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Thursday, December 7, 2017
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B-Side: Architecture
In this week’s B-Side, Daily Arts takes a look at the fascinating intersection of art and architecture
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CAMPUS LIFE
Unions staff find admin. reluctant to talk Spencer DESIGN BY CASEY TIN
A Neo-Nazi college tour: How other schools dealt with Spencer Some universities remain in legal battles with him, while others mitigate the aftermath stop at the University of Michigan, eliciting outraged reactions from students, faculty and staff from Daily Staff Reporter & both sides of the political sphere. Daily News Editor Conservative speakers have regularly been using college campuses this year as The “college tour” of Neo-Nazi platforms through which to and white supremacist Richard put forth their agendas. From Spencer will possibly include a Milo Yiannopoulos in Berkeley, JENNIFER MEER & NISA KHAN
Calif., to Charles Murray at the University earlier this semester, students and administration have been in conflict over whether these controversial figures should be allowed to speak on campus. With Spencer, who is banned from several European countries, there is the fear of violence to follow him.
This article is part three of a series in which The Daily looks at universities similar to the University of Michigan on the issue of reacting in a tense campus climate. As the university administration and students face their own numerous bias incidents, The Daily will look See SPENCER, Page 3A
Student employees blast consequences if asked to facilitate his appearance RIYAH BASHA Daily News Editor
If all had gone to plan on Thursday morning, student employees of the University Unions would be sitting in the Board of Regents meeting room in protest of white nationalist Richard Spencer’s potentially speaking on campus. After a meeting with Unions administrators earlier this week, the employees shifted their efforts to public spaces to avoid risk of termination. As the board convenes two weeks after the University agreed to negotiate Spencer’s presence, and as students across campus continue to
protest threats to their safety, questions still swirl around the roles of — and accommodations for — student workers who might be asked to facilitate his appearance. LSA senior Zoe Proegler, Michigan League building manager, was central to the planning of the original nightlong sit-in. She believes any event featuring Spencer and his racist, often violent rhetoric cannot be held safely on campus. Protesters goaded by Spencer at rallies this year have left injuries and, in Charlottesville, Va., death, in their wake. Proegler said student workers setting up and See UNIONS, Page 3A
College of Engineering launches STEM Language A2 Council minors ask laboratory for Detroit high schoolers introduces
ACADEMICS
ANN ARBOR
if program is equitable
Michigan Engineering Zone will serve as shared learning site for 3,000 students
Asian Languages and Culture dept. comes under scrutiny for blanket degree
The University of Michigan College of Engineering and Qualcomm Incorporated have partnered to form the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab, an interactive workshop for high school students to learn about STEM careers and experience a hands-on learning experience. Thinkabit officially opened its doors last Thursday in the Detroit area. While dialogue between the Qualcomm and the College of Engineering has existed in the past regarding other projects, the Thinkabit Lab has been the first to materialize. The Michigan Engineering Zone was elected as a nowshared location for the Thinkabit Lab, continuing its work as the rendezvous for various Detroit high schools’ FIRST Robotics teams, which take place after the regular school day. Zone Director Julian Pate believes the integration of the Thinkabit Lab in the Zone will inspire potential programs for high school students. “The Michigan Engineering Zone was opened nine years ago; the objective was to offer year-round activities to engage the students in the city of Detroit,” Pate said. “That has been accomplished partly with the nine years of the high school program. The
MAYA GOLDMAN Daily Staff Reporter
When the University of Michigan started teaching Chinese and Japanese in the summer of 1936, the Asian Languages and Cultures Department didn’t exist. As World War II approached, these classes became much more pertinent, and the Department of Far Eastern Languages and Literatures was created. The program grew rapidly, and in 1985, it was renamed the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. Now, the department offers 11 languages that qualify for an Asian languages and cultures minor, and two more — Bengali and Punjabi — that students can take for a twoyear sequence. The department continues to grow and attract student attention, and the Asian languages and cultures minor is currently ranked as the seventh-most-declared minor in LSA. But though over 100 students graduate with the minor each year, some of them, See LANGUAGE, Page 3A
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KATHERINA SOURINE Daily Staff Reporter
Thinkabit Lab provides the opportunity to do that down the grade ladder, across the entire school year.” Engineering graduate student Wayne Lester has been involved with the MEZ since he was a student at Cass Tech High School in Detroit. He now works with the organization as a FIRST Robotics mentor, and echoes Pate’s enthusiasm about the
partnership with Thinkabit. “I’ve seen a lot of students come in and out learning a lot about STEM fields and just getting a good opportunity to be exposed to the field,” Lester said. “With the Thinkabit Lab, it definitely just expands on the mission of the MEZ. It’s really to be a collaborative space and really engage students in STEM fields, and with the Thinkabit Lab it’s the perfect
opportunity for… giving more students the opportunity to navigate the STEM field and really be educated on what it is.” The Thinkabit Lab functions much like a school field trip for the middle school students. It is split into two halves: the first of which focuses on engaging students, with experiences See STEM, Page 3A
COURTESY OF HALEY HART
High school students learn at the Qualcomm Thinkabit Lab, an interactive workshop for high school students interested in STEM careers, in Detroit.
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 44 ©2017 The Michigan Daily
2018 deer cull plan
250 deer will be shot, up to 60 sterilized this January, some on ‘U’ land ZOE BAXTER For the Daily
Earlier this week, Ann Arbor City Council introduced its 2018 deer management plan to the public. The city aims to eliminate up to 250 deer from Jan. 8 to Jan. 31 in the third year of its four-year deer management program. This is a large increase from winter 2017, when the city aimed to eliminate up to 100 deer. Furthermore, the plan states that up to 26 deer will be nonlethally sterilized between Jan. 2 and 7. Last year they planned to sterilize up to 60 deer and sterilized 54. The program began out of resident complaints about deer harming their properties. Like last year, the lethal portion of the plan will be carried out by sharpshooters through the city’s contractor, White Buffalo Inc. It will comply with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources research permit. During the elimination, select public parks and private properties will be closed from See CULL, Page 2A
NEWS.........................2 OPINION.....................4 ARTS......................6
SUDOKU.....................2 CLASSIFIEDS...............6 SPORTS....................5
News
2A — Thursday, December 7, 2017
ON THE DAILY: SKEEPS IS UBER COOL In New York, the most popular Uber destination in 2017 was the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in Illinois, Wrigley Field reigned supreme, according to a list released by Uber. However, Michigan’s most Uber-ed-to destination is an ode to a campus staple: Scorekeepers, most commonly referred to as “Skeeps.” LSA sophomore Annelise Droste said she has had only positive experiences with Ubers to and from Skeeps, making her unsurprised at Michigan’s results. “I guess I’m not really surprised; Skeeps is kind of far from some student housing, whether South Campus or South U, where most students live,” Droste said. “I Ubered there last year from North
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FINALS SZN The Black Sheep UM @BlackSheep_UM
Campus a few times because it’s a 20-minute walk from the bus. If it’s cold there’s no way I walk.” The list was released Tuesday, ranking the top destination of each state, excluding airports and transit stations. The list is largely composed of malls, ballparks, performance venues and bars. Additionally, Uber said the busiest period for Uber drivers was Saturday night at 11 p.m., and most Ubers were taken Oct. 28, the Saturday before Halloween. New Jersey was shown to be the earliest-rising state, while Mississippi stays out the latest.
- CARLY RYAN
IT TOTALLY MAKES SENSE TO HAVE LARGE TRUCKS TAKE UP 3/4 OF THE ALREADY MINISCULE STATE ST OF COURSE LOL Benny @benthebeta I don’t get how other people can be rude as hell when walking past sudents passing out flyers on the diag. Grab the damn flyer, say thank you, and move on. That’s all it is
CHUN SO/Daily
Students enjoy free food and activities at the Final Carnival event hosted by the Center for Campus Involvement at the Union Wednesday.
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES U-M MLK Symposium Meeting
Futures of Democratic Social Movements
WHAT: Students and activists who are interested in helping plan the University’s largest commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are invited to attend this planning meeting. WHO: Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives WHEN: 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Trotter Multicultural Center
WHAT: Democratic participation, free speech and safe spaces will be discussed in the context of changing social movements. WHO: LSA Bicentennial Theme Semester WHEN: Noon to 2 p.m. WHERE: Hatcher Graduate Library, Room 100
Holiday Open House
Gingerbread Houses
WHAT: Light fare and music will be at this chance to browse the galleries of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. WHO: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology WHEN: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
WHAT: Enjoy dinner at Bursley Dining Hall and have the opportunity to enjoy a display of gingerbread houses. WHO: Michigan Dining WHEN: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. WHERE : Bursley Hall
CULL From Page 1A 3 p.m. to midnight Jan. 8 through Jan. 31. The Nichols Arboretum is expected to be closed on Jan 9, 16, 19 and 23; however, it must first be approved by the University of Michigan. Additionally, other University and Concordia University properties will potentially be shut down Jan. 8 through Jan. 31, pending authorization. In previous years, the University has agreed to allow the cull to take place on University property. According to the implementation plan released by the city, the sharpshooting may only occur from a parked vehicle, and shooting on the city-selected private property will not occur without the owner’s consent. The city will post signs regarding the closure in parks
WYA SNOW?
and nature areas that will be affected by the program at least 24 hours before the three-week process begins. Residents living adjacent to any of these areas will be notified via postcard by the end of the month. They will also use social media and other new outlets to inform residents of the sterilization program. This is the second year the plan includes the sterilization of deer, which will also carried out by White Buffalo. The process involves darting the female deer, temporarily removing them from the area, surgically sterilizing them and returning them to the park. The process will take approximately an hour per deer, and is not expected to disturb residents. The city is in need for volunteers to aid in the sterilization, an effort that will save many deer. The volunteers assist in tasks such as monitoring vitals during
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Michigan Engineering Design Expo
Bryxmas @BryxterNavalta
Dance Composition Class Showing
WHAT: The expo will feature engineering students’ products to solve various challenges. WHO: Multidisciplinary Design Program WHEN: Noon to 4 p.m. WHERE: Bobby and Betty Beyster Building
WHAT: Dance majors and MFAs will perform the choreography they have been working on all semester long. WHO: School of Music, Theatre & Dance WHEN: 2:10 p.m. WHERE: Dance Building, Betty Pease Studio Theater
Yoga for Wellness and Stress Reduction
Overcoming Perfectionism Workshop
WHAT: This hour long yoga session will focus on releasing tension and will end with a meditation session. WHO: Rackham Graduate School WHEN: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School, Common Room, Lower Level
WHAT: Presenters will walk students through differentiating perfectionism and a success oriented mindset, as well as giving students tools for coping. WHO: Engineering Office of Student Affairs WHEN: 11 a.m. to Noon WHERE: Chrysler Center, Room 133
the surgery and returning the deer to their original location. There will be two shifts of volunteers throughout the nights, and they will work six to seven hours per shift, with the first beginning at 4 p.m. and the second ending at 5 a.m., from Jan. 2 to Jan 5 or 6. Each volunteer will be required to work at least two shifts, and food will be provided. Christopher Dick, ecology and evolutionary biology professor, discussed the importance of the cull at a recent community council meeting. “If we are able to reduce Ann Arbor’s urban deer population to a more sustainable level — by sustainable, I mean a deer abundance that permits natural forest regeneration — this will have an immediate positive impact on our natural areas,” Dick said. “The herd reduction will help to stave the spread of ticks that carry diseases such as Lyme disease. Black-legged ticks and Lyme disease have recently been documented in Washtenaw County.” Despite the city saying the deer cull is necessary, the implementation of this program has been a controversial topic in the community for many years. Among those against the cull is LSA senior Aaron Brodkey, president of the Michigan Animal Respect Society. He told The Daily earlier this year that he felt it was wrong for humans to intervene in nature. “Personally, I just think it’s maybe wrong or rash to make this decision,” Brodkey said in January. “I feel like we’re taking it into our own hands and playing God in this position and saying, ‘Hey, we need to massacre 100 deer for who knows what reason?’”
My roommate has gotten up, left for class, and came back to our room and I am just now waking up
Overgeard @ Michigan @UmichBullshit “How has it taken my GSI a whole month to grade our papers? I’ve had my period twice since then.” - overheard in the library
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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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SPENCER From Page 1A at other schools to compare incidents, administrative response and student activism, whether these incidents result from a difference in religion, culture, politics or policies. University President Mark Schlissel announced Nov. 21 the University planned to proceed with Spencer’s request to speak on campus, on the condition it could ensure him a safe setting. The decision was confirmed at an emergency meeting for the University’s Board of Regents. Schlissel’s reasons for the decision were trifold. He explained the University cannot restrict the content of speech, based on the First Amendment; denying Spencer would result in more public attention given to Spencer; and free speech is fundamental to democratic society — an attribute the University must protect. Kyle Bristow — an attorney for Cameron Padgett, a Georgia State University student submitting requests for Spencer to speak on multiple campuses — tweeted Oct. 27: “This evening @CameronVPadgett requested to rent a room at @UMichfor @RichardBSpencer to speak. Your move, @DrMarkSchlissel.” Rick Fitzgerald, assistant vice president for public affairs, confirmed Oct. 31 the University was made aware of Spencer’s request to speak.
