The course guide betrayed me. I’ve made my bed and now I must lie in it. Next Not My Baby — Alvvays semester, I solemnly swear not to start searching for Why would the course guide do this to me? We classes until I am positive no switcheroos can ruin my had an agreement. I trusted the course guide and no life again. consideration was given to how I might feel if a class Should Have Known Better — Sufjan Stevens was changed from 11-12. I have never felt this much pain *Flash forward to next semester* in my entire life. Ooh the course guide is out! I login to my Backpack and stare at what could have Love Galore — SZA ft. Travis Scott
4B
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
Changing the Script St u d e n t s o f co l o r b r e a k b a r r i e r s i n m u s i c a l t h e a te r
by Tanya Madhani, Senior MiC Editor
W
ith the highly-anticipated opening of “Hamilton: An American Musical” in the summer of 2015, it seemed as if Broadway — and theater as a whole — was taking the first step to combat the highly divisive and potent movement that has persevered in another section of the arts: #OscarsSoWhite. The hullabaloo and frenzy surrounding the opening of the musical included a feature in Vogue magazine, shows selling out months in advance and scalpers asking for over $1,000 a ticket to the show. Hamilton and its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda were lauded for their casting of non-white actors in traditionally white roles; Black, Asian and Hispanic actors played historical figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The initial casting call for the musical, which specifically requested actors of color, generated controversy over its alleged “reverse racism” toward white actors.
The Power Center
According to data collected by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition, 70 percent of the actors in Broadway musicals running from 2014 to 2015 were white and 10.2 percent of actors were cast non-traditionally. Racial diversity in Broadway, despite Hamilton’s popularity, has a long way to go. The University of Michigan’s musical theater program, ranked one of the best in the country, trains students of diverse backgrounds to take on major roles in Broadway and off-Broadway shows across the country. The program recruits about 22 students annually from an applicant pool of over 1,000. I sat down with four students of color in the musical theater department to speak about their individual experiences both within the classroom and the industry about their identities. ***** After competing in the prestigious National High School Musical Theatre Awards in New York City, Sam Hamashi-
ma, a School of Music, Theatre & Dance senior, knew he could do this for the rest of his life. “I was so exhausted, but I really loved it. It was like finding that passion trumped the exhaustion. I also thought about how hectic it made my life feel. So, it’s definitely a job and it’s definitely an interest, but it’s a way of life too. It’s a lifestyle. Musical theater — it takes over your entire world.” When the time came to apply to college, Hamashima — a musical theater major — wanted to highlight both his ethnicity and sexuality because they are central aspects of his identity. When auditioning for the University, he chose a song from the musical “Flower Drum Song,” and a monologue from the play “The Laramie Project.” “Before I started applying, I had heard some things whispered about certain schools that was like: ‘They really like Asians there … they don’t take any Asians there you know,’” he said. “So, you kind
Alexis Rankin/Daily
of start to get the reputation of a school. For example, there were several schools on my list that I didn’t apply to primarily because I looked at their student body and they didn’t have any representation.” While the University has made strides to improve their diversity numbers, especially in the musical theater program, Hamashima said he still faces microaggressions that cast doubt over his future career on stage. In class Hamashima was once assigned to read the part of a character with an Italian accent. Shortly after attempting the part, his professor suggested he should read the passage by being “a little more accessible, like (doing) a Japanese accent.” “Having my Japanese American identity, it’s just been a whirlwind for me,” he said. “Being looked at as Asian in the field, there are limitations. After [the incident], students came up to me and were like, ‘That was so crazy.’” Although he is biracial, Hamashima said he doesn’t have the option of presenting himself as anything other than Asian due to his physical features. This constrains him when marketing himself for roles that call for certain casting types, ranging from the romantic lead to the sidekick. “It’s frustrating and my journey is very different,” he said. “Especially now that I’m leaving school, I have to figure out not just what type am I, but also what type am I with the lens of my race, with the color of my skin, with the way that my face looks and the way my eyes are.” His challenges in the musical theater field have not diminished his love for the stage and theater as an art form. After graduating in April, Hamashima plans to move to New York City and start auditioning for shows. “To be honest with you, when you are auditioning for anything, the hard part of this career is that there’s nothing stable,” he said. “If the show opens and closes then you have to find another job. You know, we switch employers so many times a year based on what show we’re with.” ***** For most of the roles Music, Theatre & Dance junior Rohit Gopal has been offered — varying from television scripts to Screen Arts and Culture department projects — the American-born musical theater student has had to use a South