UNIONS From Page 1A managing the event would be uniquely vulnerable. One of her supervisors, she said, alerted her that Spencer’s requests specified the Unions, some of the few buildings on campus available for public rent. “Students are central to any event held in University Unions,” Proegler said. “We’re responsible for A/V — including the microphone he might speak in — tables and chairs, troubleshooting … student workers cannot be removed from the equation.” Multiple employees said building directors did not broach workers’ concerns until talk of protest reached administrators this week. LSA junior Tim Williams, Michigan Union building manager, met with the Union building director Amy White on Monday about the sit-in. White told Williams the protest as planned would violate multiple building policies — the same ones employees are paid to enforce — including building hours and misuse of room keys. Student employees participating in the sit-in, she said, would do so at risk of losing their jobs or being replaced by other workers.
LANGUAGE From Page 1A including Public Policy junior Gabby McFarland, are upset about the name of their degree from the department. “I originally decided to minor in Chinese because of the benefits of speaking a second language. However, once I studied abroad in China I grew interested in the cultural aspects of the minor,” McFarland wrote in an email. “I feel like there being no specific Chinese major or minor is fundamentally ignorant. Having an Asian Language Department fails to recognize individual countries and cultures, and instead groups them.” As McFarland said, there is no Chinese major or minor. Students also can’t get a degree in Japanese, Thai, Sanskrit or Urdu. But by taking any of those languages — or any of seven others — for three years, plus a few other classes, and a student could declare an Asian languages and cultures minor. According to Ashlee Wolfe, curriculum and student services manager for the department, this blanket major is mostly an administrative
Stop Spencer at the University of Michigan — a coalition that formed in response to the request — posted on Facebook in early November, saying though it knows Schlissel and many administrators do not want Spencer to come, “they have failed to acknowledge the severity of the situation and have yet to say no to Spencer.” The group used the hashtag #HailNotHeil. Nov. 17, they posted a link to an article from the Detroit Free Press, explaining Bristow would give the University until Nov. 24 to decide if Spencer could speak, or face a lawsuit. The night of Schlissel’s announcement, the group called on the University community to protest the decision. Nov. 25, it called for a week of action, using the hashtag #StopSpencer. Subsequently, during the week of Nov. 27, student protesters participated in speak-outs, teach-ins and strikes, calling on the administration to deny Spencer. The University has yet to decide on a safe setting and time for Spencer to speak on campus. Although the threat of lawsuit has been delayed until Friday, it is uncertain if it will allow such. In an email to The Daily, LSA senior Hoai An Pham, the press coordinator for the Stop Spencer at the University of Michigan coalition, wrote the administration has not made any effort to ensure the safety of students. “During our week of
News action, which called for the administration to take action, they only issued a statement that they did not support the protests (only the teach ins), again without offering anything productive,” she wrote. “There has been no action taken by the administration to support students.” Furthermore, Pham emphasized she believes the statements made by the administration have been lackluster. “While the administration thinks that simply saying that it does not stand for Spencer’s ideologies is enough, that is an inactive and bystander response,” she wrote. “It is easy to say that you do not agree with Spencer. It is harder to admit that in allowing him on campus, you are placing marginalized students in an incredibly dangerous situation. A statement against white supremacy does not stop a bullet from being shot into a crowd, as has happened with Spencer and his supporters.” “Spencer has already scored a victory” History lecturer Anne Berg, who spoke at one of the #StopSpencer teach-ins, wrote in an email to The Daily she was not sure why the University is taking its current position. “I suspect it is much for the same reason that Florida allowed Spencer to appear on campus – both Florida and our own institution have essentially bowed their head and accepted
the terms of the debate set by Spencer and his team, they have been complicit with Spencer’s insistence that this is an issue of free speech rather than one of violent threats and dangers to student safety,” she wrote. “In that respect Spencer has already scored a victory.” To Berg, the debate surrounding Spencer’s appearances are incorrectly attributed to free speech, rather than the violence rhetoric within Spencer’s “ideas.” She said his denial of people and their right to exist was very much a threat. “Spencer’s platform denies the right to exist for Black people and people of color more generally. Accordingly, the mere presence of people of color seems to be taken as a provocation by many of Spencer’s supporters and accordingly they feel entitled and emboldened to follow up on Spencer’s “ideas” with their fists, cars and guns,” she explained. Schlissel, in a school-wide email, emphasized his disgust for Spencer and his beliefs. This has been reflected in other schools as well. In December 2016, Spencer spoke at Texas A&M University. According to an article from The Battalion — the university’s student newspaper — Spencer was greeted with applause and boos. He was asked to speak on campus by Preston Wiginton, a former student, amid negative reactions from the campus community. The university’s president, in fact, endorsed several guest speakers who came
“I thought that was fair. Violating building policy comes with consequences,” Williams said. “Amy suggested we sit in the hallway during business hours instead. People could be fired as a result of that specific protest.” Unions senior director Susan Pile wrote in an email statement administrators would not encroach on workers’ freedom outside their jobs. “Student employees are an important part of our organization and would not lose their jobs for engaging in protest activity outside of their work responsibilities. We seek to provide a work environment that is supportive and flexible for student employees in all kinds of ways,” she wrote. Still, both students agreed, administrators failed to take initiative on quelling employees’ fears. Williams said his meeting on the protest finally signaled to administrators that “we haven’t really talked to our employees and maybe we should.” He called these efforts, however, “a little late.” Proegler said scheduling a meeting with Xavier Wilson, her building director at the League, was like “pulling teeth.” “He was dismissive of student worker concerns,” she said. “The assumption was that if (Spencer)
comes, of course it’s going to be safe. Our greatest fear is that they are going to suddenly thrust the event on us in a way that disempowers us.” At past Unions events featuring controversial speakers like Milo Yiannopoulos two years ago and Charles Murray earlier this semester, student workers still set up the rooms and were in close contact with the event, though Proegler said administrators made up most of the staff for the event itself. Part of the uncertainty around employees and Spencer stems from the vague nature of the event status — the event might not even take place in the Unions, as the buildings are difficult to secure. “It is too early to say how we might staff an event, if one even occurs,” University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen wrote in an email statement. Uncertainty around the circumstances of Spencer’s appearance is at the core of most students’ grievances with the negotiation process. In an interview with The Daily last week, University President Mark Schlissel was reluctant to detail who would be involved in deliberations around what safety meant. “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,” he said. League building manager Natalie Ramos, a Social Work student, said her workers at the League — half of whom she said were students of color — have a stake in the definition of safety. “As a Latina woman of color, I want the right to determine my own safety. And as a supervisor, I don’t want to obligate other students of color to come to (an event with Spencer) and direct them,” she said. “I would feel an immense amount of guilty and mental burden to take all this effort, but to no avail,” Ramos continued. “We don’t think people are listening.” Given Pile’s stated flexibility, all three employees agreed students likely would not be penalized for not working the event. Williams noted, though, event duties can only be shirked so far. “Students would likely be asked to be there, but maybe we would be exempted,” he said. “But even then, temporary workers, who are often more disenfranchised and vulnerable, cannot call in sick. You can’t get robots to staff the event. Someone’s going to have to do it.”
necessity. Within Wolverine Access, majors allow for a second, specific program sub-plan to be named. For example, Asian studies majors can declare a sub-major with a further specified area of study, and that sub-major will show up on their transcript. But this same technological capability doesn’t exist for minors. “That really has to do with administrative and technological capabilities. … But they’re still minoring in Chinese, they’re still minoring in Hindi; it’s just that their transcript can’t really ref lect that,” Wolfe said. “The only way it could ref lect that is if we actually created (eleven) separate minors for the program and that’s excessive.” The Slavic Languages and Literatures Department, on the other hand, does offer specific minors for different languages (although one of its minors is a combined minor in Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages). Prof. Michael Makin, department director of undergraduate studies, explained this separation as a way for students to focus in on a certain area of Slavic culture. “When we have had enough teaching resources and courses, we have created a minor in each of those other
language areas, and, indeed, it is my own impression that students want to take minors that specifically identify distinct areas of Slavic culture — after all, Czech language and culture are radically different from, say, Russian, or the South Slavic area,” Makin wrote in an email. “I would have nothing against the creation of a minor in ‘Slavic Languages and Cultures,’ but, to my mind, such a minor would denote general coverage of the area.” Wolfe said her department understands this desire to hone in on a certain topic, and the minor is set up in a way that student can do that. However, separate minors are not a reality for the department. “It’s a little bit more realistic for all other units,” she said. “For us, it’s more just administratively silly and redundant to actually create separate minors for every single one of our languages that qualify for a minor. … Minors don’t really get a line on a student’s resume. Majors get a line on a student’s resume. So when it comes to minors it’s more about the skills students get from these minors … and they have the transcript to back these up.” According to Wolfe, students usually don’t have a problem
with the generality of the minor’s name once she explains to them how the degree works and what employers care about. Nonetheless, McFarland still didn’t feel satisfied after she received a similar story. “When I declared my minor, our conversation was focused around my Chinese curriculum so it didn’t really occur to me that it would eventually say Asian Languages on my transcript,” McFarland wrote. “I think having an Asian Languages minor could negatively impact my resume because there could be expectations that I might not fulfill having only concentrated in Chinese. Additionally, I chose the Chinese program to develop language skills, which I would like to explicitly list on my resume. An Asian Language minor inhibits this.” Yet, Wolfe said students should recognize what they are really getting with an Asian languages and cultures minor. “It’s more about highlighting the skill-set you gained from a minor,” she said. “And (students) can easily say that they have, for instance, a Korean minor, because truly they do. The fact that it’s named Asian languages and cultures is truly just an administrative, bureaucratic thing.”
Thursday, December 7, 2017 — 3A
to campus to “counter” Spencer. At a protest during the event, Texas A&M University student Aaron Blasband, the student president of Texas A&M Hillel, said he opposed neo-Nazism. “I’m here because I am against white supremacy,” he said. “I am against neo-Nazism as a Jew. My grandparents were in the Holocaust and a large majority of my family was killed in the Holocaust from very similar thinking to this. So when something is going on like this it makes me want to go out there and spread love more than anything else.” Alt-right organizers then scheduled a “white lives matter” event to take place on Sept. 11, 2017 at the university; Spencer was supposed to speak at the event. However, in a press release, the university administration canceled the event due to safety concerns. Aug. 16, Janine Sikes, assistant vice president of public affairs at the University of Florida, said in a statement the university would deny Spencer his request to rent space, following concerns for campus safety. However, once it was faced with a lawsuit, the university relented and allowed Spencer to speak on campus in October. U-F President Kent Fuchs said in a video announcement the university’s values do not align with those of Spencer. He encouraged students to not attend the October event. “The values of our universities are not shared by Mr. Spencer,
STEM From Page 1A that teach them about STEM fields, as well as others. This part is led by Lab coordinator LaShawn Sims, who explained the importance of introducing youth to career fields and the emphasis of personal assets.
With the Thinkabit lab, it definitely just expands on the mission of the MEZ “They do an activity that is called the Strengths, Interests and Values, where they look at their own individual strengths, interests and values,” Sims said. “They are able to look at about 45 different careers and determine what would be a good fit for them based on their own characteristics.” The second half of the program follows with the conceptualization of an idea or
the National Policy Institute or his followers,” he said. “Our campuses are places where people from all races, origins and religions are welcomed and are treated with love. … I urge you to do two things. First, do not provide Mr. Spencer and his followers the spotlight they are seeking. I urge everyone to stay away from Phillips Center October 19. Second, although I urge you to avoid the Spencer event, I ask that you do not let Mr. Spencer’s message of hate and racism go unchallenged. Make it clear that messages of hate on our campus are contrary to our values.” In an article from the Florida Alligator — the University of Florida’s student publication — Oggi Parry, a senior at the university, protested Spencer at the October event. He said he voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election, but he wanted to show Trump supporters do not align with Spencer. He wrapped his body in an American flag and wore red, white and blue sunglasses. “Conservative views are not (Spencer’s) views,” he said. “We are not with him.” Back in Michigan, University Regent Mark Bernstein (D) said to deny Spencer would be an immoral act of the First Amendment. Schlissel echoed similar upholding values of the First Amendment in his schoolwide email.
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invention by the students, and then its subsequent creation. Lab coordinator Haley Hart facilitate this part of the program, which highlights the engineering and hands-on aspect of the program. The lab hosts about 30 students per day and is predicted to host approximately 3,000 students in one year. While the original Thinkabit model has been functioning at Qualcomm’s San Diego headquarters for four years, the Detroit Thinkabit Lab began its soft launch in September and has been perfecting the program for the past two months. The Detroit lab is the second Thinkabit location, excluding the headquarters in San Diego. Virginia Tech partnered with Qualcomm in fall 2016, opening a workshop at its Northern Virginia Center. Plans for the MEZ and the Thinkabit lab include possibly expanding available programs to the summer. “Really, the progress or the outcome that we’re looking is for kids to have opportunities to learn about STEM careers, and get involved in hands on activities that would get them interested in learning and following down that pathway,” Hart said.
Opinion
4A — Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
COREY DULIN | COLUMN
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Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.
LUKE JACOBS | COLUMN
Stop sensationalizing shooters
I
magine you are, in a growing obsession of the the words of forensic violently disturbed to seek psychiatrist Park Dietz, out inspiration from others one of the “small number of rather than coming to their people sitting at violent conclusions home, with guns on on their own. their lap and a hit The problem with list in their mind.” the mass media’s You turn on the news coverage of these and hear countless attacks is everyone details of the latest except the victims mass shooter’s life wins. Viewers — describing him get entertained, as a quiet guy, a the media enjoys loser, someone who massive viewership LUKE just always avoided spikes and the killer JACOBS others. This strikes gets his 10 seconds a chord. Dietz says, of fame. “It only takes one or two of “Entertained” may not them to say — ‘that g uy is just seem like the best word, but like me, that’s the solution to that’s exactly how the media my problem, that’s what I’ll presents its content and how do tomorrow.’” viewers consume it. Interviews You are flush with envy, with the shooter’s family, excitement and purpose. You body count graphics and run out your front door the “investigative” reporting on next day with that infamous the killer’s lifelong history are smirk we’ve all seen on TV. all unnecessary bits of fluff Tomorrow, you tell yourself, designed to suck all the juice you’ll be on millions of people’s possible out of a story to retain screens, but even better, on views and shares. the minds of millions who will learn everything about you. The two dominant camps on the mass shooting debate — those who chalk it up to mental health or those who chalk it up to the availability of g uns — fail to recognize this issue of fame that captivates so many mass shooters. This is convenient from a political perspective: It gives Democrats and Republicans a clear boogeyman to draw on Stopping this sensationalized whenever they are asked to coverage doesn’t mean the comment on the latest mass media would have to cease shooting. Yet these stances fail its duty to inform the public. to consider a novel solution to Dietz recommends the media surge of shootings: ending the “localize (these stories) to the reporting of a mass shooter’s affected community and make name, face and identity. it as boring as possible to every The idea behind such a ban other market.” Though it may is simple: Mass shooters crave seem painful to “normalize” a spotlight, and denying their these shootings, it doesn’t recognition would greatly mean we have to stop fighting reduce the number of random for other solutions, such as killings in the country. A comprehensive gun control or growing number of researchers investments in mental health. have dived into the psyche So far, the advice from of copycat killers, those who many advocates of changing commit an attack similar to media coverage is to ones just before, and concluded encourage the news and their the presence of sensational consumers to stop producing or coverage of violent murders consuming this content. This is leads to more of the same. hardly sufficient. Take the 1999 Columbine The media faces shooting, for example, where a overwhelming incentives to report by Mother Jones found keep producing this coverage 14 separate cases of suspects if their competitors do so — plotting to launch attacks on and why wouldn’t they? They the anniversary of Columbine. are for-profit businesses with The report discovered that no legal or moral obligation in at least 10 of these cases outside of filling their the suspects referred to the directors’ pockets. On the Columbine shooters, Eric other side of the equation, we Harris and Dylan Klebold, as consumers indirectly feel as idols, martyrs or gods. a sense of moral obligation The idolization indicates to continue watching and are
Everyone except the victims wins.
largely unwilling to constantly share political attacks on the mainstream media’s content. A much more drastic and sweeping measure would be to lobby Congress to introduce a bill altering the First Amendment of the Constitution to include a measure limiting for-profit media companies’ coverage of these attacks. Passing something as sweeping as a constitutional amendment sounds like a political pipe dream in our era of gridlock, but it is actually an example of a rare solution that transcends party lines. Constitutional amendments themselves may seem like a relic; there hasn’t been a ratified proposal in over 20 years. This doesn’t mean, however, that calling for a proposal is by any means a crazy idea. There is still an active effort among many in Congress to keep it relevant — over 70 amendments were proposed last year alone, and 11,699 measures have been proposed over our nation’s history. The revision would be irrelevant to the gun lobby — meaning it would untie the handcuffs Republican politicians have to the lobby and give them an opportunity to take action on an emotional issue. It also frees Democrats from the illogical, but widely held, concern among conservative voters that they are taking advantage of mass shootings to destroy the Second Amendment. With sufficient grassroots organizing, states would be put under a pressure that transcends party lines and has significant backing from researchers. Conservatives may be wary of limiting free speech, but they are also the most likely group to deem the news “fake” and would likely welcome a process that limits its power for distortion. This ban, if passed, would still fail to address the issue of underground reporting that would certainly pop up on online blogs and forums, but it would deny the true fame that many of these killers are after. They seek national recognition and revel in the kind of mass fear that only nationally syndicated news channels can provide as they stream in public places like airports or bars. Denying them this main avenue for infamy is a solution all sides of our fractured political spectrum should entertain.
MICHELLE SHENG | CONTACT MICHELLE AT SHENGMI@UMICH.EDU
Luke Jacobs can be reached at lejacobs@umich.edu.
M
On my lead
ost people grow up watching football or basketball, but I grew up on comic books. My dad spent most of his time reading comic books, and I grew up learning about the characters in them. When I was little, my dad read comics at the kitchen table and constantly warned me not to touch them. He still reads them today; there’s always at least one in the kitchen or living room, and he’s always sure to bring one on car rides. In elementary school, my family would sit down together to watch the newest superhero cartoon movie or TV show. Some of my favorite shows were “The Batman,” “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited.” Shows and movies like this formed my childhood but unfortunately only included a few female superheroes. So, when I did get to see a woman fighting bad g uys and saving the world in the movie, I held onto that image. As much as I liked Batman and as much as I saw him in movies and shows, Wonder Woman was always the superhero I looked up to most. Any cartoon featuring her was my go-to whenever my family tried to make a decision on a movie night. Movies in which she was the main character, like 2009’s cartoon movie “Wonder Woman,” were played over and over again at my house. She stood out; whenever you saw her, she was in a space dominated by men. The idea of “hero” seems to link itself with masculinity — there are only a handful of women who have a seat at the table. This is constant in most comic books, cartoons and movies, including “Justice League.” We constantly see figures like Batman, Spider-Man and Superman in major movie roles and in the toy section, but only recently have we seen Black Widow or Wonder Woman on
screen and in the media. I’m especially angry with Marvel. Is Marvel going to make and remake movies about each male hero (like with the Spider-Man franchise), then eventually film a movie with Black Widow as the main character instead of one of the supporting characters? It’s made Wolverine movie after Wolverine movie; I’m left wondering when it’s finally going to make a movie about Storm and her origin. Producers seem to prioritize recycling narratives about male superheroes instead of creating films about the backstory of strong female superheroes. Superheroes like Storm, Vixen and Hawkgirl have biographies that are just as interesting as Superman and Spider-Man (their backstories may actually be more interesting because they aren’t as wellknown), but we never get the chance to learn about these characters in movies. With the release of this year’s “Wonder Woman” and “Justice League,” I finally got what I’ve wanted for over a decade, and a female superhero finally got some credit. I say some because while “Justice League” and “Wonder Woman” included Themyscira, Wonder Woman’s birth place, the movies don’t include other shots of women fighting and of women in positions of power. Women in these movies are still mainly supporting characters, while men continue to be some of the main characters. Besides seeing the Amazons in Themyscira in the beginning of the film and Etta Candy (Steve Trevor’s secretary), Wonder Woman is the only woman who speaks in the film. “Justice Leag ue” features female characters (Hippolyta, Martha Kent, Lois Lane and Mera), but very few conversations involving these characters pass the final part of the Bechdel test.
The lack of women in inf luential positions and the constant ignoring of them is not specific to comic books or action movies. We can see it play out in the modern world in Congress, where women comprise less than 25 percent of either house, and globally on corporate boards. Unlike in “Justice League,” women are not seen as a force to be reckoned with, but just something people think they can put their hands on when the mood hits them — take the stream of sexual harassment and assault allegations against writers, directors and even an editor at DC Comics. But in “Justice League” and “Wonder Woman,” unlike reality, people took women seriously. The characters saw Wonder Woman as someone who is strong, intelligent and played a pivotal role in the groups she worked with. She often acted as a peacemaker, cooling tensions within the group. Unlike Batman, who was ready to jump to a decision without adequately evaluating the risks, she exercised caution when making difficult decisions and considered how her actions and decisions would affect others. Near the end of the movie, when the fighting was tense and I stared wide-eyed at the screen, Wonder Woman says, “On my lead.” With this statement, she makes it clear that she is in charge, that she’s someone the characters look to for guidance and that she has the strength of character to call the shots. She gives herself permission to be “bossy,” to be assertive, an action that is both subversive and inspiring considering our society constantly tries to push women into the background and as far from any position of inf luence or power as possible. Corey Dulin can be reached at cydulin@umich.edu.
HANNAH CHOSID | OP-ED
On being a feminist in a sorority
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any people who have known me for a long time were shocked when I decided to join a sorority. People told me that joining a sorority did not seem to align with my values — I always prioritize school, I don’t love partying and I am not a “girly-girl.” But most importantly, I value gender equality. It was implied to me that being a feminist and joining a sorority were mutually exclusive. But to me, joining a sorority was the embodiment of feminism — it meant being a member of an allfemale organization of strong, passionate leaders on campus. My sorority experience has overall been positive. I certainly joined the sorority that was the best fit for me and have become friends with women from all over the country whom I likely wouldn’t have otherwise met. Yet being a feminist has led me to identify problematic aspects of Greek life, most of which are due to the stark gender roles embedded in the Greek community. I hate getting emails about our social schedule each week encouraging us to be “fun and flirty” for fraternity boys. I hate the gendered themes of parties, like “Army Hoes and GI Joes.” I squirmed at the emails we received during rush detailing the specific shoes and makeup we needed to wear. I was constantly aware that the men in Greek life were never subject to any of these social pressures to act or dress a certain way for girls’ benefits. The most blatant gendered difference in Greek life involves the alcohol policies in fraternities and sororities. Parties are only held at fraternity houses, where men provide the alcohol and control who is able to attend the parties — a “home-turf” advantage of sorts. Fraternities do not have adults living in their houses
and are not subject to frequent checks for alcohol and drugs. Walking into a fraternity member’s room, one is likely to see a bottle of alcohol or a bong sitting out in the open. Sororities, on the other hand, are not allowed to host parties. Sorority members are not allowed to have alcohol in their houses and have “house moms” who live with them to make sure the women are on their best behavior and who often dig around in girls’ drawers to look for illicit substances. While I am not encouraging either organization to bend the rules on underage drinking, I would like to see some equality. Women should not be held to a different standard from men, and if it is acceptable for men to drink underage, women should be able to as well. Sorority women are taught they should never accept drinks given to them at fraternities, yet they are punished if they are caught with alcohol in their houses. The implied logic is that sorority women should not drink. However, this is an unrealistic aspiration and certainly not one that is thrust on fraternity men. Instead, men are able to patronizingly provide alcohol to sorority women at parties, since fraternities are allowed to have alcohol. Not coincidentally, sorority women are more likely to be sexually assaulted than other college women. This fact alone should indicate that Greek life is problematic. There is a case to be made that women would be safer if they were implicitly allowed to have alcohol in their sororities, just as men are implicitly allowed to have alcohol in fraternities. For one, women should be allowed to drink alcohol they have purchased and measure the number of drinks they intend to consume. This is infinitely safer than taking drinks from
strangers at fraternities, who could add a drug to the drink or simply pour more alcohol than the recipient can safely handle. The recent Interfraternity Council ban on fraternity social activity provides an opportunity to sit back and reconsider what Greek life is really about. We must remember why we decided to join this community and make changes that are representative of our values. The ban on fraternity parties is absolutely pointless unless we use it as a catalyst for long overdue changes. As women, we do not need to be complacent in a system that creates a power imbalance between men and women. We should stand up for ourselves, instead of encouraging the perpetuation of harmful and unnecessary differences in policies based solely on gender for fraternities and sororities. Fraternities allow men to occupy a space that makes taking advantage of women easy, and it is time to recognize the need for change in this patriarchal system. It is time to start treating sorority women the same as fraternity men. Maybe part of the answer is allowing women to have their own alcohol and throw parties — which includes managing who is let in and out of the house, rather than attending parties in an environment that puts them in danger. These are valid changes we must consider as we recognize the problems in our community. At the moment, I am not proud to be affiliated with Greek life at the University of Michigan. I would be prouder of this community if we made changes to promote gender equality and encourage women’s safety in a conventionally patriarchal institution. Hannah Chosid is an LSA sophomore.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, December 7, 2017 — 5A
Beilein remains patient with rotation still in flux Michigan’s coach said before the season opener that he hoped to eventually trim the rotation to eight or nine men. Eleven Wolverines took the floor Monday night in a loss to Ohio State, but Beilein will not be rushed in his presumed decision. MAX MARCOVITCH Daily Sports Editor
A year ago Wednesday, Michigan beat Texas, 53-50, in a grind-it-out type of win you tend to see in college basketball in early December. The Wolverines went eight deep that day, two of whom didn’t take a shot. Derrick Walton Jr. played 39 of 40 minutes, and bench contribution was more symbolic than reality. It was a team that knew what it wanted to be — and the path it needed to take — even if it wasn’t there just yet. Fast forward a year, and this iteration of the Michigan men’s basketball team heads into a game against UCLA with about as little clarity in its rotation as any team in the Big Ten. Monday, in a loss to Ohio State, 11 Wolverines saw the court — including all three freshmen. Only senior guard Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman played more than 32 minutes, and their four leading scorers on the season — Abdur-Rahkman, junior forward Moritz Wagner, fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson and redshirt sophomore guard Charles Matthews — combined to shoot 1-for-20 in the second half as they let a 20-point lead deteriorate into a demoralizing nine-point loss. Freshman guard Jordan
Poole only played eight minutes, fifth-year senior guard Jaaron Simmons played seven firsthalf minutes, freshman starting point guard Eli Brooks watched the majority of the Buckeyes’ furious comeback from the bench and sophomore guard Ibi Watson was the first player off the bench. This comes two days after Poole led the team with 19 points, Simmons did not play, Watson didn’t see the f loor in the second half and Brooks led the team with six assists going up against a fifthyear senior. The first step in establishing an identity is codifying a rotation. And Michigan coach John Beilein seems no closer to doing so than he was at the outset of the season. On Nov. 10, a day before the season-opener against North Florida, Beilein said he hoped to trim the rotation shortly into the season. “(The rotation) will tighten up a little bit,” Beilein said. “I’ve always believed you can’t please everyone there, and you’re trying — perfect is an eight or nine man rotation. So depending on foul trouble, that’s where we’ll probably get to. Everyday is another opportunity for guys to get into those eight or nine.” After a blowout win against UC Riverside Nov. 26, Beilein addressed the subject again, offering little clarity yet again. “Everyday, I’m seeing who’s gonna grow now. I know what
It doesn’t matter who has what role to me, I think those kind of play themselves out.