Asian accent. “Everything that I’ve submitted for that hasn’t been a commercial or for print work has been an Indian guy with an accent,” he said. “I don’t like it.” When he gets a script for a comedy, Gopal said he first reads the lines without an accent to make sure that the dialogue is funny regardless of whether or not he imitates a South Asian person. He does this, he said, to make sure the comedy is in the writing rather than in the character’s ethnicity. Sometimes, that’s not the case. “Reading these lines, there’s nothing inherently funny about the situation other than it’s funny to hear the Indian guy say bootylicious,” Gopal said. When asked if his identity as an Indian man is something that often plays into his interpretation of a role, Gopal paused to think before answering. “I’m very, very underrepresented. I’m in a very underrepresented group … in musical theater in particular,” he said. “In music or musical theater, where there are very few Western musicals that are written about that are Indian or an Indian person’s story … I don’t aim to be represented in that way.” Gopal names comedian and actor Aziz Ansari and his hit Netf lix series “Master of None” as an example of how the landscape of Hollywood is changing to include more roles for those of his ethnicity. “Aziz Ansari is a person who made his own work, and that is what I feel like I can do,” Gopal said. “I need to lead myself to a work that is a picture of what modern inclusivity really is.”
Nonetheless, Gopal has faced other obstacles in pursuing his passion for the arts. When he expressed a desire to major in musical theater to his parents during his final years of high school, he was initially met with resistance and concern. “My parents and myself were very convinced that it was not going to be successful,” he said. “There’s very little possibility going into this field and my parents are very academic. So was my brother and I’m not so much in that way.” However, when he was admitted to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Gopal knew none of his other college applications for academic majors would matter to him. “Here was my second acceptance and it was also my top choice at this program, because I love the University,” he said. ***** Music, Theatre & Dance senior Nkeki Obi-Melekwe was fresh off of the new department-presented musical “OneHit Wonder” when she sat down for an interview with The Michigan Daily. Her experience being in the musical was rewarding — as has been the case with much of her time in the department — but she was appalled to find that callbacks for the lead roles in the program were whittled down to three pairs of white men and women. “How is it that, out of all the talented amazing passionate people of color in this department, not one person fits either of those two roles?” she said. “That makes sense? That makes no sense. I talked to the head of our department and the music supervisor who was on faculty in the department separately. I told them my concern and I was like, ‘It is 2017. You guys have a new work on your hands and you’re the best musical theater school in the country. This cannot be whitecentric.’ ” In an industry struggling with issues of inclusivity, Obi-Melekwe said it is hard not to come across roles that are stereotypical portrayals of Black women. “They have this idea of what the Black woman is; sassy and brassy and bold,” she said. “A lot of times that’s the box they’re putting you in. Yes, I’m Black and I’m COURTESY OF SAM HAMASHIMAa woman, but I’m also a person that
feels how anybody else would feel. Recently, like within the past year or so, the narrative has begun to shift where people of color can be seen in roles with emotion and depth and they can fall in love and in a way that isn’t tragic.” Like Gopal, when it comes to facing obstacles in the industry, Obi-Melekwe’s first challenge was convincing her parents and reconciling her identity as a first-generation American. Though they were aware of Obi-Melekwe’s love for singing and dancing, they initially dismissed it as a hobby and encouraged her, instead, to devote her time to more academic pursuits. “My mom wanted me to be a chemist or something,” she said. “I’m not and could never be a chemist, but the further I committed myself to (musical theater) and going to (the performing arts) high school I went to and all of the great things that we did, my parents realized that, ‘OK, she’s serious about this and she’s good at it,’ which I think was a hard conclusion for them to come to because they’re very traditional.” ***** Music, Theatre & Dance sophomore Joshua Strobl hadn’t considered applying to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance until the father of an