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein said that Michigan’s rotation will be a journey until the younger players grow and the veterans embrace their larger roles.
people do, who’s going to grow the fastest. I anticipate some will grow faster,” Beilein said. “That’s up for grabs, and it’s still up for grabs. It will be every game, I’m just gonna go, ‘Who practiced well? Oh, he practiced well? Go in.’ It won’t necessarily be what you see in games, but what we see in practice.” It’s December now. Big Ten play has begun. The games are starting to matter more and more, and could ultimately loom large on an NCAA Tournament resume. Yet here we are. After the game Monday, Beilein struck a now-familiar
tone of patience when discussing the rotation. “This is something that’s going to be a journey all year for us until we grow our young kids, and our veterans embrace their new roles as being the guys, being a guy that’s gotta make a shot, that’s gotta make a play at a certain time.” According to Beilein, the tight schedule makes it difficult to implement changes. The Wolverines just faced a stretch of 10 games in 24 days. That kind of condensed schedule allows for less consideration of the team’s general direction, and more focus on individual
Spartans beckon in home-and-home clash ROBERT HEFTER Daily Sports Writer
Griffin Luce was definitive on what he wanted to see out of his team this weekend. “We’re just not gonna let them have the puck,” the sophomore defenseman said. “We’re gonna play with the puck in their end and when they do get the puck we’re gonna shut them down early.” Luce is reiterating a sentiment that has been ever-present for the Michigan hockey team (2-42 Big Ten, 6-6-2 overall) – give a hard-nosed and swift defensive performance that translates into a powerful offensive front. However, this hasn’t happened recently, as evidenced by their forfeiture of eight goals against Ohio State last weekend. The Wolverines have one more chance this calendar year to reverse a recent skid, and it will come this weekend against Michigan State (1-6-1, 7-8-1). In terms of Big Ten rankings,
the Spartans are the one team slated below Michigan, and the pair – alongside Ohio State – look up at a conference headlined by No. 4 Notre Dame. “As much as we’ve played maybe inconsistently, we’re right in the thick of things,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “This is a huge weekend. If we can string together a couple real good games and we’re right in the thick of things in the Big Ten.” The Wolverines and Spartans face off at Yost Ice Arena on Thursday, but travel to East Lansing on Friday for their first home-and-home set of the year. Coming off an exhibition win earlier this week against the U-18 U.S. National Development Team Program, Michigan was able to notch a week of muchneeded practice. “I definitely think we’ve used it to our advantage,” Pearson said. “I think having that game was very important. … We got to work on our power play, our special teams and some other
things.” The special teams practice will likely come into play heavily against the Spartans. Compared to Michigan State’s .203 conversion percentage on power-plays, the Wolverines’ is just .164. Forwards Mitchell Lewandowski, Taro Hirose and Patrick Khodorenko have tallied 49 points thus far, making the Spartans’ leading line enemy number one for the Michigan defense. “I think we’ll play strength against strength,” Pearson said. “We think we have three lines that can play against them and do a good job. … Obviously we’ll make our players aware of them, but I think the best way to shut a line down like that is to force them to play without the puck.” The Wolverines are no stranger to this type of firstline brilliance, though. Senior forwards Dexter Dancs and Tony Calderone, alongside junior forward Cooper Marody, have been present in every
discussion of the Michigan offense. The trio has combined for 47 points so far this season, but following a standstill performance at Ohio State in which the Wolverines were swept at home, Pearson decided it would be time for a change. While the Wolverines’ leading line is expected to remain intact, by switching Calderone and sophomore forward Will Lockwood for the matchup against the USNDTP, Pearson proved that those efforts for versatility were feasible. “We experimented with a couple things this weekend,” Dancs said. “I think mine’s staying together so I think it’ll be good for us, we’ve had some success but the last few games we haven’t been as good as we were in previous weekends.” While Michigan may have a slightly better conference record, the Wolverines must avoid defensive lapses to keep the Spartans’ offense at bay.
MAX KUANG/Daily
Sophomore defenseman Griffin Luce was blunt in saying that the Wolverines will not let Michigan State control the puck when they face off this weekend.
game preparation. For Robinson, that inconsistency in the rotation — and the solidifying of roles — doesn’t inhibit production on the court, or, in the case of Monday’s outing in Columbus, provide an excuse for a lack thereof. He’s not ready to make those excuses. “I just want to win,” Robinson said in a blunt tone, carried over from a frustrating performance. “It doesn’t matter who has what role to me, I think those kind of play themselves out. There’s some identity there, knowing what you do well, and doing it, and
doing your job, but we just have to play better.” But at some point there will come a day of reckoning, when it comes time to make decisions and when patience no longer remains a viable option — when Beilein will have to decide whether he prefers Watson or Poole, which two of the three point guards will earn a majority of the minutes, who positions themselves to earn major roles and who doesn’t. Until then, the Wolverines seem content to continue to spin the roulette wheel, waiting patiently until the cream rises to the top.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Marquette offense poses threat for ‘M’ HUNTER SHARF Daily Sports Writer
One of the nation’s most prolific offenses will roll through Crisler Center on Thursday night – and it doesn’t belong to the Michigan women’s basketball team. The 24th-ranked Wolverines (6-2) will have their hands full with the potent Marquette attack, something coach Kim Barnes Arico is fully aware of. “Marquette is a great team,” said Barnes Arico on WTKA. “They had a tremendous season last year and they have everyone returning. This will be a great matchup for us because this will be an NCAA Tournament team for sure.” The Golden Eagles (4-3) rank 16th in the NCAA scoring 84.4 points per game, 20th in field goal percentage at 46.9 and 22nd in assists with just over 18 per game. For comparison, Michigan averages 73.1 points per game, shoots 46.4 percent from the field and amasses 14.3 assists. Despite the statistical disadvantage, the Wolverines should be confident following two consecutive blowout victories. Michigan outscored LIU Brooklyn and Detroit Mercy by a margin of 73 points. Marquette however, is on a different level than either of the previous two foes. The Wolverines will also have a slight edge on defense. Led by senior forward Jillian Dunston, Michigan has allowed 62.1 points per game thus far. But at times this season, Barnes Arico and multiple players have admitted to lapses defensively. In order to beat a sound Golden Eagles team, the Wolverines must play consistent defense for all 40 minutes. On the other hand, Marquette gives up an average of 68.3 points each game. This number may be somewhat inflated though, as a result of the Golden Eagles hightempo offense. Also, Marquette’s full court press – a strategy they
run the entire game – may wear on the Wolverines. “We try to practice moving the basketball as quickly as we can,” Barnes Arico said. “If you move the basketball, it’s hard to trap. So, we just try to continue to practice against those numbers and simulate those situations as much as possible.” The most intriguing matchup – and what the game may come down to – lies at the guard positions. Senior guard Katelynn Flaherty leads Michigan in scoring with 23 points per game. Since Flaherty sees time at both the point and shooting guard positions, she will match up against the Golden Eagles’ two leading scorers – guards Allazia Blockton and Natisha Hiedeman. The duo combines for over 33 points and eight assists per game. The Wolverines will need a solid performance from Flaherty, their all time leading scorer, in order to come out victorious. Another advantage for Michigan is its diversity on offense. The Wolverines’ two main offensive options – Flaherty and center Hallie Thome – allow Michigan to score both outside and in the post. If Marquette doubles Flaherty, expect Thome to see a lot of action down low. And on the contrary, if Thome sees a lot of pressure, shots will open up for Flaherty and sharpshooting junior Nicole Munger. The Wolverines are still looking for their first top-tier win of the season, previously losing to current No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 Louisville. In both matchups, Michigan held leads, but was unable to sustain success for the entire game. The Wolverines look to draw on those experiences Thursday night. In order for Michigan to come out on top, it must receive solid play from its leading scorers and play hard-nosed defense for the entire game.
Sports
6A — Thursday, December 7, 2017
Season in Review 2017:
LINEBACKERS
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
With the Michigan football team’s 2017 regular season in the books, the Daily looks back at the performance of each unit this year and looks ahead to the future in 2018. In this edition: linebackers Well, this transition went smoother than many probably expected. Entering the 2017 season, the Wolverines were tasked with replacing Ben Gedeon in the middle of the field, and Jabrill Peppers’ unique role in the VIPER spot. Sophomores Khaleke Hudson and Devin Bush Jr. quickly put any speculation to rest. Hudson — who took over at VIPER — finished the season with 72 tackles, two interceptions, seven sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. The latter two marks landed him fourth and third in the Big Ten in each respective category, and earned him third team All-Big Ten honors. Not to be outdone, Bush finished with 94 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, eight pass break ups and an interception of his own. That production not only garnered first team All-Big Ten honors, but has also landed him among the finalists for the Butkus Award — an honor given annually to the nation’s top linebacker. Michigan found success outside the production of its two star sophomores, too. Redshirt junior Noah Furbush saw an increased role, playing in every game as a key component of defensive coordinator Don Brown’s new 3-3-5 stack formation. Furbush finished with 28 tackles and two fumble recoveries — one of which was a gamesealing touchdown in the season opener against Florida. Rounding out the group was fifth-year senior Mike McCray — the sole key contributor who returned to the unit. The Wolverines’ defensive captain finished the year with a career-high 13 tackles for loss and 75 total tackles — two shy of also becoming a career high. HIGH POINT: Like the majority of Michigan’s defensive unit, there was a fair share of dominant performances. Bush’s coming out party came early, as he dominated the Gators at AT&T Stadium to open the season. He finished that game with seven tackles — 2.5 for loss — and 1.5 sacks. Bush wasted no time in building off that momentum, as he recorded a season-high 12 tackles just two games later against Air Force.
Season Totals Bush: 94 tackles, 9.5 for loss Hudson: 72 tackles, 16.5 for loss McCray: 75 tackles, 13 for loss Furbush: 28 tackles, 1.5 for loss
PHOTOS BY SAM MOUSIGIAN, AMELIA CACCHIONE, EVAN AARON DESIGN BY AVA WEINER
He wouldn’t be in the running for the Butkus Award if those performances didn’t become the norm, but those two earlyseason performances were highlights — especially when few knew what to expect out of him this season. Hudson’s showing against Minnesota was one for the record books — literally. Against the Golden Gophers, he finished with 15 tackles, eight tackles for loss and three sacks for a loss of 34 yards. The eight tackles for loss set program and conference records for a single game. Last but not least, McCray led the Wolverines with three tackles for loss against the Buckeyes, and finished with 11 total tackles — a mark only matched by Rashan Gary. LOW POINT: The Wolverines left Happy Valley with a whimper in late October. Michigan’s linebackers were no exception. Saquon Barkley ran all over the Wolverines, averaging 7.2 yards per carry and scoring two rushing touchdowns. But Barkley’s 42-yard receiving touchdown with just over 13 minutes left in the fourth quarter really told the tale of the Wolverines’ struggles. Barkley dusted McCray in coverage just 10 yards into the route, making one move before heading straight down the right hashmarks. Trace McSorley had an easy throw, and he made it. He found the end zone, and Michigan went down by 22. Though far less concerning, Bush also went through a three-game stretch against Michigan State, Indiana and Penn State in which he didn’t record a single tackle for loss. Bush admitted he noticed that people adjusted to him, trying to take him out of plays. In turn, Bush adjusted himself, finishing the season in the same way he started. Calling it a low point would be hyperbole, but after emerging as Michigan’s breakout star early in the season, Bush’s three-game spell was, at the very least, surprising. THE FUTURE: Bush and Hudson will be back, now equipped with a full year of experience. Furbush has another year of eligibility as well. Don Brown can rest easy in that regard. McCray, however, has exhausted his eligibility. The Wolverines will return freshmen Drew Singleton and Jordan Anthony, along with sophomores Josh Uche and Devin Gil. There has been little indication of who could fill McCray’s shoes, but the matchup against Florida at least gave a hint. After McCray brief ly exited the game with an injury, Gil was the one to take McCray’s snaps.
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The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | Thursday, December 7, 2017
The Architecture Issue
Design by Ava Weiner
Arts
2B —Thursday, December 7, 2017
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House on Orchard Hills: Frank Llyod Wright’s modernist haven MATT GALLATIN Daily Music Editor
Consider triangles, and consider geometry. These structures are here, literally and in spirit: The small interior benches are triangles; the shower is a triangle; the lampshades are triangles; the roof, too, is a triangle, though it’s an especially idiosyncratic example. Consisting of cedar shingles and wooden fascias, it folds downward just slightly and moves into an aggressive point in the backyard, where it hangs over a patio that expands into the grass. The roof looks almost like a spaceship, moving through the stars — except this spaceship stands among blowing leaves, and atop a hill. That is, it’s almost winter now, and the trees are beginning to prepare for it, shedding their green and yellow onto the ground, making a red circle around the wooden bench in the backyard. The circle of red leaves is fallen from the apple tree that stands behind the bench. The roof looks right at it. Geometry can be confusing. There’s an adage that parents tell their children who are bad at geometry: If you’re bad at geometry, you’ll be good at algebra. If you’re bad at algebra, you’ll be good at geometry. For those kids in the first camp, who took to numbers rather than shapes, geometry might have felt forced, oddly unreal — inapplicable — with its sines and cosines, linear planes and precise measurements of the angles of a hexagon. The consequences of 3.14 and antipodal points might feel too abstract and separated from the ball you smack in a tennis match. It can be hard to
see how math relates at all to this strange-ceilinged home on a hill. But there is an approachable geometry at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Palmer House, situated at the top of Orchard Hills Drive, right on the edge of Ann Arbor’s city limits. When you drive up the lightly graveled driveway after curving back and forth a few times, you first notice the sharp edges of the outdoor garage. There’s a flat awning supported by triangular brick columns for vehicles, and for most cars, the back bumper will stick out just a little farther than the awning supports. Then you notice more shapes. There are the long and thin rectangular prisms of the stairs that lead to the front door, and a corner of the home stands to the left of the stairs (when you enter, you’ll then notice this is the kitchen), with two separate, horizontal rows of identical designs running through it. These are little windows cut into concrete blocks, and there are 40 of them that surround the kitchen, though only about half face out to the stairs by the entryway. This is a structure with a meticulousness for edges and lines. It feels hyperaware of where the eye will go, and where it wants to lead it. This home’s geometry leads first to the door. The two front doors are in the French style and could pass as windows, if it weren’t for the dainty handles at waist level. Gary Cox, a resident of Plymouth, opens one. Cox is wearing a horizontally striped polo and blue jeans, and his rimless reading spectacles sit on a counter, facing the entryway. Cox is the father of the current owner of the Palmer House, Jeffrey Schox. Schox, who does not live in Ann Arbor,
is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s mechanical engineering program, and he now runs a patent law firm focused on startups; it has a sleek website that uses words like “transparency,” “passion” and “excellence.” He also has a soul patch, and resides in San Francisco. Cox is responsible for most of the daily upkeep of the home,
The roof looks almost like a spaceship, moving through the stars; except this spaceship stands among blowing leaves, and atop a hill.
which now operates as a guest house year-round. (This is discounting assorted holidays. The family likes to spend their Christmases here.) He gives the rare tour and checks on the state of the infrastructure. Cox walks into the living room, where he begins to revel in his knowledge of the home. The room feels massive, though by square feet it’s a little larger than most American lounges. Cox meets each client before turning over the keys, and this
is at least in part for vetting purposes. He reserves the right, he says, to turn a renter away at the door if he feels it’s necessary. But he has never done so, and these door greetings act more as an introduction to the home, which Cox says is the most difficult part of his job. To articulate to the clients what this all means; “to get the clients to … understand,” he says, requires this introduction. Cox speaks eloquently, at times impassionedly, when he talks about the Palmer House. He sometimes chuckles slightly as he recounts the details of the lives of the original owners. He has given this talk and tour many times — gave it just last week, to a group of students from the University’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Keeping the name, “Palmer House,” is one of the stipulations for owning the home, which was designed by famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1950s. The home is under easement by the National Register of Historic Places, and beyond keeping the title, the new owners must also consult — and get approval from — the conservatory register to make any design changes, no matter how mundane. Every so often, the conservatory register makes a visit to inspect conditions. He speaks on these visits as if they were coffee dates among friends, chatting about the latest shift in furniture. The title comes from the home’s original owners, William Palmer and his wife, Mary. Both were graduates of the University. William Palmer, known more commonly as Bill, or Billy, became a professor of economics after earning his master’s from
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the University in 1930. Mary Palmer, a pianist, graduated from the music theory program in 1937, and the couple married that same year. It was Mary Palmer who reached out to Frank Lloyd Wright to design the home, and it was she who put in the work to see the initiative to completion — a trend true for many women with spectacled husbands who spend too much time in the study. The Palmers were living in a farm home on Geddes Avenue when they purchased two lots on Orchard Hills Drive with a generous donation from Mary Palmer’s father, who was involved in various banking and business interests. By then, they’d had their two children, Adrian in 1940 and Mary Louise in 1942. But it wasn’t just for them that they wanted the new home: The Palmers loved to entertain, and found it exceedingly difficult to do so at the more cramped estate. So the Palmers shopped around for an architect, looking at local homes for inspiration. They were especially attracted to the Margaret and Harry Towsley home on Vinewood Avenue, which was owned by and built for the Towsleys in 1932. Dr. Harry Towsley was a professor and a pediatrician at the University’s Medical School, while Margaret Towsley was an active community member, volunteering for Planned Parenthood, the community center and the Republican Party. The Towsley home is arguably the beginning of the modernist architecture movement in Ann Arbor, with its flat roof and its garage that faced the street — a bold move then, and a first for the city. It was designed by Alden Dow, a Michigan architect who apprenticed under Wright. He would go on to design many prominent buildings in Ann Arbor, including the City Hall (on Huron Street, just down the street from those monstrous, ever-under-construction, brand-new student apartment buildings), the Ann Arbor District Library, the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and several on-campus facilities. It was Bill Palmer’s brother, Carlos, who first suggested to the Palmers at a cocktail party that they seek out Dow’s mentor
But inside there was warmth everywhere — in the fireplace, in the beautiful cypress throughout the house, and in the marvelous, warm floors.
himself, Frank Lloyd Wright. Carlos Palmer was familiar with Wright’s work, and stated matter-of-factly their architect should be, “Wright, of course.” Though Mary and Bill Palmer are no longer alive, conversations with the family regarding the house were recorded by Grant Hildebrand and synthesized into a book, published nearly a decade ago. Cox presents a volume to me, titled simply “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Palmer House,” with a sense of inherited pride. It rests on the living room coffee table, which is shaped as a parallelogram. These conversations illuminate a meticulousness by the Palmers in planning their home, especially from Mary Palmer’s end; she speaks in big ideas, and with poetic eloquence. She explained her first time walking through a Wright home with her husband as so: “We sensed a new experience immediately on entering the carport and on into the loggia. … But inside there was warmth everywhere — in the fireplace, in the beautiful cypress throughout the house, and in the marvelous, warm floors.” And yet she was not
immediately sold on Wright. She explained, “I was attracted to his philosophy but … did I really want to live in one of those houses?” Here, she gets at something that feels tangible walking through this museum-home. The almost overbearing intention of the place doesn’t necessarily scream “homey.” “There was no basement rec room, no place that wasn’t absolutely beautiful,” remembers the daughter Mary Louise, describing the tenseness that comes with such beauty. Indeed, there’s a strict atmosphere in the air as we walk around; Cox has disallowed photographs of nearly all the interior, since it was stayed in just last night. When we walk into the bedrooms, with the bedding slightly unmade, he seems a bit embarrassed. He apologizes. The house is “not quite perfect right now.” Yet there’s a comfort in seeing the parallelogram beds imperfect, some humanity in those wrinkled sheets. But on the drive home from a visit to a Wright house, Mary Palmer explained that she and Bill Palmer looked one another in the eyes and said, “Let’s get Mr. Wright,” and so they — or rather, she — did. Wright was 83 and it was May when Mary Palmer tracked him down at North Carolina State University. Wright was giving a lecture to their architectural school, and Palmer approached him and gave him extensive notes about the plot on Orchard Hills. Wright accepted the job, and replied to Palmer: “Now you go back to your husband and take care of those children. They need to live in one of my houses. I’ll take these things with me.” Wright presented the Palmers with the original “plan geometry” in January 1951, and Mary, one of the few Wright homeowners to push back successfully on parts of his plan, made a few changes. Red brick was exchanged for the concrete originally proposed; a shower was added, an amenity which Wright was often reluctant to include in his homes, being a man of baths himself. After revisions, construction began that April, and the house was completed the following year, just in time for the Christmas of 1952. Mary Palmer, like her home, was a woman strict in her structure. Cox pauses while describing her, and lands on “feisty” — “quite a gal.” She often told her children to maintain “visual order,” in their home, and in all things, and her son Adrian later complained that he missed a place where he could “have just messed around.” There seems to be a price paid for the home’s impeccable beauty. Still, he says he later recognized the higher pleasure of the home — and, unspoken but understood, of his own mother’s order. Mary Palmer was integral to the local community, heading the Ann Arbor music society and often hosting elaborate recitals in her home, where she kept a Steinway Grand for such occasions. She had an interest in the spiritual and bodily, and became dedicated to yoga later in her life. A remembrance for her, published by the National Iyengar Yoga Association after her death in 2011, describes her passion for the practice. According to the piece, Palmer’s fascination with yoga began in the ’60s; the passion, as the story goes, blossomed from her studies under B.K.S. Iyengar of India. Palmer tracked him down in 1969, and sat in on his classes for nearly three weeks before he would speak with her. He had seen her as another of the floating tourist types from the United States who were common in this period of Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s, coming only for photos and a story to bring back West. But Palmer was not, and proved her allegiance with a 15-minute headstand. A line from her book on the subject elaborates on such dedication: “The lure of yoga demands from one the highest potential. At the same time it reveals one’s weaknesses. The moment of truth cannot be experienced without the constant play of these opposing forces.” Palmer passed away in 2011. She had been living in a “memory facility” in Ypsilanti, as Cox describes it, for the last few years of her life.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com When I walked up to the home, I noticed a crack in the window next the door on the right. It was shaped like a semicircle, clear among the seamless infinity windows and elegant French doors. Cox makes no mention of how it got there, and does not address it until a crew pulls up and opens the door amid his sentence. He apologizes and walks over to attend to them as they enter the home with their equipment, quite nonchalant. Cox had been talking about furniture. As with most of the homes Wright designed, he included plans for furniture, beds and even ceramic dinnerware, envisioning the home down to the smallest details. The dining room table had been owned by the Palmers before, but the rest required special construction, and cups and plates sit out perfectly arranged near the dining table. The living room was designed with the Steinway Grand that Mary Palmer loved in mind; her favorite tune was apparently “Bless This House.” But the piano has been removed, and the living room does feel a bit absent without it. Cox informs me that the piano was sold to Ben Folds, the popular songwriter from North Carolina, who was apparently acquainted with Palmer. The Palmer House was placed on the market in August 2008, in the midst of the Great Recession. It was also just a month after Mary Louise passed away, the only daughter of the Palmers, for reasons Cox will not discuss. That left Adrian as the only surviving member of the family; but he is now a professor at a college in Utah, and has little reason to come back to Ann Arbor. The home was listed for a cool $1.5 million when it was purchased by Jeffrey Schox. Cox tells the story of Jeffrey’s interest in the home. Jeffrey, an avid runner while a student at the University, grew infatuated with the Palmer House as he passed it on his routes around the Nichols Arboretum. He was especially intrigued by its strangely shaped roof. He apparently started planning his runs specifically to pass the home, and in the process, fell in love with it, and fell in love with Wright. Schox wrote a letter to Adrian Palmer once it was put on the market, expressing his fascination with the Palmer House and his interest in purchasing it, and outlined his plans to turn it into a guest home. Palmer responded, “My mother would be proud.” Beyond removing the piano, the new owners have largely kept what once was. As we walk around the home — with Cox explaining in appreciation the expanded ceilings in the bedrooms, the hill in relation to rooms, the use of space — I