alum approached him after a high school performance of the song “Goodbye” from the musical “Catch Me If You Can.” After attending MPulse, a summer program run by the University for interested Music, Theatre & Dance School applicants, Strobl said he was hooked. “The camp here really got me to figure out that I wanted to do musical theater,” he said. “Obviously, Michigan was my number one choice because after that camp I had worked with all the professors that I would be studying with at the school … I just fell in love with everything he said and his passion to the art.” Before finding his calling in musical theater, Strobl said he was actively looking to pursue a career as a rock musician. “With me being the lead singer of my rock band, we were playing paid gigs around LA like the Sunset Strip and the Whiskey a Go Go. So, that’s what I thought I’d be going into,” he said. “But, as I was getting a little more professional in that, I realized that the scene is a little rough and it’s tough to get into and tough to be in. Musical theater was not easier, but I feel like I have a longer career in musical theater and it was something I was more passionate about, too.” Being half Mexican and half white wasn’t something Strobl was actively con-
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COURTESY OF JOSHUA STROBL
scious about before coming to campus. “I had grown up in a town where I was viewed as the white guy and they’re like, ‘You don’t look Mexican,’” he said. “I had been told that my whole life and so I had just kind of believed that I didn’t really look Mexican enough. I didn’t really identify as a Mexican even though I’m half and my mom is full and most of the traditions that I do during my holidays and stuff are Hispanic traditions.” It wasn’t until he came to campus, Strobl said, that he was able to explore his Mexican identity. Playing a range of roles in his major allowed him to explore not only his ethnicity, but also broaden his understanding of what it means to be a Hispanic man in musical theater. “I do tap into my identity and my traditions that I’ve had as a Hispanic person when I’m in a show sometimes,” he said. “I’m playing a role right now in ‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,’ and I’m playing a Native American in that. So, I’ve tapped into that lot. I’ve called my mom and asked about my ancestors and what tribe they have been a part of and all that. And just to kind of tap into the character a little bit more and play that a little bit more real.” Breaking into a professional musical theater career with any measure of job stability is difficult in and of itself. For some, the added strain of fitting into a still-homogenous field is yet another hurdle to success. As he left his interview, Strobl said, “This is the most I’ve ever talked about my identity, just so you know.”
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
Personal Statement: Dancing in color by Johanna Kepler, SMTD sophomore
I
always feel as though I was given a second chance. I was born in Guatemala City to a homeless mother who never had the opportunity to go to school. She signed my adoption papers with her thumb print because she couldn’t write her name. She told the social worker her one wish for me was a good education. As I write this article I think about what her wish means to me. I attend one of the top universities in the world and I’m able to pursue my passion for dance. When I chose dance as my career path, I was unsure exactly of what that meant. I wanted to find meaning in my work, so I decided to combine my love of dance with my passion for social justice work, specifically on issues regarding racial injustice. Recently, I have realized my responsibility as a Latina artist — a responsibility to use my art to give a voice to those who may not otherwise have one in this country. I grew up in a very white neighborhood in Brookline, Mass. that was very accepting of my family. I have two white moms and a younger sister who is also adopted from Guatemala. Growing up, I did not notice I was different from my parents. I remember a classmate in second grade asking me why my parents were white and I was brown. I didn’t understand what he meant. I did not see myself as any different than my parents. It was a harmless question asked by a curious 8-year-old, but this question sparked many questions I would have to ask myself. I became more and more interested in learning about my country and its native language. My family and I started taking service trips back to Guatemala to expose me to the country in which my sister and I were born. I slowly started to realize I would have been living a very different life in Guatemala — I wouldn’t have access to a good high school or higher education, and most likely would have had to work instead of attend school. I started to recognize my privilege and, with that, my responsibility to give back to the place where I come from. With this newfound recognition of what I wanted to do in life, I decided to invest in becoming an artist. I believe art can express things that words and text cannot. I started dancing later than the average dancer. I was 15 years old when I officially decided to give dance my all. Before I came to the University of Michigan, I only wanted
PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHANNA KEPLER dance for a professional company like Alvin Ailey. But over the past two years here, I’ve learned I can still dance for a large-scale company and still be involved in other outlets of dance — outreach, teaching and choreographing to name a few. Right now, I am most interested in creating my own work, connecting my heritage to my choreography. I use my art to create social justice dances in which I can highlight racial injustice happening in the United States and in our own school. Currently, I am creating a piece
that will be performed at “Marching Forward: A Scholarship Symposium,” a series dedicated to shedding light on social injustices on campus. My work, “Through Our Eyes,” highlights what it feels like to be a performing artist of color. The dance includes seven dance majors of color from the University, including myself. I created a sound score to accompany my piece, featuring interviews with over 50 students on campus. I talked to Latino students about the writing on the Rock that targeted the Latino community. Other
students spoke about being told to go back to their country when talking to family members on the phone in Spanish in public areas on campus. One LSA senior reported never being assigned to read a single book by a Latino author in all his four years as an English major. Another interview with a Black student revealed what it felt like having the word “N-----” written on his door tag in West Quad Residence Hall and how there was little to no follow up on the incident. I use these interviews to dance and communicate what words cannot express. I believe in the saying, “actions speak louder than words” and dance, as well as other art forms, can inspire people to make a difference. Watching a dancer’s body move on stage can tell an entire story without using words. It can evoke emotions in people they may not have had simply reading an article online. Although racist incidents on campus have been disheartening, our communities are working to empower minority communities and fight back. I have been devoting my time to form groups within the School of Music, Theatre & Dance to talk about these hateful acts and what we can do to help people understand the severity of these them. We talk about how we can work as a school to react to these events more effectively. This semester, I have started a group called “Arts and Color” along with a few more students in the Dance Department. This is a group within the department where undergraduates, graduates and faculty come together to discuss racial injustices within our community and plan events to have open discussions on race and racial injustice on campus. Being a dancer of color at the University has its challenges and advantages. I am one of very few dancers of color and one of the even fewer Latino dancers in the Department of Dance. This lack of students of color is not just within our department but reflects the University at large. Latino students are less than 6 percent and Black students are less than 5 percent on campus in 2017. We must ask ourselves why this is and why our numbers continue to decline, instead of grow. I create work for the fulfillment of my passion and for a whole race of people who are drastically underrepresented at the University, as well as Universities across the United States. I use my platform as a student and artist of color to bring awareness to racial injustices on and off campus.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
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Personal Statement: Someone in the crowd by Micky Esteban, SMTD junior
I
grew up in a small town in Connecticut where it was impossible for me to get lost. In a place where 95.7 percent of the population is Caucasian, an Asian stands out in a crowd. My school, my dance studio, my friends all reflected that demographic. As a result, I was my differences. My black hair, my dark skin, my almond-shaped eyes defined me. And from a young age, they defined whom I portrayed onstage. The first featured role I ever got was in “The King and I.” I played the Spanish dancer in my dance studio’s “Nutcracker.” The next year, I was an Arabian princess. When we did “Swan Lake,” I played the black swan, not the white one. The list goes on. I felt a little more at home in the music world. My piano studio was fairly diverse, and my teacher of nine years was Taiwanese. But because I only saw the other kids in my studio at holiday or end-ofyear recitals, they were nothing more than familiar faces, and the community we formed could only be described as politely obligatory. Most of my music life was spent in a tiny practice room at the University of Hartford, where I would sit every week for lessons — or by myself in front of the piano in my living room. The performing arts world I knew growing up was an isolating one. I believed I was always going to be the one who was not like the others. I was always going to play “exotic,” or I was going to be at the keyboard by myself. On top of that, there was a belief in my house that the arts were not a career. My parents grew up in the Philippines. My mom and dad immigrated to the United States to give their children better lives. They come from a culture where a career in the arts is virtually unheard of and essentially impossible. To them, the idea of their child growing up to be an artist was so far-fetched it was almost absurd. I was 16 when I was accepted to the summer program at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. My life changed entirely. It was my first experience living entirely on my own. My first experience living in a big city. My first experience immersed in