notice the books that line the narrow hallway to the study, bearing titles like “500 Cups,” “Treasures of Ancient” and “Healing Heart.” There are Sumi ink posters throughout the home too, in the entryway, in the kitchen, in the hallways. This was all left from the family, as Cox confirms, perhaps tokens brought back by Mary Palmer, an enthusiast of Eastern Hemisphere travel. In the study is a photograph of the builder of the home, Erwin Niethammer,
Arts which was also left by the Palmers. It’s almost like the design, the construction and everyone involved in both became residents of the home as easily as the Palmers did. They must have kept Wright in mind, for example, as they prepared food in the kitchen: There are no handles in there, as Wright thought they would ruin its look. Each drawer must be pulled open by the bottom, so to open the very top one, you must pull the
bottom four open first, lowest to highest. Cox guesses that Mary Palmer would have left the drawers open for ease in her daily life, and then quickly close them as she saw guests arrive in the driveway through the kitchen windows. When I try to open one of the upper cabinets, I find it surprisingly tricky, and it takes me at least four attempts to open and close it successfully. I can examine the little designs in the kitchen now, the same ones which ran parallel to
Thursday, December 7, 2017 — 3B the stairway I ascended to the entrance. It’s harder to make out the exact design from outside, but inside I can see now how it sinks into the concrete. Cox describes the image as a bird in flight, the symbol of the Palmer House — it keeps to the distaste for perpendicular lines here, and its aggressive attention to triangles. This design is original to the home, as Wright liked to add a defining feature to each of his residential works. When the sun sets in the West over
the driveway, it shines through these small designs, throwing shapes of light all throughout the house. Cox explains this with competitive joy, like a tour guide describing a University tradition. I let Cox attend to the cracked window and the fixing crew, and walked around the perimeter of the home. Its size is continually surprising; just when I thought the structure ended, there’s another offshoot, another little detail I’ve missed. There’s the occasional triangular bricks in the ground for walking, and a small, pleasing light fixture that looks especially Japanese in inspiration. You can almost hear a stream babbling near, though the stream that passed by the home dried long ago. The closest water source is the Huron River, over a mile away. The tranquility is astounding, almost shocking given the locale, seeing as the drive passes right by several fraternity houses, so many of which are currently embroiled in some pesky scandals surrounding a few assorted felonies. Those Victorian façades, which are luxurious and imposing, seem antithetical to Wright’s style. There’s such an ease in becoming abstract in this place. The very physical and real home that sits on this hill, through which a family lived, married and died, conjures up an almost inexplicable emotional response. That feeling sits somewhere between the precision of its geometry and the casual bend of the trees above it. It works because it feels natural and unforced, as if every home should look as if it glides past Saturn. Despite the oversaturation of the word “organic” when speaking of Wright, it still comes to mind. That word can feel empty when applied to his works, given its oversaturation. And yet, there is probably no better descriptor to capture the essence of what it’s like to walk through, and to look upon, one of his buildings. The Palmer House is one of the last in a line of hundreds of residences he designed, and though it maintains the thread among his many works, it is, as each other, unique. At this point in his career, so close to the end of his life, he pushed experiments with form as far as they could stretch. Take the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, for example, which he designed at the same time as the Palmer’s home. There, he fixated on the circle; here, he’s taking on the triangle. Wright was showing a fixation with specific shapes as themes, as delineators of the story each project was meant to tell. That theme could shift with each home to reflect the personality of the land and the people who were to live on it.
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A movie of mirrors: Architecture in ‘Columbus’ Kogonada’s debut film explores the complexities of parent-child relationships through the lens of modernist architecture MEGHAN CHOU Daily Arts Writer
If you ask someone to name the architectural centers of the United States, they’ll probably respond with Washington, D.C., or some other signature metropolis like Chicago. Surprisingly, thanks to the vision of a local leader, the small Midwestern town of Columbus, Ind., tops many lists as an architectural icon. Scattered throughout Columbus are the Modernist works of Eero Saarinen — designer of the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, and the University’s School of Music — as well as other significant architects. First-time writer-director Kogonada features these buildings in his recent film, “Columbus” — a breathtaking arthouse drama that follows the intertwining lives of Jin (John Cho, “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle”), Casey (Haley Lu Richardson, “The Edge of Seventeen”) and the town of Columbus itself. Eero Saarinen’s asymmetrical church, I.M. Pei’s Cleo Rogers Memorial Library and several design treasures get their moment in the
spotlight. Cinematographer Elisha Christian (“Everything Sucks!”) incorporates this striking architecture in her takes, letting monumental features like Saarinen’s 192-foot spire on the North Christian Church pop from the background. When Jin’s estranged father, a renowned architectural historian, falls into a sudden coma, Jin finds himself stuck in suburban Indiana. Korean family values trap him in a state of purgatory — drifting between the hospital, his father’s inn room and conversations with Casey, a young girl with a wise mind. Casey acts as Jin’s tour guide, taking him to her favorite architectural haunts. Against the backdrop of “Columbus”’s stunning landscape, the two form a friendship and attempt to answer the difficult question: What do we owe our parents? Kogonada aids this inquisition with the use of mirrors to observe their interactions with the world. Many of the buildings Casey showcases to Jin feature glass as the main medium, allowing the camera to capture intimate moments in ref lections. When Jin reminisces about his relationship with his father,
he is only shown through the inn’s ornate mirror. Similarly, when Casey speaks of the duty she feels to her mother, she appears in the car rearview mirror. At one point, Kogonada treats a window as a two-way mirror, placing the audience on the other side of the glass as Casey silently explains why a particular building moves her so much. The bond Casey feels with her mother strongly contrasts that of Jin and his father. Casey finds nothing more fulfilling than giving back to a parent — a sacrifice Jin struggles to reconcile with. In fact, Casey opted out of college to remain in Indiana and care for her mother, a former addict. Kogonada uses the polarity of their opinions to further weave the concept of mirrors into the film. The two characters change in ways that are ref lections of one another: As Jin resolves to stay by his father’s bedside, Casey finds the strength to leave her mother’s home. In addition, one of the final scenes of the film itself is a mirror of the first. Set in Saarinen’s Miller House that pulsates with natural light, a sequence of events plays out in a poignantly similar fashion. “Columbus” opens on
Eleanor (Parker Posey, “Dazed and Confused”) running through the Miller House to find her boss, Jin’s father. She finds him contemplating the manicured yard, surrounded by an expanse of green trees. When this excerpt repeats, it is Casey looking for Jin, eventually finding him in the exact same place his father stood. Through these ref lected scenes, Kogonada expresses
the complex nature of parentchild relationships, a timeless issue that surpasses cultural and generational differences. Like a cheeky hint of what to pay attention to, a short film by Kogonada precedes the feature set to the words of Sylvia Plath’s iconic poem, “Mirror.” A series of movie clips show women of various ages interacting with mirrors, displaying the meditative
and captivating power of architecture. “Columbus” carries this theme throughout in its contemplative pacing and cinematography, providing insight to the answer of what we owe our parents. Although Kogonada ultimately leaves this question unanswered, he suggests there are revelations to be found through examining these two characters closely — as if looking in a mirror.
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Revitalizing Motor City through urban planning BECKY PORTMAN Daily Arts Writer
Detroit — a city whose past reminds us of the American Dream. Once drenched in streamlined chrome and automated wonder, Detroit was the hottest city this side of the Mississippi. Yet, in July 2013, Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy, leaving the nation and world wondering: What happened to Motor City? What caused this once-booming city center of culture and life to drown in over $18 billion of debt? Many have neglected the glory days of Detroit’s past, making it difficult to see the beauty that once was. Now, in the eyes of the broader American public, the city is decrepit, abandoned and forgotten. However, not everyone has forgotten about Detroit. Margaret Dewar, emeritus professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, has devoted much of her career to research centered around Detroit’s decline. Ellie Schneider, director of advocacy at DC3 is working to rebuild Detroit through design. Dewar and Schneider have not forgotten about Detroit, rather they live for the Motor City and want to restore it to its former glory. Let’s start from the beginning. Henry Ford test drove his first car on the streets of Detroit in 1896, spearheading the industrial revolution of the Motor City thanks to his innovative building strategy, the assembly line. By the early 20th century, industry was blowing up in Detroit, and during World War II, the same efficient car-building methods helped to quickly produce warwinning weapons for the Allied Powers. “Its peak population was recorded in 1950, about 1.85 million people,” Dewar explains. About this time, Berry Gordy was making waves in the music industry with his record company, Motown Records. Gordy himself was inspired by the Motor City for more than just the name of his record company. He used “quality control” strategies similar to those of auto industry fame to ensure the creation of the best products possible. Gordy’s label gave birth to the gospelmeets-blues-meets-good-time sound of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and the Jackson Five, to name a few. The 1950s were good years in Detroit, when it was the fourthlargest city in the United States. The auto industry was thriving and Motown tunes could be heard from the Fox Theater to the Detroit River. People wanted to live in Detroit: It was fun, and there were jobs.. However, the city began to crowd, eventually leading to, as Dewar puts it, “the suburbanization of households.” The city was getting too small for the multitudes of people who wanted to live there, leading to a mass exodus to
the surrounding suburban areas. Yet, not everyone could leave the smog for the clean air and spacious yards of Farmington Hills or Bloomfield Hills. The “suburbanization of households” was highly selective in the sense that only privileged, white families could move to the suburbs, whereas Black people were prevented from living in such areas due to racist policies. “At the same time, industrial processes changed so that single story plants were much more efficient for access to highways, as transportation was changing from railways to trucks,” Dewar said. Therefore, many of the jobs that once required city living were suburbanized through the highways and change in transportation methods. Interestingly enough, Dewar said after World War II, Detroit had the same number of manufacturing jobs as people living in the city. In summary, Detroit’s decline, according to Dewar, was caused by “relocation of jobs and relocation of people and that meant loss of city revenues.” The city began to have greater and greater difficulty providing the kinds of services people would expect of their municipal government, which, as Dewar concludes, “drives more people out.” Now, the city that once boasted a population of 1.85 million in 1950 has lost over 60 percent of its population. Seeing what happens after abandonment is exactly what Dewar’s research addresses. In the book she edited alongside June Manning Thomas, centennial professor of urban and regional planning at Taubman College, “The City After Abandonment,” the duo asks three big questions: What does a city look like after abandonment? What kinds of policies and changes make a difference in what the city becomes? And what should such cities become? Looking at other cities that have experienced population decline on a smaller scale, like Cleveland, and what kind of institutions they put in place to improve quality of life, influence what types of programs can be put in place to truly effect positive change in Detroit. For Detroit, it seems, the original purpose of the urban planner — to manage growth and development — is unnecessary. However, Dewar’s research raises another question: What is the job of the urban planner when there is no growth, when there is no development? Therefore, Dewar’s work is focused on adding to the development of the city and creating an environment in which it is lucrative for people to come back to Detroit. For example, right now she is working with a task force to try to refinance affordable housing in Detroit. When asked where she hopes Detroit will be in 10 years, Dewar responds with a laundry list of things that need to occur to revitalize and renew the city. “Improving quality of life
with better city services, more reasonable property tax levels, so it’s not so expensive to live there,” are important to Dewar in ensuring the rebuilding of Detroit. She knows it is a lot to ask for, but Dewar imagines a Detroit where people of all incomes, races and backgrounds can live together in harmony. She wants Detroit to be a place where people want to live, where there are jobs available and reasonable living. Dewar was drawn to the University initially because of its proximity to Detroit and the opportunity to “engage with the people and communities of Detroit,” as well as because she is “fascinated with the fortunes of big cities.” Ellie Schneider, on the other hand, came into her role in rebuilding Detroit as a lifelong Detroiter with a background as a bankruptcy attorney. Now Schneider is Director of Advocacy at DC3, Detroit Creative Corridor Center, an organization working to revitalize Detroit through design. Schneider explains DC3 as an “economic development organization focused on strengthening Detroit’s creative economy and connecting people to it.” This manifests itself primarily in helping small businesses and creative practitioners to help build the market for design in Detroit making it a hub for creative businesses and activities. Schneider highlights DC3’s network of designers, Creative Co. Through this network DC3 offers services for small businesses, including help securing contracts and connecting designers with potential clients. DC3 also supports activities and events to highlight the creative talent in Detroit. Schneider points out Drinks Design and the Detroit Design Festival as a few prime examples of emphasizing the creative communities emerging throughout the city. One of the biggest efforts of DC3 occurred in 2015, when UNESCO appointed Detroit as the only city in the United States as a certified UNESCO City of Design. DC3 played a huge role in helping Detroit obtain this designation — Schneider reports that she handled a lot of the application process. Since that victory, DC3 has been focused on the ways in which design, as Schneider said, “can help Detroit to become a more sustainable and equitable city over the next 10 years.” Schneider and DC3 want to harness the creative energy of Detroit and use it to revitalize, renew and repower the city, because according to her, “creativity and design play a role in building a stronger city and community altogether.” Detroit’s new title as a UNESCO City of Design means that it is now a part of a global network of cities from Cape Town, South Africa, to Shenzhen, China, focused on creativity and using that creativity to strengthen the economy and increase opportunities for the city’s residents. Schneider explains: “This network puts value
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on culture in the intangible sense.” Everything in culture, from furniture to film and gastronomy to galleries helps to create jobs and build a better, more sustainable city. Now the question is: What can Detroit do with its designation as a UNESCO City of Design? What does this mean for the future of the city? According to Schneider, it means looking at other cities and how they have used this designation to their advantage and then looking at Detroit’s unique perspective to improve the city. The plan for DC3 and Detroit City of Design, Schneider hopes, will be “reflective of what our strengths and challenges are as a city.” One may see Detroit as a sports city, a music city or even a motor city, but Schneider sees the future of Detroit as a city of design, and the future is now. Schneider reports: “Detroit houses the highest concentration of commercial and industrial designers in the country.” The hope is that through education, programming and policy the future designers of Detroit will see the power in the creative. Schneider explains there are a lot of great things happening in Detroit as far as design, “from the super corporate to the super grassroots,” but they are disconnected. Therefore, in the future DC3 hopes to cultivate a better network and community centered around a mutual respect and passion for design. When asked where she sees Detroit in 10 years, Schneider said she wants design to play a bigger, more visible role in the city’s economy. This seems like an attainable reality thanks to the work at DC3. Yet, one cannot speak of the future without mentioning children; as the immortal Whitney Houston declared in “Greatest Love of All,” “I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way.” Therefore, Schneider emphasizes her hope that young designers will pursue careers in the field of design. But first, there needs to be a shift in mentalities to ensure that today’s youth are encouraged to pursue their creative passions instead of being deterred by lack of funds for the arts in public schools or preconceived and archaic notions that pursuing a creative career is a life sentence
to starving artist status. It is no shock that like many creative fields, design is lacking in terms of diversity. Schneider hopes that she can change that with education, workshops and hands-on creative opportunities for children. The future shakers and makers of Detroit are the children. Therefore, DC3 puts a huge emphasis on supporting programs and institutions that help to enhance the creative, young minds at work in Detroit. This starts with cultivating talent and letting kids know creative jobs are possible. Grace in Action and Living Arts are two of countless programs put in place to empower Detroit’s youth through art and design, from screen printing to graphic design. In addition, institutions of higher education are trying to appeal to a high school student audience as well in order to promote talent and curiosity. The University’s own Architecture Prep program introduces Detroit high schoolers to the practice of architecture through a semester-long college prep course on the discipline. In addition, Lawrence Technology University provides summer programs for high school students in order to cultivate future students of technology and design. DC3 is not trying to create new programs — Schneider said that would be “impossible and irresponsible.” There are great programs and organizations in Detroit doing amazing work and DC3 wants to strengthen and support what is already out there instead of launching something new. One thing DC3 will be launching in early 2018 is its full strategy for cultivating Detroit’s creative economy over the next 10 years. Schneider guarantees “the education piece is absolutely imperative in order to think about any strategy that will be effective in 10 years … I mean we are talking about the people who will be Detroit’s designers 10 years from now.” “At this time in the world right now so many of us are closing in and withdrawing,” Schneider said. “I feel so fortunate that Detroit has this connection right now to these other cities around the world, dealing with a lot of the same challenges we are.” This global network of cities has been brought together,
despite geographical or cultural barriers, for their passion for design and change. “For us to be able to not only see what other cities are doing, but also to promote the really innovative ways in which Detroit is navigating,” Schneider said. Yet, Detroit has a different perspective; as Schneider explained, “we have basically no government resources to support our work.” Therefore, now more than ever a platform for the exchange of ideas and a network built on innovations is crucial for the change that needs to occur. Outsiders see Detroit as a city that is stuck in the past. Yet, there are those few revolutionaries that see beyond the Detroit of yesterday and look forward to the Detroit of tomorrow. As cheesy as that may sound, the people who are changing the city for the better are doing so from the ground up. For some, like Margaret Dewar, this means literally from the ground up. From a glance, the green spaces in Detroit are a lovely addition to the surrounding grayness. But did you know that urban planners are using installations of greenery to control water and prevent an over-flooding of sewage systems? That unseen work of the unsung urban planning heroes is what will bring Detroit back to its former glory days. Yet, Detroit’s legacy of innovation is not dead; it is refashioning itself into something different. Similar to Ford’s industry-shaking assembly line, Detroit is living through a renaissance of innovation. Now, the Motor City is officially City of Design, at least according to UNESCO. Henry Ford would be proud of the innovators making waves in Detroit and modernizing the city for the future and beyond. While Detroit is no longer the industrial hub it once was, it can be a center for design and creativity, according to Ellie Schneider and DC3. Detroit can be restored to its status as the capital of industry once again, only instead of automotive it is design-motive. “Sometimes down, but never out / Take strength in us, your people / Stay up Detroit” — Eminem, Letter to Detroit
SMTD ‘Violet’ to explore identity and race onstage SAMMY SUSSMAN Daily Arts Writer
The Department of Musical Theatre’s studio production of “Violet” opens this Thursday at the Arthur Miller Theater. Recently nominated for four revival Tony Awards in 2014, “Violet” follows the story of a young girl, the eponymous Violet, as she travels by bus from Spruce Pine, North Carolina to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Along the way, Violet befriends the other bus passengers and begins to learn more about herself. The musical is an adaptation of Doris Betts’ short story “The Ugliest Pilgrim.” It features many different styles of music like gospel and rock. Violet suffers from a scar she received in a childhood accident. The scar is not depicted on stage, however, and the audience is left to imagine it based on the reactions of other people. The play focuses on Violet’s discomfort with her physical appearance and struggle to overcome her inner fears. “Everyone has struggled with self-doubt,” said SMTD senior Natalie Duncan, who also plays Violet, in an interview with The Daily. In this instance, it is about “America and the world’s pressure on women. Your worth is not in how men see you. I can say that I struggle with that” — this is “something that I want to fight for everyday of my life.” “We can all look at ourselves and know that at some level we have a scar,” said director Mark Madama, Associate Professor of Musical Theatre. “She considered herself not to be pretty because she has a scar ... we don’t ever know how big that scar is.” In addition to self-worth, the
play also explores race as Violet begins to fall in love with Flick, a Black soldier also riding the bus played by SMTD junior Justin Showell. Throughout the play, Violet learns to move past Flick’s race and understand him on a personal level. Set in 1964, this
SMTD’s “Violet” Arthur Miller Theatre December 7th @ 7:30 p.m. December 8th & 9th @ 8 p.m. December 9th & 10th @ 2 p.m.
radical change belies Violet’s transition to understanding herself. “Racial issues have always been a prominent part of our society for as long as we’ve been America,” Madama said. “Me being Black is not an affliction, it’s not a disfigurement,” Showell said. “Flick sees Violet the way that the audience does the entire time ... by the end, Violet learns to see Flick in the same way.” The play ultimately revolves around becoming comfortable with oneself, transcending one’s inner fears and reaching one’s full potential. “We often, in ourselves, cannot see our full potential,” Showell said. “We often put shades and layers over ourselves and only do what we are perceived to be capable of.” “Even though the show is set in
1964, so much of the themes are relevant today,” Duncan said. “It’s timeless in a way.” “It’s about being able to accept yourself,” Madama said. “Being able to know yourself, being able to love yourself. It’s about finding where you fit into this world and not trying to be something you’re not.” After being premiered in 1997, “Violet” recently underwent a critically acclaimed Broadway revival which featured big names such as Sutton Foster and Joshua Henry. With this popular run in mind, the cast have been working to find their own interpretation of the work. “There’s never going to be another Violet that has these exact components,” Duncan said. “I am working on finding what about Violet I have in myself.” “There’s a lot of elements that have to be told honestly,” Madama said. “It becomes about you because you try to figure out what’s going on in the story. It’s coming out of your way of looking at the world.” There are a “plethora of different styles that still manage to be consistent,” Showell said. It “gives each of the characters their own voice.” Though it takes place more than 50 years ago, “Violet” is a topical exploration of the many things that bring us together as humans, and the means by which we can transcend the few things that keep us apart. It’s about checking your preconceived notions and learning to understand one another on an emotional level. “It gives everybody an opportunity to see themselves differently,” Showell said. “If you are able to take on some of the encouragement that others see in you, what aren’t you capable of?”
Arts
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STYLE NOTEBOOK
Thursday, December 7, 2017 — 5B
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
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OFF-WHITE
Off-White designer weds fashion and architecture
Virgil Abloh draws from architectural and engineering background in pursuit of fresh and unexpected clothing NARESH IYENGAR Daily Style Editor
For anyone who knows fashion, it’s no mystery who Virgil Abloh is. Though he is now the creator of Off-White, Abloh’s journey to this position was certainly less than linear. In college, Abloh studied structural engineering at the University of Wisconsin— Madison before realizing his interest in building design. He then went to the Illinois Institute of Technology to receive his master’s degree in architecture. From there, he would soon become a creative director for Kanye West’s creative think tank, DONDA. He would go on to receive a Grammy nomination for best recording package for the album Watch The Throne. Most recently, and probably most notably, however, Abloh has collaborated with Nike. Called “The Ten,” Abloh selected ten popular Nike shoes and added in some of his own design ethos. While Abloh’s accomplishments and projects are difficult to count and keep track of, Abloh gave a lecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design on October 26, titled “Program Organization, Sequencing Experiences,” an allusion to the well-known branding of many Off-White garments. Abloh was introduced by Harvard GSA design critic Oana Stanescu, whom Abloh has worked with on various projects, including Kanye West’s Yeezus tour set design and Off-White’s Hong Kong flagship store. Stanescu describes Abloh as “an architect of a different scale,” continuing “[his] work centers around the core of creative freedom.” Abloh spent much of the lecture talking about the characteristics
that define his signature and how these values are manifested in his designs and work. These component pieces ranged from his love of ready-made art and his desire to insert humanity through conversation to his actual design code. He mentioned his threepercent approach, in which he never edits something more than three-percent from its original form. He has other values that are important to him, such as the beauty of a work in progress or making sure that a design has a reason to exist. He points to his ability to know that enough is enough and that things don’t have to be perfect the first time. In his words, the desire behind the lecture was not for attendees to see how far Abloh has come in his 37 years (in fact, Abloh attributes a lot of his success to dumb luck and knowing the right people). Instead, Abloh’s goal was for the audience to imagine themselves in his shoes and to put questions to themselves: What is your list of values? What makes you excited, and how can you make that thing happen? Abloh also spent some time during the lecture talking about his mentors. He was quick to admit that he has a ton of mentors: old and young, dead and alive. During the Q&A after the lecture, someone asked Abloh about his relationship with his mentors who have passed. Abloh responded by discussing the value of understanding what their reasoning was for making certain design choices and how to apply that same rationale back into his own design. From my perspective, the most interesting aspect of the lecture was the way in which Abloh was able to put himself in the shoes of the students that sat before him. Abloh tells his own story of how
he was able to take a background of engineering and architecture and turn it into a career in fashion without entirely abandoning the things that he learned in school. That was what made it special. Abloh even did his best to try and distill what he has learned over the years into what he called his “cheat codes,” which were aimed to help people find their personal creative DNA. Through this entire presentation, it became quite clear that Virgil Abloh is not an ordinary person. Sometimes, that manifests itself in his desire to constantly be innovating and doing cool, new things. Other times, it manifests itself by the fact that it constantly seems like he is doing a half-dozen things at once. From collaborations with IKEA, where he’s looking to design the millennial’s apartment, and his collaborations with Nike, to the constant output of designs for Off-White, it’s clear that Abloh is quick to draw inspiration from others and is often looking to push the envelope on what he’s allowed to do as a designer. In the past, I’ve considered some of Abloh’s designs to be uninspired, but learning about the thought process behind his designs has helped me learn that this isn’t quite the case. Abloh said himself that he isn’t a big deal, even acting confused as to why he was at the front of the lecture hall giving a talk. But that all seemed to fade away as he was rushed by a mob of kids looking for him to sign their sneakers. Along with the rest of Abloh’s designs, these sneakers show the years of hard work and commitment to improving his own eye for design, incorporating things that he learned in the classroom along with things that he’s learned in the real world.