an arts community made up primarily of people of color. For the first time, I was surrounded by other artists who looked like me — artists who were my peers, my teachers, my mentors. I was actually a bit invisible. I had to work to be seen in a sea of brilliant artists, amazing storytellers, incredible humans. For the first time, I felt what
that pays better and more consistently. They could not comprehend how being a dancer could be sustainable, how being a dancer required using my brain, how I was not throwing away those years of hard work they put into raising me. Even in a welldeveloped country with a vibrant arts scene, the arts is treated like a frivolity. It’s the only mindset my family has really known. My parents could not be proud of me because they could not comprehend the arts. They could not comprehend me. I wanted to become a dancer for selfish reasons. My life was already a performing art. For most of my life, I didn’t need to be on a stage for people to stare. But I wanted people to look at me the way I looked at those dancers at the Ailey School — I wanted to command space and time and respect because of what I did, not because of what I was. I wanted to be strong and fierce. Elegant. Sensual. Beautiful. Intensely smart and incredibly generous. I have come to realize, however, the pursuit of dance or any art form cannot be a selfish one, especially for a person of color. There’s a responsibility that comes with inviting people to look at you, to look at your body. At its simplest, that’s what watching dance is. Watching bodies. What they do, what they create, what they say. As dancers, we are inextricably tied to our bodies. We are what we do, PHOTO COURTESY OF MICKY ESTEBAN what we create, what we say. We are what makes us different. it meant to really be lost in a crowd of people. I can list every time a person of color has affected That freed me. my dance career, a timeline of every time I’ve seen or I was going to be a dancer. I craved my parent’s heard someone who looked like me. A little notch in the approval. I wanted to excel at everything I line every time my life has taken a different direction. did because I didn’t want to let them down. Every time my views on dance and art and life have I imagined myself as a doctor, a lawyer, a changed. I can list those moments because they stick diplomat, a marine biologist, because I knew with me, they define me. Pursuing dance means I might my mom and dad had moved across the world, define other people’s timelines, other young Filipino away from their moms and their dads and their girls and boys who grew up knowing themselves only sisters and brothers and cousins so I could have as the kid with dark eyes and jet-black hair. a better life. I have always wanted to make their There’s an importance, then, that’s inherent in the hard work worth it. I have always wanted to way I move now and in the future. I would be lying make them proud. if I said I could even begin to comprehend what that Comprehension is the key to pride. My responsibility might mean. But the beauty in art is parents could not comprehend why I would want that comprehension isn’t the goal. It’s just the to be a dancer when I could be something else beginning.
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017 // The Statement
V ISUAL S TAT EMEN T
THANKSGIVING Photos by Michigan Daily Photo Staff The Michigan Daily photo staff share photos from their Thanksgivings, featuring traditions, family and memories.
My family members look at a picture of my grandmother - who passed away last year - on my mother’s phone. To me, thanksgiving is a time where my family celebrates the time we are able to spend together and commemorates the passing of another year. (Nikhil Brueggeman/Daily)
As soon as my family wakes up on Thanksgiving we start cooking. We make a lot of food, but the hard part is keeping my sister’s cat from eating all of it. (Alexandria Pompei/Daily)
Normally, my dad’s hands are seen typing away at his laptop since he is a software engineer. Thanksgiving is the one day a year he gets to spend all day cooking, his favorite hobby. (Amelia Cacchione/Daily)
Runners congregate on Woodward Ave. in Detroit for the annual Turkey Trot, a Thanksgiving staple in our family. (Darby Stipe/Daily)
One of the cornerstones of my Chinese-American childhood has been Thanksgiving potlucks with the other Chinese families in my neighborhood. Because these are the people I’ve grown up with, they feel like a part of my family all the same, and I especially treasure this time of year to reunite with old friends I haven’t seen all year. (Alice Liu/Daily)
The annual appearance of my grandma’s blue turkey plates is one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving. (Alexis Rankin/Daily)