Spending an afternoon wandering the UMMA
Experiencing the University through the dichotomous architecture and genre-spanning works at the museum ANDREA PEREZ Daily Arts Writer
It was a busy day at the University’s Museum of Art. Students were filing in and out as tour guides led their groups through the galleries. Visitors from all ages could be seen wandering the museum. Young kids on tours were running through the hallways trying to keep up with their groups, students were typing away at their computers and middle aged and elderly adults were walking freely and admiring the art. From my point of view, sitting at a bench by the gift store, I could see all of this, and I could see the students who walked past the building on their way to class. Some of them walked determinedly, with their gaze forward and at a quick pace. Most of them, however, averted their eyes. The UMMA is known as Ann Arbor’s meeting place for the arts. It “contains a comprehensive collection that represents more than 150 years at the university, with nearly 19,000 works of art that span cultures, eras and media.” Works by artists like Pablo Picasso and Claude Monet are permanently exhibited in the museum galleries, but it also hosts around four or five travelling exhibitions every year. From ancient artifacts to modern paintings and digital media, art in all of its mediums can be admired in the museum. The space provided by the UMMA is unparalleled by other buildings on campus. There are few other buildings at the University that are versatile enough to hold such a wide array of events and attract such a diverse group of visitors. Despite its versatility and prestige, walking through
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the UMMA may seem a scary undertaking for students and community members who know little about art. The UMMA has a reputation among students as being a place designed only for a specific audience. When looking at the building itself, it is not hard to imagine that art history majors, Stamps professors, art amateurs and museum experts are the intended consumers of the art inside. On one side of the building — the original wing — the neoclassical style architecture appears somber and heavy. On the other side — the new wing — the design is modern, sleek and has an airy feeling given by the wallsized windows. The dichotomy between these buildings is sometimes confusing and hard to decipher for visitors.
In the midst of the chitterchatter and flows of people entering and exiting the galleries, I was getting a private tour.
To join into the conversation between the two sides of the UMMA, it is important to understand the history and ideas behind the creation of both wings. On May 11, 1910, the building that we know as the original wing of the UMMA was inaugurated. Then known as Alumni Memorial Hall, this opulent building was the product of “a desire to honor those University men who had fallen in the Civil War.” One hundred years, a renovation and an addition later, the building stands tall on the corner of State Street and South University. With its four grand pillars, bronze doors and stone exteriors, the original building is a quintessential image of a memorial hall. The solemn mood exhibited by this building can be off-putting to many visitors, especially when seen in contrast with the design of the new wing. Inaugurated in 2009, the new wing of the UMMA was created to look and function as an art museum. The boxy, simple architecture of the new wing invites visitors and allows for art to spill from within the walls into the paths of passersby. The distinction between the two was not accidental or a product of chance. According to David Lawrence, the communications manager at the UMMA, “when people saw the old building they didn’t think art museum; they saw something more serious and less approachable.” The
UMMA addition was deliberately designed in a more transparent, less somber way in an attempt to attract more visitors, to expand gallery space and to make the art housed in the museum more visible and public. In addition to the outdoor construction being designed in a contemporary and more transparent way, the interior of the museum, according to Lawrence, was “built as a wandering museum.” The stark difference seen on the façades of these two wings becomes more interesting as the wandering journey through the museum starts. In the midst of the chitter-chatter and flows of people entering and exiting the galleries, I was getting a private tour. I was guided by a staff member, and even though he said that the point of entering the museum was to wander, I was taken on the correct route through the UMMA. We started at the old wing with Western art, and we ended at the vertical gallery — which displayed some of the University’s biggest modern paintings. When we were on the highest floor of the vertical gallery, I could see the African art gallery, the photography gallery and the contemporary art gallery. Even though I could see most of the galleries displayed in the new wing, the path to any of these places wasn’t clear. My guide effortlessly cruised through and took me to every gallery without a problem. I was kind of disappointed that I did not get to discover the museum by myself, but throughout my tour I started picking up bits and pieces of other people’s experiences. My guide was quickly divulging every fact about the history, design and most famous art pieces in the UMMA, but the rest of the visitors did not have this advantage. Rather than being promptly walked by a guide, most of them stood in front of and questioned the art pieces for as long as they wanted. I was getting all of the information, but they were getting the adventure. Quietly, but in a determined manner, I could see how each of the visitors I observed were carving their own space within the galleries. Some were adamantly admiring the photography, and others were interested in the Picasso pieces. The maze within the museum allowed every visitor to adventure and create their own personalized tour of the galleries, and, in that way, the mezzanines and fourfoot-high paintings seemed less intimidating. The experience of visiting the UMMA cannot be described without talking about the design and layout of the building. Walking through the galleries and exploring is directly affected by the layout of the space. With the wandering museum design, visitors at the UMMA can take advantage of the secluded rooms and nooks to make the space their own and consume the art in their own terms.
Arts
6B — Thursday, December 7, 2017
ARTIST
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ARTIST PROFILE
IN
PROFILE
Pritzker-winning architect Richard Meier on the Getty Center, his influences and the beauty of white space RICHARD MEIER & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS LLP.
ANAY KATYAL
Managing Arts Editor
Encapsulating both the essence and importance of Richard Meier is a difficult task. With a career so decorated, buildings so illustrious and a personality so fascinating, I found myself a bit blind in trying to figure out where to start. But with a body of work that captures the various intersections of art, design and architecture rather masterfully, an effort in earnestly profiling Meier was worth undertaking. Meier garners acclaim from critics, colleagues and patrons alike for his notable structural clarity, use of light and space and his uncompromising persistence for the color white. Minimal, bare and — by consequence — subtly provocative artscapes are a signature of Meier’s, reflected in works such as the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Darien, Conn.’s Smith House and Rome’s grand Jubilee Church (something Meier himself boasts as being the “crown jewel” of the Catholic Church’s millennium celebration). Though a maven in the world of architecture, Meier not only fashions himself an architect, but an industrial designer and abstract artist as well. While he has works that have long become unwavering urban fixtures, one can also find Meier’s work in art galleries the world over or as consumer products that reflect his architectural philosophy in its svelte, elegant glory. Though a large contingent of our readership may not consider him a household name, Meier’s design and architectural influences span continents, manifesting themselves both in buildings he himself had a hand in creating or in buildings tasked by the many architects who have taken great inspiration from him. Many of them are buildings people are bound to see at some point in their lives, regardless of their familiarity with Meier. Among his works, the Getty Center reigns as one of the most notable, celebrating its 20th anniversary later this month. Costing $1.3 billion (a far cry from the original estimate of $100 million, but a cost that was well within reason for J. Paul Getty’s posthumous fortune to bear), the collection of travertine and metal panel adorned buildings has become one of Los Angeles’s and the world’s most notable pieces of architecture. Perched atop a hill in the Brentwood neighborhood of L.A., Meier took as audacious of an approach in the Center’s design as
the project proposal itself. Utilizing large concrete columns, towering walls and a gridded layout, Meier fashioned the center through stylistically minimal means that simultaneously engender wonder and provocation. Among the many components Meier used to command the Center’s aura are the various avant-garde fountains that span the campus, meant to maintain a consistent level of peaceful white noise regardless of where patrons walk or sit. Wherever you walk, in the Getty or any of Meier’s other works, his attention to detail always glows. Coined “the commission of the century,” it’s a campus that, both in its architectural significance and contribution to the world of fine arts, is more than worthy of celebration, especially twenty years on. The Center’s campus is home to seminal institutions of the art world (all on the virtue of the Getty fortune, namely the J. Paul Getty Museum, the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Getty Foundation), and Meier’s command over its construction is befitting of his own personal philosophies of architecture. In a phone interview with The Daily, Meier further illuminated upon his five decades of architectural inspiration and design. **** With the Getty Center turning 20 soon, what are some memories you have when selected to take on the project? What was important to me was considering where [the site] was, how it related to its surroundings, how it can contribute the environment. It was a very ambitious project. Two decades on, do you think there was something you would have done differently in designing the Getty? Oh, no. I can’t say I blame you. The Getty is a favorite of mine. Truth be told, there probably has to be, but I honestly can’t think of anything at the moment! I think in the way the buildings relate to one another, the way people move — from inside to outside — works very well. I think there’s a lot of communication there, among the staff and the patrons, and I’ve had so many people come up to me that have visited the Getty who’ve said, “You know, I spent the whole day there but I didn’t have time to go into the museum.” So, it’s a place to walk around and see things, and hopefully meet friends and have a bit of lunch and a place to just generally enjoy the environment. I think we succeeded in making such
a space. On that note, speaking to your work as a whole, what are some important considerations for you when tasked with designing a building? Well, I think the most important thing is beginning with a program. Someone comes to you and tells you what their expectation is in terms of what they envision — be it a residential building, commercial, a museum. But all that being said, it’s the context that matters most, really. What the building is, how it relates to what’s around it, how it can have arms — so to speak — that reach out and improve the existing context of the area. Specifically with art spaces — with you having designed multiple museums — are there particular components you consider integral in designing such spaces? Oh, absolutely. Light is, of course, paramount. The quality of light, the way you see things in natural light. One doesn’t really aim to design a black box, so to speak. You want something that can have a relationship with interior and exterior space, and that generally holds true for any building, but most definitely for an art gallery as well. When designing such buildings, what’s your process in generating ideas? I look carefully at the program, the environment, the context, and try to think about how people will use it, move through it and internalize it. Do you have specific architects you draw particular influence from? There are so many, to be honest, people I admire, historic and contemporary. Brunelleschi, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Louis Kahn. There are a lot of great, great architects in the past, but that also doesn’t change the fact that there a lot of great people working today, too. On the note of such contemporary architects, recent pop culture has seemingly taken a liking to architecture — Kogonada’s recent film “Columbus” comes to mind, highlighting Eero Saarinen’s work in Columbus, Ind. What are your thoughts on architecture becoming better embedded within popular culture? What it really means is that now people are much more aware of architecture, and much more aware of their environment today. They’re interested in seeing things, simply put. As people travel more nowadays, it holds true. They look at things. They look at architecture. They’re interested in seeing different places, how
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their architecture in that place is different than another place, and what that could mean. It indicates greater awareness. As an abstract artist yourself, do you find being an architect in a similar light as being a conventional “artist”? I do paint, and I do collages quite often. I would consider myself an artist. But in regards to architecture, do your experiences in both domains affect your thinking as an architect? Or as an artist? No, not at all. Actually, they’re completely separate to me. When I’m doing architecture, I’m doing architecture. When I’m doing works of art, considerations get more abstract. Personally, there is no correlation — I don’t think at least. Someone else may find some, as critics do, but I wouldn’t say there is. Would you say you have a sort of cognisant philosophy when it comes to your architecture? Oh, yes. Definitely. How would you describe it? As an architect, you are creating space, space people will be moving through, space people will live in. I think about the quality of meaning of such space on people. How natural aspects such as light come into the space, enlivens the space and what meaning can be drawn from that. With all the factors that come with thinking about architecture, one’s approach to creation is quite different than what you may think about when making a painting. One requires less self-indulgence than the other. With a lot of your work, the color white is a persistent theme,
and I’m a personal fan of its use. What draws you to it? What does it mean to you? White reflects color, refracts color, allows you to see the relationship between that which is natural and that which is manmade. It heightens your perception of all the actual color, and beauty, that surrounds you. Were there any works that were particular challenges for you?
Funnily enough, the Getty. There was a lot to consider in making it. There is nothing like it. What are your plans for the coming years in terms of projects (if you can divulge that)? Hah, I wish I knew that. Is the business of architecture more short-term, or not terribly easy to predict? We’re very busy today, which we’re very fortunate for. But a year from now, who knows?
By William Shakespeare
Directed by John Neville-Andrews • Dept. of Theatre & Drama Dec. 7 at 7:30 PM • Dec. 8 & 9 at 8 PM • Dec. 10 at 2 PM • Power Center Reserved Seating $30 & $24 • Students $12 with ID League Ticket Office • 734-764-2538 • tickets.smtd.umich.edu